josephl64's GameSpot Friend's Reviews josephl64's GameSpot Friend's Reviews josephl64's GameSpot Friend's Reviews en-us Copyright (c)1995-2013 CBS Interactive. All rights reserved. http://www.gamespot.com 20 Thu, 20 Jun 2013 04:00:11 -0700 GameSpot josephl64's GameSpot Friend's Reviews http://img.gamespot.com/gamespot/shared/promos/misc/gs_logo.gif http://www.gamespot.com 135 40 Tue, 18 Jun 2013 06:48:38 -0700 Spinnerweb reviewed Dead to Rights II for the PlayStation 2... http://www.gamespot.com/dead-to-rights-ii/user-reviews/812560/platform/ps2/ ...and gave it a 9.0!

You would expect snobbish people who always look at everything down the length of their nose to dislike a simple game like Dead to Rights II, and many of them did. Their reasons for dislike happen to be, "There's no minigames, no place where you have to use your mind, such a linear game, just mindless action." Exactly. There's nothing you're supposed to do in Dead to Rights II except shoot everybody. And boy, is it fun for the non-snooty.

The first thing gamers who played the first game will notice is that the graphics have been hugely improved. The visuals in this game are brilliant - slightly cartoonish, and the slow-motion blur effects while shootdodging are brilliant. This game really does it in the graphics department. There are no obvious graphical glitches to speak of.

The gameplay itself is even closer to Max Payne than the previous game. Shootdodging now is very seamless, while in the previous game it could only be done in four directions because it had only four animations. You won't be shootdodging as much as you will in Max Payne though, since your adrenaline runs out quickly - it's best saved for diving through and quickly killing a crowd of enemies. One small thing I really enjoyed about gun combat was tapping the X button to fire quickly with dual pistols. There was something very unexplainably enjoyable about that. Many games have that, but something in this game - the excellent gun sound effects, perhaps, makes it special. The music is brilliant too. I especially enjoyed the music in the cowboy bikers' area and in the graveyard.

In some levels, you lose your weapons and have to do with your fists. Melee combat is all right, but it's somewhat less enjoyable than gun combat. It can sometimes get tedious, but it isn't frustrating.

Like in the previous game, Jack Slate, the protagonist, can summon his dog Shadow to kill a baddie or two, but there's no separate HUD bar that fills for your dog - he uses the adrenaline bar. Shadow can also retrieve dead baddies' weapons for you, something that really comes in handy when you're low on health and out of ammo.

There are disarms and human shields in this game too, but there's a limit to them. There are two green HUD points beneath your Adrenaline meter; they turn red when you disarm a bad guy or use him as a human shields. Kill more bad guys to turn them green and disarm again.

You might be wondering why I left the story for last. Truth be told, story isn't the focus here. It's a good enough story, but it's a pretty cliche one, so while I won't post spoilers I doubt you can really spoil a game with so simple a story. It works as it is, though. There are many tributes and homages, usually in Jack's one-liners, to action movies like Commando.

So in short, Dead to Rights II is awesome. It's nothing but fast paced shooting action at its finest. The gameplay is so outstanding, the graphics so good and the music so excellent that all but the arrogant gamer would like it, or at least for the harsh, not dislike it. The extreme difficulty may put some people off, but for the patient and the hardcore, it's a very, very enjoyable game.

Get the full article at GameSpot

"Spinnerweb reviewed Dead to Rights II for the PlayStation 2..." was posted by Spinnerweb on Tue, 18 Jun 2013 06:48:38 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/dead-to-rights-ii/user-reviews/812560/platform/ps2/ Tue, 18 Jun 2013 06:48:35 -0700 Spinnerweb reviewed Dead to Rights II for the PC... http://www.gamespot.com/dead-to-rights-ii/user-reviews/812559/platform/pc/ ...and gave it a 8.0.

You would expect snobbish people who always look at everything down the length of their nose to dislike a simple game like Dead to Rights II, and many of them did. Their reasons for dislike happen to be, "There's no minigames, no place where you have to use your mind, such a linear game, just mindless action." Exactly. There's nothing you're supposed to do in Dead to Rights II except shoot everybody. And boy, is it fun for the non-snooty.

The first thing gamers who played the first game will notice is that the graphics have been hugely improved. The visuals in this game are brilliant - slightly cartoonish, and the slow-motion blur effects while shootdodging are brilliant. This game really does it in the graphics department. There are no obvious graphical glitches to speak of.

The gameplay itself is even closer to Max Payne than the previous game. Shootdodging now is very seamless, while in the previous game it could only be done in four directions because it had only four animations. You won't be shootdodging as much as you will in Max Payne though, since your adrenaline runs out quickly - it's best saved for diving through and quickly killing a crowd of enemies. One small thing I really enjoyed about gun combat was tapping the X button to fire quickly with dual pistols. There was something very unexplainably enjoyable about that. Many games have that, but something in this game - the excellent gun sound effects, perhaps, makes it special. The music is brilliant too. I especially enjoyed the music in the cowboy bikers' area and in the graveyard.

In some levels, you lose your weapons and have to do with your fists. Melee combat is all right, but it's somewhat less enjoyable than gun combat. It can sometimes get tedious, but it isn't frustrating.

Like in the previous game, Jack Slate, the protagonist, can summon his dog Shadow to kill a baddie or two, but there's no separate HUD bar that fills for your dog - he uses the adrenaline bar. Shadow can also retrieve dead baddies' weapons for you, something that really comes in handy when you're low on health and out of ammo.

There are disarms and human shields in this game too, but there's a limit to them. There are two green HUD points beneath your Adrenaline meter; they turn red when you disarm a bad guy or use him as a human shields. Kill more bad guys to turn them green and disarm again.

You might be wondering why I left the story for last. Truth be told, story isn't the focus here. It's a good enough story, but it's a pretty cliche one, so while I won't post spoilers I doubt you can really spoil a game with so simple a story. It works as it is, though. There are many tributes and homages, usually in Jack's one-liners, to action movies like Commando.

The only reason I gave the PC version a lesser score than the PS2 version were the controls. The game works better with a controller, so if you want to enjoy it as much as on a console a gamepad is a good option.

So in short, Dead to Rights II is awesome. It's nothing but fast paced shooting action at its finest. The gameplay is so outstanding, the graphics so good and the music so excellent that all but the arrogant gamer would like it, or at least for the harsh, not dislike it. The extreme difficulty may put some people off, but for the patient and the hardcore, it's a very, very enjoyable game.

Get the full article at GameSpot

"Spinnerweb reviewed Dead to Rights II for the PC..." was posted by Spinnerweb on Tue, 18 Jun 2013 06:48:35 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/dead-to-rights-ii/user-reviews/812559/platform/pc/ Mon, 17 Jun 2013 08:23:17 -0700 Uesugi-dono reviewed The Last of Us for the PlayStation 3... http://www.gamespot.com/the-last-of-us/user-reviews/812518/platform/ps3/ ...and gave it a 9.5!

The tension is palpable. Four of us are huddled, hiding from three armed hunters who are inbound to search our area. Something goes wrong and they'll call that armored humvee back down on us. I move forward with a determination that gives me an aura of bravery; my real motivation are my companions though. Not only do I have Ellie to look out for but our new companion, Sam, also has Henry, a boy near Ellie's age. I don't have much to work with: no arrows, a handful of bullets but I don't want to risk gunfire and call that .50 cal back down on us. Hunter number one is easy; I blindside him with a punch and then choke him out... it takes time. The others are near my companion. In a bigger hurry I hurl a brick at Hunter 2 and then shiv him in the carotid, but I've been careless. Hunter 3 grabs me in a chokehold. He's got me dead-to-rights, no doubt about that, but I've got a wildcard: Ellie climbs up his back and wraps her arms around his neck. He released me and I turn the full fury of a lead pipe on him till he's still.



Endure and Survive.



- Such is life in The Last of Us. You survive from moment to moment, encounter to encounter. I am playing on Hard at @katzenbalger 's suggestion and I think it's a good idea. Trying to figure out how to get through a flooded basement filled with infected and carrying only 7 shotgun shells and a brick is surely a challenge, especially when you need to start a loud-ass gas generator to get out of the area! But make no mistake: at least the infected don't shoot at you.



- What's left of humanity is, by far, more dangerous than the various degrees of the infected. The latter are predictable: Runners run, Stalkers wait, Clickers, well, click but are also relatively easy to sneak by. Hunters, on the other hand, patrol, investigate and, if you're spotted, flank your position. I nearly screamed out loud in one situation where I thought the floor below me was clear so when a Hunter seized me from behind while I engaged a bottleneck of enemies I nearly pooped my pants. Needless to say this action led to my hasty demise. And demise is certainly at hand in nearly every situation you encounter. Just remember: Feeling like Batman will get your silly ass killed in The Last of Us.



- The Last of Us already holds a distinction for me. There have been several games that have been tear-jerkers at the end but this game gets you right at the beginning. Despite a review to the contrary, I identified with Joel quickly and it's easy to see how he descended to what he became. I can see a parallel between this game and Red Dead Redemption; Ellie is clearly Joel's ticket to redemption. As for the girl herself she is spunky, clever, and instantly likeable. Thus far the supporting cast of characters have all been pretty likable (or despicable as the situation calls for) and I am especially pleased with Joel's Texas drawl; it gives him an air of realism in a genre dominated by a handful of recurring lead voice actors... least that's what I thought! I didn't recognize Troy Baker as the same voice of Red Faction's Alec Mason or Persona 4's Kanji Tatsumi. (That last one just makes me like him more!) The accent is subtle but real; probably because Baker is from Texas. At any rate Joel comes off as a geniune character, a man who has had some bad sh*t happen to him and whose dreams of the future end with tomorrow morning.



- A LOT of praise has been heaped on Ashley Johnson's portrayal of 14 year old Ellie, and for good reason. Despite the fact that she has never voiced a 'serious' video game character before the 29 year old actress nailed Ellie; breathing life into the character such as to make her strong yet vulnerable, likeable yet fiery... she's a realistic blend of an all-to-mature teenage girl trying to be both brave and, at the same time, just be a girl who is full of wonder and curiosity at the world she never knew; almost like an orphan yearning to know about the parents who died before she had a chance to know them. I found it particularly touching how Joel tries to shield her from the corruption around her yet, before long, must accede to the fact that she has to learn how to protect herself... and him as well.



- A lot has also been said about the brutal level of violence in this game. Is it visceral? Yes. It's it vulgar? Not really. Is it necessary? Absolutely. We live in a post-Mortal Kombat age; accustomed to violence-as-comedy. Is this level of violence funny? Not at all, but it actually shies away from what I was expecting. (Although there was a scene with a morbidly facinating arterial spray.) It is definately the most violent sounding game I think I've played. Sound design is excellent and every brick you smash into an enemy's face just sounds like hurt, but I guess I was expecting a horror-of-war type of experience with guts blasted out with every shotgun blast. You'll be spared that, but otherwise The Last of Us pulls no punches. Most of all no regenerating health here. Every drop of alcohol, every scrap of bandage is all very precious... like Gollum precious, because you need it for creating health kits. You need it MORE for health kits than for infected-destroying molotovs, despite how effective those really are.



- Admittedly the AI of your companions can get a little ridiculous. They are effectively invisible to the enemy, which can be immersion-breaking. They can also act as roadblocks if you decide you're not quite done with the area and turn around to investigate more, but they do try to get out of your way. I haven't noticed any clipping, such as others have mentioned, but I will offer a warning: while you can save at any time I recommend you do it after you clear an area. On several occasions I have been bum-rushed immediately after loading a game if I stopped in mid-combat. True to Naughty Dog's word Ellie will never be a concern in an encounter, but that's also a little disappointing. It kind of takes you out of your role as her protector because you literally never have to worry about her or any of your other companions. The encounter I mentioned at the beginning of this piece; my companions we never in any danger. I could have taken my time and used stealth to kill all three hunters but, for me, that is immersion breaking. I prefer, instead, to still act as though they are in my care. It means waiting for all of my companions to get up a ladder before me while waiting nervously in a zombie-filled room when I could just scoot to safety myself and not give them a second thought. It means me taking huge risks when a Hunter gets too close to Ellie instead of slipping quietly away and conserving ammo. Such moments are less immersion-destroying than if I just worry about Joel. I respect what ND was trying to do but, honestly, I would prefer a little more concern for the 14 year old girl I'm supposed to be protecting.




- Overall believe the hype. The Last of Us is not only a powerful and moving experience, it is clearly Game of the Generation material. While Bioshock Infinite may take local GOTY awards due to its multi-platform nature, The Last of Us deserves to win the crown. Naughty Dog has created a beautiful swan song for the 7th generation and you'd be remiss to let it pass you by. Beg, borrow, steal, or just work your ass off to get a PS3... this is one of those ICO-like games that people will be talking about for many years to come.






The Last of Us - 9.5



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"Uesugi-dono reviewed The Last of Us for the PlayStation 3..." was posted by Uesugi-dono on Mon, 17 Jun 2013 08:23:17 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/the-last-of-us/user-reviews/812518/platform/ps3/ Fri, 14 Jun 2013 21:38:19 -0700 Spinnerweb reviewed Tenchu: Shadow Assassins for the PSP... http://www.gamespot.com/tenchu-shadow-assassins/user-reviews/812407/platform/psp/ ...and gave it a 7.0.

Tenchu: Shadow Assassins for the PSP is actually a port of the Wii game. Now, you'd imagine all sorts of sacrifices for getting the game on the PSP, but the truth is that there are surprisingly few. It's still fun, challenging and worth playing and while it doesn't really achieve greatness there isn't too much to complain about either.

The game's story is OK at best, Rikimaru and Ayame being the good ninjas serving a goody-good emperor whose empire is apparently about to be attacked when Rikimaru finds a stockpile of weapons in a room in the wrong part of the empire on one of his justice-serving outings.

The gameplay is good, stealth mechanics work and it is enjoyable. Taking enemies down is satisfying and you can twirl the analog nub around to get different killing animations. The only complaint I have is about sword combat, where it really shows that this is a game ported from the Wii. You push the analog nub in the direction the on-screen arrow tells you to, and it's very easy to do this. Almost too easy in fact, so sometimes you get killed because you weren't expecting it to be so easy.

Aside from that, the game is challenging. You can use your Mind's Eye as much as you want to see where the enemies are looking, but it's still a very difficult game. You can use your Ninjitsu to escape to the start of the level once if you get detected, but after that if you get seen the enemy throws his sword at you and whack, you're dead.

The music is very good and the graphics are excellent. The gameplay is enjoyable, and the voice acting, except for the tutorial instructor's (which is annoying as hell) is very good too. While the game doesn't really be all it can be in my opinion, it's still worth playing for any stealth game fan.

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"Spinnerweb reviewed Tenchu: Shadow Assassins for the PSP..." was posted by Spinnerweb on Fri, 14 Jun 2013 21:38:19 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/tenchu-shadow-assassins/user-reviews/812407/platform/psp/ Fri, 14 Jun 2013 21:12:09 -0700 Spinnerweb reviewed Gangs of London for the PSP... http://www.gamespot.com/gangs-of-london/user-reviews/812405/platform/psp/ ...and gave it a 2.0.

Gangs of London ... I first thought that it was a movie based game, so I didn't play it. Then I found out it wasn't, so I did. Then I realized it was a poor game.

One of the good things about the game is that there are several gangs to play as each with their own story (though their stories don't really go anywhere). So there are these gangs trying to take over London, and they're at war with each other, and they kill each other from time to time. Major yawn. Like I said, the story doesn't go anywhere.

The game tries to be open-world like Grand Theft Auto and such, but it fails miserably because the missions are put together as... missions. You select them at the menu. Free roam is a separate mode. Who wants it like that? And this is the major drawback of the game. The missions aren't put together right. The story, or lack of it, is told through Max Payne-like comic panels, with awful voice acting.

Gameplay, hmm... you have a lot of stealth missions which are awfully hard to get through because this game obviously wasn't designed as a stealth game. Combat is dull and frustrating. Mostly you fight with knives, standing in front of a person and mashing the X button. The animations are awful. In gun combat, you don't aim your gun, you aim your character. You have to stand directly in front of an enemy, target them and mash the X button. Like in melee combat, the animations are awful.

You can drive cars, but it's like driving on ice. There's no friction, no sound of engines, nothing at all. The brakes on every single car in this game seem to be broken because they are useless.

There is only one music track in the entire game, which is like the music when they put you on hold, only it's much worse, and the voice acting is awful. You'd think with gangs of so many cultures would have their accents, but no... the Talwar Brothers, for example, don't sound Pakistani at all, neither do the Traids sound Asian, and all characters speak American English. In a game set in England. Can you believe it?

There is not a single thing to like about this game. Stay away, or you are doomed. Doomed. Doomed doomed.

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"Spinnerweb reviewed Gangs of London for the PSP..." was posted by Spinnerweb on Fri, 14 Jun 2013 21:12:09 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/gangs-of-london/user-reviews/812405/platform/psp/ Thu, 06 Jun 2013 11:14:31 -0700 GreySeal9 reviewed Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 for the PlayStation 2... http://www.gamespot.com/shin-megami-tensei-persona-4/user-reviews/812131/platform/ps2/ ...and gave it a 9.5!

Since so many people have told me how much better Persona 4 was than the all ready fantastic Persona 3, I was curious to see the degree to which Persona 4 trumped the third entry. I was also excited to play what promised to be another excellent role-playing game. On both fronts, Persona 4 succeeds. It improves on the Persona 3 formula in some important ways while standing on its own as one of absolute best role-playing games money can buy. It doesn't absolutely destroy Persona 3 as some people claim, but it is a leaner experience that is not only more player friendly, but is backed up by a meatier story. If you're into murder mysteries with bizarre supernatural twists or if you just crave an excellent RPG with lively, well-developed characters, you absolutely must play Persona 4.

The story is probably the biggest improvement in Persona 4. Persona 3 had an interesting story as well, but the story you're getting in Persona 4 is denser with detail and is swarming with plot twists, misdirection, and psychological tension. This is because Persona 4 is essentially a murder mystery. You, as the nameless main character, are relocating to the rural Japanese town of Inaba because your parents are on some kind of overseas trip. You end up living with your uncle Dojima---who is a detective---and his adorable daughter Nanako. You make a few friends at school and learn about the Midnight Channel, which will supposedly show you your soul mate if you stare into a TV on a rainy night. Instead of confirming that rumor, you find that you can actually enter another world through the TV, but this world is anything but welcoming. It is foggy and strange and home to an equally strange bear-like creature named Teddie. On top of this, people are turning up dead in Inaba and their deaths are somehow linked to the TV world. Of course it is up to you and your friends to solve the mystery of their murders by saving people who are dropped into the TV world and killed there. That is all I will tell you, but it is an immensely addicting story that will have you pleasantly confused at times and pleasantly surprised once you realize what was really going on.

The plot by itself is fantastic, but the characters are extremely lively, well written and charismatic. This was also one of the things that made Persona 3 so excellent, but I think this game has a slightly better cast. The best characters in Persona 3 are just as good as they are in Persona 4, but Persona 4 is more consistent and has less "meh" characters. What makes the characters feel so convincing is that the game develops their personalities outside of the core plot and does this in a big way, so that your key characters eventually feel like a tight-knit family. With characters being one of the main staples of RPGs, it is nothing short of brilliant that Atlus was able to create such an effect.

The structure of the game certainly helps however. Much like Persona 3, Persona 4 progression is based on a calendar system. You have a small town and school to explore (which seems even smaller than Persona 3's town and school), but you must adhere to something of a time limit. In any given day, you can only do one major thing (luckily, purchasing weapons and items and what not doesn't count as a major thing), whether that be hanging out with friends (which is extremely important because of the game's "social links") or dungeon crawling to advance to plot or simply raising one of your character's personality stats (instead of Persona 3's charm, courage and academics, Persona 4 has you enhancing traits like knowledge, expression, courage, understanding, and diligence) through various means, so you'll have to balance your time, especially since you only have a certain amount of time to save the latest victim trapped inside the TV world. However, since the time limit is very lenient (which is a good thing for those who feel the added pressure of a time limit is a turn off), you will have tons of time to hang out with friends, which gives the developers tons of time to develop them into remarkably believable people.

Forming relationships with people is essential in Persona 4. Whenever you meet a new person, you form a social link with them. You have to basically level up these social links by navigating conversations in a way that is helpful or pleasing to whoever you've formed the social link with. You can mess up relationships, but it is extremely hard to do and most players will breeze right through the social links provided that they are taking enough time from grinding through dungeons to level them up. Each social link is tied to what is called an "arcana." Examples of arcanas are moon, sun, star, empress, fool, priestess, magician, strength, etc. Falling under these categories are Personas, which are creatures derived from the characters' psyches. Think Pokémon, but more adult and edgy. Since they are your main means of battling in Persona 4 (you have a normal attack, but Personas will provide you with all your magic and techniques), you'll want to level up as many social links as you can since social links enhance the Personas you create within the arcana tied to said social link. A Persona can go up several levels on the spot if the corresponding social link is high. This will provide you will tons of useful skills without the trouble of sloooowly grinding Personas up to the levels at which they acquire them. Unlike Persona 3, social links can also grant special abilities to characters in your party, which is a great addition.

However, enhancing your Personas is not the primary motivation for leveling up social links. For me, that was secondary. What captured my interest was the characters they are tied to and the side plots that unfold as a result. These side plots are not only believable; they are also at once sad and touching and you'll feel like you've made a big difference in these people's lives once the social link is maxed out and side plot has concluded. One social link in particular, involving a stepparent struggling to connect to her new child, stayed in my thoughts even when I was not playing the game. That one was my favorite, but all the social links are powerful in their own ways. Persona 3 also had well written, emotionally engaging social links, but I feel that they're a bit better written and emotionally engaging in Persona 4. You can ignore social links if you want, but the dungeons will be much harder on you and your game will lack variation.

Persona 3's dungeon exploration took place in a giant tower called Tartarus and one of the main complaints was that there were just too many floors and since they were randomly generated, they could get extremely repetitive. Persona 4 attempts to address this by sending you to separate dungeons within the TV world (and the theme of these dungeons reflect the victim's psyche, so they are very creative). These dungeons are more varied in terms of their overall appearance than Persona 3's Tartarus, but they are still made up of randomly generating floors that all look the same. Fortunately, these dungeons are very easy to get through, especially since Persona 4 drastically reduces the amount of floors you'll need to fight your way through, resulting in a dungeon crawling experience that feels much more streamlined and also more player friendly. I feel that Atlus should have added more scenic variety within the dungeons, but separate dungeons with more creative themes is certainly an improvement over Tartarus. Not to mention that in Persona 4 the developers let you re-enter the dungeons through the exact floor you were last on, eliminating the need for Persona 3's sometimes frustrating checkpoints.

Another thing that makes Persona 4's dungeons enjoyable in spite of their repetitiveness is the incredibly fun battle system. Not only are battles quick and flashy, but they also involve a good bit of strategy. This is because success is based on exploiting enemy weaknesses. If you use a skill that an enemy is weak to (and the only way to use these skills is through Personas), they will fall to the ground, and you'll get another turn. You can use this extra turn to attack the enemy again, but the better move is to attack another enemy, also knocking them to ground and getting another additional turn. The idea is to knock all the enemies to the ground, so that you can engage in a cartoonish beat-em-up special attack that will instantly kill all but the strongest foes. Most of the time it is easy to exploit weaknesses, but you don't always know them, so you have to experiment and some enemies have attack patterns or buffs that make it more difficult to exploit their weaknesses. Many times you don't have to go the weakness route and you can vanquish some enemies with your regular attack, but exploiting weaknesses is the most efficient way of dispatching enemies and it's a lot more fun to mess around with all your Personas skills and build a team of Personas that will majorly kick ass.

Persona 4's battle system is very similar to Persona 3's, but two key improvements have been made, resulting in a smoother, more player friendly combat portion. The first of these improvements is the ability to control all of your party members. In Persona 3, you could only control the main character and the game's friendly AI controlled everyone else. I felt that that set up was fine, but being able to your fellow party members is not only more strategically rewarding, but it insures that you are never burned by a dumb move by the AI. Of course you can let the AI control fellow party members if you want, but most players will opt to input everyone's command by themselves.

The other improvement in Persona 4's battle system is the addition of a "guard" command. In many RPGs, guarding is useless, but it is quite important in Persona 4. Enemies can exploit weaknesses in the same way that the player can, so if you know you have characters that are weak to a certain element or ability, the guard ability will come in handy.

The one thing that hasn't been addressed in the battle portion of the game is that you get a game over when the main character dies. It is kind of bothersome that the other characters can't seem to find a way to revive him, but it's a small annoyance. It doesn't really harm the experience in any significant way.

Another improvement is the way the game is structured overall. Though Persona 4 shares Persona 3's calendar system, the structure of Persona 4, though a bit formulaic at first, is much looser and less predictable, resulting in pacing that is even more dynamic than that of Persona 3, which was all ready a very dynamically paced game, with surprise events breaking up the linear progression of days. Though some might be put off by the idea of a calendar system, they shouldn't be. Between the interesting and emotionally satisfying social links, all the little things you can do to raise your personality stats, surprise story events, and the visually creative dungeons, Persona 4 will never get boring, and much like Persona 3, it can get highly addicting in a "just one more day" kind of way.

One aspect in which Persona 4 doesn't improve on Persona 3 is the Persona fusion system. You can obtain new Personas by winning battles and picking the correct card in a post-battle shuffle, but your Personas will be more powerful if you fuse them by combining two or more Personas. This system was wonky and random in Persona 3 with no rhyme or reason to the various combinations, resulting in logic free experimentation that was no fun. In Persona 4, it is just as wonky and random with the only improvement being a "forecast", which helps, but doesn't address the core flaws in the system. If they make a Persona 5, Atlus really needs to find a more logical way of approaching Persona creation. However, that's not to say you shouldn't use the fusion system. The fusion system is the absolute best way to acquire powerful Personas.

Visually speaking, Persona 3 was extremely stylish, with lots of funky fresh Japanese flavor. Persona 4 takes stylish visuals to the next level. Everything from the menus to the enemy designs and dungeons is bursting with cool psychedelic energy. Being a rural town, Inaba itself is more low key and smaller than Persona 3's town areas, but the TV world is a much more visually exciting place than Persona 3's Tartarus with much more attractive dungeons that make better use of color. At the same time, Persona 4 retains the creativity of the enemy and Persona designs, some of which are lifted straight from Persona 3. And underneath all the stylishness and visual creativity are solid, if a bit modest, technical graphics. Not to mention the anime cutscenes, which are very well drawn and directed, visually punctuating some of the game's key moments. In short, this is a sexy game that will constantly entice your eyes while the game's soundtrack will entice your ears. Persona 3 had an excellent soundtrack filled with jazzy j-pop fitting the game's urban aesthetic. Persona 4's j-pop is not quite as jazzy and it's a little more feminine, but the songs themselves are great with their addictive and creative melodies. And since Persona 4 is a "brighter game", the less edgy soundtrack fits.

Persona 3 was a landmark title, and while Persona 4 doesn't quite have its new car smell or its scale, it is undoubtedly the better title due to improvements in dungeon crawling, the battle system and the overall structure and plot. With Persona 4, Atlus set out to make a game that is at once more streamlined and more engaging. In this endeavor, they succeeded admirably. If you haven't played Persona 3, I would recommend playing it before you tackle Persona 4; by doing that, you will undoubtedly be saving the best for last.

GAMEPLAY-4.5/5
DESIGN-4.5/5
STORY-5/5
VISUALS-4.5/5
PLAYABILITY-4.5/5
VALUE-5/5

Get the full article at GameSpot

]]> http://www.gamespot.com/shin-megami-tensei-persona-4/user-reviews/812131/platform/ps2/ Tue, 04 Jun 2013 08:44:00 -0700 benleslie5 reviewed Metal Gear Solid HD Collection for the PlayStation Vita... http://www.gamespot.com/metal-gear-solid-hd-collection/user-reviews/812038/platform/vita/ ...and gave it a 9.0!

It's been over 10 years since Metal Gear Solid 2 was released back in 2001 and almost 9 years since Metal Gear Solid 3 was released in 2004. During those years when the PlayStation 2 was around both games were summed up to be the best games to experience on its story, gameplay and memorable moments. Now you can relive those memories again in HD, Metal Gear Solid Collection was released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 and then a few months later got released for the PlayStation Vita.

Both games still play well and nothing has really changed from its gameplay, if you've played both titles back on the PlayStation 2 nothing much has changed, but do note that you'll be using the left analog stick to move and holding R button and Square to fire your weapon. Instead of using the shoulder buttons to select back and forth weapons and items, on the PS Vita you are using the touch screen to select weapons and items like you would do on a DS handheld or a touch screen mobile phone.

In Metal Gear Solid 3 you can use the touch screen to patch up Snake if he's badly injured during gameplay or getting rid of gunshot wounds. Apart from that nothing hasn't really changed much on its gameplay it is trying to be more touch screen related for the handheld version.

Yet both games do look impressive when they are in HD both cutscenes look very well detailed to look at on your PS Vita. The voice acting is still the best as it was over 10 years ago and the soundtrack makes a great a touch when you're playing both games when you are out and about either on a bus to work or hanging out with your friends. If you have a PlayStation 3 you can transfer both saves back and forth to your console and to your PS Vita, the only downside to the Vita version of Metal Gear Solid HD Collection is that it does not contain Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker in the collection.

Not only that the HD Collection also contains both MSX titles Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2 which makes another good feature being added into the collection also including the VR missions as well. Trying to obtain all trophies will be a challenge for trophy collectors, as a Metal Gear Solid fan I would recommend the HD Collection if you have played the games before or new to the series it's worth the purchase if you want two of the best stealth action games that made the series is memorable and great for what it is.

Get the full article at GameSpot

]]> http://www.gamespot.com/metal-gear-solid-hd-collection/user-reviews/812038/platform/vita/ Sat, 01 Jun 2013 15:32:16 -0700 rigbybot127 reviewed Grand Theft Auto IV for the Xbox 360... http://www.gamespot.com/grand-theft-auto-iv/user-reviews/811965/platform/xbox360/ ...and gave it a 10.0!!!

If you've been on a gaming website in the last 6 years, and have brought up this game, chances are you were exposed to the totally shattered base that is the general opinion on GTA IV. One half of the zeitgeist loves GTA IV and thinks it is a landmark in video gaming history, while the other side loathes it, citing some sort of phantom bad controls, since I cant find these anywhere, and a more dark and dramatic storyline, making them more likely to jump ship and swim to the nearest one harboring Saints Row, which is itself a great game series. Others have a moral vendetta against it, due to the graphic language and violence, as well as depictions of drugs and alcohol and some sexual themes; of course, there are also the people who complain, whom of which have never played it, citing instances of the player character indulging in drugs (usually citing heroin) and raping women, neither of which ever happens, though this sort of blind feces has been spewing from the media watchdogs' mouths since III.

I, myself, am planted firmly in the former end of the zeitgeist (I keep using this word, not knowing what it means!); with the strong belief that GTA IV is one of the greatest video games of all-time.

You are Niko Bellic, an ex-soldier who immigrated to America, looking for a new life amidst the bullshit fairy tales his cousin Roman sings to him over the phone. Here, he makes the best of the bad situation he lands in, and must take to an underground of criminals, drug dealers, mafioso, diamonds and trucks full of heroin, as well as friends, all while trying to make his and his cousin's life better, in the search of the elusive American Dream.

That is my spoiler-free summary of the plot. Sounds good, right? Well, its even better than you can imagine. Its actually really hard to describe the exuberant effect the narrative hits you with, and the surprisingly deep sociopolitical satire hidden within a deep, dark, emotional tale of revenge and your various bonds with people, good or bad; all this from the guys who like to hide dick jokes and 69 in all their games (which is far from absent here).

All of the characters feel much more human than ever in a Rockstar game. They all have some sort of motivation driving them to do what they do, and good reasons for it. And of course, this being a Rockstar game, they are also very-well characterized, and a joy to be around.

Such as Roman, your cousin, who is a very large ham who likes to yuk about his love for "big American t*tties" and how much of a sex machine he is, with all his fortune, even though he has a girlfriend, Mallorie. Once you arrive in America, it turns out that it was a ploy to get you out here, because he wanted to hang out with his cousin. A man he owes money, Vlad, is screwing his girlfriend, and he just stands by allowing it to happen, as to not anger Vlad. Niko doesn't sit too idly to this, and doesn't pretend for a minute to enjoy Vlad's company. Niko gets fed up with Vlad's big loud mouth, and the mockery he's making of Roman's life, so he executes him. Within the first 10 missions of the game. Only once this happens, does Roman grow at least half of a pair, and tell Niko off for putting his whole life in jeopardy with this stunt, even though he was trying to help. This sets the rest of the plot into motion.

Best for me not to talk about any more of the plot, and just let you experience it yourself, as you would not want this wonderfully written narrative spoiled for you. Needless to say, its Rockstar's finest story, and will be very hard to top.

The structure is non-linear, and mission-based, with sometimes up to several story missions available at once for you to accomplish, and can be completed in almost any order. Because of this, a story mission branch that is available at the same time as another story mission branch will never reference each other at the time, until after the necessary branches crossover (if they ever do).

Most people will divide most of their time from doing story missions into exploring the booming dystopia known as Liberty City (an expy of New York City, with an area dedicated to New Jersey), searching for the games numerous side-missions and random character encounters (little hidden mission branches, activated by approaching certain characters, indicated on the map when close to one). Liberty City isn't quite as vast as San Andreas was (though that's not to say that its tiny by any definition), but it is infinitely more detailed, and, as a result, much more enjoyable to play around in. No need to cross huge canvases filled with water, just to get to your mission. Due to honest-to-God atmosphere and level of detail, the city feels very alive, as if all of its residents are people, with friends and family, going places, to do things. Which makes it a tad bit more gut-wrenching and shocking (not to mention with the highly-advanced and realistic physics engine, RAGE) to crash into them with your vehicle, though no less fun. Be sure not to finish the game without first reading all the signs located in Star Junction!

The gameplay is the same, and very different from what we had on the PS2. You can still jack cars and kill people, all the basics. The combat system is when the differences really start to pile up. The PS2 and PSP games had admittedly lousy gunplay. This game vastly improves the gunplay controls, and adds a cover-system ala Gears of War and Uncharted. The new physics engine makes the impact of the bullets "part-sensitive"; for example: if you shoot a cop in the left leg, their response will accommodate that, prompting a fall in the correct canon direction.

The driving system has also been revamped, bordering on simulation, compared to the past games arcade-style. This is where the majority of the complaints for this game come from, people disliking the realistic control of the vehicles, saying they shouldn't actually have to try in order to use a vehicle. I, personally, feel that the driving control is perfect, and am actually pretty disappointed when going back to past games. The physics engine allows for more realistic burnouts, meaning when you driving outlandishly fast, and crash into something solid, you better believe you're coming out of that windshield. The cars also don't blow up as much as in past iterations, and when damage is taken, the part that received the damage is the part that is most affected, rightfully so. Your engine is much more likely to give out before the car ever catches on fire, though if it does catch on fire, you have an ample amount of time to escape, compared to San Andreas' "by the skin of your ass escapes". Alternatively, you can just hail a taxi.

The cops have received a much more grimacing revamp. As series tradition, the tiniest little bump of your car to theirs will prompt a city-wide manhunt. There is now a radius of mass search, indicated on your radar, which you must escape and hide out soon afterwards; difficulty either lowering or spiking, depending on your current number of stars (1-6). You can also take an alternative route and just give yourself up the first time they ask (and only the first time, since its impossible if you resist arrest even once), resulting in them arresting you, in case you want to avoid the chase; but doing this will result in the loss of your weapons, and is just not a very fun alternative. Because of the advanced AI, you will actually see cops doing their job, arresting people that have no chronology to you. This can be exploited for fun, such as starting a fight, then luring the opponent to an area with police, letting them jab you, resulting in them being arrested.

You now have access to a cell phone and computer, the former being much more important than the latter. The latter is only useful, story-wise, a couple of times, and can be used to find a bunch of funny in-game websites filled to the brim with satire, while the latter is your gateway to all but the options. You can use it to call up friends and girlfriends, for hang-outs and dates, respectively, as well they can call you; another common complaint, people stating that they are interrupted a lot from friends wanting to hang-out (spawning the infamous meme "Hey cousin, lets go bowling! stated by Roman at least once during a phone call); though you don't have to hang out with them unless you care about your level of friendship with them (which, at a high enough percentage, can result in some pretty sweet bonuses, the best being Roman's; as well as an achievement for getting all of your friends percentage past 90%), and even then, you can just accept it, and then call back and cancel, without the friendship percentage taking a loss; and you never get hang-out calls during missions save for two (very inconvenient) instances, and you automatically take a rain check.

When you do go out with friends, will you be able to get to know them, and can take them out anywhere from bowling and pool minigames to stand-up acts including Ricky Gervais and Katt Williams, whom of which can also be seen oné.

Your in-game TV! Located at any one of your safehouses is a TV, which you can power on and watch any of the hilarious satirical programs currently on. My favorites are Republican Space Rangers, a jab against hard-blooded ant-communism American extremists; and The Men's Room starring Bas FREAKING Rutten. That's all that needs to be said. While the satire is top-notch, it does not compare to what you will find oné.

The radio! Lazlow's very presence makes it explicitly clear that some hardcore satire awaits. Like every other 3D GTA, he has his own radio station; in this game its Integrity 2.0. That station, along with many others, contain some hilarious satire that I'd rather not spoil here. The game also sports a huge library of great tunes for your enjoyment, spanning many tastes.

Back to the phone: it can also be used to access the games multiplayer, which makes GTA IV the first GTA to have (official) multiplayer. Its 16-player, with many game modes for you to romp around LC in. This includes basic free-for-all and team deathmatch, some capture the flag-like modes, small slightly narrative-driven competitive and co-op missions, and a free mode, allowing you to just screw around in LC with your buddies, with no obligations. Its quite cathartic, to say the least.

Unlocking 1000 gamerscore, while not exactly very difficult, is quite time-consuming, requiring for you to acquire 100% completion, which is no walk in the park (I still haven't gotten it, as of the time of this writing).

Niko's attire can be fully customized, at various clothing stores, though he cannot receive hair-cuts and tats like CJ could in San Andreas. The RPG aspects of San Andreas are completely absent, for the better.

You will find yourself in a lot of difficult missions/situations, which, unlike the previous games, are actually some of the most fun parts of the game; with my (and many others) personal favorite mission, Three Leaf Clover, being very hard, and very rewarding. These situations will be impossible to complete if not properly prepared, which you should be throughout the entirety of the game. You can stalk up on weapons and armor in illegal back-alley gun vendors (the mayor has a real hard-on for gun control; so Ammunation stores do not exist in LC), with the enormous amounts of money you will acquire throughout the game.

In 2009 came two "DLC" episodes, quotations around DLC because they are basically entire games in their own right. They both come with about 20+ missions each, new protagonists, storylines happening around the same time as IVs, which even crossover with each other a few times; new weapons, radio, stand-up, and TV shows; and many new side-missions. They are absolutely imperative to understanding the entirety of the GTA IV era story, and are two of the best DLC ever released. They are both included in the Complete Edition, along with IV.

Grand Theft Auto IV is Rockstar's Magnum Opus, and a landmark in video game storytelling and technological prowess. With it's well-written, non-linear, dark, emotional storyline, filled with largely memorable characters; unfolding in a large, beautifully detailed city, powered by a revolutionary physics engine and sophisticated AI; and featuring a polished, advanced rendition of the series renowned style of gameplay; Grand Theft Auto IV is an unforgettable experience, that is incredible in every way. You owe it to yourself to hop on the next flight out to Liberty City.

Get the full article at GameSpot

"rigbybot127 reviewed Grand Theft Auto IV for the Xbox 360..." was posted by rigbybot127 on Sat, 01 Jun 2013 15:32:16 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/grand-theft-auto-iv/user-reviews/811965/platform/xbox360/ Sat, 01 Jun 2013 15:15:49 -0700 rigbybot127 reviewed Grand Theft Auto IV for the PlayStation 3... http://www.gamespot.com/grand-theft-auto-iv/user-reviews/811963/platform/ps3/ ...and gave it a 10.0!!!

If you've been on a gaming website in the last 6 years, and have brought up this game, chances are you were exposed to the totally shattered base that is the general opinion on GTA IV. One half of the zeitgeist loves GTA IV and thinks it is a landmark in video gaming history, while the other side loathes it, citing some sort of phantom bad controls, since I cant find these anywhere, and a more dark and dramatic storyline, making them more likely to jump ship and swim to the nearest one harboring Saints Row, which is itself a great game series. Others have a moral vendetta against it, due to the graphic language and violence, as well as depictions of drugs and alcohol and some sexual themes; of course, there are also the people who complain, whom of which have never played it, citing instances of the player character indulging in drugs (usually citing heroin) and raping women, neither of which ever happens, though this sort of blind feces has been spewing from the media watchdogs' mouths since III.

I, myself, am planted firmly in the former end of the zeitgeist (I keep using this word, not knowing what it means!); with the strong belief that GTA IV is one of the greatest video games of all-time.

You are Niko Bellic, an ex-soldier who immigrated to America, looking for a new life amidst the bullshit fairy tales his cousin Roman sings to him over the phone. Here, he makes the best of the bad situation he lands in, and must take to an underground of criminals, drug dealers, mafioso, diamonds and trucks full of heroin, as well as friends, all while trying to make his and his cousin's life better, in the search of the elusive American Dream.

That is my spoiler-free summary of the plot. Sounds good, right? Well, its even better than you can imagine. Its actually really hard to describe the exuberant effect the narrative hits you with, and the surprisingly deep sociopolitical satire hidden within a deep, dark, emotional tale of revenge and your various bonds with people, good or bad; all this from the guys who like to hide dick jokes and 69 in all their games (which is far from absent here).

All of the characters feel much more human than ever in a Rockstar game. They all have some sort of motivation driving them to do what they do, and good reasons for it. And of course, this being a Rockstar game, they are also very-well characterized, and a joy to be around.

Such as Roman, your cousin, who is a very large ham who likes to yuk about his love for "big American t*tties" and how much of a sex machine he is, with all his fortune, even though he has a girlfriend, Mallorie. Once you arrive in America, it turns out that it was a ploy to get you out here, because he wanted to hang out with his cousin. A man he owes money, Vlad, is screwing his girlfriend, and he just stands by allowing it to happen, as to not anger Vlad. Niko doesn't sit too idly to this, and doesn't pretend for a minute to enjoy Vlad's company. Niko gets fed up with Vlad's big loud mouth, and the mockery he's making of Roman's life, so he executes him. Within the first 10 missions of the game. Only once this happens, does Roman grow at least half of a pair, and tell Niko off for putting his whole life in jeopardy with this stunt, even though he was trying to help. This sets the rest of the plot into motion.

Best for me not to talk about any more of the plot, and just let you experience it yourself, as you would not want this wonderfully written narrative spoiled for you. Needless to say, its Rockstar's finest story, and will be very hard to top.

The structure is non-linear, and mission-based, with sometimes up to several story missions available at once for you to accomplish, and can be completed in almost any order. Because of this, a story mission branch that is available at the same time as another story mission branch will never reference each other at the time, until after the necessary branches crossover (if they ever do).

Most people will divide most of their time from doing story missions into exploring the booming dystopia known as Liberty City (an expy of New York City, with an area dedicated to New Jersey), searching for the games numerous side-missions and random character encounters (little hidden mission branches, activated by approaching certain characters, indicated on the map when close to one). Liberty City isn't quite as vast as San Andreas was (though that's not to say that its tiny by any definition), but it is infinitely more detailed, and, as a result, much more enjoyable to play around in. No need to cross huge canvases filled with water, just to get to your mission. Due to honest-to-God atmosphere and level of detail, the city feels very alive, as if all of its residents are people, with friends and family, going places, to do things. Which makes it a tad bit more gut-wrenching and shocking (not to mention with the highly-advanced and realistic physics engine, RAGE) to crash into them with your vehicle, though no less fun. Be sure not to finish the game without first reading all the signs located in Star Junction!

The gameplay is the same, and very different from what we had on the PS2. You can still jack cars and kill people, all the basics. The combat system is when the differences really start to pile up. The PS2 and PSP games had admittedly lousy gunplay. This game vastly improves the gunplay controls, and adds a cover-system ala Gears of War and Uncharted. The new physics engine makes the impact of the bullets "part-sensitive"; for example: if you shoot a cop in the left leg, their response will accommodate that, prompting a fall in the correct canon direction. The PS3 version is enhanced with optional Sixaxis controls, which should be kept off, except for the option to flip upwards on the Sixaxis to reload, which is enormously helpful.

The driving system has also been revamped, bordering on simulation, compared to the past games arcade-style. This is where the majority of the complaints for this game come from, people disliking the realistic control of the vehicles, saying they shouldn't actually have to try in order to use a vehicle. I, personally, feel that the driving control is perfect, and am actually pretty disappointed when going back to past games. The physics engine allows for more realistic burnouts, meaning when you driving outlandishly fast, and crash into something solid, you better believe you're coming out of that windshield. The cars also don't blow up as much as in past iterations, and when damage is taken, the part that received the damage is the part that is most affected, rightfully so. Your engine is much more likely to give out before the car ever catches on fire, though if it does catch on fire, you have an ample amount of time to escape, compared to San Andreas' "by the skin of your ass escapes". Alternatively, you can just hail a taxi.

The cops have received a much more grimacing revamp. As series tradition, the tiniest little bump of your car to theirs will prompt a city-wide manhunt. There is now a radius of mass search, indicated on your radar, which you must escape and hide out soon afterwards; difficulty either lowering or spiking, depending on your current number of stars (1-6). You can also take an alternative route and just give yourself up the first time they ask (and only the first time, since its impossible if you resist arrest even once), resulting in them arresting you, in case you want to avoid the chase; but doing this will result in the loss of your weapons, and is just not a very fun alternative. Because of the advanced AI, you will actually see cops doing their job, arresting people that have no chronology to you. This can be exploited for fun, such as starting a fight, then luring the opponent to an area with police, letting them jab you, resulting in them being arrested.

You now have access to a cell phone and computer, the former being much more important than the latter. The latter is only useful, story-wise, a couple of times, and can be used to find a bunch of funny in-game websites filled to the brim with satire, while the latter is your gateway to all but the options. You can use it to call up friends and girlfriends, for hang-outs and dates, respectively, as well they can call you; another common complaint, people stating that they are interrupted a lot from friends wanting to hang-out (spawning the infamous meme "Hey cousin, lets go bowling! stated by Roman at least once during a phone call); though you don't have to hang out with them unless you care about your level of friendship with them (which, at a high enough percentage, can result in some pretty sweet bonuses, the best being Roman's; as well as a trophy for getting all of your friends percentage past 90%), and even then, you can just accept it, and then call back and cancel, without the friendship percentage taking a loss; and you never get hang-out calls during missions save for two (very inconvenient) instances, and you automatically take a rain check.

When you do go out with friends, will you be able to get to know them, and can take them out anywhere from bowling and pool minigames to stand-up acts including Ricky Gervais and Katt Williams, whom of which can also be seen oné.

Your in-game TV! Located at any one of your safehouses is a TV, which you can power on and watch any of the hilarious satirical programs currently on. My favorites are Republican Space Rangers, a jab against hard-blooded ant-communism American extremists; and The Men's Room starring Bas FREAKING Rutten. That's all that needs to be said. While the satire is top-notch, it does not compare to what you will find oné.

The radio! Lazlow's very presence makes it explicitly clear that some hardcore satire awaits. Like every other 3D GTA, he has his own radio station; in this game its Integrity 2.0. That station, along with many others, contain some hilarious satire that I'd rather not spoil here. The game also sports a huge library of great tunes for your enjoyment, spanning many tastes.

Back to the phone: it can also be used to access the games multiplayer, which makes GTA IV the first GTA to have (official) multiplayer. Its 16-player, with many game modes for you to romp around LC in. This includes basic free-for-all and team deathmatch, some capture the flag-like modes, small slightly narrative-driven competitive and co-op missions, and a free mode, allowing you to just screw around in LC with your buddies, with no obligations. Its quite cathartic, to say the least.

The platinum for this game, while not exactly very difficult, is quite time-consuming, requiring for you to acquire 100% completion, which is no walk in the park (I still haven't gotten it, as of the time of this writing).

Niko's attire can be fully customized, at various clothing stores, though he cannot receive hair-cuts and tats like CJ could in San Andreas. The RPG aspects of San Andreas are completely absent, for the better.

You will find yourself in a lot of difficult missions/situations, which, unlike the previous games, are actually some of the most fun parts of the game; with my (and many others) personal favorite mission, Three Leaf Clover, being very hard, and very rewarding. These situations will be impossible to complete if not properly prepared, which you should be throughout the entirety of the game. You can stalk up on weapons and armor in illegal back-alley gun vendors (the mayor has a real hard-on for gun control; so Ammunation stores do not exist in LC), with the enormous amounts of money you will acquire throughout the game.

In 2009 came two "DLC" episodes, quotations around DLC because they are basically entire games in their own right. They both come with about 20+ missions each, new protagonists, storylines happening around the same time as IVs, which even crossover with each other a few times; new weapons, radio, stand-up, and TV shows; and many new side-missions. They are absolutely imperative to understanding the entirety of the GTA IV era story, and are two of the best DLC ever released. They are both included in the Complete Edition, along with IV.

Grand Theft Auto IV is Rockstar's Magnum Opus, and a landmark in video game storytelling and technological prowess. With it's well-written, non-linear, dark, emotional storyline, filled with largely memorable characters; unfolding in a large, beautifully detailed city, powered by a revolutionary physics engine and sophisticated AI; and featuring a polished, advanced rendition of the series renowned style of gameplay; Grand Theft Auto IV is an unforgettable experience, that is incredible in every way. You owe it to yourself to hop on the next flight out to Liberty City.

Get the full article at GameSpot

"rigbybot127 reviewed Grand Theft Auto IV for the PlayStation 3..." was posted by rigbybot127 on Sat, 01 Jun 2013 15:15:49 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/grand-theft-auto-iv/user-reviews/811963/platform/ps3/ Thu, 30 May 2013 01:28:52 -0700 Spinnerweb reviewed Obscure: The Aftermath for the PlayStation 2... http://www.gamespot.com/obscure-the-aftermath-2008/user-reviews/811876/platform/ps2/ ...and gave it a 8.0.

Survival horror... the term instantly conjures up thoughts of low ammo and health supplies, avoiding enemies, jump-scares ... and some bad dialogue (cough, Resident Evil, cough). Obscure: The Aftermath has all of these elements, making it a great horror game that can be described as the bridge between Resident Evil and Silent Hill.

What's Resident Evil about it? Combat. Over-the-shoulder aiming is here, and in some places the game borrows the fixed camera from the older Resident Evil games. There are some jump-scares and the monsters are well designed. You will run very low on health and ammo in this game, so there will be places where you'll be forced to run from enemies instead of taking them on. Health items are precious. The psychological horror in this game constitutes the Silent Hill side of it.

The game is the sequel to Obscure, but there are some changes - most notably that while in the original Obscure you could keep on playing as long as you had at least one character left, in this game all the characters' skills will be used, so even if one character dies it's game over. The game is quite challenging, especially compared to its predecessor.

The game features a few characters from the original Obscure as well as new characters. Shannon, Stan and Kenny from the original game are back, and the new characters are Corey, Mei, Sven and Amy. All these characters will be used at one point or another in the game so none of them are useless - Corey, for example, is skilled in acrobatics so he can jump to places others can't reach and then lift his partner up. Amy and Mei are used mostly for solving puzzles, while Sven and Kenny are strong and can push heavy objects. None of the puzzles in this game are very hard, but they are clever.

The graphics are excellent. The characters and enemies are extremely well-detailed and so is the environment. Combat is a bit slow but it's not the focus except in boss fights. The soundtrack is excellent, but the voice acting and dialogue are average at best. There are sometimes screw-ups in the AI, but none of them mar what is a great horror game. If you liked Resident Evil and Silent Hill, you'll like Obscure: The Aftermath.

Get the full article at GameSpot

"Spinnerweb reviewed Obscure: The Aftermath for the PlayStation 2..." was posted by Spinnerweb on Thu, 30 May 2013 01:28:52 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/obscure-the-aftermath-2008/user-reviews/811876/platform/ps2/ Thu, 30 May 2013 01:28:49 -0700 Spinnerweb reviewed Obscure: The Aftermath for the PSP... http://www.gamespot.com/obscure-the-aftermath-2009/user-reviews/811875/platform/psp/ ...and gave it a 8.0.

Survival horror... the term instantly conjures up thoughts of low ammo and health supplies, avoiding enemies, jump-scares ... and some bad dialogue (cough, Resident Evil, cough). Obscure: The Aftermath has all of these elements, making it a great horror game that can be described as the bridge between Resident Evil and Silent Hill.

What's Resident Evil about it? Combat. Over-the-shoulder aiming is here, and in some places the game borrows the fixed camera from the older Resident Evil games. There are some jump-scares and the monsters are well designed. You will run very low on health and ammo in this game, so there will be places where you'll be forced to run from enemies instead of taking them on. Health items are precious. The psychological horror in this game constitutes the Silent Hill side of it.

The game is the sequel to Obscure, but there are some changes - most notably that while in the original Obscure you could keep on playing as long as you had at least one character left, in this game all the characters' skills will be used, so even if one character dies it's game over. The game is quite challenging, especially compared to its predecessor.

The game features a few characters from the original Obscure as well as new characters. Shannon, Stan and Kenny from the original game are back, and the new characters are Corey, Mei, Sven and Amy. All these characters will be used at one point or another in the game so none of them are useless - Corey, for example, is skilled in acrobatics so he can jump to places others can't reach and then lift his partner up. Amy and Mei are used mostly for solving puzzles, while Sven and Kenny are strong and can push heavy objects. None of the puzzles in this game are very hard, but they are clever.

The graphics are excellent. The characters and enemies are extremely well-detailed and so is the environment. Combat is a bit slow but it's not the focus except in boss fights. The soundtrack is excellent, but the voice acting and dialogue are average at best. There are sometimes screw-ups in the AI, but none of them mar what is a great horror game. If you liked Resident Evil and Silent Hill, you'll like Obscure: The Aftermath.

Get the full article at GameSpot

"Spinnerweb reviewed Obscure: The Aftermath for the PSP..." was posted by Spinnerweb on Thu, 30 May 2013 01:28:49 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/obscure-the-aftermath-2009/user-reviews/811875/platform/psp/ Wed, 29 May 2013 17:52:07 -0700 rigbybot127 reviewed L.A. Noire for the PlayStation 3... http://www.gamespot.com/l-a-noire/user-reviews/811868/platform/ps3/ ...and gave it a 8.5.

From the now-defunct Team Bondi comes L.A. Noire. Utilizing the very-most advanced facial technology, they were able to bring Cole Phillips rise to glory to life, with very-well done facial acting, as well as phenomenal voice-acting, and an absolutely perfect rendition of Los Angeles, right down to the last spilled can of Cola King (most of the development time went into the amazing detail). Any inconsistency you find here (such as the set of Intolerance being around in 1947, even though the set was destroyed in 1919) was intentional, for rule of cool, so the developers could put you in the coolest historical set-pieces they could imagine.

Cole Phillips is a married man, to both his wife and the force. He is an officer of the law, there to protect the inhabitants of L.A. with little compromise; who is given the chance to rise up in the ranks, and takes it. With each successive desk, you will be greeted by a new partner; conversations with them provide some of the best dialogue in the game (including a conversation about events that may or may not have happened, depending on whether or not you played the DLC), and more thrilling cases, with more badass set-pieces and mysteries. These desks are Traffic, Homicide, Vice, and Arson; two were cut from the final version of the game, as they would have had difficulty fitting it on one Blu-Ray disc (the Xbox 360 version already takes 3 discs); these desks were Bunco and Burglary. Littered around the games environment are newspapers which, when picked up, will show a little cinematic, which is absolutely imperative to fully understanding the story. They're usually not too far off the beaten path, so you would do good to pick them up.

Aside from the story cases, you can also participate in Street Crimes, some random crimes which sometimes tie into earlier cases, which give a perfect excuse to explore this perfect rendition of 1947 Los Angeles. Sleepless nights were put into research, so they could bring us as much detail as they could, when most people wont see half of it, anyway.

Those nights were also put into perfecting the facial technology that the perfectionists at Team Bondi couldn't live without. It is as close to real human flesh as video games have ever come to (no, Sega CD games do not count). The realism of the facial twitches is how you can tell if someone is lying during an interrogation. The realism of the faces does make the body look a bit dead by comparison, however.

Depending on what clues you have found, you can ask the interviewee different questions, and judging on your evidence, and their facial expression; you can either believe them, doubt them, or call them liars, and shove the evidence in their face (in case you screw up the accusal of lying, you can back out of it with no repercussions).

Even though its under the Rockstar Games logo, you cant just screw around like in Grand Theft Auto. You can only pull your gun out in the right circumstances, and its really hard (not impossible) to smash into pedestrians with your vehicles. Also, besides the Street Crimes and finding special vehicles and collecting golden reels (both of which are nigh-impossible to do without help from a wiki, and even then), or just looking at scenery, there's really not much to do in this town; compared to GTA or Red Dead Redemption, or the real-life L.A. for that matter. You most likely wont even go into half the town! A little bit more to do, spread over the game-world would have been nice.

Perhaps the best part of this game is its soundtrack. From the old-timey music and radio dramas, to the incredible voice-acting, this games aural mood is great, and will put you in the mood to solve crimes. At a crime scene, a wonderful little score plays to help with clue-finding (finding every clue is a necessity for getting 100% for your case), as in once the score stops, youve found all the clues in that crime scene.

The game plays around with history, such as the identity of The Black Dahlia Killer (AKA The Werewolf), who to this day has never been caught (and you'll find out why).

Even though they cut out 2 desks, and 11 cases overall to allow the game to fit on one Blu-Ray (and 3 DVDs for Xbox), a couple of cases were removed from the game and repackaged as DLC, one of which is exclusive to the PS3 version, and only available for Xbox via the Complete Edition, which comes with all the DLC, and is the version you should buy.

L.A. Noire is a thrilling police procedural, with a lot of twists and turns, that concludes in a commendable way (especially if you collected the newspapers). It may bore some of the ADHD gamers of the world, but for those who are patient, they may find it rewarding and interesting to play on the opposite side of the law for once.

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"rigbybot127 reviewed L.A. Noire for the PlayStation 3..." was posted by rigbybot127 on Wed, 29 May 2013 17:52:07 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/l-a-noire/user-reviews/811868/platform/ps3/ Fri, 24 May 2013 21:36:05 -0700 FuryX-4 reviewed Persona 4 Golden for the PlayStation Vita... http://www.gamespot.com/persona-4-golden/user-reviews/811694/platform/vita/ ...and gave it a 10.0!!!

Good:
Best story
Memorable scenes and events
It's funny (Believe me, it's definitely awesome XD) Awesome soundtracks
Good voice acting
Great character personality
Good game play
Nice settings
etc.

Bad:
It starts of slow but the pacing catches up

Persona 4 Golden for the PS Vita is the greatest RPG ever made with more additional content the original lack. Since this is the first time I have played a Persona game and I'm really interested in playing previous Persona sequels.

Contents:
Despite the fact that I never played the original and I can't be so sure what contents has to offer from the previous, what definitely is added to this game is a new character (Marie), new Social Links (Marie and Adachi) that goes in-depth of the story, improved details, new events, new scenes, new musics, new voice, online features that could help you and help you decide what you want to do, new places, new dungeon, more Personas, costumes you get to wear and more. You'll also be given an option for a New Game+, customize what is appropriate for you. If you want the battle easy, go easy. If you want to maximize the intensity of actions, go very hard. With such contents, this game maximizes to the limit to where it's so awesome, it makes you cry, even for the new epilogue.

Story:
Similar to what I said in the "Content" category, I never played the previous sequels of Persona but in comparisons with this game's story and the previous stories, this game has some dark moments, but it is mostly taking place in a happy settings. The others set in a dark, gloomy settings. In the end, it depends on your kind of taste, whether you like both, or not. So... You'll be playing as a Hero (name whatever you want to name, but it's default name is Yu Narukami), before you start going on the adventure, you'll be in your dream, meeting Igor and Margaret in the Velvet Room (Inside a car). They will serve you, tell you what lies ahead in the future, where it will lead and what can happen with mysteries and such. After that, you are being transferred to Inaba by your parents to live with Ryotaro Dojima, a father detective and Nanako Dojima, Dojima's daughter, lovable and always love for Junes Department Store, stay for 1 year. You'll be going to school at Yasogami High School, listen to some lectures and most importantly meet new friends, at school and at Inaba.

You'll meet up with first 3 friends such as:
-Yosuke Hanamura
-Chie Satonaka
-Yukiko Amagi
-more as you progress the story

Things have gone weird as there is murder in Inaba and rumors of a channel called "Midnight Channel" where if you look at the TV on a rainy midnight, you'll see your soul mate. As you have the magic to go into TV, you'll be discovering weird places that ties in to people. Since you figure that the rumors ties-in to the murders, you'll be gathering up team members (or friends) to help you guide through bold bizarre worlds, dungeon-crawlings, defeat enemies and solve the mystery on who is responsible behind this. I got to say, I really love the story. Aside from the main focus of the story, the events are worth laughing and remembering. You'll be enjoying the days and such with the events to go into.

Gameplay:
Before we go to the real gameplay, let's talk about the functions in game. So the game provides you stuffs like fusing Personas, spending your days in life, go into dungeon, do quest and such. What's one of the important elements of this game is Social Links. What you basically do is to meet new people with specific Arcana that could help you fuse Personas with a better EXP and the more time you spend with the person, the better you bond with to earn more EXP, max out to create the ultimate Persona. You can also get someone to be your relationship (Some certain people that is, mostly girls). Your status plays a role for your character. It has 5 important characteristics that could improve your choice of dialogue: Courage, Diligence, Knowledge, Expression and Understanding. All the 5 characteristics can be found in real life, improving but can take away your time so decide wisely.

Now this is where the real action starts. Like any other JRPG, it is your traditional role-playing game, you or the enemy starts attacking you and you'll make the decision on what is effective and what is not with your equipment and importantly, your Persona. Each of your party members have their own Personas, but for you, you get to choose what Persona Arcana you would like to use in battle and leveling up. Be aware though, some Personas have their own weakness and when the enemy figures out the weakness, they'll go in to One More, where vice versa, you'll be given another action. Another battle feature is All Out attack. When all the enemies are down, you'll be given a choice to accept or decline. Depending on enemies, the results are a massive damage. But if it's not enough, it will go into Tag Team Attack, when a partner goes for the extra damage. Next is the AI support. Depending on the order you attack, you'll be given a help from your teammate, whether it'll be a critical attack, aid or removing enemy. The game is forgiving. Sometimes, it tends to be struggling but with the right amount of grinding, battle will be easy. With so much stuffs going on, the game provides the proper amount of actions that'll make the game enjoyable.

Graphics:
Not much important here about the graphics, but it did add in more background and character details that makes Inaba look calm, valuable and pretty, like sunshines, birds, etc.


Replay Value:
Depending on how your characters plays out, you could be at 100+ hours overall. Since it has lots of contents, you can do some interactions with characters and the events. When you finish, you can go for a second playthrough with different result.

Sounds:
Soundtracks returns in this new game but there's new music that is not heard in the original. (Ex: Snowflakes). Some recurring voice actors and the new latest voice actors. The obvious character that made changes (I'm not about some characters but I know most recurred) is Chie. It goes from very normal to an exciting character and that adds up to a great personality for her. I know some people do not like the new Chie voice, but it grows on you. It starts of annoying, but for awhile, you can't deny on how cute and lovable it sounds.

Overall:
This is definitely the best RPG game ever made and it'll keep you talking for long time until the next Persona comes, then the next game will keep you talking for long time. For the question, is it worth owning a Vita for this game? If you got a some variety taste, yes. If not, then it is still a yes. If you got the guts to shell out a Vita, then while at it, pick up the memory card and this (And some other games if you want to choose).

Get the full article at GameSpot

"FuryX-4 reviewed Persona 4 Golden for the PlayStation Vita..." was posted by FuryX-4 on Fri, 24 May 2013 21:36:05 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/persona-4-golden/user-reviews/811694/platform/vita/ Fri, 24 May 2013 07:42:41 -0700 david_lck 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/811669/platform/ps3/ ...and gave it a 9.0!

The stench of rotting corpses fills the air, alone and separated from your group, fear begins to set in. As you scramble gingerly and take a glance of the inhospitable surroundings, a slight misstep could spell the end. In the distance, the sound of chewing and gnawing is all too familiar. A horde of walkers have claimed yet another life. When will it all end?

Lee Everett, the game's protagonist is first seen in a patrol vehicle on route to prison. A former university professor, his reputation is now tarnished and battered. What he doesn't know is that the next few days will make all that pale in comparison. Within minutes, a walker causes the vehicle to swerve and tailspin onto the side of the road, spiraling out of control into a ditch. Dazed momentarily, Lee makes his way out of the wreckage by breaking the windscreen.

Lee's very first encounter with a walker is truly memorable as the policeman, or at least what's left of him is crawling menacingly towards you. A quick glance to the right, you notice a shotgun beside you. Left with no choice, you are forced to put it out of its misery. Fumble and take too long to react, and it could get messy.

The Walking Dead presents you with many different choices to play the game. Do you shoot someone to save them from the unimaginable pain of being eaten alive? Take supplies that isn't yours out of sheer desperation or risk starvation? Choosing to spare the life of a maniac isn't so easy when the opportunity presents itself. Be the guy who thinks of nothing but the safety of the group or one that everyone would loathe and despise. These are just some of the choices that the game presents to you. How you choose to respond, whom do you pledge your allegiance with, or decide to rescue é they ultimately go a long way in altering the game. Which is why, playing differently on your next session just to see what other alternatives can unravel is very much encouraged.

No zombie apocalypse would be complete without a well diverse cast, and this is where The Walking Dead delivers. Staples of the genre; college jock, the journalist with a keen eye, an overly protective dad, and an orphan are just some of the different people you will meet. Their motives and hidden agenda bring much conflict and tension once food and medication supplies run dry. Often at times, Lee will have to play peacekeeper and attempt to diffuse the situation.

With top-notch writing, initiating conversations isn't a chore but an integral experience. Friendships turn hostile, uneasy alliances are formed out of sheer desperation, romance could spark as you get to know someone, this game has emotion down to a pat. And in an industry marred with many one-dimensional characters that fail to engage, the cast here are well-rounded and relatable.

Players use the left analog to control Lee while the right one is reserved for looking around the environment. Everyday tools such as shovels, ladders and wrenches can be used to get out of a sticky situation or to fight off incoming walkers. Conversations are more often then not, timed as you are forced to choose from four options to respond. Get caught telling a lie and you will be called on it, raising further suspicion on Lee. Your actions are also tied and timed to the D-pad. Be too quick and press on the trigger, and it will alert walkers to your presence. With the onrush of footsteps and no escape in sight, scanning the environment for an exit or a tool that you can use, is bound to set your heart racing.

Point and click games will always have the issue of certain items and objectives not being highlighted clearly enough which is bound to frustrate and cause moments of aimlessly wandering around, but as they occur so rarely, it doesn't detract from the experience. If you appreciate a well woven tale that is high on drama and intrigue, $20 is all but a small sum. Ironically, The Walking Dead revives the slumbering point and click games from its grave to new heights, and sets the benchmark for others to follow. Season 2 can't come soon enough, and I am already waiting with bated breath.

Most bizarre moment (LOOK AWAY IF YOU HAVEN'T BEATEN THE EPISODE): Episode 2 will leave you disgusted once the motives of a group is revealed. Something about the St. John's just doesn't seem right. With those shifty eyes and Brenda's willingness to cook up a meal for our whole group, surely something is up. You see, they have a well thought out plan, survivors who wander onto the area will be presented with an offer that is too good to pass up on. Food for gas, you say? Fair trade in a world gone to shit. We will just keep you alive long enough and feast on your flesh. Its downright gory and sick, but that's what make this episode so awesome.

Get the full article at GameSpot

]]> http://www.gamespot.com/the-walking-dead-a-telltale-games-series/user-reviews/811669/platform/ps3/ Tue, 21 May 2013 21:15:53 -0700 NightFox313 reviewed Silent Hill for the PlayStation... http://www.gamespot.com/silent-hill/user-reviews/811592/platform/ps/ ...and gave it a 9.5!

It made me cringe.

I yearned to play it, but at the same time I dreaded gripping my hands on the controller to do so. I loved and despised playing it. This is the game that made me question if pressing on was really a thing I wanted to do. It made me want to vomit. It was mentally draining. But still I went on to complete it, and here I am now.

Breathless. "The fear of blood tends to create fear for the flesh."

Silent Hill is just one of those games. A gripping narrative, a believable cast of characters, coupled with a chilling soundtrack and unnerving set-pieces are everything one could want in a horror video game. However, rather than just going for the standard B-movie scare-tactics a la Resident Evil, Silent Hill redefines the horror genre, while - in its own right - the way for a completely new and horrifying genre - psychological horror. A game that was so terribly scary, I had to draw in all of the courage I could possibly take for a human being to play it. And that's what makes this game such a memorable one, and it is indeed an unforgettable experience that I could never forget, no matter how hard I tried. All of the good memories I had with it, complete with all of the ones I didn't want to remember - Silent Hill simply burns a sick, twisted, and distorted image of a peaceful resort gone wrong into the deepest caverns of your mind. And no matter how hard you try scratching it out of your memory, it'll always still be there.

Developed by KCET and published by Konami, Silent Hill was released for the original Sony PlayStation on 31 January, 1999 - during perhaps "the golden age of horror video games". Notable hits such as Clock Tower and Parasite Eve were making their way into the pool of countless survival horror games at the time, but the most renowned and successful survival horror franchise - Resident Evil - was clearly raking in the dough. However, with the release of Silent Hill, things took a disturbingly hard turn. Gone were the zombies and biological disasters, and that Scissor Man lunatic. The horrifying, terrifying creatures of Silent Hill were the things that could only be seen in your worst nightmares - from the deepest bowels of the earth. That's what made the game so intensely scary and yet so satisfying; the feeling of the unknown has never struck more fear into me from any horror game I've played than Silent Hill.

Resident Evil went for the famous jump-scares that plague many of today's independent "indie" horror games. Biological experiments gone wrong would crash through a disturbingly reflective window when you'd least expect it. It's a shame, really, because whenever there was a window to be seen, you could already expect something to crash through it when you come across the same area later in the game. Silent Hill takes all of the cheap scares and throws it out the window. It embraces you relentlessly, throwing every single piece of violent and disturbing imagery as inhumanely possible and envelops you in its pure-evil atmosphere. That's where the magic of Silent Hill lies. And the way the game's atmosphere was so meticulously, so painstakingly designed to remind you of your worst nightmares (and to, of course, conjure up some new ones) works so unbelievably well that you fear that the game you're playing could potentially be a reality. It's like inviting a living hellish nightmare-town into the safety in your own home.

You play the game through the eyes of Harry Mason, a middle-aged man whose occupation is a writer (however, don't take the phrase too seriously; Silent Hill is a third-person psychological horror game - although it occasionally uses fixed camera angles in some cases). He takes his seven year-old daughter, Cheryl, along with him for a vacation in a peaceful resort town, Silent Hill. During a long drive through the night on the highway, Harry notices that a mysterious young girl is walking across the street, and tries to swerve violently to avoid impacting the girl but ends up crashing his car and is knocked out unconscious. However, the long drive wasn't all for naught - upon waking up in Silent Hill after the car crash, Harry notices that Cheryl is missing and ventures out into the ominous fog that defines the town of Silent Hill. He vows to find her and discover the unknown secrets of the creepy town and find out if the world he is in is a reality or a living nightmare.

Trust me, I'd go on and on but that puts you at risk of some major spoilers. So I'll just leave it at that. The third-person camera makes use of some fixed camera angles for more cinematic in-game shots (and in cinematic cutscenes) and the freakier scares, but for the most part the camera is always controllable, giving you a better view of your surroundings. That might seem that having a camera you can easily control takes away from the fear, but it only adds to it in the end. At least it doesn't venture into the notorious trope of Camera Screw and adding artificial difficulty by having a seriously uncooperative camera.

Harry Mason is in a way an "everyman", or an average person who has no real defining qualities other than being an average Joe and simply serves as a sort of avatar for the character. The scary thing about this is, is that Harry is in no way a seasoned veteran, nor has he ever had any sort of experience with fighting, and that makes you feel like you're helpless in some cases - like you're so hopelessly weak and have no chance of surviving in the hellish world. Controlled from a third-person perspective, Silent Hill doesn't feel as clunky in controls or as robust as Resident Evil's infamous "tank controls". There are several ways that give the gameplay a more fluid feeling, such as being able to strafe from side-to-side and - my personal favorite - the ability to shoot and walk in any direction at the same time. The combat system is so limited and hard-to-use, but is effectively scary in the sense that Harry has such little experience with fighting - especially fighting things he's only seen in his worst nightmares.

Harry will also have to take care of himself and manage a rather large assortment of items. The majority of the weapons are melee-based, but ranged weapons can also be used. There is a strangely large amount of ammunition to be found in Silent Hill, and there will be rare cases where you'll run out of ammo for your shotgun or hunting rifle unless you've been shooting it around like a mad dog. Healing items are few and far between, and you're likely to use them frequently, as Harry is a generally weak individual. He can die from a few attacks and is relatively, physically weak - which only adds to the feeling of helplessness, isolation, and desperation. Keys and other items are used for navigating throughout Silent Hill, and maps have to be found to traverse through the large overworld. Locations vary from convenience stores, small houses, to police stations and gas stations. I won't spoil the more important locations.

The atmosphere in Silent Hill is simply the best I've seen in the genre. Derelict and dilapidated buildings, along with cafes and mom-and-pop stores that have seen better days all add to the feeling that Silent Hill is an empty, deserted town. The haunting vision of a town with a dark past is only enhanced by the addition of Silent Hill's trademark: fog. The fog is so thick and heavy that you have no idea what might be ahead of you. Cleverly used as a way to hide the Sony PlayStation's limitations at the time, the game's limited point-distance is hidden with the fog effect that is used so effectively that it made the daytime as scary as pure darkness. The game tricks you into thinking you're in a safe place, and the numerous save points scattered throughout the overworld make each one feel like a breath of fresh air.

And then the lights go down. There is no mercy now. Silent Hill grips you at the neck and refuses to give you any chance of hope or feeling of safety. It is a brutal, mentally-draining experience until the very end. My most memorable moments of the game came from the relentlessly dark portions of the game, where Silent Hill was enveloped in pure darkness. This is what makes Silent Hill so unique in the horror genre. During these portions of the game, enemies are far more disturbing and aggressive. All you have to light the darkness with is a flashlight attached to your jacket - and you never know what lurks ahead or what is hiding in the impending shadows. This is where the radio comes in. Whenever an enemy is nearby, the radio will emit static, and the sounds of demonic children with bloody knives can be heard growling as their bare feet scrape towards your direction. The shrieking of gargoyles and the moaning of the possessed inhabitants of Silent Hill send chills down your spine and make you want to cover your ears in fright.

The tension is further increased with the music and sound departments. Masterfully composed, the game's soundtrack is minimalist in some cases while heart-pounding in others. Depressing and mellow undertones add to the psychological elements of the game, and Harry's feelings that he might not make it out alive with his daughter can be reflected in the game's soundtrack. The haunting blaring of the air raid sirens in the background are so mysteriously timed in the game; so startlingly original. It all makes you wonder about the mysteries of what really happened in Silent Hill. There's nothing scarier when you've just narrowly escaped an ambush from bloodthirsty, savage dogs with the relentless lashing of industrial beats and entering into a room you've never been to before, only to notice that the music has suddenly disappeared. The fear of the unknown is the greatest scare-tactic in this game, and it worked so effectively that I had to play the game in breaks at times, listening to Bossa Nova music - the game is that intense. It robs you of your sanity and throws you into multiple locales that you've never even imagined before and expecting you to explore it.

And where would a great horror game be without puzzles? Silent Hill is chock-full of riddles and clues, many of which left me scratching my head in confusion. Puzzles are abundant and are deviously confusing and devilishly created to make you want to look up answers via walkthrough. Many will leave you frustrated, especially later in the game. The problem about the puzzles is that many of them are so impossibly vague that they put Zelda and Metroid to shame. They are ridiculously hard, but the feeling of conquering the puzzles are so satisfying that it's hard to judge whether the riddles add or subtract from the game. Aside from these, Silent Hill adds a twist on the puzzles. It takes standard items you'd find in your average household and forces you to cleverly use them in a different way. The game really makes you think about that random rubber ball in your inventory, or that metal ring.

The scares of Silent Hill are its core, next to the atmosphere. Even though they almost never use jump-scares to make the player have to buy a new pair of pants, the feeling of imminent death and the fear of what lurks ahead scares me way more than the dogs that crashed through the mansion windows in Resident Evil. Sometimes you'll hear your radio emit static, but there won't be anyone around. You might hear noises in a room next to you, or you might enter a room you once thought was safe but as soon as you open the door a possessed nurse is ready to stab you senselessly. In many cases, you'll wonder if you're hearing things, such as hearing scraping noises on the walls of the room next to you or a banging on the door shortly after you enter an operating room gone wrong. The disturbing imagery works so well here, taking conventional objects and places and turning them into things you'll want to stay away from in real life. The game psychologically attacks you whenever possible, and burns the visions into your skull, making you want to forget the horrifying scenes you've just seen even though it's impossible.

Silent Hill is a startlingly original entry in the horror genre. It builds up the tension to the point where you're simply expecting something to happen, but nothing does. And then it gets you when you least expect it. Although on the short side (the first playthrough can be completed in around five to six hours), every scream you make and every pounding your heart makes makes the journey worth it. It's like an amusement park ride from hell, and the characters are sympathetic. It makes you actually want to care about Harry Mason and whatever might happen to his daughter Cheryl, along with the mysteries of Silent Hill and the tragic occurrences of the past.

It made me want to check into a psychiatrist. It made me want to close my eyes forever. Anything you see in this game will be a thing you'll want to forget about. Silent Hill is a game that defines horror, and is pure psychological horror fuel. It's a game that will build you up and break you down, and drag you through a world you won't ever want to remember.

The game that I wanted to forget. The game that will always strike a chord of fear in my heart.

Get the full article at GameSpot

"NightFox313 reviewed Silent Hill for the PlayStation..." was posted by NightFox313 on Tue, 21 May 2013 21:15:53 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/silent-hill/user-reviews/811592/platform/ps/ Tue, 21 May 2013 09:35:15 -0700 Spinnerweb reviewed Army of Two: The 40th Day for the PSP... http://www.gamespot.com/army-of-two-the-40th-day/user-reviews/811558/platform/psp/ ...and gave it a 8.0.

Sometimes you get that feeling. You want a game that is satisfying, but not excessively challenging. Usually you associate it with a good licensed game, like back in the PS1 days, but good licensed games are hard to come by now. Well, Army of Two: The 40th Day for the PSP definitely has that endearing quality that a lot of games don't have. It's easy, it's short, the graphics aren't the best on the system - but the game succeeds most importantly because of its enjoyable gameplay.

Salem and Rios from the first Army of Two game are back, this time in Shanghai, going from meeting a contact to a pointless detour through a zoo to saving the world. The story isn't mind-blowing, but it makes the game hang together, which is enough because it's the gameplay that is the main factor here.

Ever played Age of Zombies? The gameplay is somewhat like that. You press the face buttons to shoot in the direction of their placement, for example, pressing X to shoot downward - this is a top-down game, see. But you can also rescue hostages, buy upgrades and new weapons, pick up items such as cash, shields and power-ups, and then there is the Morality feature. In this, a cutscene plays and you have to make a choice that is either 'good' (which usually gives you no benefit but hey, you did the right thing) and 'evil' (which can give you cash, weapons, and other gear in exchange for pricking your conscience). While Morality cutscenes don't really affect the story except towards the end of the game, it's still fun and makes you go through the game again to make different choices.

There is also an achievements-like feature where you unlock achievements as you progress through the game. For the completionist, this too increases the replay value.

While Army of Two: The 40th Day is not a long game - it can be completed in one long afternoon, it was fun enough for me to play it over and over again. If you know what you're getting with this game, chances are it will be so for you too.

Get the full article at GameSpot

"Spinnerweb reviewed Army of Two: The 40th Day for the PSP..." was posted by Spinnerweb on Tue, 21 May 2013 09:35:15 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/army-of-two-the-40th-day/user-reviews/811558/platform/psp/ Tue, 21 May 2013 08:32:48 -0700 Spinnerweb reviewed Dante's Inferno for the PSP... http://www.gamespot.com/dantes-inferno/user-reviews/811556/platform/psp/ ...and gave it a 3.0.

Were that there were copyrights for gameplay. Sony's God of War franchise, as I have always stated, sucks - but they might have gleaned even more cash by suing EA for making such an absolute rip off of their games.

The game is set in the Crusades; Dante is busy killing in some place near Jerusalem. But because he's unskilled, he gets stabbed and dies, but fights off Death and takes his scythe. Then he goes to hell (literally) to get back his wife Beatrice from some smoky-hazy guy, who, I don't know, might be Satan or just some demon; I haven't read Divine Comedy (didn't have the patience for bad poetry) and I didn't play Dante's Inferno to the end (didn't have the patience for bad gameplay). So this Satan/demon bloke takes away his waifu for some reason... the game repeats the same cutscene where Dante vows to Beatrice not to have any 'pleasures of the flesh' until he returns from the Crusades... so what did he do? Adultery? Killing? Like I said, I wasn't interested enough to find out.

So the story is pretty bad. Dante is a weak-chinned, unlikeable jerk, and the game never really manages to make you care about what happens. I have played plenty of horrible games to the end just to see how the story ends, but in this case I just couldn't be bothered. I don't know if it's because the base material for this game's story is awful or the game struggles to settle into its twelfth-century setting. Probably both.

The sound in this game is low and is only hearable on the maximum volume both in-game and with the PSP speakers, and it's not memorable either. Some of the music tracks were almost, but not quite, listenable to by a person with functioning aural cavities. The voice acting is just plain awful - especially Dante's.

The graphics are very good and the only plus point in this entire game. This game actually surpasses the God of War games on the PSP because they had an awful framerate, but the visuals in this game are undeniably excellent. The CGI cutscenes were decent too.

The gameplay is identical to that of God of War - so basically, it sucks. A God of War fan might enjoy mashing the square button and pressing triangle only for the heck of it once in a while, but I don't. Like God of War, you can upgrade your abilities and unlock new attacks with 'souls' collected from defeating enemies. I hated the gameplay in God of War, therefore I hate the gameplay in Dante's Inferno. You almost can't tell them apart.

It's a very easy game, since the enemies are so stupid you barely ever have to guard. Unlocked combos don't have crushing power like you'd expect - indeed, some of them are even weaker than the attacks you have at the start. The combo system is broken - if you take a hit, you sometimes don't get knocked out of a combo, and you still build up your combo even if you repeat the same move over and over.

An avid God of War fan might enjoy Dante's Inferno, but I didn't. In my opinion, it's slightly better than the abysmal God of War games on the PSP, because at least the graphics aren't technically busted. But the visuals do not make this game worth playing. The horrendous gameplay, presentation, story, voice acting and music take care of that.

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"Spinnerweb reviewed Dante's Inferno for the PSP..." was posted by Spinnerweb on Tue, 21 May 2013 08:32:48 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/dantes-inferno/user-reviews/811556/platform/psp/ Mon, 20 May 2013 15:11:47 -0700 benleslie5 reviewed BioShock Infinite for the PlayStation 3... http://www.gamespot.com/bioshock-infinite/user-reviews/811535/platform/ps3/ ...and gave it a 10.0!!!

It's never easy to find the best first-person shooter game out there on any platform there's been some classics in the past like Goldeneye and Timesplitters 2. BioShock Infinite is one of those that should be highly recommend to any gamer out there, if you haven't played the series before or you have played BioShock 1 and 2.

Set before the 60's during the events of BioShock 1 and 2, Infinite takes place in 1912 where Booker DeWitt heads to the lighthouse which transports him to Columbia with the mission from Luteces to "bring us the girl and wipe away the debt". Elizabeth plays a very important role throughout the main story; she is not like other people you'll meet in Columbia. Throughout the story you'll be escorting Elizabeth and finding out what is really going on its story.

Gameplay: Like the past two BioShock games if you've played them do feel a little similar on its first-person shooter with a mix of RPG elements you've still got your standard weapons like the pistol gun, machine gun and shot gun, you'll also get other guns which you'll use later on through various parts of Columbia. You'll also get to use the grappling gun which you can either attack against enemies or grabbing on railways connecting to buildings called skylines where you can ride your way around the city feeling like you're on a roller-coaster.

The fun part is when riding the skyline and shooting at enemies at the same time, you can also grab on to hooks which can help you get across various building and areas you can't reach; you can also assassinate your enemies from above if you see a star icon when they are not looking.

Another feature in Infinite by pressing L1 you can use powers and abilities using vigors, which is similar to BioShock's plasmids and tonics. You can burn your enemies by insinuating them or murder of crows can summon a swarm of crows to attack enemies. You will get more powers later on in the game and some of the powers are pretty cool to use, when you finally rescue Elizabeth she can help you lock-pick through certain doors and padlocks, she can also help you find money and items. You'll have a health bar and salt bar for powers, you'll find cash machines where you can purchase stuff and upgrade weapons and powers to help you get through the game. If you're not sure where you suppose to go you can press the up button where a green arrow will tell you where you need to go.

Graphics and Sound: BioShock 1 and 2 were setting in an underwater city, in Bioshock Infinite the floating-city of Columbia is set in the skies which feels more like a Steampunk game with it being set during the early 1900's. The stunning visuals and environments are extremely impressive to look for a first-person shooter; it does feel more like an open world game where you can go anywhere you like around Columbia.

The animation for the characters are very done and could have been perfect for an animated film if it ever happened despite the amount of violence and blood you'll see throughout the game. You can easily get yourself lost around the city if you're not too careful, and as I mention on the gameplay section riding the skylines do make it feel like you're on a roller-coaster ride making you feel that you're riding it.

Troy Baker does the voicing for Booker and Courtnee Draper does the voicing for Elizabeth, both actors have really much made this game perfect for its fine voice acting and also the same with the rest of the characters you'll meet in Bioshock Infinite with the setting being set in 1912. You will hear some remix music from the 80's and 90's but being done in the setting around that time making it more impressive to listen to.

Overall: I really don't want to spoil the ending or the main story for Bioshock Infinite you'll also hear some of the best quotes and see some of the most memorable moments in gaming. Clearing the game on your first play through can take you at least 20 hours or more pending on if you want to try and collect everything including audio tapes. There is trophy support if you want to collect trophies, there's even quite a few easter eggs being added in fans will really get a laugh out of it.

Unlocking 1999 mode after your play through is the biggest challenge with it being on the hardest difficulty setting making it more rewarding to play the game again and again. I rarely play first-person shooters but this one is highly recommended to any gamer out there for their collection.

Get the full article at GameSpot

"benleslie5 reviewed BioShock Infinite for the PlayStation 3..." was posted by benleslie5 on Mon, 20 May 2013 15:11:47 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/bioshock-infinite/user-reviews/811535/platform/ps3/ Mon, 20 May 2013 14:17:32 -0700 rigbybot127 reviewed Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories for the PSP... http://www.gamespot.com/grand-theft-auto-liberty-city-stories/user-reviews/811533/platform/psp/ ...and gave it a 8.0.

Rockstar had a pretty stellar idea: Grand Theft Auto on the go! Liberty City Stories was their first portable (good) Grand Theft Auto, and this is GTA on the go. No compromises were madeé.. to the GTA III game mechanics. This entry, unfortunately, leaves out some of the new features introduced in the previous title, San Andreas, such as the ability to customize your car and free-aim while moving; though most of us used the auto-aim more often than not; it's still unfortunate that they had to compromise a bit due to the PSP's being less powerful technically than the PS2. Still, this is like GTA III on the go; in fact it's a prequel to GTA III, with some added features, such as the ability to pick between a couple of already-owned outfits (though you can't buy, and fully customize like in SA), as well as unlocking some; and a brand-new, hefty campaign, with a good story, that sets up one of GTA III's main mission-givers, Toni Cipriani, the main protagonist of this story; and a decent, fun local multiplayer.

Like I mentioned before, you will be playing as Toni Cipriani, an NPC from GTA III, and a made man in the Leone crime family. Toni Cipriani leaves Liberty City after killing a made man for Salvatore Leone, and lays his head low for a good while. In 1998 (3 years before III), he returns to resume business as usual, only to realize that in the time he had been gone, he had his rank stripped from him, and gave it to Vincenzo Cilli. He now just a goon, and has to work his way back up the ladder. To do this, he must take out two other rival families; the Sindaccos and the Forellis; and help a couple of familiar GTA III facesé..

If you've played GTA III (since it's been 12 years, you should have), you will be instantly familiar with the map, since it's almost exactly the same as III's, but with minor cosmetic changes (such as store signs and the such) ; as well as a Little Italy section that isn't in GTA III (for good reasoné.).

Perhaps the biggest improvement compared to III is the inclusion of motor bikes, marking the first time a player has ever driven a motorcycle in Liberty City, since they were outlawed prior to III, by a public ordinence supported by the Maibatsu Corporation, to make room for cars (including their Maibatsu Monstrosity). A great improvement over San Andreas is the removal of having to exercise and eat, though that means that you now have one less way to heal yourself.

Unfortunately, there were some pretty great features introduced in San Andreas that have been removed, the most jarring removal being the ability to swim, which means that water is once again an instant death trap (the in-game explanation for this is that the water in LC is very toxic, and will kill you in a matter of seconds). You also can no longer climb, making reaching certain hidden packages difficult; and the ability to fly aircraft is removed entirely (unless you use cheats). Also, due to the nature of the PSP, you can no longer manually control the camera, since there is only one stick, though this isn't really a problem; this feature is included in the PS2 port, which features controls identical to III and Vice City.

Another staple brought over from it's console brethren is the car radio, which features music and talk radio. Unfortunately, the music isn't all that great, and even Lazlow can't save this mess of a radio. It's not just a mess in programming, as it's also pretty glitchy, and inconsistent. Whenever you leave a vehicle, the programming will often change to something else, or the audio track will start over. Still, Lazlow is pretty funny; and Liberty City's FCC seems to be more lax when it comes to censoring profanities on the air than in III.

Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories is another solid entry for the series, and is deserving of a playthrough. It may not be the best Grand Theft Auto, but it's still pretty fun, with a hefty playtime (for the PSP). One thing I have to say is that it has a rather easy ending, which is off-putting, considering how the rest of the game isn't all too easy. Still, if you're a fan, or are just looking for a solid open-world game for your PSP, give this one a try.

Get the full article at GameSpot

]]> http://www.gamespot.com/grand-theft-auto-liberty-city-stories/user-reviews/811533/platform/psp/ Thu, 16 May 2013 21:17:45 -0700 Lucky_Krystal reviewed Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory for the PlayStation 3... http://www.gamespot.com/hyperdimension-neptunia-victory/user-reviews/811401/platform/ps3/ ...and gave it a 8.0.

Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory is an extremely niche JRPG developed by Idea Factory/Compile Heart and published by NIS America. It is the third installment to the series, but knowledge of the past two games isn't really needed to understand Victory's story.

I'm going to say it again, because it's a very important point: Neptunia is an extremely niche game. Expectations are key. Neptunia is riddled with that quirky and silly brand of humor that parades almost all the games that NIS America localizes. It constantly pokes fun at itself and never takes itself seriously. If you try to take the game seriously for even a moment, your brain will explode. Trust me, don't do it.

It's heavily story driven nature, anime styled art, moe characters, and light hearted tone will undoubtedly turn some people off. But if you are okay with this sort of thing and give the game a chance, then you won't be disappointed.

Victory takes what mk2 established and further builds on it. In this installment, multiple additions are added to the gameplay. Victory introduces that scout system, used to send out your itty bitty minions to scavenge dungeons for loot. When they come back, they'll report to you, bringing you items, money, other scouts, and sometimes nothing at all. At rare times, they'll report that they've found a way to boost the amount of money and exp you can earn in a dungeon. Sometimes they'll report that they found a hidden area or a brand new dungeon for you to explore.

The game now features an in game achievement system. It calculates things such as number of jumps, damage dealt, damage taken, number of times KO'd, times fought on the front and back lines and so forth. Each time a character attains an achievement, a certain stat will increase.

The battle system has also undergone some slight alterations. The battle system is still turn based. When it's a character's turn, you are allowed to move a certain distance based on the character's MOV stat. You are given 3 kinds of attacks. One type focuses on raw power. Another focuses on breaking the enemy's guard. The last one is for building up the EXE gauge. The EXE gauge is a new feature that allows the characters to use powerful EXE skills as well as a special 4th attack, whereas in the last game, you had to build up a character's individual SP gauge to execute this. Characters are now given full SP stats. Your SP is fully healed only with items and by leveling up. So it's imperative that you spend your SP wisely.

You are allowed 4 members in your party at a time, but you are able to switch out with other members in the vanguard. Pairing up two girls will net you different bonuses in battle. It will also allow you to execute special assist attacks unique to different characters. Though this all depends on the revamped Lily system. In the last game, only Nepgear's relationships with the other characters mattered. This time around, each person has a separate level for every other character. The level must be at a certain point in order for the boosts to take effect.

The coliseum, item synthesizing, quests, and shares all make a comeback and play pretty much the same role as they did in the last game. Though this time around, the ending you get depends on if you've gathered a necessary set of items and scavenged for the hidden dungeons and viewed the cutscenes in these dungeons rather than shares. There are 3 possible endings: The normal ending, good ending, and true ending.

The battle system is addictive and loads of fun. One of my favorite parts is the ability to transform the characters into their far more powerful HDD forms. This mode jacks up their stats to give you the upper hand in battle. Some of your special moves and your EXE attacks will also don a different appearance. Also, the game once again gives you the option to customize your own combos.

The story is a silly, hot mess of gaming and anime references, playful banter, and random events. "It's so bad it's good" perfectly describes the story. It's intended to be something so thrown together and ridiculous that it induces laughter. Neptune gets transferred to an alternate Gameindustri in 1989. She meets alternate versions of the goddesses from her world as well as a new goddess ruling Planeptune named Plutia. A new group of enemies known as the Seven Sages opposes them. The Seven Sages aim to rid Gameindustri of CPUs and start a new nation without them. It's up to Neptune and friends to stop these dastardly evil doers.

The downside to the story would probably be the sheer volume of the dialogue. The game is very text heavy. And it's not even wordy for the sake of giving us some good exposition. Sometimes the characters just spend boxes and boxes of dialogue talking about NOTHING. There is both a skip and an auto advance option but even still, the dialogue could have been condensed considerably and the story probably wouldn't even have suffered. To add to that many of these cutscenes aren't voiced. Only a select few actually are, and it's great to hear the actual actors as opposed to just having music playing and reading unvoiced text. Whether you're playing in Japanese or English, the voice actors breathe life into these fun and hilarious characters each cutscene.

The English dubbing in particular has improved a great deal compared to the previous games. All the actors from the previous game make a great comeback, and it sounds like they have gotten far more comfortable with their characters. New additions such as Cherami Leigh as Plutia and Sandy Fox as Yellow Heart come in gun blazing, hitting all the right notes. But if you hate the English voices still or just prefer the original voices, you can switch over to the Japanese voice acting any time.

I have only a few complaints about the game. Dungeons and enemies are taken and reused from the previous game and stuck onto Victory with very little to no changes. There are some brand new areas and enemies but a lot of them are recycled. The fanservice is not as overblown or explicit as people make it out to be but it's still weird and unnecessary. The frequent innuendo the riddles Iris Heart's dialogue gets real old real quick. The game is also far more grind heavy than mk2. That isn't really a bad thing, seeing as it does give the game a bit of challenge. But not as much, seeing as all you really have to do to beat a particularly difficult boss is level up a bit, buff, and then spam your EXE attacks. The game still lingers on the easy side, though it is more difficult than mk2.

Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory is a splendid addition to the Neptunia franchise. Packed with a wealth of extra content and three different endings, this game will keep you coming back for more. Not everyone is going to enjoy this game. But the few people who do will find their trek through Gameindustri with Neptune and her eccentric band of weirdoes a marvelous and entertaining one.

Get the full article at GameSpot

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