tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43109532020049693772024-03-05T11:39:10.732-08:00360 Degree ReviewsCovering all angles of Xbox 360 gamingiPhone Reviewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02621445623420973080noreply@blogger.comBlogger77125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4310953202004969377.post-43965152231746035912015-02-14T04:56:00.000-08:002015-02-14T04:56:13.058-08:00My 12 Best Xbox 360 Experiences<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hello loyal readers, it's been a while between reviews. Just a heads up on whats going to be happening. As I now have a Xbox One I will be transitioning from reviewing 360 titles to One titles. These will be more relevant to the gaming scene in 2015 as developers slowly fade out support for the older platforms. We will be remaining at the same link, so no need to visit a different directory.<br />
Before we kick off some brand new reviews, I thought I'd share my top 12 games that I played on the Xbox 360. These aren't necessarily the 12 best games of the generation, but ones that had the biggest impact on myself as a gamer.<br />
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<b>12. Your Shape Fitness Evolved</b><br />
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Your Shape Fitness Evolved is definitely a game not many gamers would own. This Kinect fitness title by Ubisoft was a god send for me however. I have had Kinect since it was launched and it was getting used for the occasional multiplayer Kinect Sports session. Not until I purchased this game did I have a true use for it. Exercising to me, sucks. Such a long time to see results and being naturally skinny I'm just not motivated enough to use it. Throw in achievement points and the ability to do it in my own home, had me committed. Instead of just going for the occasional run, I could focus on an area of the body and do a short workout designed for what I want. It was simple, easy and most of all, effective. To this day I still use the sequel to get a quick fitness fix in.<br />
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<b>11. Fable II</b><br />
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The Fable series is probably the laughing stock among RPG crowds. But for someone like myself who doesn't have the focus to grind through a huge RPG, Fable is perfect for me. After loving the original Fable on the Xbox I made sure this was one of the first games I bought on the 360 when I got one. I wasn't left disappointed, instantly becoming addicted to the humour and fun combat that had myself hooked in the original. Not many games have me playing still after I finish the main story, but I spent additional time looking for collectibles. The fact I wanted to make sure I experienced everything Fable II had to offer is a compliment to Lionhead Studios.<br />
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<b>10. DJ Hero</b><br />
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While the start of this generation was all about the huge craze surrounding Guitar Hero and Rock Band, I personally found my calling in the lesser known DJ Hero. Clicking buttons on the guitar was good fun to your favourite rock songs, but being an electronic fan I found myself loving the beats and more intense gameplay of DJ Hero. Fading, scratching and changing songs required rhythm and technique that only game from constant practice. The mashups created in the two DJ Hero games should be on an album of their own, because they were absolutely banging!<br />
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<b>9. Forza Motorsport 4</b><br />
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Simulation racing games for me just aren't as fun as their arcade counterparts. I own many racing games, but a vast majority are arcade bar a few. Forza and F1 are the only franchises I own multiple copies of simulation racers. Forza Motorsport 4 for me was amazing. It made me want to play. The graphics were simply breath taking, the handling was superb and the mode was serious with a touch of fun from Top Gear thrown in for good measure. The developers always talked about their love for cars, and it has shone through in this title. Simply a masterpiece.<br />
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<b>8. Halo Reach</b><br />
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Despite owning every single Halo game, I am not a big Halo fan. Instead of being in awe of the original I hated it for its simple, repetitive level design. Halo 3 for me was overhyped and better than people made it out to be. It wasn't until Halo Reach that I truly got engaged into a Halo storyline. The story of peril, where you knew it was a lost cause, was gripping and something completely different in gaming. We are expected to have a happy ending in so many games, it was refreshing to have a darker story in a genre where the good side always wins. While Halo 4 is my favourite title in the franchise due to it's more modern take on the FPS and a ripping multiplayer, its Reach that had the greatest impact on myself.<br />
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<b>7. Saint's Row: The Third</b><br />
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Most games put out trailers to show you how beautiful the game is and how good the gameplay is. Saint's Row: The Third was revealed by an absolutely hilarious trailer accompanied by Kanye West's Power. The previous Saint's Row titles had received comparisons to GTA but Volition decided to kick those talks in the balls with this gutsy title. I have never been more excited to jump into a game just for the pure fun of it. I zoomed through the story and it wasn't a drag like most games become at some point. The action is non-stop crazy and it never gets old. Perfectly crafted games of this generation are all well and good, but nothing beats some extreme fun even if it is a little rough around the edges.<br />
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<b>6. NBA 2K11</b><br />
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While the following NBA 2K titles have taken huge leaps to improve the series (2K15 on the Xbox One is just... wow), 2K11 was the first true shining light. This game was so good at the time that it actually made EA cancel one of its premier franchises and it hasn't even looked like recovering since. What better way to mark the golden era of NBA gaming than to include the greatness himself, Michael Jordan, on the cover. After years of playing NBA Live by EA almost exclusively, 2K swooped in and secured my lasting dedication to the franchise from the second I touched this game. I've bought the newest update every year since.<br />
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<b>5. Forza Horizon</b><br />
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If the simulation racer king has been decided for a long time, the arcade picture has been less clear. With the Burnout franchise seemingly disappeared off the map, it looked like Need for Speed's revival (led by the Burnout developers) was gunning for the crown. Then bam, along came a side project led by a different develop company for Forza. Forza Horizon took the insanely good physics and graphics engine from Motorsport and created a fun playground to drift around in. Setting the whole game in a music/racing festival was a winning idea with pumping beats making the game just that much cooler. I find it hard to stick to arcade races long after the story is finished, but the fact I went through and won every single event the game had to offer speaks volume for how much fun this game is.<br />
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<b>4. Red Dead Redemption</b><br />
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Just, wow. When I saw the trailer for this game I thought yeah it looked pretty, but how can the wild west be fun? Trust Rockstar to take the most obscure genre and make it into an enthralling game with one of the deepest stories I have ever encountered in gaming. There is a reason why they are the number 1 developer in gaming, this game has it all. A huge area to explore, breathtaking visuals and absolutely spot on gameplay to deliver the perfect western experience. This came so early in the life cycle of the Xbox 360 that it's graphics were next level long before anyone else was getting even close to reaching this level. If there isn't a single I will cry, because this game was one of my favourites of all time.<br />
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<b>3. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2</b><br />
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When I purchased my Xbox 360 a few years into the console cycle I knew nothing of the Call of Duty series. I had never played it but all my friends talked about going and playing 'cod'. While people herald the first Modern Warfare as the better game, MW2 was my first COD experience. And my god I was hooked. As the original Xbox was never a console for online multiplayer I didn't purchase Xbox Live Gold. After the month trial I was that addicted to playing Call of Duty online I instantly purchased it. While the single player is short lived fun, its the true longevity of the online play that kept me coming back right up until Black Ops was released. While my participation in online waned after MW3 was released, I will always remember the impression the hundreds of hours spent in MW2 left on me. It really influenced what kind of games I'd look at playing.<br />
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<b>2. Assassin's Creed II</b><br />
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When I purchased my Xbox 360 it was in a bundle that came with 5 games. These weren't bad titles either, Bioshock, Forza 3, Halo ODST to name a few. But I went out and purchased a couple of games I thought would be good based off watching reviews for a few weeks. I ended up deciding with GTA IV and Assassin's Creed II. Lets just say GTA IV didn't get a look in for well over a month as I made sure I got 1000 gamerscore with Ezio. This game was the epitome of fun. A huge world to explore, ways to explore never before possible in gaming and a super engaging story that kept me hooked for the entire time. Assassin's are such a cool genre for gaming and this has remained one of my all time favourite franchises, despite the games getting a bit stale and too busy in recent additions. I can't really say I own seven games of the same franchise for anything else, this is a real credit to Ubisoft for their premier title.<br />
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<b>1. Grand Theft Auto V</b><br />
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Do I even have to explain this? There is a very good reason why GTA V absolutely creamed every entertainment release record in the history of mankind. This game is beyond crazy good. The trailer was so amazing yet delivered on absolutely everything it promised. The overly realistic physics which to me crippled GTA IV slightly were replaced with gaming friendly physics. The graphics are drop dead gorgeous and the amount of detail is unrivalled. The story is crazy, bold and a heap of fun! I found the gang wars of past sometimes tedious with boring missions but that doesn't hold true for GTA V. What's more is this game has been updated to modern standards with mission checkpoints, good shooting mechanics are just a couple to name. This is the game of all games that was made even better (amazingly) on the Xbox One. GTA VI has ridiculous expectations, I can't wait to see what they can do to somehow improve on this title!<br /><br />So those were my experiences, comment below and let me know yours!<br />
<br />iPhone Reviewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02621445623420973080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4310953202004969377.post-90695852466408351232013-12-10T00:40:00.001-08:002013-12-10T00:40:56.135-08:00Battlefield 4 Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Despite the resounding internet hate of the Call of Duty franchise, it appears Battlefield 3 did little to dent the mammoth pull Activision have on FPS gamers around the world. The franchise is going from strength to strength, bringing in numbers only dwarfed by GTA V. It's not like BF3 was a bad game, in fact it was one of the best looking FPS I have ever played. It was a game of highs that also featured many lows, most notably a short uninspired campaign. 2012 from EA brought a lacklustre Medal of Honor title that didn't help EA's cause one bit. 2013 sees DICE return with the next instalment in the Battlefield franchise. Have they finally hit all the vital selling points to take down Call of Duty: Ghosts?<br />
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<b>Presentation</b><br />
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Battlefield 3 was a game that shone on a high end PC, but it still performed admirably on the Xbox 360 and PS3 respectively. Environments still looks beautiful, character models were amazing and it ran smoothly throughout my entire time playing. Battlefield 4 on current gen consoles doesn't receive this same kind of treatment. Obviously being prepped for optimal performance on the Xbox One and PS4, it appears that current gen owners are going to be receiving an experience that contains many cop outs we expect from lesser quality titles.<br />
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On the Xbox 360 I experienced screen tearing, anti-aliasing and low resolution textures as well as the perfectly played fog effect to lessen the graphical load on the system. While it is obvious Frostbite 3 is pushing these machines to the limit, the overly ambitious nature of the games destruction has taken a toll. Collapsing set pieces will look beautiful pre and post explosion, but the collapsing pieces will look terrible. Instead of a smooth motion, a wonderful spectrum of graphical mishaps will occur before it settles down nicely again. It's noticeable enough to be annoying and take away from the true spectacle.<br />
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I may be a bit harsh as the majority of Battlefield 4 still looks outstanding. Character models are outstanding as we have come to expect. Overall the environments are diverse and full of life, but this isn't just a game. It's from one of the biggest publishers in the world and we expect that top notch AAA quality from them. If certain things couldn't be achieved on the current gen consoles then toning back may have been a valuable choice. Multiplayer maps that don't have all the huge game defining changes as on next gen consoles wouldn't have been a deal breaker since they are well thought out as it is. This game still looks better than most, and you do have to nitpick to find these negatives, but when you are coming up against Call of Duty these things matter.<br />
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The audio in this game is as you would expect, absolutely top notch. Characters sound great and the sound effects are perfect. There is nothing better than playing Battlefield 4 with the surround sound pumped up loud! The unique sound of every different weapon coupled with the crunching sounds of a crumbling battlefield makes this an audio orgasm. You get a real sense of thrill that is accompanied by an up tempo soundtrack to really get the heart racing.<br />
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<b>Gameplay</b><br />
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Battlefield 4 is a brilliant game that finally merges nearly everything we’ve loved about the series over the years all into one big, epic package that will satisfy nearly any online FPS fan. It does have it’s share of issues, but they don’t get too much in the way. Especially since the focus is more on multiplayer rather than the campaign. But EA decided that they had to have a campaign anyway; which lasts for under 5 hours and comes with the standards we’ve come to expect with the series – quality voice acting, big buildings being blown up, solid production values and over the top action.The maps are nice and varied, from close quarters to large open spaces, coupled with a decent campaign; it does give Call of Duty: Ghosts a run for it’s money, but falls short with it’s rather uninspired storyline. One is left with a feeling if this should have been an online only game?
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Multiplayer is where you’ll find all the action and predominantly gamers’ focus. The online play is pretty breathtaking, with a huge range of features coming together – like Commanders, a Battlelog system that finally works nicely, destruction of whole buildings large and small, great visuals, and a solid unlock and gunplay system that really does feel like a near-perfect “average” of everything that has been good about Battlefield games in the past.
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Specific to multiplayer, maps have been carefully designed to give tactically inclined players a better chance. If you’re going to roam around aimlessly in a tank, be prepared to face the consequences; even against an engineer! In multiplayer, Battlefield 4 comes complete with some old favorite modes as well as a few new ones to try out. Battlefield fans will be familiar with Conquest, Rush and Deathmatch variants. But the game also comes with some cool new game modes, which are: Obliteration, Domination, Defuse and Commander mode. Commander is my new favourite, with one player given a entire view of the Battlefield and the ability to deliver instructions to teammates. It takes this harmonious teamwork a new level of trust, and those who can work together will be victorious.<br />
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Finally, the real revolution, not to get confused with a game-mode, Levolution as, they’ve termed it – is essentially damage effects. No building is safe, it can be destroyed and everything in it will be destroyed as well. Anyway, The damage effects combined with the weather effect give a more realistic feel to the game. The weather often changes, mostly for the worse as battles progress.The weather effects often alter the way you need to play. The wind during the Paracel Storm map, for instance, requires snipers to aim to the left or right depending on the direction of the wind.<br />
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<b>Conclusion</b><br />
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Battlefield 4 is pretty much what you expect from this title. Good visuals that would be enhanced on next gen consoles, a countless number of explosions and fun gameplay. Sure, the single player is a bit mediocre and tedious but, that isn't what counts for Battlefield. The multiplayer in this game is amazing and revolutionary, with a whole new element added. Having to plan ahead knowing that how the map looks at the beginning, won't be the how it is at the end is an awesome concept.<br />
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<b>Graphics - 8/10</b><br />
<b>Sound - 9/10</b><br />
<b>Gameplay - 8.5/10</b><br />
<b>Overall - 8.5/10</b>iPhone Reviewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02621445623420973080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4310953202004969377.post-49683299987151934862013-12-04T05:40:00.003-08:002013-12-04T05:40:56.271-08:00FIFA 14 Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The ultimate soccer experience is back and better than ever. It's another year and Electronic Arts are back with one of the biggest franchises in gaming history. I reckon it must get hard for the developers to continually innovate after so many years on the same generation of consoles. FIFA 13 was a standout that brought Attacking Intelligence, First Touch Control, Player Impact Engine and Tactical Free Kicks to the sport for the very first time. This is more about fine tuning and calibrating to make a game that is still fun and accessible for both the lifelong player and first time adopters of the FIFA franchise.<br />
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<b>Presentation
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When you are making the same game every year on a platform that stays the same you are eventually going to hit a graphical peak. FIFA 13 was a beautiful game with excellent player models and detail in all faces when up close animations are shown. This years game isn't a big improvement on last years title, in fact you could put the improvements at minimal. A few players look more like their real world counterparts, but overall it looks just like last year. This isn't a bad thing though, FIFA 13 was one of the prettiest games around and still is to this date.
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The main improvements come in the physics engine and a refinement in the reactions of players. In the past couple of years, players wouldn't follow a set animation in collisions and instead the speed, angle and force of those involved was taken into account. Often you would find a tangling of players bodies or glitches causing unnatural movements that would slightly detract from the overall game. The majority of these are gone and the players react more like their real world counterparts. A few more options have been put into the game like the ability for players to dive to keep the ball in, all minimal changes that just nudge the game a bit closer to the real thing. Overall its the prettiest and most glitch free FIFA yet.
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Audio in FIFA 14 follows the same level of improvement that past titles have had. The commentators as always have a huge set of conversational pieces to talk about and react perfectly to whats happening in the game. There are a few new pieces added in, but essentially the same high standard has been maintained. The crowd sound great and a loud roar when you score the winning goal in overtime never gets old.
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<b>Gameplay
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This years addition to the franchise has a host of key features that merely refine and enhance what we had previously instead of completing rewriting the book. New features include precision movement, pure shot, real ball physics, protect the ball, teammate intelligence, sprint dribble turns and dribble touches. A new addition to FIFA Ultimate Mode for this year is also the incorporation of legends to be placed in your side. A nice touch of nostalgia which has worked a treat in other titles such as the NBA 2K series.<br />
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Making the players act like their real like counterparts has been a focus area for EA for this years edition of the game. This is where the new features precision movement, pure shot and shot/dribble physics come into play. Players now feel more athletic, more explosive and have the motion we expect of a world class athlete. I found the game to be an all round faster experience with fast breaks and outbursts of speed a welcome experience. Playing against friends who focus on precision passing can now be taken on with a gutsy burst of speed to take the ball away and manoeuvre your way to goal. I liked this faster paced action and it brought a new level of excitement to what has been called a boring sport.<br />
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The ball now reacts better than ever to how it is kicked. Off balanced shots and rushed shots at goal aren't going to produce results anywhere near as clean as a well timed shot. Players are smarter with their positioning and this doesn't just mean the AI. Your own player will position his body in the best possible spot to have clean contact with the ball, just as they would in real life. Messi isn't going to take an ill advised shot if he can adjust his position to improve his chances, and neither will you anymore. Dribbling and passing is now refined so you have better control and less predictability with the top players. The reward for effort is a positive instead of a stupid mistake occurring even when you have performed a seamless move.<br />
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I absolutely love, I repeat LOVE what they have done with the menus. For once, I am not dumbfounded about how to find what I want. In a Windows-esque tile formation everything is now easy to find in collections of menus that actually make sense. All your favourite modes have returned with slight variations to career mode in particular. A new hub makes it an easier process and gets you into the action faster. It is all about being cleaner, and smarter which correlates nicely with the position on the field.<br />
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<b>Conclusion
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FIFA 14 isn't a game changer, but it definitely an improvement all round compared to FIFA 13. A little tweak here and a minor adjustment there have gone a long way to making sure FIFA stays head and shoulders above the competition. This is the most realistic and authentic soccer experience to date. Sure, some players won't like the faster paced action that is generally defined by the Pro Evolution Soccer series. But those who can master control of both the ball and the player will benefit from the fluidity in their game. Those failing to cope will be left behind, but this is where the skill games come in to give us a tutorial of sorts that will actually do more than teach the basics, actually enhancing your skill level. Millions of players worldwide online and the return of all the modes you love will make this an irresistible package.
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<b>Graphics - 9/10 </b><br />
<b>Sound - 9/10 </b><br />
<b>Gameplay - 8.5/10 </b><br />
<b>Overall - 8.5/10</b>iPhone Reviewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02621445623420973080noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4310953202004969377.post-71622922157181528472013-09-08T03:33:00.001-07:002013-09-08T03:33:42.889-07:00Splinter Cell: Blacklist Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Splinter Cell for my personally has been a series that has delivered some high points, but also some real lows. As a youngster I absolutely hated the difficulty of stealth and being Sam Fisher, but at the same time it taught me the reward for persistence. Something not provided enough in games of today. In recent times the series has enter a lull, not sure of its direction. It seems to be wanting to hold onto its stealth origin while also keeping relevant in an action orientated time. The trailers and clips we saw of Blacklist at E3 blew me away and I was keen to see more. Has it lived up to the early hype?<br />
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<b>Presentation</b><br />
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As I played through Blacklist, I was torn about how the game looked. At some points, everything looked beautiful, like when I was ninja’ing my way through the sun-soaked streets of Benghazi, Lybia. Other times, it looked less than stellar, like when I was sneaking through the dull looking Columbian mansion. The cut-scenes in Blacklist were actually a bit of a letdown as well, since the character models looked a bit dated. However, I was able to look past this because the performances that each character gave drew my attention completely.<br />
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The cast of Blacklist is a major strong point for the game. Each actor brought their character to life and made me really believe how stressed out they were with the realization that the fate of the United States rested squarely on their shoulders. The voice actor that played the leader of the Engineers gave an exceptionally good performance, portraying a cold, yet surprisingly calm villain. Hell, even Eric Johnson, who replaced the legendary Michael Ironside as the voice of Sam Fisher, did a solid job filling in Ironside’s shoes. I would also like to make a note that the guards in Blacklist were a LOT less annoying than the guards in Conviction, who were overly cocky and talked way too much. It was nice to fight against an enemy that sounded surprisingly human.<br />
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The soundtrack is also top notch, boasting some dramatic scores that peak during frantic and confrontational scenes and gameplay, and stays measured and low-key when sneaking around. The gameplay is also backed up by great sounding effects, such as gunshots, explosions, and ambient noises that added a more realistic feel to every environment I went through.<br />
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As an overall package, Blacklist is a pretty game that absolutely flourishes when given the oppurtunity to show what it is capable of. However some dodgy textures and falling back into the cold dark shadows is something that doesn't make this game look graphically impressive. The original trailer for this game showed bright open environments, and for good reason as they are the highlight for me.<br />
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<b>Gameplay</b><br />
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In Splinter Cell: Blacklist, the game is tailored to whatever playstyle you choose. If you want to go in loud and make your presence known to the guards, you can. If you want to sneak through and stealthily kill everyone – have at it. Hell, you can even go through the entire game without killing anyone. The choice is all yours. Whichever approach you end up using, it will fall into one of 3 categories: Ghost , Panther, and Assault. At the end of each mission, your performance will be assessed in each category and you’ll receive rewards according to how you did. The points then translate to in-game cash that you can use to buy new weapons, weapon attachments/aesthetics, gadgets, upgrades for the Paladin, and ops suits to make you even more badass.
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One great addition to Blacklist is the ability to customize a loadout before you start a mission. Unlike in the previous games, which gave you no choice and customization for what you brought into a mission, Blacklist allows you to adjust your loadout to however you like playing the game. If you’re more of an assault player, bring loud rifles and frags. If you’re more of a panther or ghost player, bring silenced weapons and gadgets that draw enemies’ attention. It’s all customizable to fit your needs and to make you the world’s most deadly agent.
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Once you’re finally in the game proper, the gameplay is both familiar and different to fans of the series. I had played Splinter Cell: Conviction in its entirety a couple days before Blacklist was released, and one of the first things that I noticed was the difference in the controls. While I found Conviction’s controls to be more clunky and poorly assigned, I was beyond happy to see that Ubisoft Toronto had picked a more logical button layout this time around. This made playing feel a lot smoother, which in Blacklist, is the name of the game.
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What do I mean by smoothness is the “name of the game”? Well, one of the biggest improvements I notice and praise is how smooth and fluid the gameplay is. Sam moves seamlessly from cover, climbs walls automatically when you sprint up to them, and can knife an enemy in the face without breaking stride. Its almost elegant how beautifully smooth every action you make is. This makes it much more believable that you are actually a bad ass killer, and not some clumsy, lumbering buffoon with a pistol.
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The main premise of Splinter Cell still rings true in Blacklist: you still try to stick to the shadows, climb pipes, scale buildings, get the drop on enemies, and hide bodies to avoid detection. The game is definitely a return to the series’ roots after the more action-based turn that Conviction took, and it’s a welcome return for fans of the series. That isn’t to say that Blacklist is exactly like the old games, however. It still totes a bunch of new features and additions that give this game its own personality.
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One of the biggest new features is the Paladin, the plane that serves as main headquarters of Fourth Echelon. In the game, it’s the central hub for everything: players start missions, purchase upgrades, and begin multiplayer matches all from this one, centralized location. While I’m a fan of the simplicity of a main menu, navigating around the Paladin isn’t that cumbersome, and actually verges on being enjoyable.<br />
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The campaign follows a more action packed series of events that we have come to know from games this generation, but still keeps true to its roots. This game accommodates both true Splinter Cell aficionados and the more casual player that doesn't have the patient for pure stealth. This mix of choice works well and is why other recent games like Deus Ex: Human Revolution have been heralded as great successes. The points scale rewards stealth more than anything else, but it isn't the be all and end all.<br />
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In terms of multiplayer, the popular Spies vs Mercs mode makes its return! It's awesome, enough said. This team-based challenge sees a squad of first-person merc hunters, armed to the teeth with fearsome firepower, tasked with taking out the stealthy third-person spies before they can hack into a series of terminals.
Dodging the mercs' flashlights is incredibly tense as when playing as a spy, while checking every hiding place for hidden threats as a hunter is great fun too. It's a nail-biting game of hide-and-seek where the strengths and weaknesses of each team, even with different player classes, gadgets and upgrades to contend with, are perfectly balanced.<br />
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<b>Conclusion</b><br />
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I love what they have done with this game. Instead of setting this game up to force you down one style of play, they've incorporated the best stealth elements of Chaos Theory with the more action orientated Conviction. This is a more user friendly game and ultimately I feel is better for the experience. The developers have recognized game design has changed and found a way to weave the true Splinter Cell roots into a 2013 game. This, with a super strong multiplayer component make for a gaming package that should excite fans of the series.<br />
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<b>Graphics - 8.5/10</b><br />
<b>Sound - 9/10</b><br />
<b>Gameplay - 9.5/10</b><br />
<b>Overall - 9/10</b>iPhone Reviewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02621445623420973080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4310953202004969377.post-36194945110164147422013-03-27T06:28:00.001-07:002013-03-27T06:28:44.626-07:00Tomb Raider Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A reboot of a renowned franchise is fraught with danger. You not only have to meet the desires of the long time fans that have implanted in their minds what the game should be about, but bring it up to scratch with what is currently being used in the industry. For Tomb Raider it appears that the ridiculous breast size is out as well as the true dungeon platforming of the past in return for a truly gripping story and more varied gameplay that pushes Lara to her limits. Getting the balance right was a mighty task that could threaten to tarnish the Tomb Raider reputation if this game was a flop. After sitting glued to the television for the duration of the story I can say this isn't the case and Tomb Raider is everything I could've hoped for and more.<br />
<br />
<b>Presentation</b><br />
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When Tomb Raider was originally revealed at E3 I was truly blown away. It looked absolutely gorgeous and the realistic direction of the franchise looked like a brilliant decision. Seeing a short sneak peek showcasing a vast environment that was full of detail may have been a shining light among many repetitive areas. This is not the case and I spent countless times just stopping and admiring the view from where I was situated. Environments are constantly changing and you will be moving through dark caves lit only by the torch in your hand to vast expansive open areas. Standing on the edge of a cliff and looking out over the desolate island highlights the huge draw distance and amount of detail put into every nook and cranny of this game.<br />
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Lara's interaction with her environment is taken advantage off at every possible opportunity. I love games that go to that extra effort to manipulate the protagonist and not just give them one base animation for movement. From everything to bending to get under rock ledges or crouching at the opportune moment to sneak up on an enemy she is aware of her surroundings. Character models are top notch not only for the main characters in the story but also even the enemies. Small details such as hair swaying in the breeze or blood and dirt covering Lara after she has escaped from the grasp of the enemies are all reasons why this is such a beautiful looking game. Damn, I never stopped being impressed by it.<br />
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A game where you spend over 10 hours listening to a girl screaming and breathing loudly sounds like it would be irritating. The groans of pain and yelps of dispair let you feel empathy for Lara as she is pushed to her limits in an attempt to escape the island. The voice acting is outstanding in this game and manages to convey the magnitude of the situation to the gamer. Lara is a girl who is facing emotions and situations she hasn't previously come across and must react to them quickly. Talking to herself and others who are part of her posse of stranded survivors explains the story to you. Her supporting cast don't reveal as much as Lara since they kind of come and go but you will generate a real connection with Lara's feelings and emotions.<br />
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The musical score works extremely well in collaboration with the tense moments of the game in particular. For a game that is meant to be purely an action platformer I found myself tensing up in moments where you didn't know what was about to happen next. The score played perfectly into these moments with upbeat sounds turning it into more of a horror game instead of action. I felt like it added an awful lot to the game and couldn't possibly fault the sound and overall presentation of the game.<br />
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<b>Gameplay</b><br />
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I decided that I would enter this reboot of the franchise with an open mind. Too often I have found myself disappointed by imaging it as more of a HD reboot of the same game instead of bringing it into this generation of gaming. I expected quicktime events and the big explosions that enhance the action in moments that would seem fairly mundane without it. I am glad I came with no expectations because it allowed me to truly experience the amazing adventure you undertake as Lara Croft. Too many games try to drag you in by the action which leaves gaping holes in plot lines, if they have one to begin with. I found Tomb Raider gripping from a gameplay point of view, but also felt emotionally connected to Lara's hardship and the struggle to escape from the island.<br />
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The premise of the story is you and your crew are looking for an escape from the island they have become shipwrecked on. They become split up and Lara must quickly transform from this scared, innocent girl to someone who has the ability to take on extreme danger without a second thought. The first hour is all about building up to this point where Lara kills her first person. This is an emotionally tense moment and you will encounter many of these throughout the game. I found it gripping and showed a regretful side of Lara, revealing some darker demons rather than a ravaged killer which is something too often portrayed in gaming. Having to toss up between gripping decisions tears Lara apart and seeing it unfold it thrilling, even if you have no choice in the path taken. Story twists are everywhere and it kept me guessing at every turn. There was a point where I genuinely believed the game was ending, only for it to end in tragedy for the crew and further hardship as they battled to unlock the secrets of the island. The only downside of the story is that the other characters are under developed and don't feature the same emotional attachment that comes with Lara. It is expected seeing how the majority of the game is based around Lara, but the cameos they provide don't bring true meaning even though you can sense a deeper meaning behind what they are doing.<br />
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Let's get this straight, Tomb Raider is definitely a linear game and all the talk about exploration may fool some. To get from point A to point B there will be a sole path you must take to reach there. Along the path there may be the odd alternative path that leads to one of the many collectible documents, artefacts or GPS caches, but they will always point you in the right direction. For those who enjoy an open game, you will find most pleasure traversing the open areas that are set out to perfection to test your brain to solve the puzzle of how to reach the areas you need to. This can sometimes be simple of require some clever manipulation of the environment to pull it off.<br />
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Platforming plays a big part of the game, but really comes to the forefront in the secret tombs that you can discover. The one true off the path section of the game brings the hardest puzzles to Lara as she attempts to find the treasure at the end of the trail. I liked these moments because you aren't worrying about death and its more about using your wit and skills to get past the puzzle. They gave me a sense of deja vu and I felt like being in the similar hidden tombs of Assassin's Creed, something I always strived to complete because they were a really fun part of the game.<br />
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Accompanying the platforming segments is often a fair bit of action. Without revealing too much of the story there are people out to get you and Lara is forced into some pretty brutal situations. With a bow & arrow, shotgun, handgun and assault rifle at your disposal you will learn skills to take down these enemies masterfully or with simple brute force. How you do it is up to you, I was fearful that they would reward stealth far too heavily but I felt capable of going with either approach in most situations. The game would give subtle hints as to when it was best to go stealthily or perhaps wait for a group of guards to walk past that exploding barrel, but then the reins were handed over to you.<br />
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Once you finish the story I felt like I wanted to go back to the areas I had previously visited and look for collectibles, finish upgrading my weapons and completing my skills set. Collectibles are generally a time consuming exercise I don't wish to participate in but Tomb Raider makes it fun and rewarding to find them. There is so much to talk about that I could go on all day. Quick time events aren't too intrusive and bring the story together with some exciting moments that perfectly reflect what you are heading into. Gameplay is varied and you won't find yourself doing something for longer than necessary. The story flows and the positives vastly outweigh the negatives here.<br />
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What about the multiplayer you ask? It is bland, feels tacked on and will not last more than a few months once everyone moves on. The worst decision Square Enix have made in a long time is the choice to put multiplayer inside a single player experience. It is best if your eyes never stray to this mode as it is a mere scratch on a near impenetrable force that is the single player campaign.<br />
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<b>Conclusion</b><br />
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When it comes down to it, this was a game I wanted to see through to the end. Games too often lead me dragging my feet towards the finish line instead of sprinting with a strong desire. Tomb Raider gripped me with both hands and didn't let go under the credits were rolling. The graphics are milking the last drips of power out of this generation, the story is well crafted and runs smoothly while also making me feel emotions I never expected to experience in a video game. The action is a heap of fun, while linear, but that hardly matters when everything is placed for a reason and you have the smarts to use it to the full potential. While there are some more strong games coming out to close this generation, I personally see Tomb Raider going down as one of the strongest performances to come out of 2013. I can't recommend this game enough, go and play it already. The single player is worth it and we can just forget about the atrocity that is multiplayer.<br />
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<b>Graphics - 9.5/10</b><br />
<b>Sound - 10/10</b><br />
<b>Gameplay - 9.5/10</b><br />
<b>Overall - 9.5/10</b>iPhone Reviewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02621445623420973080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4310953202004969377.post-1779783135712453522013-03-27T01:13:00.001-07:002013-03-27T01:13:27.014-07:00Battlefield 4 by Electronic Arts is Revealed<h2>
<b>DICE REVEALS NEXT GENERATION OF BATTLEFIELD – NEW BENCHMARK IN GAME DESIGN, MULTIPLAYER ENGAGEMENT</b></h2>
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Battlefield 4 to Deliver Human, Dramatic and Believable Action, Powered by Best-in-Class Frostbite 3 Technology </h4>
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SYDNEY, MARCH 27, 2013 – Only in Battlefield™ can players go through a building instead of around it or eject from a jet and take out the enemy mid-free fall. Those incredible gameplay moments that blur the line between game and glory can only be created by players, and occur only in Battlefield. DICE, a studio of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA), today announced Battlefield 4™, a genre-defining action blockbuster launching in Spring 2013. Powered by the advanced technology of DICE’s proprietary Frostbite™ 3 engine, Battlefield 4 offers players a glimpse into the future of interactive entertainment – a future that is more human, dramatic and believable than anything before it. With more than 65 million players worldwide, the Battlefield series has consistently been praised by critics for its world-class multiplayer gameplay, and is recognized as the only game that allows players to own land, sea and air.<br />
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Battlefield 4 is a seminal moment for the Battlefield series as more award-winning, multiplayer game design elements are incorporated into the single-player campaign. In single-player, gamers will experience huge environments, a playground of destruction, access to an arsenal of vehicles and the ability to direct squad mates. Taking a page from the social aspect of multiplayer gaming, the single-player mode will now track players’ progress, adding an element of persistence and friendly competition to the campaign.<br />
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The game made its world debut today with a staggering 17-minute gameplay demo, available for view at Battlefield.com. The demo begins as the player – Recker – opens his eyes to discover that he is trapped in a rapidly sinking car with three of his squad mates. Shooting the window is the only way out. Panic and fear are pushed aside as Recker makes a difficult decision – take the shot and recover the intel but risk that not everyone will survive. The emotional demo features a cast of characters unrivaled in interactive entertainment. Players will learn how to work together in both the Campaign and Multiplayer, issuing squad orders and comparing achievements in both experiences. Adventure and Competition will unfold through a series of beautifully crafted locations constructed with some of the best art and sound design in modern shooters. All of this is only possible with Frostbite 3 – a new standard for interactive entertainment in 2013.<br />
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<i>“We are so humbled and proud to debut Battlefield 4 on a global stage with simultaneous events in San Francisco and Stockholm. To be this early in development, and to already be so polished is a huge achievement for the DICE team and reflection of their passion and commitment to driving the franchise forward. Today’s demo was just the beginning -- we have so much more in store,” said Patrick Soderlund, Executive Vice President, EA Games Label. “It is thrilling to witness peoples’ reaction when seeing the game for the first time. It really makes you realize that we are at the beginning of a whole new era for gaming. As artists and craftspeople, we are focused on creating a dynamic, open design that brings people together with amazing, surprising unscripted moments that they’ll talk about for days. That’s the beauty of Battlefield.” </i><br />
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By pre-ordering Battlefield 4 at any participating retail outlet, gamers will receive a Premium expansion pack at no additional cost*. DICE also announced today Battlefield 4 Digital Deluxe, an Origin™ exclusive special edition that includes the base game and bonus in-game digital items. Players that pre-order Battlefield 4 Digital Deluxe* on Origin will also receive the Premium expansion pack as well as access to the exclusive Battlefield 4 multiplayer beta.iPhone Reviewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02621445623420973080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4310953202004969377.post-48366661279702681402013-02-28T21:35:00.000-08:002013-02-28T21:35:18.510-08:00Crysis 3 Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Ah Crysis, known arguably more for its amazing graphics than anything even remotely related to the actual gameplay. The original Crysis was an exquisite game that opened up large areas and let players tackle the FPS genre through whatever path they liked. Crysis 2 came along and took a more linear path that was in line with other FPS and was said to have been a design choice due to the limitations of also developing for the consoles. The negative feedback has been taken on board by Crytek and Crysis 3 takes the best of Crysis 1 and mashes it with Crysis 2 to create the ultimate game in an abandoned New York City.<br />
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<b>Presentation</b><br />
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The real strength of any Crysis game is the sheer beauty of the areas you visit and overall polish. Crytek have done another excellent job that not only shines on beefed up PCs but also leads itself to being one of the best looking games on a console. The first level is fairly tame but it’s not until you are launched into the stunning jungle landscape inside the Liberty Dome that you will feel the full force of Crysis 3’s graphical power. I was blown away with how damn good absolutely everything looks. It is hard to find a fault, especially when everything down to the blades of grass are crafted with love and precision. How will travel from areas of open expanse with the sun shining down on you creating a blinding view if you look up at it to dark caverns that are infested with CELL and Ceph.<br />
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This game becomes more personal than the titles before it and due to this there is more interactions with human characters. You will be spending a lot of time with your sidekick Michael Sykes (Commonly known as Psycho) and his character looks brilliant and has detailed facial animations. It’s always easier to create alien races like the Ceph because you have nothing to compare it with, but the human characters are much better than those in Crysis 2 and show the all round improvement in Crysis 3.<br />
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I’ve never really been able to fully appreciate the sound in Crysis before this game. It has always been about the graphics, but there were moments when I got to experience the amazing work that has gone into it. Guns sounds fierce and powerful, the bow & arrow will whiz through the air. You are first introduced to the Ceph in long grass, hearing them leaping around and their shrieks is terrifying since you don’t know where they will come from. The voice acting in this game is very well done. The interaction by Prophet and Psycho is top notch and I thoroughly enjoyed the enemy yelling for their life knowing that a cloaked superhuman was nearby ready to kill them.<br />
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<b>Gameplay</b><br />
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Crysis 3 follows on from the story of Crysis 2, but sets itself up nicely so that first time players (or even those who failed to finish Crysis 2) can jump straight into the game and not feel overwhelmed by the story. The fact that this is the first Crysis title to really attempt a story with meaning brings it into being almost a new spin-off completely. Prophet quickly finds himself being saved by Psycho, who had his nanosuit stripped off him by CELL, the evil corporation controlling what is left of New York. This story travels alongside Prophet’s hunt for the Alpha Ceph and everything flows in nicely. While shorter than Crysis 2, the story is better paced and definitely gets you invested in whats happening instead of the lacking story of Crysis 2.<br />
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One negative I had with Crysis 2 was that when I found myself in an open gunfight the controls would irritate me. I don’t know because I am used to FPS like Call of Duty, but I couldn’t really find myself enjoying single or multi player without going for a full on stealth approach. I feel like Crysis 3 has slightly tweaked not only the difficulty but also controls to work better on a controller. Modding your weapons and abilities can happen without going into menus, but it is slightly more detailed than last time. You can play stealth and be really successful, yet also jump out with armour on and not find yourself dead within a matter of seconds.<br />
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Probably the best new feature of the game is the deadly one shot kill weapon the bow & arrow which can be used while cloaked. It sounds overpowered but ammo for it is sparse so you can’t rely on it all the time, especially in later missions. The bow can fire a variety of arrows to retrievable regular tips to electric charged tips that electrocute those in water or explosive tips that blow up all nearby CELL or Ceph upon the explosion. While it does make the other guns in the game fairly useless in all apart from big gun fights once your cover has been blown, killing someone with an arrow never gets old. You feel really powerful and you know what? So you should, Prophet doesn’t own a nanosuit for no reason.
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Crysis 3 for me essentially fixed everything that was wrong with Crysis 2 and has provided a more balanced experience. The campaign is well accompanied by the strong multiplayer offering which will be familiar for those who played multiplayer on Crysis 2. The game makes good use of the cloaking and armour abilities used in the single player campaign and those who are willing to put in the time to get good at it will be rewarded. New players may find it daunting at first but there is definitely a lot of fun to be had.<br />
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<b>Conclusion</b><br />
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Crysis 3 has made me fall in love with the Crysis series all over again. Bringing back large open areas in the form of New York perfectly complements the more linear path where Crytek wants to force the action at you. The mix between the two works well and I’m glad they went this route. The graphics and sound are mindblowing as always and the addition of a meaningful story takes the game to the next level. Is one of the finest FPS I have played in a long time and I couldn’t recommend it enough while we wait for some amazing titles to hit next gen. <br />
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<b>Graphics - 9.5/10</b><br />
<b>Sound - 9/10</b><br />
<b>Gameplay - 9/10</b><br />
<b>Overall - 9/10</b>iPhone Reviewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02621445623420973080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4310953202004969377.post-58739558658802930832013-02-22T17:17:00.003-08:002013-02-22T17:17:59.929-08:00Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The Metal Gear series has been a top franchise for Sony for many years. The Xbox 360 user base has only recently been let on to the games after the HD Collection was released last year. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is the not only the first ‘Rising’ spin off to the main stealth series but also the first game developed to be released on the Xbox 360 at its launch. Where Metal Gear Solid is a serious, stealth based game, Rising is the complete opposite and you should not launch into this title with any thoughts of MGS in your mind. This is not a stealth shooter, this is a full on action title that is full of crazy over the top moments.<br />
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<b>Presentation</b><br />
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I am a big fan of the top graphics possible and playing the MGS HD Collection on my Xbox 360 is hard since the games are really showing their age graphically. There are no such issues for MGR however with Platinum Games putting in a lot of effort to make sure the game lives up to the lofty standards. Player models are stunning and watching a cut scene and seeing the hair flowing on Raiden actually reminds me of Final Fantasy in a way. In game the fast pace doesn’t reduce the quality of the graphics as you move with ultimate precision and player models represent the ferocity of it quite well.
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The environment is also quite beautiful, especially the outdoor settings in most of the chapters. Dark environments can seem quite bland but luckily this is a game that wants to embrace colour and put you in the limelight rather than lurking in the shadows. MGR shines where there is action happening. Whether it is the gruesome decapitation of an enemy or a massive explosion, the wow factor never gets old and I love to see it happen time after time.<br />
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Metal Gear Rising has some very good voice acting to go alongside the excellent character models. Even though the story is absolutely ridiculous and you will most likely care little for it unless you’re a dedication MG fan, it’s still nice to have. The sound effects that accompany the game give a real sense of power and destruction as Raiden slashes through everything from opponents to fences, poles and more. Destruction is well backed up by the noise to match.<br />
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<b>Gameplay</b><br />
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From the word go this game is brutal, this game is action packed and this game will keep you on the move constantly. Despite it being a disappointedly short 5-6 campaign, the one positive is that you will never feel bored or are simply grinding your way to the next chapter. Everything is over the top and far from serious, but it feels purposeful and I love that Platinum Games weren’t scared to make this type of game even though it was carrying the Metal Gear logo.<br />
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For the short adventure you follow the story of Raiden, a cyborg, in a world adventure to stop a terrorist group that are kidnapping humans and causing havoc to America’s political standing. When you finish the game are you going to care about what has happened? No. Will you even understand how you arrived at your final crazy boss battle? Most likely not. But you will have a damn good time getting there and in an action game like this I couldn’t honestly care less. The game is fun and I half expect Japanese games to not cater to my storytelling needs so I went in expecting this. There are sly moments that are there solely for true fans of the series and they will be able to respect the cameos and conversations made during the adventure.<br />
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Combat is what makes MGR the fun it has become. Raiden runs around the chapters, most of the time using the boost trigger that pretty much acts as a freerun mechanic like in Assassin’s Creed. This can be used to slide under enemies and initiate combat as well as being used to deflect oncoming bullets and attacks from enemies. You have light and heavy attacks and using them in conjunction with each other will prove to be the most effective method of fighting. Killing so many people allows you to initiate the awesome blade mode, which freezes time and allows you to be a brutal son of a bitch. Blade mode slows down time and allows you to unleash mayhem on all of those around you. Slicing enemies literally slices them into as many pieces as your heart desires. It is a brutal, yet easy kill that comes in handy during boss battles but never gets old seeing the destruction against regular foe.<br />
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Action is around every corner. Whether it is another group of enemies or a huge boss battle (these arrive at regular intervals), the game always wants to keep you moving. This fact contradicts two areas of the title that I am perplexed by. Raiden has a main weapon that you will use most of the time, but also can equip a secondary weapon. The downside is that if you want to use this secondary weapon you have to hold down the left bumper and it physically stops you in your tracks. It can’t be used in the fly and trying to aim a rocket launcher while you remain stationary against a charging cyborg dog does not bode well for all involved. The other negative in MGR is the sheer length of the cut scenes. I know they are attempting to tell a story that is drastically over the top, but I don’t want to be sitting there for more than a few minutes watching it all play out. They do a good job or incorporating it during the levels but the start and end of each chapter can go on for a bit too long.<br />
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<b>Conclusion</b><br />
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Launch this game expecting a long, heart filled story with lots of tense moments and stealth gameplay the Metal Gear series is known for and you will be disappointed. Rising is a spin-off to the main series and I am so glad Platinum Games made sure this was the case. Revengeance will be over just as soon as it begins, but the journey you take is over the top chaos and that is exactly what the intention was. You won’t remember the story but really, who even cares! Slices cyborgs into millions of little pieces never gets old and being accompanied by great visuals makes this an excellent game that may go unnoticed in todays market, which is a real shame. I recommend checking this game out for some stylish hack ‘n slash pure fun.<br />
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<b>Graphics - 8/10</b><br />
<b>Sound - 8/10</b><br />
<b>Gameplay - 8/10</b><br />
<b>Overall - 8/10</b>iPhone Reviewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02621445623420973080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4310953202004969377.post-83954923263394243552013-02-18T04:50:00.001-08:002013-02-18T04:50:10.300-08:00Dead Space 3 Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Dead Space is a series that doesn’t exactly hold a dear place in my heart. A childhood of being freaked out from games that some may not even call scary has left me in a place where I can’t ever truly enjoy horror titles. The fact that I am walking down a dark corridor knowing something, somewhere is about to jump out and try to devour me always leaves me worried. Despite this fact I’ve played all the Dead Space titles and enjoy them for the action and try to dilute the scared little boy inside of me. I was quietly looking forward to co-op in Dead Space 3 as taking on the necromorphs with a friend would make it less painful for myself. It has come under some criticism however, so did Visceral Games pull it off?<br />
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<b>Presentation</b><br />
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The one aspect nailed constantly by Visceral Games is the brilliant atmosphere created in their series. Every single environment you enter has a purpose and the smart layout creates many opportunities for the game to simply jump out at you. This is all reinforced by some brilliant graphics that enhance the experience. Eery lighting in dark corridors to the haze and reduced vision you experience in the portions of the game played in the ice create that sense of urgency and danger you encounter. The game is crystal clear though, with everything looking spectacular and not simply bad and hard to distinguish as a way to create terror like some games try to pull off.<br />
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The musical score and sound effects do an excellent job of supporting the visual setting to create an amazing atmosphere. Everything from the silence interrupted by your footsteps to the eery score that calmly plays in the background before moments of terror sets up the sense of danger very well. Of course they use the amplification of noise at the entrance of an enemy, but this is to be expected (even though it will still provide the odd scare). The voice acting is also top notch even if what they saying isn’t of the highest standard. At least they fit the personality of the characters they play.<br />
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<b>Gameplay</b><br />
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Dead Space 3 follows on from the story told in Dead Space 2. After a quick introduction to the game again you are put in the shoes of Isaac Carter, the main protagonist of the story, and forcefully made to fight against the Markers and to rescue your missing girlfriend. For those who are new to the Dead Space franchise the third entry will be pretty confusing for you, especially at the start of the game. My co-op partner had little to no clue what was going on except the basic plot line of what we were doing in this game.<br />
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The weakest point of the game is the story. We meet Isaac Carter alone, after cutting himself off from others for a long period of time. The reasons for happenings and conclusions that occur in the first chapters of the game are unbelievable and don’t assist in answering questions for long time fans, let alone newcomers. Towards the end of the game answers seem to just slot into place and it seems like everything is going perfectly to plan a little too well. The struggle and big revelation never comes as everything conveniently works out well for those involved. The fact that they also push irrelevant side quests and object hunts on you makes an arduous story even longer than most would like.<br />
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Put the story behind you and Dead Space will really shine where it always has, combat. Coming across an enemy is fierce, brutal and will have you in a frenzy as they run towards you. Firing off a clip of bullets may fail to kill a necromorph and you must resort to last ditch bashing in the hope that you come away from the fight unscathed. A real unique area of Dead Space is that the headshot is an irrelevant target for the player. After being trained to always aim for the head you must fight that urge and go for limb dismemberment as that deals more damage and slows down the AI. After you progress through the game a bit you can craft weapons and upgrade them in a mechanic new to Dead Space 3. This is done by collecting resources along your trip and using them at select crafting stations. This adds variation to how someone will play a game and encourages multiple play throughs.<br />
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The biggest feature of this title compared to previous entries is the addition of co-operative play to Dead Space. This is first and foremost a horror game and the entire premise of a game like this is the feeling of isolation to get the user terrified. Going through the game with a person next to you definitely removes the fear factor from the game simply because you have protection if need be. Playing Dead Space 3 solo is still an option and will provide the true Dead Space experience if people want that. However having Isaac Clarke team up with the new character John Carver provides an action packed experience with memories you can share. The story definitely works better with another player taking on Carver and even those who want to play through the game solo should at least attempt it with a fellow companion.<br />
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<b>Conclusion</b><br />
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Dead Space 3 annoys me. Not only is it a beautiful game that creates a stunning atmosphere that can terrify me when playing alone but also ramp up the spectacle and create an intense action experience. This is highlighted by the great combat and surprising fun that is provided by playing the game with a friend. It is a real shame that the game is let down by a weak storyline, especially after Dead Space 2 was strong in this area in my opinion. That being sad you should easily be able to overlook the story and irritating side missions that want you to find a lost item just one too many times. There is a great load of fun to be had and you would kick yourself for missing out. <br />
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<b>Graphics - 9.5/10</b><br />
<b>Sound - 9/10</b><br />
<b>Gameplay - 7/10</b><br />
<b>Overall - 8/10</b>iPhone Reviewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02621445623420973080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4310953202004969377.post-40376427968272533132012-12-03T02:39:00.001-08:002012-12-03T02:46:41.062-08:00FEATURE - How To Sync Your iPod With Xbox 360 Tech today has always been about linking all your devices together. From your consoles to your iPhones and such, it's always more fun when you have to option to take control of all your media and tech from one station. This is why there are programs designed to link up your desktop to your PS3 and other devices along the same lines. However, when it comes to some tech, the borders of licenses and patents always clash, and you end up having to go through extreme lengths just to make each program get together. For this little tutorial you'll learn exactly how to sync your iPod with Xbox 360 and how you can play movies and music through this connection. You can also <a href="http://appspirate.com/how-to-watch-tv-on-your-iphone/" target="_blank">watch TV on your iPhone and iPod</a> device by downloading certain apps.<br />
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<b>The Program To Make It Work </b><br />
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First off, there is an alternate way to make this work. You see, your iPod can also double as a means to store information as it acts as a storage device. The space that is not taken up when you store music or movies is empty on the iPod itself. If you upload any info on that space without the use of iTunes then it stores it away on the free space and acts like a USB or a portable hard drive. You can transfer your movies and music right on to the hard drive of your Xbox this way. However, sometimes this method does not work, as the two devices are at times incompatible.<br />
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The other method is through the use of another program from the Xbox marketplace. There are tons to look through and depending on your region; the download should be around the 400s for the US and the 200s in the UK. Just head on over to the games section of the Xbox marketplace and scroll down until you hit a game called 'Optional Media Update'. This will be the program so just download it and get the transfer started. The description should read something like 'play movies and music from your iPod'.<br />
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When you're done, hook up your iPod to the Xbox 360 and run the program. It should be able to see your iPod and play any media from that device. The problem with this method is that you can't replicate the results through the iTouch or an iPhone. It really is just limited to the iPod and that's just the bad news.<br />
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So there you have it, an easy way to make the best of your gaming console along with your iPod. Beyond the iPod syncing, you can also take advantage of the console you own through charging your iProduct. A few tweaks in the system and a quick modification should turn your Xbox into an all-around media center much like your PC. If you own another iDevice and would like to learn about syncing it to your Xbox as well, check out <a href="http://appspirate.com/" target="_blank">AppsPirate</a> to learn how to do it properly.<br />
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A quick disclaimer before you try anything though. Make sure to follow instructions on mods down to the dot and make sure you're looking at reliable sources instead. If you do something wrong, those mods can destroy your console and a software replacement might take a lot more of your time, and in some cases, your money.
iPhone Reviewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02621445623420973080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4310953202004969377.post-21971365090445355302012-11-29T21:04:00.003-08:002012-11-29T21:04:54.696-08:00Medal of Honor: Warfighter Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Despite being one of the most popular genres in gaming today, the war setting of a FPS is one most often explored away from the launch of the latest Call of Duty title. Electronic Arts are the only company brave enough to take on the Christmas periods in recent years, with moderate success coming from Battlefield 3 and 2010's Medal of Honor to some degree. Medal of Honor: Warfighter is the sequel to the latter title and aims to reveal the true hardship and danger involved in being a Tier-1 operator. Trailers and gameplay footage from pre-launch showed a beautiful game that is going to have all those massive action packed set pieces we are used to, but sadly it has failed to completely live up to the hype.<br />
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<b>Presentation</b><br />
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The one true shining light in Medal of Honor: Warfighter is the outstanding graphics throughout the entire single player campaign. As long as you take the effort to install the HD content before starting the game, you will be witness to a showcase of what the Frostbite engine can offer. The cut scenes especially are absolutely stunning and at times can mislead you into thinking it is a television show you are watching and not a videogame. Character models are incredibly realistic and everything from gross movements to fine movements such as lip syncing are spot on.<br />
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The campaign is a non-stop action sequence aimed at showing exactly what the Frostbite engine is able to deliver. Right from the start there will be explosions and timed events that aim to provide a visual spectacle to the viewer. You either love this or hate it, but MoH: Warfighter does it as good as the best of them. Explosions constantly rocking your screen deliver the danger you are constantly facing and these little visual vibes take the delivery from good to great. You will be travelling through a large variety of locations which are all stunning. These range from dark dense pathways to a more open environment that has the sun pulsating in the background. There are a few low res areas that dampen the game slightly but it will take some nit picking to look negatively upon the overall package.<br />
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Player animations take a leaf out of Battlefield 3's book and aim to make you less stagnant than the basic set of animations provided in other FPS games. These games generally don't allow you to take advantage of the cover provided throughout levels. It is merely a setpiece that can be used to hide behind to regenerate your health. In Medal of Honor: Warfighter you can actually peek around cover and use that to shoot at enemies with protection. This is an intuitive design that should be in more games. Running, jumping, going prone and stabbing enemies all use fluid designs that perform more like their real world counterparts and makes it all just that little bit more believable.<br />
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The audio in the game is commendable but doesn't really do anything to make it a true standout in this day and age. The voice acting in the cut scenes and in game are nicely done, but sadly the dialogue is confusing and you will more than likely not even pay attention to it after a while. The guns sound great and the explosions from weapons will rock you with a good sound system. Bullets whizzing by you provide a sense of danger. The audio is at the same high quality as Battlefield last year essentially without really improving on it.<br />
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<b>Gameplay</b><br />
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After looking at the game you would be forgiven thinking this is going to be a solid experience. Sadly the overall package Danger Close have tried to deliver is a failed attempt at providing all angles of the Tier-1 experience. In trying to show 'behind the scenes' into the emotional aspect of life as a solider the entire story becomes irrelevant and confusing to even follow what they are trying to say. The game starts off with no introduction, thrusting you into a short mission shortly followed by an attempted dramatic cut scene that quickly shifts to cocky soliders preparing to go into battle. You have no idea why you are fighting or what is actually happening and it becomes frustrating. It doesn't really improve and you won't find yourself getting attached to the various characters in your control. A stronger sense of direction and true introduction to the Tier-1 operators was probably needed, but sadly this games now strongly relies on the action.<br />
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Once again, MoH: Warfighter fails to completely hit the mark with the gameplay. The first thing you will notice is that the campaign is short, extremely short. I finished the game in around 5 hours and found no incentive or motivation to complete it again on one of the two extreme difficulties unlocked upon completing the game. I personally am a big fan of these games that mix up the gameplay with the sniper sequences, boat/driving/flying areas and explosive scenes that really get the adrenalin flowing. Warfighter does these brilliantly and are a definite highlight in the game, but the space between these are filled with mundane shooting. Enemies are complete idiots who just stay in the same spot and basically wait for you to shoot them as they pop up from the exact same bit of cover. There is no choice in this game as you travel down a predetermined path to dispatch wave after wave of enemies. It becomes boring and only the knowledge that something cool was around the corner kept me going on.<br />
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Multiplayer is another area that seems tacked on to provide a good experience, but again nothing that we haven't seen multiple times before. Being able to choose to play as a member of the special service from a large range of countries (even Australia) is very cool and the way co-op has been introduced into the game with a teammate are the real positives out of this mode. Battlefield 3 was about teamwork but knowing that there is one player who has your back and vice versa really emphasises this point if you want to be successful. Once again, this could be promising but some poor map designs and mediocre selection of modes and innovation leave a lot to be desired when Halo and Black Ops II are commanding everyones attention this Christmas period.<br />
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<b>Conclusion</b><br />
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Medal of Honor: Warfighter is a game full of promise that ultimately falls short when it comes down to it. In a genre where you need something special to stand out, it just fails to push the envelope and ends up becoming just another title. Sure the graphics are something special and the explosive areas of the game are a heap of fun, but the body of the game fails to capture what Danger Close have set out to achieve. A disjointed storyline that never really draws you into the experience is at the root of the problem. You will find this game fun in parts, but if there is only one shooter you can afford to get this summer then you may be better off looking elsewhere I'm afraid.<br />
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<b>Graphics - 8.5/10</b><br />
<b>Sound - 8/10</b><br />
<b>Gameplay - 4/10</b><br />
<b>Overall - 6/10</b>iPhone Reviewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02621445623420973080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4310953202004969377.post-70981912131787560032012-11-11T15:19:00.003-08:002012-11-11T15:19:45.402-08:00FEATURE - Chaos on DeponiaThis isn't a XBLA title but after receiving a 84 on Metacritic you could hope that it may one day make its way over to the console.<br />
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The story of Chaos on Deponia follows on from the first game known simply as Deponia:<br />
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Rufus home planet Deponia is a giant scrapyard and in addition the elysian council just gave the order to demolish it.<br />
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Only the beautiful Goal could save Deponia and stop the explosion. But Goal is stuck with Rufus on the swimming black market which is the biggest rat whole. Furthermore her brain implant – which holds the codes that assure a save journey to Elysium seems to be damaged. At least it’s not just a saying, that you can get everything on the swimming black market. Even a brain surgery. But after mild complications Rufus finds Goal’s mind splitted into three different personalities. Now the chaos is complete.<br />
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Rufus has to deal with Goal’s three personalities in order to calm her down and to protect her from her angry fiancé Cletus, from the Organon, from the unorganized crime or even a group of rebellions.<br />
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The most bizarre and yet sweet romance in gaming history takes place right between duckbills, burning saw blades, anti gravity socks and torpedo-dolphins. And therefore Rufus is not just responsible to safe the world and to prevent the evil plans of the Organon, but also to win someone’s heart who is literally three different persons at ones.<br />
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To make it short: The fate of the whole world depends on Rufus charm and his abilities to handle Goal… Well this might be a blessing in disguise.<br />
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I suggest you check out this cool trailer of the game, it may be worth your time.
<script src="http://www.redpineapplemedia.com/video/request/hzzuz" type="text/javascript"></script>iPhone Reviewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02621445623420973080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4310953202004969377.post-13186938815357805752012-11-08T02:30:00.001-08:002012-11-08T02:30:21.266-08:00Need for Speed: Most Wanted Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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After a few years where Need for Speed was at risk of becoming an irrelevant franchise, EA brought on Burnout developers Criterion Games to create NFS: Hot Pursuit. The identity crisis that had been rife in the series was over as they got back to the high octane arcade roots the series is known for. Last years NFS: The Run was a small dent in the progress Criterion had made, but they are again back with an even more ambitious title than their first effort for the franchise. Any other year this would be the arcade racer to get due to Criterion's name alone. Forza Horizon stepping up to the plate with a stunning title has made the decision tougher for those who need to decide. Is Need for Speed: Most Wanted what we hoped it to be, or has ambition gotten in the way of the true Criterion quality we know they are capable of.<br />
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<b>Presentation</b></div>
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Criterion are no strangers to open world racing games. Burnout Paradise is still a highly regarded game in terms of gameplay and graphical feats to this day and the knowledge has put them in good stead for Most Wanted. The city of Fairhaven is a huge and full of so much detail thats its impossible to not appreciate what has gone into it. The roads are full of cars that can ruin a run if not successfully avoided and there are literally hundreds of short cuts and off-road routes to explore. The industrial setting looks spectacular and a nice degree of variation will let you distinguish different parts of the city. </div>
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You are still able to admire the level of detail put into the world while tearing down streets in excess of 150 miles an hour. Sure, activating the nitrous sends you into a rush of speed that blurs the screen to convey the sense of speed, but the effect of the weather still pulsates through the game. Coming out of a dark tunnel into the blinding light will disorient you, forcing a split second decision to turn once the vision comes back. This isn't a bad thing though, the city is vibrant in the sunlight yet a dark and mysterious vibe surrounds the streets at night. It's hard to fault the experience as you can go from one corner of the map to the other with no loading times and the same high frame rate for the entire journey.</div>
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If you have such a beautiful world, why not show it off? Before each race is a nice introductory video that shows off the amazing views and areas on offer in Fairhaven. The great thing about these is that each race has a different one and with over 200 races on offer that is a lot of content being shown off. The video seamlessly leads into the racing action which is fast and intense. The huge crashes of Burnout and Hot Pursuit are back. While your own takedowns aren't slowed down and admired, everytime you crash a nice slow motion cinematic shows the destruction caused to you. The takedown camera was at its pinnacle with Burnout Revenge, but Most Wanted aims to keep you in the action instead of dragging you away every ten seconds.</div>
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Having the game completely synchronized with one seamless system is exactly what Criterion Games wants. The menu system is revolutionary and miraculously removes the static menus of practically every game ever made. Modding up your car, choosing races and the majority of all other options that you would usually press start for before wading through menu after menu are now accessed in-game as a little pop-up hud in the top left corner. You can actually modify your cars tyres or chassis while in a race which is really sweet, but not too practical unless you can successfully pull it off while not crashing. Just the fact that I can do everything I need while staying in the car is a huge positive and something more games should apply. RPGs that made a system this easy would have a lifelong fan from myself and others like me who get overawed by too many menus.</div>
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While Forza is the indisputable king of realistic car noises, Need for Speed: Most Wanted provides a very good experience none the less. The sounds lack the true grit and beef of Forza, but with the sound system turned up you will still be able to feel the power of each car as it slams through Fairhaven. Crashes sound great and the loud bang of getting t-boned makes you groan with the realisation of what happened. The cars are complemented with a bass heavy mix of music from artists such as Skrillex that blast through the car speakers to provide an additional adrenalin rush. I like the list of tracks in the game and found that they did a great job of getting me into the zone when faced against racers and cops alike.</div>
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<b>Gameplay</b></div>
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What good is a pretty setting if the racing is terrible. This is what unravelled NFS: The Run, the stunning landscape across America was coupled with mediocre racing. Luckily that isn't the case here and those who played Hot Pursuit will feel right at home in the meat of the racing. Cars feel fast and handle spectacularly with drifting a big part of being able to successfully navigate your way through the bustling streets. The 41 cars in the game all have their pros and cons, making the races against the Most Wanted list a game of choice between handling of a Mitsubishi Evo or sacrificing that for the acceleration of an Aston Martin Vantage for example.</div>
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After exploring every nook and cranny of Fairhaven you can launch into the true guts of the game. Most Wanted consists of 215 races in total, 5 for each of the cars in the game and the ten Most Wanted races that really test your skill. Each car has an unique set of races suited towards it and they range from easy to hard in difficulty. Winning races with a car unlocks modifications that improve its stats and give it the edge in certain terrain such as off road portions of races. The types of races available at circuit races, sprint races and speed runs. The first two are your standard races against other competitors and quite often the intervention of the police to make it just that little bit harder. Speed runs are effectively checkpoint races where you must get from point to point averaging a specific speed to get the gold medal. This requires precision and the smallest crash or running into spikes dropped by the cops can ruin a solid run. </div>
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Most things you do in the game will earn you skill points. Placing in races will earn you a fair amount, as will getting in cop chases and successfully evading their pursuits. Police pursuits raise your heat level and the more damage caused by yourself, the higher your heat level. The police will use more force to try and bring you down with armoured SWAT vans being the cream of the crop at the top heat level. Escaping from these pursuits earns you a huge swag of points while being busted lets you walk away free, but without points. Once you earn so many skill points a Most Wanted race will become available and you can challenge one of the top 10 racers in Fairhaven. Beating them lets you own their car and move up on the rankings board.</div>
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The seamless nature of the menu system isn't all Criterion Games tried to integrate into NFS Most Wanted. Social connectivity and access to the world are all present in ways never before seen in video games. First off, most open world racing games will put you in a crappy car and have you racing against other crappy cars until you earn enough cash to progress onto a higher class. This is the principle behind Forza's series effectively. Criterion Games have gone, 'you know what, lets make the entire game available from the very beginning.' There are no slow cars and they are all accessible from the very second you hope into the game. Apart from the Most Wanted's cars you can race around in the quickest car possible, as long as you find it. All the cars in the world are hidden in alleyways and other areas around Fairhaven and coming across one of these jackspots lets you pull up and simply hop in. While the sense of progression diminishes here, the incentive to actually explore the world to see what kind of cars you can find definitely counteracts it. </div>
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Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit introduced us to the Autolog system that can become the staple of the series going forward. Other racing games are implementing similar systems but they don't come close in comparison to Most Wanted's effort. Short cuts in the world are hidden by signs on the side of the road and there are over 60 speed traps scattered over Fairhaven. Jumping through a sign will lead to your face appearing on that sign for all your friends. If someone jumps through it and beats the distance you landed then their face will replace yours. The same level of competition appears with the speed traps and all 215 races showing the times of you and friends. Everything about the game is connected together to encourage friends to challenge each other. Need for Speed: Most Wanted is also connected to the game on other platforms. Skill points I earned on the Xbox 360 carried across to the game on my iPhone and vice versa. I found myself levelling up faster than normal and being able to challenge Most Wanted drivers after only a handful of races since I'd put in a fair bit of time with the iOS version. I'm not sure if this is a good thing or not, sure its good but I could technically skip out the meat of the console version because I had earned all the skill points necessary in the simplified handheld version.</div>
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<b>Conclusion</b></div>
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Need for Speed: Most Wanted may not technically be the sequel to Burnout Paradise but it may as well be. What it lacks in simulation and pure technical polish of Forza Horizon it definitely makes up for with intense racing and the pure enjoyment that comes with being able to take out cars or flying through the air after jumping over an old highway. They aren't trying to compete with the simulation experience and that is a good thing since it sticks to Criterion's strengths. Some people may not like the open nature of the game, but it makes it accessible to those who don't want to grind for hours just to get 'that car'. A game best enjoyed with friends who also own the game, this is the ultimate social experience. I can't compare this to Forza Horizon saying which one is better because the simple fact is you need to own them both.</div>
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<b>Graphics - 9.5/10 </b><br />
<b>Sound - 9/10 </b><br />
<b>Gameplay - 9/10 </b><br />
<b>Overall - 9/10</b>iPhone Reviewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02621445623420973080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4310953202004969377.post-79528446007645224482012-10-19T03:45:00.002-07:002012-10-19T03:45:47.542-07:00Forza Horizon Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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When I think of racing games for the Xbox 360 in recent years, there are only two real options. If you want an arcade racer you go and pick up Need for Speed Hot Pursuit by Criterion and simulation buffs will go straight to Forza Motorsport 4. While EA have successfully made a semi-successful jump to the simulation genre with the Shift series, no one has really attempted to merge the two genres together. If anyone should be put to the task, why not the newly formed Playground Games which is created from the best of racing developers past. These people have come from studios such as Codemasters, Bizarre and Criterion, and have been let free on the Forza engine to create the game Test Drive Unlimited 2 aimed to be. I wasn't sure if the Forza mechanics would work in an open world, but this truly is the complete package.<br />
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<b>Presentation</b><br />
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Forza Motorsport 4 was a technical marvel, the lighting effects and sheer beauty of the game made it possibly the best game I have ever seen. You could swear it is a next-gen title with not only the look of the car against the environment, but also the environment itself. As amazing as it was, the environments were limited to the amount of tracks in the game. This doesn't even close to the amount of detail needed for an open world game and I was interested to see how much they would squeeze in to Horizon. You could probably forgive Playground Games if the Horizon festival was made of areas that had a slight tendency to repeat themselves, or if the exquisite lighting and reflections from Forza 4 weren't incorporated into this game. The fact that the same high level of Forza 4 is in Horizon is amazing, adding even more features absolutely blows my mind away though.<br />
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Driving through the many different environments of Horizon is spectacular. You will go from the epicentre of the Horizon festival which is bustling with life to beautiful areas that all present something unique to the area. One direction may take you through large canyons, another area will have you winding your way through a lush forest area with leaves falling on the road as you zip past. All areas seem packed with life as normal cars are on the road, as well as fellow racers that, like you, ignore common road rules such as speed limits and staying in your lane.<br />
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Cars look absolutely stunning in the different environments. The fading light in the distance gleams off the hood of your brand new Dodge Viper as it zips in and out of the darkness provided by the cliff you are driving alongside. Not only has detail been expertly crafted in the foreground, but also the backdrop to the Horizon festival is spectacular. Driving back to the main hub at night will let you see the fireworks show going off as you approach the party. Yes, thats right, for the first time ever in Forza there is a day/night cycle. The amazing scenic view provided at night is more than just the light from your car. Everything about the graphics is top notch and after this there is no real excuse for other developers to have shortcomings in open world racing games. Test Drive might have made us accept drops in quality for quantity, but Forza proves the impossible.<br />
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The Horizon festival is not only about fast cars, but there is a strong musical vibe to the entire event. It is great to see that the developers have incorporated this aspect into the game as the bass pumping opening to the game really had me raring to get into the swing of things. The music isn't the centre of things though so I'll cover the cars first. All the amazing sounds from Forza Motorsport 4 are back to shake your living room as you fire up a beastly car. Each car sounds unique and so realistic its not funny. No game can come close in comparison to the authenticity provided by Forza's sound.<br />
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While hardcore fans won't like it, there is nothing better than the pumping soundtrack that accompanies you on your way through Colorado. Turn up your sound system and you will experience an exhilarating ride that is heightened by the sheer power of the music which is blaring over the top of your engine. There are three radio stations to suit your preference of rock, indie and bass. I personally kept my radio tuned into the Bass Arena at all times which would really get the adrenalin flowing. I'd recommend a mix of the three though since hours of the same station will have you hearing the same songs over and over again. The radio hosts are good though and mention things related to your situation in the festival, as well as mystery barn finds among other items.<br />
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<b>Gameplay</b><br />
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Forza has been let loose on the streets for the first time, and what a way to begin. There isn't much of a story here except for you are a nobody coming into the Horizon Festival and you are quickly introduced to Darius Flynt who is the champion of Horizon. You obviously can't take him on right away and must work your way through the festival ranks, earning fans and gaining wristbands that let you enter higher tiered events.<br />
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There are a number of race modes available in the game. Festival races let you earn points towards earning a new wrist band and are structured the same way as a standard Forza game. You start out racing in lower classed cars but as you move up in the world you require more horsepower at your control to be competitive. The next class of races are Showcase events, which put a bit of variation in the event as you are actually racing against something like a plane or hot air balloon. Outposts in the Colorado area will offer up PR Stunts that require you to perform special tasks to complete the challenge. There are also illegal street races and 1v1 races against rivals that net you a high amount of credits and the pink slip of other racers.<br />
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All of this occurs in a world full of life and things to do. Some illegal street races are in designated spots but you can also just pop in behind another driver on the road and challenge them to an immediate point-to-point race. Barn finds are exclusive cars that you can hunt through the 215 roads of Colorado for. These are found as old run down vehicles that are refurbished for your driving pleasure. It is a great idea that doesn't go overboard on the collectibles side of driving.<br />
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There is no point being a good driver without fans and this is where freeroaming around really comes in handy. Everything you do in Forza Horizon earns you points. Whether it is drifting, drafting, wrecking signs, passing cars or even some special rewards for crazy acts, they all add up. You can create large combos to increase your multiplier and earn a large amount of points which will have you travel from the 250th most popular driver to no.1. This is what solely keeps me from fast-travelling everywhere after hours of play, even though I have enough credits to be able to afford it.<br />
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The content and fun in the game is enough to make a solid title by itself. But putting the Forza title in the name makes us expect the 'Forza DNA' that has been reinforced constantly. The aim of this game was to be able to seamlessly take what you have learnt on the track and use those same skills on the open road. For the most part this is absolutely correct. There is still the difficulty options to turn assists on or off as you please, the cars still handle with brilliant precision and you can upgrade your car to your hearts desire. On the highway you may forget that you are actually playing Horizon and not Forza 4. Look closer and you will notice some 'arcade' aspects to the game. Drifting will be used a lot more but of course this is a purely optional choice by the gamer. The biggest difference is the fact that damage is now purely cosmetic so you can drive as hard as you want. Some may hate this, but the reality is who wants to be limping around a free roaming game with a car that doesn't steer at all. Maybe festival races could have enabled real damage as an option, but this at least partly makes sense.<br />
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<b>Conclusion</b><br />
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True simulation buffs won't like everything about Forza Horizon, but as far as I am concerned this is a damn good game. I love the fact that Playground Games have been able to incorporate the Forza experience and level of detail into a title of this scope. The driving is as fun as ever, the area of Colorado is beautiful and makes you want to drive around it. The Horizon Festival is an energetic backdrop to the racing and the music pumping throughout your journey gets the adrenalin pumping. Sure, there are areas where they have had to take an arcade approach but the positives of this game well and truly outweigh the negatives. This is the definitive example of how to do a free roaming game from here on out. No more repeating areas, no lack of quality, no poor handling of cars and desolate roads. Forza Horizon does it right and truly deserves to call itself a Forza game.<br />
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<b>Graphics - 10/10</b><br />
<b>Sound - 9.5/10</b><br />
<b>Gameplay - 9.5/10</b><br />
<b>Overall - 9.5/10 </b>iPhone Reviewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02621445623420973080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4310953202004969377.post-61009200704342752582012-10-08T20:55:00.002-07:002012-10-08T20:55:38.623-07:00FIFA 13 Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The ultimate soccer experience is back and better than ever. It's another year and Electronic Arts are back with one of the biggest franchises in gaming history. I reckon it must get hard for the developers to continually innovate after so many years on the same generation of consoles. FIFA 12 was a standout that brought real world physics to the sport for the very first time. This is more about fine tuning and calibrating to make a game that is still fun and accessible for both the lifelong player and first time adopters of the FIFA franchise. That is why it is so interesting that the developers threw in a level of unpredictability with their 'first-touch controls' that completely change the way you play the game.<br />
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<b>Presentation</b><br />
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When you are making the same game every year on a platform that stays the same you are eventually going to hit a graphical peak. FIFA 12 was a beautiful game with excellent player models and detail in all faces when up close animations are shown. This years game isn't a big improvement on last years title, in fact you could put the improvements at minimal. A few players look more like their real world counterparts, but overall it looks just like last year. This isn't a bad thing though, FIFA 12 was one of the prettiest games around and still is to this date.<br />
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The main improvements come in the physics engine and a refinement in the reactions of players. Last year was the first year that players wouldn't follow a set animation in collisions and instead the speed, angle and force of those involved was taken into account. Often you would find a tangling of players bodies or glitches causing unnatural movements that would slightly detract from the overall game. The majority of these are gone and the players react more like their real world counterparts. A few more options have been put into the game like the ability for players to dive to keep the ball in, all minimal changes that just nudge the game a bit closer to the real thing. Overall its the prettiest and most glitch free FIFA yet.<br />
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Audio in FIFA 13 follows the same level of improvement that past titles have had. The commentators as always have a huge set of conversational pieces to talk about and react perfectly to whats happening in the game. There are a few new pieces added in, but essentially the same high standard has been maintained. The crowd sound great and a loud roar when you score the winning goal in overtime never gets old.<br />
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<b>Gameplay</b><br />
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This years addition to the franchise has a host of key features that merely refine and enhance what we had previously instead of completing rewriting the book. Improvements to gameplay include what EA are calling Attacking Intelligence, First Touch Control, Player Impact Engine and Tactical Free Kicks. Modes receiving an update in this years title include the Career Mode and EA Sports Football Club, as well as a brand new mode known as Skill Games that replaces the standard practice session before a game started.<br />
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Probably the biggest change to this years formula is First Touch Control. This new system actually makes the game harder, removing some of the accessibility to players who are master ball handlers to begin with. Instead of players perfecting trapping a ball or being able to control a poorly timed pass, the result is now more uncertain. A player running at full speed won't be able to stop the ball and magically continue on. Depending on their skill level the ball could hit off their leg and go sprawling in a direction not originally intended. This is closer to what happens in real life and may infuriate life long players. Real world physics between the ball and the player are a first for FIFA and I actually really enjoyed the unpredictability of it all. Games feel more intense and even less skilled players can hold out hope for an errant pass allowing for them to capitalise the other way.<br />
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Attacking Intelligence is a big improvement on the decisions made by attacking AI players. Instead of running in a straight line alongside you, they make smart runs to drag defenders away and set themselves up in the best position for a pass. The player impact engine is more of an improvement on the impact engine from last year. It gives defenders more options to win the ball back and use their strength as an advantage when fighting for position. Tactical free kicks essentially allows for more elaborate free kicks with multiple players able to be lined up for dummy runs and passing options.<br />
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As well as being its own mode on the menu, skill games is also the new option for players while a game is loading. There are bronze, silver, gold and skill challenge levels to 8 areas of FIFA that can be completed at an entirely optional choice. They start out fairly simple and may require you to hit targets or complete goals in a set amount of time, but end up being elaborate courses with many challenges. Not being the best FIFA player out there, I found these very useful for seeing where I was at and techniques I could use. Ultimately I found that I actually improved as a player after attempting the skill games. In Career mode an array of small features have been thrown in to make it match what a real life player would face. For the first time ever international matches are thrown in among your club games. A players market value is also based on a number of factors including their attitude and performance.<br />
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<b>Conclusion</b><br />
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FIFA 13 isn't a game changer, but it definitely an improvement all round compared to FIFA 12. A little tweak here and a minor adjustment there have gone a long way to making sure FIFA stays head and shoulders above the competition. This is the most realistic and authentic soccer experience to date. Sure, some players won't like the unpredictable physics between the players and the ball but those clever enough to judge their passes power and direction accurately will benefit from the fluidity in their game. Those failing to cope will be left behind, but this is where the skill games come in to finally give us a tutorial of sorts that will actually do more than teach the basics, actually enhancing your skill level. Millions of players worldwide online and the return of all the modes you love (or loathe *cough* MUT *cough*) will make this an irresistible package. <br />
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<b>Graphics - 9.5/10</b><br />
<b>Sound - 9/10</b><br />
<b>Gameplay - 9.5/10</b><br />
<b>Overall - 9.5/10</b>iPhone Reviewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02621445623420973080noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4310953202004969377.post-38364337142588579712012-10-05T04:33:00.001-07:002012-10-05T04:33:20.076-07:00F1 2012 Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So many of our yearly sporting franchises have been annualised and cemented into a pattern of incremental updates to slightly improve the game. Ever since NBA Live fell away there have only been one sport with a competitor pushing it to greater heights (FIFA vs PES), but that battle is in the corner of one game. This is the third Formula 1 game in as many years, providing the true simulation experience that not even Forza can provide with its roster of 'super cars'. Codemasters could rest on their morals and simply put out a F1 2012 that is F1 2011 with a new roster since it was still a decent game, but they have gone out there to make sure the franchise is moving forward. Just like another new franchise in UFC Undisputed 3, this is a big step forward into becoming an elite sporting game that truly recreates the adrenalin rushing experience that is F1 racing.<br />
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<b>Presentation</b><br />
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F1 2011 was already a good looking game that did a great job at conveying the notion of speed to the gamer. Codemasters this year have taken what they already had and merely tweaked whats on offer, putting a bit more detail into the smaller parts of the game. Probably the biggest addition to the game graphically this year are the more realistic weather effects. F1 2012's Active Track Technology allows rain showers to appear on certain parts of the track, with storm clouds able to be seen out in the distance. The water physically changes the track and is more than just a visual addition, making the player change their race strategy on these now treacherous corners.<br />
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Each and every track on the F1 schedule has been painstakingly recreated to create the ultimate authenticity for the player. Every corner and straight will feel just like the real thing so we can truly feel just like Vettel as he is pulling around a tight hairpin. The Circuit of the Americas in Texas is a new addition to this years game as F1 returns to USA in November 2012. These tracks aren't dead either, as a lot of detail has gone into having an active crowd supporting the drivers as well as an always busy pitstop with crew members receiving an extra polish of detail this year.<br />
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Simply put, the cars sound damn amazing. The engines are loud and you can feel the power of the beast you are controlling. Forza Motorsport 4 have mastered the meaty sounds that muscle cars produce but F1 2012 have done a brilliant job at recreating the sound of speed that accompanies a Formula One car that is travelling in excess of 300kmph. One thing that I wasn't expecting when booting up the game was the amount of audio put into a game like this. Your pit crew play a big role in practice and race day, providing advice and stats to keep you one wheel ahead of the other drivers. This adds to the whole F1 experience and is great to see it added into the game.<br />
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<b>Gameplay</b><br />
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The drivers in the Formula One championship deal with some of the fastest vehicles in the planet. Only an incredibly small portion of the population could handle these cars, which is why it is so difficult. Codemasters have made sure that F1 2012 follows the challenging nature of these cars that require complete precision lap after lap. If players were thrown into one of these cars without adequate preparation I could sense a high rate of people abandoning the game. This is why the Young Drivers Test is a brilliant addition to the game. As soon as you boot up the game you are thrust into what is essentially a one hour tutorial that gradually introduces everything you need to know. Instead of being a straight up tutorial it is interactive and brilliantly introduces you to the pit crew and the options outside of the racing as well.<br />
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Opening up F1 2012 hoping for a walk in the park will leave you ultimately disappointed. Even on the easiest mode you will need near perfection and intense concentration to be successful. Cars handle well, as long as you abide to real world physics. Following correct racing lines and braking with enough time to spare will let you run a successful race. If not then you will find yourself in the grass or sand. If you don't spin out then your tyres will pick up grass, affecting your grip for a few laps. The authenticity of this is beyond belief and I can't believe how realistic the entire race experience is. Those who can't perform to the same degree as Vettel lap after lap have the option of four flashbacks, which are essentially rewinds like in Forza. Unlike Forza, you only have four for the entire race and from experience I learnt to only use them for big mistakes and just cop trips to the grass on the chin.<br />
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There are a variety of game modes on offer to satisfy everyone from the casual gamer to the hardcore F1 champion. Proving Grounds is a nice area for newcomers to start at, learning the trade in time attack and time trial modes that strip away the physical competition and allow you to focus on getting a good feel for the car. Champions Mode is similar to other sporting games that have challenges set by some of the biggest names of all time. There are six challenges that have you pitted up against the best, this definitely isn't for the lighthearted and well have you pushed to the absolute limits. The bulkiest part of the game is of course the career mode. You start out in one of the smaller teams and work your way to objectives set by your crew. Eventually bigger names will see your talent and you will hopefully move up to a F1 powerhouse and be a contendor for the championship alongside the biggest names of the sport. For the social creatures, multiplayer is also implemented well with a vast array of online and local options available.<br />
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<b>Conclusion</b><br />
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In some strange way, Codemasters have made the most realistic F1 racing game to date, yet also the most accessible. The array of modes as well as the Young Drivers Test opens up this challenging game to a whole range of people who previously may have been turned off by the sharp learning curve of annual franchise. Turn off all the assists though and this game is tough as nails, something racing enthusiasts can really admire. For me trying to play this properly it gave me a new respect for all the real world drivers of these beasts. F1 2012 is a superb game that provides the sense of speed and danger like no other racing game out there. I can't recommend it enough, this game will test your concentration, skill and anger levels but by gosh is it worth it.<br />
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<b>Graphics - 9/10 </b><br />
<b>Sound - 9/10 </b><br />
<b>Gameplay - 8.5/10 </b><br />
<b>Overall - 9/10</b>iPhone Reviewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02621445623420973080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4310953202004969377.post-14935700236565470132012-09-14T06:32:00.001-07:002012-09-14T06:32:30.583-07:00Madden NFL 13 Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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As spring rolls around and the sun comes out once again, we are greeted with one of the first game releases every year that announces the start of the gaming period. In the coming months we will be receiving the biggest hits of the year. Now because there are some expensive weeks coming up does that mean you should just bat Madden off as 'just the same as last year'? Definitely not. Even though Australia isn't a huge fan of American Football it doesn't mean we can't enjoy a game like this. Madden NFL 13 brings some big improvements across the board that make this ultimately a more enjoyable and complete experience compared to any Madden before it.<br />
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<b>Presentation</b></div>
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Usually when I consider the presentation of the game I first look at the graphics presented. When I loaded up Madden I couldn't even get that far since I was so impressed with the menu overhaul. Out of last years EA Sports games that only one that I could consider acceptable in its layout was FIFA 12 and it was barely a pass mark. Madden NFL 13 absolutely annihilates any previous attempt and stamps itself up there with the king of menus the NBA 2K series. 2K12 has a bright, vibrant and easy to use layout that uses simple tiles to fit a lot onto the screen and Madden follows this style. Whether they used a competitor as an influence or not, this is a great step forward and I commend the developers for making this overhaul a key aspect of it.<br />
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Madden was already a strong competitor on the field with realistic players models and a stunning array of movements to boot, but this year improves on them albeit marginally. It is a bit hard to keep improving at the tail end of this generation but adding more of the TV experience you get at home has made this feel like a more complete package. There has been a recent emphasis on making the game as close to gameday as possible. All the slight improvements add up to making this a better game.<br />
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The one big improvement graphically involves the Infinity Engine. This affects the physics of the players and is the equivalent of what has been in FIFA for a few years now. In the past when two players came into contact they would essentially run an animation of how the contact would play out and it would be possible to replicate the exact same incidence. Now with the Infinity Engine the speed, weight and direction of each player as well as external factors determines what will happen in the collision. No longer are players confined to designated animations and there are an endless amount of ways players will react to a hit. Just like in FIFA there is a chance of an arm to go flailing or bodies getting stuck together, but these are few and far between. Unlike Soccer, American Football is a true contact sport and these changes add to the realistic nature of hits in the game.<br />
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While some sport games are getting the biggest rap stars in the country to become executive producers, Madden is getting back to its football roots. Gone is the soundtrack of hip-hop and dubstep that many are adopting. These are instead replaced with orchestral sounds that bring back the feeling of a Sunday Football game. During my stints in America I watched lots of NFL and Madden NFL 13 brings back the sounds I heard on those days. The commentators also provide a lot of chat that is more representative of a real presentation. Complimenting the standard stats and facts is a lot of talk and banter between the commentators, something I can't recommend enough. Sure if you play it enough you will hear repetition but this is the same with every game. The crowd roars when the home team scores and reacts according to what is happening on the field which is great.<br />
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<b>Gameplay</b></div>
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The casual player can jump straight into a game of Madden NFL 13 and notice no differences with the actual gameplay. Most improvements are small aesthetic fixes and changes like differences in flight trajectory from the QB's throws. The casual player can still enjoy playing football with the use of GameFlow to choose the right play for you, but the AI is more likely to exploit someone who favours a few plays more than others. The Madden gameplay you know is back, so is online play the the EA speciality in Ultimate Team. The real change is Connected Careers.</div>
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For the first time ever your career on Madden is now an universal experience that allows you to seamlessly integrate multiple modes into one. Connected Careers rolls Franchise and Create A Player modes into one in both an online and offline mode. Online mode lets you enter a universe with players around the world as you shape your own path, while offline lets you follow the generic path of a coach or player in a 30 season career. This is a huge mode that has endless possibilities, especially if you set up a group with friends that has a variety of players and coaches all in the same mode, yet living completely different experiences.<br />
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The great thing about Connected Careers is that the world is your oyster for the whole 30 seasons. You can start out as a quarterback and then after a few years decide that isn't for you, switch to a linebacker who is already in the NFL. After 10 years you might want to try your hat at coaching before stepping onto the field to cement yourself in the Hall of Fame. The best thing about this is that it is all incorporated into one big world. The effect you have will carry on even after you retire players and coaches, meaning that the adventure will be different for everyone.<br />
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30 years may seem like a long time to invest into a game, but EA do a great job at keeping you invested in the experience even if you are riding solo. Everything you do from pre-game practice and proper matches earns you XP which can be used to boost the stats of your player or team. A struggling coach may decide to horde his points knowing that he is going to retire at the end of the season and let a young rookie blossom onto the scene with a swag of skill points at his disposal. The more you put into Connected Careers the more you get out, which is really rewarding for players who have previously been stuck in Ultimate Team mode to feel this.<br />
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<b>Conclusion</b><br />
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Seamlessly integrating multiple areas of the game into one experience you can have by yourself or with literally hundreds of others is a big risk. Whether the online mode works as designed, only time will tell. But from its current situation Connected Careers could be the next defining feature making it into all the major sport games around the globe. Madden NFL 13 is more of the football you love on a Sunday and less of the unnecessary junk shielding you from the real action in years gone by. This is an ode to football lovers with the easy accessibility that allows fairly novice users to still enjoy the Madden experience. One of the best Madden games in years and proof that presentation goes along way to an enjoyable and lasting game.<br />
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<b>Graphics - 8.5/10</b><br />
<b>Sound - 9/10</b><br />
<b>Gameplay - 9.10</b><br />
<b>Overall - 9/10</b></div>
iPhone Reviewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02621445623420973080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4310953202004969377.post-5446935931052497212012-08-22T06:45:00.002-07:002012-08-22T06:45:55.273-07:00Deadlight Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It is hard not to find yourself excited when Microsoft announce the next XBLA promotion they are releasing. They always feature the biggest and most ambitious titles at a bargain price. There is always that one staple game people are most looking forwards to in the 4-5 on offer and Deadlight is probably rivalling Tony Hawk Pro Skater HD for that title. The one thing going against Deadlight is that it is a side scrolling survival game. A lot of comparisons can be made to Limbo and Shadow Complex, two very successful XBLA games in their own right, as directly competing with them in a saturated genre is no easy task. Does Deadlight manage to pull it off though? It is certainly up there as one of the best XBLA games I've played to date.<br />
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<b>Presentation</b><br />
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Deadlight tells the story of Randall who is out to save his wife and daughter from the obvious zombie takeover of Seattle. Randall is a 2 dimensional character that you will control as a mere shadow running along a darkened foreground. The background is a bright, vibrant setting that will have you staring in awe of its beauty despite the reign of terror engulfing the world. This art style should sound very familiar because it is exactly what Limbo did. If it is on your direct dimension of interaction then it is black otherwise enjoy the view. I am pleased to say that Deadlight takes this to the next level by creating an immersive world that really blends in with the darkened foreground, rather than simply pointing out the obvious rift between the two. Objects in the background directly relate to what you are in or your current location and there is movement in the third dimension as zombies are sometimes walking towards the screen, which is very cool.<br />
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Every aspect of the audio in this game is outstanding. The cut scenes features voice acting from a few different characters, but the majority of what you hear is the narration from Randall. His deep voice perfectly suits the mood of the character and the struggle he is going through. The musical score in the game sets an eerie feeling throughout the entire adventure. It manages to do this without interfering with the actual game by setting the mood instead of influencing the play. This lets you focus on the gameplay instead of unnecessary sound effects in the desolate world you find yourself alone in.<br />
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<b>Gameplay</b><br />
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Deadlight is a game that will test the strength of mankind and the distances we will go in dire straits when motivated. This could've turned into a zombie shooter where you stroll into the area, kill everything you see and move on, but it is so much more. Randall never feels like he has a solid grasp on the situation, he is always stuck in that endless struggle between trying to survive while also moving closer to rescuing his family. Sure, you will sometimes have access to a weapon that will assist in disposing of the onslaught of zombies. Most of the time is spent using the environment to assist you and simply doing everything in your power to avoid conflict altogether. Moments where you are running for your life with a horde of zombies hot on your tail is an exhilarating experience that never stops sending a chill down your spine.<br />
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For your 1200 Microsoft Points you will be given a game that will take you approximately 5 hours to complete. This is pretty good for a game at this price and being shorter than a console game means that the lack of plot points won't make the experience stale. While there is the obvious struggle and pain Randall is experiencing for allowing himself to get separated from his family, it isn't an engaging story that it could've turned out to be. A huge twist at the end that no one would expect does make it worthwhile but just don't let the initial tales of the zombie outbreak put you off.<br />
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Controls are simple and the animation of Randall is fluid. Most environments should give you a fair idea of what you need to do but expect to die a few times. That car conspicuously hanging from a wire could be used to kill zombies, if you find the switch. Stuff like this is very cool and a rewarding way to engage the players brain. Some of the platforming from ledge to ledge requires some pretty precise timing that could put off some players, but with perseverance it will be the least of your troubles.<br />
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<b>Conclusion</b><br />
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Sure, zombies have been done to death in almost every medium now, but one more title couldn't possibly hurt? Deadlight is a very strong title that kept me glued to the screen for the entire game. I never thought that running away from a horde of zombies I could see would be scary but this game provides moments that had me tensing up and praying for survival. Randall's struggle is perfectly portrayed to the gamer who is never fully in control and is relying on some smart decisions rather than a guns blazing approach. If you enjoyed Limbo then this game will be a welcome addition to your collection.<br />
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<b>Graphics - 9.5/10 </b><br />
<b>Sound - 9/10 </b><br />
<b>Gameplay - 8.5/10 </b><br />
<b>Overall - 9/10</b>iPhone Reviewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02621445623420973080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4310953202004969377.post-40453664874075457972012-08-18T23:11:00.001-07:002012-08-18T23:11:23.612-07:00Darksiders II Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Here we are, the unofficial start of gaming season after months of waiting and news from games coming late 2012/early 2013. E3 has come and gone and months of irrelevant yet sparse game releases has finally brought some true players to our consoles. Darksiders II is the sequel to 2010's Darksiders, which I found to be a very enjoyable game that I was shocked by, since it hadn't previously been on my radar. This iteration promises to be bigger and better than ever as we follow Death on his mission to clear the name of War, his brother and fellow Horsemen of the Apocalypse. With a story in place that is three times longer in a world twice the size, does this set the scene for a game that truly steps it up to the next level?<br />
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<b>Presentation</b><br />
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Darksiders II seems to have a case of mistaken identity as it doesn't know whether to blow you away with an amazing art direction or make you cringe with repeated textures or sometimes shocking draw distance. The positives easily outweigh the negatives but there are elements that lack the finishing touch that would take this title to the next level.<br />
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From the very beginning of the game you will admire the stunning art direction taking for this game. Character models are spectacular and a lot of effort has been into making every main character and boss unique from everything else in the game. Death is a stunning creature that has been crafted to not only be fierce and all-powering like the fellow Horsemen of the Apocalypse, but the colour palette used keeps him bright and vibrant. The animations of Death and his enemies are smooth and he reacts to the environment around him perfectly for the majority of the time. There are some glitches where you won't grab onto an object but they don't happen often enough to become a major problem.<br />
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The land is expansive and areas slightly venture away from the linear path with multiple areas and paths to choose from when moving from point to point. These environments can be spectacular areas that have you pausing and just wanting to take in your surroundings, or also ones that make you cringe. From the spectacular opening scene in a snow storm to the bland pixelated attempts in the standard 'in between areas' there is too much of a gap in polish. Stumbling across some places towards the end of the game that are truly epic showcases of what the developers are capable of almost make up for the bland and similar environments you had to travel through to get there, but it lingers at the back of your mind.<br />
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One of the standouts is the voice of the various characters in the world. While conversations follow the standard click, listen, click mode of RPG's and there is limited interaction outside of these cutscenes, it is still satisfying. Death is a deep character who knows what he believes and isn't afraid to speak his mind. They have hired well and the dark growl of Death compliments his attitude perfectly and this is the same for many of the other characters in Darksiders II. The musical score isn't the most memorable soundtrack you will hear this year but it does have some high points when the fighting gets intense. Overall Darksiders II is a tight package in terms of its presentation but doesn't set the house on fire.<br />
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<b>Gameplay</b><br />
<b><br /></b>For those who have never played Darksiders before, it is essentially a hybrid of platforming, hack 'n slash and a RPG. References has been made to be imitating the fighting in God of War, puzzles of Zelda and platforming from Prince of Persia. While some similarities could be pointed out, this is definitely an original game that obeys its own rules and makes an experience that will keep you entertained for the entire adventure. The mixture of various genres means that it fails to shine in any particular aspect, but somehow they have made everything click together into a workable package.<br />
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For 30 hours you will be following a semi-linear path trying to restore humanity while at the same time saving your brother War. The story is nothing that will pull at your heart strings but merely provide some encouragement and intensity to continue your quest. Expect it to follow a fairly similar set up of asking Death to collect x amount of items or find this particular person but it doesn't seem to get too stale especially as they mix it up towards the end. The real standout of Darksiders is the actual gameplay.<br />
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There is a perfect blend of puzzling, platforming to complement the main action. None of the aspects of Darksiders dominate proceedings and you will find yourself switching between each one regularly. Combat is fluid and fun with a true hack n slash feel to combat for the majority of the game. Many enemies can be dealt with by some good old button mashing and dodging, but the awesome boss battles require you to use everything you know to defeat them. These battles are the real highlight of the game as Death will be going up against enemies sometimes 100 times bigger than himself in real titanic battles worthy of the God of War franchise.<br />
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The wide open maps joining areas are full of loot and treasures to find but aren't heavily populated which is a slight letdown for such vast openings. It is recommended that you go exploring not only for the items that you can find but to also level up your character. There are RPG elements in the game which range from finding and collecting loot to make Death more powerful to an abilities tree where you use skill points to develop Death in your own unique way. Adding this in mixes up the experience and can encourage multiple playthroughs by taking a difference path on the skill tree.<br />
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The last aspect of Darksiders II worth nothing is the platforming/puzzle aspect that is incorporated mostly into the 'dungeon' areas where most of your objectives take place. For the most part they are fairly simple puzzles that remind me of the Assassin's Creed catacombs that had you traversing across walls, ledges and conveniently placed items. Looking around and finding out your path beforehand is the best way to go about things. While it may get boring for some I love the platforming element incorporated into the game which really adds another dimension to Darksiders II.<br />
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<b>Conclusion</b><br />
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Despite not mastering any genre, the mix and match of various game aspects has turned Darksiders II into a surprisingly strong title. Separate it into parts and this is a fairly mediocre package but altogether it is a great game that keeps you entertained right until the very end. Fighting through the grinding stages early on is definitely worth it as the game steps it up a notch in the hours before the fitting conclusion. Decent graphics and good voice acting pulls the story together and compliments the action nicely. This game will hook you in and I definitely suggest checking it out.<br />
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<b>Graphics - 7.5/10 </b><br />
<b>Sound - 8.5/10 </b><br />
<b>Gameplay - 9/10 </b><br />
<b>Overall - 8.5/10</b>iPhone Reviewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02621445623420973080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4310953202004969377.post-6258963780969147692012-07-17T06:19:00.001-07:002012-07-17T06:21:30.070-07:00EA Officially Announces Battlefield 4 Beta with Medal of Honor Warfighter Pre-Orders<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<strong>SYDNEY, Australia. – July 17, 2012 </strong>– Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) today announced access to the exclusive beta for <strong>Battlefield 4™, </strong>the next entry in DICE’s award-winning shooter series, to players that pre-order <strong>Medal of Honor™ Warfighter Limited Edition*</strong> prior to the game’s launch in Australia on October 25. The most authentic shooter this holiday, Medal of Honor Warfighter is the only game that puts players in the boots of the world’s most aggressive, precise and disciplined warfighters, fighting battles that are ripped from headlines around the globe. Powered by the ground-breaking Frostbite™ 2 engine, Medal of Honor Warfighter delivers tomorrow’s technology on today’s platforms with advanced gameplay, visuals and sound design.</div>
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The exclusive Battlefield 4 beta will be available in Spring 2013. Additional details regarding Battlefield 4 will be revealed at a later date.</div>
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“Though Battlefield and Medal of Honor Warfighter each offer players a completely unique experience, they are united by their underlying technology base – Frostbite. These are two of the hottest shooters, coming together to deliver a one-two punch of action, intensity and shooter entertainment,” said Frank Gibeau, President of EA Labels. </div>
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Written by U.S. Tier 1 Operators while deployed overseas, Medal of Honor Warfighter is set to deliver this year’s most authentic military shooter experience inspired by real warriors, real operations and real places. From rescuing hostages in Abu Sayyaf’s stronghold in the Philippines to assaulting Al-Shabaab’s “Pirate Town” on the Somali Coast, Medal of Honor Warfighter puts players in the boots of today’s most highly trained and skilled warriors to experience missions that have a dotted line to real world terrorist threats. Medal of Honor Warfighter features real world hotspots in the single player campaign and introduces international Tier 1 Operators from 10 different nations in multiplayer allowing players to show their national pride online.<br />
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“Frostbite 2 is an amazingly powerful technology that challenges us to break the multiplayer mold. The unique premise of global warfighters in Medal of Honor Warfighter has inspired us to pioneer new multiplayer concepts such as Fire Teams and the idea of having Tier 1 Operators from around the world go head-to-head in online competition,” said Greg Goodrich, Executive Producer, Medal of Honor. </div>
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Developed by Danger Close Games, Medal of Honor Warfighter will be available in Australia on October 25, 2012 and in New Zealand on October 26, 2012 for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and PC. For more information on Medal of Honor Warfighter, please visit <a class="releaselink" href="http://www.medalofhonor.com/" style="color: #306088; text-decoration: none;" target="_new">www.medalofhonor.com</a>, and for the latest news visit <a class="releaselink" href="http://www.facebook.com/medalofhonor" style="color: #306088; text-decoration: none;" target="_new">www.facebook.com/medalofhonor</a> or follow on Twitter at<a class="releaselink" href="http://www.twitter.com/medalofhonor" style="color: #306088; text-decoration: none;" target="_new">www.twitter.com/medalofhonor</a>. Press assets are available at <a class="releaselink" href="http://www.ea-anz-press.com/" style="color: #306088; text-decoration: none;" target="_new">www.ea-anz-press.com</a>.</div>
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MEDAL OF HONOR WARFIGHTER LIMITED EDITION CAN BE PREORDERED NOW AT <a href="http://www.medalofhonor.com/bf4-beta%C2%A0">www.medalofhonor.com/bf4-beta </a></div>iPhone Reviewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02621445623420973080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4310953202004969377.post-70965034648336056492012-05-28T06:44:00.001-07:002012-05-28T06:44:38.674-07:00Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon series has been one of the best squad based shooters for a long time now. However I was fearful that the influence of the big shooters in the past few years would destroy the tactical premise that made the series into stunning franchise we have today. Huge interactive set pieces and linear missions would destroy this game. I was also fearful that the promise of super smart AI wouldn’t live up to expectations, making this game fall into being a “squad” like Call of Duty or Battlefield where they are merely tagging along for morale. Two missions into the game though and all of my fears were quelled immediately. Future Solider is a spectacular game that hasn’t only taken in-game tech from the future, but AI with future intelligence as well.<br />
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<b>Presentation</b><br />
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The Ghost Recon series has always had nice graphics without being the standout in the highly populated crowd. This is the same for Future Soldier as it mixes up some stunning set pieces and locations around the world with some cringe-worthy attempts at facial animations, particularly in the cut scenes. Close-ups of the Ghost members uncover some of the more ridged parts of the game and this can slightly detract from the emotion being conveyed during these specific moments. Apart from this the overall animation of all characters in the game is superbly done.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4E0MXfgnG5oVSJcPzjvzUp1DaKNVmMLxARzqOSip5e3GnKdzS2-doFkMHOF2v4MnoJm0s5V4W0vwaV3yMLsCwO9Rc-TehF8bt_NjXORmS04Myzf6Ok5sWT10xEpFpmZULn8_pQbG6KOo/s1600/Ghost_Recon_Future_Soldier_Ghost_Pose.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4E0MXfgnG5oVSJcPzjvzUp1DaKNVmMLxARzqOSip5e3GnKdzS2-doFkMHOF2v4MnoJm0s5V4W0vwaV3yMLsCwO9Rc-TehF8bt_NjXORmS04Myzf6Ok5sWT10xEpFpmZULn8_pQbG6KOo/s400/Ghost_Recon_Future_Soldier_Ghost_Pose.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Your squad moves with precision and accurately reacts to the environment around them. It is promising to see you go into cover against a wall and manoeuvre behind it just like in real life to get the safest view around the corner. The cover system isn't only just worked out well control-wise but in the animations of your character in these positions exemplifies the superior animation and detail put into the major parts of the game. But having said that, even the smaller details like enemies and everyday civilians have been lovingly crafted. Enemies react accordingly to your movements and civilians will drop to the ground and scurry away at the sound of gunfire. While these people know that you are helping them, you can see the fear in their movements and are often bewildered when a ghost comes out of hiding.<br />
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As you jet set around the world to the different locations you will be tasked with missions in a variety of settings. These are all great environments that look downright spectacular, especially when weather effects are present. Going through the desert might seem bland, but a sandstorm and needing to use magnetic goggles or thermal vision will all of a sudden give you a different perspective of the area. Areas are full of small details and while it may force you to a given objective, you can reach it in a number of ways. Areas and effects are for the most part great and it's only the odd background that might not be perfect, but overall this is such a good looking game.<br />
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When you first boot up the game it instructs you to install audio for an enhanced experience. From this point onwards I had high expectations that this would be one spectacular game that would thrive with the sound system turned up high. Battlefield 3 for me was an audio beast with sound effects that would bring the house down. It was also accompanied by pumping beats that really set the scene for the action orientated game. Ghost Recon came out and for a while disappointed me with its sound. Gone are the action orientated tunes and sound is at a minimum. After a while though I came to appreciate how good it is. When sound effects are in place, they are awesome. The initial blast of a sandstorm will blow you away and guns all sound brilliant. Voice acting is spot on and the quiet nature doesn't only suit the stealthy gameplay, but allows you to listen to the tips from your squad that are actually helpful. This is a rarity in games, but you will want to listen to other members during the game which is pleasing.<br />
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<b>Gameplay</b><br />
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Squad based shooters are not a new prospect, but have definitely been taken to the next level here. You have your true squad based games like Rainbow Six where you must hold your squads hand and command their every move. This moves all the way down to your Gears of War and Call of Duty games where the squad ranges from helpful in a fight to downright atrocious support. A lot of effort is often put into enemy AI but the same level of detail has never been pushed across to your teammates. Games have always encouraged you to play with friends which is advantageous in many titles such as Gears of War and Halo. Ghost Recon Future Soldier bucks this trend, creating an experience where you may not want your immature Battlefield playing neighbour on your team over the stealthy Ghost outfit.<br />
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Your team are clever and can actually help you out an incredible amount. When you haven't been spotted they won't give away their position but are still smart enough to line up a kill if you have tagged a player you want taken out. They act on their own accord and require only simple instructions which is what you would expect from a real life. For once you are a leader of a group worthy of being a specialist solider and playing with people that have an IQ higher than your friends is a real accomplishment for the developers.<br />
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Ghost Recon: Future Soldier will take you on 12 missions that have a story that lacks the true power to pull on your heartstrings, but does an adequate job at explaining the situation you're in. You are flown into places around the world and are tasked to eliminate or capture targets that will help you with the overall goal. This isn't a linear shooter and will present multiple options to get through it. This is first and foremost a stealth shooter that encourages use of the many gadgets at your disposal. Stealth and the clever use of cover is going to help you survive, because turning this into a Call of Duty shootout will never end well for you. The options come in how you tackle the various challenges, you can choose to tag opponents while scouting from afar and let your squad take them out simultaneously, or use your thermal sight to track enemy movements and intercept them one by one. Mixing it up will really benefit you in this game.<br />
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Being a future game we get a taster of some technology that is physically possible within the next 10-20 years. From the camouflage suit to the various drones you get to control, the game definitely prioritises the future. This may be a good insight at some of the things coming in this years Call of Duty, while actually being for their actual purpose, stealth.<br />
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In terms of online gameplay there are two main options. Standard multiplayer feels a lot like Battlefield with scout, engineer and rifleman classes that use specific weapons in an array of game types. These are all slight adjustments on popular modes such as search & destroy and capture the flag as well as a cool new mode called Decoy. There are three objectives on the map but only one of them is the real one so an element of chance is involved and gives both teams a chance to secure victory. Guerrilla Mode on the other hand is a nice take on Horde mode in Gears of War and Special Ops in Call of Duty. You must infiltrate and secure the HQ which is a protected area and defend it against increasing waves of enemies. This is a fun mode to play with friends and relies on good communication between the party to be victorious.<br />
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<b>Conclusion</b><br />
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The real nit-picky members of the community will see the odd bland environment and laughable facial animations. They will pick up on the fact that the story isn't as strong as it could be. The reality is that these minor faults can be overlooked when this is such a great game. Ubisoft have progressed in leaps and bounds and lived up to all expectations that they promised when this game was announced years ago. Constant delays have paid off as they have created a powerful experience that keeps with the formula that has been successful in the past. This isn't just another shooter, this is the future of games and pulls off the stealth action better than any. A lengthy campaign and hours of more action online will have you playing this slick shooter months down the road. Don't dismiss Future Soldier, this game has all the credentials of the ghost unit itself.<br />
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<b>Graphics - 9/10 </b><br />
<b>Sound - 9/10 </b><br />
<b>Gameplay - 9.5/10 </b><br />
<b>Overall - 9/10</b>iPhone Reviewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02621445623420973080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4310953202004969377.post-21251719343479074702012-05-16T06:54:00.003-07:002012-05-16T06:54:42.704-07:00Fable Heroes Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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If you look on the internet then it would appear that I'm in the minority when it comes to the Fable franchise. Ever since the original game it has been one of my favourite RPG series and the only one I can proudly say that I've finished every single title. The RPG's are casual and provide a fun light hearted adventure with memorable characters and locations which I can still picture. The world of Albion has changed over the years and even jumping into Fable III brought back nostalgia from remnants of the past areas that have disappeared in future iterations. That said, going into Fable Heroes this isn't a RPG that I will enjoy like past titles. Instead it has taken on the casual hack n slash market that is strong especially with XBLA titles. Games like Castle Crashers are the best in the genre anywhere and Fable Heroes faces stiff competition. The thing is, does a memorable trip to a cartoon Albion with cartoon characters match these more unknown franchises?<br />
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<b>Presentation</b><br />
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Now the Fable universe has always had the slight lighthearted theme to it. The graphics, while looking good, have always had that cartoon polish that directs the user to the casual side of the game. You could always tell that Fable wasn't the game that would have you undertaking serious quests killing heaps of foes but followed the fun nature of mystical creatures and the odd fart at local villagers. Fable Heroes has run with this fun natured experience but upped the ante but taking the most memorable portions of Albion and its inhabitants and mashed it all into a complete cartoon world. Rich colours and fine detail condenses the world into a brilliant little 'best of' package that perfectly mixes into the XBLA universe.<br />
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Those who know the areas and characters of Fable will enjoy this game. Making your way through Millfields or encountering the clumsy yet pesky Hobbes has always been fun and continues here. Animations in the game have you plodding around but can unleash some ferocious effects once you engage in combat. You will find coins flying around the screen as you defeat foes and that doesn't even include some of the awesome power ups found throughout the game. Even though it is a linear path, the art direction and amount of Albion incorporated into the background is excellent. This game makes sure it takes advantage of peoples familiarity of the series as much as possible.<br />
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The main protagonists in Fable are heroes of few words and that is exactly the same here. In replace of that we have the iconic score that has been filling Albion since the original game. As with the graphics, they aren't the best and most outstanding out there, but it is that familiarity with the series that will have you craving every single moment of the action.<br />
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<b>Gameplay</b><br />
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For a beautiful game rich in Albion lore, it somewhat falls short as a complete package. The game is fairly repetitive and those who aren't liking what they have after one level won't see much of an improvement during the course of the game. This is all about the button mashing as a true hack 'n' slash game that really requires three more friends to become a fun experience. While having three CPU characters along for the ride will help you out, at times, you find yourself doing the bulk of the work that should be equally shared between four able bodied players. This is especially true for Dark Albion which requires teamwork once the difficulty ramps up.<br />
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The game progresses in a familiar way. You travel down a linear path coming across swarms of enemies from the Fable universe that you must kill. You do this repeatedly, sometimes using special power ups from chests that affect the hero just like they did in the main franchise, before coming to a crossroad. You can then choose one of two paths which will determine the final boss or mini game. These can be quite fun or boring depending on what they are. Boss fights are usually just larger counterparts of creatures that require constant mashing of the attack button, yet mini games such as running away from exploding chickens is a fun way to end the level. Kicking an exploding chicken at your friend and watching them die is hilarious and something you just won't experience anywhere else.<br />
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After the game ends you earn dice, which are then rolled and depending on what you land on, will offer the ability to buy power ups and new characters. Replaying levels is a must to experience both endings but ultimately its the will to do so that will be your downfall. Levels are all the same at the core and without that human communication these seem tiresome and daunting tasks that need to be merely grinded through. Playing through as my major protagonist from the series was great and as an arcade game it is good but not brilliant. The developers didn't seem to push themselves to create an experience to blow us away, instead merely trying to quench our thirst before Fable: The Journey.<br />
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<b>Conclusion</b><br />
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I love the Fable universe and jumping into the setting once more in a completely cartoon setting is brilliant. As great as the graphics are however, this game is too repetitive and simple for my liking. Not enough variation in skill is required and linear levels become a drag to play. Having friends along for the friend greatly enhance the experience and some of the mini games available are a ball to play. That being said though, too much of the game is the same and doesn't completely utilise all of the weird and wonderful quirks that make Albion so unique. I went in expecting amazing things and only found a decent game. This game is good, not great, and I was really hoping for more.<br />
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<b>Graphics - 9/10 </b><br />
<b>Sound - 6.5/10 </b><br />
<b>Gameplay - 5/10 </b><br />
<b>Overall - 6.5/10</b>iPhone Reviewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02621445623420973080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4310953202004969377.post-1164293158381823192012-05-02T17:55:00.002-07:002012-05-02T17:55:23.054-07:00GTA V 2012 Release Revealed by Microsoft AustraliaIt appears that a competition by Xbox Australia and New Zealand has revealed the current line up of 2012 Xbox 360 titles. The prize is 54 games that are currently scheduled to release in 2012 and is "Almost every game released for the Xbox 360 in 2012".<br />
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Now a majority of these titles we already knew about having a release date in 2012 but the most revealing title is the very last on the list.<br />
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That's right, according to Microsoft Grand Theft Auto V is going to be released in 2012 and will be a part of this prize where all games are shipped to the winner before January 2013. No exact release date is known but this is just another interesting piece of information pointing to a Q4 2012 release.<br />
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For full details of the competition check out the competition on Xbox Australia and New Zealand's Facebook page over at: https://www.facebook.com/XboxANZ/app_398626840167150iPhone Reviewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02621445623420973080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4310953202004969377.post-18232376099229015982012-04-23T19:19:00.002-07:002012-04-23T19:19:46.725-07:00Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Where can the Tiger Woods PGA Tour series even go from here? It has been a tumultuous few years with what seems like an identity crisis plaguing what has been a very strong golf simulation. After Tiger fell off the rails we weren't sure if he would be the focal point of the series and last year he didn't even make the cover, after the inclusion of the Masters took the limelight. This year we are back to the original Tiger roots and with an improved public perception has come greater involvement in the series. Reliving the careers of champions is becoming a big plus for a lot of sport franchises and the involvement of Tiger from a toddler could really mix up the golfing experience here.<br />
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<b>Presentation</b><br />
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Presenting golf in the most realistic way possible is a lot easier for EA to manage compared sports involving player contact. Animations are a lot smoother and with a lot small roster of players more time can be spent getting the small details in faces and actions smoothed out. Golf does look great and is probably as good as you are going to get it without having more processing power to add realistic life to leaves and grass. Player animations are excellent and the courses are simply beautiful. I was particularly impressed with the extra amount of detail that went into the Tiger Legacy mode as more than just golf courses had to be created for the challenges. They went to the extra effort of making sure the environments were detailed, as well as providing an unique cartoony feel to the characters in this mode.<br />
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As with the graphics, sound in golf is in complete contrast to the loud, hyped up experience you experience in almost every other major sport in the world. When you think of golf you don't imagine dub step and crowds going wild as you hit a green in regulation, so this game is a lot quieter than most sport games. EA do this well though with a very chilled out score that compliments the patient and calming movements involved in golf. This is incorporated with the sparse amounts of commentary as well as the applause from the crowd on good shots (or disapproving cringes from bad shots). I was hoping for more commentary to make this more like a television broadcast. Other sport titles go for the camera angles etc. of broadcasts and feature fully fledged commentary, I reckon this is something that could be brought in a bigger way to future titles. Apart from that this is a pretty strong package that doesn't stray far from its peaceful roots.<br />
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<b>Gameplay</b><br />
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Seasoned veterans of the Tiger Woods series are going to be venturing into brand new territory with this game. This year brings a whole new control scheme that makes golf completely reliant on your actions instead of just setting up your shot, holding a button to power up completely and watching the perfect shot unfold, you need to use the left thumbstick with great precision. Small deviations in your backswing or swing in either direction, speed or time held will greatly affect how your shot unfolds. While this is a great mechanic, it isn't really explained all that well and you must play around with shots to even get close to mastering what is required on anything higher than the lowest difficulties. If at an XP and coin disadvantage, playing with the old controls as an option would've been handy but the new control system does make getting a good score rewarding.<br />
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Another new feature this year is Tiger Legacy, which recaps all the key moments of Tiger's rise to fame from a small child to the all conquering golf power we know today. This is done by having a variety of challenges to complete at every age which range from chipping a ball into the pool at an early age to challenging tasks such as the fabled bend around the trees onto the green at Augusta. These can be tedious tasks that require precise hits sometimes in succession to pull off, but they feel rewarding once you complete it and progress onto the next challenge. It is a different attempt at the 'Be A Legend' mode we are used to in other games and mixing up the formula is refreshing to see, no matter how well it came off.<br />
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The standard career mode is back, as is normal play and a reinvigorated multiplayer section with the Clubhouse. This provides a team based experience where you join a club and participant in private tournaments and rounds of scheduled golf to earn XP and level up your club. This compliments normal online play where you can challenge people to a round of golf to try and become victorious. The clubhouse is a great way to get with friends in this game and see how you match up to local competition. I found myself halted in my career progress a number of times so I could complete the daily clubhouse tournament.<br />
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A controversial but revolutionary method of DLC last year was the fact that coins you earned could be used to purchase additional courses instead of the conventional paying method. This rewarded players who continued with the game and over the course of time they could effectively get everything for free. The thing is though, over half the courses (20 out of 36) are locked and to unlock one play of the course requires around 8-10 rounds of golf to earn enough coins. To unlock the courses forever you need to 'Master' the course which requires completing certain objectives and will at a minimum require 6 playthroughs. This is the equivalent of 40 rounds of golf to get enough coins to even achieve this without using pins which can boost how many coins you earn. I'm all for this concept, but the sheer amount of time to unlock ONE golf is atrocious and should be looked at. There is no way I'm playing 900 rounds of golf to unlock 20 courses.<br />
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<b>Conclusion</b><br />
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Despite the 'free' DLC issues that are still plaguing the series, this is a very solid package. The graphics are better than ever and playing golf has never been better. The new control system will take some getting used to for old players but having complete control over your shot can only be a good thing. There is Kinect support for those who want to play that way but it has been merely implemented for the sake of it, I expect more out of it in the future. Despite the lack of some major courses, we still have Augusta and Tiger Woods so what are you waiting for, go hit some balls!<br />
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<b>Graphics - 9/10 </b><br />
<b>Sound - 7/10 </b><br />
<b>Gameplay - 8.5/10 </b><br />
<b>Overall - 8/10</b>iPhone Reviewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02621445623420973080noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4310953202004969377.post-14009516046764151882012-04-11T05:22:00.001-07:002012-04-11T05:22:48.050-07:00Ridge Racer Unbounded Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The Ridge Racer series had started getting a bit stale and was at risk of going from being an elite franchise to just another racing game. It was a series that was stuck between two genres and wasn't sure whether it wanted to be a simulation or arcade racer. The only franchise which does this successfully is Need for Speed and that is because they simultaneously rotate between the two genres. Ridge Racer Unbounded is a complete reboot of the series and a decision to take the arcade route has turned out to be successful. Huge, fast paced and ultra destructibility are the slogans that pulsate out of this game louder than the dubstep in the game itself. This is one crazy ride that is an absolute blast to play. It is so good to see a game that completely disregards rules and creates one of the most exhilarating racing games going around this generation.<br />
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<b>Presentation</b><br />
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A game that wants everything to explode is going to make sure that it looks good doing so. This means that explosions and the physics of absolutely everything in the game have to be spot on otherwise it will turn into a glitchy mess. Luckily, this game is a perfect example of how to deliver an arcade racer with a brilliant sense of speed and exciting explosions that never stop being awesome even after you drive through your 1000th concrete support. As you smash through destructible environments they shatter at your touch and exploding items such as buildings and tankers provide a slow motion look at the event. Seeing flames and an almighty amount of damage in your wake as you fly through these items is a magical experience I haven’t truly seen since Burnout Revenge. Destroying things is damn awesome and Ridge Racer Unbounded encourages this exact concept.<br />
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<span id="goog_1401467461"></span><span id="goog_1401467462"></span><br />
Destruction aside, the racing is top notch in this title and handles perfectly. Your cars have deadly speed and this is conveyed to the gamer. Drifting around corners and utilizing the turbo button on your car will blur the screen to recreate the scene you would imagine experiencing at those speeds in real life. Cars handle well and all look brilliant. Flashes and lights from the environment pulsate off the car and it reacts accordingly to the environment it is in. Interactions between your car and others are perfect. Fragging an opponent and seeing them burn out and crash into objects at slow motion is so cool and even though you have the option to fast forward through it, you definitely won’t want to. Shatter Bay is a city that is made up of multiple districts that each have their own distinct feel. After a while you will see similarities between the areas and little difference between the different races in the same area, it is something that barely detracts from the awesome action on track.<br />
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Explosive power and devastating damage needs to be complimented by a rocking soundtrack and some intense sound effects to deliver the power of the blows in the game. Running into the destructible items will deliver a resounding boom as you smash and crash your way through the course. Cars are loud and sound fast as they screech their way around the track at breakneck speeds. The musical score in Ridge Racer definitely matches the extreme mayhem shown during the game. A large range of dubstep tracks ranging from Skrillex to lesser known songs that constantly drop the bass and deliver pulsating beats is a superb way. Cranking up the sound system while playing Ridge Racer Unbounded will aid the experience and will pump you up for the excitement ahead.<br />
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<b>Gameplay</b><br />
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Utter chaos and destruction has been missing for far too long. So many arcade games have too many consequences for making a mistake. Ridge Racer has that perfect edge of challenge and forgiveness, allowing you to have fun and not worry about having an absolutely perfect drive. That is exactly what Shatter Bay is all about, a city designed with destruction and great racing lines in mind. The tracks are all simple loops which can be created by gamers, but simplicity is sometimes best and seems to be what makes this game so much fun to play.<br />
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There are multiple racing modes that you will take on in the main career mode. The mode is fairly barebones in terms of story and you merely unlock more tracks and locations the further you progress. To start with I didn't like the fact that you got straight into the action, but I suppose if you aren't going to do a story properly then its best not to do one at all. This approach could've come in handy for some other recent racing titles. The game modes consist of domination (the main mode) as well as drift attack where you score points by drifting, time attack where you race the clock and shino racing which removes all destruction between the actual racers. These modes are no where near as good as domination and merely just mix up the action occasionally.<br />
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Domination is the heart and soul of Ridge Racer and incorporates every component of the game into a few laps of intense mayhem. By drifting and following competitors you earn boost which can be used to frag opponents which is essentially wrecking them. You and everyone else in the race is doing this, as well as utilising this boost to wreck other objects in the race to gain an advantage and attempt to come first. It is fun and relies on an equal strategy of racing for position and racing to destroy in order to place as high as possible. Avoiding racers will only get you fragged from behind but aiming for too many racers may have you forever behind the eight ball.<br />
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Apart from racing, another big part of the game is online which encompasses both normal multiplayer and the cool creation mode. You can create cities and tracks using an in-game track editor. It starts basic with straight or bends in the road but then by going into the tracks you can add as little or as many items as you want onto the tracks. These items are everything you see in the game ranging from ramps and non-destructible items to tankers and barriers that will shatter at your touch. This adds an incredible amount of life to the game as you can create and share your creations as well as playing others just from a simple search or jumping straight into a highlighted city. Adding this to the game was an excellent choice for me and extends this game past the single player routes as standard multiplayer probably would've failed compared to the many higher profile targets on the market.<br />
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<b>Conclusion</b><br />
<br />
I went in expecting 'just another racer' and left with a lot of respect for the new model of Ridge Racer. This is a superb game that reminds me of Burnout Revenge, a game I still consider one of the best games I've ever played. High octane adrenalin racing mixed with complete and utter destruction is a formula that has worked extremely well. The career mode is fairly straightforward but the creation kit gives this game simply unlimited content. Those who are after a true arcade racer will be excited by the package here and I can't give enough praise for the solid experience I received during my time with the game.<br />
<br />
<b>Graphics - 8.5/10 </b><br />
<b>Sound - 9/10 </b><br />
<b>Gameplay - 8.5/10 </b><br />
<b>Overall - 8.5/10</b>iPhone Reviewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02621445623420973080noreply@blogger.com0