Mass Effect 2

The original Mass Effect is probably the main reason I am happy I have a 360. It is also the main reason Bioware became my second favorite developer on my all time list (headed by Square Soft, now Square Enix).

Mass Effect 2 is something I have been waiting for ever since the amazing finale of Mass Effect. If Bioware delivers on Mass Effect 2 as well as I hope and with the amazing Dragon Age still occupying my 360 drive they will become my number one developer on Square will be bumped to number two. But Final Fantasy 13 comes out in March so the position could be short lived by Bioware.

Anyway Mass Effect 2 is going to be amazing the universe that Bioware created is amazing the original made me feel like I was exploring a real universe and fighting to save mankind and all the allied races. In short I am salivating so much over Mass Effect 2 that I can't even seem to focus on the fact that I get Assassin's Creed 2 in like a week and a half.

If you haven't played the first Mass Effect you can get it for cheap from the EA store (like 10 bucks) or from Gamestop (but only on the PC I think) and it is well worth the money trust me.

FTW

Yeah I know I am always full of excuses, but between finals, Christmas parties, and being sick I am still behind on my post.

I wanted to do a more recent time warp because I have loved Shadow of the Colossus ever since I first got my hands on it.

This games is one of the most impressive pieces of entertainment to date, and I do mean entertainment covering books, movies, TV, games, anything.

The fact that every conflict is this game is a huge boss battle is amazing. The world is pretty much empty except for you, your horse, and the colossi.

The best thing about this game is Team Ico's ability to tell a story with no discernible dialog and bring you near to tears when the games ending shows you something you wish you never new.

In closing if you want a great story that invokes actual emotion then look no further.

FTW

Oh yes Secret of Mana, not only one of the best RPGs ever made, but one of the best games ever made period.

This game is a shiny diamond when compared to most games that come out even today. So few games can combine fun and deep gameplay, with a great story, beautiful graphics, and characters that you actually care about.

The game even had a multiplayer ability allowing you and a friend to each control a character and play together.

If you have never played Secret of Mana I feel sorry for you.

Little Big Planet

Okay so this weekend I did something I have never done before. I downloaded a demo for a game and then went out and bought it the next day.

Little Big Planet was game of the year for many a site last year and I heard nothing but great things and always planned on getting it but never got around to picking it up.

Well I feel stupid, because I could have been playing this gem of gaming for over a year now. There are few games that I play and actually just love to play with no real story in site. I played this game with my nephew and my wife (for like 5 minutes) but the great thing about this game is that I can make levels that I can play with anyone including my three year old son.

I can't wait to explore everything this game has to offer, like building my own levels and playing levels built by the community of fans that have been enjoying this amazing creation for over a year.

Review

Okay here we go, first off I love Bioware they became one of my favorite developers with their last game Mass Effect. With Dragon Age my hopes were high and I was praying that I wouldn't be disappointed.

Well needless to say with all the time I have spent playing Dragon Age this past month it's pretty obvious that I love this game. Between my first, second, and now third campaign that I have recently begun I have played this game about 120 hours.

The graphics are not as good as Mass Effect but it is a different team at Bioware and I did play it on the 360 and this was ported to the 360 from the PC, but the graphics are not bad in any way, and the gore is great especially when you have persistent gore on and the blood stays on your characters until you rest or change areas or something.

The sound is great the dialog is better than most Hollywood productions and the combat ambient noise holds you enthralled.

The gameplay is great you can play it as an RPG pausing and issuing orders to your team or set your teams tactics up and just fight with your controlled character at the time. It flows well and really plays on balancing your team and using strategy to beat large groups of enemies or more difficult bosses.

The story is great I always felt like my choices really effected the end game and the lives of the citizens in the world I was trying to protect. If you love epic stories and deep characters then do yourself a favor and pick up this game, but be warned it will eat up a lot of your time.

FTW

Yeah I know I have been MIA for a while, but with the semester coming to a close and me being unable to put Dragon Age down (which I still owe a review for) I have been putting off the blog.

Now if you don't recognize the game above you probably still played the soul reaver sequels, but this game was amazing for me, there were powers and items that could tear peoples flesh off.

The graphics weren't that great even the cinematics weren't that great but the game was a lot of fun, and the story really was engaging and opened the whole world up for the games that followed.

Okay I will post a review for Dragon Age soon, and there is a game that I played the demo for and went out and bought it the next day since Laura said I could and I want to talk about it as well.

FTW

Yeah again late....more so. I blame Dragon Age Origins, which I beat yesterday and will be posting a review of later this week.

So as for the FTW here we go.




I said it involved two brothers, now anyone who played the console games knows these two as Billy and Jimmy Lee. But if you played the original arcade you know them as hammer and spike.

Double Dragon has had many versions and even an okay cartoon and incredibly horrible movie. However the best versions were Double Dragon two and Super Double Dragon.

The game play was a side-scrolling beat 'em up, of course, but it was the one game that perfected the model. The reason Double Dragon 2 was so great was because of it's advanced fight system that had combos, double button attacks, throws, etc...

Super Double Dragon improved on all these things and the game was amazingly fun. To close this game series is amazing, I wish I had a copy of any of them to play right now. Man I love Double Dragon.

FTW

Yeah late again I know, but with getting Dragon Age this week it's pure luck that I am even posting this.

I decided this post should be about the game that I consider my introduction to real gaming. The Legend of Zelda is what made me a gamer.

It had all the things I love in games to this day; an epic story, great game play, and a theme song that is burned into my soul.

If you have never played The Legend of Zelda that I think it is impossible to call yourself a real gamer.

Next week I will post a longer FTW and two brothers will be involved.

Dragon Age Origins

So I am going crazy for next week because Dragon Age Origins come out. If you are unaware of this game it is a dark fantasy epic from Bioware the creators of Jade Empire, Knights of the Old Republic, and Mass Effect to name a few. If you don't care at least check out the trailer below and tell me that this doesn't look amazing.

Video Games | Dragon Age: Origins | Sacred Ashes Trailer

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

FTW

I know some of you out there assumed I would use this slot for Resident Evil the most popular survival Horror series or maybe even Clocktower. However neither of those series have games that have ever actually scared me.

Silent Hill on the other hand has left me in a cold sweat after nightmares of it's dark halls and freaky creatures on more than one occasion. The first is not the best of the series but it left a lasting impression on my psyche. The best thing about this game was the fact that you were just some guy not a police officer or military trained operative.

The gameplay was great and made you rely heavily on melee weapons because there wasn't a lot of ammo and your guy tended to hold firearms about as steady as a chipmunk on speed. But it made it better because you had to get close to take out the enemies.

The graphics were great for the time, the cinematics were haunting and vivid, and the various creature models were outright disturbing. Not to mention the over all atmosphere of the game was deep and creepy.

The audio was the best part about this game the main theme still sends chills down my spine. The sound effects were haunting because of the overwhelming darkness but the eeriest thing about this game was the radio that played white noise when any creature was near. It never failed to put me on edge.

In closing if you want a great game to scare the crap out of you with multiple endings that range from super great to welcome to hell then get this game or Silent Hill 2 since it is the best one in the series.

FTW

Yeah I know my FTW is late this week but between midterms and moving I have been very busy.

So Xenogears, all right first off yes the story is at times a convoluted anime mess, but it was still very deep.

For it's time this game had amazing graphics as all Squaresoft games they never fail to deliver

The sound was good the gears metallic clings and grinds sounded great.

The gameplay for the most part was standard RPG flare but the new and can not forget amazing thing was the ability to create combo attacks based on your abilities while in turn based combat, so you could wait and save up lots of points and unleash one big attack a couple of turns in. Also varying your combos was how you learned some of the new attacks for the characters.

In closing Xenogears was great it was long and fun to play making it a top of the line RPG and with the various characters you could get to team up with you it never seemed to get boring.

Review

It has been over a week since I got my hands on Uncharted 2 Among Thieves and in a word this game is amazing.

It met all my expectations and even surpassed them as well considering that it has one of the most entertaining multi-player components out there.

Here are the nuts and bolts of it. Yes the game is gorgeous even more so than the first one, I have never seen snow that looked real in any game ever before.

The sound is great every shot and punch feels good, the dialog is amazing (better than most blockbuster movies) and the music highlights every section so well that I couldn't ask for more.

The story is better than the first Uncharted and the character interactions and development feel even more real. You really feel that these people are in danger and you root for them more because of it.

The gameplay is perfect everything handles well and you can approach sections as you want, from guns blazing to sneaking around breaking necks. The single player campaign is longer and deeper than the first and for the first time I have found a multi-player component that I want to keep playing and doesn't get boring to me.

In closing I say Nathan Drake has earned the right to become the face for the PS3. If you have a PS3, are thinking about getting one, or want to experience a game that feels like an Indian Jones movie or Dirk Pitt adventure. Then do yourself a favor and go get Uncharted 2 Among Thieves it is more than worth the $60 price tag.

Giveaway

Okay all sorry about taking so long to post this give away but between school and getting ready to move to the new apartment oh and Uncharted 2, I have been pretty busy.

So up top we have the "prize" for this giveaway it's not much but it is a limited edition still packaged storm trooper that was given with pre-orders of Star Wars the Force Unleashed. Which by the way was a great game.

Here are the rules to get your hot little hands on this guy. First off you have to leave a comment with your favorite Star Wars quote. We'll keep it simple and keep it only to the six movies, no comics, or games, or books. Also you either have to post about my blog on your blog or facebook and link it with your comment so I can see.

Sunday I will post the winner so get cracking and try to prove you love Star Wars more than me. I will be choosing the winner based on whose quote I like the best. Also I hope to post a review for Uncharted 2 early next week.

Also I will only be shipping to US addresses so make sure you have one you can use in case you win.

FTW

This weeks Friday Time Warp is Act Raiser, another game that shaped me into the gamer I am today. This game was part side scrolling action platformer and part civilization sim.

The story was simple enough, you are a God that has been away for a while and your world has fallen into chaos. Demons have taken over everything and are oppressing your people, you have to swoop in and wipe out the bad boss then guide your little followers in building their civilization back up.

The graphics were pretty good for the time; better in the side scrolling sections than in the simulation sections but on par or better than what the industry had to offer at the time.

The audio was great the sound effects worked well, but the best was the sound track I loved the music at the time it set the mood so perfectly no matter what was going on.

The gameplay is what kept me coming back again and again though. The game took me by surprise the first time I played because it just throws you into the first side scrolling section and then once you beat it this angel shows up and tells you that it's time to help your people by guiding them to build things, seal demon gates, and using the weather to water crops and such. It was simplistic in design but like nothing I had ever tried before.

In closing if you have a Wii you can get this game on the virtual console, I would highly recommend it to any and all. Does anyone else remember this game or is it just me?

Your Turn

So I have yet to receive a single comment on any of my posts and I realize that I have been talking a lot and not opening the floor to your comments. So instead of posting the giveaway today, or another review, or what I am looking forward to.

I want to know what all of you are looking forward to this Holiday season, or if you have gotten a game in the last few weeks that you want to recommend go ahead and mention that too.

I still plan on posting this week's FTW later this evening but I was getting tired of ranting and decided I needed to hear from my readers. So go ahead the floor is yours I will check back in a few hours after I get out of class. So if you have a question for me don't think I am ignoring you, I will get to it later today.

Review

I have to be honest, I never was really interested in Red Faction Guerrilla while it was in development at Volition. I kept hearing that "you can destroy everything" or "you will be able to tear buildings down by taking out key structural points.

I just didn't care, then the game came out and people couldn't stop raving about it saying that it was an industry changing game that brought new meaning to destructible environment. Well after I traded in some games I had finished it was sitting in Gamestop staring me in the face in the used section. I knew I could buy it and if I didn't like it I could take it back in a few days, you know, a "Gamestop rental".

So I went ahead and got it and it turns out they were right. The game starts off with the back-story letting you know how the liberating forces from previous Red Faction games are now (surprise, surprise) abusing power. Well, you of course want no part of it but with in minutes of the game starting you end up getting reason to help the revolution using (you guessed it) guerrilla warfare.

The game has a good graphics engine showing the destruction of everything that you bring down and blow up whether you mean to or not. It handles draw distance and loading times as well as and better than many open world games.

The sound is great, you can hear every groan and creek of the buildings as you tear them apart. The dialog and ambiance is done well too, most memorable in the wastes of the old building later in the game (you will know what I am talking about).

The gameplay is for the most part on par with open world games when it comes to driving, shooting, and navigation. What this game really has to offer is the destruction. Seriously, the first section of the game has you tasked with blowing things up. If I was going to describe this game in a few words it would be "a boy-hood dream play ground." The game doesn't just ask you to blow stuff up, it makes it the key component of the game. How many times have we played games that ask us to kill some general and we have to go through all the twists and turns of his base when we are carrying a rocket launcher. Why can't we blow a hole in the back wall and take him out in a few seconds? Well this is a game that lets you do just that.

In closing I recommend this game if you want a different kind of open world experience, or if you really just want the feeling of destroying a giant structure worth millions of dollars and not going to jail for it.

As a side note I will be holding a give away later this week in which you will have to comment in order to be entered. So keep checking out the site for a chance to win a yet unannounced prize.

Review

So this is my first review. Seeing as how my next game doesn't come out until October 13th I will review the last game I finished playing. I will try to post reviews in a timely manner but since I am not getting games early I won't be able to post them until after the game is released and if I want it and am able to afford it. Now lets get started.






Batman Arkham Asylum from Rock Steady studios has finally delivered on the promise of every single comic game ever made: YOU will feel like the hero. Despite the plethora of Batman games in the past none of them have ever fully delivered because Batman is a multi-layered character. He is a master of hand-to-hand combat, better at stealth than any ninja, and holds a genius intellect.


The impossible was accomplished in this game when every facet of Batman's character was balanced to perfection and yes I said perfection. Now don't get me wrong every game has it's flaws but very few hold the honor that Batman Arkham Asylum shares with few of having it's only flaw being that it ends too quickly.


Graphically it is one of the best looking games on the market right now, the characters move realistically the environment is captivating and Batman even shows damage to his suit as the game progresses.


The sound is great the voice actors from Batman the animated series reprise their roles perfectly pulling you into the story with true to form dialog. The music is well placed and the ambient noise work to support the islands feel.


The story is on par with the best Batman has to offer, having been written for the game by Paul Dini veteran of Batman the animated series. The story is delivered perfectly by using the setting and various characters to make you feel immersed in the Batman universe with everything riding on Batman and in this case you.


The game play is where this show really shines, every real gamer out there has always wanted to be Batman and that wish is fulfilled in this game. From following clues and solving the various challenges around the island placed by the Riddler, to beating henchmen into submission, and of course Batman's bread and butter using misdirection and stealth to take out a room full of armed thugs Batman Arkham Asylum is the first (and hopefully Rock Steady will make sure not the last) time that gamers have ever been able to actually feel like Batman.


In closing I full recommend Batman Arkham Asylum to anyone who is looking for a great action adventure game, it will keep you hooked through the whole game and when you finish it the only let down you will feel is that it is over.


I plan on using the next couple of weeks to do reviews of great games I have played in the last six months, so if you have some requests for recently released games let me know and I will see what I can do.

FTW

Okay so it's time for our first weekly (hopefully) edition of FTW or Friday Time Warp, I will try every Friday to talk about great games from years past. Everything from the NES to now so it could be a really long time ago or just last year, so here we go









Oh Chrono Trigger, by far the best SNES game made by SquareSoft (now Square Enix), so what was so great about it. The game so perfectly blended story gameplay and replay value that it became a quick favorite.

Let's start with the story it covered everything from worldwide destruction, time travel, betrayal and hope that a small force could undo inconceivable wrongs. Not to mention the multiple endings from great and wonderful to.....well at least we didn't all die endings.

The gameplay let you avoid an RPG headache of random encounter battles by being able to see most of the enemies and actually having to approach them in order to enter a turn based battle right on the same screen, successfully keeping the action and the adventure from splitting into two different games (something that ruins far too many RPGs). Not to mention the function to link characters abilities to pull off some incredible co-op moves.

But just about the best thing about Chrono Trigger was the New Game + option. To be able to start the game over after beating it with all the levels, abilities, and gear you had collected on the last play through and go tackle the whole game again from the beginning was a marvel at the time. Which brings up the question of why this is not an option in every single game that has been made since. Developers need to get on the ball and realize sometimes people want to play back through a game not as the struggling hero, but as an ultimate destruction machine, because come on didn't all our hard work the first time mean we earned it?

So now that our time warp is done for this week let me know what you think or if you even ever played this game on any of it's versions, SNES, Playstation or the Nintendo DS. If you have any time warp requests let me know and I will see what I can do.

It Begins

Well after some thought and a little bit of convincing, I have decided to start a gaming blog. I plan on covering games I am looking forward too, games I recommend...or don't (including reviews) and flash backs to great games from my past. If you have requests of games for me to review I will provide one if I have played the game.

No worries about accessibility I have all three current gen systems (PS3, XBOX 360, and Nintendo Wii). The only problem is that I do not have a good PC rig so I can't PC game until I get out of debt and then get enough money to build a new rig. Don't expect me to go out and buy every new game that comes out since I am poor and have a wife and a son (and a baby girl on the way) but I do get games as often as I can afford them. So with out anymore useless babbling let's get started with the next game on my horizon.

"Uncharted 2 Among Thieves" by Naughty Dog studios is the sequel to the previous hit "Uncharted Drakes Fortune"- both PS3 exclusives.



Uncharted was amazing, the game was gorgeous, and graphics don't really matter to me, (they are just about the last thing to make me buy or love a game) but that game looked real in so many ways. The best part of the game was that it felt like playing a summer blockbuster movie; everything from the characters to the story made the whole thing come alive.



So if it isn't apparent by now I am looking forward to Uncharted 2, because well, I loved the first game so much! So if you are without a game system and are looking for a reason to choose between the "big three", trust me, this game is reason enough to pick up a PS3.