Game Reviews

Game Review: IL- 2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey

2009-09-24T12:10:00.000-07:00

Platform: PS3, Xbox 360
Rating: (ratings will now be at the bottom of the review)

Hey everyone, here is another game review. This game wasn't one of my favorites, but some will like it.

Background: IL- 2 Sturmovic: Birds of Prey* is named after the Soviet IL2-Sturmovik, called by some "the Flying Tank," which helped check the tide of the Third Reich's advance in the skies over the Eastern Front in WWII. Luftwaffe pilots feared it for its toughness and firepower, and the Wehrmacht dreaded its air-to-ground attack capabilities, although the console version doesn't so much as concentrate on the Eastern Front as it delivers the entire war whittled down to small battles excerpted from history. You get to fly one in the game, but would-be pilots also get to handle a few others in their fights against the Luftwaffe.

The Good: Making up for the lack of visual flair elsewhere, the battle damage is very impressive, leaving holes and scarred paint in its wake, with a broken wing tearing away from a corkscrewing fighter as it falls to the earth and oil splattering the cockpit as you fly through a black plume of smoke. Bullets leave trails behind them, massive clouds of smoke rise up above burning streets, and just about every plane in the game has a unique cockpit filled with authentic details.

The Bad: Birds of Prey makes you go through a mandatory tutorial mode before you can take to the skies, although the lessons remain firmly grounded in the game's serious spirit. There aren't any stunt bonuses for flying beneath bridges, and there aren't giant zeppelins, fanciful weapons or upgradeable planes either. You'll fly with what you're given for a particular mission, although what the enemy will throw at you can wildly vary. A training mode is also available, allowing the player to craft his own challenges down to what kind of planes that he wants to face.

Also, rather than feature a single pilot's story, it includes fictional excerpts from each theater. Between each major battle theater, period film footage is played while the narrator fills in the details for the next fight, such as Stalingrad or the Battle of the Bulge, Nazi Germany's last major offensive in the West. Kinda feels like a lecture..

Online multiplayer is somewhat empty during the day, although the evening hours provided a few more pilots who were ready to mix it up in the four game types. Dogfight pits everyone against each other, Team Dogfight does the same thing but with teams, and Strike has both teams attacking the opponent's ground targets while defending their own. Capture the Airport is a unique type of mode where players need to fly down and land at an airport to capture it, much like a flag-based objective map. The more airports that have been captured by your side, the more "tickets," or points, that you'll be able to earn.

So Basically: IL- 2 Sturmovic: Birds of Prey isn't for everyone, especially not players who expect this to be the next Ace Combat or something. Its emphasis on traditional dogfighting without frills, along with its low-key presentation, may seem a little dry alongside Jeremy Soule's stirring soundtrack, but the realistic bent of its flight mechanics and gameplay will find an audience among flight sim enthusiasts and would-be WWII pilots who want a reason to plug a flightstick into their console.

Final Rating: 7.0

*info/pics also from worthplaying.com

Game Review: Garfield gets Real (DS)

2009-09-23T17:30:00.001-07:00

Platform: DS
Rating: 2.0 (yeah...it's that bad..)

Well, being another one of thousands of games made solely after a movie...my expectations were low for this game...and guess what? I was right! What a surprise!!

Garfield gets Real is a prime example of a licensed title that barely manages to make any remarkable use of the license involved, and it's certainly not something I'd suggest anyone pick up and play, regardless of age or casual/hardcore sensibilities.

The game revolves around the recently released DVD featuring a CGI Garfield, and while it's been quite a while since I've been a fan of the long-running newspaper comic, the character does hit an old nostalgic nerve in me, so I'm instantly hopeful to see something good come out of this. Ten minutes into the title, that hope was permanently dashed, and I realize that I'm stuck playing a series of mini-games meant to mimic a movie being filmed. The mini-games star Garfield in a series of bizarre and non-related events that I can't imagine have much of a connection to the story that the actual film might represent. (If it does, I certainly don't plan on watching the movie in the near future.)

Anyways, back to the game.

The stages are set in seven different areas, starting out in Garfield's house and featuring the usual cast, notably Jon and Odie. A lot of the action is controlled via the touch-screen, but there are optional face buttons for just about every movement in the game, and each stage is a mixture of different play types, which contribute to the gameplay's overall mini-game feel. One stage has you gathering breakfast items that Jon tosses behind him toward Garfield, and you must move Garfield back and forth in the foreground to catch them. It's a pretty simple game of catch, and aside from the occasional plate that you'll want to miss, it's definitely easy. Along with that, it's really boring and ends up setting the tone for the rest of the game, regardless of how differently each stage plays out.

When using the stylus, you can swipe it against the touch-screen on the DS toward the right, which will get Garfield walking. To get him to stop, you need to swipe down, or swipe up to jump. Right away, this method isn't particularly precise, and I found it not registering certain movements all the time, so I opted to go with the d-pad instead. While this was definitely more precise, the idea of need to press down to halt Garfield's movement feels unintuitive to say the least, and I've never played a 2-D side-scrolling anything that needed me to hit a virtual brake to make my player stand still. Why not just stop when I stop holding down left or right, like most games? Issues with the controls crop up often in other events, mostly stemming from the unresponsive touch-screen. If you ever insist on playing this game for whatever reason, do yourself a favor and automatically default to the d-pad and face buttons; you'll save a little bit of that aggravation for the other design problems that you'll encounter.

Visually, the game is unattractive, and while the character models are easily identifiable, the textures are a mess, and everything is blocky and ill-defined. The sound is grating, with a small selection of voices and some awful soundtrack music that will have you turning off the DS sound in a matter of minutes.

So, what have we learned here?

Garfield gets Real isn't a good game and is one of the worst licensed titles I've played this year so DS owners, Garfield fans and gamers in general will do well to avoid this one. There's nothing remarkable or enjoyable about the gameplay, so you should avoid this one at all costs and not give into the budget price.* In short, the game is blegh!

*pics/info from worthplaying.com as well

Game Review : God of War: Chains of Olympus (PSP)

2009-09-23T16:30:00.000-07:00

Platform: PSP

Rating: 9.0

This is personally one of my favorite games for PSP. It was also coincidently my first too.

This is basically the summary of what this game is:

Chains of Olympus combines fierce combat action with occasional puzzle elements to offer an enjoyable linear, action-packed adventure. The combat follows the traditional formula of battling a series of minions prior to facing a level boss, who you must defeat using the guidance of a QTE (Quick Time Event) system. The game includes combo attacks, a magic system, special items and weapon power-ups. Chains of Olympus should not be considered a family-friendly title because it contains high levels of gore, some nudity and sexual content...hehehe. The game features a quick in-game tutorial to quickly get players up to speed.

Chains of Olympus' only game mode is a single-player adventure consisting of eight chapters, although you can add some additional content by unlocking challenges throughout the game. Kratos maintains a linear path through the entire adventure, with only a few side-quests that provide access to minigames and hidden treasure chests. The game can be played at four different difficulty settings: Mortal, Hero, Spartan and God, and the final one becomes available only after you successfully complete the game on any other difficulty setting.

Puzzles include tasks such as moving objects on trigger points to open gates, aligning statues, firing stationary weapons at ships or creatures, and even completing an optional sex minigame for additional red orbs. Chains of Olympus usually features QTE during the level boss fights; they consist of a linear sequence of attacks that must be completed in a tightly timed manner to finish off the antagonist. These are extreamly fun.

Also, if you haven't noticed by the screen shots, the game's graphics are AMAZING! Chains of Olympus is considered to have the best graphics on PSP.

Buy it

Starcraft 2 Here Yet?!

2009-09-22T19:24:00.000-07:00

Finally...after 10 years of waiting, Star Craft II is...not released yet... But soon!!!

StarCraft II is a military science fiction real-time strategy video game trilogy under development by Blizzard Entertainment as a sequel to StarCraft, made in 1998. Developed for concurrent release on Windows XP, Windows Vista and Mac OS X, the initial offering will be followed by two expansion packs respectively entitled "Wings of Liberty," "Heart of the Swarm" and "Legacy of the Void." Each game in the trilogy is expected to contain one 26-30 mission campaign centered around a single race. The Terrans will be the focus of the initial offering, followed up by Zerg and Protoss races in the expansions.
Interested players can submit applications to beta test StarCraft II through the Beta Profile Settings page on the Battle.net account-management web site. The beta is actually supposed to have kicked off this summer...

Can't wait for the game to finally arrive!

Free Fun Online Game - The Age of War

2009-09-21T15:00:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favorite online games, and as a bonus, its free! Here is a brief discription i found on a fansite*:

Age of War a cool tactical War simulation game. You start off with in the age of cavemen with three options to build troops and three options for building defensive weapons on your base, as well as a single slot on your base in which to place those defensive weapons.
Each warrior you build starts his march over to the enemy base and meets the oncoming troops the enemy base has produced.

Each age also has an added bonus of a special. The special works on a timer and brings about a maelstrom of destruction on the enemy troops in play. This is partly where your tactical brilliance can be demonstrated. Timing these strikes can be very effective or a total waste.

I couldn't have put it in better words, but so that you can experiance the action for yourself, play it here :

http://www.maxgames.com/play/age-of-war.html

Hope you like it as much as i do!

*fansite is ageowar.com

Inexpensive Game of the Week : Assassin's Creed

2009-09-20T09:40:00.000-07:00

Platform: Xbox 360, PS3, DS

Rating: 8.0

Cost: ~$20

Assassin's Creed, when it was first released, was talked about by everyone. The progressed the adventure genre to a new level. Everything was new and exciting. You could slow down time, and perform fatal attacks on guards and people. And, unlike other games in this genre, your attacks would vary depending on where you stood, and from where you jumped. So basically, the game was thought-out well.

The game pretty much takes place in 2 different time zones, the present, and the past...way back in the past. Most of the game you control an secret assassin, who follows missions, which are sent to him by higher leadership or authority. You have a dagger, and a sword, and later in the game, a crossbow. You can jump from giant heights, if you execute the jump correctly. Everything ties in with each other.

This is a great game, but can get boring after a while, due to repeated action. So I would recommend this game mostly to players who like games like Prince of Persia.

Oh, and also, don't buy the DS version, save yourself the awful experiance of having to see a perfectly good game get massacred with the DS. Just don't do it... you will be better off buying crack with that money, believe me.

Bottom line: If you are an adventure gamer, buy it. Otherwise, you may want to rent it and try it out for yourself, just to be sure.

Game Review: World of Warcraft (PC)

2009-09-18T17:58:00.000-07:00

Platform: PC

Rating: 10.0

*Sigh

Where do I begin?

If you have ever played an MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game), you know how much fun it can be. But let me tell you, your whole perspective of the gameplay gets totally re-written when you play this game. It is unlike any other game, regardless of the genre.

Let me go through the basics for you: You start out by picking either Horde or Alliance, this is what faction your character is in. The two factions are at war with each other, so you can not speak to another player in a different faction or trade with them or do any stuff that you can do with people of your own faction. You can only kill them.. but i wont get into that for now. Anyways, within each faction there are 4 races to choose from. Alliance has Human, Gnome, Dwarf, and Nightelf, (and Draenei if you have the expansion pack). Horde has Troll, Undead, Orc, and Tauren, (and Bloodelf if you have the expansion pack). You also pick with class your character is, for example you can be a Hunter, specializing with taming beasts, and bows. Or a warlock, specializing with demonology, and shadow magic. Each class has it's unique abilities and skills, and you can not change from one class to another once you start your character (but you can make multiple characters).

Once you create your character, you are submersed into a world that is totally unique to the Warcraft Series. You level up your character by doing quests or slaying monsters. You can purchase equipment, or weaponry, or even beasts to ride on (once you reach level 30). You can choose 2 professions, which will be the major source of your money. You can also auction items off on the in-game auction house, and purchase others' auctions.

The game itself cost $20 for the original, $30 for the first expansion, and $40 for the 2nd expansion. After that, you pay $15 each month, but take it from me - this is by far the most entertaining investment i have ever made, and i am sure that you will agree, if you decide to play it.

Bottom Line - Buy it

Game Review: Wii Sports Resort

2009-09-14T19:27:00.000-07:00

Platform: Wii

Rating: 8.0

The first Wii game we all played was Wii Sports. I remember openning up my box, and joyfully placing the CD inside the Wii, to be amazed by what wonders it has in store. It was really fun, and even better if you had people over to play it with you. Even though the features were a little depthless, the game itself was like no other.

The game became a generational game, kids and adults even used it to lose weight.

So consider this a "Wii Sports II". This game has 12 total sports experiences, and adds a much higher level of motion sensitivity. There isnt much to say, because its alot like Wii Sports, but thats a good thing. Its the sequal you had wanted all along

Bottom Line: Buy it, regardless what type of gamer you are.

Game Reveiw: Dirt 2 (Xbox360)

2009-09-13T18:47:00.000-07:00

Platform: Xbox 360
Rating: 9.0

In the 2nd part of the Dirt series, you get to play the role of a race driver who is competing on an off road circuit against pros, including Ken Block. In my opinion, this game has a lot of great features, especially the realistic portion of the game. Your opponents put up a believable amount of strength to beat you from start to finish. Also, a "flashback" feature allows you the option to instantly replay a portion of the race if you mess it up. Its a very fun game over all, and will keep you entertained for hours, guaranteed.

Bottom line: Buy It

System Review 1: PS3 Slim

2009-09-12T18:37:00.000-07:00

The good:
Less expensive - $299, more compact design, slimmer, quieter, easy interface, all HD games, Blu-ray player, Wifi (built-in), no external power supply, free online gaming, web browser, HDMI, 120 GB hard drive

The bad:
Not backward compatible for PS2, non-bluetooth universal remotes are NOT compatible, online gaming not as revered, or developed as Xbox Live

Bottom Line: Buy it. Whether you are a hardcore gamer or not, the PS3 slim packs just enough punch to get gamers everywhere satisfied. With the price drop, this should definitely go on your 10 things to buy list.

I Review Games

2009-09-11T19:54:00.000-07:00

Hey, hows it goin? My name is George, and I pretty much review all the latest games that are coming out or already came out. Hope to be of help/entertainment to you.