Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Game Review ( 11/20 - 2/26 Rock Band DLC - 360 )

Reviewing each indivudual song and pack will take forever, so I'll do it quickly in one post - telling you which ones are most worth getting and which ones you should skip. From now on, though, I will review the DLC as it comes available. Since I already reviewed the 11/20 packs, I'll review the single songs.

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11/20
"Fortunate Son" - 4.25/5
"Juke Box Hero" - 4.5/5
"Bang a Gong (Get it On)" - 4/5
"My Sharona" - 5/5
"Cherry Bomb" - 2.75/5

11/27
David Bowie Pack 01 - 4.5/5

12/4
Black Sabbath Pack 01 - 4.25/5

12/11
Punk Pack 01 - 3.25/5

12/18
"My Iron Lung" - 3.75/5
"Brass In Pocket" - 4/5
"Buddy Holly" - 4.75/5

12/25
"Attack" - 3.75/5
"The Kill" - 4/5
"Dirty Little Secret" - 4.5/5
"Move Along" - 4.5/5
"Song With A Mission" - 4/5

1/1
"Gimme Three Steps" - 4.25/5
"Hard To Handle" - 4.25/5
"Limelight" - 5/5

1/8
"Die, Alright!" - 3.5/5
"Interstate Love Song" - 4.75/5
"The Number of the Beast" - 4.25/5

1/15
"Action" - 4/5
"Last Train to Clarksville" - 4/5
"All the Small Things" - 4.5/5

1/22
Oasis Pack 01 - 4.25/5

1/29
"Siva" - 4/5
"Working Man" - 5/5
"Ten Speed (Of God's Blood and Burial)" - 4.25/5

February OXM
Harmonix Pack 01 - 4.25/5
-Note: These songs were only available for download via the OXM February 2008 disc.-

2/5
"Roam" - 3.5/5
"We Care a Lot" - 4.5/5
"Calling Dr. Love" - 4.5/5

2/12
(Arguably) Punk Pack 02 - 4.25/5

2/19
"Sex Type Thing" - 4.5/5
"El Scorcho" - 4.5/5
"Why Do You Love Me?" - 4.25/5

2/26
Nine Inch Nails Pack 01 - 4/5

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That's my review for the DLC up to this point. If you didn't read all of that, this is my quick list of what songs to get and which to stay away from.

Buy: "Juke Box Hero" , "My Sharona" , "David Bowie Pack 01" (Believe me, the songs grow on you.) , "Buddy Holly" , "Dirty Little Secret" , "Move Along" , "Limelight" , "Interstate Love Song" , "All the Small Things" , "Working Man" , "We Care a Lot" , "Calling Dr. Love" , "Sex Type Thing" , "El Scorcho"

(Songs "worth buying" are those with a 4.5 rating or higher.)
(Grand Total: $2.00 x 26 = $52.00 + $5.49 (David Bowie Pack 01) = $57.49)

DON'T Buy: "Cherry Bomb" , "Punk Pack 01" , "Die, Alright!" , "Roam"

(Songs "not worth buying" are those with a 3.5 rating or lower.)
(Grand Total: $2.00 x 3 = $6.00 + $5.49 (Punk Pack 01) = $11.49)
I just saved you $11.49. You're welcome.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Game Review ( Mass Effect - 360 )

Graphics: 4.5/5 I am being a bit generous here. While Mass Effect has some pretty damn good gameplay graphics, and a TON of great looking cut scenes, the game suffers often from framerate drops and random loading screens. Also, textures don't load up occasionally. Also, the graphics have a "fuzzy" look much like Rock Band. While it seems to fit better in Rock Band, it doesn't look too bad here.

Sound: 5/5 One of, if not the best, sounding games ever. Each and every gun sounds great, but that's nothing compared to the THOUSANDS of lines of dialogue in this game. Every character talks, including your character, Commander Shepherd, and every new alien, item, and planet you discover is read off by some dude. This game makes for a cinematic-like experience, thanks to the incredible sound.

Control: 4.5/5 Definitely unique. Coming from the creators of KotoR, Mass Effect has a similar fighting control, but it's actually a little bit better. The combat is over the shoulder much like Gears of War and GRAW. The controls are a bit funky at first, but you can have the ability of choosing how you want the aim assist to be - High, medium, or low. There are occasional glitches where you may get stuck, or buttons won't work correctly, ( most likely because of the lag ) but for the most part, it controls well, and isn't too difficult to learn either.

Fun: 4.75/5 Mass Effect is a game that should be experienced by any 360 owner. Mass Effect seems like a really long interactive movie that you don't ever want to end. Memorable characters, tons of options, and plentiful action - this is a must play for shooter and/or RPG fans. Describing this game to anyone wouldn't do it justice - you have to play it to believe it.

4.75/5

Game Review ( Surf's Up - 360 )

Graphics: 3/5 A decent looking game, but nothing spectacular. Average looking everything, with some nice looking levels, but it's just a subpar looking 360 game.

Sound: 4/5 Lines from the movie, clips from the movie, and some songs from bands like Simple Plan and the Plain White T's. Not bad at all.

Control: 2.75/5 Overly simplistic. The game consists of almost exclusively pressing the B button, with the occasional Y button press.

Fun: 2.75/5 I give this a 2.75 rating as an overall value rating. For a days worth of 950-1000 achievement points, it's one of the best "Achievement Whore" games as far as fun and ease of achievements. However, if you buy this game expecting good replayability, you're mistaken. The game is a joke and is no challenge at all. The only thing it really is is repetitive. Worth a quick rental, and nothing more.

2.75/5

Monday, February 18, 2008

Game Review ( Frontlines: Fuel of War - Demo - 360 )

Graphics: 3.25/5 Don't look that great, but graphics take a hit with 32 player online play. The models look okay, and the environments are "meh". The one thing that's really disturbing is the red "powder" blood. So N64...

Sound: 3.5/5 Pretty average. Sounds like garbage compared to Call of Duty 4, actually. The guns sound okay and there are decent voiceovers, but it's really nothing special.

Control: 3.75/5 Not only do the tanks and helicopters take awhile to get the controls down for, the controls of the infantrymen are weird too. LB to reload, RB to sprint - I constanly press the wrong buttons. Hard to get used to.

Fun: 4/5 F:FoW is actually a pretty decent game. It controls like most FPS's now-a-days. It reminds me of War Rock for the PC, as well as Battle Field for the PC. There are some problems with this game. For instance, there is a glitch where it's nearly impossible to get up some ladders in the game, and every automatic gun kills and shoots the same way. This game feels a lot like Halo and Call of Duty 4 combined into one. This game has some unique features, and is pretty fun. Not too sure if it will be worth the $60 asking price, but it will be worth quite a long rental from GameFly.

4/5

Thursday, February 07, 2008

Game Review ( Beautiful Katamari - 360 )

First off I have to say, I TRIED to like this game, and just couldn't. I'm very aware that most people with completely disagree with me on this review.

Graphics: 3.25/5 They're a different style, it's colorful too, but I think it's bizarre and actually pretty ugly.

Sound: 2.5/5 The music is just annoying as all hell, and everything in this game you have to read - no voiceovers here.

Control: 2/5 It's very different indeed, but it's garbage. It takes getting used to, and it isn't worth it. I should be able to control the Katamari how I want, not just use the two sticks. Frustrating. Constantly get stuck in corners, too.

Fun: 3/5 This game COULD be fun if it had better sound and more tolerable controls. However, it doesn't, and this is just one trashy game - no matter how you look at it.

2.75/5

Game Review ( The Simpsons Game - 360 )

The Simpsons Game has been out for awhile, but I finally got it from GameFly - I must say it's a great game for a Simpsons fan.

Graphics: 4/5 While at first I was unimpressed, the graphics really aren't bad at all. The characters are in a full 3D look, that somewhat looks like cel-shading. The in-HD cut scenes throughout the game are really great and make this game even better - it's like watching a Simpsons episode, but playing it at the same time.

Sound: 5/5 Certainly the best thing about this game. The sound effects and music are all great, and there have to be at LEAST a few thousand lines from characters in this game. Most every character ever taking an appearance in the show can be seen in this game, whether it's in an "episode", or just walking around Springfield - you can also talk to them whenever you want.

Control: 3/5 Not as bad as people say, but still pretty damn bad. The camera can definitely be annoying at certain parts in the game when spaces are tight or you want to look at a certain part of the level, but it doesn't happen too often. I'd say the simplistic controls are probably more-so annoying than the camera. It controls like an average adventure game from five years ago.

Fun: 3.75/5 "The Simpsons Game" is a real great experience. The story is written very well, it's a fun game to get Achievements for, and it's a must-play for any Simpsons fan. You can walk around Springfield as much as you want at your pace, and walk into quite a few buildings around the city including the church, Moe's, Android's Dungeon (The comic book store), The Simpsons House, the Kwik-E-Mart, and more. The inside of the buildings look almost just like the show. It's a good game, but it could've been better. The tediousness of getting collectables gets frustratingly not worth it after only maybe an hour, there's no Xbox LIVE Co-Op, either. Still, it's a unique game, and you will find yourself playing spoofs of other games as well, such as Space Invaders, Gauntlet and Everquest. Flawed, and probably shouldn't be bought by anyone - no matter how big of a Simpsons nut you are - but it's well worth a rental and a lot of fun until you finish the game.

3.75/5