The thing I found most crazy about this game was that it wasn't even on my radar as being even a semi interesting game until a week before it came out. I remember seeing it during E3 and maybe Gamescom and it showing poorly; subjective of course, but the topless woman seen mixed with Ubisoft's MC did it no favors. So that compounded with an hour long crap experience with Far Cry 2 I had written this one off. Well Giant Bomb had a quick look and I figured that wouldn't hurt and within about 10 minutes I was convinced that I would like this game. So, two days after it comes out I decide I need to have it and pop it in and get going. I remember being totally lost in the first few minutes of 2 and wasn't sure how I was going to tackle this new one. Luckily it sort of eases you into the open island and gives you the basic knowledge of survival (read: crafting). So after about two to three hours I feel like I am blowing through it way to quick and having too much fun and decide I need to pace myself. I found myself thinking about the game while I wasn't playing. Thoughts such as "What things do I need to do next, get materials for crafting? What do I want to craft next? Should I continue with the story or go get more radio towers? What skills should I invest in?". It was wild that I cared this much about a game outside of playing it and then it dawned on me that the last time this happened was Skyrim. I've been somewhat disappointed since Skyrim that nothing has really grabbed me as well and tricked me into throwing 86 hours of my life into it over the course of 4 weeks. Well, Far Cry 3 came to the rescue and scratched that itch. I always liked the aura of Skyrim but never was really motivated to go find cool site seeing locations. With Far Cry 3 I was always wanting to see what was on the other side of the hill and see how far I could see and generally just view this paradise that I was tromping through. The best part was definitely the exploring and being able to scale massive mountains, hang glide [spoiler] wingsuit [/spoiler] for what felt like miles was totally exhilarating. One bit I was surprised by was the driving. They tackled that aspect extremely well so that it doesn't feel like a clunky part of the game you want to avoid and compromise with walking. Jumping in a jeep and bouncing around as you roared through the jungle dodging trees and aiming for enemies felt exactly like I would have imagined it. So that was the upside of Far Cry 3, but unfortunately there were some downsides too. Remember how I was hooked? Well that continued through the first half of the game and a little bit into the second half but eventually the story slows down and doesn't feel as irrational as some of the missions in the first half. There was also a skills tree which I hardly used at all and felt it had little effect on my play through. It was only towards that end that I realized I had all these upgrades available to me and with them I didn't feel like I could accomplish anything more efficiently. While some may argue that certain characters were weak in this game (especially the main) I found it also had some great characters: Vaas and Sam Becker being my favorites. I don't really know who the right crowd for this game is as I didn't think it was myself going in, but I can say I got my brother who normally has zero interest in games to play it and beat it before me. So my recommendation is that if you are interested in the slightest bit, you need to sit down and play 2-3 hours and you will understand what I am talking about.
Playing two racing games simultaneously could be considered a poor idea but I think it allowed me to hone in what exactly it is that I enjoy in racing games. With that said, please forgive me if my review feels like I'm pointing out what was different from Forza Horizion. First off, this game is a lot fun to just mess around in and Criterion did a great job of creating a gritty city that feels alive and dangerous. Driving around Fairhaven is filled with close calls and action-movie worthy crashes. But in that lies a huge problem, crashing was way to easy. The driving felt clunky to the point where cars didn't really turn how you expect them to (read: everything felt very unpredictable) and they felt really sticky; however, if you needed to make a 90-degree turn at 150mph, no problem, just grab the brake and drift it out. It seemed like the driving system didn't really have itself together and as such you would find yourself crashing into things constantly throughout races and that was the source of difficulty. Through this drive-crash-repeat gameplay style it exposed another huge issue I had with the game: rubber banding AI. I know Forza Horizon had it to but it was so poorly implemented here I was in awe quite a lot. There were points that I would crash multiple times per lap yet I was still able to catch right up to the AI. Conversely, I would "takedown" a competitor and I would gain a good bit of ground only to see their icon on the map fly up at what could only be 300+mph and then slow down as soon as it got close to me. As a result everything was a close race and it felt like you were never really rewarded for driving a solid race, but only a good last 30 seconds. So given the flaws above I still found myself really enjoying the game. It didn't have the variety I would have liked in races as you find yourself doing the exact same race 5 times with different cars. One thing I think Criterion did a great job tapping into is allowing the player to drive all the cases (minus the 10 Most Wanted) right out of the gate at no cost to them. While I think currency in racing games makes sense, it would be great if this concept was replicated in other games, or maybe releasing a class of cars at each stage or something to that effect. So if it wasn't obvious by now I think this was the lesser of the two racing games from 2012, but was still a lot of fun to play and so much so that I think I'll get back into the NFS franchise after a hiatus since Pro Street. I've heard the online is really good so maybe I'll give that a shot but I get aggravated very easily by people messing around online rather than actually trying to play.
I recall seeing rumors for this game popping up in the Forza 4 thread and instantly despising it once I saw the trailer. Being a fan of racing games, dumping many hours in Forza 3 and 4, and also a huge fan of EDM, it was like seeing them perverted and slapped together in some BS off year game. While I still hold strong on my position of the whole EDM center to the game, it held up on the racing side. If seeing a racer look so damn beautiful and remind me what it is like to drive a nice car through a beautiful part of the world wasn't enough, the gameplay was really fun. It held up extremely well to what I would expect from a Forza series and in some cases went beyond my expectations in providing something that a more "arcady" racer wouldn't necessarily require to please most of its fans. My favorite parts of the game were the point to point races that felt more like a reality than something like a circuit race. Being able to fly at 120mph on the edge of the cliff with the orange faces of Colorado's natural formations surrounding me or blazing down desert highways dodging commuter traffic at absurd speeds were really the staples of this game; these were the moments that kept me wanting more. There were definitely dull moments and a lot of the story, if you want to call it that, was exactly the same as NFS: Pro Street. I think the most surprising part for me was how much side stuff there was to do. When I first started playing I was annoyed by how far apart the races were and thinking about how much time I was going to spend over the course of the game driving in between events versus just choosing an event **** in Forza 4. Luckily the game soon unveils that you actually have an amazing amount of other stuff to do to pass the time and make those trips more fun. I equate it to interactive loading screens. Some of the downsides for me included not being able to swap my free roam car with ease or not being able to tune/upgrade without visiting the garage in the center of the map. I often found myself driving the same car in between events for each act of the game. So, I am pleased to say that Forza Horizon was the first game I completed in 2013, and if you are the kind of person who enjoys racing games (especially ones that are BEAUTIFUL), arcade or sim, this is absolutely worth dropping time into.
I remember playing super smash for hours on end when I was younger, and I was expecting a similar experience but with characters that I had attachment to in the playstation universe that I spent a lot more time on. Unfortunately i didn't click quite as well as I hoped but what I did play I really enjoyed. I completed over half the campaigns but I find this game to be more of a local multiplayer rather than a play through all the campaigns by myself. The concept of using Supers to get kills was concerning when it was first announced but after playing the beta I wasn't so bothered by it and now having played the actual game I've gotta say, I really like it. I'm not very familiar with how fighting games tend to en structured but I found it frustrating that some characters first supers were super easy to get and really effective, white other took forever to build up a sup that turned out to be fairly crappy. Maybe playing with more characters and understanding their techniques would overcome that issue but I don't foresee myself playing with characters I'm not interested in. I thought the levels were good but didn't really feel myself taking advantage of them and rather just adapting to those that were dynamic throughout the match. Visually I thought it looked great and even on the vita I was impressed. Online is a lot of fun too, and being able to play with a friend is great. It's unfortunate that people didn't get into it all that much, it definitely deserves a fan base. I'd say that if you have a ps3 and are into fighting games it is definitely worth it, especially if it's on sale.
I really expected this game to be a lot better than it was, and not in the over hype way, but in the sense that it looked like a solid game and fundamentally it was going to build off of it's predecessors in an exciting setting. Welp, it turns out that in building on it's predecessors it managed to throw every possible pointless side mission into the game without regards for how it fit in. This is really raw analogy but it felt as though someone dipped their game making paintbrush into a bucket of game idea paint, and just splattered it on a canvas. That may sound like a gross exaggeration but if you look at everything besides the story line it really does feel that way. You literally have to do none of the side missions and for the most part the game does a terrible job of informing you on the various systems mechanics. There is crafting and trading, sailing, liberation, hunting, guilds, postal missions, view points, gambling, and a bunch of other stuff, that if you ignored it would make little to no difference on your game it seems. I hate to knock this game because it really did have some cool moments but there were a lot of other points where I was just banging my head and asking "why!?". I'm happy that I finished the game but I really felt like it was a push for me to take interest in this one, especially after having played 2, brotherhood, and revelations within a 3 week period. I think a lot of the time I felt overwhelmed and not in the good exploratory sense, but in the sense that completing this game (story plus extras), just seemed like a task that I had no interest in taking on. To contextualize, in past games I never collected the feathers, but I always bought everything I could and upgraded everything and completed all the side missions. In this game it felt like there was too much that I just felt like the incentive did not exist for me continue playing past the story. It is a shame because I thought this one would surprise me but unfortunately it was a huge let down.
It is interesting that I have played so much of the online and until the other day was under the impression that I had beaten the campaign. Well I realized that I never had and someone had done it on my account, hence the confusion, so I decided with all the Halo hype it was time for me to play through it. I started from the beginning again and went for a full play through and I gotta say, I didn't expect it to be that good (although after the surprise that ODST was I should have been prepared). Visually I was used to it after having played so much online, but it still was pretty and I always have loved the look of the Halo universe. It was interesting how this contrasted to the other off-main-series Halo game in that you weren't trying to find people but instead losing them throughout. The story was solid, not exactly memorable but a lot of fun along the way and you didn't really feel like you were doing stupid **** for the sake of playing a game. Recently I heard a distinction between Halo and most FPS's and I though it rang true in this game: Halo is not about who pulls the trigger faster but about individual engagements. I must have forgotten at some point what it was like to go into a battle feel like a vulnerable boss who can destroy everything if the strategy is right. So it was that style of combat, the great atmosphere, and the fantastic score that made this an awesome game and memorable as a whole. Oh, and the final scene was a nice touch too.
I think I must have overhyped myself because I didn't feel stunned by the visuals when I first popped it in. Yes, they looks great but I think I had seen to many screen shots that I really expected to be blown away but when I popped it in it was what I had already seen. Having read the two Forerunner trilogy books prior to playing this I was excited to see how the forerunner, given there history with the human race, would be poised in this game. For those of you have read both and then played the game you were certainly understand when I say that the game does a fantastic job of lightly tying into the books and then making major pieces of the game way better. Bottom line, the campaign was great and music made it epic, and it no way let me down which was a bit of a concern the month before launch. The online was quite a shock. It didn't feel like Halo, borrowed a lot from Call of Duty but it still felt true to its nature. It took some getting used to but now I love it. The various changes they made felt forced at first but once I though about it I felt like they fit better in the Halo universe than anything else I could imagine them doing and another online like 3 or reach was not an option so it was a good compromise. I dabbled in the first episode of Spartan Ops and I like that it was a fairly smooth experience and other than the occasionally crappy teammate who just killed everyone else, it was actually a lot of fun. Halo is definitely in my top 3 this year and with the amount I keep going back to it I expect it will continue to move up. As I know some people are Halo-adverse I can't say I would recommend it to everyone, but if you are the kind of person that has ever had the slightest interest in Halo, this is an awesome point to jump in.
After having played Resistance 2 and using the jump between 1 and 2 to gauge the quality of three, I can only say that three was highly unexpected. As always the graphics were the first thing that I was judging and I was fairly impressed by the leap over R2. Textures were better, I can't say the lighting changed a whole lot, but from design standpoint things looked rich in detail and not clunky like R2. I don't intend to bash Resistance 2 as it wasn't a terrible game, but after it being a let-down I am entirely impressed by how much I enjoyed Resistance 3. A lot of the gameplay seemed to have been revised including the health and weapons systems. Instead of regenerative health I was given health packs that made me conscientious of running out into fire and not just run, gun, hide repeat. From a weapons standpoint, having a wheel along with a selection of every gun you've gotten to this point was fantastic. I get that for some people it is brings along a loss of immersion but for me it was a matter of utility and being able to fully enjoy the game how I wanted it to play it without the restrictions of having done a level "right" to be prepared. In addition to having access to a larger load-out weapon-leveling was introduced which brought along some cool rewards for finding a couple of guns you were good at and learning how to wreck enemies with them. The story was the next big point that seemed to separate itself from R2. Where Resistance 2 was a continuation of Fall of Man and a boring one at that, Resistance 3 tied back into the story yet introduced the element of a new character and persona that you take on. Instead of a "I'm going to save the world because I'm a soldier" attitude, I got the feeling that my character had a reason to push forward and move and I didn't feel like I was pushing on just because. I can't quite describe the difference between the two in words but simply put I could have cared less about Resistances 2's plot line and I felt **** into the Resistance 3. I recall Resistance: Fall of Man having an award winning sound track and after feeling the thrill of moving through dimly lit area in 3 and realizing it was the music that was driving that emotion I realized how much the soundtrack could contribute to a Resistance game. All of that praise aside, there were several times were the audio was off for multiple minutes were only my gun was making a delayed sound and environment noises would only kick in during those times. I'm glad I set aside my doubts after Resistance 2 because I would have missed out on a truly great title.
Naughty Dog does it again, which I suppose was to be expected after the last two. I really had no idea how much better looking uncharted could get and couldn't believe it when I first saw it. The colors really stand out in these games but never in an over saturated way, but in a way that the colors compliment each other in such a way that they just pop. I didn't get a chance to play around with the 3D which I'm regretting and will probably go back for down the road. The gameplay while pretty much the same as the second added a couple of features that gave it fresh feel (i.e. throwing grenades, fighting big guys). I was slightly bothered by the use of yellow to point out practically everything you could jump on, and like Golden Abyss I thought it detracted from the realism of it. Minor point though and the climbing and scavenging were as fun as always. The story was really strong as well and I liked how instead of the relationship with a girl being the inter-team conflict it was focused around the bond between Sully and Drake. The back story behind the two also made for an interesting plot point and getting some insight into your character of 4 games and his buddy was a nice piece of fan service. I find it interesting how fun these games are and yet they still hold a fairly serious tone. It is just an exciting adventure that fails to disappoint on delivering what it's predecessors have.
Unbelievably well made. What this game was able to achieve is absolutely incredible. Going in I was expecting to be a stealthy character with some cool powers and some freedom but still fairly restricted. What I got instead was a small amount of tools that allowed me to do anything I wanted. I figured the blink power (teleportation) would be confined to certain areas and have a mapped feel to it; I was however, wrong. You want to get up that building? *blink*, *blink*, *blink*, your there. Doing what you want to do in a game has never been this easy in my experience. This was exemplified by the characters jumping. You direct your character to scale a wall, he scales a wall; you direct him to jump then grab something and pull himself up, he does exactly that. These aren't scripted sequences either, you actually find yourself running at something, pressing jump and tapping the climb button right as you are approaching the ledge. The combination of jumping and blinking made the generously large open-hubs so much fun to explore. It became a game of what are the limits, and let me tell you, there are very little. The story is an incredibly compelling one and the characters draw you in. An important point is that the individual interactions aren't all that memorable but the way they all connect is. The level of cohesiveness in this game is astounding. Everything feels like it is interlaced and while the individual interactions don't feel like a whole lot, they contribute to the bigger picture. The bigger picture is what I'm talking about when I say the story is compelling and it is what will keep you wanting more and wanting to see what happens next. Your character, Corvo, is incredibly well equipped to take on the world with a few weapons and upgrades for them as well as some special weapons. I didn't feel the need to use half of the weapons which was inherent of my gameplay style but the fact that I had options is appreciated. While I'd rank other features of the game over this as being a high point the art direction is a pillar that this game really stands on. The oil painting art style mixed with the steam-punk era feel works so well to convey the feeling of tragedy, amazement and beauty all throughout. Although I have only had one play through I will certainly be having more in the near future. The experience as a whole combined with the notion that my second time through could be entirely different than the first is beyond tempting. Bravo to Arkane for such a well made game that offers an amazing concept and a cohesive world.
This was a weird one for me. I liked the concept, I liked the crazy visuals/colors, I liked the smooth controls, I like well done music, but I got bored of it. If I look at it as modules I think that this game is great; when I pick it up initially it is, but then that fades. For the record I played it in small pieces, a couple of levels one day, and couple the next, a big break and then the same thing. It is exciting for a short period of time but then the novelty starts to ware off and I'm left with a game that felt boring. I really appreciated what it was trying to do and I thought some of the levels were a lot of fun but then there were ones that weren't that great and I didn't want to play them. From my understanding the creator used the "campaign" (if you want to call it that) as the tutorial and then the real fun came out of the trophy levels. Perhaps I'm not that good and that is why I felt this way but the couple that I tried were frustrating and I did not feel compelled to grind through them. I liked it as a novelty and the last level was really reallly cool, but I can't say that I want to go back to it.
Well as I've already stated my impressions on the game in general I'll keep this one focused on the story. I really thought this one was a huge improvement over the first. Each seen felt like there was tension and action driving the decisions and it never really felt like you were just doing "stuff" for the sake of having something be part of the story. I think this was the push I needed to jump on the bandwagon and start playing this episodic series. One point that I did not touch on previously was the decisions. I really like how you are given decisions that can radically change what comes next. It is quite ambitions on tell tales part and something I hope they can pull through on. I know Giant Bomb discussed how they expected the decisions to be diamond shaped if plotted along a time axis which definitely makes me curious as to how much the story could change. Given what else is on my plate right now I don't think I'll go for a second play through on these games but I definitely feel the urge to play through the rest of the episodes.
The Walking Dead was a different style of game than I had in mind. I don't know if this is the right way to frame it but the 3d point and click adventure style is intriguing and frustrating at the same time. Movement throughout the environment feels a little clunky and the frequent freezes don't really help. The pointer being mapped to the stick that uses the finger that also clicks the buttons to make choices doesn't feel quite right and took some getting used to. The second aspect that initially pops is the art style; I like it, and mainly because it is different. It doesn't look like any other game and along with a seemingly unique gameplay mechanic The Walking Dead really stands out. The story was definitely the driving force in this game; however, I didn't really find it great. I thought that while the storyline is well written it wasn't overly exciting. Maybe I'll have a different perspective on this once I've played the other parts of the story as episode one may just be the character development. I'm going to play episode two as a tester to see if I want to keep going as I don't know if one was enough to base that decision on.
This is the exact game that the Vita was meant for. Every game I have played so far on the Vita has failed to take advantage of the system either by using its elaborate controls awkwardly or not using them at all. I'm glad in the cases were they don't throw them in there because I'd prefer it not be forced. The point here is that the usage of touch and tilt felt integrated into the game in a way resonated with the physics of the game. It felt as though what you did on the outside had a 1:1 relationship with what happened on the inside. So Vita aspect aside, onto the game. I played the first one about 3 years back and enjoyed it enough but the series really has come along way going on this one alone. Platforming was fun and unique and due to the different theme of every level it really never felt repetitive. The music was good and fit well with the gameplay. The characters were funnier than I expected; I would not go so far as to call them hilarious, but it was certainly written in a witty manner. The story was kind of interesting but was not really the driving factor for LBPV. Visuals. Wow. LBP looks great on the vita. The best part is that I haven't gotten into the community/creation stuff yet so it should get even better fairly once I mess around with that aspect. If you have a Vita this is the game you have been waiting for to make the console really stand out as an impressive piece of tech.
It was okay, but it wasn't the first game, and just didn't grab me. I could leave it at that and given how long ago it came out I'm sure most of you know what I'm talking about. The visuals don't look good, with varying levels of texture around the environment that make certain pieces look like they are out of place or not fully loaded. The guns felt the same as the first which was a plus with some additions I believe (haven't played the first one since it came out. The gunplay was just as good as the first as well and I enjoyed how the style of combat is really defined by the guns. I know this is a stupid point but I really appreciated the option of a flashlight on the weapons as it accomplished two things: First it makes going through the dark places doable so I'm not squinting or adjusting brightness settings to get through the section, and second, it gives a horror feel to the game. The enemies felt more or less the same; the big guys were frustrating but what I would want in it. The story was really what fell short. I liked the first one and found it compelling, but Resistance 2 just did nothing for me. I flat out did not care what happened, and for those who have played to the end you can tell insomniac wanted the player to care about this character you've been through the **** with and I couldn't. Perhaps others were able to engage more with this one but for me it just didn't work and I don't foresee myself ever recommending this one. Here's to 3 being better!
rilliant. I was not prepared for the level of amazing that this game brought over the course of 2 hours. This game is literally perfect. Having just recently played ThatGameCompany's past two games I wasn't sure what to expect. Fl0w had been good, Flower better, so Journey seemed to be in place to be the best. While I kept that in the back of my head I was also concerned about the game being overhyped and me setting expectations that it was not supposed to achieve. So I waited until a day where I had nothing better to do and gave it shot. BEST CHOICE EVER. Immediately I was drawn in by the visuals in the sand (it looks too real), but confused and not quite sure what my goal was. So I wandered, was rewarded, and looked to do it again. Every step of the way was an iteration on the previous levels mechanics and visual offerings, to a point where I thought I had reached the coolest part of the game. Well? Nope, I was wrong the next level was even better, and the one after that better than the previous. The mood fluctuated and avoided a continuously upbeat feeling, but still was able to deliver visually and from a gameplay side better than the previous level. The music is fantastic and very much tied to my characters actions, and I would highly recommend playing with the volume up a lot extra(I won't lie, [spoiler] I was scared **** the first time one of the rock creatures rose from the ground near me
Motorstorm RC is actually a perfect game for a portable device. It is filled with short races that range between 10 seconds and a minute and a half. Load times were fairly minimal (minus the startup) which made jumping into races and restarting a near seamless experience. For a free game I am little surprised at the quality and the amount of content there is. I haven't bought any of the DLC cars but I definitely considered it at the price of $0.25. If you have a Vita I'd pick it up. The controls are definitely a little wonky initially so be prepared for a bit of a learning curve. Once you get passed that it is a lot of fun and at times very challenging. I'll probably come back to this one down the road for the trophies.
How does playing as a bunch of flower petals moving through the wind sound? Not that great. My thoughts afterwards: YES PLEASE. Having no clue what the game was when I started playing it I was really great experience to build my own opinion of the game entirely free of outside influence. I was confused at first as to why I was a petal and moving around with motion controls. After having set down the game for 15 minutes to take a break I found myself wanting to pick it right back up and keep floating around. It had a level of relaxation, visual awe, and awesome interactive sound track that really tied it together as an "experience" game. It's hard for me to understand why I enjoyed this so much, because conceptually this sounds like an incredibly boring and pointless game. Once you get going it rapidly grew on me and I really appreciated what Flower is. Definitely on the short side but in retrospect I wouldn't have wanted it to be any longer. For those who haven't played, I absolutely think you should: the last level is incredibly fulfilling.
I remember playing the demo back when I got my phat PS3 and I recall being interested but not eager to play it. I can say that I got the same feeling here too. The motion control was somewhat neat and the visuals were good as well as the audio. So from a technical stand point it was actually a great game. As for the content/premise I didn't really dig it all that much. It was fun for a while to each creatures but then after a while it got to feeling the same. I appreciated the brevity of the game and that it was fast paced to a degree. I'm happy I played it but will likely return to it for the trophies only if I'm bored. That said, it really was nice to look at.
Do you like clunky games where you can't jump? Oversized characters that slowly move around a redundant feeling map that is filled with overly recycled pieces so much that you don't know if you've walked through the same damn corridor three times already? Perhaps that last sentence was a bit extreme but the amount of times I found myself walking through a level and opening a door only to find the next corridor looked borderline exactly the same, and just as the previous contained no ammo, no enemies, and no visual awe was extremely high. So level design aside, the gameplay was not offering much either. Repeatedly smash this button to melee or pull the trigger to shoot was generic and boring. Visually this game was not spectacular, and the story was an uninteresting pile of garbage. I was entirely disappointed after hearing the praise on GAF and having played with Warhammer models when I was younger. It worked and it wasn't glitchy so I will give them that but damn, this game was a let down.
I know this game is really about the multiplayer but I couldn't stand to jump into a multiplayer game at the moment and will wait to really give it a shot some time later. That being said, what I did play felt similar to war hawk but at the same time not. I jumped into the single player thinking it would be a good tutorial but found myself liking it for the missions and the story as well. Although the story was not overly compelling it served as a good way to introduce new things and the characters seemed to have a reasonable dynamic that tied them together. It was relatively fast paced and didn't penalize you hugely for making mistakes. I got annoyed once or twice but it was nothing more than feeling stupid for taking to many risks. The controls felt good and the visuals were fairly snappy. I don't know what the fps is on this game (30 probably, right?) but they did a good making it feel like more. The art style felt similar to Warkhawk with the exception of QTE's but I didn't find it to take away or give value. It was brief, sensible, and enjoyable, but by no means great. Am I happy I played it? Yes. Would I recommend it to a friend? Probably not.
Okay, I get the whole trying a different approach to a game and make it an interactive experience, and to that extent I thought it was cool. Actually, I had no problem getting used to the gameplay for the first half of the game and thought it was really good. Then I started to get into the meat of the game and I really started to like it. Then the last quarter of the game really ruined it. I got annoyed with the controls, I got annoyed with the game presenting me with options that didn't matter then sprinkling in one or two that do. I really liked the concept and really wanted to like the game but by the end I was so frustrated with how difficult it was to act upon the game through the medium of poor control mechanics, that I just did not care. I got to a point where I wanted the game to just end, I didn't care what the outcome was. If the goal was to get an emotional response from me, then David Cage succeeded; however, it was not the response I nor he (I believe) was intending upon. I do give this game a lot of credit for what it tried to achieve, and I was also a fan of the story until I got to frustrated to care. I'm not sure how I feel about Beyond: Two Souls now, as that was a primary reason for me purchasing the game.
First off, I haven't played a fighting game since Tekken on the PS2. That game was great, but I never really got into it beyond picking it up with a friend for an hour. So it was to my complete surprise when I popped in Mortal Kombat and I was hooked. I think it was the gameplay more than anything but having little to no exposure to the variety of attacks and characters made it feel so fresh compared to what I've currently been playing. I can't say the story was especially important for me but I found it interesting how they were able to tie in so many characters and place a story around them without it getting boring. I can see the story mode being similar to that of a Call of Duty game to a first-timer in that it is a tutorial for multiplayer modes and other facets of the game (challenge tower/spec ops). It served as a great way to introduce me to the players and learn their skill sets which I can take to multiplayer (which I haven't tried) and also the challenge tower. So now that I've brought it up I should mention that I'm only about 15 challenges in on each tower. I liked them plenty but not to the extent that I wanted to grind through them. I think they'll serve as a good go-to when I'm short on time similar to many iPhone games. I would definitely recommend this game to anyone at $10 and while I don't know what the console versions have over the vita version I would say there is a whole lot more than $10 worth of content.
Alright well this is the first Vita game I have finished and I can't help but feel that I have been absolutely spoiled! Visually it was on par with all the other uncharted games I have played to date. It felt like drake wasn't quite the same character as in the console games but everything else was just as good. The exploration was awesome and just when you thought you hit a boring level you are slapped in the face with some amazing visuals. It was difficult getting used to the controls but once I figured out the gyroscope for shooting mechanism I was all set. The touch screen was really nice when it came to climbing; however, I was extremely annoyed by the whole "swipe in the direction of this orange arrow to lift someone/cut this/grab on". I understand that this was the flagship example of how this hardware can be included in the game but I felt like it diluted Uncharted. Beyond that I really liked the plot and the dynamics between characters. It felt a lot like an uncharted game in that sense, especially after having played the second one. I could definitely see myself revisiting this one as I broke it up into 30 minutes trips on a subway which was limiting in immersing myself. Bottom line, it was another Uncharted game, it was just as awesome and its siblings, and I sincerely hope another one comes out for the Vita.
Without having another Max Payne game under my belt but having watched Man on Fire and the Max Payne I think I have different expectations and perception of this game than most people do. I really liked it! I thought the slow mo gunning down people was fantastic so much that I picked up other games after and was annoyed that it was too fast and I couldn't be as much of a bad ass. I never really got bored of the weapons even though it felt like I was constantly using the same weapons. The ammo scarcity was really great to the point that you were cautious about making your ammo count but not to the point that was it was debilitating if you overextended ammo here and there. The story is really what stood out to me. While I would normally argue that the cutscenes were long and frequent it was paired with commentary throughout the missions that made it melt together fairly seamlessly. Visually the game looked really good, nothing groundbreaking, but just really good. The atmosphere was perfect. At times you were a high rolling body guard bad ass at a cool location and other times you were a grimy piece of **** blasting your way though people. I know people were bothered by how the character didn't seem like a real Max Payne, but having not played the originals, and assuming the movie wasn't entirely accurate to the character in the games I really didn't have a clear vision of who Max Payne was. After playing Max Payne 3 I can say this, he is a harsh bitter ol alcoholic who will mow through the bad guys; most importantly, I like him.
Having loved the first one when I was younger and then playing the following 3 I thought this game was going to be the same exciting new experience that it was then. I haven't played the original games since it came out so while I knew what to expect as far as gameplay I still thought it would a fresh feeling. I've got to say, this game did not hold up for me. I felt like I was pushing myself through it rather than actually wanting to see what was next. I didn't find the story interesting in the slightest bit and it didn't help that the audio was either out of sync or skipped and repeated at times. Visually the game was on par with my expectations and the gameplay wasn't terribly bad but it felt monotonous. It was certainly an enjoyable experience reliving certain aspects **** I once loved but just doesn't feel like what it used to be. I'll be playing the rest of the future series in hopes that it is just a poor experience with one game.
I don't really know what to say about this one as I had played it back when it came out and got stuck on a level. By the time I decided I should try to play it again my PS3 died on me. So with a new PS3 and the HD collection underway I figured it was time for me to finish off the game. Turns out I had 15 minutes of gameplay left plus the final cutscenes. From what I remember playing I really enjoyed the game and all the gadgetry. I like the fact that you could shop anywhere you were and that there was no shortage of weaponry. The story is to blurry for me to comment on so I will just say that it had its moments, it was confusing, interesting to listen to, but confusing. Glad I played it and may return to it after I finish the HD Collection.
I knew going into it that it was supposed to be better than the first but I didn't know how well it was going to keep my suspense up and surprise up after so recently having played the first. In every way I thought this was an improvement over the first game which I've never really felt about a series before. It felt just a unique, beautiful, and well-told as the Drakes Fortune. The pacing felt strange to me as at chapter 22 it said that I had played for almost seven hours and then the last four chapters took another three or four hours. So the back end felt pretty heavy but it wasn't in a way that made you ask "When is this going to end?". I'm excited for the third but am going to give myself a break to avoid burning myself out on the series.
Wow. This game came out in 2007? When I realized that and that I had passed up on playing one of the prettiest games I have seen to date I could not have been more dumbfounded. I'll keep this one short as there is nothing to discuss that people haven't already. The adventuring aspect of the game was brilliant, and the set pieces mixed with the skybox was beautiful. I have not been that eager to get home and play a game in a very very long time. The only points I felt were annoying or weak were the combat situations which felt intrusive and the whole monster thing. The game had an almost realistic feel to it up till that point, but hey, what's the point of writing a story if you can't throw a little magic in it. I am truly enamored by this game and am excited to have dove into a series with a charismatic character like Nathan Drake.
I really went into this game expecting it to be good and then just be completely wiped of its goodness by the ending. I'm not entirely sure why people have been suggesting this and unless something happens after the credits (which I'll see here momentarily), it was really a great game. I was immediately impressed by the visuals and the story is extremely captivating from the beginning. I wasn't expecting the visuals to be all that great either and I thought they were fantastic. It felt like the art direction from Borderlands met that of Fallout and it turned out great. The dynamic of having a buggy and moving in between the wasteland to different locales was very enjoyable. The guns were fun but not terribly amazing (that being said I just realized I never downloaded my double barrel shotgun with the Anarchy Edition). All the "extras" in the game seemed to tie into the main storyline decently so that if you wanted to indulge yourself in them you could do so without going out of your way but at the same time you didn't have to mess with them at all and the impact on your game was negligible. All in all, high replay value, a lot of fun to play, story was good although the ending could have been more conclusive (RAGE 2?). I would absolutely recommend this to anyone who has even considered picking it up. I still am amazed that for $5 I got this much satisfaction out of it.
I'll get it out of the way now: it looked amazing! The world was created in a very beautiful way but simultaneously in a way that made it feel real and dark. I was a little concerned with the story line from the beginning but it quickly picked up and became more engaging after escaping the prison with Roche. From a story standpoint I really like the direction they took it and the opening line of **** off" more then set the tone for whose shoes I would be filling and what can of a BAMF I would be. The main characters all seemed to have a immense depth and most of the side characters had rich stories. The lore is absolutely one of the strongpoints in the Witcher. The combat was really a huge shocker for me. After playing FPS, then moving to something like Skyrim, then Batman, I feel like man hands would adapt fair quickly to any control scheme. The button mapping seemed confusing and nonsensical during the early hours but after getting used to the challenge became the combat. I wouldn't go so far as to argue that the combat was difficult, but it did take some getting-used-to. It seemed like the combat would have been easier if I knew about the crafting or if that was stressed as the way to go about playing. Along with crafting I never touched throwing knives, traps, or bombs. There is an insane amount of random useless objects in this game and I felt like the loot was pretty useless. Killing people never really brought great loot and was only really an ends to a mean. That being said, getting into fights was sweet because it required that you actually think about the fighting and your position. The array of NPC species was really outstanding and I felt as if I was running into a species every 30 minutes or less and every couple of minutes I would see a character I had never seen before. They really did use a lot of unique resources and it helped a lot with immersion. Everything felt like it was done right and not rushed, and I appreciate that they did not try to make the world extremely huge and instead focused on making a small area really great. Overall the quality of this game is top notch through and through and is definitely something that I will jump back into later on down the road to try the completely different story path.
This game is absurd. I've been wanting a grand theft auto game for a while but couldn't convince myself to jump into GTA4 with 5 right around the corner. I had never played a Saints Row game and after hearing the ridiculous ways in which it was described on the CAGcast I decided I needed to jump into the series and satiate my need for open world killing. The games opening scene had me a little concerned but it quickly picked up from there and I was underway, killing, running over, and generally causing havoc on the city. The game **** me in and quickly a day disappeared but boredom never struck. The pace of the game was fast and interesting, and more surprisingly a full 18 hours of fun. I haven't really gotten the chance to just mess around as I kept wanting to get the next best gun or car. There were a lot of aspects that I didn't mess around with (exploring, side missions, homies, online) but I found the experience I had to be really exciting. The array of vehicles was great but I would have like more helicopters and planes. There was an interesting selection of guns, however, I would have like more real weapons. The game's biggest plus was that it didn't take itself seriously. There was just so much stupid **** but at the same time I never felt like the creators were trying to make it feel meaningful. I'll definitely be revisiting the game for the additional content I haven't explored and possibly a different play through with the different decisions.
I was extremely underwhelmed by this game. After seeing it on so many of GAF's top 10 lists for 2011 GOTY's voting thread I really thought I was in for something cool. I'll start with what I liked first. The variety in weapons was actually pretty neat but I found half of them to be absolutely pointless. I really only used the pistol and the rifle and if I ran out of ammo I used whatever else was equipped. The point system for kills was entertaining but considering I was forced to kill 90% of the enemies the same way it seemed like a BS extra. The variety in AI was actually pretty good and I liked that I was fighting various factions and that there was interesting relationships that surrounded each of them. The level design wasn't all that bad either even if you were forced down corridors and limited to not be able to jump on things. The kicking and leashing mechanisms were cool but after a while I found them to be rather boring. I recall the graphics being praised by other but I did find myself feeling any sort of connection with them. The visuals were not as crisp as I had expected but I attribute that to the fact that it was on a 360 (which is where a majority of my gaming is done) and not a PC which I believe is the fan base from which most of the praise was coming from. The art style was certainly different but again it did not do much for me. The story line was unique and something I have never really experienced before so I appreciated the fresh take but at the time I found it to be devalued through the stupid interactions between characters. I know this was the intended direction and I'm sure there is an audience that really enjoys this but I felt it detracted from the game. I finished the game on hard and don't really plan on picking it back up for a replay or additional content/multiplayer. Interesting and unique feel, but just not for me.
I am not really sure what to think of this game. I was so delighted when I first played it but after a few levels I got bored of the beautiful levels and the different art style. It felt overly simple and was only complicated through adding situations that required precise timing. It no longer was about how good I was at multitasking, it was about how good I was at controlling one or so aspects with exact timing. Perhaps I can chalk this one up to hand coordination practice as even after I came back to it I felt the same way. The only time I truly had a good time playing was in co-op mode. Rayman's story is innocent and in a time where every game seems to have a ridiculous plot it felt out of place but welcomed. Its happy characters, upbeat music, and its overall cheerfully goofy nature was unlike any game I can remember playing. It was stupid for the sake of being stupid and now walking away from it I am extremely pleased with my experience with it. Certain aspects frustrated me (granted it was usually my failures), but those are what will ultimately drive me to never play this game again by myself. My annoyance with Rayman: Origins was reduced as it is the first game I have been able to get my girlfriend to play with me. A good experience but seemingly forgettable.
It was an interesting time to pick up PGR 4 and give it a whirl. At first I was impressed, but then I was really impressed. Backstory: I picked up PGR back in July as I thought 3.99 for such a highly acclaimed game had to be worth i, but shortly after put it down. I then picked up Forza 3 in August as I felt the need for some racing games in preparation for Forza 4. With those two racing Goliath's in my presence it was hard to want to play such a dated game. After plowing through Forza 4 and dabbling in some other games I finally decided to jump back into PGR 4 and just finish it out. Going from a racing sim to such an arcady game was shock at first but as I played it more I grew fond of how realistic it actually was. Flying through races as if they would never end the idea grew on me of how impressed people must have been when this first came out. If I was impressed with it after breathing one of the most current sims for over a month straight it really must have been a beautiful experience in its launch year. The graphics have such an effect of realism I almost don't believe it is its age. The fact that Bizarre was actually able to put in rain let alone snow!?! and still hold a decent FPS. I have zero experience with game development but I know that these guys had some crazy talent. The course selection was fresh, fast, technical and constantly exciting. The forgiveness in the game probably made it a overall more pleasant experience as I didn't feel as though I was having to hit lines perfectly every time to win and was able to just race and have fun. The car selection was great and even better because I was able to put them in my virtual "garage". I could not have been more pleased with this game and really wish I was around in its time so I could have joined in on some online action. Fingers crossed for a PGR 5!
The game was purchased entirely for its 3D support as I wanted to know what a first person shooter looked like in 3D. I can assure you that it was the least gimmicky most realistic feeling 3D that I have seen to date. Perhaps it was the perspective that made it feel so much more real, but the way that characters and parts of the map truly felt a distance away and that I was able to gauge my gameplay off my visuals in that added sense was a tremendous feeling. Without the 3D on I still thought the game looked beautiful, and in my opinion has some of the best graphics I've seen this gen. All of that aside the game faired okay. The first half felt slow and boring and took a while to get a handle on how to go into combat. After figuring out the mechanics, the sparsity of ammunition, and just general tactics the game pace picked up and became a lot more fun. The story felt about the same in pacing and while a lot of it seemed like a central idea with a bunch of loose connections. It felt like Crysis 2 wanted me to fill in the blanks on these tangents it brought in, but perhaps I was at a disadvantage for not having played the prequel. The music didn't do much for me either but it didn't feel out of place. Overall I felt the game to be fairly forgettable. It was fun once it got going but in retrospect is more of a novelty for its visual capabilities mixed with decent gameplay. I am pleased with the experience but at the same time I felt like I was left wanting more out of the experience.
From the start I felt a sensation of profound responsibility placed on my shoulders. At times the stories urgency seemed to drift away but it never hurt slowed the story progression or deteriorate the plot. I went into it considering how annoyed I was with Mass Effect 2 and the feeling that the game was one big checklist. I never really had that feeling in Mass Effect 3 and the missions seemed to link together (main quests) and tie in (side quests) really well and that was something I truly appreciated. The emotion that Mass Effect 3 inspired in me was unlike any game I've played before. I felt pulled in to consider the feelings of the characters and try to understand what they where going through. The decisions felt meaningful and weighted with no clear option that would seem fitting of the stereotypical Sheppard. As for the mechanics of the game I was extremely impressed. Combat felt good and I hardly ever ran out of ammo which I was frustrated with at first, for having removed the authenticity of the situation, but later came to appreciate as it allowed me to focus on the game. Being able to customize weapons to the extent and ease at which Mass Effect 3 allowed was highly enjoyable. I loved being able to go from a shop which sells upgrades to buying new guns to then choosing my gun set up and finally to customizing my armor all within an area aboard the normandy. I only caught glimpses of the environment in between the action but from what I saw I was extremely impressed. Every planet I visited felt distinct aesthetically as well as layout. Sure the game had a set path for you but when the path looked as good as it did I had no issues with it. Graphically the game was a step up from its predecessor but by no means a highlight of this generation. The audio however was truly an immersive experience. The ability of the music and soundstage to go from a casual point A to point B moment and then scale up to an epic fast paced section and pull me right in was brilliant. The audio was definitely something that will bring me back to this game just for the sheer feeling of grandeur and tragedy that it invoked in me. Now that I have beat the campaign once I have been playing a lot of the multiplayer and while I was initially concerned it was going to be another online shooter it really has taken on its own form and done it in a way that suits Mass Effect very well. The fact that it ties back into the single player is also a nice feature that while probably won't have a huge effect on my play style and where I devote my time I like the fact that the two are not totally disjoint. After finishing this game I could not help but want more, something that I have not felt from a game in a while, and something that helps this game earn a perfect score in my book.
With no idea of what Jamestown was prior to playing it I was thrilled to find the gameplay similar to a game I played long ago but have since forgotten the name of. The story seemed like a tacky add on but I thought it was a nice level transition and gave the game a purpose. I was happy with it up until it started requiring that I beat all the prior levels on a harder difficulty in order to move on. Having kept a decent pace and feeling pleased with having beat the previous levels I was annoyed that I would have to replay them on a more difficult setting. I felt it was something that should have been initially clear so that I was repeating levels unnecessarily. After trying levels repeatedly due to a stupid error on my part it became clear to me why games like this no longer exist. They are exciting to an extent but get redundant quickly. Sure there are new environments but as the foes are principally the same I felt there was really no variety. I enjoyed the game but the difficulty locking seemed a lackluster way to implement more difficult bosses. Now that I've beat it I probably will not play it again.
This game really did improve a lot on Arkham Asylum. I love you have a lot of gadgets right out the gate and you are instantly flying around Arkham City. The story was definitely a strong point for this game and really **** you in once I got going. I thought the main storyline was superb in how it incorporated so many people and antagonists without feeling like "okay, on to the next one". I didn't really play around with the side missions that much so I cannot really speak to the overall quality of those but I did find the few I did to fit in well with the story and the scenario without them feeling like a stray to-do list. I know everyone has mentioned this already, but the controls really are a huge improvement over the AA; combat felt tight and controllable. It seemed as though the gunmen were not as powerful this time around and the fist fighters were more powerful. In my opinion this leveled and prolonged the combat. Visually the game was a huge improvement over AA, and coupled with the 3D capabilities it was awesome. The depth of the 3D is perfect (although adjustable) and it definitely adds to the immersion without it feeling gimmicky in any way. The music was fantastic as well. I was really surprised how seamless the music was from flying around to being noticed by a helicopter and the pace picking up to it then calming down. It was extremely responsive and worked really well at invoking emotions in me that correlated with the scenario. The one thing that was bothersome at times was the open-world. I really enjoyed flying around but it got frustrating when I felt like I was going from one side of the city and then back again only to give off the impression that Arkham was a big place. I also a little annoyed with the cat woman sequences. They didn't really seem to serve a purpose to the overall story, and other than the combat I thought the sequences were rather boring. Nonetheless, these aspects did not take away that much from my experience and what I like was beyond memorable. I'll probably pick the game back up in the near future and play some of the extra content and side missions but for now I am satisfied with completing the main storyline.
So far a fun game. It is a simple concept and the art style is aesthetically pleasing. Definitely a cure for boredom and not necessarily something that I would set aside time to play. I liked how they give the ball a story and almost treat him as a character in the opening rather than just offering up the game as "move the ball through the level" style of plat former. I think this sets it apart from a simpler game to some degree but at the end of the day you are just moving a ball through a 2D maze. All-in-all, a fun time killer.
Short, fun, relaxing. Being surrounded by games that want me to take them seriously it is a welcomed breathe of fresh air to play something where the decisions don't hold a huge amount of risk. Crashing from 150ft in the air trying to cram three tricks into a combo where you barely could have had two, only to reset yourself and go for it off the next jump is extremely gratifying. The pace of the game is perfect in my opinion; there was not a point where I felt that my ATV was limited or that I didn't get enough time to practice in the lower class. I think what held it back was how forgiving it was (even towards then end), and redundancy of the races. Motorstorm made you work your ass off and put down a perfect lap to win the last few events and I felt that the skill level required did not ramp up at the same pace in Pure. Being limited to a Freestyle, Race, and Spring got to be monotonous after a while but due to the length of the game I never felt like I was grinding. All this combined with some pretty environments and a half decent soundtrack made this a good one sitting game. This is definitely something to play with friends but I don't know if I would go back to it by myself.
This review should be prefaced by the fact that I dislike the horror genre with a passion. I was attracted to this game after a buddy convinced me to try it and after and hour and a half I was disappointed by constant suspense and what I felt was a lack of action. After picking it up the other week I realized that what I hated the first time was really the beauty in the game. I played for and hour or so and was hooked. The feeling of tension that this game creates is on a whole other level from other games I have played. Every corner you feel forced to check left and right -- with that visibility you have -- to avoid being snuck up on by a zombie. Hearing a something in the walls and just knowing that something is coming and tensing up on the edge of the couch to just find yourself at a save station is probably the quickest jump in my suspense that I have ever felt in a game. Overall I think this games ability to draw you in with the suspense is what made this a great game. I will say this though: dying was more frustrating than a set back, and the save stations seemed useless and too frequent. I don't really mind the latter, but dying felt like **** I have to go blow through this section again" rather than "Okay **** how I am going to beat these guys". I didn't really understand a lot of the story going through the game either; it was only the end when everything was put before you that I understood what was going on. Ultimately, I am pleased I picked it up, and I would recommend it to most everyone.
After a year of owning the game I finally got around to playing it through. I really was expecting another linear Halo game when I popped this in. It was delightfully different to be presented with the option to walk about a city fighting through the covenant to regroup with my lost squad mates. Visually the game was really no different from any other Halo; however, the ability to walk through a city at night and then see it at a different time of day during a mission was quite enjoyable. The music was supposed to be an homage to the previous games OST's but I really believe the change in style for ODST sound was one of its biggest strengths. The ability to quickly tell a story through little snippets of each squad member made for a great storyline that required you think about how the pieces fit together. I think the timing of the game was also a huge strength. Having a game that you could get through in a little over six hours yet receive an ample story was a nice change of pace. I have found this series to sometimes drag levels out by forcing you to spend a lot of time on non-story progressing moments. That was not at all the case with ODST. Overall I am fairly pleased with the game and it has re-sparked my interest in the series quite a bit.
I had heard good things about the Batman series but I thought the combat looked a bit wonky from the videos I saw so I haven't been to eager today them. I was quite pleased how in the beginning of the game I wasn't thrown into some 3 hour get used to the controls phase. I was able to pick up the controls extremely quickly and I was on my way to hunt down The Joker. I think the combat stood out to me the most as being the best part of this game; when I got a rhythm I would average about a 8-10 hit combo. It felt very arcade like, but it was within a large world -- something I have never experienced before -- which I found to be extremely awesome! The rate at which the game progressed was perfect. It allowed you to explore if you wanted to but always had the next step in front of you ready to go. To constant smooth action as well as interesting story made this game a 3 sitting play through. I don't know what the overall time was but as I didn't really dabble in the riddler stuff or the challenges I'm guessing it was fairly short compared to most.
