Graphics: 3.75/5 Explosions are cool and Bond looks a lot like Daniel Craig, but the fame can lag miserably with smoke on screen, and the graphics overall just aren't spectacular.
Sound: 4/5 Voice acting from Daniel Craig and nice overall, but the guns sound very... I don't know... arcade-y, and the lines repeated in multiplayer will likely lead to one killing thyself.
Control: 4/5 Almost exactly like Call of Duty 4, but with a behind-the-wall feature a la Rainbow Six Vegas. Works nicely. Only real problem for me is "wall sticking" when you don't want to.
Fun: 3.75/5 QoS is a pretty good game. It's a LOT like Call of Duty 4/5 with a few differences, and without the real drive to play. You can buy your guns, you don't level up with ranks. Really though, once you get the Hutchinson "shotgun", you'll molest anybody in the game. This "short ranged shot gun" is an auto-kill-in-one-shot machine... it may get the record for scrubbiest gun ever in any game. And you can silence it! Anyway, the maps in QoS made me chuckle. Not because they are bad, but there are maps that seem to be ripped from CoD 4 with slight modifications. Say hello to Countdown, Wet Works, and more! And, to my pleasent surprise, there is a map that looks quite a bit like a part of Facility from Goldeneye. Quantum of Solace doesn't get the reviews it deserves for the most part. It's got a fun single player, and the multiplayer is fun, too, despite virtually everyone using the damn Hutchinson "shotty". QoS is ideal as a play all week long rental, but I wouldn't pay more than, say, $25 for this game that just isn't that amazing.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Friday, February 20, 2009
Game Review ( GTA IV: The Lost and Damned - 360 )
Graphics: 4/5 A step down from the core GTA IV game - only because there's an unnecessary film grain added in by Rockstar. Thankfully, it can be turned off. ( Go into the menu and turn "Noise Effect" off. )
Sound: 5/5 Better than the main game. The voice acting is great as usually, with some funny moments, the TV shows are funny, and the Liberty Rock songs are ace. "Funk #49", "Highway Star", "Run to the Hills", "Renegade", etc. Songs from the disc version of the game are also mixed in, and these songs can be heard on the radio even when you go back to Niko's story. Niceee.
Control: 4/5 To be honest, I don't like it much. Rockstar changed up the bike controls a bit to make them easier to control for the noobies and even more skilled players. I don't like it at all, mainly because on turns the bikes tend to spin out, when they never used to before. Also, it's harder to fall off your bike - you basically have to go top speed head-on into a wall or car to fall off.
Fun: 4.25/5 A great value at $20, but there are some issues. First, Johnny isn't exactly what you'd call a "likable" character. Niko was a naughty boy himself but Johnny is just... a dick - you'll know what I mean if you download TLaD. ( Which you should. ) The story doesn't suck you in a BUNCH, and the gang wars and races, while fun at first, are really just repetitive - especially if you play them a lot. The multiplayer is okay, but some modes ( Like Lone Biker ) throw you in the same starting point every round. It is definitely fun, but WHY the same spot? And finally - the weapons. The "mini-shotgun" as I call it and grenade launchers are great - it's just a shame they can't be used outisde of TLaD. Anyways yadda, yadda, yadda, TLaD is a good deal at $20 - despite there being a fully nude... guy. ( Yes, a penis. We see a penis. ) and there are a few pretty easy achievements. All you really have to do is beat the story and by then you'll have 250 achievement points. Did I mention the story was 10 hours or so long? And this DLC only costs $20? What are you waiting for exactly?
4.25/5
Sound: 5/5 Better than the main game. The voice acting is great as usually, with some funny moments, the TV shows are funny, and the Liberty Rock songs are ace. "Funk #49", "Highway Star", "Run to the Hills", "Renegade", etc. Songs from the disc version of the game are also mixed in, and these songs can be heard on the radio even when you go back to Niko's story. Niceee.
Control: 4/5 To be honest, I don't like it much. Rockstar changed up the bike controls a bit to make them easier to control for the noobies and even more skilled players. I don't like it at all, mainly because on turns the bikes tend to spin out, when they never used to before. Also, it's harder to fall off your bike - you basically have to go top speed head-on into a wall or car to fall off.
Fun: 4.25/5 A great value at $20, but there are some issues. First, Johnny isn't exactly what you'd call a "likable" character. Niko was a naughty boy himself but Johnny is just... a dick - you'll know what I mean if you download TLaD. ( Which you should. ) The story doesn't suck you in a BUNCH, and the gang wars and races, while fun at first, are really just repetitive - especially if you play them a lot. The multiplayer is okay, but some modes ( Like Lone Biker ) throw you in the same starting point every round. It is definitely fun, but WHY the same spot? And finally - the weapons. The "mini-shotgun" as I call it and grenade launchers are great - it's just a shame they can't be used outisde of TLaD. Anyways yadda, yadda, yadda, TLaD is a good deal at $20 - despite there being a fully nude... guy. ( Yes, a penis. We see a penis. ) and there are a few pretty easy achievements. All you really have to do is beat the story and by then you'll have 250 achievement points. Did I mention the story was 10 hours or so long? And this DLC only costs $20? What are you waiting for exactly?
4.25/5
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Game Review ( Rock Revolution - 360 )
Graphics: 3.25/5 Character models look decent, but really the only thing that makes the game somewhat attractive are the venues. Everything else is pretty terrible. The audience is the same looped over model, and the bassist and guitarists strum the same note all song, even whenthr instrument isn't being played. Worse yet is the singer, who sings without any movement or emotion - at least the drummer is better than the Guitar Hero drummer.
Sound: 3.5/5 40 tracks, and all but two are covers. It's really hard to judge the covers... Some are great, while some like Chop Suey and Spirit of the Radio ( Which uses two singers in the song at different times. ) are literally laughable. For the most part, the soundtrack is pretty "okay", covers and all. Major downfall is only having 40 songs.
Control: 3/5 Bizarre as can be. On guitar, the hammer ons just seem impossible to hit at times because of the way the fret board comes directly down at the speed it does. The drum layout: atrocious. I plugged in my Rock Band 2 set and decided to give Last Resort a go. Look, I can 5* songs like Kool Thing on Rock Band so I'm not slouch - needless to say I failed Last Resort in seconds. The seven pads for the Rock Revolution drums stay on screen and you're expected to play - not easy - especially since the bass pedal icon, instead of being a bar, is a round logo. Very weird, and hardly worth getting familiar with.
Fun: 3/5 The game is bad - but not as bad as people seem to think. It only costs $20 new, for 40 songs, to play on guitar. ( I believe drums are not even worth learning. ) Rock Revolution just seems like it wasn't made to contend with Rock Band and Guitar Hero. Instead, it feels like a beta test - and a pretty mediocre one at that.
Sound: 3.5/5 40 tracks, and all but two are covers. It's really hard to judge the covers... Some are great, while some like Chop Suey and Spirit of the Radio ( Which uses two singers in the song at different times. ) are literally laughable. For the most part, the soundtrack is pretty "okay", covers and all. Major downfall is only having 40 songs.
Control: 3/5 Bizarre as can be. On guitar, the hammer ons just seem impossible to hit at times because of the way the fret board comes directly down at the speed it does. The drum layout: atrocious. I plugged in my Rock Band 2 set and decided to give Last Resort a go. Look, I can 5* songs like Kool Thing on Rock Band so I'm not slouch - needless to say I failed Last Resort in seconds. The seven pads for the Rock Revolution drums stay on screen and you're expected to play - not easy - especially since the bass pedal icon, instead of being a bar, is a round logo. Very weird, and hardly worth getting familiar with.
Fun: 3/5 The game is bad - but not as bad as people seem to think. It only costs $20 new, for 40 songs, to play on guitar. ( I believe drums are not even worth learning. ) Rock Revolution just seems like it wasn't made to contend with Rock Band and Guitar Hero. Instead, it feels like a beta test - and a pretty mediocre one at that.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Game Review ( Mercenaries 2 - 360 )
Graphics: 3.75/5 Mostly unimpressive. While the game runs well for the most part, the game looks more like an Xbox 180 game than Xbox 360. Character models are decent, world looks meh... the fact that you can basically destroy anything you want is definitely cool, though. It's just a shame the framerate drops and there are some seriously weird graphical issues here and there. The explosions almost make up for it.
Sound: 3.25/5 Decent may be generous. Voice acting is average, and you will be hearing a lot of the same lines over and over again very quickly. The guns and explosions and the like are alright, buy again, not spectacular.
Control: 3.75/5 Its all fine and good and not much is too wrong with it... Well maybe a few things. Tanks control strangely, the camera feels strange, you hold A to drive - what is this a PS1 game? Seriously though, this game heavily reminds me of the game Star Wars Battlefront with the way it controls. Not a bad thing, but
it is different. Also, if you've layer Mercs 2, you'd better know your controller. This game is surprisingly deep and you might sort of want to learn how to do everything otherwise you'll get pwnd out of nowhere by an RPG while trying to figure out how to call your helicopter buddy.
Fun: 3.75/5 From what I've played, Mercs 2 is a good game. Somewhat repetitive, a lot of driving, difficult and seemingly impossible at times without a co op buddy, but the game is fun. May not be worth $60, but if you like blowing stuff up, this game is a must play. Unless you have someone to play with, don't buy this game because I think you'll find it to be more frustratingly easy ( Youll know what I mean ) than delightfully and overwhelmingly fun. Basically - rent it.
3.75/5
Sound: 3.25/5 Decent may be generous. Voice acting is average, and you will be hearing a lot of the same lines over and over again very quickly. The guns and explosions and the like are alright, buy again, not spectacular.
Control: 3.75/5 Its all fine and good and not much is too wrong with it... Well maybe a few things. Tanks control strangely, the camera feels strange, you hold A to drive - what is this a PS1 game? Seriously though, this game heavily reminds me of the game Star Wars Battlefront with the way it controls. Not a bad thing, but
it is different. Also, if you've layer Mercs 2, you'd better know your controller. This game is surprisingly deep and you might sort of want to learn how to do everything otherwise you'll get pwnd out of nowhere by an RPG while trying to figure out how to call your helicopter buddy.
Fun: 3.75/5 From what I've played, Mercs 2 is a good game. Somewhat repetitive, a lot of driving, difficult and seemingly impossible at times without a co op buddy, but the game is fun. May not be worth $60, but if you like blowing stuff up, this game is a must play. Unless you have someone to play with, don't buy this game because I think you'll find it to be more frustratingly easy ( Youll know what I mean ) than delightfully and overwhelmingly fun. Basically - rent it.
3.75/5
Saturday, February 07, 2009
Just got GameFly again.
I'll be posting a lot more reviews now that I got GameFly again.
Happy playing.
-Alex
Happy playing.
-Alex
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