In the same spirit of the "Anime recommendations thread", I'd like for this to be a place to talk about the latest and greatest video games we've played. Rather than going through the trouble of making a new thread EVERYTIME we want to talk about a game we just beat, simply post your thoughts about it here.
For starters; Super Mario Galaxy.
As the name TriLink might imply, I'm somewhat of a Nintendo fan boy. Don't ask me why, but I think it's because Ken Kutaragi touched me inappropriately as a child. Naturally then, I was anxious to get my hands on the latest Super Mario game. And it doesn't dissapoint.
The controls take some getting used to at first, but once you get the hang of them, it's cake. Their more or less identical to previous Mario games, minus the gestures assigned solely to the Wiimote. So if you hated Sunshine's controls, you'd be better off spending your time getting a good spot in line at Best Buy for Halo 4 (you KNOW it's coming). My biggest fear was that the Wii's unique controls would be overused and gimmicky, but I'm happy to report that this isn't the case. Motion controls are required sparingly, but when they are required, there easy and respond well to your movements.
Probably the biggest improvement over past Mario games this go-around is the music. For the first time ever (that I'm aware of), Nintendo has ditched it's all midi soundtrack in favor of a fully orchestrated one, and it shows. There are some incredibly catchy tunes to be found in Galaxy, most of which far surpass anything heard on the Wii thus far. Even my personal favorite, Twilight Princess, is left in the dust.
The gameplay is innovative. Gone are the traditional "flat" levels of yesterday, only to be replaced by "planets". It's hard to explain really, but name of the game is Galaxy. You figure it out.
In the graphics department, Mario has never looked better. The characters and environments are all beautifully rendered. Draw distance, lighting, and particle effects are employed in full force. And most importantly, there are virtually ZERO drops in the framerate. 99.9% of the time things run at a cool 60 fps. Something that cannot be said about it's predecessors.
Last but not least; the story. It's really nothing you haven't seen over and over again, so I'm not even going to bother explaining, except for one thing; Roselina.
Roselina= hottie
Peace...
Video Game Review Thread
Moderators: Rebuild/OT Moderators, Board Staff
Video Game Review Thread
" Just one question America...WHO IS FUCKING OUR PING PONG BALLS!?" -Dr.Stephen T Colbert DFA
- fadingreminder
- Sandalphon
- Age: 58
- Posts: 524
- Joined: Nov 14, 2005
I have one.
Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles
Alright, so if you know me at all, you know I love Resident Evil games. With the exception of the Outbreak, I've loved all of them so far, including Gun Survivor (shooting stuff is fun). That said, I also love the House of the Dead, Virtua Cop, and any other on-rails shooter game. Combining the two was a brilliant move.
Story:
This installment of Resident Evil is great for new-comers and veterans alike. It consists of Resident Evil 0, REmake, RE3, portions of RE2, and the Fall of Umbrella itself, which has only ever been mentioned in other games. If you're new, there's plenty of information to get into the story. If you've played them all, there's still supplemental materials and scenarios that were only ever mentioned before that you get to watch unfold.
Control:
I've played this with both the Wii Zapper and the Wiimote, I prefer the Zapper. With the Wiimote the nunchuk is optional, as it is only used for turning to look/shoot at things that you wouldn't otherwise face, which is really only useful if you pass an item you wanted to pick up. Swinging the Wiimote will reload or swing your knife if you have the action button held down. The Wii Zapper makes the game come alive though. It holds like a pistol with the nunchuk not attached to the Zapper peripheral. This makes aiming much more precise and fun. In this case the nunchuk is used to reload and swing the knife.
Difficulty:
Three difficulties are available to the player from the start. Easy, Medium, Hard. This really just determines enemy aggression, how much damage you take, and how much damage you deal. Regardless of the difficulty level, shooting a zombie in such a way as to scramble the brain will always result in an instant kill. This is not as easy as it sounds. At first I thought it would be cake, headshots aren't that tough. Shooting a zombie in the chin or cheek or ear or whatever doesn't cut it though. You must shoot the zombie in the forehead, temple, top of the head... basically where the brain would be hit. This is really considering the targets are not only moving, but lurch about and swing their heads all around. Headshots for other creatures and bosses with tiny heads is even worse. All things considered I'd say the difficulty was just right.
The game includes grenades you can carry for crowd control and quick boss executions as well as a sidearm that you choose from the beginning of every mission, such as the shotgun, submachine gun, etc. with plentiful ammo available so you can use the shotty to your heart's content most of the time. Weapon upgrades can also be bought with Stars earned via mission completions.
Graphics:
Pretty amazing for the Wii, running in 480p there are no jaggies and it's full widescreen.
Final Decision:
Honestly, $50 is a little expensive unless you're a hardcore RE fan. You can beat this game in around 10 hours or so, if you're a completionist like I am and need to get all S-ranks and find all files though, it can take longer. I'm up to 30 hours and still have tons left to do. The replay value is great.
I don't regret buying it or paying as much as I did, but I recommend renting it to anyone who can because this game is not for everyone. For RE fans though, it's definately a must-have.
Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles
Alright, so if you know me at all, you know I love Resident Evil games. With the exception of the Outbreak, I've loved all of them so far, including Gun Survivor (shooting stuff is fun). That said, I also love the House of the Dead, Virtua Cop, and any other on-rails shooter game. Combining the two was a brilliant move.
Story:
This installment of Resident Evil is great for new-comers and veterans alike. It consists of Resident Evil 0, REmake, RE3, portions of RE2, and the Fall of Umbrella itself, which has only ever been mentioned in other games. If you're new, there's plenty of information to get into the story. If you've played them all, there's still supplemental materials and scenarios that were only ever mentioned before that you get to watch unfold.
Control:
I've played this with both the Wii Zapper and the Wiimote, I prefer the Zapper. With the Wiimote the nunchuk is optional, as it is only used for turning to look/shoot at things that you wouldn't otherwise face, which is really only useful if you pass an item you wanted to pick up. Swinging the Wiimote will reload or swing your knife if you have the action button held down. The Wii Zapper makes the game come alive though. It holds like a pistol with the nunchuk not attached to the Zapper peripheral. This makes aiming much more precise and fun. In this case the nunchuk is used to reload and swing the knife.
Difficulty:
Three difficulties are available to the player from the start. Easy, Medium, Hard. This really just determines enemy aggression, how much damage you take, and how much damage you deal. Regardless of the difficulty level, shooting a zombie in such a way as to scramble the brain will always result in an instant kill. This is not as easy as it sounds. At first I thought it would be cake, headshots aren't that tough. Shooting a zombie in the chin or cheek or ear or whatever doesn't cut it though. You must shoot the zombie in the forehead, temple, top of the head... basically where the brain would be hit. This is really considering the targets are not only moving, but lurch about and swing their heads all around. Headshots for other creatures and bosses with tiny heads is even worse. All things considered I'd say the difficulty was just right.
The game includes grenades you can carry for crowd control and quick boss executions as well as a sidearm that you choose from the beginning of every mission, such as the shotgun, submachine gun, etc. with plentiful ammo available so you can use the shotty to your heart's content most of the time. Weapon upgrades can also be bought with Stars earned via mission completions.
Graphics:
Pretty amazing for the Wii, running in 480p there are no jaggies and it's full widescreen.
Final Decision:
Honestly, $50 is a little expensive unless you're a hardcore RE fan. You can beat this game in around 10 hours or so, if you're a completionist like I am and need to get all S-ranks and find all files though, it can take longer. I'm up to 30 hours and still have tons left to do. The replay value is great.
I don't regret buying it or paying as much as I did, but I recommend renting it to anyone who can because this game is not for everyone. For RE fans though, it's definately a must-have.
I really enjoyed Umbrella Chronicles.
It was a little on the short side, but for a huge fan of the series like me, it was fun revisiting all of those stories from the old games. The only complaints I have is that the framerate really dropped when several enemies were on screen (which happens quite frequently). It kinda took away from the action.
And there were several locations I would've like them to revisit that didn't make the cut. The library from RE2, the gas station from RE3, etc.
It was a little on the short side, but for a huge fan of the series like me, it was fun revisiting all of those stories from the old games. The only complaints I have is that the framerate really dropped when several enemies were on screen (which happens quite frequently). It kinda took away from the action.
And there were several locations I would've like them to revisit that didn't make the cut. The library from RE2, the gas station from RE3, etc.
" Just one question America...WHO IS FUCKING OUR PING PONG BALLS!?" -Dr.Stephen T Colbert DFA
- MaggotMaster
- Banned
- Posts: 1270
- Joined: Sep 10, 2006
- Location: Proletarier aller L
- Trigger's Elysium
- Lilin
- Posts: 1116
- Joined: Nov 19, 2006
- Location: Under the Crimson Air
Mega Man Legends 2
That's all I really need to say. If you don't like it, you can just fuck right off. Screw your opinion.
That's all I really need to say. If you don't like it, you can just fuck right off. Screw your opinion.
He was warrior and mystic, ogre and saint, the fox and the innocent, chivalrous, ruthless, less than a god, more than a man. There is no measuring Muad'Dib's motives by ordinary standards. In the moment of his triumph, he saw the death prepared for him, yet he accepted the treachery. Can you say he did this out of a sense of justice? Whose justice, then? Remember, we speak now of the Muad'Dib who ordered battle drums made from his enemies' skins, the Muad'Dib who denied the conventions of his ducal past with a wave of the hand, saying merely: "I am the Kwisatz Haderach. That is reason enough."
- ThroneofDravaris
- Sachiel
- Posts: 229
- Joined: Aug 04, 2005
- Location: Perth, Western Australia
Sachiel_13 wrote:i tried playing the first one, i didnt get too far before i got bored with it and never touched it again.
One thing I will say is that the minimum level-grinding requirements in the first are quite silly. Between every boss it seems you are expected to endure at least four straight hours of battles if you hope to even stand a chance. It didn't bother me so much because I used it as an opportunity to listen to talk radio and have a few beers. Thought despite that, I doubt there is anyone in the world who's had to take the 80+ hours the box promises. (Yeah, neat way to try to fulfill that promise, guys. `_`)
I just bought Xenosaga because I wanted something long. I guess I can't plead complete disappointment. :/
- slothen
- First Ancestral Sloth
- Age: 37
- Posts: 2558
- Joined: Sep 12, 2006
- Location: Indianapolis
- Gender: Male
Assassin's Creed
I purchased this game the day after it came out. I hadn't been exposed to any hype of it, with the exception of the sneak peaks in game informer. This game caused a bit of a stir, getting mediocre scores from many reviewers, but championed by people like Gabe on penny arcade. For more on that see here and scroll down
Graphics: They are good. Excellent draw distance, no noticeable drop in frame rate ever. The animations are absolutely perfect. I don't own an HDTV, so i was missing out a bit and could hardly read the text. Occasionally during kill-moves the game picks an unfortunate cinematic angle, which was slight irritation. The "interrogation" npcs often have the same character model, a small complaint.
Sound: In my opinion the games weakest aspect. The voice acting is strong. Very good. The back-and-forth between Altair and his victims often had me questioning my own beliefs. The problem is that I'm used to playing the halo games, where the marines you fight along side have thousands and thousands of lines of dialogue to draw from. While in Assassin's Creed, the pool of dialogue is pathetic. Beggars all have the same voice and have two alternate lines. When people see you climbing buildings they have like 10 different lines to say. Its REALLY ANNOYING.
Gameplay: This game nails it. Its really a joy to play. The fighting system is incredibly fun and cinematic. Each weapon has its own set of unique animations and finishing moves, all of which are fucking awesome. Above all else, the controls are COMPLETELY NATURAL after half an hour of play. Did I mention that you can climb anywhere? Half this game is about free-running. The animations again are perfect. If something looks like you could climb it, then you can. Sometimes there are guards on the buildings. Just toss em off. Great reaction from the crowd below as a body falls 3 stories to land in the middle of a bazaar.
Story: I believe this story is strong, intelligent, and well written. A central idea is this, do the ends justify the means? This game had me on both sides of the issue several times. There are nine central assassinations, and the game play before each assassination is quite similar. Each assassination is unique and well designed. The game sets itself up for a sequel, if i recall correctly its supposed to be the first installment of a trilogy.
Replayability: Good. You can go back through the game without having to re-explore or or lose progress on your optional pointless collectan quests, which means if you want to revisit and assassination to pull it off perfectly, you can, without nearly as much time invested as the first time around.
I purchased this game the day after it came out. I hadn't been exposed to any hype of it, with the exception of the sneak peaks in game informer. This game caused a bit of a stir, getting mediocre scores from many reviewers, but championed by people like Gabe on penny arcade. For more on that see here and scroll down
Graphics: They are good. Excellent draw distance, no noticeable drop in frame rate ever. The animations are absolutely perfect. I don't own an HDTV, so i was missing out a bit and could hardly read the text. Occasionally during kill-moves the game picks an unfortunate cinematic angle, which was slight irritation. The "interrogation" npcs often have the same character model, a small complaint.
Sound: In my opinion the games weakest aspect. The voice acting is strong. Very good. The back-and-forth between Altair and his victims often had me questioning my own beliefs. The problem is that I'm used to playing the halo games, where the marines you fight along side have thousands and thousands of lines of dialogue to draw from. While in Assassin's Creed, the pool of dialogue is pathetic. Beggars all have the same voice and have two alternate lines. When people see you climbing buildings they have like 10 different lines to say. Its REALLY ANNOYING.
Gameplay: This game nails it. Its really a joy to play. The fighting system is incredibly fun and cinematic. Each weapon has its own set of unique animations and finishing moves, all of which are fucking awesome. Above all else, the controls are COMPLETELY NATURAL after half an hour of play. Did I mention that you can climb anywhere? Half this game is about free-running. The animations again are perfect. If something looks like you could climb it, then you can. Sometimes there are guards on the buildings. Just toss em off. Great reaction from the crowd below as a body falls 3 stories to land in the middle of a bazaar.
Story: I believe this story is strong, intelligent, and well written. A central idea is this, do the ends justify the means? This game had me on both sides of the issue several times. There are nine central assassinations, and the game play before each assassination is quite similar. Each assassination is unique and well designed. The game sets itself up for a sequel, if i recall correctly its supposed to be the first installment of a trilogy.
Replayability: Good. You can go back through the game without having to re-explore or or lose progress on your optional pointless collectan quests, which means if you want to revisit and assassination to pull it off perfectly, you can, without nearly as much time invested as the first time around.
God, Apparently you all have been discussing Q since November. Catching up on the discussion is harrowing.
MAL Profile
MAL Profile
I've seriously considered buying this game for some time now, but the negative reviews it's been getting are pretty much the only thing that have been stopping me. It looks freaking awesome, but I'm reluctant to buy something so many people say is mediocre.
I dunno, maybe it's something to waste my Christmas money on?
I dunno, maybe it's something to waste my Christmas money on?
" Just one question America...WHO IS FUCKING OUR PING PONG BALLS!?" -Dr.Stephen T Colbert DFA
- slothen
- First Ancestral Sloth
- Age: 37
- Posts: 2558
- Joined: Sep 12, 2006
- Location: Indianapolis
- Gender: Male
i wouldn't rent it from blockbuster, you'd feel way too rushed. Like i was with Bioshock. If you're signed up for gametap or something that lets you have out one title at a time, that would be good.
God, Apparently you all have been discussing Q since November. Catching up on the discussion is harrowing.
MAL Profile
MAL Profile
What better way to resurrect this thread than with my critique of...
GTA IV
I've never played a GTA game in my life. The whole thought of playing as a criminal and killing/robbing random people never really appealed to me that much. But when IGN.com gave the game a perfect score, I decided to give it a shot. And the result is a game that'll keep you busy for months to come.
Graphics
GTA IV does some very impressive things in the graphics department. The character models are nothing to write home about. It's the environments that make this game a joy to behold. Rockstar has managed to recreate an entire city in realtime. If you can see a building, you can visit it (with little to no loading time I might add). And there are a LOT of buildings. Not to mention some very nice complementary environmental effects, and and an excellent day/night system. When the sun goes down, you really do feel like your in a big city at night time. Everytime I drove by a black guy on the street I had to resist the impulse to lock the car door!. LOL, racism is fun!
There truly is some eye candy in this game, but the average character models prevent it from achieving elite status.
9/10
Sound
Hands down, GTA IV has the best sound of any game this generation. There's voice acting for every character in here. No annoying text that you have to squint your eyes to read every 20 seconds (looking at you Nintendo). Environmental noises all sound great too. From car horns to the sirens of the police cruisers desperately trying to catch you, everything is top notch. But what really sets GTA apart from the competition are the radio stations. Every time you enter a vehicle, you're given the option of listening to one of about a dozen radio stations, each with totally unique content. Everything from conservative talk radio to 80's punk rock is here, each bringing it's own brand of awesomeness to the show. What more can you ask for?
10/10
Game Play
To be honest, when I started typing this review about a week ago, I had every intention of saying how much the game play blows. But in my infinite wisdom, I decided to give it a little more time. And I'm glad I did, because this game is fun. Their are two different types of engines in this game; driving ,and stuff you do on foot. The driving and camera take some getting used to at first. I dropped more than a few F-bombs in frustration because I kept crashing into things during the middle of missions. But once you get a feel for the physics of the game, it's actually a very smooth ride. Heck, even driving drunk is fun. That's right, if you have one too many at the local tavern, you're ability to drive a car becomes impaired. The camera bobs up and down, and you cannot drive in a straight line. Which makes trying to get away from the cops for DUI even more fun.
The controls for Niko on foot are more of the same; good, but not great. What makes this game fun is the sheer variety and amount of things to do in Liberty City. Virtually anything you can imagine, you can experience. Everything from fake internet, television, bowling, pool, and tons more; it's all there. You couldn't even touch the main story for weeks and still have plenty of things to keep you busy. But you won't want to, because the main story is good (at least for GTA). For a cold blooded killer, you really start to feel for Niko after a few hours into the storyline. It really gave me an incentive to complete the game that I didn't think would be there at first.
9/10
Overall
Rockstar games has been working on GTA IV for what seems like forever, and it shows. After several delays to refine the game play, I can honestly say this game is something special. But contrary to IGN's opinion, it's not perfect.
9.6/10
GTA IV
I've never played a GTA game in my life. The whole thought of playing as a criminal and killing/robbing random people never really appealed to me that much. But when IGN.com gave the game a perfect score, I decided to give it a shot. And the result is a game that'll keep you busy for months to come.
Graphics
GTA IV does some very impressive things in the graphics department. The character models are nothing to write home about. It's the environments that make this game a joy to behold. Rockstar has managed to recreate an entire city in realtime. If you can see a building, you can visit it (with little to no loading time I might add). And there are a LOT of buildings. Not to mention some very nice complementary environmental effects, and and an excellent day/night system. When the sun goes down, you really do feel like your in a big city at night time. Everytime I drove by a black guy on the street I had to resist the impulse to lock the car door!. LOL, racism is fun!
There truly is some eye candy in this game, but the average character models prevent it from achieving elite status.
9/10
Sound
Hands down, GTA IV has the best sound of any game this generation. There's voice acting for every character in here. No annoying text that you have to squint your eyes to read every 20 seconds (looking at you Nintendo). Environmental noises all sound great too. From car horns to the sirens of the police cruisers desperately trying to catch you, everything is top notch. But what really sets GTA apart from the competition are the radio stations. Every time you enter a vehicle, you're given the option of listening to one of about a dozen radio stations, each with totally unique content. Everything from conservative talk radio to 80's punk rock is here, each bringing it's own brand of awesomeness to the show. What more can you ask for?
10/10
Game Play
To be honest, when I started typing this review about a week ago, I had every intention of saying how much the game play blows. But in my infinite wisdom, I decided to give it a little more time. And I'm glad I did, because this game is fun. Their are two different types of engines in this game; driving ,and stuff you do on foot. The driving and camera take some getting used to at first. I dropped more than a few F-bombs in frustration because I kept crashing into things during the middle of missions. But once you get a feel for the physics of the game, it's actually a very smooth ride. Heck, even driving drunk is fun. That's right, if you have one too many at the local tavern, you're ability to drive a car becomes impaired. The camera bobs up and down, and you cannot drive in a straight line. Which makes trying to get away from the cops for DUI even more fun.
The controls for Niko on foot are more of the same; good, but not great. What makes this game fun is the sheer variety and amount of things to do in Liberty City. Virtually anything you can imagine, you can experience. Everything from fake internet, television, bowling, pool, and tons more; it's all there. You couldn't even touch the main story for weeks and still have plenty of things to keep you busy. But you won't want to, because the main story is good (at least for GTA). For a cold blooded killer, you really start to feel for Niko after a few hours into the storyline. It really gave me an incentive to complete the game that I didn't think would be there at first.
9/10
Overall
Rockstar games has been working on GTA IV for what seems like forever, and it shows. After several delays to refine the game play, I can honestly say this game is something special. But contrary to IGN's opinion, it's not perfect.
9.6/10
" Just one question America...WHO IS FUCKING OUR PING PONG BALLS!?" -Dr.Stephen T Colbert DFA
Return to “Video Games and Gaming”
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 15 guests