Game Review: FEZ

Wrong FEZ.

Still wrong FEZ. But it is funny.

OH HELL NO! Wrong FEZ!!!



THIS is more like it!

 There hasn't been a game that has come out, for me, in the past few game console generations that has captured in spirit and feeling my earliest adventures on my NES. One of whimsy, full of color, simple and elegant. One that as you peel back the many layers is also a deep and somewhat dark experience. One that makes you actually have to take notes, yes take notes as on paper. Yes writing real notes, jotting down clues to what is happening, breaking the secret coded languages through out the game to discover what this new and exciting world our hero Gomez is bending reality in.

This is FEZ by Polytron Corporation and it is my hands down prime nominee for 2012 Game of the Year. Bold statement for sure but I mean it. I haven't played anything this satisfying in decades. I could literally feel myself back in 1987 with my NES playing Super Mario Bros for the first time. It was awkward and challenging but became infinitely rewarding as I passed each challenge. And when some of the secrets began to unlock for me each felt like a genuine accomplishment.

Now I have completed this game fully. I've unlocked all achievements and found all the secrets. I will also say on record that I looked up advice for five of the puzzles because they were so difficult that it appears only the developers knew their purpose (Black Monolith anyone?). That was five puzzles out of what felt like hundreds and I earned every puzzle I solved too. This game does a wonderful job of presenting its challenges in such a way that it doesn't feel that the game is smarter than the player but that each is a mystery that begs for you to dig deeper, search harder for the illusive answers.

The sound design, level design, aesthetic look of the world, everything is flawless. Gomez can't die, he just respawns immediately. Day and night cycle through the world changing puzzles and encounters constantly. You find artifacts and treasure maps that keep pushing you forward in your effort to rebuild this shattered golden cube that opened your eyes at the beginning and showed you the 2D world was really in three dimensions.....thanks to your little red FEZ on top of Gomez's head.

For fans of puzzlers, light platforming, old school gaming sensibilities....for fans of depth and fun I just cannot recommend FEZ enough. If you have access to Xbox Live Arcade pick it up as it will enthral you like no other game I have played so far.

FEZ.....this is art in game form.


And don't forget to talk to Owls.

My First Videogame!

Last night while playing more Gears of War 3 one of the new people I was playing with asked the rather innocuous question of "What was your first video game?". And after listening to such responses as Halo 2 and Spyro the Dragon I knew I was going to horribly date myself with my answer.


And not only did I date myself** by saying it was "Combat" for the Atari 2600....

Warfare was never so blocky...

...I also gave the wrong answer as well. You see "Combat" may have been the first game I pulled out of the Atari 2600 box when my father was trying to hook it up to the TV on Christmas morning all the while my 4 year old self was bouncing around impatiently...it actually wasn't the first Atari game I owned.


My mother, bless her heart, bought me an Atari game so I could play it at my friends house across the street from where I lived in Texas. I will also say that Rocky, Travis and I had fun playing it and it was quite appropriate to own this game in Texas too.

Is that Clint Eastwood on the cover?

Oooh....look at those graphics!

"Outlaw" was a compilation of a few western themed mini games. Hell pretty much all the Atari games were mini games of some kind. But for this 4 year old having a game with cowboys in it, especially to a kid that played Cowboys and Indians outdoors with the neighborhood kids, this was gaming nirvana. And this was the game that started me on my lifelong hobby of video games and gaming.

So thanks Mom for getting me this when I was a kid. You were ahead of the curve with exposing me to technology. I also thank you for not accidentally picking up another cowboy and indians themed game as it may have scarred my childhood forever.

If you want to know more....just not at work ok?



** I want to point out that when I said 'Combat' the conversation got so quiet that you could hear a flea fart at 100 meters. It was either a cross between 'WTF is an Atari 2600' and 'Holy sheetz this guy is older than my dad'. I want to cry.

New Shadowrun Game(s)

So while browsing the interweb this morning I come across this interesting article on Kotaku. Its about a Kickstarter funded Shadowrun video game that isn't the the browser based one. (BTW, the browser based one doesn't do anything for me for reasons I have yet to discover...)


What truly intrigues me about the project is who is helming it. Jordan Weisman (one of the creators to Shadowrun way back in the day). This in some way could be considered to be a coup of sorts. It embraces a very old school mentality and if they are using the old Data East made Shadowrun SNES game for inspiration I will be a very happy boy.


So happy in fact I think I may kick some money to the project just so it can happen.

Shadowrun Returns Kickstarter


I wish them well on this and I hope this game truly does kick some serious arse.

Review: Kingdoms of Amalur:Reckoning

Rated M  X360 Version

I have played the hell out of this game. I've sunk in close to 60 hours in the world of Amalur and I have loved every blessed minute of it. Its just a fun game. Its a 'plug in and play for some time' fun game. It is nowhere near as deep as Skyrim or other giant RPGs out there but where this game truly shines it does better than most others.

Sooo....pretty!

So lets get this out of the way now. Kingdoms of Amalur has a very bland story. It is generic and not very inspired and that is surprising since they had R.A. Salvatore write the story. Granted it got much cooler in the final moments of the game but it drags it ass all the way up to that point. The quests, whether they are main story, faction, side or fetch, are all rather dull too. I did enjoy the The Warsworn story line and the finale to the House of Ballads story too. It seemed the factions got the better deal for writing than the main story. Hopefully this will be addressed in future sequels. And its an EA game....of course they will sequelize it.

What I did like about this game was the sense of scale to everything. The world of Amalur is just this large and vibrant world that just beckons you to keep moving through to find that next new area. I had many a 'damn' moment when I entered a new region and was stunned by the look of it all. From the dense ethereal fey woodlands to the crystalline mountains in the last parts of the game to the grand scale castles and cities...this game looks good. I have always loved the colorful, unrealistic WoW looking graphics and Amalur does this in a grand fashion.

By the same token the sound design and musical score is pretty good too. Gives the game a grand scale feel especially the combat music. The voice acting, however, is rather stiff and forgettable. Still I feel that will be something any sequels forthcoming will address. I really can only see this franchise getting better and bigger.

Now the BEST part of this game is its ultra tight and responsive combat. It is just so refreshing to play an action/RPG with such a great grasp on the combat side of things. You can switch between your primary and secondary weapons on the fly helping to create your own personal combat style based on which weapons you prefer. You can also quickly activate special abilities with a press of the RT and then press what corresponding face button that power is. Its fast. Real fast.

I also like how you level your character up. Each level you put one skill point in a select number of skills (like Detect Hidden or Blacksmithing) which give you benefits to those skills depending on your rank. Then you get three points to distribute to the attributes of either Might (melee), Finesse (range/stealth combat) and Sorcery (magic). As you add points you can customize which powers, passive abilities, weapons and spells you want your character to have. So you can customize how you want to battle the forces of evil in Amalur to which ever way your heart desires.

And if you want to change your load out you can speak to a Fate Weaver and, for a nominal fee, they can undo all your points for you to reissue however you want. And you can do this whenever you feel like it. That is refreshing, the ability to never be locked down into only one way to play your game.

Lastly with combat there is the Fate Shift. When your fate meter is full you can Fate Shift and enter Reckoning mode which slows down combat for your opponents and you deal more damage and when finishing off enemies you enter a quick time event that can double your experience points gained by 100% the norm. Its sweet.

So in conclusion I liked this game greatly and I'm still playing it to finish up some straggler achievements I need to unlock. I can't wait to start over as a new character and play this game completely different than my first play through. Even for its faults Amalur was a fun experience and I would easily recommend it to any one looking for a fast, fun experience.

And the winner for Informed Parent of the Year 2012 goes to....

....that dumb ass lady we saw at the mall yesterday who bought Grand Theft Auto 4 for the PS3 for her kid who wasn't older than 8 YEARS OLD!

The reason for the rating is right on the damn box!!! Read! READ!!!!

The ESRB rated this game 'M' which means 17yrs old and older for "Intense Violence, Blood, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content, Partial Nudity and Use of Drugs and Alcohol."  (Go here for the PDF of the full statement).


This just baffles me on levels I can't grasp. The game is clearly labeled. The store clerks around my area at all GameStops, Best Buy, Target, etc.. check ID on every game sold with a 'M' rating. At some point it no longer becomes the responsibilty of the retailers to keep games with questionable content for minors out of the hands of those same kids. It becomes the parents job.



 Definition of 'Parent' by Dictionary.com is:

1. a father or a mother.

2. an ancestor, precursor, or progenitor.

3. a source, origin, or cause.

4. a protector or guardian.

5. Biology . any organism that produces or generates another.


 

Numbers 1 & 4 are the most important. Please start acting like parents to your kids and less like 'friends', its a disservice to them and when you realize your dumb mistake you blame the industry that created the media that was not intended for your kid instead of your damn self for buying it for them.

8 years old and playing GTA 4. The stupid.....it hurts so much....


 

**steps off soap box**

Review: Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception

This was one of my most anticipated games of 2011 and I finally got my hands on playing it after Christmas. What was the verdict to the third part of the Nathan Drake saga? Does it hold up to the brilliance of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves?

With heavy heart I say no, no it doesn't. But in all honesty it is almost impossible to replicate perfection. Uncharted 3 isn't a horrible game it just isn't the finale that we should have received. This game should have been the second game with Among Thieves as the finale. Let me elaborate because this game both enraptured me and enraged me simultaneously.


The good of it is the that Uncharted has never looked better in the series. Naughty Dog really pulled out the stops on the ambiance of each environment with some spectacular vistas to behold. Some of my personal favorites were the ruined crusader castle in Yemen and the sheer beauty of the desert you get stranded in in the game's final acts.

Ooooh.....sand-tastic!

The voice acting is superb as always. Hearing the banter between Nate and Sully never sounded better and more natural. The banter between the characters is still amusing but there were a few times it felt they were really trying to make Drake a smart-ass more than needed. At least as the jokes fall flat with the player they also fall flat with the other characters too and they have no problem telling him that.


They musical score is quite engrossing and retains its big budget action movie soundtrack appeal. The familiar Uncharted theme is still present as well and is still a favorite of mine. Sound effects are equally good with melee combat noises sounding very organic, gunfire is loud and crisp and explosions are deep and full of bass.


So far its looking good but some critical areas just fall flat or become outright frustrating. The story and writing is some of the weakest of the series with more plot holes than both games combined. I swear the only reason Salim is introduced in the last chapters is just because Naughy Dog couldn't figure out how to get Drake to stop being lost in the desert and get him a horse to ride. Also the general disappearance of Chloe and Charlie (who was with you from the beginning of the game) and how they are not even mentioned at the end is just bad writing.

This is Charlie Cutter. He was awesome. He then disappeared without no further mention. He also is a clone of Jason Statham.

Also the sudden reveal that Drake and Elena got married after Among Thieves but it fell apart is barely discussed. You get glimpses but nothing further given. Hell you get more background info from the strategy guide than from the game itself. What the hell?


One of my biggest complaints was the total over animating of Drake. It seems like Naughty Dog wanted to go with realism with how he moved and instead created a character with a Monk-esque need to touch every flipping thing he walks past. He also is constantly looking around like hyper paranoid person. In addition when he walks/runs/climbs/jumps now he looks like he is constantly drunk. Its too much animation and the end result is sloppy. And because of the constant bumbling around the controls suffer due to more frames of animation and Drake not stopping mid-stumble to do what the hell you are inputting into the controller.

This isn't the end of the problems though. While melee combat was improved vastly over the second game they totally went backwards and made the shooting almost unplayable with near unresponsive targeting and some desire to have far too much recoil for each fire arm. I don't see this much inaccurate shooting in the worst FPS or more realistic one. Uncharted 2's ranged combat was buttery smooth and fun, this had me screaming at the tv in full on rage quit mode during the games numerous and unnecessarily long gun battles.


I also don't appreciate having enemies with unlimited ammo for guns and grenades with expert level marksmanship while you bumble around like a monkey fucking a doorknob in the dark. I didn't even die this much in Battlefield 3 and that is a harder game where precision is a must. Uncharted is supposed to be like a big budget fun summer movie. This felt cheap and I didn't think I was screwing up as much as this aspect of the game was just poorly designed.


Finally some of the level design, while inspired, was poorly laid out. There was more times than I care to admit that I couldn't figure out where to go in the level next due to its cluttered environments. Don't get me wrong they were gorgeous but when you can't figure out how to get the hell out of an area that doesn't have a puzzle to solve just sucks and makes you feel like a moron.


This is a rough review for me to put to words as I am a huge fan of this series of games. If I was comparing it to other third person action/adventure games out on the home consoles it stands heads and shoulders above those. I can't though. I have to compare it to the other two games in the series and when doing this I can say its a technical marvel but is the worst game of the series. With Uncharted: Drakes Fortune and the sublime Uncharted 2: Among Thieves I played through those games multiple times to find all the secrets, to re-experience the world, the story, the characters. With Drake's Deception I can say with all honestly I will not go back to it after finishing it.


So Uncharted fans be wary its not as good as Among Thieves by any means. Rent or borrow it if you want to finish the series. Or better yet just imagine how Among Thieves ended and leave it at that.  I'm glad I got this as a gift and didn't buy it myself because I may have set fire to the disc. Gift eased that rage slighly.

File this one under: Games That Cause Pain.

The 12 Days of Blogs-mas: Ocho

A question came through from my squirrel hating pal from Indiana asking if there were any games out there as unique as Katamari Damacy and its sequels and off shoots. I could probably think of a few suggestions but my version of unique (artistic, original, inspired) may be different from another's version of unique. In this sense 'unique' could mean 'What other games are out there as friggin' weird and Japanese like Katamari?'. I may have a suggestion or two.


Noby Noby Boy

This game was done by the same person that did Katamari and its just as weird. You play as BOY who's job is to stretch around the board without breaking to maximize your score as much as possible. Your score then goes to GIRL who then stretches out from Earth to the Moon and beyond in the solar system.

Moo!

I don't want to know what's going on here...

It's bizarre. And if you're hell bent on purchasing it you can get it for iOS. I'm sure of one reader who probably will.



ICO / Shadow of the Colossus Collection  (PS3)

Two classic and critical favorites from the Playstation 2 era that have been given a graphical lift for the HD Playstation 3.

ICO was unique in that you played a boy born with horns who was abandoned by his village in a ruin, I suppose they were afraid of your sexy horns, and while exploring you find Yorda. She's trapped in a cage and doesn't speak your language. You release her then are attacked by shadow creatures. After fighting them back you do the only thing you can....you take Yorda's hand and run, leading her to safety and protecting her. It's unique that the story is kind of opened up to you through your actions, taking Yorda's hand connects you to her on a more emotional level (and has never been done better....sorry Fable 3) and the look/feel of the environment was stunning. At the time I never played anything like it. Still haven't.

Shadow of the Colossus starred an unnamed hero who is trying to save his deceased love by returning her to life. To do this he makes a deal with an ancient deity to slay 16 colossi, these immense creatures roaming this wilderness. Taking up sword and mounting his horse he rides out into the badlands to hunt the unstoppable creatures. The badlands are inhabited by you, your horse and the colossi. The sense of loneliness is remarkable. The size of the wasteland is huge. And the colossi are bigger. Each an exercise in puzzle solving (how to navigate up the beasts to find their weak spots) and skill to take each down. I also was marvelling at the sense of scale this game has. You truly feel you are fighting creatures that make you seem like you are an ant in comparison. Its impressive.

David VS Colossus.

The art direction is great, the soundtrack is epic and the story takes a rather tragic turn towards the end. And its all about what would you do to save the one you loved. Stunning, just stunning.



Rez / Child of Eden (Sega Dreamcast/PS2/XBLA // X360/PS3)

I'm listing both of these together even though they were published by two different game companies these games were made by the same man and same creative vision.  Tetsuya Mizuguchi is the creator of both of these rhythm/ on-rails shooters. What separates these games apart from other shooters is both art direction, music and style.

Rez was out originally for the Sega Dreamcast and the Playstation 2. It involves hacking into a computer system to essentially save an A.I. trapped within. Broke up over five distinct levels, each with its own feel from Egypt to Babylon. The soundtrack is just spectacular especially for fans of trance music. I also love the wire-frame look and feel of the environment and enemies. Next to TRON this is how I envision what hacking a computer system looks like if you were inside the data.

Child of Eden is in a way the spiritual sequel to Rez. It just ramps up everything for the modern console platforms (PS3/X360). Graphics, art direction, animation, sound track. Its all been improved above and beyond my expectations to a near dream like quality. I like that Child of Eden has a more organic look to it than the wire frame look of Rez. It shows how with time technology improves. Add to it motion controls with the Kinect or PlayStation Move and the whole experience changes and becomes truly interactive.

Now I could go on and on about another game, Portal 2, and say its unique because its so flawless and that's a rarity in this day and age. Everything is perfect. Graphics, sound, voice acting, writing, game pacing, level design....its the most polished game I've ever played. My only complaint was I wanted more. That's it.

Instead I'm going to leave you with a look at a game called 'Corpse Party' I saw at the on the Life in 16-bit blog I follow. Follow the link and read the string of screen caps for this game. I think the dialogue is quite unique and its available for download on the PlayStation Network.


So did this work for you Jesse? Some interesting games here each with their own unique qualities. And then there is Noby Noby Boy.

Review: Saints Row the Third

I've always looked at the Saints Row franchise with a bit of disdain. To me it was the 'me too' game that THQ put out to cash in on the popularity of the Grand Theft Auto franchise. And I can't say that statement was too far from the truth just from looking at the original Saints Row. So I kept away. I also skipped Saints Row 2. I didn't care. Then I heard about this game and I was in a state of 'who cares' until I saw what you could do in this game.

Saints Row the Third is not a GTA clone anymore. It dances to its own drummer now and has taken ridiculousness to a level not before seen in a video game in my opinion. The introductory level has the Third Street Saints robbing a bank by using explosives to blast the roof off the high rise building to have a helicopter airlift the vault out only to be thwarted by the SWAT team when they brought out armored attack choppers. The player is controlling the leader of the Saints while hanging off the side of the vault while gunning down wave after wave of SWAT team members.

Eventually the Saints are bailed out of jail by the leader of The Syndicate (a conglomerate of rival gangs that want the Saints the hell out of Steelport City). After the ultimatum is given to the Saints (while 10,000 feet up in the sky in The Syndicate's private jumbo jet) you tell them to heartily fuck themselves and blast your way out of the plane which leads to a free-fall gunfight while trying to catch one of your fellow Saints (cause you have the only parachute).  And I'm not doing this sequence justice. I don't want to ruin all of it but I also still can't believe how damn batshit crazy these first 20 minutes of the game were.

The rest of the game is equally as insane with missions having you rescue a pimp who needs an auto-tuner to speak after a tracheotomy from an S&M compound called The Safeword. You find him in the pony play* stables hooked up to a carriage (complete with saddle on his back and ball gag in his mouth) and you have him pull you out of the complex while an ensuing gunfight erupts around you involving more pony play wagons loaded with gimps with assault rifles.

Or how about training to take on a lucha-libre champion and your training involves driving around town with a fucking TIGER in the passenger seat of the car and once in awhile it swats at you. If the SPCA-esque organization gets within range the tiger flips out and starts mauling you as you careen down the highway. The only way to calm the beast is to power slide.

This is a *VERY* small glimpse into the insanity that you can partake in. Also as crazy are the weapons as you level them up as well as some of the ones earned through completing story missions. Speaking of weapons....

This is the Penetrator. A 4-foot long dildo bat that swings and sways with shocking appropriate physics. The balls bounce too.

The main campaign will take a few hours to play through if you bypass the additional challenge missions through-out the map. You will want to complete these as you earn more money to upgrade your weapons, vehicles, strongholds,gang members and your own avatar.

For your avatar I commend Volition for just how damn excellent its character creator is. You can create damn near anything that fits your sick and twisted personality. And as the game progresses you earn more and more goodies to outfit your character. Hell if you decide you don't want to be a guy anymore you and go have surgery and get your wangus removed and re-do your character as a female. You can also upload your creations to the Saints Row website as well as download other peoples creations. I also appreciate that everything is done with the in game graphics engine and that your avatar is in the cinematics. This game is all about you (the player) having fun and being the center of the universe.

The soundtrack is also something worthy of this title. Its diverse and loaded with all sorts of good music. Just like most games of this kind, it uses fictitious radio stations to highlight different genres of music and then loads each station with songs & artists that are appropriate. From The Black Keys, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, DJ Benni Benassi, Mastadon....it just goes on. Its a well thought out and well selected soundtrack.

The writing is also really well done as well. The story, for how crazy it is, makes sense and keeps you interested. You *LIKE* the Saints and care about them and what happens to them. Except Pierce....nobody gives a fuck about Pierce. Its funny, sharp dialogue that you really enjoy listening to. My favorite pieces are the non-story conversations between the characters, lets say in a car just driving around. Coming into Steelport my avatar and Pierce were driving around when "What I Got" by Sublime comes on the radio and they both start singing the lyrics. And there are more little gems like that through out the writing. It makes one smile.

There are some bad things with Saints Row as well. Mainly the overpowering enemy AI and the glitching (whether environmental or AI behavioral). On some of the harder missions the computer is just relentless on how hard and how many enemies you have thrown at you. There was a point when I was on a 'rescue mission' that nine rival gang cars all piled onto me before the passengers got out and (since I was pinned down) unloaded their SMG's into my skull. This kept happening especially on side missions labeled as 'hard'. Its not hard per-se its totally bad AI scripting. Other glitching are enemies getting stuck in walls, achievements not unlocking after requirements are made (X360) and the game has froze up about 3 times since I've gotten it.

The controls are also decent when doing average tasks but are not as responsive as needed when the action is ramped up to high action gonzo insanity of the harder missions. AI allies will also sometimes get hung up on the environment or decide to stand still and be shot at instead of getting into the get away car that you are already inside and there is a clear path to it. That said even with these flaws the game is 100% playable and you can complete it. And its still a boatload of fun.

So as you can see I'm recommending Saints Row the Third. I feel that's obvious by my babbling on about it. But I will share with you the exact moment when I completely fell for this title and embraced it.

I was on a rescue mission early on in the game to 'save' ho's from their abusive pimps....to bring them back to Zimos (our pony-play* auto-tuned pimp friend) so he can 'watch after them'. These missions are appropriately called 'Snatch'. Anyhow I have a car full of hookers and I'm in a car chase to the safe house while a rival gang is trailing me shooting assault rifles and RPG's at me and all the while the song "I Need A Hero" by Bonnie Tyler is playing on the car's radio. Blissful irony.

I love this game.

*And if you don't know what pony play is go look it up your damn self cause I'm not going to try to explain that shit.

Welcome back Dark Knight.

Yesterday I was tempted to write a partial write up about the game I've been playing since monday. Last night I ended up finishing the campaign and I'll just write the real deal review. Spoilers ahead if you haven't finished the game...but its been out for over three weeks now so the people who were stoking boners over it will have finished it before me.

I was impressed by this game. From the opening moments of playing as Bruce Wayne post arrest and interrogation from Dr.Hugo Strange within Arkham City's walls to the final moments dealing with Strange in the midst of Protocol 10 to the rather dark and shocking ending to the game. I was impressed.

I have nitpicks as well. I still hate the combat in this series. I hated combat in Arkham Asylum (non-stop button mashing with alleged "skill" somewhere there) and now its here and they throw more enemies at you. Blah. I also found the game to have a much slower pacing that Asylum. Mostly I feel that its due to the size and scope of the playground you are now in versus being on a smaller island and staying mostly inside buildings. It just felt slow at times....this changes after Protocol 10 is active. Then its breakneck and very tense. Still not a deal breaker.

My one major nitpick is just what the hell is Rocksteady games going to do for the third game? What do you mean Phil? Well did you not pay attention to the body count in this game? Joker: dead. Ra's Al Ghul: dead. Talia Al Ghul: dead. Clayface: dissolved in lava. Hugo Strange: dead. Solomon Grundy: Batman pulled what I would assume was his heart out of his chest so probably dead again. As I said for a Batman story the rogues gallery got thinned out a bit and the MAJOR villain in his life is gone. Mark Hamill also noted this was the last time he'll voice Joker in a videogame and I know why now.

Granted Two-Face, Penguin, Killer Croc, Scarecrow, Poison Ivy, Mr. Freeze and Bane are still around. Some are still roaming around in Arkham City but with Two Face and Penguin I don't remember what happened to them after I encountered them. I also don't know what's going to happen to Riddler as I haven't collected enough of those freaking 400 icons/challenges to unlock more than three of the hostage situations out of the six available. I have completed over 220 of those collection/riddle answer/challenges and have only unlocked three hostages to save. FFFFFUUUUUUUUU.....

But I'm an achievement whore so I'll continue on. I also haven't played the Catwoman stages as I'm borrowing the game from a friend and its available as a DLC or unlock code with the game. He did it so I don't know how her adventure fleshes out the story. I don't think not having access to Catwoman has diminished my experience though. I'm here to play as the Goddamn Batman!

Graphic are excellent. Rocksteady is using the Unreal 3 engine as that is the choice of developers this console cycle. And I can't fault them. It looks great. Sound is also well done. Voice acting is superb. Having Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill back as Batman and Joker is bliss to me. And the rest of the cast is also great. I loved Penguin's british accent. I thought Victor Fries (Mr.  Freeze to you) sounded like I would expect him to sound like. So all good on the voice front.

Replayability is medium. After about two solid plays of the campaign I feel you would have seen everything in the story mode. The Riddler additional ranked and campaign missions are there for more skill based challenges if you so desire. I want more story missions. Hopefully Rocksteady will have some other tricks up their sleeves on that front later and not more challenge missions with Robin and Nightwing.

So I do say play this game. If you want to play the best videogame based on a comic book franchise Batman Arkham City is the game. And the former title holder was Batman Arkham Asylum. Hell I'm even considering buying this game so I can play it some more down the road. Its that good people.

Its Bat-tastic. Its Bat-crazy awesome. Its The Goddamn Batman in a story that rivals even The Dark Knight feature film. Play it and enjoy.

Scary Difficult Games: Demon's Souls

To anyone who plays video games of any kind this game should give you a 'fight or flight' response at the mere mention of its title. To some this is an ungodly difficult game that was built only for the most hardcore basement dwelling virginal gamers still living at home with their parents. To others it was the supreme test of patience and tactics where every inch of the terrain gained was a major victory and each death was a learning experience. And some hear the name and say ' dis iznt HaLoEz! LOLLololll111!! Ur Gai N luv buttsecks'.

I hate those people. They need to have their controllers taken away and their parents need to send them to their rooms without dinner & take away all electronic devices so they can troll no more.

When I picked up this game I fully was feeling the old school call of proving my hardcore-ness from the glory days of the NES. I wanted something that the masses would deem too difficult and run away from. I could feel the raw testosterone pumping through my veins as I plunked this into the PS3 with the sole purpose of owning this game. I created my character, a knight (high defense & strength) and begin to plunge into the realms of Demon's Souls.

Two minutes into the first part of the first area I died. Respawing at the central hub, I returned ready to face the challenges ahead of me, and then died again.

And again.

And again.

This went on for close to an hour as I kept getting killed by the undead warriors guarding then entrance of the castle I was supposed to explore. I could feel the rage starting to build up. The controller was trembling in fear as it knew I was close to throwing it. Instead I turned off the game and stomped off somewhere to relax.

After such a sound thrashing from this wicked game I started to doubt my abilities. Actually I was quick in pointing out it was the games fault (even though I knew it wasn't true at all). I felt there was something wrong with what was happening. So I decided to change tactics. I was going to move very slowly, picking my targets deliberately, and using my surroundings for any and all tactical advantages I could get. And if that didn't work I'm returning this frakking game cause it MUST be the games fault.

Well I'm pleased to say that my second choice for play style was the correct one. And upon doing so I managed to work deeper into the castle than ever before. On the way unlocking shortcut passageways so I didn't have to traverse the direct paths when I died (and I still did....but not nearly as badly as day one). Over the next two days I traversed deeper into the castle, learning new tactics against the newer and more powerful enemies it held within. My least favorites being the gargantuan red dragon that did fly by fire breathing over the exposed bridge to the next area you had to run over and the infamous blue eyed knights that would chase you down and murder you like it was going out of style.

Every new area opened, every new enemy defeated was a well earned victory. And it felt good. And all I did was fall back into how I played D&D with some of my friends. We planned, we implemented, we learned and eventually conquered. It took time but the rewards was worth it.

I will admit that I never actually finished Demon's Souls. I defeated most of all the bosses in the game (plus 3 of 4 Archdemons defeated!) and reached a battle that I will have to grind for experience to get past. Tactics be damned but I just don't have enough defense and dexterity to avoid its attacks or soak more than 3 hits. So I put the game on the shelf where I will get back to it eventually and finish what I started. Besides, its spiritual successor just came out and I've started that and the craving to return to the dark fantasy world has returned.  

Oh and what is the name of its successor?

And its amazing. So amazing I'm thinking that I'm going to convert its world into a tabletop RPG. All I got to wait for is my Tome of Horror Complete and then I can begin.

Unleash the COGs of WAR!

So one of the biggest and most anticipated sequels has finally released to good sales and critical praise. But does it live up to my expectations of being fun and giving me a single player experience that I actually give a crap about?

Let's discuss.

Gears of War 3 is the conclusion to a rather muddled and poorly written story involving a race of subterranean creatures known as the Locust invading the surface world with the sole purpose of wiping out man kind off the face of the fictitious 'not earth' world. Over the past two games you follow the adventure of Marcus Fenix (the player) and Dominic Santiago (your co-op or computer controlled ally) as they kill lots of Locust in various settings (usually in perpetual shades of grey or brown). From the 1st game where you're dealing with the shock of Emergence Day and dropping a light bomb at the end down into the Locust hive (sunlight kills them) to the 2nd game where we are losing more of our cities (and now the Locust are engaging us in the daylight.....I may have missed the story reason why but if not major plot hole) so the COGs take the fight underground to the Locust themselves. Where we discover the super fuel we harvest (known as Emulsion) has other side effects like mutating the Locusts into horrible creatures called Lambient.

Now in the 3rd game mankind is on its last legs. And so is my patience with the story. Fortunately Epic brought on the author of the Gears novels to help bridge the crap....er....gap in storytelling and successfully smoothed it out. They also managed to *actually* flesh out the personalities of the walking meat slabs you control and make you want to see them live to the end.

For example: Cole Train. I HATED Cole in the first two games. He was an obnoxiously and unnecessarily loud and brain dead character that yelled 'WHOOOO!' alot (Rick Flair should sue). In Gears 3 you will actually care for him as you play a chunk of the first act as Cole on a mission for supplies in his former hometown where he was a Thrashball champion (think football on Gears of War steroids). There is a particular scene in the stadium where you see Cole remembering his glory days only to have him realize that they are past. I believe the quote was "Did you ever feel like you were dead and nobody told you?".

So in conclusion the story for the campaign is pretty decent. Its not particularly memorable but it does tie up the loose ends from the series and it feels cool playing through this desperate last act. But we don't care about story do we? How does it play?

It plays perfectly. After three games Epic Games has perfected the controls for this cover based shooter. Its totally smooth and responsive. I had no problems just picking up and playing. Everything felt second nature and I was leveling the Lambient and Locust hordes with ease.

Graphically the Unreal 3 engine has never looked better. I'm amazed just how much they can push out of this graphic engine. And the best part of the look of this game is that it takes place outdoors alot and Epic decided to use more colors than brown and grey. And the look is stunning. Everything thing feels alive and its vibrant in its post-world war look. There are some occasions where there is some minor graphical tearing but its a minor nuisance. I've seen it mostly in tighter quarters (like inside buildings) and it only happens briefly.

The AI for the baddies isn't bad but I've ran into numerous occasions where you can actually walk right around them, in their line of sight, and start shooting them and they don't react. I wasn't playing this on casual either. I played on the normal setting and sometimes the enemies just stand there and derp. I wanted to not shoot them but give each of them a padded helmet to wear so they wouldn't hurt themselves (poor things). Alas I had no helmets so it was Lancer chainsaw assassination  to them.

I also for a change decided to try out the multi player aspect of this game. Yeah it has the staples like team death match, king of the hill, etc. But my favorites are Horde (where you play as COG soldiers against waves of enemies) and Beast mode (its like Horde but you play as the Locust going against the COGs). And they are awesome! I could play these modes all the damn time. All I need is more people to friend me on Xbox Live so we can get together and do this instead of playing with strangers all the time.

My only bitch about online play is that Live kept dropping out at points. And it pissed me off as it usually happened during a very intense match. But lag issues really were not present (even with my lovely broadband connection....blah). But I still enjoyed playing.

So is it "Game of the Year"? Well to some folk it will be. It is an achievement in production and scope. I wanted to finish the trilogy to see where the hell it would end up and if it would be better than Gears 2 which I loathed. I'm happy with the purchase. And I want to stress I didn't pay full price for it either (God bless my $20 Best Buy Rewards coupon). It was worth playing. Its fun.

Now....bring on my picks for Game of the Year: Dark Souls, Uncharted 3 and Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim.

Just an Above Average Joe

Yes, lets talk Resistance 3 for PS3. Easily one of the best games Insomniac Games has ever produced.
No really, I'm not B.S.ing you here. The game is really well done. And fun to play. And gorgeous to look at and appreciate in surround sound.

A brief synopsis is in order here for those not familiar with this PS3 exclusive franchise. Resistance is the story of an alien virus that arrives on earth in Russia during 1908 that when people are exposed to it they mutate into a new life form called The Chimera. Well we have been trying to fight this menace off and to put it bluntly we are losing badly. They are reproducing faster, has better tech and are tough to kill. When during the US assault on Britain to assist them in repelling the chimeran threat, US soldier Nathan Hale got infected with the virus and, surprise, didn't mutate. Well...its a slower process for him but that's jumping ahead. Now armed with speed, strength and the regenerative chimerian cell structure, Nathan Hale sets off to stop the British invasion.
And he succeeds, to a point, only to be captured by a US government agency who wants to use someone like him in an elite unit of soldiers just like him (Resistance 2) where you meet Joe Capelli who is another like Nathan Hale. Joe is also the lead in Resistance 3.....wanna guess why?

Cause he kills Nathan Hale at the end of Resistance 2. Well he has to. Nathan finally was going bad by the end of the 2nd game and Joe had to put him down. But Nathan gave mankind one last parting gift. His immune system. From blood samples they created a anti-virus and started to save who they could. It only helps if you are immunized before being infected though. Anywho, Joe gets dishonorably discharged from the Army, moves to Oklahoma, gets a purty wife and has a son all while the Chimera are systematically conquering the US. And then Joe's past catches up with him and he's off on a one man mission to save the world and wrap up the storyline.

So the nuts & bolts of this game are spectacular. Graphically its on par with any big budget CGI animated blockbuster. Its unreal how lifelike the world of Resistance 3 looks and feels. And the musical score & sound effects heighten the mood perfectly. I still cringe a bit when I hear the distinct sound of a Goliath class Chimeran walker in the background.

The controls are tight and very responsive which is standard for damn near every game Insomniac Games has ever made. Other developers need to see how they do this. Right NOW. Control is important people and this was buttery smooth in performance.

But the most recognizable watermark for Insomniac Games are the outrageous weapons they craft and how well they work. Standards like the Bullseye and Auger return with new support in tow. I really like the Mutator gun and the Wildfire rocket launcher. And we can't forget about the alternate fire modes all the weapons have are equally as fun to use and abuse chimera with. My favorite has to be the alt fire for the Rossmore shotgun. When maxed out the concussive projectile it fires not only blast people away in a spectacular fashion but also sets them aflame as well. Now there are multiple baddies running around on fire that were knocked safely away from where you are at.

I need something like that for dealing with traffic on the highway I drive to work.

So as my tiredness begins to take hold, I highly recommend Resistance 3. While the story finale does get a but hokey and implausible by the end (and that's even suspending disbelief for the fictitious world its set it) every other note its perfect and where it counts the most.

Its damn fun. You'll enjoy it.

Deus Ex, hurricanes, leaking ceilings and lay offs.

Yeah, yeah, yeah...its been a few days but alot has gone to hell recently so forgive my tardiness in posting another riveting blog for the 3 that read this drivel.

And you can stop laughing now. I know nobody actually reads this.

First, due to the heavy driving rainfall brought on by Hurricane Irene (who I blame Steve Salomonsen for bringing back with him from the Outer Banks) our room has a new decorative waterfall in it every time it rains thanks to the leaky roof. The bitch of it all is its not our landlords responsibility to repair this. Its the condo associations. And we've been told that we're "on the list" but "not high priority". I'll make sure to remind the condo association that when they call me at work to report a bug problem and demand day before problem occurs time travel service.

Bunch of jerks.

So in between emptying buckets in the bedroom when it rains (and some of my colleagues have so eloquently stated "that's the most action that room has ever seen") I've kept busy with playing one of the best and most enjoyable games I've played in years......but its still not better than EDF.

                                 Deus Ex: Human Revolution (X360 version not PC one)

Anyways its the prequel to the cult classic and critically adored Deus Ex and Deus Ex: Invisible War. And, well, it sure lives up to the linage it was birthed from. Its a first person action/RPG/shooter that bends preconceived notions on just how to tell a good story but also how you PLAY the game itself. There is no right or wrong way to approach the challenges this presents to you as you lead Adam Jensen as he searches for the answers to who attacked the corp he worked for and who murdered his ex-girlfriend during the attack (also scientist). Guns blazing, complete stealth, hacking computers, taking bribes, being the very best humanity can offer or giving into becoming a slave to the machine through your augments.

Control wise its pretty standard shooter load out. And at first those who do play more shooters will see where things (like targeting and jumping) could have been tuned up and made more responsive. Graphics are really well done and atmospheric using a primary black and gold color scheme to give the whole game a very noir look. And it looks amazing. Just wait until you see what Detroit looks like with all the tall buildings, advertisements, slums, people....you can see where they took the look of Blade Runner as inspiration. Then when you get to China.....it gets better. Eidos manages to make the environment both open and welcoming as well as oppressive simultaneously.

Voice acting could have been better but that's just a nit pick from me. There was just times Adam sounded like Christian Bale doing the Batman voice from The Dark Knight. And the story is the real gem here. Its engaging, compelling and has enough plot twists to keep you guessing all the way to the very end and the 4 possible outcomes that occur. I invested about 20-25 hours and I could have kept going for another 80+.
I'm also into my 2nd play through this time bend more on all stealth and computer skills to get the job done. 3rd play through is all guns blazing. Its sublime folks. Go play and love it.

Finally its official that I'm getting furloughed again for the fall/winter (read: layoff). I'm out from October 1st through January 3rd 2012. It sucks but on the bright side I can clean up more in the townhouse and pack stuff back up as Jess & I are on the formal house hunt, Oh and I will have more time to keep up with this and keep spreading my juvenile opinion into the great information mesh.

And play Resistance 3.....which is the best game Insomniac has EVER MADE. I'll review it in depth but to give a small idea of just how much I'm enjoying it.....its *almost* beats out EDF for most fun playing games this year (so far).

In closing I do want to thank the folk that occasionally stop in to read my stream of consciousness of Internet babble. And please share your thoughts too. I always like explaining how people are wrong....er.....I love reading others opinions to cause healthy debate.

While I'm thinking about it...

What other videogames that are on my radar for the rest of 2011? In no particular order....

1) Deus Ex: The Human Revolution

2) Resistance 3

3) Uncharted 3

4) The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim (but only after I pry this out of my beautiful wife's hands...she called dibs when they announced this game)

5) Dark Souls

6) Ico / Shadow of the Colossus Collection

That's just off the top of my head. I'm sure I'm missing something too. Its not Mass Effect 3 as I know that got pushed back until 2012....dammitgrumblemofosumbitch.

If you think I'm missing something from the list or want to chime in with your 2 cents.....leave a comment. Always like hearing from the readers.