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Sorry for the long hiatus of my posts; I've just been busy. Let me apologize with my review of "Bully: Scholarship Edition" for the Nintendo Wii
BULLY: SCHOLARSHIP EDITION
Developer: Rockstar North
Publisher: Rockstar/Take-Two Interactive
Consoles: Wii, PS2, Xbox 360
Rockstar has done it again.
Taking the fun destructive and blatent disregard for authority from it's signature "Grand Theft Auto" series and adding the humour and young rebellion of the schoolyard to create "Bully", a game where you play through a year at the New England boarding school of Bullworth Academy as 15-year-old delinquant Jimmy Hopkins, who is more-or-less abandoned by his inattentive mother and new step-father as they go on honeymoon during the game's duration.
Jimmy has a number of weapons at his disposal that are basically junior versions of those found in GTA, like stink bombs, fire crackers, itching powder, and, after the 3rd mission, a slingshot with unlimited ammo. Eventually, you can even move up to bigger items, like a fireworks rocket launcher after you take the Nerd's safehouse in the third chapter, and a potato cannon in the forth.
The game's story itself is also well told in cutscenes that pretty accurately show school life. Unlike GTA, where people who walk the streets are nameless, faceless, and occasionally voiceless AI, everyone in Bullworth has their own name and voice. The main characters are pretty good too. Jimmy himself is a tough, wisecracking smart guy who is discribed by others as 'sadistic' or a 'psychopath', but that's really only if you play him that way. As a nerd, I had a tendency to beat up the other bullies the most out of all the factions.
Speaking of, there are six main factions at constant battle with each other: Nerds, Jocks, Preps, Greasers, and Townies. The fighting goes as follows:
Nerds v. Jocks
Preps v. Greasers
Townies v. all kids attending Bullworth.
All factions will beat you up until you beat up their leader in a final confrontation and take command. The first one you become the boss of is the Bullies, when you beat the behemoth Russell in the first chapter's boss fight. Then it goes Preps, Greasers, Nerds, Jocks, and Townies.
Gary, the game's main antagonist, takes over nearly every group at some point, eventually leading all factions into warring with each other at the game's climax. He even takes the headmaster hostage and forces Jimmy into a final showdown with him at the top of the school's highest tower.
You also have a quote/unquote 'sidekick' named Pete Kowalski, who is meek, but that really just covers his sneaky and plotting mind, which Jimmy uses to his advantage. He starts as Gary's sidekick, but switches alligences after the first chapter.
Other groups of the game include the teachers of the school, the Bullworth Police, the Academy Prefects, the adult Townies, and, finally, girls.
Girls are mysterious creatures Jimmy doesn't really understand, but is always eager for a quick make out session (Well...unless it's Eunice. You'll see.). There are a couple times where you have to sneak into the girls dorm, but it's never really a hassel; each dorm room has a closet to hide in if their dorm advisor comes looking around, but trust me when I say that's probably the dullest part of the game when you're waiting for her to leave. Her voice is annoying too. I'm not sure if I can take another outburst of "Have you finished your homework girls?" or "You're in a world of trouble, young man!" when caught.
Quickly changing the subject before I kill myself from the memory, the town of Bullworth is a nice, large town, with lots of different places to explore. Initially, you can only go around the school grounds, but after Chapter 1, you can visit Bullworth Town, to the school's right, and the ritzy Old Bullworth Vale to the left. There's also a number of things to do in town, like bike races, running errands for students, cops, and adults, and even getting jobs that manifest in minigames like a paper route, mowing lawns, and, during winter, shovelling snow.
There's also a carnival in the Vale, where you can partake in more minigames and even go-kart races. If you win all 5 carnival races, you can go on to street races. If you beat all 3 of those, you can zip around Bullworth in your very own go-kart.
Speaking of, the vehicles of the game all work pretty well for a schoolyard sim. The first one you obtain is a skateboard, which isn't fast, but can get you from A to B. When you can get out of the school grounds in the second level, you can purchace a bike. My favourite model was the Aquaberry Cruser, and is the fastest of the purchasable bikes. You can also buy a moped at the Carnival with 75 tickets, which you get from playing games. The moped's the fastest bike, but be prepared to get in trouble if you don't wear a helmet while on it. You can even use the moped during races, but it kinda feels like cheating.
Kinda.
FINISH LATAA
Monday, April 6, 2009
Friday, February 13, 2009
Enough is Enough
I have had enough of these mother ****ing samurais, on this mother ****ing platform.
With the first post of 2009, I take a look at the recent game, Afro Samurai. It's gotten quite a bit of hype, hasn't it? Don't believe a word of it. The only reason it received any was because of Samuel L. Jackson's starring in it (and he does do a pretty good job) and the popularity of the anime it's based off of. Take it with a grain of salt, my friend. It's quite horrible.
*First off*
It isn't anything but a button masher. It has absolutely no skill involvement, other than not standing around like an idiot. All you really have to do is slam the nearest attack button as many times as it takes to finish off the local baddies. And boy, will your thumb hurt afterwards. The usual enemy (in a pathetically stupid attempt to lengthen gameplay, I'm guessing) takes 15-20 hits before he even considers death an option (which is such a pain because there's about a dozen of them at each encounter and after you kill two, two more will almost always jump up to take their place). And that's just the usual grunts. When you go up to the ninjas and leading samurais, then you're talking a real pain in the neck, especially considering, that for some odd reason, they can dodge/block your sword like it's nothing. Although, they sure can't dodge your feet. Remind me, why do I carry this thing around again if I can only seem to hit my enemies with my slower, less effective feet.
*Secondly*
The gameplay is absolutely boring, unoriginal and unimaginative. X=light attack, Y=heavy attack, B=kick, RT=block. The only thing that really doesn't make it 100% typical, is the "focus" technique with the LT. Oh, and by the way, focus is just a fancy trying to sound original way of saying bullet time. Whoa there, buddy. Try not to be so radical with your completely out of the box ideas. You can slow time down, charge up a swing, and (hopefully) hit someone with and unblockable one-hit kill. And then there's the been there done that acrobatics that came straight out of Ninja Gaiden II. Oh yeah, and did I mention that it's kind of broken. If you do light attack in the focus, Afro sweeps his sword at such a stupidly bad angle, that it usually just breezes over your enemies head, making me once again feel stupid for even trying it.
*Thirdly*
It's repetitive. Because doing exactly the same thing over and over again is just so much fun. And why on earth does the game feel the need to show me the same tutorial five times. You know, if I was able to get it the first time, I don't think I need reminding everytime I come up to a wall run. Where does this game get off insulting my intellegence.
*Fourthly*
It's simply gratuitous. There's lots of mature bull that really has no place. Blood in a war game? Cool, that makes sense considering it's war after all. Blood in a sword fighting game? Well, we are using swords. Being a soldier trained to stomp your enemy's face in as a finishing move? Um, getting a little over the top, but what ever I can dig it. Slicing off somebody's hand at the wrist and having about 20 gallons of blood spray out like a fountain? Ok, now that's just ridiculous and plainly over the top. Oh, and somewhere in what I believe was the second level, I was "treated" to fighting topless, sword-fighting women. Now that's just plain unnecessary. LOWBROW ATTRACTION ALERT!!! Although, I will say this. The digital bosoms looked so hilariously fake that they actually kept me around for a little longer instead of quitting just for a bit of laughter. Feh heh.
*Final Thoughts*
All you can really do is take it for what it is. And the story it's showing me is certainly a lovely thing for sure. Too bad the terrible gameplay keeps me from even playing it through. Honestly. It's so horribly bad, that if you ask me, you shouldn't even look in this game's general direction.
Well, thanks for reading my review of the worst game I've ever played. This is The Blade, signing off.
With the first post of 2009, I take a look at the recent game, Afro Samurai. It's gotten quite a bit of hype, hasn't it? Don't believe a word of it. The only reason it received any was because of Samuel L. Jackson's starring in it (and he does do a pretty good job) and the popularity of the anime it's based off of. Take it with a grain of salt, my friend. It's quite horrible.
*First off*
It isn't anything but a button masher. It has absolutely no skill involvement, other than not standing around like an idiot. All you really have to do is slam the nearest attack button as many times as it takes to finish off the local baddies. And boy, will your thumb hurt afterwards. The usual enemy (in a pathetically stupid attempt to lengthen gameplay, I'm guessing) takes 15-20 hits before he even considers death an option (which is such a pain because there's about a dozen of them at each encounter and after you kill two, two more will almost always jump up to take their place). And that's just the usual grunts. When you go up to the ninjas and leading samurais, then you're talking a real pain in the neck, especially considering, that for some odd reason, they can dodge/block your sword like it's nothing. Although, they sure can't dodge your feet. Remind me, why do I carry this thing around again if I can only seem to hit my enemies with my slower, less effective feet.
*Secondly*
The gameplay is absolutely boring, unoriginal and unimaginative. X=light attack, Y=heavy attack, B=kick, RT=block. The only thing that really doesn't make it 100% typical, is the "focus" technique with the LT. Oh, and by the way, focus is just a fancy trying to sound original way of saying bullet time. Whoa there, buddy. Try not to be so radical with your completely out of the box ideas. You can slow time down, charge up a swing, and (hopefully) hit someone with and unblockable one-hit kill. And then there's the been there done that acrobatics that came straight out of Ninja Gaiden II. Oh yeah, and did I mention that it's kind of broken. If you do light attack in the focus, Afro sweeps his sword at such a stupidly bad angle, that it usually just breezes over your enemies head, making me once again feel stupid for even trying it.
*Thirdly*
It's repetitive. Because doing exactly the same thing over and over again is just so much fun. And why on earth does the game feel the need to show me the same tutorial five times. You know, if I was able to get it the first time, I don't think I need reminding everytime I come up to a wall run. Where does this game get off insulting my intellegence.
*Fourthly*
It's simply gratuitous. There's lots of mature bull that really has no place. Blood in a war game? Cool, that makes sense considering it's war after all. Blood in a sword fighting game? Well, we are using swords. Being a soldier trained to stomp your enemy's face in as a finishing move? Um, getting a little over the top, but what ever I can dig it. Slicing off somebody's hand at the wrist and having about 20 gallons of blood spray out like a fountain? Ok, now that's just ridiculous and plainly over the top. Oh, and somewhere in what I believe was the second level, I was "treated" to fighting topless, sword-fighting women. Now that's just plain unnecessary. LOWBROW ATTRACTION ALERT!!! Although, I will say this. The digital bosoms looked so hilariously fake that they actually kept me around for a little longer instead of quitting just for a bit of laughter. Feh heh.
*Final Thoughts*
All you can really do is take it for what it is. And the story it's showing me is certainly a lovely thing for sure. Too bad the terrible gameplay keeps me from even playing it through. Honestly. It's so horribly bad, that if you ask me, you shouldn't even look in this game's general direction.
Well, thanks for reading my review of the worst game I've ever played. This is The Blade, signing off.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
The World At Large
I think we can all remember one of last year's most popular titles on the market. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. After taking the conflict to modern times, what did they do for the next title? Back to WWII. "Ugh," I thought, "Isn't that getting old yet? Going through the same old missions, shooting the same old Nazis with the same old guns and the same old plot." Well lets just say that Call of Duty: World at War, would make an excellent finale to the WWII shooting genre. I'm going to warn you now, for there are going to spoilers.
*Story*
Half the game you play as Pvt. Miller in the Marine Core, who you find out at the beginning was a prisoner of war. A friendly squad saves you and you join them on their adventure through the various Japanese Territories in the Pacific. As you fight your way through history's first taste of guerrilla warfare you get to watch both your Cpt. and your Sgt. die. The other half, you play as Pvt. Petrenko of the Russian's Red Army. He's a convenient, "accidental" survivor of the Stalingrad massacre and so is his Sgt. Reznov, who just so happens to have a sniper rifle and full ammunition to give you. Oh yeah, and there's some third guy you play as on a mission where you work all the turrets on some bomber plane in the Pacific. But I don't care about him because there's no point in him being there. He has absolutely nothing to do with either story.
The American story is that of fear and anguish. Struggling through the Pacific only to see both your commanding officers die is a disheartening plot. But it has a nice ambiance to it. I enjoyed trudging through the woods, watching out for Tojo hiding in the bush, waiting for the right moment to jab his bayonet in my back. The characters came up a little short, however. I didn't feel much remorse when our Cpt. or Sgt. died because they're wasn't enough reason for me to.
The Russian half of the story (my favorite half mind you) is of anger and vengeance. Drag yourself from amongst your slaughtered brothers, brush a little blood off your coat, grab a rifle and start on the long road to Vendetta. Even though the only character you associate with in the Russian half is Reznov, he was much more enjoyable company and he saved my life three or four times. As I accompanied him through the German-captured territories I really felt his thirst for revenge. And I don't think I ever felt so moved by an ending (SPOILER ALERT) as when he let me raise the Russian flag.
*Gameplay*
Well... What can I say? Take the gameplay from CoD 4, turn back the clock a few decades or so and BANG! You've got CoD: WaW. Ok, so that's not entirely true. I think it had a nice variety of levels and some battles were much larger and explosive, but it was a rather similar variety to CoD 4. And they featured a level where you get to operate a tank, but if you ask me, it didn't really do anything for the game. I think I would have preferred to run through that level escorting other tanks. I also thought that level on the plane was pretty useless too. Sure, it was kind of fun, but it had nothing to do with the story. The only reason I could think for having these useless missions... can you say fan service?
*Multiplayer*
Now some have said that the multiplayer in CoD: WaW resembles CoD 4. Push that thought out your minds right now. It isn't like CoD 4, really it isn't. It IS CoD 4. It is the exact same, pain in the neck multiplayer that ticked me off in CoD 4. Now I really must say, it is fun at times. Unfortunately, luck plays a big factor (which no one else is willing to admit). And I'm the unluckiest guy to play the game. So I die, a lot, and find it pretty frustrating. So, I generally try to avoid playing it except on certain occasions when my blood pressure is nice and low.
*Final Thoughts*
It was a fun adventure while it lasted, but I don't think I'll be adding this number to my Christmas List after I return the rental.
Tanks for reading.
This is The Blade, signing off.
*Story*
Half the game you play as Pvt. Miller in the Marine Core, who you find out at the beginning was a prisoner of war. A friendly squad saves you and you join them on their adventure through the various Japanese Territories in the Pacific. As you fight your way through history's first taste of guerrilla warfare you get to watch both your Cpt. and your Sgt. die. The other half, you play as Pvt. Petrenko of the Russian's Red Army. He's a convenient, "accidental" survivor of the Stalingrad massacre and so is his Sgt. Reznov, who just so happens to have a sniper rifle and full ammunition to give you. Oh yeah, and there's some third guy you play as on a mission where you work all the turrets on some bomber plane in the Pacific. But I don't care about him because there's no point in him being there. He has absolutely nothing to do with either story.
The American story is that of fear and anguish. Struggling through the Pacific only to see both your commanding officers die is a disheartening plot. But it has a nice ambiance to it. I enjoyed trudging through the woods, watching out for Tojo hiding in the bush, waiting for the right moment to jab his bayonet in my back. The characters came up a little short, however. I didn't feel much remorse when our Cpt. or Sgt. died because they're wasn't enough reason for me to.
The Russian half of the story (my favorite half mind you) is of anger and vengeance. Drag yourself from amongst your slaughtered brothers, brush a little blood off your coat, grab a rifle and start on the long road to Vendetta. Even though the only character you associate with in the Russian half is Reznov, he was much more enjoyable company and he saved my life three or four times. As I accompanied him through the German-captured territories I really felt his thirst for revenge. And I don't think I ever felt so moved by an ending (SPOILER ALERT) as when he let me raise the Russian flag.
*Gameplay*
Well... What can I say? Take the gameplay from CoD 4, turn back the clock a few decades or so and BANG! You've got CoD: WaW. Ok, so that's not entirely true. I think it had a nice variety of levels and some battles were much larger and explosive, but it was a rather similar variety to CoD 4. And they featured a level where you get to operate a tank, but if you ask me, it didn't really do anything for the game. I think I would have preferred to run through that level escorting other tanks. I also thought that level on the plane was pretty useless too. Sure, it was kind of fun, but it had nothing to do with the story. The only reason I could think for having these useless missions... can you say fan service?
*Multiplayer*
Now some have said that the multiplayer in CoD: WaW resembles CoD 4. Push that thought out your minds right now. It isn't like CoD 4, really it isn't. It IS CoD 4. It is the exact same, pain in the neck multiplayer that ticked me off in CoD 4. Now I really must say, it is fun at times. Unfortunately, luck plays a big factor (which no one else is willing to admit). And I'm the unluckiest guy to play the game. So I die, a lot, and find it pretty frustrating. So, I generally try to avoid playing it except on certain occasions when my blood pressure is nice and low.
*Final Thoughts*
It was a fun adventure while it lasted, but I don't think I'll be adding this number to my Christmas List after I return the rental.
Tanks for reading.
This is The Blade, signing off.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Web Gaming #1: MUGEN
I thought every week I'd find a random webgame and play it so you, the reader, can know which games are good and which games are best to avoid.
This week: Elecbyte's "M.U.G.E.N."
M.U.G.E.N.
MUGEN is a freeware game which is the free equivalent to a collaborative version of "Street Fighter II" made by fans of everything from 'the Simpsons' to 'Ranma 1/2'
Despite many of the characters looking out of place next to their opponents, the game still works well usually when Peter Griffin is beating up a 3D Super Mario.
There are a large number of websites, like Mugenation which offer downloadable custom content, such as characters, stages, tutorials, and screenpacks. My version is rather bland except for my custom menu choices, such as "Kick Some Ass" instead of "Arcade mode" and "F*** Off" for "Exit".
All in all, it's a fun game that's worth the 2MB RAR/ZIP base file download (but so is Weezer's "Pork and Beans" and is a handy little timewaster. Oh yeah, and it has 2-player multiplayer. :3
FINAL SCORE:
M.U.G.E.N.
Developer: Elecbyte (base game, 2001)
Publisher: N/A
Pros: Good support for downloads, easy and customizable interface, large user and creator base, and ability for 2-player co-op as well as your average 'beat the other guy up' gameplay.
Cons: Sometimes hard to share a keyboard (does feature joystick and PC gamepad compatability however) and no preloaded music, one preloaded character (Kung Fu Man) and 2 preloaded stages.
Overall Score: 8 out of 10.
This week: Elecbyte's "M.U.G.E.N."
M.U.G.E.N.
The engine allows anyone to create characters, background stages and other game objects through interpreted text files, graphics, and sound compilations. It supports various types of audio formats such as MP3 and MIDI initially, although it can be configured to play various audio formats via Winamp plugins, such as ADX and OGG, as background music during gameplay or at other points such as an introduction or the select screen. The engine allows for most of the same type of functionality found in most any commercial 2D fighting games, up to and including close recreation of those games' characters and gameplay. While the engine is set up primarily for fighting game development, several other game types have been developed using it, including shooter and platformer style games.
~Wikipedia Entry on MUGEN
MUGEN is a freeware game which is the free equivalent to a collaborative version of "Street Fighter II" made by fans of everything from 'the Simpsons' to 'Ranma 1/2'
Despite many of the characters looking out of place next to their opponents, the game still works well usually when Peter Griffin is beating up a 3D Super Mario.
There are a large number of websites, like Mugenation which offer downloadable custom content, such as characters, stages, tutorials, and screenpacks. My version is rather bland except for my custom menu choices, such as "Kick Some Ass" instead of "Arcade mode" and "F*** Off" for "Exit".
All in all, it's a fun game that's worth the 2MB RAR/ZIP base file download (but so is Weezer's "Pork and Beans" and is a handy little timewaster. Oh yeah, and it has 2-player multiplayer. :3
FINAL SCORE:
M.U.G.E.N.
Developer: Elecbyte (base game, 2001)
Publisher: N/A
Pros: Good support for downloads, easy and customizable interface, large user and creator base, and ability for 2-player co-op as well as your average 'beat the other guy up' gameplay.
Cons: Sometimes hard to share a keyboard (does feature joystick and PC gamepad compatability however) and no preloaded music, one preloaded character (Kung Fu Man) and 2 preloaded stages.
Overall Score: 8 out of 10.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Only Slightly Human
So I recently played the demo for an upcoming game called Too Human. If you haven't played it or you just didn't pay enough attention, Too Human is a hack, slash and shoot RPG (I'll get in to that later) where Norse Mythology is 100% real, but with a heavy sci-fi over-coating. There's really more machine than man, which makes the name kind of ironic. If you don't know about Norse Mythology, well... look it up. And the reasons I call it an RPG: You play a hero, one of the many usual classes and you spend all your time killing to gain experience and new gear, you gain exp. to level up and you level up to use better gear. This has RPG written all over it.
Gameplay: You only get to play as the default warrior in the demo, complete with a sword and two pistols to start with. You can get more gear by killing and completing certain important tasks. The fighting was very fun. Ripping through an onslaught of enemy bots, slashing and blasting them up. Lots of fun to be had in that. But then I got to the first boss. First I had to destroy his shielding before I got to see his real health bar. Then I spent ten minutes hacking, slashing and shooting him, only getting about halfway through his bar when some one in my squad said to find a weak spot. "Ohhhhh. THAT'S what I'm supposed to do." I aimed for the most obvious one: his back. I was right. I jumped on to his back and for some reason I had to wait until after he tried shake me off before I could strike. If you ask me a SMART warrior would kill a giant bot that just took out half his squad in thirty seconds as soon as he got the chance. But that's just me. Of course I died a few times in the demo. Dying always sucks in video games. This is the one exception I've seen. When you die, everything moves in slow-motion, beautiful, tear-jerking music plays, a golden light shines from the heavens and a Valkyrie comes down to take you to Valhalla: the eternal resting place of all warriors. Truly an awe-inspiring sight.
To end my thoughts: It was fun and very cool. And I would definitely recommend you check out.
Thanks for reading. This is The Blade, signing off.
Gameplay: You only get to play as the default warrior in the demo, complete with a sword and two pistols to start with. You can get more gear by killing and completing certain important tasks. The fighting was very fun. Ripping through an onslaught of enemy bots, slashing and blasting them up. Lots of fun to be had in that. But then I got to the first boss. First I had to destroy his shielding before I got to see his real health bar. Then I spent ten minutes hacking, slashing and shooting him, only getting about halfway through his bar when some one in my squad said to find a weak spot. "Ohhhhh. THAT'S what I'm supposed to do." I aimed for the most obvious one: his back. I was right. I jumped on to his back and for some reason I had to wait until after he tried shake me off before I could strike. If you ask me a SMART warrior would kill a giant bot that just took out half his squad in thirty seconds as soon as he got the chance. But that's just me. Of course I died a few times in the demo. Dying always sucks in video games. This is the one exception I've seen. When you die, everything moves in slow-motion, beautiful, tear-jerking music plays, a golden light shines from the heavens and a Valkyrie comes down to take you to Valhalla: the eternal resting place of all warriors. Truly an awe-inspiring sight.
To end my thoughts: It was fun and very cool. And I would definitely recommend you check out.
Thanks for reading. This is The Blade, signing off.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Enemy Territory: Quake Wars
I have nothing much to say about this one so let's just dive on in.
Campaign: Or should I say lack of? All the Campaign missions are 3-step objective games with 20 minute time limits. All of which can be played as the humans or the aliens. Both sides however are practically the same with very little variation aside from name. The classes consist of Soldier, Engineer, Covert Ops(aka sniper) and Field Ops. Each class has it's own weapon and equipment setup. The interface of which is very user friendly, having weapons on the right bumper and equipment on the left. Not only does each class have their own setup but you can also change your primary weapon. For example, if you're an engineer, you can choose between the rifle and the shotgun. The campaign was fun over all, but very short. I clocked it at a mere four and a half hours on medium. Very short.
Instant Action: Quake Wars has an interesting feature called instant action (reminds me of Star Wars Battlefront) where you can go on a mission alone or bring some friends into a bot match. Here's the only problem. Literally all the missions in the Instant Action are the EXACT same ones as the Campaign missions. And the campaign didn't even have any cut scenes. Not really much of a Campaign now is it?
Multiplayer: All the missions from Instant Action and the Campaign. But online with other people. So things are going to be a little more dynamic.
Final thoughts: I don't really know what to rate it, but I would recommend it. It's a very fun game. I just have one question. What's the point of even having a Campaign without variation from Instant Action and Multiplayer and no cut scenes?
Thanks for reading. This is the Blade, signing off.
Campaign: Or should I say lack of? All the Campaign missions are 3-step objective games with 20 minute time limits. All of which can be played as the humans or the aliens. Both sides however are practically the same with very little variation aside from name. The classes consist of Soldier, Engineer, Covert Ops(aka sniper) and Field Ops. Each class has it's own weapon and equipment setup. The interface of which is very user friendly, having weapons on the right bumper and equipment on the left. Not only does each class have their own setup but you can also change your primary weapon. For example, if you're an engineer, you can choose between the rifle and the shotgun. The campaign was fun over all, but very short. I clocked it at a mere four and a half hours on medium. Very short.
Instant Action: Quake Wars has an interesting feature called instant action (reminds me of Star Wars Battlefront) where you can go on a mission alone or bring some friends into a bot match. Here's the only problem. Literally all the missions in the Instant Action are the EXACT same ones as the Campaign missions. And the campaign didn't even have any cut scenes. Not really much of a Campaign now is it?
Multiplayer: All the missions from Instant Action and the Campaign. But online with other people. So things are going to be a little more dynamic.
Final thoughts: I don't really know what to rate it, but I would recommend it. It's a very fun game. I just have one question. What's the point of even having a Campaign without variation from Instant Action and Multiplayer and no cut scenes?
Thanks for reading. This is the Blade, signing off.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
One is the loneliest number.
Two can be as bad as one, but it's perfect for EA's Army of Two. Let me start by saying that trailers and commercials failed to excite me in any way. So I really wasn't looking forward to this one but I decided to give it a try anyway. You have been forewarned: Spoilers ahead.
Campaign: In the campaign you play as either Elliot Salem or Tyson Rios. I played as Salem. You two start as a couple of army rangers in training. In training you will learn every single aspect of gameplay mechanics for the rest of the game. After training you're sent off to fight in the war in Simole. There you meet Clyde, who is a real prick. And right after you kill his bounty for him, while he sat back and watched, he takes all the credit and money. What a prick. Then you get picked up by some company called SSC who hire you as a pair of contractors. You go through quite a few wars and missions only to find out SSC was helping the enemy all along. They set you up to accidentally kill a U.S. senator. You fight back, clear your names and kill SSC leader, Dalton, and his little lackey, Clyde. I recommend you play on medium or high, because low is absolutely insulting as to how easy it is. Even with the weakest weapon configuration I could come up with, the enemies were still just dropping like flies. I like how you can change around your weapons in the middle of the mission. It makes experimenting with weapons easy. It was an overall fun campaign. If you can though, play with a friend. The AI of your partner can be pretty stupid. A lot of times I got downed he either stood there in enemy fire, or he dragged us both into it.
Versus: In versus mode two teams of contractors are both after the same objectives. You fight not only the enemy team, but also some NPC's like in the campaign. The goal is to gain as much money as you can by the end of the match. You get money by killing NPC's, the enemy team and most of all, completing objectives. You can find these odd dispensers where you can use some of your money to buy weapons and armor. Just save some to stay ahead of the enemy team. Oh, and spawn-killing is extremely occasional.
Final Thoughts: I liked it and I would definitely recommend it if you like action. There are a lot of jokes that Rios and Salem are gay for each other. I really don't get a gay vibe from them... most of the time anyways. There were a few things hinting towards that. Once I did the appreciation thing right after we slaughtered a bunch of enemies and Rios said, "Salem, Salem, Salem" in a very musical tone. My reaction: >_< Please stop talking now. My over-all score, 9 out of 10.
Thanks for reading. This is The Blade, signing off.
Campaign: In the campaign you play as either Elliot Salem or Tyson Rios. I played as Salem. You two start as a couple of army rangers in training. In training you will learn every single aspect of gameplay mechanics for the rest of the game. After training you're sent off to fight in the war in Simole. There you meet Clyde, who is a real prick. And right after you kill his bounty for him, while he sat back and watched, he takes all the credit and money. What a prick. Then you get picked up by some company called SSC who hire you as a pair of contractors. You go through quite a few wars and missions only to find out SSC was helping the enemy all along. They set you up to accidentally kill a U.S. senator. You fight back, clear your names and kill SSC leader, Dalton, and his little lackey, Clyde. I recommend you play on medium or high, because low is absolutely insulting as to how easy it is. Even with the weakest weapon configuration I could come up with, the enemies were still just dropping like flies. I like how you can change around your weapons in the middle of the mission. It makes experimenting with weapons easy. It was an overall fun campaign. If you can though, play with a friend. The AI of your partner can be pretty stupid. A lot of times I got downed he either stood there in enemy fire, or he dragged us both into it.
Versus: In versus mode two teams of contractors are both after the same objectives. You fight not only the enemy team, but also some NPC's like in the campaign. The goal is to gain as much money as you can by the end of the match. You get money by killing NPC's, the enemy team and most of all, completing objectives. You can find these odd dispensers where you can use some of your money to buy weapons and armor. Just save some to stay ahead of the enemy team. Oh, and spawn-killing is extremely occasional.
Final Thoughts: I liked it and I would definitely recommend it if you like action. There are a lot of jokes that Rios and Salem are gay for each other. I really don't get a gay vibe from them... most of the time anyways. There were a few things hinting towards that. Once I did the appreciation thing right after we slaughtered a bunch of enemies and Rios said, "Salem, Salem, Salem" in a very musical tone. My reaction: >_< Please stop talking now. My over-all score, 9 out of 10.
Thanks for reading. This is The Blade, signing off.
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