Is PAYDAY: The Heist worth it or is it highway robbery?
Dead Island is a game with some bugs and issues. However, the good found in this game greatly outweigh the bad that is seen firsthand. Dead Island is a fantastic, deep game that will keep your hands on that controller for days – perhaps even weeks – to come. What makes Dead Island so fantastic and unique? Read on to find out.
Remember the good ol’ days? Standing in a long line at your local arcade to be the next player to take on Mortal Kombat? It has been a long time since we’ve seen the klassic Mortal Kombat and with the 2011 reboot, we expect it to go uphill from here. After all these years, a kollection of the three klassic Mortal Kombat games is released. Is it still the same game we know and love, or has it sunk to a new low?
Timegate Studios is back with a sequel to their 2009 FPS, Section 8. Due to the lack of praise for its predecessor, does Section 8: Prejudice deserve a chance.
I swear, time and time again, Telltale Games continues to impress me with their Back to the Future episodic series. Each time I finish an episode, I slap myself for ever having doubted the adaption to one of the greatest sci-fi franchises back when it was announced last June. Is Citizen Brown worth slapping myself for?
When Portal 2 was showcased at last year’s E3, Valve Corp. founder Gabe Newell said it would be the best game the company has ever done? Was he right? You bet your ass he was!
It feels like it was just yesterday when Telltale announced their Back to the Future episodic series that led me to nothing but anger. Back to the Future II was the movie that got me into the science fiction movie genre. I was 9 when I saw it in 2003. When it was said that the series would take place after Back to the Future III, I was quite relieved. Then when Episode I landed on the PlayStation Network, there was nothing but satisfaction. Does Episode 2 out do its predecessor? Let’s find out
Remember when I said most video games based on movies suck? Yeah, I think I officially disagree with my own statement. Back to the Future: The Game is shaping up to be on really good movie game. The reason I say shaping up is because, like most of Telltale’s games, Back to the Future: The Game is episodic. If these are the guys behind The Walking Dead game and the Jurassic Park game, I think it is safe to say I can look forward to these games without much doubts. Back to the Future: The Game Episode 1 is absolutely fantastic.
Starting on a small note, the voice acting in this game is superb. Christopher Lloyd lends his much acquainted voice to the game as Doc Brown, and despite some clear aging, he does a perfect job providing that same nostalgic voice fans of the series know and love. Even the characters of Edna, Biff and Marty’s father are backed up with some pretty strong voices. However, the character that stands out the most is undoubtedly Marty McFly’s characters. Marty isn’t voiced by Michael J. Fox. Bet you didn’t know that, because AJ LoCascio sounds identical to Michael J. Fox. If I would have never known it was a different voice actor, I probably would have thought it was Michael J. Fox doing the voice work. Voice acting is superb in this game, and it will most likely carry on to be one of the game’s strong points in the next five episodes. The character animations were a bit stiff, but that wasn’t anything worth bringing the game down for. However, their were some highly noticeable framerate issues that stood out amongst the game. I started experiencing a good amount of it during the game’s fantastic finale. Graphics aren’t anything t get worked up about either, but they aren’t bad either. For the most part, the game looks great with a cartoony style that suits the game’s atmosphere really well.
The gameplay is your standard RPG mixed adventure style. Make choices on how to communicate with people, move around a town center and solve some puzzles make up most of the gameplay in the game. Making choices on what to say isn’t as dynamic as I might have made it seem. In the end, you’ll be forced to pick the right decision to continue on the story. The town center looked great and made for some pretty humorous interactions amongst the different buildings. The storyline is a great start that is looking to get even better as the game progresses. Episode 1 has Marty traveling back in time during the prohibition era to save Doc from being killed by Kid Tannen, an Al Capone-styled Biff. The game starts off nostalgic, and goes on to leave fans of the series with a smile on their face as they witness the same Doc we know and love in a younger form. The puzzles, for the most part, are simple in nature. At times, they may even seem too easy. There is a help option available, but I rarely found myself using it. This could be a problem as it is merely an episode, so anyone could speedrun through it without any sense of excitement or struggle. I, however, found some of the puzzles to still be rather enjoyable despite its simplicity.
One issue also worth noting is numerous amounts of subtitle typos. Playing in the loud house I live in full of club music and COD action, it was hard for me to hear Doc during one of the puzzles in the game. I had turned on the subtitles and went on through the game with them on to realize that most of the time, they aren’t right. This isn’t that big of a deal, but it is a bit odd. How could this setback even be allowed in the game is beyond my understanding. The typos are clear as daylight. The camera can be quite an issue as well. When roaming through the town center, you will find yourself crossing numerous crosswalks and making your way across various areas. All of this is happening without the ability to control your camera. I found myself struggling to move in a straight line across the street because I couldn’t change the camera angle to better fit the controls of the game. In simpler terms, I would have to hold the analog stick straight despite the fact that it appears that Marty is moving right, all because the camera isn’t controllable. All of these issues are mere minor setbacks, but are issues. Hopefully, they will be avoided in the next few episodes. Only TIME will tell.
Closing Comments
Back to the Future: The Game Episode 1 is a blast from the past. Despite its numerous minor setbacks, the game is great from start to finish. I find myself anticipating Episode 2 as much as I would a retail copy of Uncharted 3. Alright, maybe not that much, but I am really looking forward to it. The voice work is astounding, the gameplay is quite fun and the story is just as great as any of the film’s stories. Telltale Games not only gives us a reason to enjoy movie-licensed games, but also gives us reason to buy this game, and anticipate the Jurassic Park video game and The Walking Dead video game.
The Good:
- Superb voice acting
- A well-written, well-thought out storyline
- Fun gameplay, despite simplistic puzzles
- A good amount of nostalgia for the hardcore fans
- Graphics suit the cartoony atmosphere of the game, which surprisingly fits with the BttF series in general
The Bad:
- Framerate issues
- Camera work sucks
- Subtitle typos
8/10
I love simplistic things with little animals such as puppies and cats. You’re floating through an underwater garden, luminescent plants and fruits bursting through the ground as you touch them. You can pick up little musicians to softly spread their music across the sea as the follow behind you.
Peaceful, eh? But there’s something about The UnderGarden that leaves me bored and irritated.
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| “Nobody wants to admit it, but humanity is under attack” – Illusive Man |
I’m going to feel like such a hypocrite once I’m done with this review.
As one of the greatest RPG series of this generation, The Mass Effect franchise has finally made its way to the PlayStation 3 system with Mass Effect 2, the game of 2010. So has it lived up to the hype? Is the PS3 port just a port?
Mass Effect won’t be coming to the PS3, due to Microsoft owning its publishing rights but fear not. If you buy new copy of Mass Effect 2, you will get a voucher that has the interactive comic on it. The comic is a backstory to Mass Effect and you will have the opportunity to make the most important choices, such as choosing which teammate you will sacrifice or whether or not you’ll sacrifice the Citadel Council in order to save your crew. These changes play out very well in the game and it will show.
Mass Effect introduces gamers to an alternate form of our galaxy where humans discover alien life. Using the Mass Relay, humanity travels to the far edges of the galaxy to run into a bunch of other species. Not many of the alien species trust the humans and our species are struggling being the new face of extra-terrestrial extinction.
Mass Effect 2 kicks off with Shepard aboard the Normandy shortly after defeating Sovereign and now on a mission to fight Geth, but they are interrupted by the Collectors who are trying to kill Shepard and wipe out humanity as we know it. You’ll immediately witness the abrupt and violent death of Shepard and then you will be offered the chance of decided what your Shepard looks like, what his/her background and personality is and what abilities he/she will possess.
As opposed to Mass Effect, ME2 has a better UI and weapons upgrade system but there’s no doubt it in my mind that those who’ve played and loved the original Mass Effect will have a problem with the game’s more action-adventure approach, but there’s no denying that the RPG elements are still as good as ever. One of the strongest things Mass Effect 2 has going is its writing. Beating that of Uncharted 2, Mass Effect 2′s writing is beyond phenomenal with each piece of script feeling as genuine as life and the voice acting helps that a lot. Those who play with a female Shepard will likely believe that Jennifer Hale does a much better job at doing the voice work for Shepard rather than Mark Meer. If I had to pick the best voice actor in the game, it’d have to be Martin Sheen, who voiced the tricky Illusive Man, whose been nominated for Villain of the Year over numerous sites.
The story is something to fall in love with. The mysterious Collectors are traveling the galaxy harvesting humans for something unknown to us. Cerberus has brought you back to life because you are the one man who can lead a team into battle and hopefully get them out alive. The Illusive Man will give you dossiers and you are required to recruit these people to your team and gain their loyalty. Each of these members are completely different. You recruit a lonely assassin, a Krogan who was made to fight in the war, a psychotic prisoner and many others. No doubt that you have an unlikely band of brothers on your hands. The whole game builds up to a suicide mission where you will take the fight to the heart of the Collectors. Attacking the Collectors would require passing through the Omega 4 Relay, no ship has ever returned. You will need to gain the trust of your crew members in order for them to be ready and survive the upcoming onslaught. Your Shepard can also die, meaning that you won’t be able to transfer your data to Mass Effect 3.
Dialogue choices would shape your character the same they did in Mass Effect. There’s the paragon options (good) and renegade (evil). Renegade options will strike fear into the hearts of the people you come in contact with and your scars on your face will glow along with your bright red eyes. Paragon makes you more of a likable character. Your crew members feel safer around you and they will talk to you more as a friend than as a commanding officer.
The shooting mechanics made me feel some sort of way. I felt that a Mass Effect with multiplayer would be great. Changing ammo types, a great selection of weapons and classes, a Mass Effect multiplayer would do great. I’m not sure if Mass Effect 3 will have multiplayer, but if so, there’ll be no complaints from me. It’ll just mean it’ll be my permanent #1 anticipated game of 2011.
Closing Comments
When Damien told me about some site that gave the game a lower score than the 360 version, yet called it the best version on any platform, I said that a port doesn’t deserve a 10. Boy, was I wrong. If you’re reading this and you’re still deciding whether to buy this game, you haven’t been paying attention. I can’t verbally tell you how awesome Mass Effect 2 is. Take Knights of the Old Republic’s story and put it with Uncharted’s gameplay and you’ve got a must-own game. BUY IT!!!!
The Good
- Extraordinary storyline
- Beautiful graphics
- Out of this world voice acting, no pun intended.
- Greatest RPG of this generation of consoles thus far
- Yes, it’s better than Uncharted 2
- Suspense drives the game from start to finish
- A good number of side missions
- Crew members are very diverse
- It took me away from LittleBigPlanet 2
- If I could name this Game of the Year, I would
The Bad
- Xbox 360 is still the only place to get the full Mass Effect experience. Even with the interactive comic, you will feel a tad bit lost.
10/10
