Monday, November 26, 2007

Assassin's Creed is Done


I beat it yesterday. The game is beautiful....great graphics, charicter animations, textures, scope, etc....but the little flaws in the gameplay really add up after playing for more than a streight hour. Apparently I missed some of the fine (and important) details in the story, but after looking around online I get it now. The story is actually pretty cool. The ending is very cliffhangerish, but not in the Halo 2 "throw controller, smash tv, curse, yell, set off nuclear bombs" sort of way, but more like the "I am very intregued now" sort of way. Here's hoping that Ubisoft makes the rest of the triogy more human-friendly.

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Guitar Hero Commentary


It's so freaking addictive. I was one of those jaded anti-G.H. people but its so rediculously addictive. Also difficult.

Thursday, November 15, 2007

My del.icio.us

http://del.icio.us/SkylineJeeTeeAre

check it

Forza Motorsport 2 Review


If you've played Forza on the original Xbox, you're in for more of the same in the sequal, which isn't a bad thing. While getting rid of some old tracks (frown) and adding some new ones (meh), you get many, many, many new cars, more detailed upgrading, and way advanced tuning options. Graphics are more polished than the last gen, but not revolutionary. The new photo option is pretty cool and you can upload pictures of your custom cars with cooler paint options than before and share them with the world. It's the most realistic racing sim on the market.

9/10

Splinter Cell: Double Agent Review


I am a huge fan of Splinter Cell games, having played every game since the first. That said, DA is somewhat if a departure from the series. The AI is slightly improved and the graphics are much improved over the last generation. The point of Splinter Cell is to sneak around in the dark, slowly stalking your prey before slicing their throat and dragging their limp husk of a body to a concealled location. DA incorperates maybe two levels of sneaking, and the rest is a really bad third-person shooter. Quite lame. Chaos Theory is still the best.

6.5/10

The Darkness Review


I played and beat this game over the summer, but while I'm at it I might as well review it.

The story is truely a masterpiece. This game has one of the most emotionally-charged moments I have ever seen in game or movie. The ending is a bit dissapointing, but still satisfactory. The graphics are top-notch and the gameplay is unique. Though the game suffers from some rather weak gunplay, the Darkness powers totally make up for it. Loading times are an issue and, to quote Game Informer, "You see much more of New York's subway system than you'd ever like to". The AI is predictable and pretty weak.

8.5/10

Call of Duty 4 Review


If you've played Call of Duty Finest Hour, Call of Duty 2, or Call of Duty 3, then Call of Duty 4 is just for you. It's the exact same type of gameplay, except in a modern setting. With amazing graphics and some really cool moments, this game does not disapoint. The campaign is very fun, though short. The story is kind of weak, but the gameplay is where it counts. The weapons are fun, but do not fuction much differently from the other games' counterparts. AI is pretty crappy, though improved over 2. Some of the more cinimatic moments are really breathtaking. That said, the single player is good, but not the godsend it was thought to be.

8.5/10

Assassin's Creed Review

Yet another game that has fallen to the over-hype machine. While it starts off with an inadiquate into tutorial, once you get used to the strange controls and combat system, the game gets better. Like an album you dont like the first time you hear it, but the more you listen to it it grows on you...its like that. The graphics are amazing, the environments are huge and absolutally gorgeous. The AI isn't too bad and the combat is fun. The climbing and "free-running" is really awesome. Even though it is a really repetative game, it's definately worth checking out.

9/10

Skate Review


Skate is the first game to tackle the genre of skateboarding with any success since the Tony Hawk series faded into apathy. Rather than stringing huge crazy combos for massive points and secret tapes like the TH games, Skate aims for realism. You won't be doing double backflips over hellicopters in Skate. You roam around a city and skate on evryday objects like a real skater would. The control scheme is also revolutionary. Rather than having an "ollie, grind, flip, grab" button scheme, the right joystick controlls the movement of you feet to do tricks and the left stick controls your steering and body rotation. It really needs to be experienced to be understood.
However, like many games nowadays, the concept is better than the exicution. Skate is a good game, but suffers from some major flaws. The camera angle can be immensely frustrating at times. It is nearly impossible to do a speciffic trick on purpose, so challenges that require it are very tedious and inconsistant. Most of the sweet moments of the game, of which there are many, they are mostly completely by accident. Also, simple things like navigating the world is horrible. Tripping over curbs, getting hit by cars, the slightest uneven surface killing you...it gets old.

8/10