Review: Archive 09/21/09

Review Archive
09/21/09

Batman: Arkham Asylum -------------------------------- 9.2/10

Call of Duty: World at War ------------------------------ 7.0/10
Fallout 3 ---------------------------------------------------- 9.1/10

Fat Princess ----------------------------------------------- 7.5/10
inFAMOUS ------------------------------------------------ 8.8/10
Killzone 2 -------------------------------------------------- 8.7/10
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots --------------- 9.6/10
Resident Evil 5 -------------------------------------------- 8.8/10
Resistance 2 ----------------------------------------------- 7.8/10

Update: Time Fcuk

This weeks been busy so I didn't play to many games but I have been playing some Batman Arkham Asylum and I'm still enjoying it. If you want to know my thoughts on it just check out my review below.


I've also been playing some retro games. I recently downloaded Bonk's Adventure for the TurboGraphx 16 a game I think many people may have missed out on since it was always overshadowed by it competition, Mario and Sonic. It's really fun and challenging. The checkpoint system is fair and the game does feature quite a few times when things are put in your way to frustrate you. I recommend it to anyone looking for some retro goodness.

In my opinion Flash games do not get the attention they deserve. The Flash games community is much larger than some people think and there are truly some great game amongst the jungle of flash games out there. A great example of how unique and enjoyable flash games can be is 'Time Fcuk'. The game is a platforming puzzler similar to 'Shift' set in a wacky world that messes with your mind. There is a truly great sense of atmosphere in 'Time Fcuk' an accomplishment that is quite difficult to achieve in video-games or let alone a flash game. It is an equally enjoyable and challenging game I recomend to anyone and everyone. Check it out @ http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/511754 ...

Webcomic of the Week

I know I just posted a webcomic a day or two ago but that one was actually almost a week late so here is this weeks actual Webcomic of the week. It comes from Digital Unrest to check out there other stuff visit digitalunrestcomic.com. ENJOY.

Ty's Rant: To boycott or not to boycott

To Boycott or not to Boycott

When Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare was released there was a momentous shift in what people began to play online. People I knew who never really played many video-games other than Halo and Madden once every other week suddenly were regularly playing Call of Duty 4. The Casual-Hardcore as i refer to them (people who only play a few games a year but games that would be considered hardcore) treated COD4 as the second coming. It's genius upgrade system hooked gamers feeding off everyone's need for inner-accomplishment and turning gamers into crack addicts. Now two years later Infinity Ward is ready to give gamers there next fix with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.



Now heres my problem and its a problem I think a lot of gamers who look at the business side of games may be facing. Activision is the company everyone loves to hate, they take a lot of shit from gamers for routinely producing rehashed versions of old games and sucking every bit of cash from the game until it's dry (ie: the Tony Hawk series). Bobby Kotick CEO of Activision has been the leader behind Activision for a little while now and when people hate on Activision often times the hatred is directed toward Bobby Kotick. Bobby Kotick has made it clear that the only thing he cares about when it comes to making games is how much money he can make out of it. He was recently interviewed by Gamespot where he stated;

"The goal that I had in bringing a lot of the packaged goods folks into Activision about 10 years ago was to take all the fun out of making video games."

"really [reward] profit and nothing else"
"Mwah Ha Ha"

Bobby Kotick has made it clear that he doesn't care about Video-Games from a quality standpoint and merely look at it as a growing Cash Cow. This is the direction many gamers and I do not want to see games going in.

Now were on the verge of Modern Warfare 2 a game published by Activision and bound to sell millions of copies and be a quality game but no doubt the money from this game will only help Activision churn out 20 more Guitar Heroes and Tony Hawks. I just don't feel comfortable purchasing a game that supports (in my opinion) negative ideals and it is for this reason i refuse to purchase Guitar Hero or Tony Hawk games.

However I do realize that there are other people here, not everyone in Activision supports Kotick's ideals and Call of Duty developer Infinity Ward has some truly talented individuals who understand video games and are deserving for all the effort they've put into the game. Also I am sure Call of duty: Modern Warfare 2 will be a great game that i would certainly miss out on.

I will inevitably end up picking up Modern Warfare 2 at some-point but I'm considered my opinion on the game may be tarnished with the thought that I'm supporting someone I disagree with.


Until Next time ...

Webcomic of the Week

This weeks comic suits the Batman theme. It comes from Ninja Ken @ http://www.theninjaken.com/comic/ .... enjoy

Review: Batman Arkham Asylum [X360,PS3,PC]

Review

Batman: Arkham Asylum
9.2 / 10


Batman, makes the perfect videogame character. He has a ton of gadgets, he kicks ass and is a great puzzle solver but for some reason developers have trouble pulling off the awesomeness that is Batman. RockSteady was looking to change this with Batman Arkham Asylum. So is Arkham Asylum the game we've all been waiting for or is Arkham Asylum a game that does everthing but not anything great?

Batman: Arkham Asylum throws you into Gotham's mad house Arkham Asylum where the Joker is planning to take over the Asylum along with every other Batman villian. The game acts as the ultimate fan service to any Batman fan, with villains ranging from the Joker to Killer Croc. Arkham Asylum is a wonderfully crafted world the environments seem lifelike and have incredible detail which reminded me of the level design in the Metroid Prime or Bioshock games. The Unreal Engine that Arkham Asylum runs on is perfect for a Batman the slightly over the top look but realistic look of unreal engine is perfect for the slightly over the top yet realistic feel of Batman. The new renditions of old villains for the most part capture the persona of the original character perfectly and the story is very Batman if you were expecting heavy moral dilemmas along the lines of the Dark Knight film than you may be disappointed but if you wanted a throwback to classic Batman comics and cartoons with a mature look then this will be perfect for you.

The gameplay in Arkham Asylum revolves around 3 core mechanics; combat, stealth, and detective mode. The combat is easy to understand and get used to with three basic attack buttons punch, counter and stun and you learns some extra button combos (throws and takedowns etc...) this simplistic approach works perfectly and combat feels great, not since God of War has it felt so good to hit an enemy the techniques and feel of hitting an enemy is brutal but not over the top it is just perfectly Batman. The Stealth may be a little less hardcore to an MGS or Splinter Cell fan but is fun in its own way. Instead of feeling at a disadvantage like in MGS and Splinter Cell you are always in control during stealth segments which allows you to be creative without the trial and error of many other stealth games. Instead of being punished for experimenting with techniques you always have an escape option when you screw up.


Batman: Arkham Asylum's third gameplay portion is the detective mode. Detective mode is the Metroid Prime equivalent of the Scan visor, when in detective mode you can see through walls, detect armed enemies and scan objects to solve puzzles or get clues. The detective mode really stands out when attempting to solve the over 200 Riddler challenges. These Riddler challenges quickly became one of my favourite parts of the game the riddles range from aligning images to clues to scanning objects in your environment, and unlike the usual open world tasks of collecting orbs or shards, the Riddler challenges are just challenging enough but not frusturating or tasking and i actual found myself hoping for more after i had completed all 200 or so of them.

Speaking of Metroid Prime, i found myself consistently seeing similarities between Metroid and Batman. Like Metroid Prime, Batman AA is perfectly paced you will experience 10 minutes of combat then 10 minutes of stealth and then 10 minutes of exploration and puzzle solving before it switches back to combat. This keeps the many parts of Batman AA from getting old or repetitive and keeps it fresh throughout the game. Also like Metroid, Batman AA shares the same sense of "can't open door-find item-open door with item" that Metroid had with it's item upgrade system. The feeling you get when you get a new weapon or item is amazing it's almost as if the chains had been lifted and now you could run free. When you get the grapple gun for example you'll start to recall all the places you couldn't go before without it and suddenly you feel the need to explore thus keeping things like back tracking fun and exciting and not tiring and boring.

Batman Arkham Asylum is a pleasant surprise that i was not expecting. It takes many ques from other games and refines many of them and unlike many licensed materials the game fits great with the Batman aesthetic. A lot of care went into creating Batman and it shows throughout and is truelly a well crafted experience.

Update: Better Late than Never

Update

I'm Batman. Well maybe i just feel like it. The long weekend is over and over the weekend i picked up a copy of Arkham Asylum and man am I ever loving it expect a review in the next week or so. Im sorry to say that there will not be a webcomic this week because I'm being lazy and really want to get back to being B-Man ... speaking of which why am i typing write now if i could be playing. Now if only i could get to my room without being seen ...

"He Wont See Me"

Review: Fat Princess [PSN]

Review

Fat Princess
7.5/10

Once upon a time, in a land far far away there was a cake ... and a really really hungry princess. To sum up Fat Princess it is basically a glorified game of capture the flag. The flag being the princess who you can feed cake to increase in size thus making it harder for the opposing team to carry away. Do not let the game's fairy tale art style mislead you one swing of your sword will slice your enemies into a bloody mess.

Fat Princess revolves around its 5 classes the Knight, Mage, Worker, Ranger and the Priest. All the classes can be upgraded by collecting various resources such as wood and iron. The Priest for example normally is strictly a healing unit but when upgraded becomes a powerful Dark Priest capable of sucking health from enemies. Early on you will notice that the worker is very important when it comes to winning. The worker can harvest resources, upgrade classes and build various siege weapons (such as catapult, box springs and ladders).


Your experience with Fat Princess will hinge on whether or not you can get a group of friends who all have mics to play together because when you work together you can dominate any game and have fun while doing it. A party of a Priest, Ice Mage, and Ranger or Warrior all working in tandem with one another can be a wrecking crew swiftly running in and snatching the Princess. As with most multi-player games communication is key and this brings up a key flaw with the PSN, you will be lucky to see one other person in a game using a mic and without communication this game falls apart. You can have brief fun by yourself experimenting with the many multi-player modes and fighting through the games story mode which is more like a tutorial than a full-fledged game. With a good clan support and support from the developers Fat Princess could have a long life but without others to play with the game is but a nice game that may preoccupy you for several days. Fat Princess has potential but only time will tell whether this game can be all that it could've been