kdokey's GameSpot Friend's Reviews kdokey's GameSpot Friend's Reviews kdokey's GameSpot Friend's Reviews en-us Copyright (c)1995-2013 CBS Interactive. All rights reserved. http://www.gamespot.com 20 Sun, 19 May 2013 04:59:46 -0700 GameSpot kdokey's GameSpot Friend's Reviews http://img.gamespot.com/gamespot/shared/promos/misc/gs_logo.gif http://www.gamespot.com 135 40 Fri, 17 May 2013 08:27:42 -0700 pigfish2 reviewed Tomb Raider for the PlayStation 3... http://www.gamespot.com/tomb-raider/user-reviews/811411/platform/ps3/ ...and gave it a 9.0!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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"naju890_963 reviewed Metal Slug 3 for the PlayStation 2..." was posted by naju890_963 on Thu, 16 May 2013 20:23:03 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/metal-slug-3/user-reviews/811398/platform/ps2/ Thu, 16 May 2013 17:24:48 -0700 The_Last_Ride reviewed Transformers: Fall of Cybertron for the Xbox 360... http://www.gamespot.com/transformers-fall-of-cybertron/user-reviews/811396/platform/xbox360/ ...and gave it a 8.5.

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

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

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

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]]> http://www.gamespot.com/transformers-fall-of-cybertron/user-reviews/811396/platform/xbox360/ Thu, 16 May 2013 16:21:14 -0700 Azghouls reviewed Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines for the PSP... http://www.gamespot.com/assassins-creed-ii/user-reviews/811392/platform/psp/ ...and gave it a 7.0.

Altair / Assassin's Creed é two synonymous names for the Assassin's Creed saga back in 2008. The PC / consoles got it, the DS got their version (Altair Chronicles in case you didn't know it) and now it's the PSP turn to get his adventure. How does this fare comparing to its console's counterpart, it's a decent addition considering some alterations are needed to suit the PSP's limited capabilities.

The events took place pretty much after Assassin's Creed as Altair discovered that the remaining templars are leaving for Cyprus. So he decides to attack their stronghold in Acre only to realise he's a bit too late for the party. Yet he did manage to capture Maria Thorpe é the only female templar for Assassin's Creed. And if that doesn't ring any bells, it's the one where Altair was flabbergasted stating 'what is this sorcery?!' when he discovers that he is a she.

The gameplay is essentially the same as its counterparts é that is, it's a free roaming action adventure where you need to climb specially marked viewpoints, scan the area for hotspots, and then follow your nose to your destination. However being a PSP, there's only one viewpoint per area as the memory capacity is not as large as its cousins. Also some features were taken away to suit the controls like 'eagle eye'.

Whilst your main goal is to assassinate high ranking templars, the overall combat still feels great as nothing's better than slamming your dagger into a victim's head. Yeah it probably sounds like I'm a sadist however it's very satisfying and the controls are extremely fluent. It also helps to have a decent tutorial and this game is no exception as it forms part of the adventure. Then again, all assassins' creed games are like that so it's good to carry on that tradition.

However the AIs are not the brightest bunch in the pack. Actually it's a lot easier than Assassin's Creed as combat near a body of water / on top of a building can never be simpler. All you need to do is push them to their death (yes no one can swim at all and obviously falling from a height can cause death...unless there's a bale of hay that only assassins can land on). So the point is there are other combat options than just swinging a sword.

There are also a garden variety of side missions for that little bit of rest and relaxation. To be exact, there are seven types being theft, interception (I hate those as the controls are quite difficult to perform the chase), assassination, delivery (time limit applies), interrogation (just hulk smash them silly), trailing and combat (basically three thugs ganging up on a civilian ékill all three to win). So there's a decent amount of side missions to break the ice.

And if you are in the mood for some exploration, you can collect Templar coins that dotted throughout the game as each sector has five silver coins and one gold coin to collect. Obviously the gold coin supposedly is harder to locate / obtain however all in all, they are not too difficult to find as the maps are quite small considering. And if you complete the side missions / kill soldiers in a variety of ways will earn you bronze coins. You can use these coins to unlock more features for Altair and you don't have to locate / complete all the side missions / combos to max out.

Whilst being a canon for the Assassin's Creed storyline, there is some slight confusion that doesn't seem to fit. The animus is displayed throughout the game é that is it forms part of your upgrades and synchronisation. Strangely though, Desmond is nowhere to be found and if you played Assassin Creed 2, Desmond has no idea about the relationship between Altair and Maria. And this forms the second confusion: Altair for some odd reason saves Maria on countless occasions even though Maria kicks him in the face a couple of times. Maybe Altair has a soft spot for her however what's done is done.

If there's a strong point to this game, it's the visuals. It's actually quite detailed for a PSP game as Altair moves fluently and the landscapes are quite detailed. Frame rates rarely stutter however there's a lot less civilians about. Thankfully though, they all do react however they spend most of their time just running away. And what almost made me fell of my chair is there's voice acting é not brilliant however decent enough as I was expecting a wall of text. Of course there's nothing wrong with that however it just threw me off guard. Also every important character is voice acted yet Altair does sound different; more Middle Eastern (which suits him better).

Considering Bloodlines forms part of the Assassin's Creed saga, this one ends Altair's trilogy. One of the highlights for Bloodlines was that Altair's personality changed as he's a lot wiser. Also after every memory sequence, you get to see Altair drafting his codex and thinking aloud about his thoughts on the Apple of Eden, humanity in general and others. And if you played Assassin's Creed 2, it's the very same codex that Ezio was searching for. However as mentioned before, Desmond, the key link of it all, was missing so it does feel a little out of place. Play it if you want to see the connection between Assassin's Creed one and two.

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"Azghouls reviewed Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines for the PSP..." was posted by Azghouls on Thu, 16 May 2013 16:21:14 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/assassins-creed-ii/user-reviews/811392/platform/psp/ Thu, 16 May 2013 06:25:07 -0700 pokecharm reviewed Where's My Perry? for the iPhone/iPod... http://www.gamespot.com/wheres-my-perry/user-reviews/811368/platform/iphone/ ...and gave it a 6.0.

The Where's Perry app was the free app of the week at Starbucks this past week, so I took the time to sift through a little bit of it after playing the free version months ago. The principle of the game appears simple at first. The goal is to get Agent P, Perry the Platypus, through the tubes to thwart Doof by clearing the way of water through tunnels. The first few levels are simple, by using your finger, or a stylus, you clear the rubble away. Amongst the rubble are also secret agent files and other items as well as gnomes that can be collected. The water has to douse the gnomes in order for them to be considered collected.

The game is actually quite addictive. I played about 20 minutes yesterday, but thought it had only been five or less. The graphics are quite good, I'm using an iPad 2 and the voices, Major Monogram and Dr. Doofenshmirtz are spot on. There are, so far, no appearances of Phineas or Ferb as of yet. The unlockables as you move along are for either other agents, some seen in various episodes of the show. The other unlockables are for Dr. Doofenshmirtz's inators, which are also very amusing.

Though this game won't ever garner great recognition, it is a fun game, perfect for a tablet or phone. For the price, I believe $3 only, it is well worth the purchase.

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"pokecharm reviewed Where's My Perry? for the iPhone/iPod..." was posted by pokecharm on Thu, 16 May 2013 06:25:07 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/wheres-my-perry/user-reviews/811368/platform/iphone/ Wed, 15 May 2013 07:45:17 -0700 pokecharm reviewed Bulletstorm for the Xbox 360... http://www.gamespot.com/bulletstorm/user-reviews/811333/platform/xbox360/ ...and gave it a 6.5.

Bulletstorm starts off with a bang and doesn't slow down, despite a heavy dose of sophomoric dialogue and meandering story. The game is a first-person shooter (FPS) style that follows Grayson Hunt who is the leader of a special operations unit. Within the first five minutes of gameplay it is soon discovered that Hunt and his team have been deluded and decide to take action against the man who set them up to kill innocent people. What follows is a quick game of shoot anything that moves with any variety of weapons.

What Bulletstorm lacks in story it more than makes up for with easy controls and game play. The weapons are varied and you're able to swap them in and out at regular intervals. The enemies are only slightly varied as you move through the game, but the way you interact with each does change based on what weapons you have and what is lying around. The game awards points based on skilful ways of killing people. If you just shoot them down, 10 points. If you use a piece of the environment, you can get 100 or more. This added element encourages you to use things around you and not just run and gun, as most FPS games do.

The voice acting goes only as far as the story will allow it. The story is predictable, but yet it doesn't feel stagnant. I didn't feel bored at any point even though I could have guessed what would happen next. The dialogue was purposely childish, pandering to the lowest common denominator for the target audience, yet I didn't find it nearly as distracting or disgusting as I thought I would. The fact that the story resolves itself in decent fashion makes the lacklustre story worthwhile.

The graphics were actually decent, not great, but decent. A had a few screen issues and once had to restart a checkpoint because I was lodged inside something. With no jump button, it made movement very linear. The sound was spot on, especially for most of the explosions that occurred throughout the game.

Bulletstorm will never be up for a Game of the Year award. What it lacks in story it more than makes up for in easy game play and just plain fun. The game is a hidden gem, one I acquired for a cool $2 used, no, I'm not kidding. For that price, I can't be disappointed with any of the game. There was a good variety of things to do and achievements to unlock. The game wasn't too hard, but did require precision at some points. Overall, if you can get it used, it is well worth getting.

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"pokecharm reviewed Bulletstorm for the Xbox 360..." was posted by pokecharm on Wed, 15 May 2013 07:45:17 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/bulletstorm/user-reviews/811333/platform/xbox360/ Tue, 14 May 2013 16:20:52 -0700 AQWBlaZer91 reviewed Tales of Phantasia for the PlayStation... http://www.gamespot.com/tales-of-phantasia-1998/user-reviews/811304/platform/ps/ ...and gave it a 8.5.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Game Title: Tales of Phantasia
Platform: PSOne
Developer: Wolfteam
Publisher: Namco
Genre: Action Role Playing Game
Age Rating: Cero: A, ESRB: T for Teen (Rated by Fans)
Original Release Date: December 23rd 1998
Translation Team: Absolute Zero/Phantasian Productions
Fan-Translation Patch Release Date: Absolute Zero: 25th December 2007 Phantasian Productions: 31st December 2012
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Game Score: 8.8/10
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Summery:
If you're still into old school style RPG's then Tales of Phantasia for the PlayStation is one RPG that is both impressively remastered and still enjoyable after a long while.
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Looking at your old dusty Gray PlayStation game console, you only played it every now and then today cause you only missed playing all our favourite games such as Resident Evil. Gran Turismo, Sypro, Crash,, Final Fantasy and the legendary Metal Gear Solid. Nearly towards the consoles timeline had been ended mostly RPG's helped keep it going for a short extra while. How about this, a fan translation group called Phantasian Productions independently worked on a English translation patch for the 1998 PlayStation enhanced remake of the original Tales Of title that started it all as well as it's counterpart Absolute Zero who released their English Patch of the game in 2007. It did took Phantasian Productions 12 long years for their project to start in it's beta stages, getting the right men and time to get to work on translating and adding some new features to make it feel as if Namco would have localised this game instead of the inferior GBA version.

For those who have not seen the original version nor played the GBA version, Tales Of Phantasia was originally released on the Super Nintendo in Japan of 1995, it was Namco's first entry into the popular running RPG series and it showcased 48 bit capabilities for it's impressive graphics and a powerful soundchip which allowed voice samples and tje opening song being played in the intro. Three years later it got remastered for the PlayStation and thanks to the translation efforts, it's one of, if not the best version of the game we can get our hands on.

Tales Of Phantasia follows teenage swordsmen Cress Albane (whose known as Cless Alvein in this version) who sees a mysterious spirit who lives inside of a withered tree. Cress returns to witness the destruction of his village and the death of his parents. Cress embarks on a journey which transcends him from space and time to stop an evil lord known as Dhaos who's intends on eliminating anyone related to the power of magic. Tales Of Phantasia's story wasn't anything as gripping as Square's Chrono Trigger but however the game has solid writing for both fan-translation patches and enjoyable characters that still make them as engaging as they were back then. Characters such as Chester Burklight who is Cress' bast friend and archer, Mint Adenade a Cleric, Claus F Lester a summoner and Arche Klaine a magic user. The English fan-translation patches does an excellent job of translating the dialogue even if Phantasian's is sometimes complex to read and Absolute Zero having only a few translation liberties. Dispute this it's still excellent writing and on top of that there are also some new cutscenes as well as some anime sequences that add more tension to the story.

Tales Of Phantasia started of the Tales formula so you'll feel right at home if you've played future titles in the series. However in the PlayStation version the game includes brand new features on top of the games original content. The game goes by the series pacing, if you haven't played any game in the series then simply it's an Action RPG where you wonder through the world map where you can go into dungeons, move on from one town to the next for the next part in the story while having to fight off against a group of monsters along the way. Towns serve as your resting points and you can interact with NPC's and you can visit shops to purchase items and better gear. In Dungeons there are some puzzles that require you to press switches, pull statues or rocks out of your way or to other spots on the map which are needed to open doors to the next area. Later on you'll acquire an accessory called a Successor's Ring which can shoot fireballs at switches from afar. At the end of each dungeon there will be a challenging boss battle to fight off against and then it's back to town to rest up and move on to the next portion of the game. Tales Of Phantasia keeps it's pacing balanced in between cutscenes and gameplay so that you never waste to much time doing one thing at once. Tales Of Phantasia also has a few minigames that you'll find in between and of course the game has it's original side quests on top of the brand new content.

Most notably is the redesigned graphics and improved soundtrack unlike Square's PS1 versions of the old Final Fantasy and Chorno Trigger games. The characters as well as the locations have been redesigned with new signs and different colour palette which look more impressive then did look back then. Characters are still pint sized but however do they have additional and smoother animations that make them more cleaner. The World Map has also changed into 3D and it's castles, mountains and towns have all received a bump up in detail and they look way more shaper then the original and later GBA releases. The Soundtrack itself has remixed tunes as well the opening music track that plays in the opening intro which are great with one exception. The track that plays when you fight against a summon spirit called Fighting of the Spirit has perhaps one of (if not) the best remix version that is ever heard in games in the series ever, it was so fantastic that when I took on my first summon spirit I actually paused the game for a few minutes just to listen to it. To fans including myself this track is simply that powerful.

Tales Of Phantasia on the Super Nintendo was the first game in the series to introduce the Linear Motion Battle System, however this version of the game uses an updated system that was used in it's 1997 instalment Tales Of Destiny. For those who never heard of the system, simply battles take place inside a small side scrolling battle arena where characters and monsters engage each other in real time combat. You control Cress in battle while your allies are controlled by the AI, you can have up to 4 members of your party to fight together but however you can switch Cress out and play as other characters if you want. The controls for battle are Circle or regular attacks, Cross for your abilities known as Artes, Square makes your character black incoming enemy attacks and Triangle brings up the battle menu where you can change party members behaviour in battle, use items, change formation and set your abilities whilst you can also do these outside of battle. You can use the D-pad and Circle to do different main attacks such as Down+Circle for a Thrust attack or Up+Circle for an upward slash. L1 reverses your party formation if incase the enemies surround you and you can switch between different different targets on the screen with the R1 button. There are 3 different battle controls that you can use. Auto allows the AI to take control of your party members, Semi Auto allows you to control your character but not fully while Manuel mode allows you to fully control your character. Phantasian Productions has given Cress an accessory called the Technical Ring when you start the game, this will give you the Manuel Control option. When equipped which allows you to freely move around the Battlefield without constantly returning to your standard position.

Regardless of what the game says on the back of the box, you can actually get a second player to control another character by plugging in a controller and equipping a second character with a Channelling accessory. You can also plug in a PlayStation Multitap to allow up to 4 players each equipped with Channelling accessories to be able to play together locally.

Characters have their own abilities that are called Artes which are basically skills of strike and magical attacks which are used to take down powerful enemies in the game. It's easier to combine Strike Artes with Magic Artes as they do more damage then standard attacks. Artes can be learned by levelling up while some others such as Magic Artes and also Arcane Artes can be purchased b NPC's while summon spirits are earned through battles with them. They can be turned off in the Artes menu or can just assign your teammates to use them Manually or shortcut buttons.

For characters styles of fighting, Cress relays on his weapons such as Swords, Axes and Spears. Cress' attack has two different attack stats that represent one for Slash and one for Thrust. Swords doing all round damage, Axes are better for Slash while Spears are better for Thrusting. Chester Burklight is an Archer who shoots arrows at enemies and in this version Chester can now have his own Artes which makes a useful Long Range character in battle unlike in the SNES version. Mint Adenade is the party's healer and can use a variety of healing and support spells to keep your members alive when injured or inflicted with status aliments. Claus F Lester is a summoner and can summon beasts that you've earned from beating them in battle while Arche Klein is a magic user who can conjure up deadly spells like Ice Tornado, Eruption, Thunder Blade and advanced spells like God's Breath, Fire Storm and Indignation. The updated battle system offers plenty of depth and rebalance as well as tweaks such as removing Mints Valkyrie spell and Arche's Extinction. Boss battles are cool and challenging and also Phantasian Productions has also added additional difficulties which can make the game almost impossible and must only be attempted by masters of the game due to the aggressive AI and uneven stats each monster has. Ether way it's an amazingly addictive combat system but it's understandable that it isn't as advanced as future titles.

For the most part the battle mechanics have improved quite a lot from it's SNES counterpart but however there is one issue, the random encounter frequency. Random battles are triggered every few steps on the world map and in dungeons, the problem with that is that it tends to bother you when you're solving a puzzle which becomes aggravating. However it is important to grind because bosses do tend to put up a reasonable challenge and later enemies can really mess you up and put you in a disadvantage.

In addition to the updated battle system, there are numerous new features to the game that are added in this version while others not seen in the later GBA version. First up is cooking, it allows you to cook recipes for your party members to recover HP, TP and other status elements. You've seen this idea in perhaps later Tales Of games like Eternia, Symphonia, Abyss and so on as this proved useful in keeping your party members healthy even if the ingredients became expensive.

There are around 25 recipes in the game to find in towns as they each have what's called a Wonder Chef. Another new feature is titles which some can think as achievements but however it's for characters for completing certain actions in the game, some of these are acquired through levelling and story while you can get others through sidequests.

Speaking of which are also some new sidequests in this version as well as brand new areas and dungeons. New areas involve the updated shadow dungeon and the extended Treant Forest which can be difficult to go through. There is a brand new minigame where you play as Arche in a Horizontal 2D shooter as you use both front and backward attacks to take down everything on the screen, there is also one sidequest following a young ninja girl named Suzu Fujibayashi where you need to help her find her parents and doing so will allow her to join you in battle. She uses her Ninjitsu to rapidly cut down enemies, throw fiery shurikens and summon a mighty giant frog that can breathe fire, yes it can breathe fire...just don't ask how.

If you're still into old school style RPG's then Tales of Phantasia for the PlayStation is one RPG that is both impressively remastered and still enjoyable after a long while. With improved mechanics, brand new extra content as well as great storyline and characters make it the best version of Tales Of Phantasia available to English speaking gamers. You will be held back by the Phantasian Productions patch's issues with the collector's book and looking at one location on the map, it also has a major issue if ran on the PS2 where you get up to the final boss and then crashes. It's more playable on PS1 Emulators and modded PS1 Consoles but at least you can use Absolute Zero's patch which at least has no issues. If you can ignore those issues and want the additional difficulties then go with Phantasian Productions but otherwise stick to the Absoulte Zero English Patch which came before it. Tales Of Phantasia is now 18 years old and thankfully for the title in the series, it's tale has aged wonderfully.
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The Good Points:
1. Improved Battle Mechanics and also has 4 Player support
2. Several new additions such as side quests, replacements and improvements in-which some of them where not seen in the later GBA version
3. Phantasian Productions Patch provides new difficulty settings (when unlocked) and also has the options to have Artes named differently
4. The best version of Fighting of the Spirit heard in any version, Ever
5. Characters still engaging and enjoyable and also the added cutscenes and some Animé sequences add more to the story

The Bad Points:
1. Awkward random encounter frequency
2. Phantasian Productions English Patch has a few minor bugs
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Reviewed by: Anthony Hayball (AQWBlaZer91)
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Get the full article at GameSpot

"AQWBlaZer91 reviewed Tales of Phantasia for the PlayStation..." was posted by AQWBlaZer91 on Tue, 14 May 2013 16:20:52 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/tales-of-phantasia-1998/user-reviews/811304/platform/ps/ Tue, 14 May 2013 01:03:35 -0700 ShaineTheNerd reviewed Arcadecraft for the Xbox 360... http://www.gamespot.com/arcadecraft/user-reviews/811284/platform/xbox360/ ...and gave it a 6.0.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Get the full article at GameSpot

"ShaineTheNerd reviewed Arcadecraft for the Xbox 360..." was posted by ShaineTheNerd on Tue, 14 May 2013 01:03:35 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/arcadecraft/user-reviews/811284/platform/xbox360/ Mon, 13 May 2013 22:29:00 -0700 kierwinyoung reviewed Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance for the PlayStation 3... http://www.gamespot.com/metal-gear-rising-revengeance/user-reviews/811278/platform/ps3/ ...and gave it a 9.0!

After spending allot of time to finish them games and unlockables.
MGR is one helluva spin-off for Metal Gear franchise. I know allot of people likes Snake better than Raiden, aside from Snake gets more game than Raiden. Raiden only has one game, MGS2:Sons of Liberty. from that game, MGS is really step up from MGS1.
So MGR is really great for Raiden. He get's his own game.
To the game!
The Graphics were really great, especially slicing those enemies. but I just don't get it, the Codec looks like it's obvious that they're lip singing. anyway the gameplay graphics is top notch. the slow mo effect adds the ass kicking awesomeness.
As for the Sounds well the sword swings are cool, really big fan of Cyborg Samurai. What I really got addicted to, is the Battle songs. when enemies attack you and the soundtrack comes off. you know it's ass kicking time.
For Gameplay: The Klassic beat 'em up never made me bored, but MGR has that unique stuff that even Dante don't have, it's the Zandatsu the Skill that Raiden pulls out that really satisfies your killing desire. although some part of it is annoying when you pull the trick off near a wall, you'll see nothing but wall. but pull it off in multiple enemies and in open grounds..... yeah, it's Raiden's Lightning bolt powers.
The boss battle is also really bad ass, I mean those quick times and cut scenes, mixed with awesome Boss Theme. all the boss has a never dull moment.

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]]> http://www.gamespot.com/metal-gear-rising-revengeance/user-reviews/811278/platform/ps3/ Sun, 12 May 2013 14:12:36 -0700 The_Last_Ride reviewed Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 for the PlayStation 3... http://www.gamespot.com/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-2/user-reviews/811234/platform/ps3/ ...and gave it a 7.5.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Get the full article at GameSpot

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Get the full article at GameSpot

]]> http://www.gamespot.com/castlevania-lords-of-shadow/user-reviews/811223/platform/ps3/ Thu, 09 May 2013 12:33:46 -0700 Double_Wide reviewed Star Raiders for the PlayStation 3... http://www.gamespot.com/star-raiders-2011/user-reviews/811151/platform/ps3/ ...and gave it a 5.5.

For the most part Star Raiders is technically sound but totally misses the mark when it comes to enjoyable gameplay and storytelling.

You spend 100% of the game dogfighting enemy ships, which would be ok if this was done on a larger scale. Your ship can morph into 2 other modes: one that resembles a mech and the other, a stationary turrent. As a mech, your ship moves slower but is ideal for taking out larger ships that have multiple weak points (energy cores). In turrent mode, your ship remains still and has lower shields but causes the most damage out of all 3 modes. Of course, regular flight mode is the most balanced and outside of taking down large ships or perhaps trophy hunting, its the best mode to stay in for taking out enemies. This is really the only level of gameplay variety that the game offers. Each of the 10 levels has 3 parts (A, B, & C) but only one (A) is required to complete in order to move on to the next level while the other 2 are always optional. Every level has the one of the same requirements in order to clear it:

1. Destroy X amount of enemies
2. Find XYZ item
3. Take out all the generators or cores from the extremely large space station

While the lack of variety does weaken the gameplay, not as much as the lack of substance does. All the weapons feel and behave the same. Star Raiders does let you earn in game currency (which is another issue in itself that I will get to) to buy upgrades for your ship but none of them really seemed that much significantly different than the other. The sheer amount of currency that it takes to buy upgrades is ridiculous enough but then the result ends up being very unrewarding. Besides primary and secondary weaponary, you can also purchase droids that supposedly assist you in battle (think R2-D2). However, they ended up being just a huge annoyance once equipped. They constantly alert you to things that you're more than likely already aware of and are overall pretty useless. Now for the currency...oh boy...the currency. Besides what you are rewarded at the end of every mission and per enemy destroyed, there are also items that resemble either glowing golden or blue rocks. You earn currency for destroying these. The problem is...there are literally close to or over a hundred of these scattered across the level. Trying to collect these during the actual mission is very unwise as some are timed or will generally cause enemies to relentlessly swarm you from all directions. Fortunately, Star Raiders always gives players the option to move on or stay in their current location. Most times, you can remain in your current location free to collect more currency and free of enemies. The problem is, it can be very time consuming to collect each and every rock in the level AND some levels inexplicably continue to generate endless enemies when attempting to do this. Honestly, unless you are trophy hunting, the amount of time it takes to collect the extra currency and unimpressive upgrades don't make doing this worth your while.

Another issue is the inconsistant difficulty spikes. Everything in the game goes smoothly up until mission 4-A (level 4 story related). You come upon an astroid with a force field inside of it. While having to destroy all the generators that are powering the force field, you have to destroy or avoid incoming enemy ships. Once this is done, guess what? You have to go inside of said astroid's maze like interior to find a tiny micochip!!!! If you have the patience to keep playing after this then its pretty much smooth sailing until the final level. Instead of an over the top final boss waiting for you (bosses is something else this game lacks), a similar level 4-A situation awaits. You have to destroy the cores powering a force field that is blocking a hole leading to an underground generator. After traveling & shooting your way through these underground tunnels and destorying this generator, you are rewarded with 3 minutes to leave the same way you came in. Oh and wait it gets better...if you die ANYWHERE before getting out then you'll start all the way back to the broken generator with no time added. And just when you thought it got bad enough, if you run out of time then you completely fail the mission and have to restart from the very beginning of the level!!!! Talk about a huge ball of WTF?!

The plot is very basic "take to space to stop the evil alien race of Zylons from preparing an attack against Earth"...simple enough and not a problem. The storytelling however is a different "story" altogether. All story related cutscenes are presented in a cartoony pop-up book like fashion. This isn't the first time I've seen this and I'm not really critizing this alone as it actually reminded me a lot of Tornado Outbreak. However, the total relevence it had to anything that happened during the game is questionable. You're introduced to many characters that have absolutely no role in the story besides the mention of their name and a face. Besides your commanding officer, none of them assist you in battle, have to be rescued or anything. I honestly would have just preferred getting my mission objectives, maybe a final cutscene and that's it. The storytelling adds zero value to the game overall.

Besides the cookie cutter cut scenes, the visuals are well rendered. Especially the enviornments. The music wasn't anything special and the sound effects sound very retro...which I kinda understood why since this is a remake of a 1979 game but I just don't know how well it fit in with the modern day visuals. Controls were solid but very poorly explained. You know something is wrong when I didn't find out that the ship had thrusters until playing the very last level of the game!


My Breakdown:


What's Good:

- In game visuals, especially environments are very well rendered
- Solid and simple controls
- Overall simplistic gameplay
- Offers 3 different combat modes, each with distinct sets of strengths and weakness


What's Not-So-Good:

- Despite its simplistic basis, the more advance controls are poorly explained
- Collecting extra currency
- Little effort seemed to be invested into cutscenes
- I for one would have liked to see what an actual Zylon looks like
- No boss battles!

What's Bad:

- Levels 4-A and 10-A! A total pain in the @ss!
- The overall storytelling. Pointless
- ^ Meaningless characters
- The lack of variety in mission objectives.

In all, Star Raiders ends up being 30 missions of doing the same tedious tasks over and over again instead of being a fun game. The potential is there but never realized and some times that is worst than an unapologetically bad game.

Get the full article at GameSpot

"Double_Wide reviewed Star Raiders for the PlayStation 3..." was posted by Double_Wide on Thu, 09 May 2013 12:33:46 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/star-raiders-2011/user-reviews/811151/platform/ps3/ Tue, 07 May 2013 15:08:22 -0700 WTA2k5 reviewed BioShock Infinite for the Xbox 360... http://www.gamespot.com/bioshock-infinite/user-reviews/811097/platform/xbox360/ ...and gave it a 8.5.

Who dares doesn't always win, apparently. BioShock Infinite is a game that far too often goes only halfway in realizing its many grand ambitions. It dares to speak on ever-relevant issues of racism, classism, and nationalism, but in an odd twist of irony, it marginalizes these plot elements that, in the real world, often lead to oppression and marginalization to instead focus on some good old-fashioned mind-bending speculative science fiction. It admirably deigns to not fall back on jarring cutscenes, but predicates most of its major mechanics on familiar shooting structures, leaving most of its truly affecting moments to be navigated through singular button-presses, that is, if you are given the opportunity to have any real input in these moments in the first place. It wants you to lose yourself in the visually engrossing but philosophically abhorrent world of Columbia, but many of the floating city's major players are paper-thin caricatures, and the game's wealth of audiologs feels cheaper and more overly-convenient than ever.

Still, it must be said that the fact that Infinite even partly accomplishes any of the tasks that it sets out for itself is hugely impressive. Considering many games have difficulties spicing up even the most rote shooting mechanics, unleash a deluge of cutscenes and quicktime events on players at every possible opportunity, and often struggle to not, themselves, be racist, BioShock Infinite stands out as an important step forward for big budget games that strive for serious artistry and drama. Irrational's latest isn't the gaming medium's magnum opus of cultural expression that one might expect given the game's self-serious artistic posturing, and huge critical acclaim, but it's still an utterly important release, and a damn good one too.

This is because there are plenty of things that Infinite gets totally right. The game's astounding audiovisual presentation is perhaps the foremost place to start. The game doesn't overtly flex any technical wizardry in the way an id or Crytek release might, but its sheer artistic splendor makes it one of the very best looking games of this console generation. At the root of this is no doubt the game's stellar environment, which ranks among the pantheon of gaming's greatest settings.

In the game's opening hour, players are slowly, calmly introduced to the seeming utopia of Columbia, an opulent, sun-drenched city above the clouds defined by exaggerated American expressions. Bright, idyllic gardens surround grand Palladian building; a peaceful stillness remains pervasive even through bustling storefronts and chatting citizens, only to occasionally be interrupted by enticing music selections (seriously, pay attention to this game's soundtrack), or - as players will encounter soon after arrival - a gleeful carnival complete with silly games and booming fireworks.

The game is wise to devote such a long period of time to simply navigating and luxuriating in its enticing environment, as Columbia is a true marvel that demonstrates the fact that Infinite's surely ungodly budget was put to good use - Irrational's hugely talented art team seems to have been truly unleashed. And though the game reserves for itself a few more simple moments of quietude, players will also soon discover their chief motivation for the rip-roaring action that consumes the vast majority of Infinite's running time.

Lead by the self-righteous and disturbed Father Comstock, most of Columbia's denizens have adopted a worldview that takes notions of American Exceptionalism to ridiculous but no less frightening extremes. Here, other religions have been extinguished in favor of a faith that idealizes America's founding fathers, as well as Comstock and his family, and all but the Anglo-Saxon adherents to this dogma are marginalized, reviled and exploited. This, as you might imagine, is causing some problems within the floating city, and tensions continually escalate from the moment you arrive.

But don't ready your spinning skyhook just yet, as there's quite a bit to dissect with this hefty plot setup. As mentioned before, Infinite has no qualms about diving headfirst into seemingly risky storytelling territory. But, much like the original BioShock's awkward and contradictory critique of Randian Objectivism, Infinite handles its set of sociopolitical critiques in a rather bumbling, heavy-handed, and ultimately ineffective way. For most of the game, these heavy themes of discrimination are mostly shock with little substance. Early on, for example, players will find themselves in the headquarters of The Fraternal Order of the Raven, an environment whose every last bit of iconography - including statues of John Wilkes Boothe, and enemies garbed in darkened Klu Klux Klan robes - spews bigoted filth. Troubling, to be sure, but this environment is never explored to a satisfactory degree in a narrative context. We are never told what drove the Order's members to this disgusting mindset, or what function it plays in Columbian society as a whole; instead we're instructed to simply tear through the environment, dismembering every racist we can find. Indeed, almost every one of the game's on-the-nose explorations of racism and jingoism seems to exist as more out of a desire to simply justify Infinite's absurd level of bombastic violence than a willingness to earnestly and cerebrally comment on these weighty issues.

It's a true shame, but again, the fact that the game is willing to go to these dark places in an upfront and confrontational manner when most games dodge around similar issues or make heavy use of metaphor and allegory in order to indirectly speak on them is commendable, even if it keeps Infinite's apparent daring from being something to truly celebrate.

But there is a second major component of Infinite's ideological critique, one that is much more subtly woven throughout the game, and one that ultimately cuts much deeper. Forgiveness and rebirth, in regards to its inherent inclusion in many major religions, is relentlessly examined and scrutinized over the course of the campaign in some truly unsettling ways. This side of the game's narrative might be so uncomfortable, in fact, as to offend adherents to the faiths that Infinite draws some heavily parallels to with its own disturbing belief system. The fact, however, that these themes aren't merely dabbled in, as are the game's superficial commentaries discrimination, but rather made absolutely integral to the core narrative and explored fully and fearlessly leads Infinite, in this instance, to fully live up to its grandiose goals. This is the moment where Infinite's narrative triumphs, and I can only hope that more games follow in its footsteps in bringing to light serious thematic content in a more direct manner, as can be seen so often in other media yet so rarely within video games.

Alright, here's where you can start revving up your skyhook. As he progresses through the carnival that greets him as he first steps foot in Columbia, Booker DeWitt, the game's playable and decidedly not-mute protagonist, begins to fully unravel the noxious worldview of Columbia's inhabitants. On his way towards a strange raffle that serves as the fair's main event, Comstock's voice booms over a loudspeaker, warning the citizens of Columbia about the arrival of the False Prophet, a man who has the letters "AD" burned into his right hand. Sure enough, our anti-hero holds his hand up to reveal that exact marking. And sure enough, during this eerie raffle event, the Columbians take notice of the mark, and Booker DeWitt swiftly digs a spinning hookblade into the skull of the first police officer that attempts to apprehend him.

With this, BioShock Infinite reveals its heavy emphasis on twitchy shooter gameplay and ridiculous amounts of gore. Engaging in the game's slick shooting mechanics feels no different than it might in the latest Call of Duty game; guns have a fantastic sense of weight to them and the responsiveness and ingenuity of the game's heads-up display ensures steady environmental awareness despite the over-the-top freneticism of many of the game's combat sequences. But where Infinite's combat truly shines is in its surprising mechanical density. Vigors that grant Booker special powers like the ability to shoot electricity from his fingertips or absorb bullets and toss them right back at foes serve as the first extra layering. For those familiar with the series, these powers might seem quite like the Plasmids introduced in the first BioShock, and though they do perform the same function, they're implemented in a far more balanced way in Infinite than they are in its predecessors; they're powerful and readily available but must be dealt out conservatively, as the mana pool they run on is rather restrictive.

But as gleefully destructive as they can be, Vigors are decidedly uninteresting in the face of Infinite's more inspired new mechanics. Booker's ability to latch onto the aerial Skylines running throughout Columbia is perhaps the most mind-blowing gameplay feature of them all. Though the mechanic seemed rather unbelievable during its first E3 showing a couple years ago, it speaks to the ingenuity of the game's level design that fluidly navigating Skylines that weave throughout many of the game's rather conspicuous battle arenas while taking shots at enemies, a potentially disorienting feat, becomes effortless after only a few encounters. The verticality and freedom of movement this system grants the game is awe-inspiring, and almost attaches a sense of childlike wonder to the act of mass-murdering racists.

For the first few hours of gameplay, these are the mechanics that Booker is limited to. It's during this time that he seeks to accomplish a seemingly simple direction mandated by a mysterious client: "Give us the girl, and wipe away the debt." Though this phrase ends up holding more significance than an uninitiated player could possibly know, it nonetheless serves as the impetus for finding Elizabeth, a young woman whose power to tear holes in the space-time continuum has, perhaps expectedly, lead her to be sequestered on the looming, Statue of Liberty-esque research facility, Monument Island.

So, as one might expect, this ability of hers adds more than a few layers of complexity to what might've otherwise been a rather straightforward plot. As the extent of her powers is gradually revealed, a suitably mind-bending narrative begins to form that comments, among other things, on the frail nature of identity and the profound ways in which a single choice can influence personhood, for better or worse. Though the introduction of converging space-time might seem to risk devolving the story into an Inception-esque exercise in overly complex authorial self-indulgence, BioShock Infinite uses this storytelling conceit to build a truly tragedian narrative.

But Elizabeth isn't merely a means for crafting a brain-melting metaphysical storyline. Nor is Booker DeWitt a stupefied on-looker who hails from the same lineage of horribly flat shooter protagonists as Gordon Freeman, or Corvo Attano. They are both memorable characters whose defined personalities infuse the plot's affecting tragedy with a true sense of humanity. Elizabeth, on one hand, starts out as a surprisingly cultured and self-aware inversion of the classic damsel-in-distress trope, and her evolution over the course of the game's ten- to twelve-hour campaign is astonishingly well-paced and believable. Her exaggerated features and expressive animations that pay homage to the distinctive style Grim Natwick invented for Disney solidify her as one of the most memorable and empathetic characters in gaming. DeWitt, by contrast, is predominately a closed-book, limiting himself to practical, yet charismatic antics strongly reminiscent of classic swashbucklers like Han Solo until his dark past is fully revealed during the final act. When that happens, he extends far beyond his narrative role as a foil to Elizabeth, and the resulting revelations cut to the bone. Major compliments are due to Troy Baker and Courtnee Draper, who faultlessly brings this odd couple to life even through all the mind-blowing turns the story takes.

The duo also serve as a great team during Infinite's huge combat sequences. Though Booker, as mentioned before, is in charge of most of the direct combat, Elizabeth is a key ingredient in what makes the game's massive shootouts so dazzling. Most significantly, she uses her ability to alter time and space to bring objects into the battlefields that didn't previously exist. Asking for a wall of cover to hide behind when a dozen enemies are facing you down, or perhaps a Skyhook that lets you access a sniper perch adds an exciting tactical dynamism to combat that feels especially important considering the sheer number of foes the game throws at you. Since you can only select one object to tear in at a time, more heated battles require a constant mindfulness and economization of Elizabeth's power that is as exhilaratingly strategic as the best of tactical shooters.

A smaller, but no less genius touch is the fact that Elizabeth tosses you mana and ammo when it feels clutch. Even when it becomes obvious that she's scripted to do so whenever your resources are running low, the notion that an AI is looking out for you is relentlessly fulfilling, especially in a game that constructs a scenario that might've so easily fallen into the dreaded escort-mission trap. Indeed, going back to other first-person shooters has become tough, as Elizabeth is not just a delightful companion in a narrative sense, but she's also integral to the satisfaction of Infinite's moment-to-moment combat proceedings.

Each of the augments to the core shooting experience are satisfying in their own right, but once they all start working in tandem, Infinite's combat scenarios reach the upper-echelon of FPS sublimation. Not since Half-Life 2 has a shooter married pulse-pounding twitch thrills to a deeply strategic core so seamlessly, and while leaving so much room for experimentation. The gritty sound design that punctuates the action is equally superb; a combination of abrasive string stabs, impactful weapon sound effects and some truly horrifying enemy damage reactions unfailingly sell you on the weighty ferocity of the mayhem you cause.

All this, of course, sounds amazing, and on some level it truly is. But consider this: for all its fast-paced entertainment, Infinite's combat never fully works. In a mechanical sense, it's pretty much as polished as can be, but the game's massive amount of carnage doesn't quite work within the context of the story. In fact, story and gameplay don't feel merged at all. While there's a fair amount of narrative justification for the heavy degree of violence, the fact that shooting people and ripping their heads of with a spinning hook is pretty much Booker's only way of interacting with the world undercuts much of the arresting emotionality of Infinite's narrative.

Highlighting this problem is the fact that many of the game's most powerful moments either preclude player input, or limit interactivity to the push of a single button. Elizabeth's ability to tear holes in the space-time continuum, for example, may have been the basis for some ingenious puzzle solving and narrative interaction, but players are instead left to simply push a button to demand entry into a new reality where they can proceed to shoot more people in the face. Again, this feels like BioShock Infinite going only halfway in bringing its many fantastic ideas to life; some truly inventive mechanical structures may have been borne out of the game's central narrative conceits, but Irrational has disappointingly opted to instead rely on more comfortable and pre-established action gameplay.

This disconnect is furthered by the game's odd focus on scavenging between each firefight. While the opportunity to really dig into and appreciate each environment, as well as get a break from the nearly nonstop action is welcome, the context of the narrative doesn't really support these detours either. Booker's mission is given an impactful sense of urgency, so the fact that the game encourages you to stop down for long stretches of time to eat random food items littered about and try to uncover Columbia's many secrets is rather off-putting. Early on, for instance, Elizabeth finds herself in immediate danger. An objective indicator flashes on-screen telling you to go rescue her, yet you find yourself surrounded by lootable objects designated by a pulsating golden glow. Of all the moments to try and fish pieces of cake out of a trashcan, this may be the least opportune, but Infinite's structure, which evidently values narrative over gameplay in terms of pacing and logic, continues to tempt you astray regardless. This might all seem a bit nitpicky, but considering the fact that Infinite is so intent on being treated as a significant work of art, these small annoyances can't be ignored, as they gradually undermine the meaning the game tries so hard to construct for itself.

BioShock Infinite is a game worth any mature player's while, but it has come at an unfortunate time. Within the past year alone, the industry has been treated to games like Spec Ops: The Line, The Walking Dead, and Hotline Miami, just a few titles that are capable of eloquently and expertly exploring dark themes while being cognizant of their respective mechanics' impact on the narratives they try to weave, making a game like Infinite - one that never fully accounts for the ways in which its gameplay influences the meaning and effectiveness of its story - seem a bit clumsy by comparison. David Jaffe, the brilliant designer behind games like God of War and Twisted Metal once deemed the relationship between gameplay and narrative as being like the combination of "chocolate and tunafish." I would argue that this claim isn't necessarily true, and games like Spec Ops are perfect demonstrations as to why that is. In the case of Infinite, however, Jaffe's argument has a haunting validity. But take heart, the chocolate that is BioShock Infinite's gameplay and the tunafish that is its story are pretty much premium grade when enjoyed separately. Just accept the fact that the combination is going to taste a little odd and find something to savor within it.

Get the full article at GameSpot

"WTA2k5 reviewed BioShock Infinite for the Xbox 360..." was posted by WTA2k5 on Tue, 07 May 2013 15:08:22 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/bioshock-infinite/user-reviews/811097/platform/xbox360/ Tue, 07 May 2013 13:42:46 -0700 WTA2k5 reviewed BioShock Infinite for the PlayStation 3... http://www.gamespot.com/bioshock-infinite/user-reviews/811095/platform/ps3/ ...and gave it a 8.5.

Who dares doesn't always win, apparently. BioShock Infinite is a game that far too often goes only halfway in realizing its many grand ambitions. It dares to speak on ever-relevant issues of racism, classism, and nationalism, but in an odd twist of irony, it marginalizes these plot elements that, in the real world, often lead to oppression and marginalization to instead focus on some good old-fashioned mind-bending speculative science fiction. It admirably deigns to not fall back on jarring cutscenes, but predicates most of its major mechanics on familiar shooting structures, leaving most of its truly affecting moments to be navigated through singular button-presses, that is, if you are given the opportunity to have any real input in these moments in the first place. It wants you to lose yourself in the visually engrossing but philosophically abhorrent world of Columbia, but many of the floating city's major players are paper-thin caricatures, and the game's wealth of audiologs feels cheaper and more overly-convenient than ever.

Still, it must be said that the fact that Infinite even partly accomplishes any of the tasks that it sets out for itself is hugely impressive. Considering have huge difficulties spicing up even the most rote shooting mechanics, unleash a deluge of cutscenes and quicktime events on players at every possible opportunity, and often struggle to not, themselves, be racist, BioShock Infinite stands out as an important step forward for big budget games that strive for serious artistry and drama. Irrational's latest isn't the gaming medium's magnum opus of cultural expression that one might expect given the game's self-serious artistic posturing, and huge critical acclaim, but it's still an utterly important release, and a damn good one too.

This is because there are plenty of things that Infinite gets totally right. The game's astounding audiovisual presentation is perhaps the foremost place to start. The game doesn't overtly flex any technical wizardry in the way an id or Crytek release might, but its sheer artistic splendor makes it one of the very best looking games of this console generation. At the root of this is no doubt the game's stellar environment, which ranks among the pantheon of gaming's greatest settings.

In the game's opening hour, players are slowly, calmly introduced to the seeming utopia of Columbia, an opulent, sun-drenched city above the clouds defined by exaggerated American expressions. Bright, idyllic gardens surround grand Palladian building; a peaceful stillness remains pervasive even through bustling storefronts and chatting citizens, only to occasionally be interrupted by enticing music selections (seriously, pay attention to this game's soundtrack), or - as players will encounter soon after arrival - a gleeful carnival complete with silly games and booming fireworks.

The game is wise to devote such a long period of time to simply navigating and luxuriating in its enticing environment, as Columbia is a true marvel that demonstrates the fact that Infinite's surely ungodly budget was put to good use - Irrational's hugely talented art team seems to have been truly unleashed. And though the game reserves for itself a few more simple moments of quietude, players will also soon discover their chief motivation for the rip-roaring action that consumes the vast majority of Infinite's running time.

Lead by the self-righteous and disturbed Father Comstock, most of Columbia's denizens have adopted a worldview that takes notions of American Exceptionalism to ridiculous but no less frightening extremes. Here, other religions have been extinguished in favor of a faith that idealizes America's founding fathers, as well as Comstock and his family, and all but the Anglo-Saxon adherents to this dogma are marginalized, reviled and exploited. This, as you might imagine, is causing some problems within the floating city, and tensions continually escalate from the moment you arrive.

But don't ready your spinning skyhook just yet, as there's quite a bit to dissect with this hefty plot setup. As mentioned before, Infinite has no qualms about diving headfirst into seemingly risky storytelling territory. But, much like the original BioShock's awkward and contradictory critique of Randian Objectivism, Infinite handles its set of sociopolitical critiques in a rather bumbling, heavy-handed, and ultimately ineffective way. For most of the game, these heavy themes of discrimination are mostly shock with little substance. Early on, for example, players will find themselves in the headquarters of The Fraternal Order of the Raven, an environment whose every last bit of iconography - including statues of John Wilkes Boothe, and enemies garbed in darkened Klu Klux Klan robes - spews bigoted filth. Troubling, to be sure, but this environment is never explored to a satisfactory degree in a narrative context. We are never told what drove the Order's members to this disgusting mindset, or what function it plays in Columbian society as a whole; instead we're instructed to simply tear through the environment, dismembering every racist we can find. Indeed, almost every one of the game's on-the-nose explorations of racism and jingoism seems to exist as more out of a desire to simply justify Infinite's absurd level of bombastic violence than a willingness to earnestly and cerebrally comment on these weighty issues.

It's a true shame, but again, the fact that the game is willing to go to these dark places in an upfront and confrontational manner when most games dodge around similar issues or make heavy use of metaphor and allegory in order to indirectly speak on them is commendable, even if it keeps Infinite's apparent daring from being something to truly celebrate.

But there is a second major component of Infinite's ideological critique, one that is much more subtly woven throughout the game, and one that ultimately cuts much deeper. Forgiveness and rebirth, in regards to its inherent inclusion in many major religions, is relentlessly examined and scrutinized over the course of the campaign in some truly unsettling ways. This side of the game's narrative might be so uncomfortable, in fact, as to offend adherents to the faiths that Infinite draws some heavily parallels to with its own disturbing belief system. The fact, however, that these themes aren't merely dabbled in, as are the game's superficial commentaries discrimination, but rather made absolutely integral to the core narrative and explored fully and fearlessly leads Infinite, in this instance, to fully live up to its grandiose goals. This is the moment where Infinite's narrative triumphs, and I can only hope that more games follow in its footsteps in bringing to light serious thematic content in a more direct manner, as can be seen so often in other media yet so rarely within video games.

Alright, here's where you can start revving up your skyhook. As he progresses through the carnival that greets him as he first steps foot in Columbia, Booker DeWitt, the game's playable and decidedly not-mute protagonist, begins to fully unravel the noxious worldview of Columbia's inhabitants. On his way towards a strange raffle that serves as the fair's main event, Comstock's voice booms over a loudspeaker, warning the citizens of Columbia about the arrival of the False Prophet, a man who has the letters "AD" burned into his right hand. Sure enough, our anti-hero holds his hand up to reveal that exact marking. And sure enough, during this eerie raffle event, the Columbians take notice of the mark, and Booker DeWitt swiftly digs a spinning hookblade into the skull of the first police officer that attempts to apprehend him.

With this, BioShock Infinite reveals its heavy emphasis on twitchy shooter gameplay and ridiculous amounts of gore. Engaging in the game's slick shooting mechanics feels no different than it might in the latest Call of Duty game; guns have a fantastic sense of weight to them and the responsiveness and ingenuity of the game's heads-up display ensures steady environmental awareness despite the over-the-top freneticism of many of the game's combat sequences. But where Infinite's combat truly shines is in its surprising mechanical density. Vigors that grant Booker special powers like the ability to shoot electricity from his fingertips or absorb bullets and toss them right back at foes serve as the first extra layering. For those familiar with the series, these powers might seem quite like the Plasmids introduced in the first BioShock, and though they do perform the same function, they're implemented in a far more balanced way in Infinite than they are in its predecessors; they're powerful and readily available but must be dealt out conservatively, as the mana pool they run on is rather restrictive.

But as gleefully destructive as they can be, Vigors are decidedly uninteresting in the face of Infinite's more inspired new mechanics. Booker's ability to latch onto the aerial Skylines running throughout Columbia is perhaps the most mind-blowing gameplay feature of them all. Though the mechanic seemed rather unbelievable during its first E3 showing a couple years ago, it speaks to the ingenuity of the game's level design that fluidly navigating Skylines that weave throughout many of the game's rather conspicuous battle arenas while taking shots at enemies, a potentially disorienting feat, becomes effortless after only a few encounters. The verticality and freedom of movement this system grants the game is awe-inspiring, and almost attaches a sense of childlike wonder to the act of mass-murdering racists.

For the first few hours of gameplay, these are the mechanics that Booker is limited to. It's during this time that he seeks to accomplish a seemingly simple direction mandated by a mysterious client: "Give us the girl, and wipe away the debt." Though this phrase ends up holding more significance than an uninitiated player could possibly know, it nonetheless serves as the impetus for finding Elizabeth, a young woman whose power to tear holes in the space-time continuum has, perhaps expectedly, lead her to be sequestered on the looming, Statue of Liberty-esque research facility, Monument Island.

So, as one might expect, this ability of hers adds more than a few layers of complexity to what might've otherwise been a rather straightforward plot. As the extent of her powers is gradually revealed, a suitably mind-bending narrative begins to form that comments, among other things, on the frail nature of identity and the profound ways in which a single choice can influence personhood, for better or worse. Though the introduction of converging space-time might seem to risk devolving the story into an Inception-esque exercise in overly complex authorial self-indulgence, BioShock Infinite uses this storytelling conceit to build a truly tragedian narrative.

But Elizabeth isn't merely a means for crafting a brain-melting metaphysical storyline. Nor is Booker DeWitt a stupefied on-looker who hails from the same lineage of horribly flat shooter protagonists as Gordon Freeman, or Corvo Attano. They are both memorable characters whose defined personalities infuse the plot's affecting tragedy with a true sense of humanity. Elizabeth, on one hand, starts out as a surprisingly cultured and self-aware inversion of the classic damsel-in-distress trope, and her evolution over the course of the game's ten- to twelve-hour campaign is astonishingly well-paced and believable. Her exaggerated features and expressive animations that pay homage to the distinctive style Grim Natwick invented for Disney solidify her as one of the most memorable and empathetic characters in gaming. DeWitt, by contrast, is predominately a closed-book, limiting himself to practical, yet charismatic antics strongly reminiscent of classic swashbucklers like Han Solo until his dark past is fully revealed during the final act. When that happens, he extends far beyond his narrative role as a foil to Elizabeth, and the resulting revelations cut to the bone. Major compliments are due to Troy Baker and Courtnee Draper, who faultlessly brings this odd couple to life even through all the mind-blowing turns the story takes.

The duo also serve as a great team during Infinite's huge combat sequences. Though Booker, as mentioned before, is in charge of most of the direct combat, Elizabeth is a key ingredient in what makes the game's massive shootouts so dazzling. Most significantly, she uses her ability to alter time and space to bring objects into the battlefields that didn't previously exist. Asking for a wall of cover to hide behind when a dozen enemies are facing you down, or perhaps a Skyhook that lets you access a sniper perch adds an exciting tactical dynamism to combat that feels especially important considering the sheer number of foes the game throws at you. Since you can only select one object to tear in at a time, more heated battles require a constant mindfulness and economization of Elizabeth's power that is as exhilaratingly strategic as the best of tactical shooters.

A smaller, but no less genius touch is the fact that Elizabeth tosses you mana and ammo when it feels clutch. Even when it becomes obvious that she's scripted to do so whenever your resources are running low, the notion that an AI is looking out for you is relentlessly fulfilling, especially in a game that constructs a scenario that might've so easily fallen into the dreaded escort-mission trap. Indeed, going back to other first-person shooters has become tough, as Elizabeth is not just a delightful companion in a narrative sense, but she's also integral to the satisfaction of Infinite's moment-to-moment combat proceedings.

Each of the augments to the core shooting experience are satisfying in their own right, but once they all start working in tandem, Infinite's combat scenarios reach the upper-echelon of FPS sublimation. Not since Half-Life 2 has a shooter married pulse-pounding twitch thrills to a deeply strategic core so seamlessly, and while leaving so much room for experimentation. The gritty sound design that punctuates the action is equally superb; a combination of abrasive string stabs, impactful weapon sound effects and some truly horrifying enemy damage reactions unfailingly sell you on the weighty ferocity of the mayhem you cause.

All this, of course, sounds amazing, and on some level it truly is. But consider this: for all its fast-paced entertainment, Infinite's combat never fully works. In a mechanical sense, it's pretty much as polished as can be, but the game's massive amount of carnage doesn't quite work within the context of the story. In fact, story and gameplay don't feel merged at all. While there's a fair amount of narrative justification for the heavy degree of violence, the fact that shooting people and ripping their heads of with a spinning hook is pretty much Booker's only way of interacting with the world undercuts much of the arresting emotionality of Infinite's narrative.

Highlighting this problem is the fact that many of the game's most powerful moments either preclude player input, or limit interactivity to the push of a single button. Elizabeth's ability to tear holes in the space-time continuum, for example, may have been the basis for some ingenious puzzle solving and narrative interaction, but players are instead left to simply push a button to demand entry into a new reality where they can proceed to shoot more people in the face. Again, this feels like BioShock Infinite going only halfway in bringing its many fantastic ideas to life; some truly inventive mechanical structures may have been borne out of the game's central narrative conceits, but Irrational has disappointingly opted to instead rely on more comfortable and pre-established action gameplay.

This disconnect is furthered by the game's odd focus on scavenging between each firefight. While the opportunity to really dig into and appreciate each environment, as well as get a break from the nearly nonstop action is welcome, the context of the narrative doesn't really support these detours either. Booker's mission is given an impactful sense of urgency, so the fact that the game encourages you to stop down for long stretches of time to eat random food items littered about and try to uncover Columbia's many secrets is rather off-putting. Early on, for instance, Elizabeth finds herself in immediate danger. An objective indicator flashes on-screen telling you to go rescue her, yet you find yourself surrounded by lootable objects designated by a pulsating golden glow. Of all the moments to try and fish pieces of cake out of a trashcan, this may be the least opportune, but Infinite's structure, which evidently values narrative over gameplay in terms of pacing and logic, continues to tempt you astray regardless. This might all seem a bit nitpicky, but considering the fact that Infinite is so intent on being treated as a significant work of art, these small annoyances can't be ignored, as they gradually undermine the meaning the game tries so hard to construct for itself.

BioShock Infinite is a game worth any mature player's while, but it has come at an unfortunate time. Within the past year alone, the industry has been treated to games like Spec Ops: The Line, The Walking Dead, and Hotline Miami, just a few titles that are capable of eloquently and expertly exploring dark themes while being cognizant of their respective mechanics' impact on the narratives they try to weave, making a game like Infinite - one that never fully accounts for the ways in which its gameplay influences the meaning and effectiveness of its story - seem a bit clumsy by comparison. David Jaffe, the brilliant designer behind games like God of War and Twisted Metal once deemed the relationship between gameplay and narrative as being like the combination of "chocolate and tunafish." I would argue that this claim isn't necessarily true, and games like Spec Ops are perfect demonstrations as to why that is. In the case of Infinite, however, Jaffe's argument has a haunting validity. But take heart, the chocolate that is BioShock Infinite's gameplay and the tunafish that is its story are pretty much premium grade when enjoyed separately. Just accept the fact that the combination is to taste a little odd and find something to savor within it.

Get the full article at GameSpot

"WTA2k5 reviewed BioShock Infinite for the PlayStation 3..." was posted by WTA2k5 on Tue, 07 May 2013 13:42:46 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/bioshock-infinite/user-reviews/811095/platform/ps3/ Tue, 07 May 2013 08:26:26 -0700 The_Last_Ride reviewed Assassin's Creed III for the Xbox 360... http://www.gamespot.com/assassins-creed-iii/user-reviews/811091/platform/xbox360/ ...and gave it a 8.0.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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


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

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

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

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

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"Gamer_4_Fun reviewed Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon for the PC..." was posted by Gamer_4_Fun on Mon, 06 May 2013 23:36:32 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/far-cry-3-blood-dragon/user-reviews/811079/platform/pc/ Sun, 05 May 2013 16:44:24 -0700 pokecharm reviewed Resident Evil: Revelations for the 3DS... http://www.gamespot.com/resident-evil-revelations/user-reviews/811037/platform/3ds/ ...and gave it a 7.0.

Resident Evil Revelations was the first game that drew my attention to the 3DS. The story is just as derivative as you would expect with a series that has such a lengthy history, at points you're not sure which was is up, and I strongly encourage you watch through the credits for any hidden pieces.

The story follows various different characters, two familiar to long-time fans, Chris Redfeild and Jill Valentine. With those two, you also pick up a bevy of new characters who are both memorable and forgettable. My favourite is the kid paired with Qunit who's name escapes me. The story is set between Resident Evil 4 and 5, placing this after Leon's adventure and by far my favourite of all the RE games. Jill and Chris are separated for the beginning of the game, introducing two new characters, Parker and Jessica. Neither are all that memorable, but at the same time, I did feel like they were very dynamic characters, their motivations and dialogue leading you to believe they were real people and not flat characters as you would see in a Gears of War like game.

The story gets dizzying at times, but what stood out for me the most was the variety of weapons. You start off with a pair of standard weapons and one melee weapon. As you move through the game and go into different areas, as you get more items, you get more and more powerful weapons. Upgrades are found that can be swapped in and out of each weapon. Much like the recent change to Dead Space, you can apply an addition to each weapon, if you don't like how it works, you can swap it to another with no penalty. I ended up sticking with the shotgun and machine gun as my most favourite weapons, putting the most powerful upgrades in each.

The game is featured on a smaller console, and while I could tell the difference in the 3D, once again, I can't say I was overly impressed by the 3DS display. The cut scenes were decently rendered, but the actual game play graphics are limited by the tiny 3DS screen and the passable 3D graphics. I do wonder how they will upconvert the graphics with the console cousin coming out soon.

The controls and game play were easy to pick up and understand. During some of the boss battles, things would seem get frustrating, forcing you to press a certain button repeatedly to get up or force you to press the reload button when your character should auto-reload when you ran out of ammo. There was very little dodge to the dodge button, which also made some sequences tough. At varying points, you couldn't avoid hits from the enemies, making boss battles especially challenging.

The length of the game was appropriate given that it is a mobile game. I finished the game over the weekend, putting in less than 10 hours. While this isn't the best RE game I've ever played, it is the best one I've played in recent memory. The game does feel a lot like RE4 in both controls and story. It is well worth playing, though perhaps not for the full $40 I paid when it was released.

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"pokecharm reviewed Resident Evil: Revelations for the 3DS..." was posted by pokecharm on Sun, 05 May 2013 16:44:24 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/resident-evil-revelations/user-reviews/811037/platform/3ds/ Sun, 05 May 2013 14:26:03 -0700 Azghouls reviewed Fallout 3: Point Lookout for the PC... http://www.gamespot.com/fallout-3-point-lookout/user-reviews/811034/platform/pc/ ...and gave it a 8.0.

After all the DLCs I have played for Fallout 3, one of my major criticisms was that even though there's plenty to see, the locals felt empty in some way. Running on that thought when booting up Point Lookout, I was pleasantly surprised that this was not the case. It actually felt like a worthy addition to the Fallout series as not only they opened up a new area, there are quests galore to complete.

So Point Lookout is located along the coast of Maryland I believe. It's a swampy area that's wasn't directly hit by the bombs but the world has left behind. The only way to get to Point Lookout is by the ferry called the 'Duchess Gambit'. Once installing this DLC, you'll get a message titled 'The local Flavour' which triggers the starting point of this adventure. Note though it's best to take your best equipment as its one tough DLC to beat. And to make matters worse, the people who can repair your equipment are not so good.

I was pretty awed once arrived at Point Lookout as it looks reasonably eerie. Filled with fog, you see a lighthouse in the distance and close to that, a derelict looking mansion. In front of you seem to be an abandoned carnival located across the peer. And to add, a Ferris wheel stands motionless to your left é like a reminiscence of the Ferris wheel in Pripyat, Ukraine. A great backdrop to this setting as it does set that deathly, deserted silence long forgotten by humans.

The area of Point Lookout I think is around one sixth of the Capital Wastelands. Quite large considering and thankfully, there are a decent amount of quests to do; five main ones, five side quests and one unmarked. Completing the main quests will score you three achievements and locate all the sites scores you the 'bog walker' achievement. So Point Lookout not only rewards you for completing the missions but exploration as well. And it's definitely worth your time exploring as it got some interesting areas, even some reminds me of The Blair Witch Project.

With any good DLCs, there are new critters to dispatch and of course some old friends. Because of the swampy nature, don't be surprised that the area is infested with ghouls of all types. And if you haven't met the 'ghoul that ends all ghouls' (aka the reaver) well they are here in full force. You will notice them by their smoky appearance and able to throw radioactive guts that does damage equivalent to a grenade. Personally I hate them as they are tough as nails in both melee and range. There are other critters as well however I won't spoil it for you though.

Even though this area will be unlocked once you get out of Vault 101 however make no mistake, it's no walk in the park. Out of all the DLCs, I felt this one is the hardest and of course adding those reavers certainly bumps up the difficulty. Even those tribals wearing just rags are hard to dispatch. It's odd that I need to wear my full ranger's armour to protect the occasional onslaught of tribals. But considering I played it on hard, I cannot say about how the lower difficulty fairs. And to make matters worse, there are only two people who can repair your gear and their skills are extremely low.

The suggested completion time is around four to five hours. I'm not sure if the suggested time only refers to the main quest however, me being a completionist, completed it just over the ten hours mark. That's including knocking off all the quests, obtained all the achievements and explored the entire area. That said, out of all five DLCs, this is the DLC to play as it felt like a decent expansion with a new area to explore filled with activities (which was lacking in the previous DLCs yet Broken Steel boosts the level cap to 30).

Get the full article at GameSpot

"Azghouls reviewed Fallout 3: Point Lookout for the PC..." was posted by Azghouls on Sun, 05 May 2013 14:26:03 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/fallout-3-point-lookout/user-reviews/811034/platform/pc/ Sun, 05 May 2013 13:45:04 -0700 webofshadows5 reviewed Sonic Adventure 2 for the PlayStation 3... http://www.gamespot.com/sonic-adventure-2-hd/user-reviews/811033/platform/ps3/ ...and gave it a 8.0.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Get the full article at GameSpot

"webofshadows5 reviewed Sonic Adventure 2 for the PlayStation 3..." was posted by webofshadows5 on Sun, 05 May 2013 13:45:04 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/sonic-adventure-2-hd/user-reviews/811033/platform/ps3/ Fri, 03 May 2013 04:19:30 -0700 naju890_963 reviewed Sonic the Hedgehog for the Genesis... http://www.gamespot.com/sonic-the-hedgehog/user-reviews/810955/platform/genesis/ ...and gave it a 8.5.

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

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

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

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

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

Get the full article at GameSpot

"naju890_963 reviewed Sonic the Hedgehog for the Genesis..." was posted by naju890_963 on Fri, 03 May 2013 04:19:30 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/sonic-the-hedgehog/user-reviews/810955/platform/genesis/