All reviews - Games (34)

Old School X-Men

Posted : 2 months, 3 weeks ago on 6 November 2011 05:56 (A review of X-men Arcade [Online Game Code])

Ah these were the days. Pumping quarters into a machine like your life depended on it (and it usually did) until the day you could claim you beat that huge arcade cabinet down at the local arcade. The 6 player (yeah, the "other" system can't say that on their downloadable version since they can only use 4 controllers... losers :P haha) X-Men arcade game finally made it's way onto the PSN.

Konami was apparently really stingy on letting both consoles put this up for download. From what I've read they would not allow any tampering with the game from it's original format. This meant no upgraded HD graphics (such as in TMNT: Turtles in Time, another arcade favorite of mine), no updated 8-directional controllers, and no tampering with the life count. The life count thing is the biggest flaw of this download; since it's not an arcade cabinet they had to assume you were putting in as many "quarters" as you wanted, hence there is really no way to lose in this download because you can just put in another "quarter" whenever you need to. Other than that, this game is as awesome as the arcade I remember playing it in.

If you remember this arcade game and liked it then it's a great addition to your Ps3 library of downloaded games. Good 2d side-scroller. If you're more into graphics and complicated controls you might skip it cuz it's a tribute to old school gaming. Now if they would just come out with the Simpsons arcade game my life would be complete... oh well, wait and see.

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Cole Got Fangs

Posted : 2 months, 3 weeks ago on 6 November 2011 05:37 (A review of InFamous: Festival of Blood)

For a ten dollar download this is one incredible buy on the playstation network! You don't even need to have InFamous 2 to buy and play this game, though it's considered add-on DLC you can buy it, install it and play without ever putting InFamous 1 or 2 in your Ps3.

Vampires have come on "Pyre Night" in New Marais and have begun turning the population into vampires. Cole himself is captured and his conduit blood is used to resurrect Bloody Mary; Cole only has the one night to find and kill Bloody Mary, who bit him after she came back to life, or he'll remain a vampire forever. Pyre Night itself is actually pretty awesome; tons of civilians are out partying in the streets dressed in crazy costumes (hence nobody is paying the real vampires any special attention since everyone is dressed up). I was really impressed with how much life they were able to put into New Marais and how many NPC's are just out and about partying it up.

The graphics are still superb and the story is quite interesting with Bloody Mary running around. Zeke even helps out a bit though he doesn't turn into a vampire. Cole has some new vampire powers, the most notable of which is that he can turn into a swarm of bats and fly around. He is limited in his vampire powers by how much blood he has, and when he runs out he has to bite someone and suck them dry to get more. Probably the coolest thing that happened that scared the crap out of me is one time I went to go bite someone, but they fought me off and pushed me away, I thought "oh cool, they can resist... HOLY CRAP THEY WERE A VAMPIRE IN DISGUISE!! OMG HE'S ATTACKING I'M SO SCREWED OMG!!!" lol, it was awesome.

The only limitation is that you're only on the first island, there is no access to the second one. Still there is plenty to do on the first. Also included in the download is the ability to create new levels with vampires as enemies and Cole can use his vampire powers against them. Yes UGC is back and just as simple to use, but twice as awesome. The level creator is simple to use and doesn't leave any details out; just about anything you can dream up you can do (my levels suck though, don't play them, haha). They even added in an ability to create comic-like frames mid-mission with talk bubbles and everything, it's a neat little edition that makes it feel even more like it was supposed to be included in the game.

For ten dollars this is a real steal, you get the first island of InFamous 2 and some different vampire powers. The story is obviously shorter but for a $10 DLC game it's just right; and with the UGC you're getting way more bang for your buck. As with the other InFamous titles, I highly recommend getting this.

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Cattle Prod FTW

Posted : 2 months, 3 weeks ago on 6 November 2011 03:48 (A review of inFAMOUS 2 Hero Edition)

I kid Cole MacGrath, it's not a cattle prod that he uses as a melee weapon in this one but an "AMP" as they call it. The Amp is awesome, you get to beat people over the head with it while Cole runs his electrical powers through it making it not only something you could beat someone to death with turned off, but it fry's them in the process.

Regardless of how you feel the Amp looks, InFamous 2 is possibly the most awesome game on the Ps3 to date. Cole is back along with his best buddy Zeke and they are heading to New Marais where a Dr. Wolfe who worked on a Ray Sphere prototype can help you gain powers and become powerful enough to defeat the Beast. Along the way two other new characters join your little group, agent Lucy Kuo and Nix; both of which are conduits with the powers of ice and fire, respectively.

As if the first InFamous game couldn't get any better, SuckerPunch made it so. InFamous 2 includes some new powers, even more stunning graphics, a storyline that will have some of us crying at the end, and UGC which stands for "user generated content." Yes that means this game is worth every penny of it's price point because every day more and more levels are being added by consumers just like me everyday (I make crappy levels, don't play mine).

First off, the new powers are pretty sweet. They've added multiple choices to each type of weapon. Like sticky grenades or cluster? Doesn't matter, buy both and switch on the fly whenever you'd like. Prefer a fast shot over the magnum powered one? Switch to whatever you prefer. Multiple choices of lightning powers not enough for you? How about you trade powers with Lucy or Nix and get some ice or fire powers?!? ARE YOU HAPPY NOW!?!? Seriously, the ice launch and freeze rockets are so epic.

The story is this one is movie worthy. The added characters are great and the voice acting is spot on; which always helps push a story along. Cole goes down to New Marais and the Beast is slowly following him. Dr. Wolfe tells him to absorb the power of blast cores to gain new powers and abilities so he can charge a device Dr. Wolfe made called the RFI, or Ray Field Inhibitor. Along the way you still gain territory from the local militia who are "protector's of the peace" and are led by a guy named Bertrand who really uses the militia for his own little schemes (no spoilers, but Bertrand is kind of a jerk). The endings this time around are very different and while I will not spoil either my opinions are as follows: the evil ending is lame and the good ending had me near tears.

All that awesomeness aside and there's still more to do. The level creator is actually quite simple and yet extremely detailed and complex if you want to do stuff that is super complicated. Personally I thought LBP's level creator was lacking and maybe they fixed it in the second though I haven't tried it. This level creator however is very straight forward and even if you can't figure out how to do something if you play around with it for just a few minutes you'll most likely figure it out. People have made some amazing UGC missions, some of which are even more amazing than some of the levels made by the developer themselves. And yes there is always more coming out all the time, it really is never ending.

All in all you should know by now that I recommend this game without any hesitation. Oh and the Hero Edition is worth the extra money. The backpack Cole wears is easily worth the $40 extra dollars. You also get a comic book which is too short, a statue of Cole which is pretty awesome, and a download voucher for some more powers and skins. I bought the Hero edition and don't regret it at all, this game is completely worth the money.

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Stand Back Thor, Cole MacGrath Is In Town

Posted : 2 months, 3 weeks ago on 6 November 2011 03:25 (A review of Infamous)

When I first saw InFamous I thought "Meh, looks alright, maybe I’ll pick it up later." Fortunately I didn’t wait as long as I thought I would and got the game on a good trade. I was blown away by how awesome this game really is. It just looks like another superhero game where you’re a normal guy who gets superpowers, and that’s essentially true. What else is truly awesome is that the city in which Cole lives is huge and just begging to be explored, climbed on and scaled. The coolest feeling you can get is grinding across an electrical wire and hoping onto another in smooth succession.

What else is cools is the powers you can unlock as the game progresses. Cole goes down in the sewers, of all places, to turn on the power in the parts of town that are stuck in the dark. When he does this he gains another power, kinda random but it works alright. Once you've got static thrusters you can grind just about anything in succession and it feels awesome. The graphics are also really good and show off the superiority of the Playstation 3's graphics capability. It's easy to miss a lot when you're flying around the city, but if you stop for a second to smell the flowers you'll see how detailed the city is, down to the doors and windows you scale past while climbing a building.

Other awesomeness includes taking down huge enemies with shock grenades, pushing enemies off tall buildings with a wave of electricity, in just being a badass in general. There is a karmic element to the game; certain missions will give you the opportunity to do good and help others, or be selfish/sadistic and hurt or kill others. This ultimately has little effect on the game overall or the ending; but in the moments it gives you to make a choice they can be quite interesting. Plus it adds some replay value, you'll have to play this game twice through just to platinum the game.

The story is actually quite interesting as well. Cole opens a package that is a Ray Sphere which gives him his powers. Then some other "conduits" who also got powers start rising up, as well as gangs trying to take more territory since the blast of the Ray Sphere has left the city in a quarantine lock down. I suppose my one complaint about the game would be more character development of the bad guys. They did an ok job with Kessler and Alden had the most backstory, but Sasha was just there and then she was gone, kind of random and she was a very interesting character I wanted to see more of.

I was really surprised at how well made this game was and how much fun it ended up being. I wasn't expecting it to be so great so I always try and iterate to people that even if you think it only looks so-so that you MUST give it a try because I was the same way. A lot of people probably got it for free when Sony had that network crash, but even if you didn't it's worth buying.

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Splittin Time

Posted : 3 months, 2 weeks ago on 15 October 2011 06:32 (A review of TimeSplitters 2)

This game should have been a Halo killer. Why didn't it? Because all those whiny little wussies can't handle how freakin fast and awesome this game was. Seriously, I loved playing this game in college and I would have Halo fanboy's try it, all they would do is whine and complain that it was too fast for them to keep up. Really? REALLY?!? Halo is the holy-grail of gaming to you and everything else sucks? Get out of your shell and play a real game, like Timesplitters 2.

Ok besides may anti-Halo rant, this game really is awesome. It's got a pretty decent single-player campaign. You travel through time to stop the bad guys, got it. But the multiplayer is where it's at. Countless hours of my college life were lost with my friends playing this game in my dorm room. Hook in a multi-tap and you've got 4 player mayhem and monkeys with plasma rifles, to say the least. Yes the pace is fast, but that's what makes it so fun, keeps you on your toes, and keeps the game going. It's like an adrenaline rush and when a match is over you can finally take a breath.

All in all it didn't kill Halo (dang it) but those who know the series love it for what it is. Not all FPS's are created equal and this one definitely rises near the top, especially for console gaming.

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The Perfect DMC

Posted : 3 months, 2 weeks ago on 15 October 2011 06:17 (A review of Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening)

I bought a Ps2 just to play DMC1, the game was so dark and evil and scary and even though I never played the Resident Evil games I loved it. Fast forward the awesomeness to DMC3 and you have the absolute perfect hack n slash game. I mean, hack n slash games get a bad rap as being too easy; just smash the attack button and you'll win right? Have someone saying that play this game on easy and see how they do, hahaha.

Even the start of this game is just totally badass. From beginning to end Dante exudes awesomeness. Half the time I was rooting for his twin brother Vergil because he is pretty awesome as well. The graphics were superb for their time on the good ol' Ps2. The story is mind-blowing and if they ever get around to making that Devil May Cry movie they would be morons to base it on anything other than this game. The gameplay is top-notch, the controls feel so natural and Dante has more moves and combos then ever before. Despite the awesomeness the difficulty curve is quite high. Having beaten the game only on hard mode I must say the developer's went a little over the edge with "Dante Must Die" mode which is basically two hits and you're dead as well as "Heaven And Hell" mode which is everyone is a one hit kill, including yourself; it's harder than it sounds.

All in all if you're even remotely interested in the DMC series this is a must play. Just be warned that Dante's move set is massive compared to the first DMC so if you're going to play them all start at 1 and work your way through because going backwards makes DMC1 more difficult, and it's already hard in its own right. Regardless everyone should give it a shot and not give up after 5 minutes because you're going to die at first, a lot.

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More Than Just Jacking Cars

Posted : 3 months, 3 weeks ago on 9 October 2011 07:29 (A review of Grand Theft Auto III)

GTA3 was the reason I bought a Ps2. Ok scratch that, because the first game I got for my Ps2 was Tony Hawk 3; but I don't think I spent more hours on any other game than plugging into the GTA3 world. This game really has it all, you can roam a huge free environment, populated world, steal cars, start riots, even see how long you can last against the police/military: a favorite between me and my friends!

GTA3 was a huge controversy when it came out, but looking back this game is harmless compared to it's successor's. Personally I just liked the freedom the game gave you; you can just go wherever you want and do whatever you want. I still remember leaving a friend's house after playing GTA3 for a couple hours; I was going about 70mph in a 30mph zone without even realizing it. That's how influential this game is! (I slowed down and was safe, don't worry).

All in all it might not be worth going back to, but GTA3 back in the day was the bomb. With only a few things lacking like being able to swim and planes that actually flew, this game was the perfect open world game. It's also the only game I got 100% on, twice, before trophies were ever invented.

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Nintendo "Smash" Up

Posted : 3 months, 3 weeks ago on 9 October 2011 03:26 (A review of Super Smash Bros. Melee)

I've always wanted Luigi to beat the crap out of his brother, now I can. Super Smash was fun but they perfected it in Super Smash Bros. Melee! I've never owned a Gamecube, and with the backwards compatibility of the Wii (should I ever buy one of those) I probably never will. Always having friends to mooch off of, I absolutely love smashing it up with this game. My favorite character is Samus but I started goofing around with Luigi and now some of my friends are more scared of me playing him than Samus.

The new arenas are great and I love how many there are. Lots of characters to choose from too. My roommate in college and I played so much we started doing random player battles because we just got too good against each other. Lots of different characters too, different play styles, different abilities, it's a very diverse list.

If you even remotely like Nintendo and it's franchises you have to play this game. Even if you've already gone ahead to Brawl, come back to Melee and at least give it a try, you might like it more (I do!). Melee is still the end-all be-all of party games.

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Mario Kart At Its Finest

Posted : 3 months, 3 weeks ago on 9 October 2011 12:48 (A review of Mario Kart 64)

This is my favorite Mario Kart of the series? Why, 4 player with the perfect balanced array of items, perfect tracks, perfect controls, and perfect perfection. Mario Kart on the SNES was fun, but this one still blows my mind.

It's still fun to pick this game up and play with friends. It sometimes is lame to play "with" friends online; whatever happened to the good old days of playing "with" friends in the same room so you could punch/shove/hurt and otherwise make wisecracks (not everyone has a headset, though I don't know why) at those who are sitting right next to you.

If you like Mario Kart you really only need this one. It doesn't always screw you over for being in first like the new ones seem to, no driver/rider gimmicks, just racing and your mad skillz with a banana peel.

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Bu Bu Bu Bubblin!

Posted : 3 months, 3 weeks ago on 9 October 2011 12:29 (A review of Bubble Bobble)

It's freakin Bubble Bobble!!! By far my personal favorite NES game; if I could have only one NES game this would be it. So simple and even repetitive yet I still can't get enough of it. All you do is capture bad guys in bubbles, then pop those bubbles by jumping on them and move on to the next screen. That's it! And yet ever since I played it on an arcade cabinet in some po-dunk diner in some po-dunk town I keep coming back to how awesome this game is.

It might not be for everyone but if you haven't even tried Bubble Bobble you have to give it a shot. Be sure to play this original, some of the remakes are not nearly as good. It's even better with two players, and with multiple endings I will say you can only get the "True" good ending with 2 players so find a friend and work together!

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