Post by The Chupster on Dec 4, 2010 5:13:31 GMT -5
Okay, so I have trouble finding opinions on games from peoples I trustify, so's I'm gonna start giving games mini-reviews here- like first impression stuff. Additionally I'll link to any full reviews I do in the future.
I don't know the character limit on posts, but I'm going to reserve 3 posts up front, so I can edit in new minibits and keep all the games in order.
I WILL take requests (if you have a game that you just don't know about or whatever). If I have access to the game, I'll at least mini-review it as soon as I can get around to it, though naturally I'm going to mostly be just doing current-gen stuff. I'll do requests for Wii or 360. PS3 games are harder for me to get ahold of (not to mention even used ones are usually godawfully expensive), so if you want to request, feel free, but be aware that a Wii or 360 game is more likely to get my attention.
I also don't play sports games, at all, in any way shape or form. Sorry, just hate 'em. Sports suck ass in my universe.
Lastly, a link to my 25 bestest console games ever (as of September 18, 2010 anyway), which contain 25 mini-reviews. Check it HERE.
I'll note what version (console) of a game I'm mini-reviewing as well.
Okay, here we go! (Naturally more will come.)
Batman: Arkham Asylum (XBox 360)
Bionic Commando Rearmed (XBox 360)
Blood Drive (XBox 360)
Boom Blox (Wii)
Burnout Paradise (XBox 360)
Burnout Paradise (online) (XBox 360)
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (online multiplayer) (XBox 360)
Castle Crashers (XBox 360)
F.E.A.R. [demo] (XBox 360)
Gears of War (XBox 360)
The Godfather II (XBox 360)
Guitar Hero 3 (XBox 360)
InFamous (PS3)
Just Cause 2 (XBox 360)
Magic: The Gathering- Duels of the Planeswalkers (XBox 360)
Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds
Mercenaries 2 (XBox 360)
Naughty Bear (XBox 360)
Ninja GaiDen 2 (XBox 360)
No More Heroes (Wii)
Pain (PS3/PSN Network)
Prototype (XBox 360)
Resistance 2 (PS3)
Rock Band 2 (XBox 360)
Rock Band 2 Wired Bass Guitar Controller (XBox 360)
Rock Band 2 Wireless Guitar Controller (XBox 360)
Saint's Row 2 (XBox 360)
Scene It: Lights, Camera, Action! (XBox 360)
SoulCalibur 2 (XBox)
SoulCalibur 4 DLC (XBox 360)
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (Wii)
Street Fighter 4 (XBox 360)
Twisted Metal: Head On (PSP)
Twisted Metal: Head On Extra Twisted Edition (PS2)
Two Worlds (XBox 360)
Unreal Tournament 3 (XBox 360)
Warhawk (PS3)
Work Time Fun! (PSP)
WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2008 (PSP)
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (XBox 360)
Killzone 3 [PS3] -
The Killzone games continue to befuddle me.
On the one hand, you have what has to be the sharpest-looking console shooter ever to this point. Much like Killzone 2, it just looks fabulous- at least, while you're playing. Some of the animation during cutscenes (particularly when vehicles are involved) can be a little weird. But the gameplay is SOLID.
Then you get the fact that there are pretty much no real choices in weaponry. You're stuck with a variety of machine guns and pistols, the occasional minigun, and rocket launchers. So fucking dull.
And then on top of that, you have a story and characters that you can't possibly give a shit about. This is some mega-dull, boring-ass what-the-fuck garbage. You just don't care. You CAN'T care.
Killzone 3 is the equivalent of finally getting to go out with that one chick that you've had a crush on your whole life: it's so pretty that you want it so bad, and then you get it and realize that it's really just average, and then it starts talking and you just wish you had something with some substance, but you feel bad for shelling out $60 and figure you might as well get your money's worth. And then you regret it for the rest of your life.
Sometimes the fantasy's better than the reality, and that's definitely the case here. Only get it if you want some shootin' eye candy.
First impression final score: 2/5 - it's gorgeous and probably the closest you'll ever get to playing a CGI war movie, but that's the only good thing I can say about it. Would a fucking laser rifle be that much of a stretch for fuckers that are flying around on top of dropships and moving from planet to planet? Fucking machine guns. Shit.
Nail'd [XBox 360] -
Popping it in, I wasn't expecting much. I've played Dirt and MotorStorm and other arcadey off-road racers, and ATV-only games tend to just piss me off, but the trailers for this piqued my interest.
Needless to say, I'm blown away. The skewed perspective of the camera angle situated behind the ATV is a little shitty at first, but you quickly get used to it and it actually sort of helps you in a way to more clearly see the paths.
The levels are INSANE. The entire game is played at like breakneck speed, but the spot-on PERFECT controls let you zip around without wrecking every five seconds like some games. To say that the levels themselves are works of art is an understatement; for the most part, they look really, really good, there's no slowdown, and there are so many alternate paths, jumps, loops, obstacles... it's just perfect for such an insanely fast arcade racer.
I'm not saying the graphics are the best ever, but they are FAR more than adequate. My only complaint is, upon putting the game in, the only difficulty you can access is "Easy." To say that it's simple to blow through the first single player races is an understatement, and if you don't beat the nearest competitor by at least 10 seconds, you aren't trying.
The sense of pure speed coupled with the HUGE INSANE AIR you'll be catching throughout 90% of the game will knock your socks off. It's just pure fun to play; I can't say enough good things about it in this respect. It's just fun to drive the levels and see what new eye candy you're going to find. On the second level you drive along the SIDE OF A DAM for God's sake. This is arcade driving at its finest.
First impression final score: 4.5/5 - if it had more diverse vehicles this would easily be a 5.
Peggle [XBox 360] -
PopCap's second big Live Arcade hit is probably one of the purest, most simplistic-yet-fun games I've ever played. As usual, I popped it in just to try it and ended up playing for 2 hours, getting thru the vast majority of the single-player 'campaign' mode.
The bulk of the game runs like this: you have a gun that shoots balls and you have to fire it in order to hit and destroy pegs. The objective is to clear the screen of orange blocks and pegs before running out of balls. You start with 10 balls, but can earn more for getting set numbers of points, putting the ball in a mobile pit at the bottom of the screen, and general awesomeness.
In addition, pink pegs net you bonus points and green pegs get you powers depending on which Peggle Master you've chosen/are playing under.
It's just an addictive, fun mess. I had a huge grin plastered on my face for 2 hours trying this out, and I'll definitely be snagging the DLC, Peggle Nights, to get more once I finish up the single-player mode.
First impression final score: 5/5 - one of the shining examples of a simple, yet engaging game done well in every conceivable way.
Plants vs. Zombies [XBox 360] -
The newest game from PopCap for Live (or available on a disc with PopCap hits Zuma & Peggle), I don't know what to say aside from "this game is badass." It's fun, it's addictive (I meant to try it and played for 4 hours straight), it's cute, it's funny.
Essentially, it's a real time strategy game where you try to protect your house from the increasingly varied undead looking to eat your brains.
To do this, you utilize a set of cartoony, specialized plants that help you defeat the undead horses. Peashooters shoot peas at the zombies, wal-nuts create walls that stop the zombies from advancing (until they're eaten), and the list goes on and on and on, with each level usually netting you a new plant to play with.
At night, you use sets of fungi to do basically the same thing. You have the support of a crazy neighbor, from whom you can purchase new equipment and mods for your plants.
Overall, it's hectic, it's cute, it's funny, it's relaxing, and oh yeah, IT'S FUN!
First impression final score: 5/5 - there just ain't nothin' wrong with it.
Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare Pack (offline content only) [XBox 360] -
Okay, I know I never got around to doing an actual review of Red Dead Redemption, but it's the first game from Rockstar that I've really enjoyed since Grand Theft Auto Vice City- enough that I've played through the single player and gotten most of the challenges and achievements, and played through a shitload of online multiplayer and gotten some gold weapons, legendary characters and mounts, and have passed into legend from level 50 like 3 times.
Meaning, the game is good. If you like sandbox games and enjoy a really good story, fuck some GTA4, play Red Dead Redemption. Okay.
The Undead Nightmare Pack is a disc that, for $30, gives you all 4 paid DLCs and the free DLC, so basically all the multiplayer stuff, along with the Undead Nightmare DLC. PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT YOU CANNOT PLAY THROUGH RED DEAD REDEMPTION'S STORY MODE WITH THIS. If you start a single player game on this disc, it heads right into Undead Nightmare- which is where you wanna go, especially if you've finished RDR's story mode.
Undead Nightmare is like a whole new story mode. Set in the same world, the story kicks off from an alternate version of events from RDR's regular story, unleashing a world of undead on John Marston and sending him wandering throughout RDR's large map, seeking a cure to the spreading undead menace.
There are no shops, and currency is basically ammo. You'll be scrounging ammo from the word go, and if you're wasteful (and if you don't use your deadeye) you'll be out of ammo and getting chewed on before you know it.
It's up to you to travel from town to town, ridding each of the undead (temporarily) that you might gain new weapons and ammo and utilize fast travel throughout the saved towns. Story missions also pop up, but for the most part you'll be shooting the heads off of zombies and zombie creatures throughout the adventure.
It's serious, it's funny, it's sad. Undead Nightmare is surprisingly well-crafted and features most (if not all) of the characters from the original story as they try to cope with a world gone undead. Characters rumored to have been in GTA games (such as sasquatch) make appearances, and there are tons of different creatures to encounter, including zombie horses, unicorns, and the four horses of the apocalypse- which you can tame and ride! (I have Pestilence. He's a good lil horsey!)
Overall, Undead Nightmare is a must-have for any zombie freak. It's hard at times, and the sheer number of zombies (and the arrival of the tougher varieties) can make it occasionally frustrating, but a zombie outbreak wasn't meant to be all fun and games, right? Very awesome stuff from Rockstar- RDR is currently the best thing they've ever done in my book, and this just ratchets up the fun.
First impression final score: 4.5/5 - I do hate being low on ammo, and while I understand the necessity, I would definitely prefer some more ways to earn it.
Scribblenauts [Nintendo DS] -
It's funny- I actually didn't care for the idea of the DS until I played this little game, setting up my son's DS for Christmas.
That said, it's one of the most original, fun little games I've ever played.
Scribblenauts is a puzzler at its heart, with a twist; you're given fairly simple (at least at first) levels and an objective/hint as to what you need to accomplish, and then you either interact with the items onscreen to accomplish this or you pull up the Notepad, write a word (any non-proper noun), and use whatever you wrote to get through the level.
Do this and you accrue Ollars, the game's currency. You can use Ollars to unlock new avatars to play as, new in-game songs, and new sets of levels to play. Additionally, each group of levels have Puzzle levels and Action levels, though honestly, I still haven't played an Action level yet.
The real fun lies in the fact that you can play each level a total of 4 times, using separate means to get through the level, to "gold star" the level. This gets you a shit-ton of Ollars (after all, you're playing through 4 times) and gives your brain a workout as you try to come up with different items to use and different ways to get through the levels.
And the game's vocabulary is immense! There are a lot of basic nouns, but you can get pretty specific too- like you can go for "food", or then switch to "chicken" or "burger" or whatever. Guns, crossbows, and the sheer number of creatures, real and imaginary- bigfoot, chupacabra, Cthulhu, shambler, shoggoth, leviathan, the list is infinitely long. So many ways to do things, and so much fun to discover, especially tag-teaming the game with a partner!
And in the Notepad, you can opt to actually write out words with the stylus, but the game's letter recognition really sort of sucks. It's a lot better using the stylus to tap the virtual keyboard, unless you just have the best handwriting like, ever.
First impression final score: 5/5 - There's absolutely nothing wrong with this game. It's pure fun, and although a lot of the levels are simple, playing through 4 times and trying to do it differently each time can get very challenging. I can't wait to try Super Scribblenauts, which lets you use adjectives to modify the nouns- right after I finish off this one! ;D
Tekken 6 [XBox 360] -
Okay, let me preface this by saying that, before Tekken 6, the last Tekken game I played was Tag Tournament on the PS2 over at a friend's house (so briefly), and before that I was totally hooked on Tekken 2 and 3 forever and a day.
Fighting games are that weird phenomenon that can't get away from their past. If you take out too many popular characters, you basically get the players dropping the title like it's hot and never coming back until the problem is fixed (Street Fighter III, Mortal Kombat 3). Then again, if you don't really forge ahead enough, then you end up with a game that feels stale as soon as the player breaks that cellophane wrapper.
The Tekken series seems to have found that balance, especially in this iteration. You get a shit-ton of classic characters and just enough new characters to make the game worth a good look- around 40 characters, with 8 of those being new characters, including Miguel Rojo, who even managed to make it into the recent Tekken live action movie.
The game plays as tightly as you'd expect. There's a learning curve (as there pretty much always is with Tekken), but as usual, button bashers will do pretty well, though they will definitely find the boss more than a little challenging.
The Story Mode (Tekken Force or whatever, I don't recall at the moment) is sort of a pain. It is your main source of credits to purchase the new in-game merchandise items, which act as a sort of upgrade system; however, most everything is so expensive, and you earn credits so slowly in Story Mode, that it's just frustrating as shit.
The Story Mode itself sways wildly between so easy that it's intensely boring and painful to play, to so difficult and stupid that it's... intensely boring and painful to play. The storyline (what I bothered playing of it) is ridiculously stupid and the cutscenes go on for like forever, and it's just painful. If you want to buy items, I fully endorse getting a 360 hard drive transfer cable and downloading a save editor and hacking your save, because otherwise you will NEVER get to use the items in the game, unless you're just the most hardcore Tekken aficionado ever, which I definitely am not.
Overall, it's about as enjoyable as a single-player fighter gets, and it's fun to pull out when you have friends over that aren't very game-savvy, as the button-bashability gives them a shot at winning. Additionally it looks really, really sweet, even though there is something of a "plasticy" look to everyone- like they're action figures that move, or something. Not a horrible thing, but they do look a little odd.
First impression final score: 3.5/5 - It's a good fighting game, but once you get your head bounced off the floor by the boss a few times, you'll shelf this and rarely play it. Unless you just really, really like messed-up Japanese "hey that makes no real sense" storylines that make your brain shut down 5 minutes into a cutscene. But you get a good dose of nostalgia, and in a series this old, that's definitely a good thing.
Viking: Battle for Asgard [XBox 360] -
I have no idea why I haven't ever done a review of any sort on this game. It's really pretty damned good.
First off, a warning to the OCD: there are 4 achievements on this game that will cause your gamerscore to not end in a 0 or a 5 until you get all 4. I mention this because my gamerscore has ended in all sorts of numbers and it drives me apeshit, and it all started with this game. (For those with probs with this, there are also 2 similar achievements in Iron Man 2, but they're easy to get.)
That one tiny gripe aside, Viking: Battle for Asgard is a great little hack-and-slash title (with a few platforming elements) that's just difficult enough to put forth a mild challenge (even on Hard difficulty, "mild" is as bad as it gets), but easy enough to play and gory enough that you'll have a fucking blast playing it. Combat is a snap, you can earn new moves, and dismemberments are highlighted by a slow motion effect and a close-up, and there are enough different ones that it never really gets old.
There are a few stealth sections that you don't really have to do unless you're an achievement whore like I occasionally am. These are somewhat poorly implemented, but it's bearable.
Long story short, you hack your way to vengeance against the Legions of Hel, restoring peace and prosperity to the lands of your viking brothers. This includes freeing a lot of prisoners, gathering armies and storming large areas with your army (once certain objectives are complete), and you even get to play with some elemental magic and- SWOON- summon dragons to kick much ass.
First (well, technically second) impression final score: 4.75/5 - It's one of those games that you get sucked into, and it's not so long that you'll be playing it for much more than a week, but you'll enjoy the hell out of that week. This is pretty much the perfect definition of a great rental, but it's so cheap used that any fan of hack-and-slash gameplay should snatch this little Sega gem and play their hearts out. It would be a perfect 5, but the lack of any serious difficulty and the relative shortness of the game prevent me from scoring it higher.
I don't know the character limit on posts, but I'm going to reserve 3 posts up front, so I can edit in new minibits and keep all the games in order.
I WILL take requests (if you have a game that you just don't know about or whatever). If I have access to the game, I'll at least mini-review it as soon as I can get around to it, though naturally I'm going to mostly be just doing current-gen stuff. I'll do requests for Wii or 360. PS3 games are harder for me to get ahold of (not to mention even used ones are usually godawfully expensive), so if you want to request, feel free, but be aware that a Wii or 360 game is more likely to get my attention.
I also don't play sports games, at all, in any way shape or form. Sorry, just hate 'em. Sports suck ass in my universe.
Lastly, a link to my 25 bestest console games ever (as of September 18, 2010 anyway), which contain 25 mini-reviews. Check it HERE.
I'll note what version (console) of a game I'm mini-reviewing as well.
Okay, here we go! (Naturally more will come.)
Chupa's Full Reviews (CLICK 'EM! ;D ):
Batman: Arkham Asylum (XBox 360)
Bionic Commando Rearmed (XBox 360)
Blood Drive (XBox 360)
Boom Blox (Wii)
Burnout Paradise (XBox 360)
Burnout Paradise (online) (XBox 360)
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (online multiplayer) (XBox 360)
Castle Crashers (XBox 360)
F.E.A.R. [demo] (XBox 360)
Gears of War (XBox 360)
The Godfather II (XBox 360)
Guitar Hero 3 (XBox 360)
InFamous (PS3)
Just Cause 2 (XBox 360)
Magic: The Gathering- Duels of the Planeswalkers (XBox 360)
Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds
Mercenaries 2 (XBox 360)
Naughty Bear (XBox 360)
Ninja GaiDen 2 (XBox 360)
No More Heroes (Wii)
Pain (PS3/PSN Network)
Prototype (XBox 360)
Resistance 2 (PS3)
Rock Band 2 (XBox 360)
Rock Band 2 Wired Bass Guitar Controller (XBox 360)
Rock Band 2 Wireless Guitar Controller (XBox 360)
Saint's Row 2 (XBox 360)
Scene It: Lights, Camera, Action! (XBox 360)
SoulCalibur 2 (XBox)
SoulCalibur 4 DLC (XBox 360)
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (Wii)
Street Fighter 4 (XBox 360)
Twisted Metal: Head On (PSP)
Twisted Metal: Head On Extra Twisted Edition (PS2)
Two Worlds (XBox 360)
Unreal Tournament 3 (XBox 360)
Warhawk (PS3)
Work Time Fun! (PSP)
WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2008 (PSP)
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (XBox 360)
Chupa's First Impression Mini-Reviews:
Killzone 3 [PS3] -
The Killzone games continue to befuddle me.
On the one hand, you have what has to be the sharpest-looking console shooter ever to this point. Much like Killzone 2, it just looks fabulous- at least, while you're playing. Some of the animation during cutscenes (particularly when vehicles are involved) can be a little weird. But the gameplay is SOLID.
Then you get the fact that there are pretty much no real choices in weaponry. You're stuck with a variety of machine guns and pistols, the occasional minigun, and rocket launchers. So fucking dull.
And then on top of that, you have a story and characters that you can't possibly give a shit about. This is some mega-dull, boring-ass what-the-fuck garbage. You just don't care. You CAN'T care.
Killzone 3 is the equivalent of finally getting to go out with that one chick that you've had a crush on your whole life: it's so pretty that you want it so bad, and then you get it and realize that it's really just average, and then it starts talking and you just wish you had something with some substance, but you feel bad for shelling out $60 and figure you might as well get your money's worth. And then you regret it for the rest of your life.
Sometimes the fantasy's better than the reality, and that's definitely the case here. Only get it if you want some shootin' eye candy.
First impression final score: 2/5 - it's gorgeous and probably the closest you'll ever get to playing a CGI war movie, but that's the only good thing I can say about it. Would a fucking laser rifle be that much of a stretch for fuckers that are flying around on top of dropships and moving from planet to planet? Fucking machine guns. Shit.
Nail'd [XBox 360] -
Popping it in, I wasn't expecting much. I've played Dirt and MotorStorm and other arcadey off-road racers, and ATV-only games tend to just piss me off, but the trailers for this piqued my interest.
Needless to say, I'm blown away. The skewed perspective of the camera angle situated behind the ATV is a little shitty at first, but you quickly get used to it and it actually sort of helps you in a way to more clearly see the paths.
The levels are INSANE. The entire game is played at like breakneck speed, but the spot-on PERFECT controls let you zip around without wrecking every five seconds like some games. To say that the levels themselves are works of art is an understatement; for the most part, they look really, really good, there's no slowdown, and there are so many alternate paths, jumps, loops, obstacles... it's just perfect for such an insanely fast arcade racer.
I'm not saying the graphics are the best ever, but they are FAR more than adequate. My only complaint is, upon putting the game in, the only difficulty you can access is "Easy." To say that it's simple to blow through the first single player races is an understatement, and if you don't beat the nearest competitor by at least 10 seconds, you aren't trying.
The sense of pure speed coupled with the HUGE INSANE AIR you'll be catching throughout 90% of the game will knock your socks off. It's just pure fun to play; I can't say enough good things about it in this respect. It's just fun to drive the levels and see what new eye candy you're going to find. On the second level you drive along the SIDE OF A DAM for God's sake. This is arcade driving at its finest.
First impression final score: 4.5/5 - if it had more diverse vehicles this would easily be a 5.
Peggle [XBox 360] -
PopCap's second big Live Arcade hit is probably one of the purest, most simplistic-yet-fun games I've ever played. As usual, I popped it in just to try it and ended up playing for 2 hours, getting thru the vast majority of the single-player 'campaign' mode.
The bulk of the game runs like this: you have a gun that shoots balls and you have to fire it in order to hit and destroy pegs. The objective is to clear the screen of orange blocks and pegs before running out of balls. You start with 10 balls, but can earn more for getting set numbers of points, putting the ball in a mobile pit at the bottom of the screen, and general awesomeness.
In addition, pink pegs net you bonus points and green pegs get you powers depending on which Peggle Master you've chosen/are playing under.
It's just an addictive, fun mess. I had a huge grin plastered on my face for 2 hours trying this out, and I'll definitely be snagging the DLC, Peggle Nights, to get more once I finish up the single-player mode.
First impression final score: 5/5 - one of the shining examples of a simple, yet engaging game done well in every conceivable way.
Plants vs. Zombies [XBox 360] -
The newest game from PopCap for Live (or available on a disc with PopCap hits Zuma & Peggle), I don't know what to say aside from "this game is badass." It's fun, it's addictive (I meant to try it and played for 4 hours straight), it's cute, it's funny.
Essentially, it's a real time strategy game where you try to protect your house from the increasingly varied undead looking to eat your brains.
To do this, you utilize a set of cartoony, specialized plants that help you defeat the undead horses. Peashooters shoot peas at the zombies, wal-nuts create walls that stop the zombies from advancing (until they're eaten), and the list goes on and on and on, with each level usually netting you a new plant to play with.
At night, you use sets of fungi to do basically the same thing. You have the support of a crazy neighbor, from whom you can purchase new equipment and mods for your plants.
Overall, it's hectic, it's cute, it's funny, it's relaxing, and oh yeah, IT'S FUN!
First impression final score: 5/5 - there just ain't nothin' wrong with it.
Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare Pack (offline content only) [XBox 360] -
Okay, I know I never got around to doing an actual review of Red Dead Redemption, but it's the first game from Rockstar that I've really enjoyed since Grand Theft Auto Vice City- enough that I've played through the single player and gotten most of the challenges and achievements, and played through a shitload of online multiplayer and gotten some gold weapons, legendary characters and mounts, and have passed into legend from level 50 like 3 times.
Meaning, the game is good. If you like sandbox games and enjoy a really good story, fuck some GTA4, play Red Dead Redemption. Okay.
The Undead Nightmare Pack is a disc that, for $30, gives you all 4 paid DLCs and the free DLC, so basically all the multiplayer stuff, along with the Undead Nightmare DLC. PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT YOU CANNOT PLAY THROUGH RED DEAD REDEMPTION'S STORY MODE WITH THIS. If you start a single player game on this disc, it heads right into Undead Nightmare- which is where you wanna go, especially if you've finished RDR's story mode.
Undead Nightmare is like a whole new story mode. Set in the same world, the story kicks off from an alternate version of events from RDR's regular story, unleashing a world of undead on John Marston and sending him wandering throughout RDR's large map, seeking a cure to the spreading undead menace.
There are no shops, and currency is basically ammo. You'll be scrounging ammo from the word go, and if you're wasteful (and if you don't use your deadeye) you'll be out of ammo and getting chewed on before you know it.
It's up to you to travel from town to town, ridding each of the undead (temporarily) that you might gain new weapons and ammo and utilize fast travel throughout the saved towns. Story missions also pop up, but for the most part you'll be shooting the heads off of zombies and zombie creatures throughout the adventure.
It's serious, it's funny, it's sad. Undead Nightmare is surprisingly well-crafted and features most (if not all) of the characters from the original story as they try to cope with a world gone undead. Characters rumored to have been in GTA games (such as sasquatch) make appearances, and there are tons of different creatures to encounter, including zombie horses, unicorns, and the four horses of the apocalypse- which you can tame and ride! (I have Pestilence. He's a good lil horsey!)
Overall, Undead Nightmare is a must-have for any zombie freak. It's hard at times, and the sheer number of zombies (and the arrival of the tougher varieties) can make it occasionally frustrating, but a zombie outbreak wasn't meant to be all fun and games, right? Very awesome stuff from Rockstar- RDR is currently the best thing they've ever done in my book, and this just ratchets up the fun.
First impression final score: 4.5/5 - I do hate being low on ammo, and while I understand the necessity, I would definitely prefer some more ways to earn it.
Scribblenauts [Nintendo DS] -
It's funny- I actually didn't care for the idea of the DS until I played this little game, setting up my son's DS for Christmas.
That said, it's one of the most original, fun little games I've ever played.
Scribblenauts is a puzzler at its heart, with a twist; you're given fairly simple (at least at first) levels and an objective/hint as to what you need to accomplish, and then you either interact with the items onscreen to accomplish this or you pull up the Notepad, write a word (any non-proper noun), and use whatever you wrote to get through the level.
Do this and you accrue Ollars, the game's currency. You can use Ollars to unlock new avatars to play as, new in-game songs, and new sets of levels to play. Additionally, each group of levels have Puzzle levels and Action levels, though honestly, I still haven't played an Action level yet.
The real fun lies in the fact that you can play each level a total of 4 times, using separate means to get through the level, to "gold star" the level. This gets you a shit-ton of Ollars (after all, you're playing through 4 times) and gives your brain a workout as you try to come up with different items to use and different ways to get through the levels.
And the game's vocabulary is immense! There are a lot of basic nouns, but you can get pretty specific too- like you can go for "food", or then switch to "chicken" or "burger" or whatever. Guns, crossbows, and the sheer number of creatures, real and imaginary- bigfoot, chupacabra, Cthulhu, shambler, shoggoth, leviathan, the list is infinitely long. So many ways to do things, and so much fun to discover, especially tag-teaming the game with a partner!
And in the Notepad, you can opt to actually write out words with the stylus, but the game's letter recognition really sort of sucks. It's a lot better using the stylus to tap the virtual keyboard, unless you just have the best handwriting like, ever.
First impression final score: 5/5 - There's absolutely nothing wrong with this game. It's pure fun, and although a lot of the levels are simple, playing through 4 times and trying to do it differently each time can get very challenging. I can't wait to try Super Scribblenauts, which lets you use adjectives to modify the nouns- right after I finish off this one! ;D
Tekken 6 [XBox 360] -
Okay, let me preface this by saying that, before Tekken 6, the last Tekken game I played was Tag Tournament on the PS2 over at a friend's house (so briefly), and before that I was totally hooked on Tekken 2 and 3 forever and a day.
Fighting games are that weird phenomenon that can't get away from their past. If you take out too many popular characters, you basically get the players dropping the title like it's hot and never coming back until the problem is fixed (Street Fighter III, Mortal Kombat 3). Then again, if you don't really forge ahead enough, then you end up with a game that feels stale as soon as the player breaks that cellophane wrapper.
The Tekken series seems to have found that balance, especially in this iteration. You get a shit-ton of classic characters and just enough new characters to make the game worth a good look- around 40 characters, with 8 of those being new characters, including Miguel Rojo, who even managed to make it into the recent Tekken live action movie.
The game plays as tightly as you'd expect. There's a learning curve (as there pretty much always is with Tekken), but as usual, button bashers will do pretty well, though they will definitely find the boss more than a little challenging.
The Story Mode (Tekken Force or whatever, I don't recall at the moment) is sort of a pain. It is your main source of credits to purchase the new in-game merchandise items, which act as a sort of upgrade system; however, most everything is so expensive, and you earn credits so slowly in Story Mode, that it's just frustrating as shit.
The Story Mode itself sways wildly between so easy that it's intensely boring and painful to play, to so difficult and stupid that it's... intensely boring and painful to play. The storyline (what I bothered playing of it) is ridiculously stupid and the cutscenes go on for like forever, and it's just painful. If you want to buy items, I fully endorse getting a 360 hard drive transfer cable and downloading a save editor and hacking your save, because otherwise you will NEVER get to use the items in the game, unless you're just the most hardcore Tekken aficionado ever, which I definitely am not.
Overall, it's about as enjoyable as a single-player fighter gets, and it's fun to pull out when you have friends over that aren't very game-savvy, as the button-bashability gives them a shot at winning. Additionally it looks really, really sweet, even though there is something of a "plasticy" look to everyone- like they're action figures that move, or something. Not a horrible thing, but they do look a little odd.
First impression final score: 3.5/5 - It's a good fighting game, but once you get your head bounced off the floor by the boss a few times, you'll shelf this and rarely play it. Unless you just really, really like messed-up Japanese "hey that makes no real sense" storylines that make your brain shut down 5 minutes into a cutscene. But you get a good dose of nostalgia, and in a series this old, that's definitely a good thing.
Viking: Battle for Asgard [XBox 360] -
I have no idea why I haven't ever done a review of any sort on this game. It's really pretty damned good.
First off, a warning to the OCD: there are 4 achievements on this game that will cause your gamerscore to not end in a 0 or a 5 until you get all 4. I mention this because my gamerscore has ended in all sorts of numbers and it drives me apeshit, and it all started with this game. (For those with probs with this, there are also 2 similar achievements in Iron Man 2, but they're easy to get.)
That one tiny gripe aside, Viking: Battle for Asgard is a great little hack-and-slash title (with a few platforming elements) that's just difficult enough to put forth a mild challenge (even on Hard difficulty, "mild" is as bad as it gets), but easy enough to play and gory enough that you'll have a fucking blast playing it. Combat is a snap, you can earn new moves, and dismemberments are highlighted by a slow motion effect and a close-up, and there are enough different ones that it never really gets old.
There are a few stealth sections that you don't really have to do unless you're an achievement whore like I occasionally am. These are somewhat poorly implemented, but it's bearable.
Long story short, you hack your way to vengeance against the Legions of Hel, restoring peace and prosperity to the lands of your viking brothers. This includes freeing a lot of prisoners, gathering armies and storming large areas with your army (once certain objectives are complete), and you even get to play with some elemental magic and- SWOON- summon dragons to kick much ass.
First (well, technically second) impression final score: 4.75/5 - It's one of those games that you get sucked into, and it's not so long that you'll be playing it for much more than a week, but you'll enjoy the hell out of that week. This is pretty much the perfect definition of a great rental, but it's so cheap used that any fan of hack-and-slash gameplay should snatch this little Sega gem and play their hearts out. It would be a perfect 5, but the lack of any serious difficulty and the relative shortness of the game prevent me from scoring it higher.
