Dark Sector sure has a sexy box art. You cannot judge a game by its cover though so when I asked a friend about the game he said it was terrible and a horror title. Well, it's been a long time since I've played a horror title so I was all over this one.
I was instantly met with let down as I booted the game up. It felt like Gears of War. Then I entered the second location, the rain was falling and the dark textures just brought an awesome gloomy atmosphere.
It's something this game does correctly. It oozes with atmosphere, and everything is dark and gritty and it looks gorgeous the entire time. It also runs into some problems. It fails to create anything unique or outstanding and instead we get typical locations like sewers and warehouses.
Enemy models also lack anything all that interesting and besides the bosses I really can't say I was impressed with the humans or the creatures. I will admit the creatures had a creepy look to them but Uncharted hit the PS3 last year and had the same creep factor to some of it's enemies and pulled off the scares better.
What makes this entire game almost worth while is the Glaive. It's your main weapon for killing enemies. Think of it as a boomerang but as you advance through the game you gain new skills like being able to control it in midair and other stuff. The game introduces them slowly so it constantly feels like you're gaining something awesome and new a couple times a chapter.
What else is cool is that you can interact with fires and electric malfunction with the glaive. Doing so will charge them with these powers and later you can cause it to explode and do double damage when elements are used.
Now you don't need to use the glaive the whole time. You actually have a handgun and later you can buy other guns at the black market. You can also pick up dropped enemy weapons but you only have 30 seconds to use it before it becomes useless and they have worked that into the plot.
Speaking of the plot I should just get that out of the way now. You're a special ops person and you end up getting bit by a creature and pretty much your arm starts to mutate, which is how you get the Glaive. The plot is actually kind of cool but by the end you realize they never thought it all out and so much is left unexplained or numerous plot holes are left open to drive a truck through.
Thankfully the game is really fun and it's because it borrows everything from Gears of War. You walk into an area and take cover. Now you sit there and kill everything until they are all dead and move into the next area. The puzzles are few and far between and besides some sweet boss fights it doesn't offer much that requires some thought.
I also found the game to be boring after the first few chapters. The stages became overwhelmingly long and they reached the point of tediousness which is never a good thing. The game does offer a lot of check points so that was nice at least. But don't expect a long game. 8 hours would be pushing it for this one.
The enemy AI really doesn't help matters either. They tend to stand there, shoot, take cover and wash and repeat. No real thoughts behind it and they never rush you. The creatures bum rush you but go down quickly. In the next breath you have humans with shields who are down right crazy, hard to hit and kill you in two hits. What makes it worse is that each scenario feels the same, like no real variety and even when you gain control of a vehicle it felt like the same ole thing all over again but now in a big clunky machine.
The game also offers on-line multiplayer but I didn't bother with it. Maybe at another time, at which point I'll update this review but as it stands it just didn't interest me. It does offer a few unique modes like virus mode but again, I didn't play it so I can't full a real comment on it.
All in all Dark Sector is a typical yet fun shooter. It isn't worth the price tag but if you find it cheap then it might just be worth checking out. Just don't expect a horror title as it's very reminiscent of Gears of War with some mild horror tones here and there.
Story - 7/10
Graphics - 10/10
Sound - 7/10
Control - 8/10
Game Play - 7/10
Replay Value - 5/10
Final Score - 7/10
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Conflict: Denied Ops
I've never played the Conflict series before but people seem to love the games. Sadly I've started the series off with one of the worst titles this generation and I really have no interest in the previous entries.
The game starts off like any other shooter. You're sent on a mission in some desolate place and you need to kill the leader. The plot will advance from there using stereotypical crap to move it all along.
If you've played Army of Two then the game play may feel natural to you. You have control over two characters at once. Well, the AI controls one while you control the other. If one dies you can switch to the other character and heal the one who is now dying. It works pretty well but the game never told me you could switch thus a few unneeded deaths landed my way.
The game really doesn't give you many directions and one would think that such a linear level setup I wouldn't get lost but alas the game failed to mention (yet again) that I needed to shoot down this hover chopper that was doing nothing but hovering. Sorry, I thought I only had to take down hostiles but I guess not.
One thing the game does have going for it is the destructible environments which is cool because you can use the cannon on the tank to blow up a tower and other stuff. Problem is that it's only specifics and main items can't be damaged which in the end defeats the purpose of it all.
To make it all worse is the fact that the game looks like it was beat by the ugly stick. Bland textures and horrid load times make this feel more like a PS2 title than a 360. The animations are bland and all of the enemies share the same clothes and faces.
The entire game is fairly boring as you just run into a room, shoot people, hide, repeat and then walk up to your objective and hit A. There are times where you may need to climb up a step or something and you'll use A to do that but it's slow and clumsy and the game can easily ambush you right at that time and there is no way to cancel that movement until it is finish.
One saving grace for the game is the fact that the vehicle control have way decently. Of course it's also tiresome moving around in a tank and when your AI partner controls the gun yet never fires, forcing you to do both just irks me to no end.
The game does feature on-line play but I couldn't be bothered to touch it. One thing the game does do right is the achievements which are nicely done. Not too easy nor too hard and they range from completing the game to just completing what some would consider hidden bonus objectives. For example if you go the entire way in the tank without it blowing up you get an achievement and trust me it's a little harder than one would think.
All in all this is just another crappy FPS that is clogging up the consoles these days. It plays like crap and it some how looks worse. The game is riddled with minor glitches and sloppy AI. I say pass on this bad boy all together.
Story - 5/10
Graphics - 2/10
Sound - 6/10
Control - 8/10
Game Play - 4/10
Replay Value - 4/10
Final Score - 3/10
The game starts off like any other shooter. You're sent on a mission in some desolate place and you need to kill the leader. The plot will advance from there using stereotypical crap to move it all along.
If you've played Army of Two then the game play may feel natural to you. You have control over two characters at once. Well, the AI controls one while you control the other. If one dies you can switch to the other character and heal the one who is now dying. It works pretty well but the game never told me you could switch thus a few unneeded deaths landed my way.
The game really doesn't give you many directions and one would think that such a linear level setup I wouldn't get lost but alas the game failed to mention (yet again) that I needed to shoot down this hover chopper that was doing nothing but hovering. Sorry, I thought I only had to take down hostiles but I guess not.
One thing the game does have going for it is the destructible environments which is cool because you can use the cannon on the tank to blow up a tower and other stuff. Problem is that it's only specifics and main items can't be damaged which in the end defeats the purpose of it all.
To make it all worse is the fact that the game looks like it was beat by the ugly stick. Bland textures and horrid load times make this feel more like a PS2 title than a 360. The animations are bland and all of the enemies share the same clothes and faces.
The entire game is fairly boring as you just run into a room, shoot people, hide, repeat and then walk up to your objective and hit A. There are times where you may need to climb up a step or something and you'll use A to do that but it's slow and clumsy and the game can easily ambush you right at that time and there is no way to cancel that movement until it is finish.
One saving grace for the game is the fact that the vehicle control have way decently. Of course it's also tiresome moving around in a tank and when your AI partner controls the gun yet never fires, forcing you to do both just irks me to no end.
The game does feature on-line play but I couldn't be bothered to touch it. One thing the game does do right is the achievements which are nicely done. Not too easy nor too hard and they range from completing the game to just completing what some would consider hidden bonus objectives. For example if you go the entire way in the tank without it blowing up you get an achievement and trust me it's a little harder than one would think.
All in all this is just another crappy FPS that is clogging up the consoles these days. It plays like crap and it some how looks worse. The game is riddled with minor glitches and sloppy AI. I say pass on this bad boy all together.
Story - 5/10
Graphics - 2/10
Sound - 6/10
Control - 8/10
Game Play - 4/10
Replay Value - 4/10
Final Score - 3/10
Monday, April 14, 2008
Turning Point: Fall of Liberty
Turning Point had such a stellar idea it would figure they would fudge it up along the way. Imagine a world where we lost World War II and the Nazi's have started to invade North America. Pretty interesting idea.
The problem is that they take every single cliche, hamper it all down with bad everything and then make the game so glitchy it isn't worth even a rental. I'm jumping ahead of myself though.
Graphically the game looks like it belongs on the PS2. The textures are non-existent and the levels themselves feel underwhelming with roofs, London houses and trains. Not only that but the enemies all look alike. The smoke and explosions are also poorly done, as if I was watching a Sci-fi original movie.
Voice work is your typical fair. They must have a specific group that is used for these games because it always sound the same. The music is so forgettable that despite the fact I just played for a few hours, I don't even remember the music. Guns sound okay, explosions are less than impressive.
The game even has an odd control setup. left bumper is run, right bumper is gernade. Left trigger is aim and right trigger is fire. A is jump, B is melee, Y is to duck/crawl and to be hoenst the view doesn't even change so I couldn't figure out that it actually allowed me to duck. The aiming with the right stick is a bit sporadic and overly sensitive.
The game play itself is as stale as it comes. You travel along linear paths with no ounce of moving beyond it and yet I would constantly get confused because and lost because doors magically open and the game constantly tells you that you're objective has changed but no vocal announcement, just a text message and you have to pause to actually see what the game wants you to do next.
The game really just has you ducking and firing and then moving along these linear paths. The AI is rather brain dead and they tend to run in circles. The amount of damage they deal seems to be random and based on the area, not weapon or actual shot.
Granted I only played through half of the game but it was just so poorly done. I died a number of times due to me getting stuck in debris and walls. Not only that but the game uses a terrible check point system and one would think you'd have a check point before the train with 6 snipers but instead that segment is in the middle of a rather large area and dying there due to the game randomly shoving a sniper rifle of my own and just telling me to wing it just wasn't a smart idea on the developers part.
The game features on-line play but it's for deathmatchs only and due to the game flopping so hard I doubt it's life is all that action packed now and I doubt if it ever will be. So we get a short campaign and a half assed on-line factor as well.
I can't recommend this as rental or a purchase. It just isn't worth while and I can think of at least 10 other shooters that are better than this released in the past year. This is right up there with the Outfit and Front lines as the worst of the past 12 months.
Story - 8/10
Graphics - 4/10
Sound - 4/10
Control - 7/10
Game Play - 5/10
Replay Value - 4/10
Final Score - 3/10
The problem is that they take every single cliche, hamper it all down with bad everything and then make the game so glitchy it isn't worth even a rental. I'm jumping ahead of myself though.
Graphically the game looks like it belongs on the PS2. The textures are non-existent and the levels themselves feel underwhelming with roofs, London houses and trains. Not only that but the enemies all look alike. The smoke and explosions are also poorly done, as if I was watching a Sci-fi original movie.
Voice work is your typical fair. They must have a specific group that is used for these games because it always sound the same. The music is so forgettable that despite the fact I just played for a few hours, I don't even remember the music. Guns sound okay, explosions are less than impressive.
The game even has an odd control setup. left bumper is run, right bumper is gernade. Left trigger is aim and right trigger is fire. A is jump, B is melee, Y is to duck/crawl and to be hoenst the view doesn't even change so I couldn't figure out that it actually allowed me to duck. The aiming with the right stick is a bit sporadic and overly sensitive.
The game play itself is as stale as it comes. You travel along linear paths with no ounce of moving beyond it and yet I would constantly get confused because and lost because doors magically open and the game constantly tells you that you're objective has changed but no vocal announcement, just a text message and you have to pause to actually see what the game wants you to do next.
The game really just has you ducking and firing and then moving along these linear paths. The AI is rather brain dead and they tend to run in circles. The amount of damage they deal seems to be random and based on the area, not weapon or actual shot.
Granted I only played through half of the game but it was just so poorly done. I died a number of times due to me getting stuck in debris and walls. Not only that but the game uses a terrible check point system and one would think you'd have a check point before the train with 6 snipers but instead that segment is in the middle of a rather large area and dying there due to the game randomly shoving a sniper rifle of my own and just telling me to wing it just wasn't a smart idea on the developers part.
The game features on-line play but it's for deathmatchs only and due to the game flopping so hard I doubt it's life is all that action packed now and I doubt if it ever will be. So we get a short campaign and a half assed on-line factor as well.
I can't recommend this as rental or a purchase. It just isn't worth while and I can think of at least 10 other shooters that are better than this released in the past year. This is right up there with the Outfit and Front lines as the worst of the past 12 months.
Story - 8/10
Graphics - 4/10
Sound - 4/10
Control - 7/10
Game Play - 5/10
Replay Value - 4/10
Final Score - 3/10
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Spiderwick Chronicles
Spiderwick Chronicles is based off the hit movie that was released in theaters in 2008. It has more in common with the film than the books and actually, besides a few side quests like objectives, it follows the film almost spot on.
I wouldn't call myself a fan of the books anyway but the film was very enjoyable and I can happily say the same about this game. The plot itself is simple. Jared, his twin Simon and their sister Mallory move into a new mansion after their parents split. Jared finds a book written by his great uncle Arther Spiderwick. It's a book containing everything a person could want to know about the fairy realm but when he opens the book he releases its presence to Mulgoroth who is an evil creature that wants to book so he can rule all.
By using actual film footage the story is told in a narrative fashion. This is one of the few times where the actual film footage is crystal clear. In game graphics are sharp and colorful. I found the game to be very pleasing to the eyes. Locations aren't the most exciting thing but they all look good and the enemy models look spot on to the film counterparts.
Not only does the game look good but it also offers the voice talent of the films original cast so that was an added little bonus. Even the sounds appear to come from the film. My only problem is that the music is kind of meh. I remember none of it besides the them from the film and even then one would think I'd remember something of the music after playing for 4 hours straight.
I hit this game running, which doesn't happen often and almost never when it comes to a game based on a film which in turn is based off a book series. However, this game is incredibly fun and just an all around enjoyable game.
You gain control of the three children as the plot unfolds and it's always one at a time for plot reasons. Not until the final chapter can you switch between them all outside the mansion. Each kid plays differently as well as Jared is stronger of the three and has normal throwing skills. Simon has a juice sprayer and explosive throwing items. Mallory uses the sword so her combat is quicker. I don't know if she can throw anything or what it could be. So while they are pretty much the same they do have enough difference to make them feel different.
The game is split up into chapters and you always have a check list of what you need to do but it is vague at times. The only time I was ever confused was when I was looking for a way back into the caves and the game didn't explain how to lower the red bushes which was sovled in a way I wasn't thinking of.
That's another thing. The game really doesn't have many puzzles and the only other puzzle requires you to capture three spirits and use them in an order to then smash something. It felt random and kind of tough as I had a hard time finding the sprites.
You collect sprites throughout the game. Each type offers a different ability be it extra strength, speed or a special power. You can hold three at a time so it's good to stock them. To catch them though you need to use the net and then draw there picture which is more of a paint by numbers minus the numbers. It's fun but an enemy attack can cause you to end the painting and set the sprite free. Once you capture a spirit you won't need to paint them again but this will cause some confusion when trying to fill the book.
You will constantly find yourself hunting for new information on sprites and trolls and whatever else would be in the field guide. So it's an extra collect-a-thon. The entire game feels like one though. Even at the start you'll need to find x item to get to x area and it just goes on like that.
It some how remains fun as the combat is simple but it also feels rewarding in a beat'em up way. The game isn't very long though and 100% is possible within 6 hours. There is a multiplayer mode which is either timed or point based and then you can select if you just want sprites or goblins or both and then you get points based on what you capture or kill. It's mindless but somewhat fun.
I would highly recommend this game to anyone looking for a good family friendly title. Platformer fans should also check it out as it's a nice refreshing title from the tired first person shooters the market is currently flooded with. Just don't go in expecting deep game play or anything that's deep. Sit back and enjoy one of the best games so far of 2008.
Story - 8/10
Graphics - 9/10
Sound - 8/10
Control - 10/10
Game Play - 8/10
Replay Value - 4/10
Final Score - 8/10
I wouldn't call myself a fan of the books anyway but the film was very enjoyable and I can happily say the same about this game. The plot itself is simple. Jared, his twin Simon and their sister Mallory move into a new mansion after their parents split. Jared finds a book written by his great uncle Arther Spiderwick. It's a book containing everything a person could want to know about the fairy realm but when he opens the book he releases its presence to Mulgoroth who is an evil creature that wants to book so he can rule all.
By using actual film footage the story is told in a narrative fashion. This is one of the few times where the actual film footage is crystal clear. In game graphics are sharp and colorful. I found the game to be very pleasing to the eyes. Locations aren't the most exciting thing but they all look good and the enemy models look spot on to the film counterparts.
Not only does the game look good but it also offers the voice talent of the films original cast so that was an added little bonus. Even the sounds appear to come from the film. My only problem is that the music is kind of meh. I remember none of it besides the them from the film and even then one would think I'd remember something of the music after playing for 4 hours straight.
I hit this game running, which doesn't happen often and almost never when it comes to a game based on a film which in turn is based off a book series. However, this game is incredibly fun and just an all around enjoyable game.
You gain control of the three children as the plot unfolds and it's always one at a time for plot reasons. Not until the final chapter can you switch between them all outside the mansion. Each kid plays differently as well as Jared is stronger of the three and has normal throwing skills. Simon has a juice sprayer and explosive throwing items. Mallory uses the sword so her combat is quicker. I don't know if she can throw anything or what it could be. So while they are pretty much the same they do have enough difference to make them feel different.
The game is split up into chapters and you always have a check list of what you need to do but it is vague at times. The only time I was ever confused was when I was looking for a way back into the caves and the game didn't explain how to lower the red bushes which was sovled in a way I wasn't thinking of.
That's another thing. The game really doesn't have many puzzles and the only other puzzle requires you to capture three spirits and use them in an order to then smash something. It felt random and kind of tough as I had a hard time finding the sprites.
You collect sprites throughout the game. Each type offers a different ability be it extra strength, speed or a special power. You can hold three at a time so it's good to stock them. To catch them though you need to use the net and then draw there picture which is more of a paint by numbers minus the numbers. It's fun but an enemy attack can cause you to end the painting and set the sprite free. Once you capture a spirit you won't need to paint them again but this will cause some confusion when trying to fill the book.
You will constantly find yourself hunting for new information on sprites and trolls and whatever else would be in the field guide. So it's an extra collect-a-thon. The entire game feels like one though. Even at the start you'll need to find x item to get to x area and it just goes on like that.
It some how remains fun as the combat is simple but it also feels rewarding in a beat'em up way. The game isn't very long though and 100% is possible within 6 hours. There is a multiplayer mode which is either timed or point based and then you can select if you just want sprites or goblins or both and then you get points based on what you capture or kill. It's mindless but somewhat fun.
I would highly recommend this game to anyone looking for a good family friendly title. Platformer fans should also check it out as it's a nice refreshing title from the tired first person shooters the market is currently flooded with. Just don't go in expecting deep game play or anything that's deep. Sit back and enjoy one of the best games so far of 2008.
Story - 8/10
Graphics - 9/10
Sound - 8/10
Control - 10/10
Game Play - 8/10
Replay Value - 4/10
Final Score - 8/10
Monday, April 7, 2008
The Club
Sega sure is polluting the market this year with a slew of titles that they normally wouldn't be involved with. The Club is the third Sega title I've played this month so it's surprising that it is continuing with their new trend of decent titles.
The Club is a ugh club where you shoot things. Well, sort of I guess. It's more like a game where you race through an area blasting enemies. Hell, the game has no real plot, think of it as a plotless Fight Club but with guns instead of fists.
Graphically the game is a bit boring to look at. Not that it looks bad but nothing stands out as being interesting. The red arrow signs pointing you in the right direction don't help matters but everything has decent details and the colors are vibrant.
The problem with the game is that it really doesn't have a whole lot going on. I'll say it right now, this game was a blast to play. It's mindless and fun. It requires almost zero thinking and its balls to the walls action formula is kind of entertaining.
The game is split up into 8 arenas, each having it's own theme like a train yard, a ship, war zone, prison. You get the idea. Not all that unique or interesting but the maps feel like mazes almost. The maps themselves range from very small to medium size. None will last more than a few minutes and everything is just about speed.
There is usually 6 or more stages per arena. These stages have a few different goals. it might be to stay within a marked area for X amount of time and just surviving. Another might have you running "laps" around the stage. Or you may just need to blow stuff up and reach the exit. Either way it's as mindless as it can get and damn it sure is fun.
You gain combos and there are hidden items that give you multiplies and other stuff so it just becomes this over the top shoot'em up and it's just fun, which is something I can't say about a lot of games.
The problem I ran into though is that some of these stages took forever to load. one took almost 2 minuets to load and I think it took me a lot less to finish which sucks after a few times and if you lose or want to restart then it has to reload. You only get five retries per arena so you have to watch what you're doing.
Sadly the game really doesn't have much else going for it. There are eight playable characters but they play too much alike to be all that fun. Otherwise you get on-line play but the community seems to be kind of dead which is a shame as it is fun to just mess around in this one.
That's it though. It has no real substance. if this was a bargain title I would run out and buy it right now. As it stands though it isn't worth the price of admission but I would highly recommend renting this game as I had a lot of fun with it, more so than any other game I've played in 2008 so far.
Story - 2/10
Graphics - 8/10
Sound - 6/10
Control - 9/10
Game Play - 7/10
Replay Value - 4/10
Final Score - 6/10
The Club is a ugh club where you shoot things. Well, sort of I guess. It's more like a game where you race through an area blasting enemies. Hell, the game has no real plot, think of it as a plotless Fight Club but with guns instead of fists.
Graphically the game is a bit boring to look at. Not that it looks bad but nothing stands out as being interesting. The red arrow signs pointing you in the right direction don't help matters but everything has decent details and the colors are vibrant.
The problem with the game is that it really doesn't have a whole lot going on. I'll say it right now, this game was a blast to play. It's mindless and fun. It requires almost zero thinking and its balls to the walls action formula is kind of entertaining.
The game is split up into 8 arenas, each having it's own theme like a train yard, a ship, war zone, prison. You get the idea. Not all that unique or interesting but the maps feel like mazes almost. The maps themselves range from very small to medium size. None will last more than a few minutes and everything is just about speed.
There is usually 6 or more stages per arena. These stages have a few different goals. it might be to stay within a marked area for X amount of time and just surviving. Another might have you running "laps" around the stage. Or you may just need to blow stuff up and reach the exit. Either way it's as mindless as it can get and damn it sure is fun.
You gain combos and there are hidden items that give you multiplies and other stuff so it just becomes this over the top shoot'em up and it's just fun, which is something I can't say about a lot of games.
The problem I ran into though is that some of these stages took forever to load. one took almost 2 minuets to load and I think it took me a lot less to finish which sucks after a few times and if you lose or want to restart then it has to reload. You only get five retries per arena so you have to watch what you're doing.
Sadly the game really doesn't have much else going for it. There are eight playable characters but they play too much alike to be all that fun. Otherwise you get on-line play but the community seems to be kind of dead which is a shame as it is fun to just mess around in this one.
That's it though. It has no real substance. if this was a bargain title I would run out and buy it right now. As it stands though it isn't worth the price of admission but I would highly recommend renting this game as I had a lot of fun with it, more so than any other game I've played in 2008 so far.
Story - 2/10
Graphics - 8/10
Sound - 6/10
Control - 9/10
Game Play - 7/10
Replay Value - 4/10
Final Score - 6/10
Jumper: Griffin's Story
Jumper was a film that looked great on paper and just failed to deliver anything worth while. The idea may have crossed over into the video game format nicely if it hadn't been for what I now consider to be the worst developer around, the team behind Looney Tunes: Acme Arsenel... Yes, they too are behind this monstrosity.
Think of it, a person who can jump anywhere they can think of. Just think of Japan and you could just hop right there in the blink of an eye. Well, this is a prequel to the movie so it had a slim chance of being good but frankly the plot is ass and involves a lad, his dead parents and an organization. yeah, we've all heard this one before.
Not only does the game insult us with it's story but it has some of the worst load times this generation. It takes a good two minutes for each level to load.
Maybe this would be acceptable if the game wasn't the fugliest thing this side of a transvestite shemale hooker. The textures are poor, everything is rooms with repeated items and small corridors. No thought went into the locations.
What makes the graphics even worse are the character models. There are three or so enemy types but they all look the same but have different annoying voices. What's worse than that is your guy kind of looks like them all as they seem to have the same outfit on and if you're not staring at the screen it's easy to not be able to tell which character is the oen you're controlling.
Again, this wouldn't be a problem but the game play itself relies on you knowing who you are. This is an action game through and through but it reminds me of a beat'em up but not nearly as entertaining as The Warriors of even Streets of Rage.
See, because you jump all over you can attack from all sides in the air so you kind of just hop around as each face button represents a direction. This is a flaw in itself as the camera shifts, which also shifts the true nature of where the shields might be up.
I'm getting a head of myself though. See, each enemy has a color around them. Green means it's their open spot and red means they will block you if you try and attack from that direction so it's like a match game. So you can see how the camera may cause some problems. Not only that but the camera often gets stuck on random items in the environment and that is always when an enemy is behind a pillar so you can't see their colors. There was also a room with red lasers that flash which again made it hard to figure anything out.
The game consists of five whole levels and should take the average gamer about 2 hours to beat and you should net at least 700 of the 1000 achievement points in that time frame. Seriously, no thought went into this title.
The boss fights are also a problem in the game. Between being too long or too cheap they are just kind of boring and put up less of a challenge than a room full of normal enemies. Thankfully the final boss has only one open spot and he sends random enemies who shoot nets to annoy you even more. Gee, thanks!
I don't know what else to say about this game. There is no real point to it. It's ugly as all hell. Sure Jamie Bell provides his voice to his character from the movie but his three lame one liners may force you to mute the game. This game has not one single redeeming value to it and it is by far the worst game I've played since the original The Mummy on the Playstation.
Story - 3/10
Graphics - 1/10
Sound - 2/10
Control - 6/10
Game Play - 1/10
Replay Value - 0/10
Final Score - 1/10
Think of it, a person who can jump anywhere they can think of. Just think of Japan and you could just hop right there in the blink of an eye. Well, this is a prequel to the movie so it had a slim chance of being good but frankly the plot is ass and involves a lad, his dead parents and an organization. yeah, we've all heard this one before.
Not only does the game insult us with it's story but it has some of the worst load times this generation. It takes a good two minutes for each level to load.
Maybe this would be acceptable if the game wasn't the fugliest thing this side of a transvestite shemale hooker. The textures are poor, everything is rooms with repeated items and small corridors. No thought went into the locations.
What makes the graphics even worse are the character models. There are three or so enemy types but they all look the same but have different annoying voices. What's worse than that is your guy kind of looks like them all as they seem to have the same outfit on and if you're not staring at the screen it's easy to not be able to tell which character is the oen you're controlling.
Again, this wouldn't be a problem but the game play itself relies on you knowing who you are. This is an action game through and through but it reminds me of a beat'em up but not nearly as entertaining as The Warriors of even Streets of Rage.
See, because you jump all over you can attack from all sides in the air so you kind of just hop around as each face button represents a direction. This is a flaw in itself as the camera shifts, which also shifts the true nature of where the shields might be up.
I'm getting a head of myself though. See, each enemy has a color around them. Green means it's their open spot and red means they will block you if you try and attack from that direction so it's like a match game. So you can see how the camera may cause some problems. Not only that but the camera often gets stuck on random items in the environment and that is always when an enemy is behind a pillar so you can't see their colors. There was also a room with red lasers that flash which again made it hard to figure anything out.
The game consists of five whole levels and should take the average gamer about 2 hours to beat and you should net at least 700 of the 1000 achievement points in that time frame. Seriously, no thought went into this title.
The boss fights are also a problem in the game. Between being too long or too cheap they are just kind of boring and put up less of a challenge than a room full of normal enemies. Thankfully the final boss has only one open spot and he sends random enemies who shoot nets to annoy you even more. Gee, thanks!
I don't know what else to say about this game. There is no real point to it. It's ugly as all hell. Sure Jamie Bell provides his voice to his character from the movie but his three lame one liners may force you to mute the game. This game has not one single redeeming value to it and it is by far the worst game I've played since the original The Mummy on the Playstation.
Story - 3/10
Graphics - 1/10
Sound - 2/10
Control - 6/10
Game Play - 1/10
Replay Value - 0/10
Final Score - 1/10
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Sega Superstars Tennis
Sports is the hardest thing for me to review. I'm not into anything besides college basketball and hockey so my knowledge of the rules is very limited. However, this isn't your typical sports game and while I still don't know the exact rules of tennis, you really don't need to know them to enjoy this game.
Following in the footsteps of their once rivals Nintendo, Sega has compiled their own cast of characters in a sporting game. It uses the same engine as the Virtua Tennis series which I do enjoy every once in a while despite not owning any of them.
Sega has taken a different approach with this game though. It's all a mishmash of mini-games and actual tennis which is actually kind of interesting when you think about it. One thing Sega does have going for itself is that it's characters aren't all that typical and the different game genres really helps this game stick out in the crowd.
They took some care with this title for once and it shows with the graphics. We have very sharp and colorful graphics. There are ten themed courts, all of which are interesting to see but I do wish that each game represented had it's own court and character but we can't ahve it all. Either way we do get some nice themes going with the courts and I like the cameos in the background.
The actual tennis in this game is pretty fun, if you like the sport. Bouncing a ball back and forth could be amusing I guess but to be honest I've never played the real sport so who am I to judge. However, my only problem with the actual tennis part of this game, which really isn't that big of a part to the game, is that the AI seems very spontaneous. Meaning the difficulty, even on easy, can hit so that your opponent will slaughter you in one match but in the next just fall over for you. I also had some minor issues with seeing the ball but I got over that and it was mainly due to a random yellow spot that appeared and I had thought it was an indicator for where the ball was going but then it just happened randomly s I have yet to figure out what that actually was about.
There is also a super power that you and your opponent can unleash. These will cause the ball to do wacky things that are more annoying than anything and I can't help but wonder how many times I screwed myself over by trying to do them. Thankfully you can turn these off in the options menu which I highly recommend doing.
Rest of the game seems to be about the mini games, which don't feel like normal mini games. The main part of this title is called Superstars which gives you themed challenges per title. be it Sonic, House of the Dead or Alex Kidd. It's pretty amusing really and for Sega fans it's a wet dream come true. Sega doesn't always follow through with what you have here but it could be worse.
The mini games aren't all that exciting but each world has it's own thing going for it. You may end up in an actual tennis match, be it singles or doubles. Or you just might have a full on mini game.
My personal favorite mini games has to do with House of the Dead. You have hordes of zombies coming at you and you are hitting these fireballs from statues into them and knocking them down. yeah, it isn't complicated but it's pretty sweet. Besides that we get a mini game where Sonic needs to dodge bombs and electric shots, all the while collecting rings (in true Sonic fashion).
We also have some bland mini games though. The Jet Set Radio games are kind of lame. They have you collecting paint cans while dodging the police. Not really true to the spirit but the game but in the next breath you also get to splatter paintballs so all isn't bad.
As you progress through the Superstars mode you unlock new courts, new characters and new music tracks to listen to. This is awesome because you get classic Sega tunes from all the games that are featured here. If only rest of the game had this much effort put forth it would have rocked even more.
So besides quick matches and the Superstars mode we also have on-line play. No one really plays on-line it seems and the few games I did get into had an unfortunate meeting with some nasty lag. You can also watch matches via Sega TV which is useless but cool none the less.
I can't sit here and say this is the best game ever because it isn't. For a Sega fan it's an awesome experience and I see them getting the most out of this title. If you don't know who Beat or Ulala are then this might not be for you. In the end it has some flaws but fans will eat this one up and the game play isn't too shabby to boot but the on-line kind of hurts the overall package.
Story - N/A
Graphics - 9/10
Sound - 10/10
Control - 8/10
Game Play - 7/10
Replay Value - 8/10
Final Score - 7/10
Following in the footsteps of their once rivals Nintendo, Sega has compiled their own cast of characters in a sporting game. It uses the same engine as the Virtua Tennis series which I do enjoy every once in a while despite not owning any of them.
Sega has taken a different approach with this game though. It's all a mishmash of mini-games and actual tennis which is actually kind of interesting when you think about it. One thing Sega does have going for itself is that it's characters aren't all that typical and the different game genres really helps this game stick out in the crowd.
They took some care with this title for once and it shows with the graphics. We have very sharp and colorful graphics. There are ten themed courts, all of which are interesting to see but I do wish that each game represented had it's own court and character but we can't ahve it all. Either way we do get some nice themes going with the courts and I like the cameos in the background.
The actual tennis in this game is pretty fun, if you like the sport. Bouncing a ball back and forth could be amusing I guess but to be honest I've never played the real sport so who am I to judge. However, my only problem with the actual tennis part of this game, which really isn't that big of a part to the game, is that the AI seems very spontaneous. Meaning the difficulty, even on easy, can hit so that your opponent will slaughter you in one match but in the next just fall over for you. I also had some minor issues with seeing the ball but I got over that and it was mainly due to a random yellow spot that appeared and I had thought it was an indicator for where the ball was going but then it just happened randomly s I have yet to figure out what that actually was about.
There is also a super power that you and your opponent can unleash. These will cause the ball to do wacky things that are more annoying than anything and I can't help but wonder how many times I screwed myself over by trying to do them. Thankfully you can turn these off in the options menu which I highly recommend doing.
Rest of the game seems to be about the mini games, which don't feel like normal mini games. The main part of this title is called Superstars which gives you themed challenges per title. be it Sonic, House of the Dead or Alex Kidd. It's pretty amusing really and for Sega fans it's a wet dream come true. Sega doesn't always follow through with what you have here but it could be worse.
The mini games aren't all that exciting but each world has it's own thing going for it. You may end up in an actual tennis match, be it singles or doubles. Or you just might have a full on mini game.
My personal favorite mini games has to do with House of the Dead. You have hordes of zombies coming at you and you are hitting these fireballs from statues into them and knocking them down. yeah, it isn't complicated but it's pretty sweet. Besides that we get a mini game where Sonic needs to dodge bombs and electric shots, all the while collecting rings (in true Sonic fashion).
We also have some bland mini games though. The Jet Set Radio games are kind of lame. They have you collecting paint cans while dodging the police. Not really true to the spirit but the game but in the next breath you also get to splatter paintballs so all isn't bad.
As you progress through the Superstars mode you unlock new courts, new characters and new music tracks to listen to. This is awesome because you get classic Sega tunes from all the games that are featured here. If only rest of the game had this much effort put forth it would have rocked even more.
So besides quick matches and the Superstars mode we also have on-line play. No one really plays on-line it seems and the few games I did get into had an unfortunate meeting with some nasty lag. You can also watch matches via Sega TV which is useless but cool none the less.
I can't sit here and say this is the best game ever because it isn't. For a Sega fan it's an awesome experience and I see them getting the most out of this title. If you don't know who Beat or Ulala are then this might not be for you. In the end it has some flaws but fans will eat this one up and the game play isn't too shabby to boot but the on-line kind of hurts the overall package.
Story - N/A
Graphics - 9/10
Sound - 10/10
Control - 8/10
Game Play - 7/10
Replay Value - 8/10
Final Score - 7/10
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Army of Two
EA promised this to be a kick ass game without the AI problems that haunted Brute Force. Yeah, they lied and why am I not surprised. EA continues it's recent trend of releasing shit and we now get this woeful game.
Two guys are framed for something or other, they kill men for money, Iraq war blah blah blah. I couldn't have cared less. The frat brother reactions to each other is hysterically bad, the cast is just as absurd and it just did nothing for me.
Actually, I was playing a co-op game and I killed our target of the stage and he fist pumped me which I thought was hysterical and should never be done in real life. It's like this game was developed by frat boys who enjoy the post touchdown ass smack a little too much (not that anything is wrong with that) but it becomes too silly for this game.
To be fair though the game isn't THAT bad I guess. The visuals are nice to an extent. The enemies look dumb and really the art direction is just poss poor all around from the sets to the cast but the details are pretty well done and the customization of the weapons is pretty cool I guess. If you're into big shiny gold guns....
The music felt like it was the same three notes over and over and it did nothing to create a mood or any sort of atmosphere. The voice work was rather typical of the genre as well. Guns sounded okay but there was times where I would hear a random beeping for no real reason.
Speaking of no real reason let me just say that during my co-op missions my partner and myself would constantly get game over and we had no clue why. There was no inclination of what could have possibly caused the game over screen to pop up when both of us are standing. Maybe it's just another of the many glitches this game seems to have.
The actual game play is very co-op based. I found the single player experience to be painful due to my AI partner doing stupid stuff and with double taps on a d-pad and bumper holds for different terms it became a bit tedious trying to remember what did what and in the middle of combat one shouldn't have to worry about their partner running to death.
The game is made up one a single training area and 6 missions. The missions may take you up to an hour each so the play through time should be around 6 hours or so but could be as low as five hours.
Levels are laid out in a linear format but with connecting paths from branches so it could almost feel like it isn't but things tend to look the same. There are main objectives and secondary objectives and you gain many from them all.
Money is used for upgrades and new guns. It's not a very complicated system and at the start of every mission and at least once during a mission you'll get a chance to upgrade your weapons. I pretty much stuck with a specific main weapon and changed things up by suggestions of friends who suffered through the game already.
That was another problem. No one seemed to be playing co-op on-line. I ran into a grand total of two playing in 5 hours. That isn't a whole lot. The actual vs on-line is kind of boring as well. You use the maps from the stages and you have goals to do. The team who gets the most cash wins but everyone keeps their cash anyway. It could be interesting but that's all it has to offer. Wasn't very fun after doing each map once.
Not only that but you go through so many loading screens to get anywhere that it feels more like a chore. Even the main game has to load during the missions and it isn't like the areas are all that big either.
The game also has one sluggish vehicle moment and some horrific parachute missions that I pray is never included in another video game ever. It's just not very fun and it requires both people to try and communicate but because you need to focus your shot you can't see what's around and when you hop out of focus it will reset your aim. It does the same during normal combat and just becomes annoying.
Oh and lets not forget about if your partner is downed you have so much time to bring them back so you need to drag them to a safe place and hold them to bring them back to life. Yes, it even says hold and it makes no sense but maybe the man sweat has magical healing pwoers in this game...
There are so many other games in this genre that have done it much better that I can't even recommend this game for a rental. Go pop your copy of Gears of War into your 360 because a year and a half later it's still better than this game and looks better to boot. The on-line isn't even worthwhile and there sin't enough people playing co-op to make anything decent about this game.
Story - 4/10
Graphics - 7/10
Sound - 5/10
Control - 7/10
Game Play - 6/10
Replay value - 4/10
Final Score - 5/10
Two guys are framed for something or other, they kill men for money, Iraq war blah blah blah. I couldn't have cared less. The frat brother reactions to each other is hysterically bad, the cast is just as absurd and it just did nothing for me.
Actually, I was playing a co-op game and I killed our target of the stage and he fist pumped me which I thought was hysterical and should never be done in real life. It's like this game was developed by frat boys who enjoy the post touchdown ass smack a little too much (not that anything is wrong with that) but it becomes too silly for this game.
To be fair though the game isn't THAT bad I guess. The visuals are nice to an extent. The enemies look dumb and really the art direction is just poss poor all around from the sets to the cast but the details are pretty well done and the customization of the weapons is pretty cool I guess. If you're into big shiny gold guns....
The music felt like it was the same three notes over and over and it did nothing to create a mood or any sort of atmosphere. The voice work was rather typical of the genre as well. Guns sounded okay but there was times where I would hear a random beeping for no real reason.
Speaking of no real reason let me just say that during my co-op missions my partner and myself would constantly get game over and we had no clue why. There was no inclination of what could have possibly caused the game over screen to pop up when both of us are standing. Maybe it's just another of the many glitches this game seems to have.
The actual game play is very co-op based. I found the single player experience to be painful due to my AI partner doing stupid stuff and with double taps on a d-pad and bumper holds for different terms it became a bit tedious trying to remember what did what and in the middle of combat one shouldn't have to worry about their partner running to death.
The game is made up one a single training area and 6 missions. The missions may take you up to an hour each so the play through time should be around 6 hours or so but could be as low as five hours.
Levels are laid out in a linear format but with connecting paths from branches so it could almost feel like it isn't but things tend to look the same. There are main objectives and secondary objectives and you gain many from them all.
Money is used for upgrades and new guns. It's not a very complicated system and at the start of every mission and at least once during a mission you'll get a chance to upgrade your weapons. I pretty much stuck with a specific main weapon and changed things up by suggestions of friends who suffered through the game already.
That was another problem. No one seemed to be playing co-op on-line. I ran into a grand total of two playing in 5 hours. That isn't a whole lot. The actual vs on-line is kind of boring as well. You use the maps from the stages and you have goals to do. The team who gets the most cash wins but everyone keeps their cash anyway. It could be interesting but that's all it has to offer. Wasn't very fun after doing each map once.
Not only that but you go through so many loading screens to get anywhere that it feels more like a chore. Even the main game has to load during the missions and it isn't like the areas are all that big either.
The game also has one sluggish vehicle moment and some horrific parachute missions that I pray is never included in another video game ever. It's just not very fun and it requires both people to try and communicate but because you need to focus your shot you can't see what's around and when you hop out of focus it will reset your aim. It does the same during normal combat and just becomes annoying.
Oh and lets not forget about if your partner is downed you have so much time to bring them back so you need to drag them to a safe place and hold them to bring them back to life. Yes, it even says hold and it makes no sense but maybe the man sweat has magical healing pwoers in this game...
There are so many other games in this genre that have done it much better that I can't even recommend this game for a rental. Go pop your copy of Gears of War into your 360 because a year and a half later it's still better than this game and looks better to boot. The on-line isn't even worthwhile and there sin't enough people playing co-op to make anything decent about this game.
Story - 4/10
Graphics - 7/10
Sound - 5/10
Control - 7/10
Game Play - 6/10
Replay value - 4/10
Final Score - 5/10
Viking: Battle for Asgard
Viking looked like one bad ass game. Playing a viking and ravaging the lands. It looked like an action adventure version of Valkyrie Profile. So how could anyone really screw that up? Well, to be fair it isn't actually a bad game but it isn't as grand as it could have been or even promised to be.
Sega hasn't been on a winning streak lately since they were destroyed in a console war and then raped their mascot. I was instantly saddened when I saw they were involved with this game but I'm all about forgiveness and perhaps they are heading in the right direction.
The main focus of the game is to free captives, take over hideouts and villages and to find magical items to stop evil. Yeah, we're not exactly a real bad ass, more of a good vs evil kind of guy so we venture forth into the land of predictability and blandness. Don't expect a grand plot or even a half way decent one. If you saw the recent action flick "10,000 BC" then you may have a rough idea of the plot, but minus the love story because that just isn't manly.
To be fair though the game does look gorgeous. It's kind of hard to screw up a game that is so high in the fantasy look and thankfully they didn't screw that up. The locations are lush and the weather effects are nice as well. Character models feel a bit limited and boring but rest of the game looks great. But with great looks comes some nasty slow down in some of the more epic battles and when I see my guy chugging along like a midget on a bike going up hill then I know that this battle just shouldn't have been.
Combat is fairly simplistic, reminding me of a Dynasty Warriors game more than say God of War of Devil May Cry. You can buy new moves and all that but after five or so the game just ups the power of the moves so you have a very short supply of moves on hand for the entire game.
The world is my biggest problem with the game. It's made up of three islands. Each works as a city like in Grand Theft Auto 3. They tend too share a lot in common with their design and while some spots are interesting by the third island I couldn't help but feel a real nasty case of deja vu.
It doesn't help matters that the "missions" are so generic that a small child could have made them up. Go to a temple and fight the bad guys, save the captives in this town, ambush these troops. it never really varies from that path and to reach your main goal you have a little check list. Got the amulet? Check. Got the gem for it? Check. Have you powered it up to summon a dragon? Check. Okay then go and fight a boss and finish the island. It never goes past that so the game feels limited.
Maybe that's my biggest problem with the game. It feels like a tired retread of a genre and it fails to even try anything new or exciting. Yeah we get big massive battles but they aren't anything special. Yeah, I can summon a dragon for field combat but first I need to beat a sub-boss to gain some things to then summon it to a marked spot and then it just comes and does its job.
I could sit here and tell you this is a bad game but it isn't in the typical sense. It's just a game that's been done so many times before that it hurts itself by trying nothing new. You even get magic but again it's so limited that games like Devil may Cry from 5 or so years ago did a better job. For $60 I was expecting a lot more and instead I got something that feels like I've played it a hundred times. I recommend a rental for those interested but in no way do I feel this title is worth the price of admission.
Story - 4/10
Graphics - 9/10
Sound - 7/10
Control - 8/10
Game Play - 6/10
Replay Value - 2/10
Final Score - 6/10
Sega hasn't been on a winning streak lately since they were destroyed in a console war and then raped their mascot. I was instantly saddened when I saw they were involved with this game but I'm all about forgiveness and perhaps they are heading in the right direction.
The main focus of the game is to free captives, take over hideouts and villages and to find magical items to stop evil. Yeah, we're not exactly a real bad ass, more of a good vs evil kind of guy so we venture forth into the land of predictability and blandness. Don't expect a grand plot or even a half way decent one. If you saw the recent action flick "10,000 BC" then you may have a rough idea of the plot, but minus the love story because that just isn't manly.
To be fair though the game does look gorgeous. It's kind of hard to screw up a game that is so high in the fantasy look and thankfully they didn't screw that up. The locations are lush and the weather effects are nice as well. Character models feel a bit limited and boring but rest of the game looks great. But with great looks comes some nasty slow down in some of the more epic battles and when I see my guy chugging along like a midget on a bike going up hill then I know that this battle just shouldn't have been.
Combat is fairly simplistic, reminding me of a Dynasty Warriors game more than say God of War of Devil May Cry. You can buy new moves and all that but after five or so the game just ups the power of the moves so you have a very short supply of moves on hand for the entire game.
The world is my biggest problem with the game. It's made up of three islands. Each works as a city like in Grand Theft Auto 3. They tend too share a lot in common with their design and while some spots are interesting by the third island I couldn't help but feel a real nasty case of deja vu.
It doesn't help matters that the "missions" are so generic that a small child could have made them up. Go to a temple and fight the bad guys, save the captives in this town, ambush these troops. it never really varies from that path and to reach your main goal you have a little check list. Got the amulet? Check. Got the gem for it? Check. Have you powered it up to summon a dragon? Check. Okay then go and fight a boss and finish the island. It never goes past that so the game feels limited.
Maybe that's my biggest problem with the game. It feels like a tired retread of a genre and it fails to even try anything new or exciting. Yeah we get big massive battles but they aren't anything special. Yeah, I can summon a dragon for field combat but first I need to beat a sub-boss to gain some things to then summon it to a marked spot and then it just comes and does its job.
I could sit here and tell you this is a bad game but it isn't in the typical sense. It's just a game that's been done so many times before that it hurts itself by trying nothing new. You even get magic but again it's so limited that games like Devil may Cry from 5 or so years ago did a better job. For $60 I was expecting a lot more and instead I got something that feels like I've played it a hundred times. I recommend a rental for those interested but in no way do I feel this title is worth the price of admission.
Story - 4/10
Graphics - 9/10
Sound - 7/10
Control - 8/10
Game Play - 6/10
Replay Value - 2/10
Final Score - 6/10
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