A good friend of mine will occasionally ask me "so what have you been playing lately?" I usually think for a few seconds and then name a few games I've been playing recently. This gave me an idea, so a new thing I'm going to start doing on my blog is list what games I'm currently playing. I'll try to do this once a week either on Saturday or Sunday, and I'll list the games I've been playing and any that I'm planning on playing for the next week. Not many people may care about this, but if one of the games I list is something you want to know more about, feel free to comment and I'll let you know about the game and what I think of it. Also, feel free to comment and let me know if you're playing any of the same games, or any other games you're playing. This little intro here will only appear this one time, as this is the first time I'm doing this. From next week on I will just list the games I'm playing. So without further ado:
Dragon Age: Origins, Demon's Souls, Uncharted 2, and if I have time (which I probably wont) Left 4 Dead 2, Modern Warfare 2 (online), and New Super Mario Bros. Wii.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Review: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Xbox 360)
"Believe the hype."
We all know about this game. I dont need to say much about it here, because chances are anything I could say here you've already heard. This game is the sequel to the immensely popular and successful Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, and the amount of hype and coverage it's received since it was announced is the most I've ever seen for a video game. In the first day of being released, this game sold over 4.7 million copies in North America and the UK alone (breaking GTA IV's previous record in the process). And the best part is that the game actually lives up to the immense amount of hype that was being given to it, a relative rarity for games that receive this much coverage and have such high expectations.
Quick Facts:
Platform: PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Genre: First Person Shooter (FPS)
Developer: Infinity Ward
Publisher: Activision
Release Date: November 10, 2009
Rating: M
Everything about this game is great. It picks up where the first game left off and improves upon it where it needed improvement (which is very few areas). The gameplay, grapichs, and all other techincal aspects are perfect (as to be expected from a Call of Duty game), but what really sets this game apart is (like the first game) the amazing story and characters. Many FPSs, especially "wartime" FPSs sacrifice real story and assume that delievering fun gameplay will be enough to sell the game (*cough cough* World at War). This is actually somewhat true, becuase if a game (especcially an FPS) is awesome enough most players (myself included) are willing to push a lackluster story (*cough cough* Halo 3) aside and enjoy the game just for the gameplay. But this is where few FPSs, like Modern Warfare 2, get set aside as the best of the best, because they give us the fun gameplay and a great story and characters which we are bound to remember. I believe that this combination of two elements is true for all modern games, not just FPSs. In my experience and opinion, the best games are the ones that include both great gameplay mechanics and a memorable story and characters, and not just one or the other. Modern Warfare 2 definetly suceeds in this respect in a way that few games truly do.
So the campaign mode is great, and so are the other two modes (Spec Ops and multiplayer). Spec Ops is a mode that allows 1-2 players to do short missions (some of which are taken from levels in the campaign) together. This mode is Infinity Ward's answer to gamers who cried out for a co-op option in campaign mode, and it works very well. They didn't want to sacrifice the story and intensity of the single player mode by having a friend there with you the whole time, but they also understand that gamers wanted to play some of these missions with their friends. The result is Spec Ops mode, and I think it's a great success.
The online multiplayer for the game is similiar to Call of Duty 4, which means it's awesome. There are a lot of new features and options for ranking up (which I wont get into here), and I like the changes they made to the ranking up/perks system.
If I have any complaints about this game, it's only that a) the story mode was a little too short, and b) a few of the story missions seemed to drag on a little too much or not offer quite enough variety. I finished the story on normal in about 6 hours, which isn't terrible, but it isn't great either. I suppose I could go back and start trying to beat levels on veteran mode, as this would certainly add a lot of playtime, but I dont think I have the heart or patience to die that many times (especially because I'm not a CoD god by any means). As for the individual levels, they were all good, but in a few of them I felt like I was doing the same thing for just a little too long. I can only go down the same suburban street killing enemy soldiers for so long before it starts getting boring; I can only defend the inside of the same cabin for so long (constantly dying in the process) before I'm ready to start ripping my hair out. But these are minor complaints for a game that offers so much replayability (Spec Ops and online multiplayer) even after you're done story mode.
In Summary:
Pros: it's everything you've come to expect from an Infinity Ward Call of Duty game, and somehow even managed to live up to the obsence amount of hype. 'Nuff said.
Cons: campaign mode is a little short, levels can be a bit repetitive at times. But these are both minor complaints when you look at the whole scope of this game.
FINAL SCORE: 5 out of 5.
Note: All reviews on this site are solely the subjective opinion of the author. If you disagree with my review please feel free to post in a polite manner and state your opinion. I welcome respectful discussion on my blog and would love to get feedback on my review and also read yours. Thanks!
We all know about this game. I dont need to say much about it here, because chances are anything I could say here you've already heard. This game is the sequel to the immensely popular and successful Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, and the amount of hype and coverage it's received since it was announced is the most I've ever seen for a video game. In the first day of being released, this game sold over 4.7 million copies in North America and the UK alone (breaking GTA IV's previous record in the process). And the best part is that the game actually lives up to the immense amount of hype that was being given to it, a relative rarity for games that receive this much coverage and have such high expectations.
Quick Facts:
Platform: PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Genre: First Person Shooter (FPS)
Developer: Infinity Ward
Publisher: Activision
Release Date: November 10, 2009
Rating: M
Everything about this game is great. It picks up where the first game left off and improves upon it where it needed improvement (which is very few areas). The gameplay, grapichs, and all other techincal aspects are perfect (as to be expected from a Call of Duty game), but what really sets this game apart is (like the first game) the amazing story and characters. Many FPSs, especially "wartime" FPSs sacrifice real story and assume that delievering fun gameplay will be enough to sell the game (*cough cough* World at War). This is actually somewhat true, becuase if a game (especcially an FPS) is awesome enough most players (myself included) are willing to push a lackluster story (*cough cough* Halo 3) aside and enjoy the game just for the gameplay. But this is where few FPSs, like Modern Warfare 2, get set aside as the best of the best, because they give us the fun gameplay and a great story and characters which we are bound to remember. I believe that this combination of two elements is true for all modern games, not just FPSs. In my experience and opinion, the best games are the ones that include both great gameplay mechanics and a memorable story and characters, and not just one or the other. Modern Warfare 2 definetly suceeds in this respect in a way that few games truly do.
So the campaign mode is great, and so are the other two modes (Spec Ops and multiplayer). Spec Ops is a mode that allows 1-2 players to do short missions (some of which are taken from levels in the campaign) together. This mode is Infinity Ward's answer to gamers who cried out for a co-op option in campaign mode, and it works very well. They didn't want to sacrifice the story and intensity of the single player mode by having a friend there with you the whole time, but they also understand that gamers wanted to play some of these missions with their friends. The result is Spec Ops mode, and I think it's a great success.
The online multiplayer for the game is similiar to Call of Duty 4, which means it's awesome. There are a lot of new features and options for ranking up (which I wont get into here), and I like the changes they made to the ranking up/perks system.
If I have any complaints about this game, it's only that a) the story mode was a little too short, and b) a few of the story missions seemed to drag on a little too much or not offer quite enough variety. I finished the story on normal in about 6 hours, which isn't terrible, but it isn't great either. I suppose I could go back and start trying to beat levels on veteran mode, as this would certainly add a lot of playtime, but I dont think I have the heart or patience to die that many times (especially because I'm not a CoD god by any means). As for the individual levels, they were all good, but in a few of them I felt like I was doing the same thing for just a little too long. I can only go down the same suburban street killing enemy soldiers for so long before it starts getting boring; I can only defend the inside of the same cabin for so long (constantly dying in the process) before I'm ready to start ripping my hair out. But these are minor complaints for a game that offers so much replayability (Spec Ops and online multiplayer) even after you're done story mode.
In Summary:
Pros: it's everything you've come to expect from an Infinity Ward Call of Duty game, and somehow even managed to live up to the obsence amount of hype. 'Nuff said.
Cons: campaign mode is a little short, levels can be a bit repetitive at times. But these are both minor complaints when you look at the whole scope of this game.
FINAL SCORE: 5 out of 5.
Note: All reviews on this site are solely the subjective opinion of the author. If you disagree with my review please feel free to post in a polite manner and state your opinion. I welcome respectful discussion on my blog and would love to get feedback on my review and also read yours. Thanks!
Thursday, November 12, 2009
The Greatest Games of the Decade: The Year 2002
The game of the year for 2002 is a game that is very dear to my heart, being the game that I've probably put the most time into in my whole life, and the only game that I actually made a few "friends" online playing the game that I had never met in real life (think The Guild, even though I never actually met these people and stopped talking to them once I stopped playing the game). It's the most customizable game I've ever played, and had my favorite multiplayer ever, even though it wasn't actually made by the company that made the game.
Neverwinter Nights
Quick Facts:
Platform: PC
Genre: Role-Playing Game (RPG)
Developer: Bioware
Publisher: Infogrames/Atari
Release Date (North America): June 18, 2002 (PC)
Rating: T
All aspects of the game included, Neverwinter Nights is probably the game I've played the most time in my life, especially once you factor in the all the expansion packs that came out for it. The single player game throughout the series is good and definitely worth playing. The characters in the game may not be the most memorable (besides, of course, Deekin), but the story and gameplay are very good. But that's not the only reason I love this game. The multiplayer for this game was amazing.
The game came with a full toolset that let people create their own mods and even whole worlds and then host them online using their own computers as dedicated servers. The toolset that came with the game included most of the things Bioware used to create the actual single player game. For people that actually get into coding and all that stuff, you can really do a lot with the world you want to create, and even for people that dont know how to do all that stuff (like me), it had an easy enough interface that you could learn some tricks and make some areas. And once someone created a mod and put it online as a server, they could log in not only as a player but as an all-controlling Dungeon Master (a D&D term) and play along with or even against the players by spawning monsters, items, and many other things all while staying invisible to the players (if they wanted to). It's really hard to explain the awesomeness and all-encompassingness of this game to someone who's never played it. To people who have played some other Bioware games but not this one, it plays and looks a lot like an earlier version of Knights of the Old Republic or the recently released Dragon Age: Origins. You can still go online in Neverwinter Nights today, more than seven years later, and find online communities that are still playing user-made mods. I started playing online in the same worlds with the same people and became part of a large community back when I used to play this. This is where I put the most of my hours playing this game, logging on to the NWN servers every night and seeing where my online friends were playing. There were some awesome servers and mods online and a lot of cool people to play with, and best of all, it was all free. Looking back, the online component was a lot like World of Warcraft before there was World of Warcraft, but it was free, and players could create their own worlds and stories and control them on the fly as people played them.
Honorable Mentions:
Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (PC, Xbox)- Not a perfect game by any means, but a very ambitious and good game. The game is in a completely open world, even more so than its successor Oblivion. There are even fewer area transitions, and for its time the world was very well made and detailed. It's not perfect though, as the combat is not very good and there were a lot of glitches/problems with the gameplay. Still, this was a big game for this year, and laid the foundation for Oblivion.
Warcraft III (PC)- An RTS that I still occasionally play, it has great gameplay, great online play, and a great story and characters (something unusual for many RTSs).
Kingdom Hearts (PS2)
Metroid Prime (GC)
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell (Multi)- I only played this one a little (I'm not a big fan of stealth games), but I've only really ever heard good things about it, and it laid a foundation for several Splinter Cell games to come afterwards.
Thanks for reading, and as always feel free to comment/post. Stay tuned next week for the best games of the year 2003!
Neverwinter Nights
Quick Facts:
Platform: PC
Genre: Role-Playing Game (RPG)
Developer: Bioware
Publisher: Infogrames/Atari
Release Date (North America): June 18, 2002 (PC)
Rating: T
All aspects of the game included, Neverwinter Nights is probably the game I've played the most time in my life, especially once you factor in the all the expansion packs that came out for it. The single player game throughout the series is good and definitely worth playing. The characters in the game may not be the most memorable (besides, of course, Deekin), but the story and gameplay are very good. But that's not the only reason I love this game. The multiplayer for this game was amazing.
The game came with a full toolset that let people create their own mods and even whole worlds and then host them online using their own computers as dedicated servers. The toolset that came with the game included most of the things Bioware used to create the actual single player game. For people that actually get into coding and all that stuff, you can really do a lot with the world you want to create, and even for people that dont know how to do all that stuff (like me), it had an easy enough interface that you could learn some tricks and make some areas. And once someone created a mod and put it online as a server, they could log in not only as a player but as an all-controlling Dungeon Master (a D&D term) and play along with or even against the players by spawning monsters, items, and many other things all while staying invisible to the players (if they wanted to). It's really hard to explain the awesomeness and all-encompassingness of this game to someone who's never played it. To people who have played some other Bioware games but not this one, it plays and looks a lot like an earlier version of Knights of the Old Republic or the recently released Dragon Age: Origins. You can still go online in Neverwinter Nights today, more than seven years later, and find online communities that are still playing user-made mods. I started playing online in the same worlds with the same people and became part of a large community back when I used to play this. This is where I put the most of my hours playing this game, logging on to the NWN servers every night and seeing where my online friends were playing. There were some awesome servers and mods online and a lot of cool people to play with, and best of all, it was all free. Looking back, the online component was a lot like World of Warcraft before there was World of Warcraft, but it was free, and players could create their own worlds and stories and control them on the fly as people played them.
Honorable Mentions:
Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (PC, Xbox)- Not a perfect game by any means, but a very ambitious and good game. The game is in a completely open world, even more so than its successor Oblivion. There are even fewer area transitions, and for its time the world was very well made and detailed. It's not perfect though, as the combat is not very good and there were a lot of glitches/problems with the gameplay. Still, this was a big game for this year, and laid the foundation for Oblivion.
Warcraft III (PC)- An RTS that I still occasionally play, it has great gameplay, great online play, and a great story and characters (something unusual for many RTSs).
Kingdom Hearts (PS2)
Metroid Prime (GC)
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell (Multi)- I only played this one a little (I'm not a big fan of stealth games), but I've only really ever heard good things about it, and it laid a foundation for several Splinter Cell games to come afterwards.
Thanks for reading, and as always feel free to comment/post. Stay tuned next week for the best games of the year 2003!
Monday, November 2, 2009
The Greatest Games of the Decade: The Year 2001
On to the year 2001! This was a year when the PS2 really was in its prime, as will be noted by all the honorable mentions. But the game of the year comes from Microsoft's new kid on the block (at the time), the Xbox:
Halo: Combat Evolved
Quick Facts:
Platform: Xbox, PC
Genre: First Person Shooter
Developer: Bungie Studios
Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Release Date (North America): November 15, 2001 (Xbox)
Rating: M
Halo was the first video game I put a lot of time into on a console since I had owned my Super Nintendo. Also, I was never a big fan of shooters until I played this game. Now, they're arguably my favorite type of game. This game (and the following sequels) and the experiences I had playing it are a big part of that. Everything about this game was great. The gameplay, the graphics, the campaign, the soundtrack, and especially the multiplayer. This was pre-Xbox Live, so there was only split-screen and system link, but that was more than enough. I played this game non-stop my first semester of college. All the guys on the hall did. It was how we bonded. And the only reason we stopped playing it was because Halo 2 came out eventually. This game not only succeeded by itself, but also laid the foundation for one of the most successful (both critically and monetarily) game franchises of all time. And (though some people do not agree with this) many people feel that Halo: CE single-handily saved Microsoft's new Xbox from dying out right after it started due to the fact that the video market had been dominated by Nintendo and Sony (especially the PS2) for so long. I feel that even though the Xbox might not have died out right away without Halo, it's hard to picture the Xbox 360 being where it is now on the sales charts if no Halo games had ever been made. And it all started with Halo: CE.
Honorable Mentions:
As I'm obviously more partial towards Halo, and I never owned a PS2 up until about a year ago, many of the honorable mentions for 2001 are games I've never played, or played very little. But going through the list of big games that came out in 2001, it's easy to see that the PS2 was still the dominant console by far. The following games are games who have done so well and been so praised that even someone who hasn't extensively played them knows about their quality and the impact they've had on gaming over the years. So without futher ado, the Honorable Mentions:
Ico (PS2)
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (PS2)
Final Fantasy X (PS2)- I have played this game a fair amount, and though I wouldn't say it's one of my favorites (I'm not a big fan of JRPGs in general), I can understand why people love it. I'm not even close to finishing it, but the world and story are captivating so far, and I know that for the time the graphics and full voice work were unprecedented.
Devil May Cry (PS2)
Silent Hill 2 (PS2)- Apparently one of the scariest games ever (if not the scariest). I will have to play it someday to see if that is true.
That does it for 2001. Feel free to comment and/or list any of the games you remember loving from this year, and be sure to check back soon for the year 2002!
Halo: Combat Evolved
Quick Facts:
Platform: Xbox, PC
Genre: First Person Shooter
Developer: Bungie Studios
Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Release Date (North America): November 15, 2001 (Xbox)
Rating: M
Halo was the first video game I put a lot of time into on a console since I had owned my Super Nintendo. Also, I was never a big fan of shooters until I played this game. Now, they're arguably my favorite type of game. This game (and the following sequels) and the experiences I had playing it are a big part of that. Everything about this game was great. The gameplay, the graphics, the campaign, the soundtrack, and especially the multiplayer. This was pre-Xbox Live, so there was only split-screen and system link, but that was more than enough. I played this game non-stop my first semester of college. All the guys on the hall did. It was how we bonded. And the only reason we stopped playing it was because Halo 2 came out eventually. This game not only succeeded by itself, but also laid the foundation for one of the most successful (both critically and monetarily) game franchises of all time. And (though some people do not agree with this) many people feel that Halo: CE single-handily saved Microsoft's new Xbox from dying out right after it started due to the fact that the video market had been dominated by Nintendo and Sony (especially the PS2) for so long. I feel that even though the Xbox might not have died out right away without Halo, it's hard to picture the Xbox 360 being where it is now on the sales charts if no Halo games had ever been made. And it all started with Halo: CE.
Honorable Mentions:
As I'm obviously more partial towards Halo, and I never owned a PS2 up until about a year ago, many of the honorable mentions for 2001 are games I've never played, or played very little. But going through the list of big games that came out in 2001, it's easy to see that the PS2 was still the dominant console by far. The following games are games who have done so well and been so praised that even someone who hasn't extensively played them knows about their quality and the impact they've had on gaming over the years. So without futher ado, the Honorable Mentions:
Ico (PS2)
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (PS2)
Final Fantasy X (PS2)- I have played this game a fair amount, and though I wouldn't say it's one of my favorites (I'm not a big fan of JRPGs in general), I can understand why people love it. I'm not even close to finishing it, but the world and story are captivating so far, and I know that for the time the graphics and full voice work were unprecedented.
Devil May Cry (PS2)
Silent Hill 2 (PS2)- Apparently one of the scariest games ever (if not the scariest). I will have to play it someday to see if that is true.
That does it for 2001. Feel free to comment and/or list any of the games you remember loving from this year, and be sure to check back soon for the year 2002!
Monday, October 26, 2009
Review: The Conduit (Wii)
"Dear God, how many levels are left?"
...is what I kept asking myself after about the first level of the game. This will be a brief review. I didn't like the game. I will admit I had very high expectations for the game based on what I saw and heard up to its release. I thought it could be a great game, or at least a good one. It's neither. I wouldn't even say it's a mediocre game. It's a bad game. A very bad game. Not the worst, but bad.
Quick Facts:
Platform: Wii
Genre: First Person Shooter (FPS)
Developer: High Voltage Software
Publisher: Sega
Release Date: June 23, 2009 (US)
Rating: T
I will give a little credit to the developers for at least trying to bring a "real" FPS to the Wii. The idea is good. The execution is just terrible. The only quality that gives this game a little redemption is the fully customizable controls and HUD, and just the sheer number of game options. More games should take a lesson from the Conduit in that department. In every other department though, the Conduit fails.
As I mentioned above, the amount of customization you have for your gameplay is unlike anything I've ever seen on a console shooter before. From mapping the controls to however you like them, to changing how you move and the very feel of the game, to placing items like your health bar and ammo count anywhere on the screen you like them, there were some really cool features they introduced. I will give credit where it is due for these things.
The rest of the game does not inspire happy feelings though. The graphics are sub-par even for the Wii, and I believe we were promised somewhere that the Conduit would have "the best graphics ever on the Wii" or something like that. The sound is below average and repetitive (even with Hercules). The story is uninteresting and incredibly cliche. From what I've heard, the ending is just as bad and obviously leaves it open for a sequel (God forbid). There aren't really even cutscenes (there may have been one at the end, I dont know, I'll admit I did not have the heart to finish the game. I got about 75% of the way through and finally gave up). The characters are bland and completely unexplored in the least by the "plot" of the game (if you can call it that). While the customization for the controls was good, even with all the options I could not find a setting where I really felt comfortable with the gameplay. The motion controls for the melee and grenade throwing really screw you up if you try to do them while aiming precisely (I know you can change those to other buttons, but even if you do, something still has to be assigned to the motion controls). The "puzzles" the game had to offer were insultingly simple and consist of rotating three circles to all match each other. Every time. Seriously.
In my experience, the multiplayer was pretty bad as well. It lagged a lot, and even just getting into a FFA deathmatch takes a five minute period to gather players- there's actually a timer that counts down from five minutes! That, coupled with the time it takes to get onto the Nintendo Wi-Fi connection, is just too long. I like to be able to hop into an online game pretty quickly if I want to, I dont want to wait seven minutes to get into a game that may last three or four minutes. Maybe part of that is Nintendo's fault and not High Voltage's (the developers of the game), but either way the Conduit is not going to be gaining any points for it.
All in all, do not buy this game. Maybe if you see it for $10 someday in a bargain bin it might be worth it, but there are tons of great shooters on other consoles. Even if you only own a Wii (which, if you like FPS's is unlikely), still do not buy this game. Go with the Metroid Prime Trilogy. I've heard High Voltage say they'd like to make a sequel. All I can say is that if they do, there is no way I would even consider buying it until after it comes out and I have read a lot of reviews. And they would all have to be really, really good reviews.
In Summary:
Pros: control/gameplay customization options.
Cons: graphics, sound, some gameplay elements, story, characters, voice acting (sorry Kevin Sorbo, I love all your other stuff though!), multiplayer, singleplayer, puzzles, motion controls... just about everything else.
FINAL SCORE: 2 out of 5.
Note: All reviews on this site are solely the subjective opinion of the author. If you disagree with my review please feel free to post in a polite manner and state your opinion. I welcome respectful discussion on my blog and would love to get feedback on my review and also read yours. Thanks!
...is what I kept asking myself after about the first level of the game. This will be a brief review. I didn't like the game. I will admit I had very high expectations for the game based on what I saw and heard up to its release. I thought it could be a great game, or at least a good one. It's neither. I wouldn't even say it's a mediocre game. It's a bad game. A very bad game. Not the worst, but bad.
Quick Facts:
Platform: Wii
Genre: First Person Shooter (FPS)
Developer: High Voltage Software
Publisher: Sega
Release Date: June 23, 2009 (US)
Rating: T
I will give a little credit to the developers for at least trying to bring a "real" FPS to the Wii. The idea is good. The execution is just terrible. The only quality that gives this game a little redemption is the fully customizable controls and HUD, and just the sheer number of game options. More games should take a lesson from the Conduit in that department. In every other department though, the Conduit fails.
As I mentioned above, the amount of customization you have for your gameplay is unlike anything I've ever seen on a console shooter before. From mapping the controls to however you like them, to changing how you move and the very feel of the game, to placing items like your health bar and ammo count anywhere on the screen you like them, there were some really cool features they introduced. I will give credit where it is due for these things.
The rest of the game does not inspire happy feelings though. The graphics are sub-par even for the Wii, and I believe we were promised somewhere that the Conduit would have "the best graphics ever on the Wii" or something like that. The sound is below average and repetitive (even with Hercules). The story is uninteresting and incredibly cliche. From what I've heard, the ending is just as bad and obviously leaves it open for a sequel (God forbid). There aren't really even cutscenes (there may have been one at the end, I dont know, I'll admit I did not have the heart to finish the game. I got about 75% of the way through and finally gave up). The characters are bland and completely unexplored in the least by the "plot" of the game (if you can call it that). While the customization for the controls was good, even with all the options I could not find a setting where I really felt comfortable with the gameplay. The motion controls for the melee and grenade throwing really screw you up if you try to do them while aiming precisely (I know you can change those to other buttons, but even if you do, something still has to be assigned to the motion controls). The "puzzles" the game had to offer were insultingly simple and consist of rotating three circles to all match each other. Every time. Seriously.
In my experience, the multiplayer was pretty bad as well. It lagged a lot, and even just getting into a FFA deathmatch takes a five minute period to gather players- there's actually a timer that counts down from five minutes! That, coupled with the time it takes to get onto the Nintendo Wi-Fi connection, is just too long. I like to be able to hop into an online game pretty quickly if I want to, I dont want to wait seven minutes to get into a game that may last three or four minutes. Maybe part of that is Nintendo's fault and not High Voltage's (the developers of the game), but either way the Conduit is not going to be gaining any points for it.
All in all, do not buy this game. Maybe if you see it for $10 someday in a bargain bin it might be worth it, but there are tons of great shooters on other consoles. Even if you only own a Wii (which, if you like FPS's is unlikely), still do not buy this game. Go with the Metroid Prime Trilogy. I've heard High Voltage say they'd like to make a sequel. All I can say is that if they do, there is no way I would even consider buying it until after it comes out and I have read a lot of reviews. And they would all have to be really, really good reviews.
In Summary:
Pros: control/gameplay customization options.
Cons: graphics, sound, some gameplay elements, story, characters, voice acting (sorry Kevin Sorbo, I love all your other stuff though!), multiplayer, singleplayer, puzzles, motion controls... just about everything else.
FINAL SCORE: 2 out of 5.
Note: All reviews on this site are solely the subjective opinion of the author. If you disagree with my review please feel free to post in a polite manner and state your opinion. I welcome respectful discussion on my blog and would love to get feedback on my review and also read yours. Thanks!
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
The Greatest Games of the Decade: The Year 2000
We start our countdown with the first year of this decade: 2000. Unfortunately, because this was so long ago (I was only 13 at the time) I dont have a great memory of which games came out this year. But upon thinking back (and checking older websites) there are a few games that stand out from this year. But first, let me award my Game of the Year for 2000:
Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn
Platform: PC
Genre: RPG
Developer: Bioware
Publisher: Black Isle Studios, Interplay
This game is actually my favorite game of all time, so it's not very surprising that it is also my favorite game that came out of the year 2000. The game is hard to explain to someone who's never played/heard of it (which is most of my friends), but it is the most expansive single player game I have ever played. It is also the best single player experience I have ever had. The way your decisions affect other characters and the world around you are way ahead of their time. Much newer games like Mass Effect and Fallout 3 (both of which I also love) are still introducing that to players (and BG2 was 9 years ago). The story is great, all the dialogue is excellent, and the characters that travel around with you (if you dont screw up your relationship with them) are hands down the best in any game I've ever played. They just have so much personality. The game world, while not technically an "open-world", is huge, well crafted, and a lot of fun to explore. There's so many things to do in this game in just one play-through, let alone the many play-throughs that it deserves. The graphics were good for its time, but you can imagine that 9 years later it's not that much to look at, but that was never the point of this game. If you like RPGs and are ever looking for something great to play on your computer, check this game out. Also, its expansion pack, The Throne of Bhaal, is an excellent addition and wraps the story up nicely. I think you can get both the game and the expansion for pretty cheap on Amazon now.
Honorable Mentions:
The Sims (PC)- This game was a lot of fun and started a whole chain of games that are still popular on the PC (The Sims 3 came out pretty recently and was met with great sales and good reviews). This game broke the chain of controlling a whole city and focused in on just one person or a few people, with lots of customization for both them and where they live.
Perfect Dark (N64)- While this game owes a lot to Goldeneye (N64) for its base, this game took everything Goldeneye did great and ran with it. The 4 player split-screen was great for its time, and this game featured both co-operative play and counter-operative play (something most games still dont offer). The weapons were crazy, the levels were good, and so was the story. Also, you could add bots to play against in this game, a nice feature which many games still lack. I put many hours into the killing of bots in deathmatch with my friends, and I didn't even own an N64. (Turtle sim was my favorite to kill.)
So that's all I have for the year 2000. If there are any glaring omissions (I'm sure there are many), or if you agree/disagree with my list, please feel free to comment. Like I said, it's hard for me to remember that far back, and I didn't play as many games then as I do now. Hope you enjoyed the first installment of the Greatest Games of the Decade, check back next week for the next installment: the year 2001!
Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn
Platform: PC
Genre: RPG
Developer: Bioware
Publisher: Black Isle Studios, Interplay
This game is actually my favorite game of all time, so it's not very surprising that it is also my favorite game that came out of the year 2000. The game is hard to explain to someone who's never played/heard of it (which is most of my friends), but it is the most expansive single player game I have ever played. It is also the best single player experience I have ever had. The way your decisions affect other characters and the world around you are way ahead of their time. Much newer games like Mass Effect and Fallout 3 (both of which I also love) are still introducing that to players (and BG2 was 9 years ago). The story is great, all the dialogue is excellent, and the characters that travel around with you (if you dont screw up your relationship with them) are hands down the best in any game I've ever played. They just have so much personality. The game world, while not technically an "open-world", is huge, well crafted, and a lot of fun to explore. There's so many things to do in this game in just one play-through, let alone the many play-throughs that it deserves. The graphics were good for its time, but you can imagine that 9 years later it's not that much to look at, but that was never the point of this game. If you like RPGs and are ever looking for something great to play on your computer, check this game out. Also, its expansion pack, The Throne of Bhaal, is an excellent addition and wraps the story up nicely. I think you can get both the game and the expansion for pretty cheap on Amazon now.
Honorable Mentions:
The Sims (PC)- This game was a lot of fun and started a whole chain of games that are still popular on the PC (The Sims 3 came out pretty recently and was met with great sales and good reviews). This game broke the chain of controlling a whole city and focused in on just one person or a few people, with lots of customization for both them and where they live.
Perfect Dark (N64)- While this game owes a lot to Goldeneye (N64) for its base, this game took everything Goldeneye did great and ran with it. The 4 player split-screen was great for its time, and this game featured both co-operative play and counter-operative play (something most games still dont offer). The weapons were crazy, the levels were good, and so was the story. Also, you could add bots to play against in this game, a nice feature which many games still lack. I put many hours into the killing of bots in deathmatch with my friends, and I didn't even own an N64. (Turtle sim was my favorite to kill.)
So that's all I have for the year 2000. If there are any glaring omissions (I'm sure there are many), or if you agree/disagree with my list, please feel free to comment. Like I said, it's hard for me to remember that far back, and I didn't play as many games then as I do now. Hope you enjoyed the first installment of the Greatest Games of the Decade, check back next week for the next installment: the year 2001!
Sunday, October 18, 2009
The Greatest Games of the Decade
SInce the end of this decade is quickly approaching, I have decided that between now and December I am going to count down my personal "Greatest Games of the Decade". I'll start with the year 2000, and from there go every year from 2000-2009. I will give out my award for that year's greatest game (in my opinion of course), and I'll also give some runner-ups/honorable mentions. For some years, I might even post my "Most Disappointing Game of the Year". Here are a few disclaimers:
-All of this is my opinion and thus subjective. You will obviously not agree with me for many of these, and that is fine. I welcome comments and feedback on my blog. Dont agree with my game of the year? Let me know. Did I leave some great games from that year out? Let me know! Feel free to list your game of the year for that year too.
- Along with what I just said, because I have not played every game ever created in the last 10 years, there are some great games which will undoubtedly get left off my list. If I have not played a game extensively, I do not feel adequate to rate it, and thus it will not appear on this list, so please keep that in mind. There are some great games I haven't played that I still know are great/influential games, so some of those may get honorable mentions, but if I have not extensively played a game I honestly cannot say it was my favorite game of the year. Please keep this in mind.
Anyway, hopefully this will be fun and insightful, and please feel free to post comments once the list gets started. Thanks!
COMING SOON: the year 2000!
-All of this is my opinion and thus subjective. You will obviously not agree with me for many of these, and that is fine. I welcome comments and feedback on my blog. Dont agree with my game of the year? Let me know. Did I leave some great games from that year out? Let me know! Feel free to list your game of the year for that year too.
- Along with what I just said, because I have not played every game ever created in the last 10 years, there are some great games which will undoubtedly get left off my list. If I have not played a game extensively, I do not feel adequate to rate it, and thus it will not appear on this list, so please keep that in mind. There are some great games I haven't played that I still know are great/influential games, so some of those may get honorable mentions, but if I have not extensively played a game I honestly cannot say it was my favorite game of the year. Please keep this in mind.
Anyway, hopefully this will be fun and insightful, and please feel free to post comments once the list gets started. Thanks!
COMING SOON: the year 2000!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)