Review

So back in 2010 I picked up a title that I had been following a bit but I had not seen a review yet.  The game was being called a God of War Legend of Zelda mash up......so I picked it up.  This title was called Darksiders.

Darksiders became one of my sleeper hits of 2010, I was so surprised by how well the game functioned and flowed that the moment I heard that the sequel was being made I was filled with excitement.

Darksiders 2 has taken that formula and improved on it, in the first game you played War, one of the horsemen of the apocalypse.  In Darksiders 2 you play Death, neither of them are better than the other....but where war is a bulk of raging fury.  Death is a ghost that darts around the battle field eviscerating his enemies.

Graphically this game is standard for our generation but the art design is fabulous.....the locations, characters, and enemies all feel very unique and solid.

The sound is filled with great dialog and wonderful ripping and tearing of flesh and the shattering of bone.

The story is a great addition to the first game....it left me wanting to get my hands on the inevitable third and fourth iterations of the game, since there are 4 horsemen.

The gameplay is a mix of god of war combat style with big weapons, bigger enemies, and devestating combos.  The platforming of Prince of Persia and other action platforming games, and the looting/item grabbing of action RPGs.

If you are looking for a great action adventure game, go get both of these titles Darksiders and Darksiders 2 are more than worth your valuable money.

Review

Oh how I love choices. Open world games are my favorite new frontier in gaming because of all they have to offer. Two very different open world games have been my most recent forays.

First Dragon's Dogma....one of the sleeper hits of the year. It was never on my radar...and then I saw it in action....and the ability to climb on a cyclops and stab his eye, or a chimera and cut of the snake head tail, and riding a dragon while tearing away at the wings made this game fantastic.

If you are into the more D&D realm of RPG land then give it a roll.....you will not be disappointed.

Now for Sleeping Dogs, a game that nearly died as True Crime Hong Kong when Activision dropped it. Thankfully Square Enix must have fallen in love with the combat system in this game. The shooting is doable....the driving is tight and responsive showing that someone with training is driving. But this game shines in it's melee combat being able to feel like you really control the combat is rewarding and the game has all the right variations in the combat to make you want to change up your tactics and approach situations in different ways depending on the number of and types of enemies.

If you are a fan of the GTA series or would just love a really deep fighting engine then look no further Sleeping Dogs will not disappoint.

Review

Two very Different Sandbox games. Recently I played and beat both Saints Row the Third and The Amazing Spider-man. First off I liked both games but they are very different creatures so I can't really compare them other to say that they offer you large open areas to do very different and cool things.

First Saints Row, so I played my first Saints Row game a few weeks ago when Sony offered the second one for free for PlayStation Plus subscribers. I never really put much stock into the series because of the comparisons to Grand Theft Auto which I don't really care for at all. But the level of simple and point less fun in Saints Row 2 made me want to pick this game up.

Yes SRtT is a ridiculous game but that is where the charm lives, the ability to treat the whole world like a giant playground makes me think of the great time I had with Just Cause 2. The story is pretty simple in concept with you trying to take control of a whole city and reestablish your gangs power.

I love the craziness of the game because it made me feel like "yes I am playing a great and fun game" it didn't have all the heavy drama of the GTA series. My only problem is the fact that it was not a game to play around my kids, and I got so tired of the language that I turned the dialog off and the subtitles on so I could choose to read what I wanted to.

Now on to Spider-man, I love the character and I never thought that games did anything right by him until his world was opened and he was placed in New York in Spider-man 2. Now the next step in his evolution has hit with the new web rush power in this game.

I believe that on a less amazing level this game has done for Spider-man what the Arkham games have done for Batman. What I mean is that you actually feel like Spider-man while playing this game just like you feel like Batman while playing the Arkham games.

In closing I would say play these games. If you have concerns then go ahead and give them a rent but a few days will not give you enough time to really experience these games.

Review

I am not a fan of the path that modern day gaming is currently on. We are dominated by first person shooters left and right and all they do is churn out copies of the last game or attempted copies of it over and over. Where as games that follow a gameplay pattern but are not shooters are constantly called repetitive (Starwars the Force Unleashed for example) but please give me a gun and let me run for a few minutes and kill some guys and then see a set piece please.

The only shinning ray of hope I have for the shooter genre is from Tom Clancy, his three dominate game franchises (Rainbow Six, Ghost Recon, And Splinter Cell) brings the tactical aspect to this genre. Thus the reason as to why I was excited for Ghost Recon Future Soldier, and I was not disappointed.

Graphically is where GR suffers at all, sometimes the game is gorgeous and other times it gets a slap of ugly. Like a character that is of set or clipping into the scenery. However over all the game is pretty and the interface and art direction are excellent.

The audio is fantastic every combat sound is amazingly mixed through my surround system. All the weapons and tools have perfect quality and carry what they represent quite well. The voice over work carries the story and makes you actually connect to the characters involved.

The story is pretty predictable sometimes but throws some nice curve balls that help build tension and drive to push through what you are faced with.

The gameplay is a prefect tactical masterpiece, the perfect way to enjoy this game is with friends that have a patient and tactical mentality. If you go run and gun you will get put down by the enemies in seconds especially in the later levels. But if you are able to watch the opposition and plan accordingly you will come out feeling like the unstoppable team that you are. There is also a great thing called "gunsmith" where you can customize your weapons in every way from the paint on the outside all the way to the trigger mechanism on the inside.

The multiplayer is actually fun too, there are two different ways to play multiplayer. Either co-op or competitive, the co-op has two separate ways as well one is the campaign or course and the other is a tactical horde mode called guerrilla. Both are fun and have different styles that help you change up what you are doing if you are getting bored. The standard multiplayer is pretty addicting, playing as squads that have objectives makes a fast paced battlefield and you never feel like you can rest, which is good. It also excels at giving you experience for every action that you do. Even if you don't perform the current objective you are given points for supporting your squad, reviving them or killing an enemy together, or even taking out a guy firing on your buddy.

All in all this game is fantastic, I now there is some DLC on the horizon for the multiplayer but I hope that some campaign DLC will be added as well so that we can complete some more missions as the Ghosts. If you are craving a tactical shooter experience pick this up and dive in you will not be disappointed.

Review

 

A lot of people didn't play the first Prototype, it had a pretty bad release window.  I got it right about the same time that I got the first Infamous (also a great game).  I liked the first game a lot, it was a great sandbox game that made you feel like an unstoppable monster.  Prototype 2 is better in every way.

 The one place this game has it hardest is graphically, it isn't ugly by any means but there are some flat textures and some awkward animations.  All in all though it did the job.

The audio for this game is well done, the voice over work fits right in, however having characters swear every 3 seconds gets old fast, it was like being in the military again.  The combat sounds however from the military weapons to the horrible crushing and slashing sounds your powers do to random meat sacks are great.

The story is obvious and predictable but it was a fun journey.  Honestly a game like this is not really about the story.

The gameplay is what everything is about.  This game is what a sandbox game should be.  Forget grand theft auto those games are okay but I never feel really powerful.  But give me a game like this or the Infamous games and I am a happy camper.  However I would equate the level of fun in Prototype 2 to the type of crazy fun you can have by making your own fun.  I learned how to make my own fun with the original Prototype and Just Cause 2.  Prototype 2 is just like that, there are so many toys at your disposal that you are given a virtual playground.

All in all this is a fun game, if you are unsure I would say give it a rent you could beat it in about 10 hours play time so give it a whirl and see what you think.

Review

Mass Effect 3.....what a great ride.....what an interesting controversy. So I love the Mass Effect universe, it is an amazing piece of Sci Fi lore. The main hope I have now that the trilogy is complete is that we will be able to experience the universe in some other ways.

So down to the bare bones, the gameplay is better than ever it is the best combat system the series has to date and the streamlining of some of the monotony was perfect, like the planet scanning. However I actually miss the mako and the plant drops form the first game.

The graphics are the best to date for the series and the art direction is as fantastic as ever.

Of course the audio is amazing with action and conversations being fantastic. The whole package feels like a great Sci Fi movie series.

Now as far as the great outrage across the Internet goes, I loved the story. I also loved the ending.....and until you experience it you should hold judgement.

This will be my last XBOX 360 review. I sold mine after I realized that I haven't really played it much in the last 2 years. The only game I really loved in the last 2 years was Splinter Cell Conviction. I just hope the next Splinter Cell game is on the PS3 as well.

Review

Tell Tale games is a great company, they are one of the few groups out there who still have some respect for the traditional adventure game dynamic. So lately to take a break from Skyrim I have been playing Uncharted 3 again and I also played all four chapters of Tell Tale's Jurassic Park game and the first three chapters of the Back to the Future game. I can honestly say I was pleasantly surprised.

This week has renewed my faith in the future of modern gaming, despite the overflow of first person shooters and sports games, we still have great gaming out there. With my recent play time of Tell Tale's most recent titles and the all new trailer for Assassin's Creed 3 This has been an inspirational week for me, and it's only Tuesday.