Friday, June 29, 2007

Game Review ( Shrek The Third - 360 )

Graphics: 3/5 While the character models look pretty decent, and the worlds do too, they just don't look nearly as good as they could, since this is an Xbox 360. Also, there are no expressions when the people talk. The mouth moves, and that's about it.

Sound: 3/5 The actors voices sound very good at times, but often they don't, and you can tell they aren't the real actors.

Control: 3/5 Hop around with A and press X to attack. That's about all you do. Pretty repetetive controls.

Fun: 3/5 The mini-games are fun, but only for a short period and the story won't take the average gamer 2-3 days to beat at most. However, there are unlockables such as costumes, commentary, and other difficulties. ( Two that you need to purchase to get the achievements ) Shrek The Third is only really worth a rental and nothing more - the game is just way too shallow and it's really not interesting at all, either.

3/5

Game Review ( Rainbow Six Vegas: Red Edition - 360 )

The "Red Pack" was released April 18th and I just thought I'd review it along with the Black Pack.

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The Red Pack costs 800 MSP ( $10 ) and features two new modes, Assassination and Conquest. In Assassination, the defending team has to extract a VIP ( Who is randomly chosen among the group of players on that team ) to one of two extraction points. In Conquest, you have to capture satelites. There are three on each map, and whoever gets to the set score first wins the match. The pack also includes 3 new maps: "Doscala Restaurant" , "Marshalling Yard" , and "Roofs", and two old maps dubbed "Redux". Border Town and Killhouse get re designed, but you can still play the original version of each both maps.

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Assassination: 5/5 A fantastic new mode. It's quite unoriginal, but it's perfect for R6V. But why does the VIP look like Dr. Phil?

Conquest: 4/5 A solid addition. Not many people play Conquest, but it's a pretty cool mode, but it's nothing special.

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Doscala Restaurant: 5/5 One of the BEST maps in the whole game. Doscala Restaurant is what it is - an Italian restaurant inside Las Vegas. On this map, there is the whole restaurant, a mini-casino, and you can go outside the restaurant onto the streets and into a parking garage. Amazing map - one of the best, if not the best map in the game. Map Size: Small/Medium

Marshalling Yard: 4/5 Marshalling Yard is basically a a train station with a lot of buildings around. It's a good map, but a lot better with a lot of people. There is no real mode that works best with Marshalling Yard, but I'd say Assassination plays well on it. Map Size: Very Big

Roof: 3.5/5 Just another one of "these". Roof is almost like the map designers threw Presidio and Kill House into one. ( Of course, Presidio was released in the Black pack, but still... ) A pretty boring map. Map Size: Pretty Small

Border Town (Redux): 3.75/5 Border Town is the first of two Redux maps in this pack. The map is a little bit different - it takes place at a different time of day, and one of the spawns changed drastically. I wasn't a fan of Border Town to begin with, and Border Town Redux isn't much better. Map Size: Medium/Big

Killhouse (Redux): 4.25/5 Killhouse - my least favorite Vegas map finally gets redone. Killhouse Redux is about a million times better than the original. It's essentially the same exact map, but there are blue skies, and it's easier to see opponents on the map - this is the way Killhouse should have been from the start. Map Size: Small/Medium

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And that's my review of Vegas: Red Edition. It has two new modes, and some new maps, but only some of the maps are really a lot of fun. Still, Vegas: Red Edition is well worth $10.

4.25/5

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Game Review ( Rainbow Six Vegas: Black Edition - 360 )

The Rainbow Six Vegas: Black Edition pack was released 6/26, and for whatever reason, it has been pulled off of the marketplace. Temporarily, or forever, no one knows right now, but this is my review for those of you who didn't get the chance to download it.

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Red Lotus: 5/5 Why not review the best map first? Red Lotus is the best map of the five in my opinion, and one of the best in the game. If you played single player, Red Lotus is that giant red casino you play in. Another fantastic thing about this map is that there's an outside to the map where you can see Fremont Street - it's just too bad you can't go in there. Map size = Medium

Wartown: 4.5/5 Wartown is another great map. The thing some people may not like about it is its gargantuan size - this is easily the biggest map in R6V. The BEST thing about this map is that it... looks like a Wartown - it looks like something straight out of a Call of Duty game. Map size = HUUUGE!

Neon Graveyard: 4.5/5 Another great map here, too. Neon Graveyard is a pretty big map, but there are a lot of different places to go. There's a shack, a building, and a whole outside strip great for shoot outs. This map is good for Conquest. Map size = Somewhat big

Presidio: 3.75/5 One of the worst Vegas maps - Presidio is a map from Rainbow Six 3. This map looks to me basically like another Kill House. Presidio is a small map, and a repetetive map. Not very fun. Map size = Small

Streets: Redux: 4/5 Streets is a very popular R6V map, and it has gotten a re-do. In Streets: Redux, ( Or as I call it: Streedux ) the map is just about 100% the same, still the same map, just night time. I personally didn't like Streets that much to begin with, and I dislike night maps, but this one is actually pretty good.

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There you have it. My review of R6V:BE. As most people know, it costs 800 MSP ( $10 ) and it is WORTH it. If you're a Vegas fan, that means you have already downloaded it, ( most likely ) and even if you're NOT that big of a fan, this pack will definitely add to the longevity. So everyone make sure when the pack comes available again to download it.

4.5/5

Saturday, June 23, 2007

Game Review ( Shadowrun - 360 )

Graphics: 3.75/5 The races look okay, but the lighting, environments, and spells look absolutely awesome - especially the magic smoke. Another plus, the game normally runs smoothly.

Sound: 3.75/5 Above average... the guns sound very good, the explosions do too, the spells... everything passes and it sounds good.

Control: 3.75/5 Although Shadowrun takes a lot of time to get used to ( Swapping magic, tech, and so on ) after awhile it comes fluidly and works well. The game pretty much controls like most FPSs.

Fun: 4.25/5 Shadowrun is just a load of fun. There are 4 races, several weapons, magic, other things you can do to wipe out your opponents. You need to recognize the strengths and weaknesses of every race, and you and your team need to work together, and that is one of a few reasons why this game isn't perfect - you will find a lot of people that play this game like it's Halo and just run out into the battlefield and die right away. You need to stay in groups and help eachother out if you want to succeed. There are also other flaws. Shadowrun only features 9 measly maps, many of which are just average, and only 2 very similar game types. Basically, get the artifact and get it to the extraction. Only 9 maps? 2 game types? This game isn't even worth a rental! Right? Definitely wrong. This game is just so addicting it is worth quite a few rentals. I personally wouldn't fork out $60 for a game that's lacking so much ( no single player, either ) but this game should be played by an XBL player. Another thing in this game that is also quite annoying the the constant random disconnections out of rooms, and the mediocre match making. If you've played Halo, it's very similar. Create or join a party, and then you join a random room on a random map. ( unless you have preferences, a nice addition ) That's enough talking for me - go play Shadowrun.

4.25/5

Game Review ( Cartoon Network Racing - DS )

Graphics: 3/5 While the characters look pretty good, most of the tracks are ugly, boring, random, and uninspired. There are some tracks that are based off of TV shows in Cartoon Network, but very few. Only average graphics.

Sound: 2.5/5 Some sample clips of what seem to be the real actors doing voiceovers in this game, but that's about it. There is very annoying and repetetive background music on the tracks too.

Control: 3/5 Hold down A for about 6 minutes for each track, 4 times until the tournament is over. That's about it.

Fun: 3/5 It's hard to recommend this game. There are two mini games that are pretty fun. ( One where you sketch Cartoon Network characters, one that's shuffleboard ) The game is just really missing a lot of what's really neccessary in a good racing game nowadays. The maps for the most part are boring and the weapons are shear ripoffs of the Mario Kart and Diddy Kong Racing series. There are a lot of unlockables, though - there are SEVERAL unlockable racers, two minigames, some episodes of TV shows, and more. Cartoon Network Racing is really only worth a rental, and only maybe a buy for hardcore Cartoon Network fans, or little kids.

3/5

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Game Review Quiki ( Shadowrun DEMO - 360 )

Graphics: 3.75/5
Sound: 3.25/5
Control: 3.5/5
Fun: 4/5

From the demo, I thought Shadowrun was pretty impressive. The graphics are only average, the sound is nothing special, the control takes a LOT of getting used to, but the game is a lot of fun. I will make a whole review if and when I get to play the full version of Shadowrun. From what I've played, this is a good game. Definitely play it.

Sunday, June 10, 2007

Game Review ( The Sims 2 - DS )

In The Sims 2, you play the roll of a lone Sim that takes control of a hotel in Strangetown and it's up to you to keep visitors coming to pile up some money, therefore meaning this Sims game is drastically different than others - you play as one Sim the whole game, and you don't even get to make your own house. However, the game still makes for a surprisingly fun experience.

Graphics: 4.25/5 This game came out in late '05, and it looks pretty good. The rain effects when outside look great, and the game runs great. The colors look nice, and the environments are fantastic. The game's main graphical flaws are in the lack of furniture you can buy, and the HUGE lack of customization on characters.

Sound: 4/5 Sounds alright, quite a bit of music, but you will definitely hear quite a bit of repetition in sounds - especially when chatting with Sims.

Control: 4/5 Above average. The game controls surprisingly well. The camera angles are controled using the shoulder buttons, and there aren't any problems. You can also zoom in and out of your character's perspective, too. Not much to complain about here. Very surprisingly good.

Fun: 3.5/5 The Sims 2 for the DS is a game that should be more rented than bought. There are A LOT of things you can do: play slot machines, play a card game at the casino, scratch lottery tickets, and of course, buy and sell furniture. The overall story is pretty stupid, not the part where you take over the hotel, but when the aliens come into the picture and periodically steal furniture from hotel vistor's rooms - it's just a stupid and useless idea. While this is a good game, it's drastically flawed. You will find yourself with little to do after you buy a new room at city hall - it takes REAL TIME eight hours until you can visit the room - not Sim time - and that is just aggrivating. Also, you will constantly be over playing cards, lottery tickets, slot machines, finding rods, and so on, just to get a few extra bucks in your pocket. You also have to take care of yourself so you don't meet Grim. You have to sleep, bathe, eat, and so on, just to keep "sane". ( There is a "sanity" meter on the bottom of your screen, and when it gets to zero, you respawn in your hotel room. ) The best part about The Sims 2 is its, this will sound stupid, atmosphere. The game's layout is really, really cool. Other than that, this game is just slightly above average. It's a nice step away from other Sims games, but it's only really worth a rental. Overall - good game, many things to do, just repetetive, and there's a lot of time to waste playing this.

3.5/5ish