man up!

blah blah blah blah BLAH!

i'm writing because i'm too lazy to open up my regular word processor program on my computer, so there will indeed be many a grammatical and spelling error abound.

anyhow, i hate japanese story telling. seriously. i hate their character "archetypes", i hate their stories, they all just bore me and just plain annoy me. i hate the fact that a majority of the main characters in japanese games are male leads with daddy issues, or some blatant emotional problem that he decides to burden his entire party of adventurers with while they're TRYING TO SAVE THE WORLD, AND QUITE POSSIBLY THE UNIVERSE! I don't give a damn about how you miss your father, or how you have feelings for this one girl but don't have the cahones to tell her about your feelings, i don't care that you had a tough childhood. sure this is all part of your character, but can you reserve these things for another time, and not have to tell me about it every 5 minutes or so. i'd rather get on with the world saving if you don't mind. it's bad enough that the game makes me grind for progress. that's another topic which i will get to later.

a character that comes to mind when i think of japanese archetypes for male leads is squall from final fantasy 8. i'm not a fan of the final fantasy games, i think the gameplay sucks, i think the story sucks, i think the characters suck(all of them), and i think the mechanics suck. the only thing that that i like about final fantasy games is the gorgeous art, and it's simply incredible music. those two elements do not for a great game make. anyhow, squall is a punk. not a cool kind of punk that listens to punk rock and looks like he would beat you up for looking at him funny, but the kind of punk whom you could beat up simply because you could. and because he complains a lot. and he has a stupid haircut. squall also happens to be a graduate from a school where they teach people to become mercenaries. i would think that a requirement for being a mercenary is to be a cold-hearted killer with no real conscience and whose only concern is getting the job done and getting paid afterwards. wouldn't you know it, squall is none of these things. he's a whiny little punk who complains about not knowing what to do with his life, how he's had a rough childhood, and is worse than me when it comes to dealing with the ladies. squall is an emotionally stagnated pillock who, if you were looking at a description of his personality, you most likely couldn't tell him apart from a brick wall, which actually do have more character than him because they're gorgeous! like the rest of the game, but good looks can only get you so far.

as i previously said i'm not a fan of final fantasy. so i really can't tell you much beyond, final fantasy 8, but i've played a little bit of 10 and a good deal of 12. and from what i can tell, and from what i've heard my friends tell me about the main characters, is that they're all whiny punks. why? why would i want to sit through a 60 plus hour game listening to this kids daddy issues. there are bigger things at stake than getting something that's been nagging at you for the past week off your chest. like i don't know, THE WORLD! why is it that destiny just so happens to pick out these lousy whiny punks to save the day? if destiny wanted these kids to man up, just send them to work on a construction site, or a factory or on a ranch. something that will build their character.

here's another thing. at some points in the game the characters will consider the value of life. when, throughout the entire game they have been killing countless random encounter enemies to level up for their own benefit. what about them? what about that dire wolf who was just out hunting for some food? all they had on them was some leather pants and 12 bucks for some reason, and that's all that those battles mean to the player. loot and experience points. after the lesson of life is learned, they go and face the final boss, and kill him. no problems, complaint , or moral questioning. sure he, or she, was evil, but they just spent a good deal learning about how life is precious. blech.

the side characters are even more messed up. once i played final fantasy 13 and only once will i play it. because the side characters made no sense and the character, this time a girl, was still a whiny punk. at least she built up emotional walls and pushed every one away to hide that she was a whiny punk. the side characters didn't make sense. i already said that, but i will again. they all end up in this mess because of chance it seems. if i recall they are all trying to escape because the over zealous government had quarantined them from the city because they may or may not be monsters... or something like that. anyway, they all get off the train and end up in a shine that was built by the monsters, or maybe it was for them, and something happens. the stars align and they all receive a mysterious tattoo that's basically a mark of death. and everybody has to save the world before the end times and they all win. but along the way you have to deal with this ridiculous cast of characters, that have no right saving the world. one of the characters who seems to be wearing a rabbit pelt must be from outer space because she has no idea how this world, or any for that matter work. she just goes off on her own adventure, and says things that have no context or any right to be said in the first place, how she manages to play a supportive role in combat is completely beyond me. much like another character in this no where even close to be calling rag-tag team. Hope. Hope, for one thing, is a male character. Hope is not a guys name. Hope is also not a symbol for hope, does not offer hope, does not to anything to instill hope, and is in no way a fighter. he spends the entire game cowering. yet will stand straight up and kill anything that comes before him. he will shoot fire from his hands to kill something that is vulnerable to fire. WHAT? how does this play to his character. you know when telling a story, of anykind, character and consistency of said character is a bit of a necessity. plus... he's just a bitch.

ok ok ok, i know that there are other japanese games other than final fantasy out there that have a major focus on story telling. but, from what i hear, read, and see it all seems to be the same scenario. gorgeous graphics, beautiful music, terrible story, stupid characters, sometimes with amnesia, and bad gameplay. it's the same thing with anime as well, for the most part anyhow. whiny main characters, also some times with amnesia, and a story that doesn't make much sense. so maybe it ain't quite my thing, but i just don't understand the appeal of having to deal with whiny characters for such a long time.

so, all in all, just man up japan. i want to witness, or play as a cool bad ass character, who understands what's at stake, who does have issues, but deals with them rather than complain about them to everybody whom he crosses paths with. Luke Skywalker was a bit of a whiner, but he manned up and became a totally awesome jedi master. three quarters of the way through final fantasy 8 squall was still a static, whiny, complaining, cardboard cut out of a character whom i never grew to like or relate to. gimme something to work with here people. I'm not saying all of japanese story telling is like this, it just seems that a good majority of it is, and it irks me to no end. I'm out.

Burnout 3: Takedown is the greatest of the Burnout franchise, and one of the best racing games of all time. The Burnout series sets itself apart from other racing games by encouraging highly aggressive driving and causing as much destruction as possible. Burnout 3 sets itself apart from its predecessors by taking all the good parts of the previous games and making them better.

The game play of Burnout 3: Takedown is as simple as it is innovative. Gas, brakes and boost are all there, as is the steering, but the way that the game actually plays is fantastic. The game can get to blistering speeds, and it actually gives the sensation that you’re flying down the road at 200 mph in the opposite direction of traffic. Driving dangerously will gain boost for players, which has its obvious advantages of going faster, and can be used to accent the turns that you will drift around. Crashing your opponents off the road will help out too, as it increases the capacity of your boost gauge. Driving into opposing traffic, drifting, drafting, airtime and wrecking opponents will all go towards the cause of earning boost, though not without its consequences. As it turns out, the AI doesn’t like to wreck, so it does everything that it can to get back at you. The AI does get pretty darn difficult as you progress through the World Tour mode, as do the challenges.

The core meat of the game can be found in the World Tour mode. This is the single player mode where players unlock all the different stuff: cars, tracks, crash events and such. The way that the World Tour works, is that it’s set up like a map with different points marked, each with a set of events that are unique to that location. There are several different locations on each of the three different continents where the game takes place. Europe, The Far East, and the good ol’ US of A. Events consist of race, road rage (where the goal is to smash into and crash your opponents), time trial, and, of course, the signature crash mode. World Tour will consume a good portion of your time with Burnout 3: Takedown, and that’s not a bad thing. All the challenges are loads of fun and can get quite challenging, at that.

The primary challenge that you’ll be facing down is the signature crash mode. Each crash event is set up for the optimum amount of destruction, which can be obtained with precise movement. This is where Burnout shines the most. Crash mode is, and always will be, fun and the reason why we play Burnout. The graphics and physics in Burnout 3: Takedown make experiencing crash mode glorious. Every single piece of shrapnel, every car, every explosion is orchestrated to perfection. The beauty of crash mode is the amount of difficulty that comes with it. Careful timing, driving and patience can make for a huge payoff, with even bigger destruction.

One thing that really stands out about Burnout 3 is its impressive soundtrack. It’s a combination of punk, rock, and various other tracks of that nature, that all fit the pace and tone of the game. Fast, furious action. My Chemical Romance, Go Betty Go, The Ramones, The Von Bondies, and Jimmy Eat World, to name a few. The only complaint about the soundtrack is the fact that there are those obligatory bad songs to go along with all the rest, and the soundtrack isn’t entirely customizable. As in, you can’t turn every song off.

All in all, Burnout 3: Takedown is a brilliant game with a few short comings, but they’re negligible. It’s a fast paced, good looking, and fun game that should be in the collection of any respectable gamers library. -A

SoulCalibur

SoulCalibur is one of the greatest fighting games of all time. It sets itself apart by having a killer story, recognizable characters, and above all, blades. SoulCalibur is a smartly designed, beautifully crafted game that allows for mastering and just plain old button mashing with its easy to pick up and play game mechanics. Using clever 8-way run tactics and abilities, every single character has a diverse and over the top move set. There may be a few characters that have the same fighting style, or use the same weaponry, but each one manages to maintain their identity with their unique style, finesse, and looks. Each character can beat the other, there is no one character that is the ultimate.

The story of soulCalibur is different for each character that players take through the arcade mode. But all in all, everybody is after the sword for either personal reasons or the fate of the world or some such nonsense. The basic arcade mode takes players and whatever character they’ve chosen through eight stages which increase in difficulty. After running though the arcade mode a few times, you may or may not get bored, but for those that do get bored, you have options.

SoulCaibur does have quite a bit of content to keep people coming back for many, many hours. Training, multiplayer, and options are all there on the main menu, but for the hardcore there is weapon master mode. Weapon master mode is a giant map containing lots and lots of different challenges with varying conditions that change the battles so immensely that it becomes almost a controller-chucking frustrating challenge. Scratch that, it does become controller-chuckingly difficult. This is where the meat of the game is; however, there is a flaw with its unlocking system. Every challenge that you complete you earn gold. Rather than just unlocking more challenges by completing previous challenges or just simply buying them with the gold that you’ve worked so vary hard to obtain, the game forces players to buy art work. I guess they didn’t want the art gallery to get lonely. This is a bit of a frustration because only certain pieces of art work unlock new challenges for the weapon master mode. Sometimes it’s the more expensive one, sometimes it’s not. There is no indication of the piece, which are all impressive, that will allow you to progress through weapon master mode.

Speaking of art work, the game is beautiful, for its time, at least. Each character has a level of detail that blows other games, and other games of this genre, out of the water. Every character’s animation is smooth, fluid, and something to marvel at. The game environments are also something to marvel at. Even though everything in the background doesn’t really matter, and the only thing that you really should be paying any attention to is the squared circle and the other guy charging at you with a sword ready to cut your head off and mount over his fireplace, you still can’t help but have a sense of awe and wonder at the scenery. To add even more of a wow factor to the game, the weapons pretty much explode with fire and lightning to further enhance the oomph of each blow. Making each battle something of an epic proportion. It also helps that the soundtrack is one of the greatest in video game history… just saying.

Each level has its own score to accompany it and set the mood for bashing in someone’s skull. It’s and absolutely gorgeous soundtrack and it makes every single battle a glorious experience. Even when you completely trounce the other player, you still get a sense of triumph as the letters appear on screen and the announcer declares K. O.!

All in all SoulCalibur is a game that helps make the Dreamcast what it is. I’ve always been a fan of the series and have always enjoyed playing the games and seeing what they’ve become today. It’s truly a worthy opponent and a great addition to any respectable gamer’s library. With an impressive fighting system and a set of well balanced and unique characters and weapons, SoulCalibur, whichever number that you pick up (I recommend number two), is worth having. And it will keep you entertained for a long time. The legend will never die… A+

Red Dead Redemption

Red Dead Redemption is one of the best games to come out during 2010. The game comes to us from Rockstar games, the studio behind the Grand Theft Auto franchise, as well as the Midnight Club games. Red Dead Redemption combines solid gameplay, gorgeous graphics, an authentic soundtrack, interesting, engaging, diverse and extremely well written characters, and a story that keeps players hooked until the very end.
The story of Red Dead Redemption follows a rough and tough cow boy named John Marston, who has been hired by the government to remove some undesirables from the state of New Austin. These undesirables used to be members of a gang that John Marston ran with. Throughout the game we learn more about the mysterious past of the main character, his motivations, his up brining, his hopes and dreams.
The gameplay of Red Dead Redemption is that of a cover-based shooter game. However, Rockstar keeps things diverse with a host of different side missions, and random instances that take place along side the road.
The core of the game is based around shooting and killing, this is a Rockstar game after all. The game has snap-to aiming, which means that when players aim, if they’re looking in the general direction of an enemy it will lock on. This keeps the game moving at a steady and fast pace when in a shoot out. Red Dead Redemption also has a “Dead Eye” mode, which players can go into while aiming their gun. Dead Eye throws the world into a sepia-toned Matrix by slowing everything down. The Dead Eye runs on a meter which drains as players use it. Players can increase their Dead Eye skills by completing challenges throughout the game.
Players will spend a large amount of time traveling from one point to another through the surprisingly beautiful landscape. The only drawback of this is the somewhat awkward controls when on horseback, but after a while it becomes easier to manage as you progress and get better horses. Along the way the game will throw random instances at players. These can be anything from helping a guy out who is being chased by wolves to catching fugitives who escaped from a local sheriff. Some random encounters can happen right in town, with locals coming up to John Marston and asking to help because someone gone and rustled their horse. Sometimes it’s to challenge him to a duel.
Every time John Marston gets in a duel it immerses the player in that classic moment of the showdown. Showdowns start off with the nail biting stare, then the screen flashes “DRAW”, the game goes into Dead Eye while the player marks places on their opponent. The ability to shoot the enemy in specific points can allow the player to end the duel in a single shot, or emptying their gun into their enemy, who signed their death warrant by challenging John Marston.
These different primary missions, side missions, and random instances earn players money, honor, and fame. Fame increases no matter what, as tales of John Marston’s actions spread throughout the land. Honor always seems to increase with every mission. Very few missions give players the choice to something dishonorable. However, doing something dishonorable doesn’t particularly suit the character of John Marston.
John Marston may be one tough bounty hunter who ruthlessly hunts for his former brothers in arms, but he is a gentleman at his core. He speaks with dignity, is polite to people he meets in town, and he honors the bonds of marriage. This is just John Marston, every single character, even the side characters, are this diverse. Having characters this deep and engaging creates a wonderful experience in and of itself. Everything in the game has an element of character, even the world in which Red Dead Redemption takes place.
Surprisingly the old west is gorgeous, and not just a bunch of sand and dead plants. Every different county of New Austin is recognizable by it’s vegetation, which may be vivid or sparse depending on the whereabouts you venture. From the crags and valleys of Gaptooth Ridge, to the great wide open plains of Hannigan’s Stead, to snaking ridges of Ojo Del Diablo. Every bit of Red Dead Redemption has character, and it is accompanied by an equally diverse, beautiful, and unique score that further enhances and immerses the player into a genuine cowboy experience.
The music of Red Dead Redemption is about as diverse as its characters. Each area has it’s own theme, which is piped in the background as you ride about the state of New Austin. This goes for the action sequences as well. every time there is someone shooting at you there is a piece that is particular to wherever you’re at in the game. There are only three licensed tracks in the game, and are used at the most opportune moment in the game, to truly enhance the sequence. Like when John Marston lands on foreign soil and travels along it’s lonesome roads in pursuit of his former gang members.

Also there is multiplayer.
Red Dead Redemption multiplayer puts players in free roam of New Austin. There are three different modes of multiplayer: Friendly, where players can’t kill other players, Normal, where players can kill other players, and Hardcore, where players can not only kill other players, but not see their tags over their heads. Multiplayer has so much to do in it, there’s hardly a single place that doesn’t have something to do in it. In free roam, there are a few games that players can get in on as a whole, while others can be brought into a private room with you, your friends, and whoever else wants to join in. Also, scattered throughout free roam are bandit hide outs, which player can run through by themselves or posses that they’ve created. In general, most everything gets you experience, which allows players to level up and unlock more things to use and equip your character with. But multiplayer isn’t all about killing folk, there’s also gambling. With the downloadable content that is available for purchase players can round up a few people and play poker, liars dice, or black jack.
All in all Red Dead Redemption is an amazing game with solid gameplay, incredible characters, gorgeous graphics, an authentic and beautiful soundtrack, and a whole host to do after the game is done. With multiplayer, challenges, and more weapons to unlock Red Dead Redemption will keep you coming back again and again. So, mammas be ready to let your babies grow up to be cowboys, because this game is a genuine western experience. A

Review: Star Fox Command (DS)

Star Fox Command brings that star fighter we all know and love to the DS. So, now we can take him on the go! But is it any good?

Yes. Quite a bit. The controls work very well, and are easy to understand. Steer with the touchpad, press any button to shoot. Al of the familiar mechanics are there from previous Star Fox games. They are just changed up to fit the game, and they fit like a glove. Bombs are no longer fired from the ship directly, in stead they are dropped in, like an air strike. On the touch pad, players have a view of a radar that tells them the locations of all the different enemies on the map. Player can pick up a bomb from their inventory and drop it anywhere on the grid. Players my predict where certain enemies will be so have the most effective strike. The charge shot is also there and works the same way, but this time around, the longer the player targets an enemy the more powerful the charged shot will be come. The barrel roll makes a return as well. All players have to do is draw a quick circle on the touchpad and away you go. Barrel rolling draws from the boost gauge, so it can only last for a little while, as doing the barrel roll is no longer just a single barrel roll. Barrel roll. A large majority of the game takes place on small arenas, as opposed to the rail that is the case with a majority of other Star Fox games. Switching to all range mode!

The story of Star Fox Command is one that you write out yourself. Players can make decisions on what happens next in the story in a sort of “choose your own adventure” kind of way. By doing this, players can drastically alter the events that transpire throughout the events of their play through. So much so, that it can even change who the players control in the coarse of the game. This feature alone warrants multiple play throughs, aside from it’s addicting and deep gameplay.

The sound and graphics are actually pretty good for a DS game. The detail and textures of the various environments look very good and make each environment distinguishable from the others, despite the occasional recycling of a few levels with different color pallet swaps. The soundtrack is that of traditional Star Fox games, same old songs, but I can’t really complain. The sound design is also the same as previous Star Fox games, but no complains. I love the classic sounds of Star Fox. Even the “voices” of the characters sound similar to the original Star Fox on Super Nintendo.

All in all, Star Fox Command is an instant classic and a necessary addition to your DS library. Addicting gameplay that’s familiar, easy to pick up, and gameplay that has lastability. It may just be a game to keep for the car trips, but it’s completely worth it. Pick it up if you can.

Halo

Halo is the game that made the xbox. Had it not been for this genre defining game, the xbox would not be what it is today.

Halo comes to us from Bungie, formally a PC game making company. The story of Halo follows Master Chief, a big brick of super powered armor, who is woken up from his cryogenic nap because the ship has come under attack by an alien group that call themselves The Covenant. After fighting through a few aliens here and there, Master Chief makes it o the lost ship and lands on an enormous ring structure called Halo. Chief, along with his smarmy AI companion Cortana, make their way all over the ring and try to regroup the marines and go on a reunion tour and kick the aliens ass.

The gameplay of Halo makes the FPS for the console feasible. It’s reminiscent of the keyboard and mouse controls of a computer game. The controls are tight, and effective. While it does take a while to get used to them. Most shooters in this day and age follow the control scheme of Halo because of it’s simplicity. Halo sets itself apart from these shooters, even those that came after it, with it’s incredibly fierce AI.

Halo does allow for different difficulty levels, the most advanced called Legendary. It is indeed the stuff of Legend as it is still talked about with pride, or fear, among gamers today. Halo also makes itself known with expertly crafted levels, both in multiplayer and single player.

The single player campaign is one for the books, as it maintains some of the most memorable moments in game. Most of that comes from the imaginative and superb level design. Whether it’s storming the beach of an island, to fighting your way through a bridge while being harassed from another bridge that runs along side it all while being attacked by a Banshee. The character design is also easily recognizable, and simple. Players are immediately filled with a sense of horror as they come across an Elite, clad in golden armor as he charges toward them with energy sword drawn. This desperate struggle between player and energy sword guy is accompanied by an incredible soundtrack.

People throughout the world recognize the Halo melody as it has become that of household importance. The main Halo theme along with the rest of the score that complete the soundtrack, makes for welcome accompaniment. Like a buddy that you can play through the entire campaign with.

Speaking of….

Halo has a plethora of multiplayer options, including cooperative mode, where you can play split screen with a friend through the entire campaign mode and on any difficulty level. The multiplayer, however, does not have xbox live support, which is a bit of a let down as the game types and maps to play on with Halo are so much fun. Good thing they introduced that, along with some other features in the second game.

All in all, Halo is a fantastic game that is easy to pick up for the hardcore audience, and a good place to start for those looking to become hardcore. Halo combines all the things we really like about games like these. Action, adventure, tough AI, a host of impressive and interesting weaponry, and a sense of mystery and the unknown. If you don’t have this game, you probably don’t own an original xbox. Good news though, as at this years E3 during Microsoft’s press conference, they announced that the original Halo would be remade in HD, and with updated graphics. How about that?



Ten years? Wow!

Flower

Flower is a PSN downloadable game that I believe that everybody can, and should play. It’s simple, it’s fun, it’s easy, and it’s gorgeous.

Flower has no story, it has no characters. It only seems to make a statement. Go outside, and make the world a better place. Flower touches on the tones of the big city destroying our naturally beautiful world with it’s big buildings, and ugly construction sites…. I think. This game can truly be considered art. It’s left up to the interpretation of its audience. All video games are art, but that’s for another Monday.

The gameplay is simple: hold button, steer controller. The objective is simple, fly over other flowers, make them grow, bring the place back to live. And boy does it ever come back to life. The environment turns from a dull gray to lively greens, blues, reds, whites, and a plethora of many other colors that send you into a shock of awe. It’s a game that you can sit back and admire. Te game can be beaten, or rather completed, in about 45 minutes to an hour. It’s not supposed to be a long game, but it’s fun and pretty and you should play it.

That Game Company, the developers of Flower, have a brilliant team of folks at their studio and who can make a game that is simple and enjoyable. They were also at this years E3, showing off their up and coming game, Journey. While it has nothing to do with the band of the same name, it still looks amazing. It maintains the feel of a game by That Game Company while being something else all together. Be sure to keep track of That Game Company and all that they are doing at http://thatgamecompany.com/

Case of the Mondays: NO YOU'RE NOT HARDCORE

This years E3 showed off a lot of game3s for the “hardcore” audience. Every single one of these games were, violent, bloody, had realistic graphics, and will be rated M for mature. This is not hardcore! This is just senseless violence, and it doesn’t help the medium progress to being considered an art form, or to be taken seriously.

What always bothers me about people talking about hardcore games, is that they always have to be violent, realistic, have guns, and has to be described with the words “visceral”, “action” and “intense”. Why can’t a hardcore game just be good? Don’t get me wrong, some of these violent games are good. However, it seems they’ve all been done, they’re all the same, they all feel expected. Call of Duty, Halo, Gears of War, Ninja Gaiden, and several others were showcased at E3 and they were all presented for the “hardcore” audience.

I always end up referencing the game Pikmin, because I was a doubter of the games capability to be a challenge and to hook me. I was dead wrong. Pikmin is extremely challenging as well as addictive. While the graphics come off as childish, they are charming and give the player of being tiny and insignificant. But with the power of your regiment of Pikmin, you can overcome almost any obstacle. It’s a tremendous sense of accomplishment when you take down a monster that’s a hundred times your size. I know that Shadow of the Colossus does this as well, and it does it very very well. However, let me put on my hipster glasses and say that Pikmin did it first.

I have no qualms about the showcasing of violent video games. But it bothers me to say that the hardcore audience, the ones who not only play nonstop, but play a variety of games, get angry at games that look “childish” or “cartoony” and cast them off to the side.

Originality was a rare find at E3 as well. Most games were sequels or ports. I was excited for these sequels and ports as well, but come on fellas! Show me something original! I know it’s tough coming up with something new, and it’s probably too much to ask for as making a game is a lot of work. E3 is one giant commercial and producers and developers want to make money so that they can continue to make new, exciting, and original IPs. So perhaps, I, and everyone else, should just be patient. But at least let us know that when you’re done with your visceral, epic, action intense trilogy, that you’re thinking ahead to the future and we will see something new.

Nintendo.
Everybody always seems to get on Nintendos back about not having anything new or original, and how they rely on their new peripherals and gadgets to see them through ad make them money. While it may seem that way, I honestly don’t care. I love The Legend of Zelda, and you do to! You love the idea that you can play The Ocarina of Time on your 3DS and take it wherever you go. You love these games because they are they reason you became hardcore gamers. You love these games because they are the reason you got into games. You love these games because they are good.

Modern Wednesday: Modern Warfare 1&2

Modern Wednesday 2

Recently I have been slacking off, but there have been good reasons for it! Seriously, things have been going on. However that is no excuse to not update my blog. So without further ado, Modern Warfare and Modern Warfare 2

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

The Call of Duty franchise is synonymous with recreating battles that have actually happened. OK, so it’s just been World War II. In Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, the folks over at Infinity Ward decide to make up their own war, which is somewhat similar to the war that’s going on right now.


The story of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare follows two separate characters. One a British S.A.S, the other a U. S. Marine. The story goes that there is terror in the middle east and the terrorists have weapons of mass destruction, it’s confirmed this time. The opening mission has players boarding on a large boat and taking out Russian terrorists to find the weapon in question. In an instant, players are thrown from fighting off the Russians to running for their lives, as the ship is attacked by enemy fighter jets, and they have to get off before it goes under. This is the kind of experience that only a Call of Duty game can provide.

So with all of this modern warfare and modern technology the gameplay has changed drastically from the past Call of Duty games. Players can have multiple attachments added to their gun for an extra assist in taking down the bad guys. Also, with night vision, flash grenades, C4 explosives, claymores, rocket propelled grenades, M203 grenade launchers, and silencers players are more than well equipped to take on the enemy. CoD: Modern Warfare has set the standard for how we play an FPS on our consoles. Suck it Halo! With the “snap to” auto aim system, players can methodically kill a squad of enemies in less than five seconds. Quickly pulling the left trigger, then the right to lock on to an enemy then fire at an enemy, in itself, creates an intense energetic game atmosphere.

Speaking of atmosphere, the atmosphere of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, in the single player, can range from hectic to eerie, in the too quiet kind of sense. Enemies are seem to be around every corner. Especially during the sequences in the campaign when players take on the role of a U.S. Marine, who blindly charge in to battle. Call of Duty creates a brilliant contrast with it’s mission selection and arrangement. With the frequent switching back from the gun-ho Marines, to the quiet, methodical British S.A.S. agents sets a rollercoaster of up and downs. There are still the signature monumental moments in the single player of Call of Duty games. Whether it be taking down a helicopter, blowing up a monstrously large power line to cut the power at the enemy base, or shooting a target from over a mile away with a fifty caliber rifle, this game has moments that you remember.

There’s also multiplayer, which also set the standard for modern FPS games on consoles. Call of Duty - 2, Halo -0. There’s the standard fare of multiplayer game types: deathmatch, capture the flag, search and destroy, and the like. Call of Duty sets itself apart from other shooters by having weapon load outs which players can customize and earn new items and abilities to customize the load outs. Call of Duty, has a host of weaponry, attachments and abilities to create dynamic and effective classes. Another feature of the Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare multiplayer is it’s kill streak rewards. If a player is doing well, he or she can call in radar at 3 kills, air strikes at 5 and attack helicopters at 7 kills. All of these elements create an intense multiplayer experience.

All in all Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is a fantastic game, with an epic single player and a superb multiplayer. This game is belongs in any fan of shooters library.



Modern Warfare 2

Those crazy British S.A.S. agents are at it again in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Modern Warfare 2 is the first direct sequel of any Call of Duty game, following the same characters and the same story line.

The story line picks up right after the first game, with Imram Zakaev finally dead, his right hand man, who happens to even more crazy than him. Makarov, the aforementioned crazy, is on the loose, and tearing things up. Players must once again take on the roles of both a British S.A.S and a U.S. Marine. Modern Warfare 2 also has players taking on the role of a C.I.A. agent, who goes under cover and follows Makarov. This is not as good of an idea as it sounds, as the C.I.A agent is found out, killed, and framed for the death of hundreds of innocent civilians that were killed in an attack lead by Makarov himself. This angers the Russian military, so they launch an attack on the U.S. directly.

The gameplay hasn’t changed a lick since the first Modern Warfare game, and that’s not a bad thing. There’s more attachments for guns, there’s new levels, yet only a five hour single player campaign. The campaign isn’t half bad, but I wish that there was more to it. It’s plain to see that with the success and the popularity that the Infinity Ward team spent a majority of their time on the multiplayer, again, not a bad thing. It’s just that the single player of the first game was so good, I wish that I could have seen a bit more of the original genius shine forth a bit more in the second time around.

The single player game of Modern Warfare 2 has the same sort of shock value and pacing as the first game, just in half the time. Which is impressive. It’s somewhat surreal and horrifying when players are fighting their way through a nice neighborhood on U.S. soil, or are forced to watch at Makarov and his men mow down countless civilians in an airport. This is war, it’s not pretty or glorious, and the Modern Warfare series states that plainly. However all that “war is hell” stuff is tossed right out the window when multiplayer is in town.

Multiplayer is the main focus, and most likely the reason that many people have purchased the game itself. With new weapons, perks, attachments, and even kill streaks Modern Warfare 2 is how competitive multiplayer is done. Players can level up and unlock new weapons, perks, and the kill streaks. Each kill streak has it’s own value, ranging from 3 kills without dying, to 25 kills without dying. New kill streaks include, but are not limited to: stealth bomber, an air strike that goes across an entire map, chopper gunner, allowing the player to control the helicopter, a Pavelow attack helicopter, like the attack helicopter, but can take more punishment, about as much as it can dole out. However, I am not a huge fan of the map design of the multiplayer. They’re all too small and feel more like an arena than a setting for a battle. Some work, some don’t.

All in all, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is a solid game, which redefines the way we play multiplayer FPS games. The sad thing is that’s all it does. The story is somewhat weak and it’s just too darn short. It feels more like Counter-Strike than a Call of Duty game. But, because the multiplayer is so addicting and well done, I can forgive it.

Case of the Mondays: Enviro-MENTAL!

No I'm not going to talk about the environment! Even though "Earth Day" was this past Friday. I'm going to talk about the importance of the environment in video games!

The only time I hear about video games and their environments is when they are destructible. If the environment is boring to look at and uninteresting to explore, I don't want to spend any time there, even if I can blow it all to pieces.

I suppose that I consider video games to be a vacation, in that, if a video game doesn't have a beautiful, or at least interesting, environment I really don't like it that much. Nor do I even remember much of it. Most folk are visual learners. So, if what they are seeing is a bland, boring environment, then chances are that they will most likely forget all about it.

Crysis 2 has gorgeous graphics, that are intricately detailed and designed. However it took place in a ruined New York City. I, like many other gamers, have witnessed a city in ruin before and New York is no exception. The game Mirror's Edge also took place in a big metropolis similar to that of New York, but it was interesting to look at because of it's interesting and unique art style. That being said, Mirror's Edge was not the greatest of games and while it looked pretty, it didn't play all that well. Most of the missions and instances were rather forgettable.

Part of what players remember about games are the things that they do in these virtual environments. Freedom Fighters was not a great looking game, but I remember most of what the environment looks like because I remember doing some amazing things. Like blowing up a helicopter pad in a ship yard, or taking a post office over for the rebels. Another example of memorable actions is Call of Duty, the original. Call of Duty is full of fantastic crescendos which players have to fight through. For example, the first mission in the Russian campaign has players storming a Nazi foothold at the top of a hill... without a gun. The sheer fear and panic of just trying to move while having bullets rain down on your position is adrenalin pumping. However, we've gotten to the point where it is standard for a game to look good.

Mass Effect 2 is a great example of having both good looking graphics and interesting gameplay. Mass Effect 2 in itself is interesting as it crosses genres between a role playing game, with the ability to level up and strengthen skills, and a 3rd person action shooter with cover-based gameplay. The game looks cool with a realistic look, and takes players to unrealistic environments... space! Given the opportunity to work with the great unknown, Bioware creates a series of unique interesting places for players to interact with and explore.

There are many games that offer interesting and incredible environments. From the realistic, to the imaginative like the levels in Psychonauts. Level design is an important part of game design, and it should be worked on more carefully in a modern video game industry.

P.S. I have not been updating this blog daily (except on Sundays) like I promised that I would. So I am writing you, the internet, an official I O U. So, the next few days will have more than just a single review. What has kept me from frequently posting you ask?

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Modern Wednesday: Killzone 3 and Crysis 2

It's Wednesday. Which means two reviews for the price of one! It also means that I'm going to review games for consoles of the current generation. And while Portal 2 and Mortal Kombat came out only yesterday, I don't have the money or opportunity to play either of them. So that being said, here are my reviews for Killzone 3 and Crysis 2.

Killzone 3

Killzone 3 is the final installment of the series, and while I haven’t played the other two, KZ 3 is pretty OK. The story of KZ 3 takes so many twists and turns in the first act of the game it’s easy to lose track of the timeline, as it flashes back and forth. However, it’s easy to see that the Helghast, or whatever, are the bad guys and the not Helghast are the good guys. It’s pretty generic. The Helghast are a super militaristic society and whish to rule the entire galaxy by wiping out everybody that isn’t wearing a gas mask. This is where the rag tag group of stereotypes comes in. I mean, the heroes of the game come in. With a gung-ho attitude, and zero tolerance for waiting around, this group of Dues Ex Machina get the ball rolling. It’s not like there’s a whole army of humans to fight the Helghast…

Lame story aside, the gameplay of Killzone 3 is solid. It’s cover based, which is odd for an FPS. Players spend almost all of the game crouching behind some form of cover. Once players get to a piece of cover, they are planted there and cannot move. Moving requires getting up and exposing oneself, which means getting oneself filled with bullets. Speaking of bullets, there aren’t that many different kinds.

There are only a handful of weapons and not many of them differ from their counterparts on the opposite side. There’s the good guy assault rifle, which is just like the bad guy assault rifle. The only bit of cool weaponry is the heavy weapons that players are allowed to carry along side their primary and secondary weapons. At least KZ 3 allows for more than two different weapons. The heavy weapons are mostly found as turrets, which the player can miraculously dismount and carry around no problem. Another problem that the player doesn’t have to deal with is lack of ammunition. There are ammo boxes located everywhere throughout levels. While they are full of ammo for the Helghast weaponry, it’ll work just fine for the human weaponry. Also, side arms have unlimited ammo, but are completely useless, because of the aforementioned ammo boxes and quite simply because they deal miniscule amounts of damage. But they all look really cool.

The art direction of KZ 3 isn’t necessarily unique, it does look nice. When compared to other modern day shooters, you probably couldn’t tell the difference between the two. However, KZ 3 does have some unique looking guns. At least all the Helghast guns look different. All of the human guns look like modern weapons and aren’t that interesting to look at. Every gun at least sounds different, and the sounds they make are super satisfying at that. Every pull of the trigger releases a loud bang that echoes in the sky, letting you know that you have unleashed a force of extreme pain.

Despite all this production value, Killzone 3 falls rather short of the mark, in my opinion. Enemy AI is rather dull, at least on normal mode it is, and they rarely rush the target. It isn’t until about halfway through the game that Killzone 3 introduces new enemies that actually pose as a threat to the players. However, these new enemies are few and far between. For the most part, players will have to deal with enemies that just sit tight and occasionally pop their heads out of cover only to throw grenades. Lots and lots of grenades. Ally AI isn’t too smart either.

The allies which are given to you in Killzone 3 are useless. They don’t provide any support what so ever. They never kill the enemy, and they always die right at the start of the level. This here is a one horse show. Unless of course that ally is a main character, then that ally cannot die. Also, apparently people can be revived in Killzone 3. The game never told me this. So it was rather frustrating to me when I was just lying there for about twenty seconds, until I heard my friend say, “I can’t reach you!”, and he’ll be saying that a lot. The path finding for the AI is lame, and cowardly. Allies will not risk their lives to save yours, nor will they stick with you while you, and only you, push through the enemy lines. Which is strange because of how the bromance between the two male leads is portrayed.

Every single interaction between the two male leads, or rather any character, is draped with some form of romantic tension. Even in game, when there are moments when players get a boost up a ledge and help their buddy up the ledge. I’m not really sure if this is intentional, and the games story isn’t supposed to be taken seriously or not.

All in all Killzone 3 is mediocre. Plain AI, plain guns, plain level design, plain story, plain characters. There’s nothing particularly new here that breaks ground or defines the genre. If you have a Playstation 3, then that’s the only reason, and the only way that you’re going to get a hold of this game. However, it isn’t particularly worth it, as there are other, third party, shooters out there for the system.


Crysis 2
Crysis 2 is a first person shooter game that comes to us from Crytek, the company that developed the first Crysis and Far Cry. The original Crysis was released only for the PC, Crysis 2 on the other hand is out now for the PC, Xbox 360, and Playstation 3. Crysis 2 is a game about a Marine who is sent, along with the rest of his squad, to investigate the goings on in New York City of all places. It turns out that there is an alien invasion that is going on in New York City, of all places.

The game of Crysis 2 starts out with less than a minute of gameplay, followed by a cinematic of all the cool things that you are about to do. Why am I not doing these things right now? This cinematic is not a tutorial or even a direct demonstration of the gameplay, it’s just a movie. Which occasionally cuts in and out of the first person view-point. This just seems like a direct insult to the player. The first experience gameplay that the player actually gets to interact with, the aforementioned less than one minute, it a tutorial that tells players what button is crouch. Once things actually get going and players are inside of the super suit, it doesn’t get much better from there.

The gameplay of Crysis 2 is that of any other current first person shooter on the market. The controls are immediately familiar and coincide with that of Call of Duty. The enemy AI is thick as mud, with frequent glitching they often run into a wall with their backs turned to the player and continue running once they get there. There is your standard fare of enemies here: big guys, regular guys, and quick guys. None of this is new. The single player experience is basically a shooting gallery. The kicker with Crysis 2 is that players have a super suit, which allows them to accomplish inhuman feats of strength and skill. The fact is that there are two basic functions to the suit itself. Cloak and armor. Each one, once activated slowly drains the energy gauge. If an enemy attacks the player, causing the power gauge to drain faster, it takes less than five seconds for the gauge to fill all the way. This means that players can basically do whatever they please. They don’t even have to hide in cover. They character can sustain enough damage long enough for the suit to recharge and become invulnerable again. There are some nice things about the game though. For example, it looks really nice.

The thing with games by Crytek, is that they always look good. Crysis 2 is no exception. The environments are really pretty, like really really pretty. Every single element of the world is detailed to such a degree that it almost looks real. It’s uncanny how good this game looks. The games soundtrack was composed by the duo that did the soundtrack for the movie Inception, Nick Deleplane and Kawczynski. However, because of it’s intense graphics and sound, Crytek must assume that you also own a 40” HDTV, because the text and font in the game is incredibly hard to read on a normal television.

All in all, Crysis 2 is the Michael Bay of current first person shooters. Really shiny, full of explosions, booming soundtrack, and plenty of gun fights, but it just lacks the depth that makes a game like this great. Stupid AI, a story that was so bad and confusing I didn’t even bother seeing the game through. Cardboard cutout stereotype characters with a script written by a fifteen year old, Crysis 2 just doesn’t cut it.

Splinter Cell

Splinter Cell is one of the first of the Tom Clancy games. Splinter Cell is also a genre defining stealth action game. As opposed to Metal Gear Solid, Splinter Cell has intuitive controls, and an original use of lighting.

The gameplay of Splinter Cell focuses on the use of lighting and using the darkness to the players advantage. Splinter Cell gives players the opportunity to be a modern day ninja. With a host of gadgets, and  a slick pair of goggles players are well equipped to take on the terrorists threatening the safety of our society. That’s not to say that with all these gadgets, it will be a walk in the park, in fact, it is far from it. The enemy AI is smart cunning, and will not hesitate to shoot on sight, provided they ever see the player. The core of the game is all about creating darkness. It soon becomes second nature of the players to shoot out lights everywhere they go. This does get a bit tedious, but the payoff is well worth it. Luring enemies into a dark room for players to prey on is absolutely priceless. Using the environment to the players advantage is highly encouraged.

The game has items such as soda cans, glass bottles, and rocks to simply mess with and distract the enemies. Splinter Cell gives players a pretty nice gun with some really cool attachments. Said attachments can be used to scout ahead, knock out enemies, or even create distractions. Strategically placing a sticky camera to see what is up ahead can help in plotting out a course to avoid detection, or just to see how many baddies there are. This is the beauty of Splinter Cell’s gameplay.

Players can use the environment, sneak past the enemies without touching them, or just waste them all. Some levels force players to not kill any enemies, it doesn’t mean they can’t knock them out however. Players can challenge themselves to avoid enemies all together. Easier said than done of course. Splinter Cell can go either way between predator stealth tactics, or evasion stealth.

The sound design and score of Splinter Cell lend themselves to the gameplay. If played with a surround sound system, players can hear what’s behind them. The music of Splinter Cell gets things going when the going gets tough. High paced energetic score when there’s action, and slick quiet music when there’s sneaking to be done. All around the sound of the game is essential to the whole game.

All in all, Splinter Cell is a fantastic game. It has earned it’s place among the greats. Splinter Cell is an iconic game that belongs in your game library.

Case of the Mondays: Regenerating Health is for Chumps.

It's Monday, and I'm feeling opinionated.

Unless you're some kind of super soldier or futuristic space marine, this is for you. What's up with modern shooters and rechargeable health? What's wrong with a health bar?

Almost every single shooter in todays market has regenerating health. Regenerating health doesn't make any sense in the first place, especially with games that are trying to be "realistic", I'm looking at you Call of Duty. A man takes a bullet, and after taking a thirty second break, he feels fine. What's up with that? It's not like the bullet dissolves away and he's Wolverine of X-Men.

Other games such as Mirror's Edge, Uncharted, and Gears of War have regenerating health. Once while playing Mirror's Edge, I took two .50 caliber rounds, after taking a quick break I was fine. The main character of Mirror's Edge is a 20 pound Asian girl. She should have been broken in half from the first shot. It also creates inconsistencies. In the game Red Dead Redemption, the main character gets shot in the first 10 minutes and is down for the count. After he gets "patched up" and takes on a bandit hideout with the local law enforcement, he can take several bullets, take cover and be fine.

Another problem with regenerating health, is that it breaks up the flow of game play. Sure, players should be taking cover, but it's a luxury. It makes it too easy for a player to get past an area. Just take some cover for a bit and they'll be fine. Health bars make it more a more tense experience, holding on by a thread can force players to think things through. If players make their way carefully through a level can make for a much more rewarding experience.

In multiplayer, having helath packs scattered about can really help out the player, by forcing him or her to be resourceful and use the environment, by memorizing health pack placement. It may be annoying to other players, but at least that players doing well. It's like having power weapons, it may not be unfortunate and frustrating for the others, but it creates a dynamic experience.

I think that we should be getting back to the old days of health bars and percentages, there was nothing wrong with them. It let us know when we were about to day, and we could still see where we were going. Bring the health bar back!

Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic is the Greatest Game of all time!

Ok, it’s Saturday, which from this moment on will be the day that I pick a game and tell you why it is the best, or worst, game of all time. This week: Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic.

Star Wars KOTOR is the greatest game of all time because it is the best Star Wars related experience that you can have in a video game. All the characters, the settings, and every single detail, right down to the sound of the blaster. This is a genuine classic Star Wars experience. Bioware, the developer of the game, is made up of true blue Star Wars fans, and their colors come out in the best way possible.

KOTORs gameplay is based on Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 rule books -- that’s awesome! It also makes gameplay easy. Players can pause the action and plot out the next four moves of every party member then press play and watch their plan unfold. There are few things more satisfying in a video game than when you execute a well thought out and effective plan in KOTOR. Also, being able to customize the color of your light saber and the armor of your characters, and actually see the changes visually and statistically is pretty cool.

KOTOR also takes players all across the Star Wars galaxy. All of the environments are unique and memorable. The different characters and situations that players encounter along the way all combine to make one heck of an experience wherever they go in the game. All of this, accompanied by a brand new score for the game along with the timeless John Williams composed classics, make KOTOR feel even more legitimate.

Not only are the characters that players encounter fantastic, but the members of your crew are even more so. A Mandalorian mercenary, an assassin droid, a grumpy old jedi, a wookie, a tiny little droid that only communicates through beeps and bloops, all of the classic characters are here. Each member of your crew has a back story and are so diverse they feel real. This game is basically the model that started Bioware on the path that they’re on today with Mass Effect and Dragon Age.

Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic is the greatest game of all time because of its amazing gameplay, characters, story, environments, music, and even its brain teasing puzzles. KOTOR basically defines Bioware, and has taken them in a whole new direction, and it’s working for them.

Jet Set Radio Future Review

Jet Set Radio Future is the sequel to my favorite game of all time, Jet Grind Radio. Why the name change? In Japan it was released as Jet Set Radio, while in America it was released as Jet Grind Radio. Jet Set Radio Future was one of the first games out for Microsoft's first venture into the video game console world, and starting out with Jet Set Radio Future in their roster was a good call.

Jet Set Radio Future kicks things off right, by starting players off trying to form the gang of the GGs. However players don’t start out as the coverboy, Beat, like they did in Jet Grind Radio. Instead it gives players the most pestiferous character from the last game: Yo-Yo. His high pitched tone and slight gangster disposition just plain irk me. Fortunately, the game gives you the option to switch characters immediately after the tutorial is finished.

The gameplay of Jet Set Radio Future is slightly altered from the original. Future has a few new features for players to use to further extend their tricks around town. The graffiti system has been streamlined to a ridiculous degree. The left trigger is the button that you use to use spray paint; however in the original, the game would stop players and make them do a sequence of joystick movements to complete the graffiti. In Jet Set Radio Future, tagging is just rapidly pulling the left trigger to spray a larger sized mural. This has the potential to waste spray paint depending on the line that the player moves in and how frantic the mashing of the trigger is. When tagging, the game switches the camera to an angle which makes it nearly impossible to tag the area and maintain the flow of the game. In Future, you just slightly nudge the trigger and you waste a precious spray paint can. It doesn’t matter if you’re by a tag point or not, the character just sprays in the air. It’s useless! I say precious because spray paint is in scarce supply. Also, Jet Set Radio Future added boosting. When players collect ten spray paint cans, they can use them to make a rocket propelled boost. This feature, to me, is also useless, because all the gaps that require a boost will nearly be over shot when the player uses a boost. Also, ten cans? Didn’t I just mention how scarce spray paint was? If my finger slips and hits the boost button, there goes ten cans of spray paint and a slight portion of my health bar because I just accidentally shot myself into the water. Boosting is also a waste because it doesn’t help traveling any. In Jet Set Radio Future, all the maps are connected. This is confusing to me as I have a terrible sense of direction and this breaks up the flow of gameplay; once again, because I have to constantly be checking my map to see where I am going and if I’m heading in the right direction. And once I get to the next area I am not all that impressed.

The entire game doesn’t look that pleasant. Jet Grind Radio was bright, colorful, funky, and fresh. It was the first game ever to use the graphical art style known as cell shading. Cell shading is where everything looks more like a cartoon. In Jet Set Radio Future, all of the colors are toned down. Everything just kind of blends together in that sort of matte pallet that they chose for the game. Nothing really pops out, everything just seems flat, which is boring. What set Jet Grind Radio apart was it’s personality and style which existed both in the characters and in the environment. It seems as though the developers traded in the funk for an attempt to be cool. Everything in Jet Set Radio Future feels like it’s trying to be cool. The soundtrack is more edgy and dark. The graphics and characters seem apathetic, even the loud audacious Professor K isn’t as lively anymore. It just plain stinks. Unlike the soundtrack.

The soundtrack is pretty darn good. The new style and direction of the songs coincides with the game perfectly. It captures the tone of the futuristic setting while also maintaining the funky-fresh and carefree attitude of the original game. The soundtrack cannot hold a candle to the soundtrack of Jet Grind Radio. Every song in Jet Grind Radio was fun to listen to. Each song had a beat that you could dance to and it was like nothing else you’ve ever heard before. Jet Set Radio Future has all that, yet it also has, for some reason, obligatory crappy songs that are found in most games of that generation. And you can’t turn them off! The track list isn’t customizable at all. Why did they feel the need to put really annoying songs in the game, when a majority of the soundtrack was fine by itself? If the soundtrack didn’t have these loud, disruptive, and juvenile songs it would be just fine. And if I could customize the soundtrack, it’d be even better. But alas I cannot, so I just sit there, embarrassed, while this annoying music is blaring out of the TV and wait and hope that another bad song doesn’t come out.

All in all, Jet Set Radio Future tries to break ground for a new generation, but ultimately falls just short. Flaws in the gameplay, graphics, and sound come together to weigh the game down and make it not as enjoyable as the original was. Everything, the personality, the character, the funk, seems to have left the game. So, if you want a gameplay experience that’s like nothing you’ve ever seen or played, to a soundtrack that’ll make you get up and dance, play the original.