Hey hey so i think things are finally starting to pick up! Were getting more authors so we will have a variety of subjects and video games covered, as well as different inputs. I was just over at max's house, we had a damn good time playing COD5 and just chillin Weve got a lot of ideas floating for this website around let me know if you have any ideas. Once we figure out exactly what we want to write about, we will be able to organize the site better.
check out this song btw its great.
Anything goes.
Monday, January 5, 2009
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Gears of War Review
--Info--
Published by: Microsoft
Developed by: Epic Games
Platform: Xbox 360 exclusive
Release dates:
-US: November 7, 2006
-Japan: January 18, 2007
-Europe: November 17, 2006
-Australia: November 23, 2006
--Story--
Gears of War focuses heavily on the storyline and it is one of its highlighting factors. The events that take place in the game are all on the planet world of Sera, which is pretty much Earth under a different name. The humans of Sera have united under the C.O.G. (Coalition of Ordered Governments) to combat an invasion of humanoid aliens called the Locust and batlike monsters called Kryll. These Locust and Kryll have all but taken over Sera, save for a couple major cities, the most prominent of which is Jacinto. You are Marcus Fenix a badass veteran who feels the need to accentuate his manliness by always yelling and using a voice like hes got something stuck in his throat. Marcus has been put into jail for abandoning his position to try and save his father from an unknown demise. At the start of the game Dom, you're faithful friend and companion busts you out of prison under orders from General Hoffman. It seems the war is not leaning in the human's favour. You land in Delta Squad, and you're objective is to destroy the Locust once and for all and end the 15-year war. The game takes you through a variety of different environments, at all times of the day. All of it leading to a final showdown with the presumed leader of the locust and Kryll horde: General RAAM. You learn that the humans have essentially been divided into two classes, the Gears, soldiers of the C.O.G., and the Stranded, regular joe humans who have had no formal military training and who live in makeshift shanty towns. Stranded aren't too friendly towards Gears and blame them for everything that has happened to them. The Stranded have no intention of helping to C.O.G. in it's fight against the Locust, they are content in just defending their position, never making any offensive maneuvers.
--Gameplay--
Gears is a third person shooter, and the controls are easy to learn and the cover system is revolutionary. The developers have devoted one button entirely to the cover system. 'A' allows you to roll, slide into cover, clib over blockades, roadie run, swat turn and more. This combined with the blind-fire ability really brings the game to life. As well as the introduction of the "active reload" which allows you, with good timing, to reload faster in addition to a damage boost. If you miss, it takes far longer to reload than if you hadn't tried. Later on in the game you are able to give commands to your squad such as "Open fire!" "Cease fire!""Regroup!" although it is not neccesary to complete the game. Marcus encounters a variety of enemies throughout his missions. There is the regular "grub" which is the regular infantryman of the Locust military, essentially just a locust with a Hammerburst rifle (the standard Locust weapon.) Eventually you meet the grenadier, the grenadier is not much different from the regular grub except that it carries a shotgun and two frag grenades. As well as a sniper, a regular grub as well who is equipped with a sniper and has very low health. You meet seeders as well, massive creatures that jam radio's and spew Nemacyst which are pretty much anti-air suicide bombers. Seeders are only vulnerable to the Hammer of Dawn, which is a laser guided particle beam from a satellite. The Hammer of Dawn takes a while to charge up and is only available outdoors and when the satellite is overhead. You will also encounter Theron Guards which are pretty much elite grubs. They are faster, stronger, smarter and better equipped than the regular gurb. They carry either a Torque bow, which is extremely deadly (it's a bow and arrow, but the arrow has an explosive on the tip) or a Lancer, which is the standard gun for C.O.G. soldiers. The Lancer has a chainsaw bayonet on the tip allowing for a gruesome death if they get too close, but hey, same goes for them. You will meet Beserkers who, like Seeders are only vulnerable to the Hammer of Dawn. Beserkers are blind and so hunt by sound and smell (don't try and stand still, they still know where you are.) They are extremely fast and one hit from them kills you so you will have to time you're Hammer of Dawn shots. You will also encounter wretches which are simply an annoyance, they are small creatures that run up to you and try and claw you to death. They are easily taken care of, but beware of their cousins the lambent wretches who explode upon dying. There is also the Boomer which carries a rocket launcher of sorts, they are tough to take down, but it is very possible. Last but not least, you will fight Reavers, large, flying creatures which are ridden by Locust. There is no worry of ever being bored of the same enemy, because as you can see there is a large variety of enemies to fight. Enemies come from emergence holes in the ground that can pop up at any time. I won't go into detail, but there are many types of weapons that you can pick up along the way as well, i have only mentioned a few, but there are more exciting weapons to add to the list. I won't spoil it for you.
--Difficulty--
The game took a large jump between difficulty levels Hardcore and Insane. Personally though, i find that insane was still slightly too easy, it is still possible to beat the whole thing without dying. The game is made easier by the excessive power of the Shotgun and the Torque bow and the ability to blind-fire. But don't be decieved, follow the first rule of the C.O.G. "Take cover or die." This is not a game where you can just run in guns blazing and expect to kill everything. More often than not the enemies are stronger than you and will kill you if you are in the open.
--Multiplayer--
The multiplayer is quite good, once again i can't say too much due to the fact that i still do not have Xbox live. However, i have played against some friends using the system link. There are a variety of maps to play on and the game is, once again, made much more intense through the use of the cover system. There are also a bunch of different types of games you can play including capture the flag, death match etc. i won't go into detail since i'm kind of hazy on the specifics.
--Graphics--
All of the cutscenes as well as the actual gameplay have amazing graphics, real eye candy. It really immerses you into the game and paints a portrait of Sera no words could describe. The experience is even better (obviously) using the H.D. cables, but you're not missing anything major without them. You get stunning visuals of city's and landscape, not one detail is spared.
--Sound/dialogue/voice acting/music--
The sound effects are extremely well done, there is a unique sound for every gun, for every different enemy etc. Dialogue is great, informative and funny. The voice acting is well done as well, except that i find that Marcus' voice was really overdone. That takes away from the game i find, anything kind or positive he has to say is totally lost in the gruffness of his voice. You'd think he's expression and attitude would change from time to time. That as well as Cole being extremely stereotypical.
--Verdict--
All in all, this game is Beyond exceptional. There is not much wrong with it. It introduced a revolutionary cover system, amazing storyline good graphics and good gameplay. What more could you ask for? It is a must have for the Xbox 360.
Anything goes.
Published by: Microsoft
Developed by: Epic Games
Platform: Xbox 360 exclusive
Release dates:
-US: November 7, 2006
-Japan: January 18, 2007
-Europe: November 17, 2006
-Australia: November 23, 2006
--Story--
Gears of War focuses heavily on the storyline and it is one of its highlighting factors. The events that take place in the game are all on the planet world of Sera, which is pretty much Earth under a different name. The humans of Sera have united under the C.O.G. (Coalition of Ordered Governments) to combat an invasion of humanoid aliens called the Locust and batlike monsters called Kryll. These Locust and Kryll have all but taken over Sera, save for a couple major cities, the most prominent of which is Jacinto. You are Marcus Fenix a badass veteran who feels the need to accentuate his manliness by always yelling and using a voice like hes got something stuck in his throat. Marcus has been put into jail for abandoning his position to try and save his father from an unknown demise. At the start of the game Dom, you're faithful friend and companion busts you out of prison under orders from General Hoffman. It seems the war is not leaning in the human's favour. You land in Delta Squad, and you're objective is to destroy the Locust once and for all and end the 15-year war. The game takes you through a variety of different environments, at all times of the day. All of it leading to a final showdown with the presumed leader of the locust and Kryll horde: General RAAM. You learn that the humans have essentially been divided into two classes, the Gears, soldiers of the C.O.G., and the Stranded, regular joe humans who have had no formal military training and who live in makeshift shanty towns. Stranded aren't too friendly towards Gears and blame them for everything that has happened to them. The Stranded have no intention of helping to C.O.G. in it's fight against the Locust, they are content in just defending their position, never making any offensive maneuvers.
--Gameplay--
Gears is a third person shooter, and the controls are easy to learn and the cover system is revolutionary. The developers have devoted one button entirely to the cover system. 'A' allows you to roll, slide into cover, clib over blockades, roadie run, swat turn and more. This combined with the blind-fire ability really brings the game to life. As well as the introduction of the "active reload" which allows you, with good timing, to reload faster in addition to a damage boost. If you miss, it takes far longer to reload than if you hadn't tried. Later on in the game you are able to give commands to your squad such as "Open fire!" "Cease fire!""Regroup!" although it is not neccesary to complete the game. Marcus encounters a variety of enemies throughout his missions. There is the regular "grub" which is the regular infantryman of the Locust military, essentially just a locust with a Hammerburst rifle (the standard Locust weapon.) Eventually you meet the grenadier, the grenadier is not much different from the regular grub except that it carries a shotgun and two frag grenades. As well as a sniper, a regular grub as well who is equipped with a sniper and has very low health. You meet seeders as well, massive creatures that jam radio's and spew Nemacyst which are pretty much anti-air suicide bombers. Seeders are only vulnerable to the Hammer of Dawn, which is a laser guided particle beam from a satellite. The Hammer of Dawn takes a while to charge up and is only available outdoors and when the satellite is overhead. You will also encounter Theron Guards which are pretty much elite grubs. They are faster, stronger, smarter and better equipped than the regular gurb. They carry either a Torque bow, which is extremely deadly (it's a bow and arrow, but the arrow has an explosive on the tip) or a Lancer, which is the standard gun for C.O.G. soldiers. The Lancer has a chainsaw bayonet on the tip allowing for a gruesome death if they get too close, but hey, same goes for them. You will meet Beserkers who, like Seeders are only vulnerable to the Hammer of Dawn. Beserkers are blind and so hunt by sound and smell (don't try and stand still, they still know where you are.) They are extremely fast and one hit from them kills you so you will have to time you're Hammer of Dawn shots. You will also encounter wretches which are simply an annoyance, they are small creatures that run up to you and try and claw you to death. They are easily taken care of, but beware of their cousins the lambent wretches who explode upon dying. There is also the Boomer which carries a rocket launcher of sorts, they are tough to take down, but it is very possible. Last but not least, you will fight Reavers, large, flying creatures which are ridden by Locust. There is no worry of ever being bored of the same enemy, because as you can see there is a large variety of enemies to fight. Enemies come from emergence holes in the ground that can pop up at any time. I won't go into detail, but there are many types of weapons that you can pick up along the way as well, i have only mentioned a few, but there are more exciting weapons to add to the list. I won't spoil it for you.
--Difficulty--
The game took a large jump between difficulty levels Hardcore and Insane. Personally though, i find that insane was still slightly too easy, it is still possible to beat the whole thing without dying. The game is made easier by the excessive power of the Shotgun and the Torque bow and the ability to blind-fire. But don't be decieved, follow the first rule of the C.O.G. "Take cover or die." This is not a game where you can just run in guns blazing and expect to kill everything. More often than not the enemies are stronger than you and will kill you if you are in the open.
--Multiplayer--
The multiplayer is quite good, once again i can't say too much due to the fact that i still do not have Xbox live. However, i have played against some friends using the system link. There are a variety of maps to play on and the game is, once again, made much more intense through the use of the cover system. There are also a bunch of different types of games you can play including capture the flag, death match etc. i won't go into detail since i'm kind of hazy on the specifics.
--Graphics--
All of the cutscenes as well as the actual gameplay have amazing graphics, real eye candy. It really immerses you into the game and paints a portrait of Sera no words could describe. The experience is even better (obviously) using the H.D. cables, but you're not missing anything major without them. You get stunning visuals of city's and landscape, not one detail is spared.
--Sound/dialogue/voice acting/music--
The sound effects are extremely well done, there is a unique sound for every gun, for every different enemy etc. Dialogue is great, informative and funny. The voice acting is well done as well, except that i find that Marcus' voice was really overdone. That takes away from the game i find, anything kind or positive he has to say is totally lost in the gruffness of his voice. You'd think he's expression and attitude would change from time to time. That as well as Cole being extremely stereotypical.
--Verdict--
All in all, this game is Beyond exceptional. There is not much wrong with it. It introduced a revolutionary cover system, amazing storyline good graphics and good gameplay. What more could you ask for? It is a must have for the Xbox 360.
Anything goes.
insomnia..?
Well im sleepless again so ive decided to take Marco's advice and come up with a format for game reviews (with some help from Katy's review):
Info
Story
Gameplay
Difficulty
Multiplayer/Online
Sounds/dialogue/voice acting/music
Graphics
Verdict
It's pretty much Katy's format just with a few things added. Let me know if anything else should be added.
Anything goes.
Info
Story
Gameplay
Difficulty
Multiplayer/Online
Sounds/dialogue/voice acting/music
Graphics
Verdict
It's pretty much Katy's format just with a few things added. Let me know if anything else should be added.
Anything goes.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
something to think about
I've been surfing blogs and game review sites and i've come to the realization that we would have to play a ridiculous amount of video games to even be able to create a site dedicated to the sole purpose of their review. We will continue to review games that deserve it, but we should probably expand to other topics as well. Perhaps discussions on games or more subjective things. Maybe a top 10 list. Im really just brainstorming here and thought i might write it down. Maybe we could talk about politics, whats going on in the world. Thoughts on global warming: overrated? Barrack Obama: Good president? Do governments have too much power? What should be done about the current economic crisis? etc. Interesting stories perhaps, recent movies, tv series, sports. Maybe more philosophical things too: Have we lost sight of whats important? What is true success?
Anyways, just thoughts...let me know what you think, readers and authors. Help to build this blog/eventual site.
We can either stay focused around video games, or expand to a broader line of topics.
Anything goes.
Anyways, just thoughts...let me know what you think, readers and authors. Help to build this blog/eventual site.
We can either stay focused around video games, or expand to a broader line of topics.
Anything goes.
Final Fantasy XII Review
Info
Developer - SquareEnix
Producer - SquareEnix
Platform(s) - PS2 exclusive
Release Dates - 16th March 2006 Japan
- 31st October 2006 North America
- 23rd February 2007 Europe (PAL)
- 9th August 2007 International
Final Fantasy XII is one of the many installments in the incredibly succesful Final Fantasy series and has made some very noticeable changes compared to earlier installments.
---==Story==---
Final Fantasy XII takes place in the land of Ivalice, which is split into several areas, the 2 most noteable and important ones being: Ordalia - A vast land filled with plains and deserts (mainly Jagd). The Rozarrian Empire rules this area. Valendia - A land dominated by the Imperial Archadia and House Solidor, where some of the most prosperous and vast fields dot the land. Emperor Gramis oversees the entire Country. When we first start the game, we are playing as a young cadet by the name of Reks, in a group of Dalmascan Knights. These Knights have little time to get to the King of Dalmasca before he signs a treaty of surrender, as he is to be assassinated soon after. This is the tutorial level and explains well how all the controls outside, and inside the battlefield work.
Our real adventure starts in the capital of Dalmasca, Rabanastre, in the Galtean Peninsula, directly between the nations of Rozarria and Archadia, who currently harbour ill-will towards one another and are in the middle of a war. We pick up 2 years after Reks was killed, in a time where Dalmasca and other places such as Nabradia are under Archadian control. We begin playing as Vaan, Reks' little brother, killing some rats in a sewer. As any Final Fantasy player can tell you, as you progress through the story, you'll be killing things a hell of a lot scarier/tougher/uglier/stupider/meaner. One of the prevalent main themes of this Final Fantasy is War. It takes a very grown-up approach as to how War can affect Countries and the people within them. It shows the difficulties people face in dire times and what people will do to stay alive, i.e Vaan and his childhood friend, Penelo, will have to run odd-jobs day to day for people so they can get money to pay for food, but Vaan occasionly falls into the bad habit of stealing things, usually from Archadian soldiers.
The story is definitely one of the main pulling points of this game, as although things such as magic and Airships are common sights, the feel and look of the game gives it a very big sense of realism, as it easily establishes a bond with what real life can be like for some of the less fortunate individuals in this world.
---==Gameplay==---
Gameplay in Final Fantasy XII varies somewhat from traditional turn-based fighting in other FF games. Random battles have been eliminated, battles take place in real time and the death of your 3 in-battle characters is much more easily avoidable. Below are a brief summary of all the types of actions in the game. Any action will fall under one of these categories.
Attack - does exactly what it says on the tin
Items - covers anything that is used from the in-game inventory
Black Magic - covers all classic offensive spells such as "fire" and "thundara"
White Magic - covers several spells which heal or protect.
Green Magic - used mostly to cast beneficial or detrimental status effects i.e " protect" and "oil"
Time Magic - spells like "haste" and "stop" can be found here and also new spells such as "float"
Arcane Magic - you can find your scary magic here, such as "dark", "gravity" and the terrifying "bubble"
Technicks - yes, I have spelt that right. These are abilities which cost no mana and have a very large variety of effects, ranging from "steal" to "1000 needles" to "telekenisis"
Mist - Contains the option to either summon an Esper to fight alongside you or to use character specific limit attacks.
The classic limit attacks come in the form of "Quickenings", of which each character can acquire 3. the first quickening requires 1 mist charge, the 2nd 2 and the 3rd, 3. Mist charges are essentially a section of your mana. After acquiring 2 quickenings, your max mana doubles, and after 3, your original mana value is tripled. For example, if one of my Character's mana was 48, after getting 2 quickenings it would be 96 and after 3 it would be 144. Espers are only similar to Aeons in the fact that you summon them. Unlike other final fantasies, they join you on the battlefield, but have pre-determined actions so you can't directly control them, and they can only stay on the battlefield for a certain amount of time. Having said that, their actions do have independant variables, so you can sometimes help them on their way i.e. some espers will only unleash their ultimate attack if their health is below a certain value, such as 30%, so if time's running out, you can choose to attack your esper and lower it's health, effectively forcing them to use their ultimate attack.
The final major addition is the Gambit System. This is, essentially, a way to easily program your characters to perform actions based on certain situations. A common gambit screen looks like this. As long as you don't put in variables that would cancel each other out or put in something pointless like "HP=100% use Phoenix Down" this system should keep you pretty safe, but does give that "the game is playing its-self" kind of feel. The major help it provides is making sure you don't get arthritis from manually selecting every action.
---==Graphics==---
For a PS2 game, this does kind of stretch the boundaries. Some of the cutscenes look almost next-gen and the normal gameplay is no sloucher either (feel free to disagree, we all have our views). Admittedly sometimes the characters don't look that impressive, but they aren't really the main point of view when you're exploring Ivalice. The game takes you through Cities, Caves, Forests, Plains, Deserts, Towers, Airships, Villages and more, all of which look fantastic for a PS2 game. Some of the attack animations are quite noticeable aswell, especially the Quickenings and Esper attacks. Time and effort has clearly went into designing this game's unique look, and there are very few instances in the game that don't give off the "OI! look at me!" feeling.
---==Sound==---
The game's soundtrack focuses quite heavily on Orchestra type music and gives that bold, epic feeling to the battles. However, when necessary, they can have cute little numbers to lift the mood or convey a sense of innocence, most often with scenes revolving around the younger characters, such as Penelo or Vaan. The music always fits the mood, with dark, sombre tones played in the background as you witness scenes from places such as the Archadian Empire, or light, breezey notes played as you leap about on a Chocobo.
---==Verdict==---
Basically, I see this as an all-rounder. If you like FF games, you should pick this up (but I'd be surprised if you haven't already) if you like RPG's, you should pick this up. If you want to start playing RPG's, then this is definitely a good place to start. It has a good gameplay system, an interesting storyline, a nice soundtrack and great graphics, and has certainly done a good job in maintaining the standard players expect from a final fantasy game.
Developer - SquareEnix
Producer - SquareEnix
Platform(s) - PS2 exclusive
Release Dates - 16th March 2006 Japan
- 31st October 2006 North America
- 23rd February 2007 Europe (PAL)
- 9th August 2007 International
Final Fantasy XII is one of the many installments in the incredibly succesful Final Fantasy series and has made some very noticeable changes compared to earlier installments.
---==Story==---
Final Fantasy XII takes place in the land of Ivalice, which is split into several areas, the 2 most noteable and important ones being: Ordalia - A vast land filled with plains and deserts (mainly Jagd). The Rozarrian Empire rules this area. Valendia - A land dominated by the Imperial Archadia and House Solidor, where some of the most prosperous and vast fields dot the land. Emperor Gramis oversees the entire Country. When we first start the game, we are playing as a young cadet by the name of Reks, in a group of Dalmascan Knights. These Knights have little time to get to the King of Dalmasca before he signs a treaty of surrender, as he is to be assassinated soon after. This is the tutorial level and explains well how all the controls outside, and inside the battlefield work.
Our real adventure starts in the capital of Dalmasca, Rabanastre, in the Galtean Peninsula, directly between the nations of Rozarria and Archadia, who currently harbour ill-will towards one another and are in the middle of a war. We pick up 2 years after Reks was killed, in a time where Dalmasca and other places such as Nabradia are under Archadian control. We begin playing as Vaan, Reks' little brother, killing some rats in a sewer. As any Final Fantasy player can tell you, as you progress through the story, you'll be killing things a hell of a lot scarier/tougher/uglier/stupider/meaner. One of the prevalent main themes of this Final Fantasy is War. It takes a very grown-up approach as to how War can affect Countries and the people within them. It shows the difficulties people face in dire times and what people will do to stay alive, i.e Vaan and his childhood friend, Penelo, will have to run odd-jobs day to day for people so they can get money to pay for food, but Vaan occasionly falls into the bad habit of stealing things, usually from Archadian soldiers.
The story is definitely one of the main pulling points of this game, as although things such as magic and Airships are common sights, the feel and look of the game gives it a very big sense of realism, as it easily establishes a bond with what real life can be like for some of the less fortunate individuals in this world.
---==Gameplay==---
Gameplay in Final Fantasy XII varies somewhat from traditional turn-based fighting in other FF games. Random battles have been eliminated, battles take place in real time and the death of your 3 in-battle characters is much more easily avoidable. Below are a brief summary of all the types of actions in the game. Any action will fall under one of these categories.
Attack - does exactly what it says on the tin
Items - covers anything that is used from the in-game inventory
Black Magic - covers all classic offensive spells such as "fire" and "thundara"
White Magic - covers several spells which heal or protect.
Green Magic - used mostly to cast beneficial or detrimental status effects i.e " protect" and "oil"
Time Magic - spells like "haste" and "stop" can be found here and also new spells such as "float"
Arcane Magic - you can find your scary magic here, such as "dark", "gravity" and the terrifying "bubble"
Technicks - yes, I have spelt that right. These are abilities which cost no mana and have a very large variety of effects, ranging from "steal" to "1000 needles" to "telekenisis"
Mist - Contains the option to either summon an Esper to fight alongside you or to use character specific limit attacks.
The classic limit attacks come in the form of "Quickenings", of which each character can acquire 3. the first quickening requires 1 mist charge, the 2nd 2 and the 3rd, 3. Mist charges are essentially a section of your mana. After acquiring 2 quickenings, your max mana doubles, and after 3, your original mana value is tripled. For example, if one of my Character's mana was 48, after getting 2 quickenings it would be 96 and after 3 it would be 144. Espers are only similar to Aeons in the fact that you summon them. Unlike other final fantasies, they join you on the battlefield, but have pre-determined actions so you can't directly control them, and they can only stay on the battlefield for a certain amount of time. Having said that, their actions do have independant variables, so you can sometimes help them on their way i.e. some espers will only unleash their ultimate attack if their health is below a certain value, such as 30%, so if time's running out, you can choose to attack your esper and lower it's health, effectively forcing them to use their ultimate attack.
The final major addition is the Gambit System. This is, essentially, a way to easily program your characters to perform actions based on certain situations. A common gambit screen looks like this. As long as you don't put in variables that would cancel each other out or put in something pointless like "HP=100% use Phoenix Down" this system should keep you pretty safe, but does give that "the game is playing its-self" kind of feel. The major help it provides is making sure you don't get arthritis from manually selecting every action.
---==Graphics==---
For a PS2 game, this does kind of stretch the boundaries. Some of the cutscenes look almost next-gen and the normal gameplay is no sloucher either (feel free to disagree, we all have our views). Admittedly sometimes the characters don't look that impressive, but they aren't really the main point of view when you're exploring Ivalice. The game takes you through Cities, Caves, Forests, Plains, Deserts, Towers, Airships, Villages and more, all of which look fantastic for a PS2 game. Some of the attack animations are quite noticeable aswell, especially the Quickenings and Esper attacks. Time and effort has clearly went into designing this game's unique look, and there are very few instances in the game that don't give off the "OI! look at me!" feeling.
---==Sound==---
The game's soundtrack focuses quite heavily on Orchestra type music and gives that bold, epic feeling to the battles. However, when necessary, they can have cute little numbers to lift the mood or convey a sense of innocence, most often with scenes revolving around the younger characters, such as Penelo or Vaan. The music always fits the mood, with dark, sombre tones played in the background as you witness scenes from places such as the Archadian Empire, or light, breezey notes played as you leap about on a Chocobo.
---==Verdict==---
Basically, I see this as an all-rounder. If you like FF games, you should pick this up (but I'd be surprised if you haven't already) if you like RPG's, you should pick this up. If you want to start playing RPG's, then this is definitely a good place to start. It has a good gameplay system, an interesting storyline, a nice soundtrack and great graphics, and has certainly done a good job in maintaining the standard players expect from a final fantasy game.
Friday, January 2, 2009
Left 4 Dead review
I barely managed to buy Left 4 Dead for the 360 a couple days ago, it was sold out everywhere i went! It's a crazy game, 8.5 at least. This game has easy controls so you can get right into the action, the gore is fantastic, and the zombies are just perfect, i like how they spiced it up with those special zombies makes the game way more interesting and it keeps you on your toes.
In the campaign you have a choice between four likable characters: Bill, Louis, Francis and Zoey. Although there is no difference between the characters besides looks, it gives the game a more personal touch. These four survivors must face mad hordes of zombies in order to reach their evac point. Most zombies will just try and mob you using the "strength in numbers" kind of tactic. Occasionaly, though, you will get the special zombie, of wich there are four: Smokers, Boomers, Hunters and the notorious tank. Five if you count the witch. These zombies are smarter, stronger and harder to take down, each with their own unique ability, and they're all coming after you! The game does a good job immersing you into the game. The only problem i find is that it gets kind of repetitive, no matter which campaign you take: kill zombies, get to the safe house, kill more zombies then get to the evac point. Which is always great fun but if you're looking for any form of storyline then you will be dissappointed.
I noticed that the game takes a crazy jump in difficulty from advanced to expert. In advanced you can take a decent amount of hits and survive wheareas in expert, being constricted by a smoker will pretty much bring you to half health or lower. So far i have only managed to kill the Tank once on expert. The tank is called the tank for a reason, he can take and dish out massive damage. The only effective way to take him out is through tactics, using the environment and various items that you find along the way. This is where having humans playing along with you instead of coms is much more helpful. Coms tend to throw themselves right into the middle of the battle instead of taking them out from a safe distance. This can be extremely costly seeing as you only get a certain amount of health packs during the campaign and they are few and far between. Another thing you should watch out for is the witch, she doesn't have too much health, but she can put you on the floor in one hit, and unless your friends help you out, she can kill you a couple seconds after that.
This is a game that should have definately been made 4 player instead of co-op, it's really great playing with a group of friends, but it's a drag waiting for your turn. Unfortunately i don't have Xbox live, so i haven't experienced the online section of the game, which is supposedly the best part of it.
All in all, this game is very good. Although repetitive at times and has no storyline, it is simple and fun with friends. If you like getting right in the action and killing hordes of zombies, this game is for you.
Anything goes.
In the campaign you have a choice between four likable characters: Bill, Louis, Francis and Zoey. Although there is no difference between the characters besides looks, it gives the game a more personal touch. These four survivors must face mad hordes of zombies in order to reach their evac point. Most zombies will just try and mob you using the "strength in numbers" kind of tactic. Occasionaly, though, you will get the special zombie, of wich there are four: Smokers, Boomers, Hunters and the notorious tank. Five if you count the witch. These zombies are smarter, stronger and harder to take down, each with their own unique ability, and they're all coming after you! The game does a good job immersing you into the game. The only problem i find is that it gets kind of repetitive, no matter which campaign you take: kill zombies, get to the safe house, kill more zombies then get to the evac point. Which is always great fun but if you're looking for any form of storyline then you will be dissappointed.
I noticed that the game takes a crazy jump in difficulty from advanced to expert. In advanced you can take a decent amount of hits and survive wheareas in expert, being constricted by a smoker will pretty much bring you to half health or lower. So far i have only managed to kill the Tank once on expert. The tank is called the tank for a reason, he can take and dish out massive damage. The only effective way to take him out is through tactics, using the environment and various items that you find along the way. This is where having humans playing along with you instead of coms is much more helpful. Coms tend to throw themselves right into the middle of the battle instead of taking them out from a safe distance. This can be extremely costly seeing as you only get a certain amount of health packs during the campaign and they are few and far between. Another thing you should watch out for is the witch, she doesn't have too much health, but she can put you on the floor in one hit, and unless your friends help you out, she can kill you a couple seconds after that.
This is a game that should have definately been made 4 player instead of co-op, it's really great playing with a group of friends, but it's a drag waiting for your turn. Unfortunately i don't have Xbox live, so i haven't experienced the online section of the game, which is supposedly the best part of it.
All in all, this game is very good. Although repetitive at times and has no storyline, it is simple and fun with friends. If you like getting right in the action and killing hordes of zombies, this game is for you.
Anything goes.
Happy New Year!
Since it's the new year I've made it my resolution to start a blog. Hopefully here my friends and I shall be posting some skits, game reviews, and anything else that comes to mind. Happy New Year!
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