Posted by Ryan at Wednesday, May 28, 2008 | 1 comments read on

What I've Been Playing

After I beat GTA I pretty much started playing every other game I have but haven't had the time to enjoy. First I started with Uncharted: Drakes Fortune for the PS3. The game is like a big budget action movie, a perfect game to play in the summer that feels just like a good time at the movies. You are constantly running and jumping around a beautifully lit jungle, in between epic gun fights and jet ski chases. It feels like a breath of fresh air after playing a heavy RPG like Jeanne D'Arc.

Second on the PS3 is Assassins Creed. I bought this because it was $18 at Gamefly and I had a $5 off coupon for their store. So I pretty much couldn't lose. Assassins creed is a lot of fun when you are running and jumping on rooftops. Where it can get a little sketchy sometimes is the combat. In the beginning I found the combat to be pretty hard and I would constantly die. However, after I learned the counter move I found the combat to be a little too easy. There was no balance. The game looks beautiful and it is tons of fun running around the open city. I'm looking forward to spending some more time with it.

Last on the PS3 is Skate. I've been interested in Skate ever since I first heard about it, I just didn't have a console to play it on yet. Once I got the PS3 I got the Skate demo and have been playing it nonstop. I tracked down a cheap copy of the game on ebay and have been enjoying my time with it. It looks amazing and really feels like I'm playing in a skate video. The camera is down low and it is easy for you to set up smooth lines. The city is huge and as of now I cannot keep from getting lost. Hopefully soon I'll get a feel for where the good spots are.

A few weeks ago my girlfriend and I loaded up Mario Kart Wii and went online with it, like we always do. We didn't realize that after a few races, two of our friends had joined us. Now I know this is typical fair for most online games, but this is not how things usually work on a Nintendo system. It was nice to see that they could effortlessly join us without forcing us to back out and accept their invitation or something like that. Our competitiveness was instantly boosted and it really made the already fun online racing a lot more intense.

I also recently found a program called Crossover which lets you emulate Windows software on a Mac or Linux based machine. I downloaded the free month long trial along with Steam, a windows application for digitally distributed games. Steam installed and worked perfectly so I immediately purchased one of the games I have been waiting to play for a a long time: Portal. glaDOS's narration and the puzzle game play are fantastic. It plays like an FPS but is really a puzzle game where you use Portals to get to hard to reach areas. I can't wait to finish this one so I can finally understand all the inside jokes on Digg.

Along with Portal I purchased Team Fortress 2. I didn't want the entire Orange Box because I already have Half Life 2 on the XBOX and also don't have much space on my Mac. TF2 is great and I really love the cell shaded look. Everything about it has a comical feel to it and the games can get pretty intense. It is a team based multiplayer online shooter. You can pick from different classes of characters including Medic, Heavy, Engineer, Solider, Scout, Demo-man, Pyro, Spy, and Sniper. I found that I got the most kills with the Solider as he has a rocker launcher, but I also really enjoyed setting up sentry guns to mow down opponents with the Engineer. Each class has it's own benefits and I have yet to figure out which one I like the best.

Finally on the handheld front I have been playing Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow on the DS and Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles on the PSP. There is a new Castlevania game coming out for the DS (and potentially Wii) in the near future and I wanted to brush up on the series. Dawn of Sorrow on the DS looks great and is really well animated. It's been a while since I have played a classic 2D sidescroller but I found it really fun and actually pretty deep. I never realized that the Castlevania games have pretty in depth inventory systems. The PSP game is a different story. I found the pace to be painfully slow as your character cannot run, and it can be difficult to land kills as you whip doesn't always hit the enemy when you think it will. I only really bought the PSP game because it contains as a bonus feature what I've heard to be the best Castlevania game ever: Symphony of the Night. I will probably stop playing the main game and jump into that after I beat the DS version.



I plan to review all of these games, eventually, as I beat them. A lot of them are fairly short and shouldn't prove too hard. Metal Gear 4 also comes out on June 12 so look forward to a review for that after I beat it, but that could be a ways down the road.

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Posted by Ryan at Monday, May 26, 2008 | 0 comments read on

Jeanne d'Arc Review



After over 40 hours of play time I finally beat Jeanne d'Arc for the PSP. The game is an alternate take on what happened during the hundred years war, and with Joan of Arc. Instead of the usual soldiers and infantry, the enemies take the form of orcs, trolls, and daemons.

The game is a strategy RPG (SRPG) meaning that you move each player along a grid and then perform an activity whether it be an attack, healing spell, or other skill. Each time you defeat an enemy you earn experience points helping you "level up" throughout the game. Unique to Jeanne d'Arc is the ability for certain characters to transform into super soldiers, with heightened attacks and powers, by use of jewels they wear on their arms.

I have never played an SRPG before and was a little skeptical coming into this one. My friend had sold me on the story which is why I decided to try it out. After getting a lesson in how to play the game, and most RPGs, I undertook my first battle. It reminded me very much of playing chess. The game requires you to plan out each move very carefully, everything must be taken into account. You can attack from the side or back of the enemy for more damage, leave burning auras or "hot spots" for another character to step into to increase their ability, and you can choose when to transform your character to inflict greater damage on your enemy at the most crucial time. You also have to take into account when your characters need healing or other forms of aide, as each health boost takes up a turn.

I fell in love with the gameplay of Jeanne d'arc and although at times it felt a little repetitive, I was always unlocking new attacks and abilities to try out. The story also proved rather interesting with various twists and turns. The story was accompanied by almost an hour and half worth of anime cut scenes. These were super polished and very well done. After staring at sprites on the small map for each battle it was good to see a fully realized version of each character, it gave them depth and personality.

The game looked amazing on the PSP's bright and wide screen. The colors were brilliant and each stage looked completely different from the last. Part of why I kept pressing on in the game is because it was fantastic to look at. Level-5 did an amazing job with this title and I can't wait to get my hands on some of their other games, such as Professor Layton for the Nintendo DS. I have decided to start scoring my reviews to accompany the write up. Each game's score will be on a scale from 1-10 with no half points or decimals.

Jeanne d'Arc: 9/10

I give this game a 9 out of 10 because it was extremely fun to play and a great introduction to the genre. It made me really want to try out two other SRPG's for the PSP: Final Fantasy Tactics and Disgaea. I deducted a point because of the level grinding. It sometimes became a pain to loose a battle, go out to another free battle just to level up a bunch, then go back into the battle to finally win. It became time consuming and I mostly wanted to progress the story.
Overall this was a fantastic game and I look forward to their other titles.



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Posted by Ryan at Monday, May 19, 2008 | 0 comments read on

Grand Theft Auto: IV Review



This is the first GTA game I have ever completed. That statement is going to ring true with a lot of people out there. I beat it in 31 hours with 60% of the game completed, 60% being the full story. A lot of gamers who play the GTA games are used to going into the city, getting a ridiculous amount of weapons, and causing havoc until they either get killed or busted. This process is then repeated for hours on end. I can't comment on the story for the other GTA games, I've heard they are good, but sometimes don't suck you in enough. The only other GTA game where I started to follow the story was Vice City Stories on the PSP. I played about 20% through the story before I got bored and just started messing around again.

GTA IV is a different beast, and I have a feeling that a lot of people will agree with me. No longer is the focus of the game to own every piece of property and build your empire. You now play as Niko Bellic, a eastern European immigrant who is trying to survive in Liberty City (inspired by NYC). Yes Niko wants money, but he has no interest in controlling the mob, or telling other people what to do. He has a back story and a reason to be in Liberty city. He takes various jobs in return for information about someone he is searching for. This is what sets GTA IV apart from the other games in the series. Niko has his own agenda. The story plays out less like a mobster movie with a guy trying to make it big, and more like a best picture nominee with underlying themes and principles guiding Niko.

Often times the player is forced to choose between two different scenarios in the game. You will be asked to either kill someone, or walk away and let them live. Sometimes this affects the dialogue between other characters and sometimes it affects the story of the game. What makes this interesting is that I found myself pausing the game, and asking my girlfriend to help me decide who to kill, or who to let live. You grow attached to Niko and start to think of what Niko Bellic would do instead of what you, the gamer, would do. Sure I just want to blow the heads off of people and run over everyone I see, but the game pulls you in and forces you to make decisions as Niko, not yourself. Niko may be a killing machine throughout most of the game, but he always has a motive. It becomes a WWND situation (What Would Niko Do). Would he really kill this person just because he was asked to? Or does this person deserve a second chance? Sometimes the answers are more obvious than others, but it can be tough.

The graphics for this game are incredible. Although they are not the best for the system, the sheer amount of stuff going on and the fact that it is a living, breathing city is amazing. Like a lot of reviewers said before this, the city really feels "lived in" it doesn't feel like it was made just for this game. From the conversations on the street to the traffic, roads, and buildings, the city really feels alive. Adding to that, the PS3 version had a mandatory install that allows for almost no loading in the game itself. You can drive all the way from Queens, through Manhattan, to New Jersey with no load times at all.

The replay value on GTA games has always been amazing. You can go into the city and cause mayhem all you want, but now you don't have to do it alone. Multiplayer has been added this time around along with a variety of game types. The only one I got to try out was free mode, which drops you in Liberty city with a number of other players and lets you roam around on your own.

Grand Theft Auto: IV: 9/10

GTA IV really makes you think about the characters, and choices you make in the game. This is the first video game I've played that really had a cinematic feel to it. I actually cared about the characters and based my gameplay and decisions around them. I have no interest in going back to play the stories of past GTA games after this. However, I am greatly looking forward to the future games in the series. I took off one point because sometimes the controls would get a little wonky. Rockstar has crafted the franchise into a storytelling masterpiece, and I'm sure they will only get better from here.

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Posted by Ryan at Tuesday, May 13, 2008 | 0 comments read on

LostWinds Review

Wii Ware launched yesterday, and I couldn't wait to get home to download a copy of LostWinds. LostWinds is a 2.5D side-scrolling platformer where you control a little guy named Toku with the nunchuck, and the wind spirit Enril with Wii remote. Toku will automatically jump off of ledges and climb up things, like Zelda games, but will need the aid of Enril to boost him along. By pressing the A button and flicking a gust of air under Toku you can give him an extra boost and get him across longer passages.

The game looks fantastic. When Bionic Commando Rearmed was announced for PS3 and 360 I thought that something similar could be done on the Wii. Granted LostWinds' graphical quality isn't up to par with that game, it is still probably some of the best 3D graphics for a sidescroller that the Wii can produce. The world is bright and colorful with great attention to detail. When not aiding Toku you can move the wind spirit around to just blow a breeze through the trees or the nearby plants, all react in different ways. You will also use the wind to solve puzzles in order to progress Toku through the game. There may be a plant that needs watering in order for Toku to hop into it and have it shoot him up to a ledge. Draw a path from a nearby waterfall to the plant and water droplets will follow the gust and get the job done. Similar puzzles use fire to burn down vine filled passages.

The music in LostWinds is another great addition to the game. In the background you will hear the leaves rustling under the sound of native american flutes and other ambient noises. It is all very relaxing and makes the world that much more beautiful.

LostWinds: 8/10

For $10 LostWinds is a fantastic game. I am only an hour into it but have heard that there is only two more to go. For such a fantastic looking game I would have liked to see it a little longer. God of War for the PSP is only a 5 hour game and I paid $40 for that, so this is still a good deal. Despite it's short length, LostWinds is certainly more fun, and has a lot more effort put into it than a lot of 3rd party Wii games out there today. I can't wait to go home and finish the game tonight. A sequel has also already been announced by Frontier Development. This looks like another franchise I'll keep on my radar.

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Posted by Ryan at Friday, May 09, 2008 | 0 comments read on

Monster Truck Mayhem



Back in the day when I used to play PC games on my Packard Bell machine, the families machine, I played a lot of racing games. Megarace, that came with Windows, destruction derby, and Monster Truck Madness got the most play time. The last title is a game I played a lot of. I loved driving off the track where ever I wanted, taking my truck off of huge jumps and hill tops.

Playing console games over the years I haven't really gotten back into racing games. I've been too busy with the RPG's, shooters, and action games. Now while I love all of the games I've been playing, I miss some good arcade racing. I was never one to like Gran Turismo games, or play realistic sports games. I always wanted everything to be way over the top, arcade, fun. When I signed onto the PSN last weekend I saw a demo for a game I knew little about, Motorstorm. I booted it up and realized it was everything I loved from the old Monster Truck racing game I missed so much, everything that is except the monster trucks.

In Motorstorm you drive around in ATV's, Dirt Bikes, and buggies on off road mountain top courses. The game looks absolutely fantastic on the PS3 and I was having a blast with it. I read reviews and learned that the games was disappointingly lacking in content and game modes, so I figured I'd wait until the sequel.

Well that time has come, Motorstorm: Pacific Rift was recently announced at Sony's game day in London this past week. The game takes everything from the first game, adds split screen multiplayer, more cars, tracks, and game modes, and best of all: monster trucks. I'm a sucker for games with bright colorful/tropical settings, which is why I bought Uncharted. The fact that Motorstorm now has monster trucks, and takes place in the pacific is just awesome. I'll be playing the demo for the first game anxiously waiting for the second one to come out, which happens this fall.


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Posted by Ryan at Friday, May 09, 2008 | 0 comments read on

Wario Ware: Smooth Moves Review



When I first got the Wii I wasn't sure which game I wanted to pick up first. I wanted to dive right into Zelda and Metroid but I also wanted something I could play with my girlfriend. I decided the first game I would buy would be Wario Ware: Smooth Moves.

The game is a collection of mini games all requiring you to use the Wii remote in a unique way. Each time a new "position" is necessary, a creepy voiced man will tell you in a low, romantic, tone how to hold the remote. The names and demonstrations on screen are hilarious, and some of the movements and positions are very creative. One position is the "The Butler" which requires you to hold the remote in the palm of your hand and extend your hand out as if holding something on a butlers tray. The mini game would then be a phone ringing, and you'd have to move quick to grab the remote with your other hand to answer. This sounds really easy, but you have to take into consideration that you are given about 1 second to do this. The mini games fire off in quick succession, one after the other. Sometimes a game will appear on screen and you will not know how to accomplish the goal, simply because you didn't hear the correct position to hold the remote. You are left waving it in front of you hoping you might still win, which rarely works.

Along with the positions to hold the remote, are movements you must do to win each game. A mini game may require you to hold the remote at your side, and squat down to pick something up. This can generally be done by just holding the remote up, and moving it down, without causing you any physical stress. However this almost breaks the game. The game is very fun and very entertaining if you buy into it. It can get hilarious to just be doing all of the crazy movements it wants you to do. The Wii remote can't tell if you're actually doing the movements, but they are what make the game fun. All the remote knows is if you moved it up, down, left, or right, and how fast you did it. Watching someone try and do 8, 1-2 second, mini games in a row can be quite funny. The games ramp up in difficulty as you progress and you may find yourself breaking a sweat at some point.

Wario Ware: Smooth Moves: 8/10

Wario Ware: Smooth Moves is a very fun and creative game, if you let yourself go and just do what it asks. Sure you can break the game, and half ass it, but is that really what you're playing it for? You're playing it to have a good time with the people around you, and that is exactly what this game accomplishes.


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Posted by Ryan at Wednesday, May 07, 2008 | 0 comments read on

Super Mario Galaxy Review



I have had the Wii for quite some time now and realized that I have never given my thoughts on most of the games I have played for it. This includes one of my new favorite games, Super Mario Galaxy.

I have always been a Nintendo fan, especially a Mario fan, since as far back as I can remember. I've always loved platforming and running Mario through the different levels. Although I was part of the few who actually enjoyed Super Mario Sunshine, I realized that it was missing something. Too much of the level design was theme based and everything about the game had a tropical feel to it, due to the island setting. Super Mario Galaxy is a return to form for our favorite plumber. It puts him back in the kinds of levels we ran around in Super Mario 64. More random puzzles and levels filled with goombas and other familiar enemies.

To start off, the game looks beautiful on the Wii. The Wii may not be able to produce the best graphics of this generation, but Nintendo knows how to make their games pretty. Everything has great lighting and shading, and the world is filled with bright and rich colors. I found myself repeating levels not only because they were fun, but because they were so much fun to just stare at (specifically Gusty Gardens).

The new element that has been added into the mix is gravity. You'll find yourself having to run around spherical planets and levels. You'll jump straight up from the sphere and find yourself flipped upside down on the planet above it. This adds a great deal of fun to each puzzle. As much as I love just classic Mario platforming, this new addition of gravity made the game that much better that I can't imagine it without it. I'd like to see where they can go next. Adding a feature like that improved upon the gameplay so much that I am begging they do something similar, not necessarily gravity, with there other franchises. The Metroid and Zelda franchise, while still fantastic, could use a gameplay reboot.

Another great addition to Super Mario Galaxy is the ability to have someone play with you and collect all the star pieces around the level for you. This allows them to shoot the pieces at enemies and help clear paths for you. It sounds pretty simple and is probably meant for a parent to be able to play with their kids, but my girlfriend and I had a blast with it. She wasn't interested in the 3D platforming but still wanted to play the game. This "Co-Star" mode was a prefect addition for that.

Super Mario Galaxy: 10/10

I say that Super Mario Galaxy is one of my new favorite games simply because the style, level design, gameplay, and overall production value were through the roof. I've rarely had this much fun playing a video game. Some levels are a lot harder than others, and can prove stressful at times, but I had a big smile on my face just running Mario around in this new world. It reminded me why I like to play video games. I like shooters, RPGs, and racing games as much as every other gamer, but sometimes nothing can beat perfect platforming, and stringing triple jumps together.

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Posted by Ryan at Tuesday, May 06, 2008 | 0 comments read on

Mirror's Edge Footage



Above is new footage for the upcoming EA game Mirror's Edge coming out on PS3, XBOX 360, and PC. The game looks beautiful, taking place in a bright sun filled city. What interests me about this game is that it is emphasized as a first person adventure game, not an FPS. It looks to have all the great platforming moments from a game like Prince of Persia, or Mario Galaxy, but played through a first person view. Interesting. Here is a quote from an IGN preview for the game:

"The team at DICE continued to hammer home the point during their presentation that the feeling of momentum and fluid movement was very important to the gameplay dynamic within Mirror's Edge. As Faith made her landing on the adjoining rooftop she immediately sprinted toward a fence, vaulted it, slid under a set of pips and then began traversing a thin metal pipe to yet another building. It all felt like one continuous movement, similar to cycling between pieces of cover in Gears of War only a bit more natural."

The best part is that the video is all in game footage. It looks like a game I'll be keeping my eye on. Below is a screenshot of the city.

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Posted by Ryan at Tuesday, May 06, 2008 | 0 comments read on

Metal Gear Online Beta Impressions



I preordered Metal Gear Solid 4 which got me the code to play the Metal Gear Online (MGO) beta. I created my Konami ID, which is separate from a PSN ID, sat through about an hour of updates, then finally created my character. All of the character options were pretty much just dudes in camo and cargo pants, but after all this is just the beta.

Once I got into the gameplay I found myself a little confused. I'm used to playing Metal Gear games in a certain way: sneak around, stop, take out weapon, aim at head, pull trigger, hide body, repeat. It was a little weird running around trying to navigate the infamous metal gear menus to get the right weapon out in time. I eventually got the hang of it and was cappin' fools in no time. This was made easier, and somewhat frustrating, by the fact that I could not figure out how to take auto aim off.

It was pretty fun, and different, to see the Metal Gear world in a fleshed out online shooter, there is a lot more strategy involved then normal multiplayer games. There are a ton of modes, even with the beta, I only tried out regular death match. I plan to try more and can't wait to get my hands on the full release which ships with MGS 4 this June.


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Posted by Ryan at Tuesday, May 06, 2008 | 1 comments read on

Echochrome Review



I don't usually play too many puzzle games, but when I downloaded the demo for Sony's new puzzler, Echochrome on the psp, I was hooked. The game drops you into an M.C. Escher type of puzzle making you walk around and collect "echoes" of other figures in the environment.

You must manipulate the world around you by turning the camera to change the perspective of the puzzle. You may be on a low platform all by itself, and you have to get to a higher platform above you, but they are not connected. Simply rotate the camera vertically and horizontally until it looks, to you, like both platforms are on the same plane. Once that is accomplished your character will simply walk from one to the other. However the puzzle looks to you, from your angle, is how your character will walk about it. There may be a hole in the floor that you need to get around. Just swing the camera around and make it looks like another piece of the level is blocking that hole, so you can't see it. Your character will act like the hole is not there and walk right over it. It's concepts like this that make Echochrome very enjoyable, and very unique.

The game is downloadable both on PSP and PS3, each with their own set of 56 levels. Every level is open to you from the start, you don't have to unlock anything. This is helpful when one puzzle seems too frustrating and you just want to skip to the next. Along with progressing through each puzzle is a level creator. You can modify any of the 56 puzzles in the game, or just create your own from scratch. Sony will make a new user created puzzle available for download each week.

Echochrome: 8/10

Echochrome is a unique puzzle game that really makes you think about perspective. If you don't want your character to hit that launch pad in front of him, just make it appear as if it's not even there. If takes a few tries to fully understand the concepts of the game, and that whatever you can see is what's going to happen. Once you get the hang of it, the game can be very rewarding. Often times you character will get launched off of the puzzle, by swinging the camera around 360 degrees you can catch him on the other side. Because the game takes place on a white background, there is no sense of depth. Once he is off the screen on one side, just swing the camera and you'll see him still falling. It is possible for him to fall and be gone, causing him to re appear on the puzzle, but it is very fun to think you've lost him only to whip the camera around and catch him on the exact section of the puzzle you needed him to be.

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Posted by Ryan at Thursday, May 01, 2008 | 0 comments read on

Second Impressions: GTA IV Multiplayer

After doing a bunch of missions last night in GTA, I decided that I couldn't wait any longer to check out the bulk of Liberty City. I booted up multiplayer, which is accessed right from your cell phone, and was driving across the bridge from New Jersey (Alderny) to Manhattan (Algonquin) in no time. I played "free mode" which means that I could just mess around in the city with other players (and pedestrians, cops, and traffic) without any rules or structure. The entire city was open.

The first thing I did, naturally, was shoot down everyone I saw. The combat in GTA works very well and I got used to the controls after the first day pretty fast. I was shooting people, people were shooting me, it was a blast. After I died a bunch of times I decided to drive around the city and find some landmarks. I drove past Radio City Music Hall, Central Park, Times Square, the Empire State building, and tried to find my old office which wasn't there. I then proceeded to jack a Ferrari from the Upper West side and drive it straight into a barrier guarding central park, forcing me to fly straight through the windshield careening into the park. That was just what I had intended.

After that I found a group of other players surrounded by some cops, I hopped on the back of another players motorcycle and he drove me around while I shot down the Cops, it was total awesomeness. After we had finished with the cops, I jumped off the Bike, shot the other player in the head, and stole his motorcycle. Just being able to do anything you could think of is unbelievable. You can pretty much setup any game type you want. One of the reviews I read for the game mentioned that they got a group of helicopters, dropped players off on the Empire State Building (after the players had obtained rocket launchers of course) then they sent another swarm of helicopters towards the players to see if they can shoot them off the buildings before the other players shot down their helicopters with the rocket launchers. They called this game type "King Kong." Another scenario involved piling people on top of a fire truck and speeding around corners, seeing how many players you can get to fly off. Anything is possible in the world of GTA. There are other game types built into the game like deathmatch, cops and robbers, and rescue missions. I didn't get a chance to try those, but after playing in the full open city with other real players, I'm sure I'll get to them very soon.

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