Mathematical

I went into the store today planning to pre-order something but I saw that the new Tony Hawk was out and I might as well check it out - the worst thing that could happen is that I return it with my satisfaction guarantee and just put down the money on the pre-order anyways. Turns out, this is exactly what happened in the first morning that I had it. The "honest" review seems to not at all take into account any of the negatives and gives points for things like "I can have Octodad's head on a robot body" which puts priorities.. rather out of order. From top to bottom the game is a mess and I think if you honestly had the chance to ask anyone who worked on it, they'd say the same thing. 1. The style of game that we're looking at here is the old style, numbered Tony Hawks. That is alright in a sense, that was hot stuff when it came out and even on the HD release people were loving it. But here's the thing, and it has been pointed out before - the levels are in no way as creative as ANY of the other levels from the numbered Tony Hawk games. They're kind of sad, barren and sterile and they absolutely do look like they were just made with the course creator that comes with the game. That is a huge disappointment. I feel like in general, people wanted Tony Hawk back but they wanted back the THUG or American Wasteland type game. One where you started out as someone who has aspirations of making it big, you get sponsorships, you get new gear, you skate in actual location with people around. That isn't a big stretch and older Tony Hawk games had that. It's nothing anywhere near the people who'll tell you "this isn't a Skate game" because the Tony Hawk that I knew and loved had complex levels, a decent story and more to do than "get points and get letters" in different combinations. 2. The graphics are bad and they were changed last minute so "even if you had 20 people online, the frame rate is going to stay at 60 FPS". You read that? That is an actual quote from the developers and going to this pseudo-cel shaded look just pushes another point more - this should be FAR less than a full priced title (80 dollars + tax in Canada) and it should be up for download only. Besides that point, the frames drop anyways when I am playing ALONE - and this is regardless of the day 1 patch that is double the size of the actual install of the game. 3. Very little in terms of real customization. The relatively small roster of guys is complimented with a few others but the lack of a create your own skater is really thrown off here. They really could've had something if they made this game a downloadable title and just slashed the heck out of the price tag - because honestly, it would be fun to play for spurts here or there and it basically is the feel of the Tony Hawk games which always felt good. But with the idea of a reduced price in my head, I've soured on this a lot. The levels just aren't fun, it's repetitive, it's buggy and it leaves me with a huge feeling of what could have been instead of what there is in front of me.

This time of year isn't just about the most hardcore of shooters, the action-adventure games and the sports franchises. Before being swept up in the haze of releases these next few months - I decided to slow it down a bit and pick up the 360 version of Sims 3: Pets. I have always been a Sims fan here and there - and this was the perfect chance to jump into a stand-alone edition of an add-on pack that people have been waiting on for ages now it seems. Being able to actually control the pets doesn't seem all that exciting at first - and then you realize that there is a lot more to it than making sure your furry friend goes outside to use the bathroom. Your pets can have jobs (cats become cat burglars, dogs become police dogs), hunt and dig, terrorize your neigbours or make friends the very same way your Sim can. Not to mention the additions made to the game - you're basically getting the same console version of The Sims 3 released a year or so back, but you're also getting some additions in the form of new Karma powers, an entirely new neighbourhood (which is gorgeous, by the way) and new items, objects, etc. In closing - I've enjoyed this quite a bit, and it's bound to get lost in the fray of games released this season and most likely written off as casual by most gamers - but the ability to have my dog distract my horrible neighbour while my cat terrorizes his furniture and floors.. is just too fun to pass up.

NOTE: You are not about to read a review full of the word "****" and there is absolutely no bias in franchises on my behalf. It's also written with proper grammar and spelling. It feels bad - having to rate the game the way that I am, but I absolutely feel like this is the way I have to do it. After months of waiting, telling all my Black Ops friends that Battlefield 3 was going to blow Call Of Duty out of the water and all that jazz - I feel disappointed and I'm happy that they didn't listen to me and throw down pre-orders before the reviews came out. Campaign Mode: Now, I have seen a lot of the Battlefield defenders out here stating that the single player shouldn't even be taken into account. Frankly, that's false on so many levels I don't even know where to begin.. but a wise man once said that any game with the single player option, should have a leg to stand on based on that single player option alone. Aside from pretty graphics, the campaign here is stock-standard - there isn't really a reason to touch it. It's the same old thing we've seen over and over again, and it's the kind of thing that goes straight into the bargain bin these days. But I would never fully condemn something without offering an alternative - so how about next time we see a campaign that is based on providing a story-based tutorial on tactics that should be used in the multiplayer game? Let's not mince words here, Battlefield IS a multiplayer experience first and foremost - but if you're not going to try and string out a decent story and drag it out over a trilogy or something of the sort - have SOME point to the thing. Multiplayer Mode: This is of course where the game was meant to shine, and for the most part it does - it works the way that it was designed... when the people do. Your experience is going to be severely based on who you are playing with, and this day and age it's just about as bad as ever. Let's be serious for a moment - if you think that your friends are always going to be around when you want to play - that's something that just isn't going to happen. I have around a dozen friends to play with and aside from the rare one day a week a good number of us getting together is a rarity. BUT, when it does work and you all communicate things CAN be beautiful. I won't even take into consideration the servers going down so much on release - and knowing EA and my experiences with all of the Battlefield games, they will be going down quite a bit - I've had some pretty good experience. But than again I have also came into situations where my team-mate has just driven around in circles inside mission critical equipment. It's infuriating, it takes you out of the game and it happens more often than I'd like to admit. The unlocks right now are the only thing keeping me going at a regular pace.. the terrain is beautiful and provides a good deal of cover but there is a lot of independent scenery that I am finding myself having to navigate around.. and poorly. I'm talking bits of small scenery on the ground that is slowing me down in ways that it really shouldn't. All in all - for everything bad, I am finding something good. It's just I feel that the good is going to wear off and the bad is going to stay. If you seriously can't stand the way COD handles multiplayer (and you are educated enough to see what changes they've made this year) AND you can only afford to buy one of these.. go with Battlefield, it's not what it was hyped to be but it's what you've come to know and love.