Graphics: 4.25/5 Kept pretty simple, but they look very sharp. The maps vary greatly and look well done, and the explosions from the bombs are pretty simple, but sexy.
Sound: 4.5/5 FANTASTIC for an XBLA game. The music is different pretty much anywhere you go, and changes depending on the map. The announcer gets annoying if you play for long periods, but still, Bomberman LIVE sounds very good.
Control: 4.5/5 Simple - ALMOST too simple. Walk around behind walls, press A. That's just about all you have to do - except when you get certain power-ups. You can kick and throw bombs and other objects, also.
Fun: 4.5/5 Bomberman LIVE may very well be the best game in the XBLA as of today. You can play with up to 8 players on Xbox Live with little to no lag most of the time, there are leaderboards that are very in depth, and you can even customize your character. All you have to do is play Bomberman LIVE, find "costume bells", and you can change the look of your Bomberman. This game is an absolute STEAL at only 800 MSP. You will likely be logging many, many hours into Bomberman LIVE - and you won't even realize it.
4.5/5
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Achievement Difficulty: 8/10
One of the toughest arcade games to get achievements for. Most of the achievements are ones that will take a long time, and/or some friends to get. For example, "Girl Power!" and "The Good, The Bad, And The Bombed" require you to dress up entirely in an outfit, and do something specifically in a match. The odds of ever getting the achievements out of the blue would be EXTREMELY rare. There are some more hard achievements to get. Winning consecutive games isn't easy period, and you have to now do it on Xbox Live. Bomberman LIVE has some VERY tough achievements, so an achievement whore wouldn't want to play it then? No. Bomberman LIVE is so good anyone would play this game for a decent period of time.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Game Review ( Small Arms - 360 Arcade )
Graphics: 4.5/5 This game looks purely like an Xbox 360 title - you wouldn't even know it was from the arcade. The colors look good, the characters ( for the most part ) look really cool, and most of the maps are nice to look at.
Sound: 4.25/5 Pretty sharp. The guns sound like... guns, and each of the 12 characters talk here and there. The music also fits the game very well. Still, the sound could be better.
Control: 4.5/5 Think of Small Arms as Super Smash Bros. with guns. That's almost exactly what this game is. You use the right analog stick to aim, right and left triggers to shoot, X to melee, and so on. Small Arms controls are probably the best of any game in the XBLA.
Fun: 4.25/5 The core of Small Arms is really fun, but short unless you have Live. The single player plays ( like I said ) exactly like Super Smash Bros., but after awhile that will get stale. There is also a "Challenge Mode" where you fight waves of opponents, and "Shooting Range" where you shoot targets to get a highscore. Small Arms really is fun offline or on Live, and there is even downloadable content - with more to come, I'm sure. For $10, you can't go wrong with picking this game up.
4.25/5
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Achievement Difficulty: 4/10
Small Arms really has mostly SIMPLE achievements. Complete training, complete mission mode, win 10 matches, and so on, but some may take awhile. The challenge achievements may take awhile to get unless you get lucky and the AI "glitches", which happens sometimes. The AI will randomly spawn and run off the spawn for no reason - this pretty much hands you achievements. Others are self explanatory - win. Just win a certain number of matches and "Achievement Unlocked". This game doesn't have the hardest achievements, but it has ones that are fun to get.
Sound: 4.25/5 Pretty sharp. The guns sound like... guns, and each of the 12 characters talk here and there. The music also fits the game very well. Still, the sound could be better.
Control: 4.5/5 Think of Small Arms as Super Smash Bros. with guns. That's almost exactly what this game is. You use the right analog stick to aim, right and left triggers to shoot, X to melee, and so on. Small Arms controls are probably the best of any game in the XBLA.
Fun: 4.25/5 The core of Small Arms is really fun, but short unless you have Live. The single player plays ( like I said ) exactly like Super Smash Bros., but after awhile that will get stale. There is also a "Challenge Mode" where you fight waves of opponents, and "Shooting Range" where you shoot targets to get a highscore. Small Arms really is fun offline or on Live, and there is even downloadable content - with more to come, I'm sure. For $10, you can't go wrong with picking this game up.
4.25/5
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Achievement Difficulty: 4/10
Small Arms really has mostly SIMPLE achievements. Complete training, complete mission mode, win 10 matches, and so on, but some may take awhile. The challenge achievements may take awhile to get unless you get lucky and the AI "glitches", which happens sometimes. The AI will randomly spawn and run off the spawn for no reason - this pretty much hands you achievements. Others are self explanatory - win. Just win a certain number of matches and "Achievement Unlocked". This game doesn't have the hardest achievements, but it has ones that are fun to get.
Game Review ( Brothers In Arms - DS )
Graphics: 4.25/5 I can tell you right now, the graphics are the only thing that is right in Brothers In Arms. We all know the DS isn't nearly as powerful as the PSP, but the DS really goes far and delivers the best graphics it can without disrupting the gameplay.
Sound: 3.5/5 The guns sound alright, the music is okay too, but ( obviously ) there are subtitles instead of audio for messages. Sounds okay, but it's overall really quiet.
Control: 2.5/5 At first, the game seemed to control great, but quickly, you will find yourself dying when it's not even your fault. You're supposed to be able to walk up to something for cover, but 80% of the time your guy will jump over it instead of into it, which will cause you hopping back and forth over something until you finally die. The aiming system is unique and works well, but the main reason this game fails is because of the controls.
Fun: 2.5/5 Brothers In Arms had potential to be one of the few great shooters on the DS. It looks and sounds like it would be good - hell, it has almost the exact same idea behind it as Call of Duty 2 and 3 did. There are 3 campaigns that you can play, but after that, all you can do it try to get unlockables by playing back through. There is multiplayer, but it's not infrastructure, so you're left just playing with people nearby. Brothers In Arms is one dissapointing game.
2.5/5
Sound: 3.5/5 The guns sound alright, the music is okay too, but ( obviously ) there are subtitles instead of audio for messages. Sounds okay, but it's overall really quiet.
Control: 2.5/5 At first, the game seemed to control great, but quickly, you will find yourself dying when it's not even your fault. You're supposed to be able to walk up to something for cover, but 80% of the time your guy will jump over it instead of into it, which will cause you hopping back and forth over something until you finally die. The aiming system is unique and works well, but the main reason this game fails is because of the controls.
Fun: 2.5/5 Brothers In Arms had potential to be one of the few great shooters on the DS. It looks and sounds like it would be good - hell, it has almost the exact same idea behind it as Call of Duty 2 and 3 did. There are 3 campaigns that you can play, but after that, all you can do it try to get unlockables by playing back through. There is multiplayer, but it's not infrastructure, so you're left just playing with people nearby. Brothers In Arms is one dissapointing game.
2.5/5
Friday, July 13, 2007
My preview ratings of some of the games that were at E3.
As we all know, E3 just ended, but I'm sure a lot of people watched the stuff on G4. The number I put is from 1-5 on a "Psych Meter", meaning obviously how badly I want the game.
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Halo 3: 4/5 Halo 3 is likely the biggest launch in game history. However, I kind of fell out of the "want" for Halo 3. There is nothing we know about the story, the online will be great like in Halo 2, but I'm just not THAT excited about it... yet.
Super Smash Bros. Brawl: 4/5 I haven't seen much on this game, but I've been wanting to play a SSB game way back just after Melee came out. Looks pretty good, but again, don't know a lot about it.
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare: 5/5 Infinity Ward is back into the CoD franchise, but this time they go from the history books to modern times. Call of Duty 4 looks absolutely amazing. The RPG elements that go into online play sound super cool, and the graphics are nothing short of spectacular. Definitely dying to play this.
Assassin's Creed: 4/5 I had no idea what this game was until E3. I had no interest in it - mainly because I didn't even know what it was - but It actually looks like it will be a very good game. Don't know TOO much about it, but it looks very good and should be top notch... I mean, it's made by Ubisoft, so you know it will be.
Grand Theft Auto IV: 4/5 So, it takes place in New York. That's all about I know - or most people know, for that matter. Still, who doesn't want to get their hands on this game? Looks great.
Super Mario Galaxy: 3/5 Not so interested in this game - for whatever reason. Call me crazy - but I don't understand the game at ALL. So what, you're Mario... in outer space... running around planets or something? Doesn't seem interesting to me. The game looks good, but let it prove me completely wrong when the game is released in November.
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock: 5/5 Six out of five, anybody? I'm MORE THAN DYING to play this game - I've been playing GH2 on the PS2 and 360 for what seems AGES... I want to play something new! Guitar Hero III looks to me the ultimate Guitar Hero experience. Enhanced graphics, new and better songs, online play, improved multiplayer in general, and boss battles with legends including... SLASH! This game will be a blast, for sure.
Rock Band: 5/5 This for me goes up and beyond what I'm expecting from Guitar Hero III because of one obvious reason - it's the whole band! Not just that, but you can join or create a band online, make a band name, make your own apparel and logo - this will be an amazing game - AND there will be downloadable tracks every week! Must have game right here.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed: 4/5 All I got from the trailer is that you play as Darth Vader's apprentice - that right there sold me. I have no idea what kind of game this is, though, ( Action? Action adventure? RPG? ) but one thing is for certain - I want it. It's a Star War's game, and it looks sweet.
Mario Kart Wii: 4/5 No one knows much about this game since it was so briefly shown at E3, but HEY - It's Mario Kart, it comes packaged with a steering wheel, and it's confirmed to have online multiplayer. Those reasons alone should make any Nintendo fan drool.
Mercenaries 2: World in Flames: 4/5 There isn't much buzz about this game right now, but this game is going to be almost a guaranteed award winning title if you ask me. The game looked GREAT in videos, and there is hop-in/hop-out co-op multiplayer. Mercenaries 1 was almost perfect - JUST lacking multiplayer. Now we have it. You know what that means...
Tony Hawk's Proving Grounds: 3/5 Another Tony Hawk game, huh? Meh. Tony Hawk games have just been becoming worthy rentals for me recently, and I don't see what should make this game more special. Sure, you can choose your career path... but what else could we possibly see in this game besides new levels? We'll have to see.
Burnout Paradise: 4/5 Burnout is one of my ( if not my ) all-time favorite racing game franchises ever. Get a car, blast it at wicked speeds, and fly through or into intersections with great results either way. Not too much known about this game, but there will be a mug-shot feature enabling you to see the person you made crash's face, and you can save them. The worst thing about Burnout Paradise? We have to wait until "Winter" to get it.
The Orange Box: 2/5 It's Half-Life 2 with some extras in the bag. When I first learned about this game awhile back, I was totally stoked about getting it. But lately, I honestly wouldn't want to do more than rent it. Team Fortress 2 looks fantastic, but I wouldn't pay $50 for just that.
The Simpsons Game: 4/5 Not getting much hype - at all. Looks great, and it's The Simpsons. Maybe the last two words of that sentence scares people off. The Simpsons hasn't had the best video games of late, but this one may be different. Maybe my hype over the movie is what makes me want this game, too.
Medal of Honor: Airborne: 4/5 I thought this game was coming out awhile back, but it still hasn't been released. Well, E3 made me want this game even more. You get on a plane, jump out, and start the level from where you land. If that's not good enough, there's obviously multiplayer, and VERY spiffy graphics.
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And that's about it. There are a few games out there that look interesting, but they aren't coming out for awhile.
-47
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Halo 3: 4/5 Halo 3 is likely the biggest launch in game history. However, I kind of fell out of the "want" for Halo 3. There is nothing we know about the story, the online will be great like in Halo 2, but I'm just not THAT excited about it... yet.
Super Smash Bros. Brawl: 4/5 I haven't seen much on this game, but I've been wanting to play a SSB game way back just after Melee came out. Looks pretty good, but again, don't know a lot about it.
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare: 5/5 Infinity Ward is back into the CoD franchise, but this time they go from the history books to modern times. Call of Duty 4 looks absolutely amazing. The RPG elements that go into online play sound super cool, and the graphics are nothing short of spectacular. Definitely dying to play this.
Assassin's Creed: 4/5 I had no idea what this game was until E3. I had no interest in it - mainly because I didn't even know what it was - but It actually looks like it will be a very good game. Don't know TOO much about it, but it looks very good and should be top notch... I mean, it's made by Ubisoft, so you know it will be.
Grand Theft Auto IV: 4/5 So, it takes place in New York. That's all about I know - or most people know, for that matter. Still, who doesn't want to get their hands on this game? Looks great.
Super Mario Galaxy: 3/5 Not so interested in this game - for whatever reason. Call me crazy - but I don't understand the game at ALL. So what, you're Mario... in outer space... running around planets or something? Doesn't seem interesting to me. The game looks good, but let it prove me completely wrong when the game is released in November.
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock: 5/5 Six out of five, anybody? I'm MORE THAN DYING to play this game - I've been playing GH2 on the PS2 and 360 for what seems AGES... I want to play something new! Guitar Hero III looks to me the ultimate Guitar Hero experience. Enhanced graphics, new and better songs, online play, improved multiplayer in general, and boss battles with legends including... SLASH! This game will be a blast, for sure.
Rock Band: 5/5 This for me goes up and beyond what I'm expecting from Guitar Hero III because of one obvious reason - it's the whole band! Not just that, but you can join or create a band online, make a band name, make your own apparel and logo - this will be an amazing game - AND there will be downloadable tracks every week! Must have game right here.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed: 4/5 All I got from the trailer is that you play as Darth Vader's apprentice - that right there sold me. I have no idea what kind of game this is, though, ( Action? Action adventure? RPG? ) but one thing is for certain - I want it. It's a Star War's game, and it looks sweet.
Mario Kart Wii: 4/5 No one knows much about this game since it was so briefly shown at E3, but HEY - It's Mario Kart, it comes packaged with a steering wheel, and it's confirmed to have online multiplayer. Those reasons alone should make any Nintendo fan drool.
Mercenaries 2: World in Flames: 4/5 There isn't much buzz about this game right now, but this game is going to be almost a guaranteed award winning title if you ask me. The game looked GREAT in videos, and there is hop-in/hop-out co-op multiplayer. Mercenaries 1 was almost perfect - JUST lacking multiplayer. Now we have it. You know what that means...
Tony Hawk's Proving Grounds: 3/5 Another Tony Hawk game, huh? Meh. Tony Hawk games have just been becoming worthy rentals for me recently, and I don't see what should make this game more special. Sure, you can choose your career path... but what else could we possibly see in this game besides new levels? We'll have to see.
Burnout Paradise: 4/5 Burnout is one of my ( if not my ) all-time favorite racing game franchises ever. Get a car, blast it at wicked speeds, and fly through or into intersections with great results either way. Not too much known about this game, but there will be a mug-shot feature enabling you to see the person you made crash's face, and you can save them. The worst thing about Burnout Paradise? We have to wait until "Winter" to get it.
The Orange Box: 2/5 It's Half-Life 2 with some extras in the bag. When I first learned about this game awhile back, I was totally stoked about getting it. But lately, I honestly wouldn't want to do more than rent it. Team Fortress 2 looks fantastic, but I wouldn't pay $50 for just that.
The Simpsons Game: 4/5 Not getting much hype - at all. Looks great, and it's The Simpsons. Maybe the last two words of that sentence scares people off. The Simpsons hasn't had the best video games of late, but this one may be different. Maybe my hype over the movie is what makes me want this game, too.
Medal of Honor: Airborne: 4/5 I thought this game was coming out awhile back, but it still hasn't been released. Well, E3 made me want this game even more. You get on a plane, jump out, and start the level from where you land. If that's not good enough, there's obviously multiplayer, and VERY spiffy graphics.
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And that's about it. There are a few games out there that look interesting, but they aren't coming out for awhile.
-47
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Game Review ( Guitar Hero 2 Track Pack 4 - 360 Arcade )
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Track Pack: 4
"I Wanna Be Sedated" - The Ramones
"Smoke on the Water" - Deep Purple
"You've Got Another Thing Comin'" - Judas Priest
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Track Pack 4 was released on July 11th - exactly three months after the first three were released - and I was actually dissapointed with this track pack. The songs are very easy. ( even on expert )
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"I Wanna Be Sedated": 3.5/5 Not a fun song to play. 90-95% of the whole song is just constant chords, and it's really repetetive. ( What do you want, it's the Ramones ) I can beat this song without missing a note just by strumming one way. ( even though it does start to hurt ) I'd say this is the worst song of all 12 of the downloadable songs available.
"Smoke on the Water": 4/5 Smoke on the Water... a classic song, but REALLY repetetive in Guitar Hero. The solo isn't too bad, it's probably the best part. Still, Smoke on the Water is a classic song and plays decently.
"You've Got Another Thing Comin'": 4.25/5 My favorite song of the three. I've liked Judas Priest for the longest time, and it was pretty nice to play Y.G.A.T.C. in the original Guitar Hero. The song still plays well this time around, and it's fun.
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Overall, the GH2 Track Pack 4 is somewhat dissapointing. Hardcore Guitar Hero fans will buy every pack - no matter what songs are included, so that doesn't matter, but those of you who aren't willing to fork out 500 MSP for just three songs will likely not have much interest here. Another big flaw about this track pack is that there are NO leaderboards for the three songs. The songs are listed on the leaderboards, but there is nothing there to see. So leaderboard whores, you're S.O.L. My overall recommendation: Wait for the next track pack or buy one or more of the previous packs released if you haven't already. This one should be easy to pass up.
3.75/5
Track Pack: 4
"I Wanna Be Sedated" - The Ramones
"Smoke on the Water" - Deep Purple
"You've Got Another Thing Comin'" - Judas Priest
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Track Pack 4 was released on July 11th - exactly three months after the first three were released - and I was actually dissapointed with this track pack. The songs are very easy. ( even on expert )
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"I Wanna Be Sedated": 3.5/5 Not a fun song to play. 90-95% of the whole song is just constant chords, and it's really repetetive. ( What do you want, it's the Ramones ) I can beat this song without missing a note just by strumming one way. ( even though it does start to hurt ) I'd say this is the worst song of all 12 of the downloadable songs available.
"Smoke on the Water": 4/5 Smoke on the Water... a classic song, but REALLY repetetive in Guitar Hero. The solo isn't too bad, it's probably the best part. Still, Smoke on the Water is a classic song and plays decently.
"You've Got Another Thing Comin'": 4.25/5 My favorite song of the three. I've liked Judas Priest for the longest time, and it was pretty nice to play Y.G.A.T.C. in the original Guitar Hero. The song still plays well this time around, and it's fun.
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Overall, the GH2 Track Pack 4 is somewhat dissapointing. Hardcore Guitar Hero fans will buy every pack - no matter what songs are included, so that doesn't matter, but those of you who aren't willing to fork out 500 MSP for just three songs will likely not have much interest here. Another big flaw about this track pack is that there are NO leaderboards for the three songs. The songs are listed on the leaderboards, but there is nothing there to see. So leaderboard whores, you're S.O.L. My overall recommendation: Wait for the next track pack or buy one or more of the previous packs released if you haven't already. This one should be easy to pass up.
3.75/5
Monday, July 09, 2007
Game Review ( Mad Tracks - 360 Arcade )
Graphics: 3.5/5 The game rarely if ever slows down, but the graphics aren't all that great - they are really bland.
Sound: 3.5/5 Okay soundtrack, but it gets old after awhile. Still, it sounds better than most XBLA titles.
Control: 4/5 Controls are done pretty well, and they are somewhat frustrating for this reason, believe it or not. Still, the controls work very well with most of the games.
Fun: 3.75/5 Surprisingly fun game. There are 15 different mini-games, ( There are I believe 24 now thanks to new downloadable content ) many of which are just "meh". I highly recommend you play this game with a friend or on XBL because the game won't last long if you play it just on single player.
3.75/5
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Achievement Difficulty: 6/10 Just about anyone can easily get 90 points out of this game, but some aren't so easy. Ones where you have to collect items and finish the race are hard because the pieces seem impossible to get, and the "Ultra Fast Food" achievement I SWEAR to you is impossible. This really isn't an achievement getting XBLA title.
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Sound: 3.5/5 Okay soundtrack, but it gets old after awhile. Still, it sounds better than most XBLA titles.
Control: 4/5 Controls are done pretty well, and they are somewhat frustrating for this reason, believe it or not. Still, the controls work very well with most of the games.
Fun: 3.75/5 Surprisingly fun game. There are 15 different mini-games, ( There are I believe 24 now thanks to new downloadable content ) many of which are just "meh". I highly recommend you play this game with a friend or on XBL because the game won't last long if you play it just on single player.
3.75/5
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Achievement Difficulty: 6/10 Just about anyone can easily get 90 points out of this game, but some aren't so easy. Ones where you have to collect items and finish the race are hard because the pieces seem impossible to get, and the "Ultra Fast Food" achievement I SWEAR to you is impossible. This really isn't an achievement getting XBLA title.
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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
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
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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
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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
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
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.
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
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
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
DVD Review ( Full House: Season 2 )
[*] Indicates a "Season Great"
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Cutting It Close: 4.25/5 Stephanie accidentally cuts Jesse's hair and he wrecks his motorcycle. Stephanie feels bad, but Jesse assures her that it's okay.
[*]Tanner Vs. Gibbler: 4.5/5 Kimmy goes to her birthday party with older "friends" and DJ gets jealous. The two get mad at eachother.
It's Not My Job: 4.25/5 Jessie tells his dad he wants to leave his family business to pursue a career in music.
DJ's Very First Horse: 4.25/5 DJ and Kimmy decide to "buy" a horse without anyone knowing, and pay half of what the horse needs every week. Soon, they don't have the money to keep him, and they ask Danny for help.
[*]Jingle Hell: 4.5/5 Joey and Jessie fight over a song they wrote that bombed, and DJ and Stephanie fight over privacy.
[*]Beach Boy Bingo: 5/5 DJ wins tickets to a Beach Boy's concert, and doesn't know who to pick.
[*]Joey Gets Tough: 4.5/5 Joey lets the girls watch Tiffany: Live From Tokyo and stay up late. Danny tells him he should be "tougher", and sure enough he is.
[*]Triple Date: 4.5/5 Danny gets a date with a girl he met at the grocery store, and it turns out to be one of Jesse's ex-girlfriends.
[*]Our Very First Christmas: 4.5/5 Everyone gets snowed in at an airport in Colorado for Christmas.
[*]Middle Age Crazy: 4.5/5 Being caught in the middle of two sisters, Stephanie decides to propose to Harry to get attention.
A Little Romance: 4.25/5 Rebecca gets jealous at a charity bachelor auction when another woman bids on Jesse.
Fogged In: 4.25/5 Jesse gets steamed when Kimmy and DJ are in his room messing with stuff and tape over one of his commercial songs. He gets mad, and eventually buys a drum set to make up.
[*]Working Mothers: 4.5/5 Jesse and Joey get a job writing jingles, but don't know if it's a good or bad idea.
Little Shop Of Sweaters: 4.25/5 Stephanie takes a "Buy Now, Pay Later" sign too literal after she swipes a sweater from a store in place of one that DJ ruined at school.
Pal Joey: 4.25/5 Joey, Danny, and Jesse recall a friendship pact they all made when they were kids.
[*]Baby Love: 4.5/5 Michelle meets Rebecca's nephew Howie and doesn't want him to leave; Stephanie gets scared from the movie Wolfman.
El Problema Grande De DJ: 4.25/5 DJ wants Danny to get her grade changed in Spanish, but she gets upset when he finds him kissing her teacher.
Goodbye, Mr. Bear: 4.25/5: Stephanie loses Mr. Bear and fears Joey may have donated him; the family watches home videos of when Pam came home from the hospital.
Blast From The Past: 4/5 Joey gets a call from a girlfriend from 10 years ago.
[*]I'm There For You Babe: 4.5/5 Jesse has a very stressful birthday when everyone asks him to do stuff.
Luck Be A Lady ( 1 Hour Episode ): 4.25/5 Joey claims he won $100,000 from a slot machine, but security cameras find that Stephanie and DJ pulled it, and he doesn't get the money; Jesse and Becky attempt to get married at the Fabulous Ali Baba Hotel and Casino, but Becky says she has to get to know him better.
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Full House: Season 2 has its moments, but it's not the best season - there are better ones in the future.
4.5/5
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Cutting It Close: 4.25/5 Stephanie accidentally cuts Jesse's hair and he wrecks his motorcycle. Stephanie feels bad, but Jesse assures her that it's okay.
[*]Tanner Vs. Gibbler: 4.5/5 Kimmy goes to her birthday party with older "friends" and DJ gets jealous. The two get mad at eachother.
It's Not My Job: 4.25/5 Jessie tells his dad he wants to leave his family business to pursue a career in music.
DJ's Very First Horse: 4.25/5 DJ and Kimmy decide to "buy" a horse without anyone knowing, and pay half of what the horse needs every week. Soon, they don't have the money to keep him, and they ask Danny for help.
[*]Jingle Hell: 4.5/5 Joey and Jessie fight over a song they wrote that bombed, and DJ and Stephanie fight over privacy.
[*]Beach Boy Bingo: 5/5 DJ wins tickets to a Beach Boy's concert, and doesn't know who to pick.
[*]Joey Gets Tough: 4.5/5 Joey lets the girls watch Tiffany: Live From Tokyo and stay up late. Danny tells him he should be "tougher", and sure enough he is.
[*]Triple Date: 4.5/5 Danny gets a date with a girl he met at the grocery store, and it turns out to be one of Jesse's ex-girlfriends.
[*]Our Very First Christmas: 4.5/5 Everyone gets snowed in at an airport in Colorado for Christmas.
[*]Middle Age Crazy: 4.5/5 Being caught in the middle of two sisters, Stephanie decides to propose to Harry to get attention.
A Little Romance: 4.25/5 Rebecca gets jealous at a charity bachelor auction when another woman bids on Jesse.
Fogged In: 4.25/5 Jesse gets steamed when Kimmy and DJ are in his room messing with stuff and tape over one of his commercial songs. He gets mad, and eventually buys a drum set to make up.
[*]Working Mothers: 4.5/5 Jesse and Joey get a job writing jingles, but don't know if it's a good or bad idea.
Little Shop Of Sweaters: 4.25/5 Stephanie takes a "Buy Now, Pay Later" sign too literal after she swipes a sweater from a store in place of one that DJ ruined at school.
Pal Joey: 4.25/5 Joey, Danny, and Jesse recall a friendship pact they all made when they were kids.
[*]Baby Love: 4.5/5 Michelle meets Rebecca's nephew Howie and doesn't want him to leave; Stephanie gets scared from the movie Wolfman.
El Problema Grande De DJ: 4.25/5 DJ wants Danny to get her grade changed in Spanish, but she gets upset when he finds him kissing her teacher.
Goodbye, Mr. Bear: 4.25/5: Stephanie loses Mr. Bear and fears Joey may have donated him; the family watches home videos of when Pam came home from the hospital.
Blast From The Past: 4/5 Joey gets a call from a girlfriend from 10 years ago.
[*]I'm There For You Babe: 4.5/5 Jesse has a very stressful birthday when everyone asks him to do stuff.
Luck Be A Lady ( 1 Hour Episode ): 4.25/5 Joey claims he won $100,000 from a slot machine, but security cameras find that Stephanie and DJ pulled it, and he doesn't get the money; Jesse and Becky attempt to get married at the Fabulous Ali Baba Hotel and Casino, but Becky says she has to get to know him better.
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Full House: Season 2 has its moments, but it's not the best season - there are better ones in the future.
4.5/5
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Game Review ( Viva Pinata - 360 )
Graphics: 4.5/5 Awesome to look at. The game is extremely colorful, and the water effects are nice too. The only problem is that since the game features auto-save, it hiccups now and then, but other than that, very good looking game.
Sound: 4.5/5 Not only does the game look great, it sounds fantastic too. Everything does - the voiceovers, the pinatas, and all the random sounds in the background. Sounds sweet.
Control: 4.25/5 May take awhile to get used to, say a half hour, but for kids it may take awhile. However, there are two control types. Viva Pinata controls nicely.
Fun: 4.5/5 Viva Pinata is a very fun and surprisingly deep game. You get garden upgrades to get your garden bigger, the pinatas only enter your garden under certain requirements, you can hire people to take care of your garden, and intruders can even make your pinatas sick. This game is just a lot of fun, but it's flawed. The game takes a lot of patience, and sometimes pinatas will eat other pinatas when you really don't want them too. Viva Pinata is definitely said to be a stupid little kid's game, but it's such a good game, you can't pass it up. Definitely a game that's looked over way too much.
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4.5/5
Achievement Difficulty: 4/10
People say the achievements for this game are an absolute sinch, but it really isn't that way. The achievements will come easily only after 5 hours or so into the game when you really start rolling. Before that though, you'll only be able to get a couple. But even so, this is a game that's so fun to play you won't even care if you get many achievements for. It's just a blast to play.
Sound: 4.5/5 Not only does the game look great, it sounds fantastic too. Everything does - the voiceovers, the pinatas, and all the random sounds in the background. Sounds sweet.
Control: 4.25/5 May take awhile to get used to, say a half hour, but for kids it may take awhile. However, there are two control types. Viva Pinata controls nicely.
Fun: 4.5/5 Viva Pinata is a very fun and surprisingly deep game. You get garden upgrades to get your garden bigger, the pinatas only enter your garden under certain requirements, you can hire people to take care of your garden, and intruders can even make your pinatas sick. This game is just a lot of fun, but it's flawed. The game takes a lot of patience, and sometimes pinatas will eat other pinatas when you really don't want them too. Viva Pinata is definitely said to be a stupid little kid's game, but it's such a good game, you can't pass it up. Definitely a game that's looked over way too much.
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4.5/5
Achievement Difficulty: 4/10
People say the achievements for this game are an absolute sinch, but it really isn't that way. The achievements will come easily only after 5 hours or so into the game when you really start rolling. Before that though, you'll only be able to get a couple. But even so, this is a game that's so fun to play you won't even care if you get many achievements for. It's just a blast to play.
Game Review ( NBA Street: Homecourt - 360 )
Graphics: 3.75/5 The graphics look alright. Nothing "awesome" here. The dunks are cool, the game runs fine, but there are better looking games out there.
Sound: 4.5/5 The players talking on the court is a great idea, but they often repeat the same thing, and you'd think they have down syndrome when they ask the score after every basket.
Control: 4.5/5 Once again, NBA Street has some simple controls. Two buttons for tricks, and shoot and pass. That's about it. Simple, but good, controls.
Fun: 4/5 NBASHC isn't the best game ever - it's repetetive, you'll often do the same dunks, and the game isn't that fun. It's a good pick up and play game, but it could be better. Definitely a good game for achievement whores, though.
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3.75/5
Achievement Difficulty: 3/10
Near effortless. There are some online ones you may have trouble getting unless you can get someone to help you get them on purpose, but all the other ones are really simple and straightforward. Shouldn't have too much trouble getting at least 700-800 in this game.
Sound: 4.5/5 The players talking on the court is a great idea, but they often repeat the same thing, and you'd think they have down syndrome when they ask the score after every basket.
Control: 4.5/5 Once again, NBA Street has some simple controls. Two buttons for tricks, and shoot and pass. That's about it. Simple, but good, controls.
Fun: 4/5 NBASHC isn't the best game ever - it's repetetive, you'll often do the same dunks, and the game isn't that fun. It's a good pick up and play game, but it could be better. Definitely a good game for achievement whores, though.
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3.75/5
Achievement Difficulty: 3/10
Near effortless. There are some online ones you may have trouble getting unless you can get someone to help you get them on purpose, but all the other ones are really simple and straightforward. Shouldn't have too much trouble getting at least 700-800 in this game.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Game Review ( Boom Boom Rocket - 360 Arcade )
Graphics: 4.25/5 Vivid, interesting, and colorful. Very nice to the eye. The only real flaw is that you always play with the same city in the background, which is a little annoying, but it's okay.
Sound: 4.5/5 The game sounds good. There are 10 tracks, and the game costs $10. The songs for the most part are pretty fun and interesting, but where are the bonus track packs?
Control: 4.25/5 Takes time to get used to, but it's a very simple idea. Press the buttons on screen as the scroll past the line on top.
Fun: 4/5 Boom Boom Rocket is a game of potential. It's $10 for 10 songs, so it's not a BAD price, but it probably should be lower, and the game isn't very deep. A track pack would be great, and it'd be nice to see one available soon.
4/5
Achievement Difficulty: 5/10
Pretty easy achievements here. One of the few you'll likely struggle on would be to get an A on any song on hard. You can get 95% of the notes, use your power-ups, too, and still only get a B. Also another tough one to get, would be to unlock all the fireworks. 10 songs, 3 difficulties, means 30 fireworks. And some of the songs on hard are VERY tough. You'll still be able to get quite a few achievements.
Sound: 4.5/5 The game sounds good. There are 10 tracks, and the game costs $10. The songs for the most part are pretty fun and interesting, but where are the bonus track packs?
Control: 4.25/5 Takes time to get used to, but it's a very simple idea. Press the buttons on screen as the scroll past the line on top.
Fun: 4/5 Boom Boom Rocket is a game of potential. It's $10 for 10 songs, so it's not a BAD price, but it probably should be lower, and the game isn't very deep. A track pack would be great, and it'd be nice to see one available soon.
4/5
Achievement Difficulty: 5/10
Pretty easy achievements here. One of the few you'll likely struggle on would be to get an A on any song on hard. You can get 95% of the notes, use your power-ups, too, and still only get a B. Also another tough one to get, would be to unlock all the fireworks. 10 songs, 3 difficulties, means 30 fireworks. And some of the songs on hard are VERY tough. You'll still be able to get quite a few achievements.
Game Review ( Worms - 360 Arcade )
Graphics: 4.25/5 They're in HD, the game is really colorful, and it looks nice. Thing is though, there's only a few levels to play in ( 3 to be exact ) and you'll really only use a few different weapons over and over again.
Sound: 4/5 Same background musical score throughout the whole game. The worms say little words here and there, and you can even create your own team and choose the name of the team, name of the worms, and choose what language they speak.
Control: 4.25/5 Definitely takes time getting used to. The wind effects the direction of your bazooka shots, and it gets annoying, because the A.I. will get a dead on shot or near dead on shot 95% of the time, and it's sickening.
Fun: 4.5/5 Worms is an awesome game. Only 3 levels, but it's worth it. There are 20 challenges you can play through on single player, which get progressively tougher, and if you beat them all, you get an achievement. Also, the achievement list is great. There is also online multiplayer, so you can play on Xbox Live, which is pretty fun, too. For $10, some people may be skeptical, but this is a great game. Is it frustrating at times? Yes. Does it take patience? Yes. Is it for anyone? No. But this game is a lot of fun to play.
4.5/5
( Ideas for teams: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) , and Seinfeld )
Achievement Difficulty: 3/10
Some of the achievements may take awhile - mainly Gold Damage, which you have to get 20,000 total point damage, which is basically the equivalent of killing 2,000 100 health worms, which would take a VERY long time. Other than that, most of the achievements are managable. It's a great achievement list.
Sound: 4/5 Same background musical score throughout the whole game. The worms say little words here and there, and you can even create your own team and choose the name of the team, name of the worms, and choose what language they speak.
Control: 4.25/5 Definitely takes time getting used to. The wind effects the direction of your bazooka shots, and it gets annoying, because the A.I. will get a dead on shot or near dead on shot 95% of the time, and it's sickening.
Fun: 4.5/5 Worms is an awesome game. Only 3 levels, but it's worth it. There are 20 challenges you can play through on single player, which get progressively tougher, and if you beat them all, you get an achievement. Also, the achievement list is great. There is also online multiplayer, so you can play on Xbox Live, which is pretty fun, too. For $10, some people may be skeptical, but this is a great game. Is it frustrating at times? Yes. Does it take patience? Yes. Is it for anyone? No. But this game is a lot of fun to play.
4.5/5
( Ideas for teams: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) , and Seinfeld )
Achievement Difficulty: 3/10
Some of the achievements may take awhile - mainly Gold Damage, which you have to get 20,000 total point damage, which is basically the equivalent of killing 2,000 100 health worms, which would take a VERY long time. Other than that, most of the achievements are managable. It's a great achievement list.
Monday, May 14, 2007
DVD Review ( Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Volume 2 )
[*] Indicates a "Season Great"
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[*]Return of the Shredder: 4.5/5 Shredder is on his own when he learns Krang won't let him use Foot soldiers or Rock warriors. Shredder gives the turtles a bad rap by hiring goons to do bank robberies and the like. The turtles soon defeat Baxter's new rat catcher, but him and Shredder get away.
[*]The Incredible Shrinking Turtles: 4.5/5 The turtles rescue an alien pilot that fell into the Central Park pond who tells them to find the "Three Fragments of Zarnov" before they get into the wrong hands. The alien gives the turtles a Crystal Converger to help them locate the fragments. However, Shredder is over hearing and tries to find the fragments himself.
It Came From Beneath The Sewers: 4.25/5 Shredder gets the second fragment and manages to turn a big plant onto the turtles. The turtles stop it, but still have to get the second fragment, which Shredder now has.
[*]The Mean Machines: 4.5/5 Shredder turns construction vehicles on the turtles as they try to locate the second fragment, which Shredder is using to do so. Shredder tells Krang that the three fragments will give him unlimited power, but Krang doesn't believe him.
[*]Curse of the Evil Eye: 4.5/5 Shredder gets the final fragment while the turtles are still looking for it. While Baxter has Shredder's helemet for a brief time, he discovers that the powers do not work on gold. After the Crystal Converger came in contact with the three fragments, it began to self-destruct. Shredder throws it in the lake, and it makes a minor explosion.
[*]The Case of the Killer Pizzas: 4.5/5 Eggs from Dimension-X find their way onto 3 different pizzas from a Pizza Bake-Off in New York. The eggs hatch in the microwave, and it's up to the turtles to stop them. ( Who else would it be? )
[*]Enter The Fly: 4.5/5 Baxter gets turned into a fly in an accident in Dimension-X, and soon comes back to earth and gets back on Shredder's side to find the turtles.
Invasion of the Punk Frogs: 4.25/5 Shredder finds 4 mutant frogs and uses him to his advantage against the turtles.
[*]Splinter No More: 4.5/5 Splinter gets turned back into a human temporarily, but the spell fades off, and he also finds humans are jerks. Meanwhile, the turtles learn Shredder has the capability of joining any dimension, and they have to stop him.
New York's Shiniest: 4.25/5 April gets a robot named REX-1 attatched to her, and he is her "Server and protector". April finds him to be annoying, but he turns out to be a big help when Shredder makes himself a robot army.
Teenagers From Dimension-X: 4.25/5 The neutrinos visit earth yet again and tell the turtles about Shredder's next plan to kill them. Shredder finds out that the neutrinos know, and he sends Rocksteady and Bebop to find them.
The Catwoman From Channel 6: 3.75/5 April accidentally gets turned into a catwoman when she is trying to do a news story at a local lab.
Return Of The Technodrome: The Technodrome returns to earth after Krang tells Shredder to attach a device to the hydroelectric plant at Niagra Falls. Krang and Shredder have the turtles in a bad spot, and right as he's about to shoot them, Krang discovers that the Technodrome doesn't have enough energy to do so. An earthquake occurs from the Technodrome, and the whole thing falls down to the center of the earth. Are Krang and Shredder gone forever?
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TMNT: Season 2 is a pretty good season. It is solid almost all the way through, but a few not-so-hot episodes just fill the season up to 13 episodes. Still a good season, but I'm sure better ones are on the way.
4.5/5
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[*]Return of the Shredder: 4.5/5 Shredder is on his own when he learns Krang won't let him use Foot soldiers or Rock warriors. Shredder gives the turtles a bad rap by hiring goons to do bank robberies and the like. The turtles soon defeat Baxter's new rat catcher, but him and Shredder get away.
[*]The Incredible Shrinking Turtles: 4.5/5 The turtles rescue an alien pilot that fell into the Central Park pond who tells them to find the "Three Fragments of Zarnov" before they get into the wrong hands. The alien gives the turtles a Crystal Converger to help them locate the fragments. However, Shredder is over hearing and tries to find the fragments himself.
It Came From Beneath The Sewers: 4.25/5 Shredder gets the second fragment and manages to turn a big plant onto the turtles. The turtles stop it, but still have to get the second fragment, which Shredder now has.
[*]The Mean Machines: 4.5/5 Shredder turns construction vehicles on the turtles as they try to locate the second fragment, which Shredder is using to do so. Shredder tells Krang that the three fragments will give him unlimited power, but Krang doesn't believe him.
[*]Curse of the Evil Eye: 4.5/5 Shredder gets the final fragment while the turtles are still looking for it. While Baxter has Shredder's helemet for a brief time, he discovers that the powers do not work on gold. After the Crystal Converger came in contact with the three fragments, it began to self-destruct. Shredder throws it in the lake, and it makes a minor explosion.
[*]The Case of the Killer Pizzas: 4.5/5 Eggs from Dimension-X find their way onto 3 different pizzas from a Pizza Bake-Off in New York. The eggs hatch in the microwave, and it's up to the turtles to stop them. ( Who else would it be? )
[*]Enter The Fly: 4.5/5 Baxter gets turned into a fly in an accident in Dimension-X, and soon comes back to earth and gets back on Shredder's side to find the turtles.
Invasion of the Punk Frogs: 4.25/5 Shredder finds 4 mutant frogs and uses him to his advantage against the turtles.
[*]Splinter No More: 4.5/5 Splinter gets turned back into a human temporarily, but the spell fades off, and he also finds humans are jerks. Meanwhile, the turtles learn Shredder has the capability of joining any dimension, and they have to stop him.
New York's Shiniest: 4.25/5 April gets a robot named REX-1 attatched to her, and he is her "Server and protector". April finds him to be annoying, but he turns out to be a big help when Shredder makes himself a robot army.
Teenagers From Dimension-X: 4.25/5 The neutrinos visit earth yet again and tell the turtles about Shredder's next plan to kill them. Shredder finds out that the neutrinos know, and he sends Rocksteady and Bebop to find them.
The Catwoman From Channel 6: 3.75/5 April accidentally gets turned into a catwoman when she is trying to do a news story at a local lab.
Return Of The Technodrome: The Technodrome returns to earth after Krang tells Shredder to attach a device to the hydroelectric plant at Niagra Falls. Krang and Shredder have the turtles in a bad spot, and right as he's about to shoot them, Krang discovers that the Technodrome doesn't have enough energy to do so. An earthquake occurs from the Technodrome, and the whole thing falls down to the center of the earth. Are Krang and Shredder gone forever?
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TMNT: Season 2 is a pretty good season. It is solid almost all the way through, but a few not-so-hot episodes just fill the season up to 13 episodes. Still a good season, but I'm sure better ones are on the way.
4.5/5
Game Review ( Pacman - 360 Arcade )
Graphics: 2.75/5 Maybe dubbed up a little bit, but look just as they did back in the day.
Sound: 3.5/5 Still the same noises as before. The pellets being eaten, the power pellets sound, and the cut scenes.
Control: 3/5 Doesn't control well - since the D-Pad on the controller blows. However, this game still plays very will with the analog stick.
Fun: 3.25/5 It's just Pacman on the 360. Majority of people who purchase this will be in it for the achievement points. ( like me ) If you like the game, that's a bonus. Other then that, this is just another average 360 Arcade game.
3.25/5
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Achievement Difficulty: 2/10
11 of the 12 are all EASY to get within about a half hour to an hour. That all added up equals 170 points. The last achievement you have to get is called "Perfect", where you have to get all four of the ghosts with all four of the pellets. Seems easy, it's not. If you want to try this, go on level one. That reason alone is the only reason the difficulty gets a 2 and not a 1 out of 10.
Sound: 3.5/5 Still the same noises as before. The pellets being eaten, the power pellets sound, and the cut scenes.
Control: 3/5 Doesn't control well - since the D-Pad on the controller blows. However, this game still plays very will with the analog stick.
Fun: 3.25/5 It's just Pacman on the 360. Majority of people who purchase this will be in it for the achievement points. ( like me ) If you like the game, that's a bonus. Other then that, this is just another average 360 Arcade game.
3.25/5
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Achievement Difficulty: 2/10
11 of the 12 are all EASY to get within about a half hour to an hour. That all added up equals 170 points. The last achievement you have to get is called "Perfect", where you have to get all four of the ghosts with all four of the pellets. Seems easy, it's not. If you want to try this, go on level one. That reason alone is the only reason the difficulty gets a 2 and not a 1 out of 10.
Sunday, May 06, 2007
DVD Review ( Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Volume 1 )
Volume 1 features the five episodes from season 1, as well as 4 bonus episodes that are from season 10.
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[*] would normally indicate a "Season Great", but all of them are, so the [*]s aren't relevant.
Turtle Tracks: 5/5 In the pilot episode, news reporter April O'Neil investigates a recent break-in supposedly by ninjas. The turtles find April and take her back to their sewer, where she finds out that they aren't freakshows. We learn how the turtles were turned to mutants, and how Splinter became a rat. Shredder prevents the turtles from reaching the Technodrome by flooding the skyscraper it's connected to.
Enter the Shredder: 5/5 Shredder captures Splinter in the Technodrome, and the turtles enter. The turtles have to face Shredder and his newly created mutants Bebop and Rocksteady.
A Thing About Rats: 5/5 A scientist, Baxter Stockman, invents a rat cathing robot called a Mouser, and Shredder has him make more. Shredder has the Mousers find the turtles, Splinter, and April O'Neil, but the turtles are there to attack them. While Michelangelo encounters Krang, Krang tells him where to find the master control, who only does so because he's mad at Shredder for not giving him a new body. Michelangelo destroys the building, and all the Mousers.
Hot-Rodding Teenagers From Dimension-X: 4.5/5 Things called Neutrionos come through Dimension-X and run into the turtles. After a misunderstanding, they all realize they are on the same page and want the same things. Eventually, the turtles lure the Rock Warriors into the Technodrome, but can't capture Shredder.
Shredder and Splintered: 5/5 Krang gets a new body, and grows huge in New York City. Splinter sacrifices his only chance at becoming human again to save the turtles from being turned back into normal turtles. Soon after, Donatello reverses the suction of Dimension-X, resulting in the Technodrome, Shredder, and Krang, all being sucked into Dimension-X.
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Overall, this DVD is phenomenal. It has all 5 of the episodes in the first season, plus 4 bonus episodes - although they are pointless. The 4 bonus episodes are from the 10th season, and are completely random. It's hard to find out what's going on, and you'll find yourself very confused. Those four episodes are pretty much useless and pointless, but the first season was great. Short, but great. However, the DVD is straightforward. There are the five episodes, but no subtitles, commentary, chapter cuts in episodes, or even bonus features. Either way, TMNT: Volume 1 is absolutely great. It's cheap, but worth it. Definitely worth it.
5/5
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[*] would normally indicate a "Season Great", but all of them are, so the [*]s aren't relevant.
Turtle Tracks: 5/5 In the pilot episode, news reporter April O'Neil investigates a recent break-in supposedly by ninjas. The turtles find April and take her back to their sewer, where she finds out that they aren't freakshows. We learn how the turtles were turned to mutants, and how Splinter became a rat. Shredder prevents the turtles from reaching the Technodrome by flooding the skyscraper it's connected to.
Enter the Shredder: 5/5 Shredder captures Splinter in the Technodrome, and the turtles enter. The turtles have to face Shredder and his newly created mutants Bebop and Rocksteady.
A Thing About Rats: 5/5 A scientist, Baxter Stockman, invents a rat cathing robot called a Mouser, and Shredder has him make more. Shredder has the Mousers find the turtles, Splinter, and April O'Neil, but the turtles are there to attack them. While Michelangelo encounters Krang, Krang tells him where to find the master control, who only does so because he's mad at Shredder for not giving him a new body. Michelangelo destroys the building, and all the Mousers.
Hot-Rodding Teenagers From Dimension-X: 4.5/5 Things called Neutrionos come through Dimension-X and run into the turtles. After a misunderstanding, they all realize they are on the same page and want the same things. Eventually, the turtles lure the Rock Warriors into the Technodrome, but can't capture Shredder.
Shredder and Splintered: 5/5 Krang gets a new body, and grows huge in New York City. Splinter sacrifices his only chance at becoming human again to save the turtles from being turned back into normal turtles. Soon after, Donatello reverses the suction of Dimension-X, resulting in the Technodrome, Shredder, and Krang, all being sucked into Dimension-X.
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Overall, this DVD is phenomenal. It has all 5 of the episodes in the first season, plus 4 bonus episodes - although they are pointless. The 4 bonus episodes are from the 10th season, and are completely random. It's hard to find out what's going on, and you'll find yourself very confused. Those four episodes are pretty much useless and pointless, but the first season was great. Short, but great. However, the DVD is straightforward. There are the five episodes, but no subtitles, commentary, chapter cuts in episodes, or even bonus features. Either way, TMNT: Volume 1 is absolutely great. It's cheap, but worth it. Definitely worth it.
5/5
Friday, May 04, 2007
Game Review ( Rayman Raving Rabbids - 360 )
Graphics: 3/5 Sharper, but not much better than the Wii version. The game also has some frequent loading times. Before and after everything you do, the game loads. Not for a long time, only for about 10 seconds, but it gets annoying after awhile. The game makes up for it somewhat by giving you a smooth running game.
Sound: 3.25/5 Same sound as the Wii verison, liked it there, you'd like it here. There are still the same music tracks, ( some good, some bad ) and the same annoying Rabbids screaming until you want to hang yourself.
Control: 3.75/5 Mixed bag. While the minigame where you play as Rayman on a dragon picking up pigs controls a billion times better than it did on the Wii, the main "boss" battles are absolutely annoying. The crosshairs move kind of funky-like, and it's very repetetive.
Fun: 3/5 Rayman Raving Rabbids, overall, is a completely pointless port from the Wii version. You can use your Xbox Live Vision Camera for this game, but all that would only make this a crappy new Eyetoy game. The game is just useless, unless you're an achievement whore. If you are just that, you will get at least 400 points out of this game, if you dare to play the entire repetetive story mode. After every four mini-games, ( One of which is always a press-to-the-beat-of-the-song type game ) you go into a door where you just end up using plungers to shoot at the Rabbids - just about every single time. These minigames aren't very gun, and they can take between 5 and 10 minutes. This may not seem long, but it sure does when you're playing it. Basically, this game is only for hardcore Rayman fans ( I don't know if I've ever heard of such a thing ) or achievement whores. ( Like me )
3/5
Achievement Difficulty: 5/10 The achievements are easy to get, since the minigames are so simple, but some of them would take some times outside of the story mode. However, you'll still be able to quite easily get 400 MSP. That is, if you're willing to play the whole story mode.
Sound: 3.25/5 Same sound as the Wii verison, liked it there, you'd like it here. There are still the same music tracks, ( some good, some bad ) and the same annoying Rabbids screaming until you want to hang yourself.
Control: 3.75/5 Mixed bag. While the minigame where you play as Rayman on a dragon picking up pigs controls a billion times better than it did on the Wii, the main "boss" battles are absolutely annoying. The crosshairs move kind of funky-like, and it's very repetetive.
Fun: 3/5 Rayman Raving Rabbids, overall, is a completely pointless port from the Wii version. You can use your Xbox Live Vision Camera for this game, but all that would only make this a crappy new Eyetoy game. The game is just useless, unless you're an achievement whore. If you are just that, you will get at least 400 points out of this game, if you dare to play the entire repetetive story mode. After every four mini-games, ( One of which is always a press-to-the-beat-of-the-song type game ) you go into a door where you just end up using plungers to shoot at the Rabbids - just about every single time. These minigames aren't very gun, and they can take between 5 and 10 minutes. This may not seem long, but it sure does when you're playing it. Basically, this game is only for hardcore Rayman fans ( I don't know if I've ever heard of such a thing ) or achievement whores. ( Like me )
3/5
Achievement Difficulty: 5/10 The achievements are easy to get, since the minigames are so simple, but some of them would take some times outside of the story mode. However, you'll still be able to quite easily get 400 MSP. That is, if you're willing to play the whole story mode.
Game Review ( Gears of War: Map Pack 2 )
The new Gears of War (GoW) map pack was just released on May 4th. The pack includes 4 brand new maps, for 800 MSP, which is $10.
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Bullet Marsh: 5/5 The best new map. Bullet Marsh basically takes place in a swamp with a narrow river and a bridge. Still, there is more to the map than you'd think. You can flank around to the enemies spawn from under the central bridge, but beware of Kryll - get to far into the darker areas and Kryll will injure you, so have a teammate near-by. Also, there is a generator on this map that either team can use to turn out the lights on different areas on the map, so again, watch for Kryll. Bullet Marsh is a fantastic map - definitely the best of the four. The weapons on this map are the Boomshot ( Located on the bridge ), the Sniper ( Located by each spawn behind a sand bag ), and the Torque Bow.
Garden: 4.5/5 Fun map. The biggest thing that makes this map different than the rest is the green house gas that can kill you if you're futsing around in the greenhouse when an enemy, or possibly even a person on your team, turns the switches on. In the greenhouse is the sniper. The other weapons on this map are the Hammer of Dawn, which is on the far side of the map in the middle, and the Boomshot is also on this map, on the far side in the middle. Garden looks great, and it's a lot of fun. One of my favorite new maps.
Process: 4.25/5 A little above average. If you've played the story mode, the map takes place in the Locust's "city", with the cave and the bright yellowish lava. I always wished there would be a map like this in online play, but it doesn't turn out to be as fun as I thought it'd be. It's still a fun map, though. The Sniper, Torque Bow, and Boomshot can be found on this map, all opposite of eachother. Where the Sniper is, the Boomshot is directly in front of it on the other side of the map.
Subway: 4.75/5 A great map, albeit a cheap one. This map throws you in a city with an abandoned subway. This map has Grenades, a Sniper, a Torque Bow, and a Boomshot. Depending on what spawn you get, the one by the Sniper is freakishly cheap. If you get to it in time, you can easily camp around it without ever worrying about being flanked. Grenades can be thrown into your little hang-out, but if you have good reflexes, you should be able to move with no damage done. The Sniper overlooks into a blown up wall down into the subway, where the Boomshot is, as well as stairs to get outside the building - this is where just about all the action is at the beginning of the round. There is also an underground passage ( Underground railroad, essentially ) that you can take to walk to the opposing team's spawn. Subway is a great map, but the only real flaw is the rain. It downpours in this map, and it's sometimes hard to tell exactly where you're going.
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The new map pack for Gears of War isn't free like the previous pack was, but this is all worth it. Being 800 MSP/$10 is a pretty reasonable price. If you do the math, it only costs $2.50 per map, which is a great deal, because all four are a blast to play. Many people may be frustrated at the fact that the maps weren't available for free, but it's Microsoft... what do you want? Epic wanted to make the maps free, but Microsoft wouldn't let them. You should know though if you aren't willing to fork over the cash for the new maps, that in about 3-6 months the maps will be completely free. An exact date is unknown, but it will likely be at least 3 months. But why would you wait 3+ months for something as good as this? It's not even expensive! Any GoW fan would love these maps - definitely worth the price.
4.75/5
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Bullet Marsh: 5/5 The best new map. Bullet Marsh basically takes place in a swamp with a narrow river and a bridge. Still, there is more to the map than you'd think. You can flank around to the enemies spawn from under the central bridge, but beware of Kryll - get to far into the darker areas and Kryll will injure you, so have a teammate near-by. Also, there is a generator on this map that either team can use to turn out the lights on different areas on the map, so again, watch for Kryll. Bullet Marsh is a fantastic map - definitely the best of the four. The weapons on this map are the Boomshot ( Located on the bridge ), the Sniper ( Located by each spawn behind a sand bag ), and the Torque Bow.
Garden: 4.5/5 Fun map. The biggest thing that makes this map different than the rest is the green house gas that can kill you if you're futsing around in the greenhouse when an enemy, or possibly even a person on your team, turns the switches on. In the greenhouse is the sniper. The other weapons on this map are the Hammer of Dawn, which is on the far side of the map in the middle, and the Boomshot is also on this map, on the far side in the middle. Garden looks great, and it's a lot of fun. One of my favorite new maps.
Process: 4.25/5 A little above average. If you've played the story mode, the map takes place in the Locust's "city", with the cave and the bright yellowish lava. I always wished there would be a map like this in online play, but it doesn't turn out to be as fun as I thought it'd be. It's still a fun map, though. The Sniper, Torque Bow, and Boomshot can be found on this map, all opposite of eachother. Where the Sniper is, the Boomshot is directly in front of it on the other side of the map.
Subway: 4.75/5 A great map, albeit a cheap one. This map throws you in a city with an abandoned subway. This map has Grenades, a Sniper, a Torque Bow, and a Boomshot. Depending on what spawn you get, the one by the Sniper is freakishly cheap. If you get to it in time, you can easily camp around it without ever worrying about being flanked. Grenades can be thrown into your little hang-out, but if you have good reflexes, you should be able to move with no damage done. The Sniper overlooks into a blown up wall down into the subway, where the Boomshot is, as well as stairs to get outside the building - this is where just about all the action is at the beginning of the round. There is also an underground passage ( Underground railroad, essentially ) that you can take to walk to the opposing team's spawn. Subway is a great map, but the only real flaw is the rain. It downpours in this map, and it's sometimes hard to tell exactly where you're going.
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The new map pack for Gears of War isn't free like the previous pack was, but this is all worth it. Being 800 MSP/$10 is a pretty reasonable price. If you do the math, it only costs $2.50 per map, which is a great deal, because all four are a blast to play. Many people may be frustrated at the fact that the maps weren't available for free, but it's Microsoft... what do you want? Epic wanted to make the maps free, but Microsoft wouldn't let them. You should know though if you aren't willing to fork over the cash for the new maps, that in about 3-6 months the maps will be completely free. An exact date is unknown, but it will likely be at least 3 months. But why would you wait 3+ months for something as good as this? It's not even expensive! Any GoW fan would love these maps - definitely worth the price.
4.75/5
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Lack of Reviews
I've been playing TMNT (360) for achievement points, and MLB 2K7 (360), and that's why I have only reviewed a few games this month.
My next review will be: Rayman Raving Rabbids and/or Pokemon Diamond
[47]
My next review will be: Rayman Raving Rabbids and/or Pokemon Diamond
[47]
Game Review ( iQuiz - iPod Video )
Graphics: 3/5 Nice and colorful, but not much to speak of. They look okay, but nothing amazing.
Sound: 1.5/5 The same repeating song in the background is about 98% of what you'll hear.
Control: 4/5 Simple as it gets. Anyone can control this game.
Fun: 3.75/5 This game is only 99 cents, but for good reason. When you do the quiz for the music on your iPod, it only does about 5-10 different bands, even if you have about 1000+ songs, and several different artists. Why it does this, I don't know, but it's pretty stupid. The music, movie, and TV trivia is okay, but hard, and it seems the questions are for girls, since the shows are mostly "girl shows". But for 99 cents, you can't really say no. You can even create your own quizzes, too.
3.75/5
The number one thing I want to know: Why do they sometimes ask a question like "What artist's album cover is this?" when it says the band's name in big bold letters on it.
Sound: 1.5/5 The same repeating song in the background is about 98% of what you'll hear.
Control: 4/5 Simple as it gets. Anyone can control this game.
Fun: 3.75/5 This game is only 99 cents, but for good reason. When you do the quiz for the music on your iPod, it only does about 5-10 different bands, even if you have about 1000+ songs, and several different artists. Why it does this, I don't know, but it's pretty stupid. The music, movie, and TV trivia is okay, but hard, and it seems the questions are for girls, since the shows are mostly "girl shows". But for 99 cents, you can't really say no. You can even create your own quizzes, too.
3.75/5
The number one thing I want to know: Why do they sometimes ask a question like "What artist's album cover is this?" when it says the band's name in big bold letters on it.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Game Review ( Halo 2 - Xbox )
Graphics: 5/5 Although somewhat dated now, for a game that came out in 2004, these graphics are awesome. The enviroments don't look great, but hey, it's an Xbox game, not a 360 game. Still, the character models look great, and the overall experience is heightened thanks to the graphics.
Sound: 5/5 Phenomenal! Absolutely everything sounds fantastic - not a flaw here. The guns, the explosions, the vehicles, all perfect.
Control: 4.5/5 There is definitely a learning curve. The vehicles control ( to me ) very awkwardly, and the semi-auto aim gives noobs the ability to own even the best Halo players, but the control couldn't have been much better.
Fun: 4.5/5 The story sucks, so I won't bother with that, but the online play is great. A lot of players leave games for no apparent reason, though, which is frustrating, but it's a good experience - at times. Halo 2 is 80% luck. Whoever can get to the sniper first, for example, will have a huge advantage - a one to two shot kill depending on the location of the shot - and it's really annoying. So basically, if you're lucky enough to get one of the good weapons lying around, nice job, because you're likely to rape before you're shot from behind, which happens at least 75% of the time. So although Halo 2 is a good online experience, it's also a frustrating one, ultimately resulting in me giving this game a 4.5 and no higher. Everything else is great - graphics, sound, and control, but the unfair weapon advantage is annoying. At least you'll never get bored - since there are several game modes and maps to choose from. You can also start parties in which you can invite friends, and customize your character. Halo 2 should definitely be experienced by any Xbox or Xbox 360 owner. ( However be warned 360 owners, when playing on the 360, you will see in about 25% of the games you play a "fog". It's a slight masking over the map and it looks like you're playing in fog. It's very annoying and will likely result in deaths. Also, in the corner, you will see Xbox Live Sign-In, which is just as stupid. Hopefully, this will be patched up soon.
4.5/5
Sound: 5/5 Phenomenal! Absolutely everything sounds fantastic - not a flaw here. The guns, the explosions, the vehicles, all perfect.
Control: 4.5/5 There is definitely a learning curve. The vehicles control ( to me ) very awkwardly, and the semi-auto aim gives noobs the ability to own even the best Halo players, but the control couldn't have been much better.
Fun: 4.5/5 The story sucks, so I won't bother with that, but the online play is great. A lot of players leave games for no apparent reason, though, which is frustrating, but it's a good experience - at times. Halo 2 is 80% luck. Whoever can get to the sniper first, for example, will have a huge advantage - a one to two shot kill depending on the location of the shot - and it's really annoying. So basically, if you're lucky enough to get one of the good weapons lying around, nice job, because you're likely to rape before you're shot from behind, which happens at least 75% of the time. So although Halo 2 is a good online experience, it's also a frustrating one, ultimately resulting in me giving this game a 4.5 and no higher. Everything else is great - graphics, sound, and control, but the unfair weapon advantage is annoying. At least you'll never get bored - since there are several game modes and maps to choose from. You can also start parties in which you can invite friends, and customize your character. Halo 2 should definitely be experienced by any Xbox or Xbox 360 owner. ( However be warned 360 owners, when playing on the 360, you will see in about 25% of the games you play a "fog". It's a slight masking over the map and it looks like you're playing in fog. It's very annoying and will likely result in deaths. Also, in the corner, you will see Xbox Live Sign-In, which is just as stupid. Hopefully, this will be patched up soon.
4.5/5
Game Review ( Guitar Hero 2 Track Pack 1,2,3 - 360 )
( Note: These "Track Packs" were just released on April 11th )
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Track Pack 1:
"Bark at the Moon" Ozzy Osbourne
"Hey You" The Exies
"Ace of Spades" Motorhead
Track Pack 2:
"Killer Queen" Queen
"Take it Off" The Donnas
"Frankenstein" The Edgar Winter Group
Track Pack 3:
"Higher Ground" Red Hot Chili Peppers
"Infected" Bad Religion
"Stellar" Incubus
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The first thing I thought when I saw these packs was why they picked such random songs and threw them in random packs, and why they put some of the not-so-good songs for DLC ( downloadable content ) before some other better ones. Songs that I don't particularilly care for of these 9 songs are "Stellar" and "Hey You", followed by "Higher Ground". They just are some of the weaker songs from Guitar Hero I. I was also surprised at how the songs are to play even on expert. I've 100% "Stellar", "Infected", "Killer Queen", and "Hey You", and almost "Take it Off". Not to say that's a bad thing. I'd say the best pack of the three overall is probably Track Pack 2. All three of the songs are fun to play. "Take it Off" is downright catchy, "Frankenstein" is a classic, and "Killer Queen" isn't too bad, though easy. The best thing about these packs though, byfar, is that the hammer-ons and pull-offs actually work. People who played Guitar Hero I on the PS2 would know what I'm talking about. Even when you got the hammer-on right at the exact time, it sometimes wouldn't count, ending your combo, which was frustrating. This has been fixed in these packs, and "Frankenstein" is a great example. Here's my review for each song and pack overall.
"Bark at the Moon" 5/5: Fun and challenging on Hard and Expert.
"Hey You" 4.25/5: Repetetive and easy, but a pretty surprisingly fun song to play.
"Ace of Spades" 4.25/5: A pretty good rock song.
"Killer Queen" 4/5: Not a bad song, but annoying to play more than one or two times over in a short period.
"Take it Off" 5/5: One of my top 3 favorite songs of the 9. Catchy song from the movie Dodgeball.
"Frankenstein" 5/5: Another great song. Really fun to play, and a good song for hammer-on practice.
"Higher Ground" 4/5: Very redundant, and easy after a few tries.
"Infected" 5/5: This may be my favorite song of the 9. Although extremely easy on any difficulty, the rhythm is mesmerizing.
"Stellar: 4/5: Pretty repetetive, not too exciting to play, and very easy.
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DIFFICULTY: I will rate the packs 1-5 on overall difficulty. 1 being easiest, 5 being hardest.
Track Pack 1: 4.25/5 I can only say one thing - "Bark at the Moon". Toughest song of the 9, easily, and "Ace of Spades" is also a decent challenge to get a good score on.
Track Pack 2: 2/5 I'd say this is the easiest pack, but not by much next to number 3. "Frankenstein" may be hard for some, but once you learn hammer-ons, it's an easy song.
Track Pack 3: 1.75/5 Very easy. "Stellar" is an easy 100% every single time, "Infected" is about a 98%-99% every time, and "Higher Ground" really isn't challenging either. Easily the easiest of the three.
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BEST VALUE: I will rate the packs 1-5 on overall best value. 1 being worst, 5 being best.
Track Pack 1: 4/5 I'm rating this higher than I initially thought I would. "Bark at the Moon" is as good as ever, but "Hey You" is surprisingly fun this time around for whatever reason. "Ace of Spades" is also a pretty good song.
Track Pack 2: 4.5/5 Another solid pack. "Frankenstein" and "Take if Off" are awesome songs, but "Killer Queen" isn't the best song around. Still a great pack just for the other two, though.
Track Pack 3: 4/5 Not quite as good as Track Pack 2. "Infected" is just about my favorite song to play out of the 9, but "Higher Ground" is nothing special, and "Stellar" is boring. Like I've said, "Infected" is easy, but freakishly catchy.
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OVERALL BEST TO BUY:
It's a tough call, but if you only have enough money to get one Track Pack, as of now I would have to say Track Pack 2, but not by much. If you are obsessed with"Bark at the Moon", get Track Pack 1 - it still has two other good songs, and if you like a song in Track Pack 3 ( likely "Infected" ) the other two probably won't suit your style. So in a hard decision, the best pack to get by pretty much default is:
Track Pack 2
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Now overall overall, ( that makes no sense) all of the packs are pretty impressive. The hammer-ons work now, ( thank god ) and the sound seems to have improved in the songs. All three of these packs are definitely worth buying for the hardcore Guitar Hero fan. Even though not the best of songs have been released yet, it's highly likely that they will be soon.
4.5/5
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Track Pack 1:
"Bark at the Moon" Ozzy Osbourne
"Hey You" The Exies
"Ace of Spades" Motorhead
Track Pack 2:
"Killer Queen" Queen
"Take it Off" The Donnas
"Frankenstein" The Edgar Winter Group
Track Pack 3:
"Higher Ground" Red Hot Chili Peppers
"Infected" Bad Religion
"Stellar" Incubus
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The first thing I thought when I saw these packs was why they picked such random songs and threw them in random packs, and why they put some of the not-so-good songs for DLC ( downloadable content ) before some other better ones. Songs that I don't particularilly care for of these 9 songs are "Stellar" and "Hey You", followed by "Higher Ground". They just are some of the weaker songs from Guitar Hero I. I was also surprised at how the songs are to play even on expert. I've 100% "Stellar", "Infected", "Killer Queen", and "Hey You", and almost "Take it Off". Not to say that's a bad thing. I'd say the best pack of the three overall is probably Track Pack 2. All three of the songs are fun to play. "Take it Off" is downright catchy, "Frankenstein" is a classic, and "Killer Queen" isn't too bad, though easy. The best thing about these packs though, byfar, is that the hammer-ons and pull-offs actually work. People who played Guitar Hero I on the PS2 would know what I'm talking about. Even when you got the hammer-on right at the exact time, it sometimes wouldn't count, ending your combo, which was frustrating. This has been fixed in these packs, and "Frankenstein" is a great example. Here's my review for each song and pack overall.
"Bark at the Moon" 5/5: Fun and challenging on Hard and Expert.
"Hey You" 4.25/5: Repetetive and easy, but a pretty surprisingly fun song to play.
"Ace of Spades" 4.25/5: A pretty good rock song.
"Killer Queen" 4/5: Not a bad song, but annoying to play more than one or two times over in a short period.
"Take it Off" 5/5: One of my top 3 favorite songs of the 9. Catchy song from the movie Dodgeball.
"Frankenstein" 5/5: Another great song. Really fun to play, and a good song for hammer-on practice.
"Higher Ground" 4/5: Very redundant, and easy after a few tries.
"Infected" 5/5: This may be my favorite song of the 9. Although extremely easy on any difficulty, the rhythm is mesmerizing.
"Stellar: 4/5: Pretty repetetive, not too exciting to play, and very easy.
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DIFFICULTY: I will rate the packs 1-5 on overall difficulty. 1 being easiest, 5 being hardest.
Track Pack 1: 4.25/5 I can only say one thing - "Bark at the Moon". Toughest song of the 9, easily, and "Ace of Spades" is also a decent challenge to get a good score on.
Track Pack 2: 2/5 I'd say this is the easiest pack, but not by much next to number 3. "Frankenstein" may be hard for some, but once you learn hammer-ons, it's an easy song.
Track Pack 3: 1.75/5 Very easy. "Stellar" is an easy 100% every single time, "Infected" is about a 98%-99% every time, and "Higher Ground" really isn't challenging either. Easily the easiest of the three.
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BEST VALUE: I will rate the packs 1-5 on overall best value. 1 being worst, 5 being best.
Track Pack 1: 4/5 I'm rating this higher than I initially thought I would. "Bark at the Moon" is as good as ever, but "Hey You" is surprisingly fun this time around for whatever reason. "Ace of Spades" is also a pretty good song.
Track Pack 2: 4.5/5 Another solid pack. "Frankenstein" and "Take if Off" are awesome songs, but "Killer Queen" isn't the best song around. Still a great pack just for the other two, though.
Track Pack 3: 4/5 Not quite as good as Track Pack 2. "Infected" is just about my favorite song to play out of the 9, but "Higher Ground" is nothing special, and "Stellar" is boring. Like I've said, "Infected" is easy, but freakishly catchy.
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OVERALL BEST TO BUY:
It's a tough call, but if you only have enough money to get one Track Pack, as of now I would have to say Track Pack 2, but not by much. If you are obsessed with"Bark at the Moon", get Track Pack 1 - it still has two other good songs, and if you like a song in Track Pack 3 ( likely "Infected" ) the other two probably won't suit your style. So in a hard decision, the best pack to get by pretty much default is:
Track Pack 2
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Now overall overall, ( that makes no sense) all of the packs are pretty impressive. The hammer-ons work now, ( thank god ) and the sound seems to have improved in the songs. All three of these packs are definitely worth buying for the hardcore Guitar Hero fan. Even though not the best of songs have been released yet, it's highly likely that they will be soon.
4.5/5
Monday, April 09, 2007
Game Review ( TMNT - 360 )
Graphics: 2.5/5 Mediocre. The turtles look bland, the enviroments, while creative, offer nothing impressive. This game definitely isn't eye candy. There are, however, cut scenes straight from the movie, which is pretty cool, as well as downloadable mini-videos and pictures that you buy with coins that you get while playing the game.
Sound: 2.75/5 Not much better than the graphics - I like the voice actors in cut scenes, but in fighting stages, the same line is repeated over and over again. The whacks and the like aren't awesome either, just average.
Control: 3/5 Overly simple. 90% of this game involves jumping from place to place, with sometimes terrible camera angles bugging you. You basically press A, and when you're fighting, press B, and that's just about it.
Fun: 3/5 Overall, this game is just shallow, shallow, shallow. It's pretty easy to get through, and any man, woman, or child can play through this game and beat it, since there are checkpoints around every corner - literally. So while the game is flawed and doesn't make for the most enjoyable time in the long run, it has its moments, ( albeit very rare ) and it's a good game for fans of the TMNT franchise. Although, most people will simply rent this game just to get a nice fat 1000 achievement points.
2.75/5
Sound: 2.75/5 Not much better than the graphics - I like the voice actors in cut scenes, but in fighting stages, the same line is repeated over and over again. The whacks and the like aren't awesome either, just average.
Control: 3/5 Overly simple. 90% of this game involves jumping from place to place, with sometimes terrible camera angles bugging you. You basically press A, and when you're fighting, press B, and that's just about it.
Fun: 3/5 Overall, this game is just shallow, shallow, shallow. It's pretty easy to get through, and any man, woman, or child can play through this game and beat it, since there are checkpoints around every corner - literally. So while the game is flawed and doesn't make for the most enjoyable time in the long run, it has its moments, ( albeit very rare ) and it's a good game for fans of the TMNT franchise. Although, most people will simply rent this game just to get a nice fat 1000 achievement points.
2.75/5
Friday, April 06, 2007
Game Review ( Guitar Hero 2 - 360 )
Graphics: 4/5 Although slightly upgraded, not much has changed. The only thing that really has is your character model. The other members of your band look virtually the same as they did in Guitar Hero 2 for the PS2. The venues look very similar, too. The graphics look sharper, and the lights look better, but that's about it. Also, the loading times seem to have sped up a little bit, but I don't know if they actually are faster or not.
Sound: 5/5 Once again, Guitar Hero 2 delivers. Except this time, the songs sound better than on the PS2 version, and clearer. The new songs also sound like the real thing ( The Trooper, Salvation, Dead!, Billion Dollar Babies, Rock 'N Roll Hoochie Koo, Possum Kingdom, Life Wasted, and Hush ). Especially Dead!, since it is a master track. The sound is the same as GH2 for the PS2, but has only improved thanks to the 360.
Control: 5/5 The control remains the same. The hammer-on/pull-off technique is the same as GH2 PS2 and not like they were in Guitar Hero 1, where they were frustrating and near impossible to do. The buttons still work well in the songs and feel as close as it gets to playing the real thing.
Fun: 5/5 Still as fun as ever. With the inclusion of leaderboards, it makes one of my favorite games ever even better. The new songs are also a blast to play, for the most part, and the best part is definitely the downloadable content. Although no EXACT details have been released as to when the first downloadable song pack will come out, it is stated by many that it will likely be released one week after the game's launch. The fact that Guitar Hero 2 for the 360 has improved in every way is good enough, but now the addition of downloadable songs, themes, and gamer pictures have made this game better than ever. Whether you've played Guitar Hero 1 or 2 or not, you should definitely buy Guitar Hero 2 if you have a 360. It's easily the 360's game of the year so far.
5/5
Sound: 5/5 Once again, Guitar Hero 2 delivers. Except this time, the songs sound better than on the PS2 version, and clearer. The new songs also sound like the real thing ( The Trooper, Salvation, Dead!, Billion Dollar Babies, Rock 'N Roll Hoochie Koo, Possum Kingdom, Life Wasted, and Hush ). Especially Dead!, since it is a master track. The sound is the same as GH2 for the PS2, but has only improved thanks to the 360.
Control: 5/5 The control remains the same. The hammer-on/pull-off technique is the same as GH2 PS2 and not like they were in Guitar Hero 1, where they were frustrating and near impossible to do. The buttons still work well in the songs and feel as close as it gets to playing the real thing.
Fun: 5/5 Still as fun as ever. With the inclusion of leaderboards, it makes one of my favorite games ever even better. The new songs are also a blast to play, for the most part, and the best part is definitely the downloadable content. Although no EXACT details have been released as to when the first downloadable song pack will come out, it is stated by many that it will likely be released one week after the game's launch. The fact that Guitar Hero 2 for the 360 has improved in every way is good enough, but now the addition of downloadable songs, themes, and gamer pictures have made this game better than ever. Whether you've played Guitar Hero 1 or 2 or not, you should definitely buy Guitar Hero 2 if you have a 360. It's easily the 360's game of the year so far.
5/5
Monday, March 19, 2007
DVD Review ( Friends: Season 8 )
Friends has had some rocky seasons the past few years, but they have slowly but surely been getting better. Let's see how season 8 turns out.
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[*] Indicates a "Season Great"
The One After "I Do": 4.25/5 Everyone finds out that Rachel is really the one that is pregnant, but no one knows the father yet; Ross tries to impress one of Monica's co-workers.
[*]The One With The Red Sweater: 4.5/5 Ross and Chandler attend another wedding and take fake pictures at another person's wedding; Joey finds a red sweater, and Phoebe may think it's Tag's, Rachel's assistant.
[*]The One Where Rachel Tells: 4.5/5 Rachel tells everyone that Ross is the father of her baby; Monica and Chandler get jealous when another honeymoon couple gets everything before they do.
[*]The One With The Videotape: 5/5 Ross and Rachel argue who came onto who the night Ross knocked her up; Everyone finds out by a line Joey started that Rachel came onto Ross first; Chandler and Monica get a fake number from the couple at the honeymoon.
[*]The One With Rachel's Date: 4.75/5 Phoebe dates a guy that she wants to dump the same day Monica wants to fire him; Ross finds out Chandler's been called Toby by a co-worker for 5 years; Joey gets Rachel a date with one of his co-stars.
[*]The One With The Halloween Party: 5/5 At Monica's Halloween party, Joey dresses up like Chandler, and Chandler dressed up with a rabbit. Ross comes as "Spudnik", and Chandler and Ross arm wrestly to see is stronger; Phoebe meet's Ursula's fiance and finds out she's lied to him about nearly everything.
[*]The One With The Stain: 4.5/5 Rachel wants to get an apartment in Ross's building, but she finds out that the lady in the apartment that she thought was dead is still alive; Chandler hires a made, and Monica thinks that she is stealing her clothes; Phoebe reminds Eric, Ursula's fiance, too much of Ursula.
[*]The One With The Stripper: 4.5/5 Chandler finds out Monica had a bachelorette party, so she gives him one, not knowing the "stripper" she hired was actually a hooker. Rachel tells her dad that she's pregnant, but he's furious when he finds out she's not marrying Ross, so he confronts Ross personally.
[*]The One With The Rumor: 5/5 Monica invites a friend from high school to her Thanksgiving dinner; Joey vows to eat an entire turkey; Phoebe and Chandler pretend to watch football to avoid helping out. ( Guest starring: Brad Pitt )
[*]The One With The Boots: 4.5/5 Monica buys very expensive boots and promises Chandler to wear them all the time. After a while they are killing Monica's feet but she doesn't tell it to Chandler.
The One With Ross's Step Forward: 4/5 Ross freaks out when Mona wants to send out joint Christmas cards and wants to have "the talk". Chandler tries to get out of spending time with his boss.
[*]The One Where Joey Dates Rachel: 5/5 Now that Rachel can't go on dates anymore due her pregnancy Joey decides to take her on a date. Monica and Chandler get a Ms. Pacman arcade game for a wedding present; Ross is late for his classes.
[*]The One Where Chandler Takes A Bath: 5/5 Monica turns Chandler on to the concept of a bath to relax. Rachel and Ross learn the baby's sex (a girl). Everybody finds out about Joey's feelings for Rachel.
The One With The Secret Closet: 4.25/5 Chandler becomes obsessed with finding out what is behind the door of Monica's secret closet. Phoebe feels betrayed when she discovers Monica has been using a different massage therapist.
[*] The One With The Birthing Video: 4.5/5 Phoebe gives a birthing video to Rachel. Monica, Rachel and Chandler freak out when they watch it.
[*] The One Where Joey Tells Rachel: 4.5/5 Joey confesses his love for Rachel, but Rachel politely and lovingly turns him down.
The One With The Tea Leaves: 4.25/5 Phoebe determines through tea leaves that she'll soon meet the man of her dreams.
[*] The One In Massapequa: 4.5/5 Monica writes a speech for her parent's 35th wedding anniversary. Phoebe dates Parker (Alec Baldwin), who's very enthusiastic about everything.
[*] The One With Joey's Interview: 4.5/5 Joey prepares for an interview with Soap Opera Digest, although he's afraid of appearing stupid, so he enlists his friends to make sure things go well.
[*]The One With The Baby Shower: 5/5 Phoebe and Monica prepare for Rachel's baby shower and forget to invite Rachel's mother. Joey auditions for a job as a game show host.
[*]The One With The Cooking Class: 4.5/5 Monica's cooking skills get a bad review in The Post. After confronting the critic who wrote it, she decides to join a cooking class, with Joey in tow.
[*]The One Where Rachel Is Late: 4.75/5 Joey invites Chandler to his movies premiere but Chandler falls asleep during it. Monica and Phoebe bet on when Rachel's baby will come. Rachel's water breaks.
The One Where Rachel Has A Baby (Pt. 1): 4.25/5 Monica and Chandler decide to have a baby; Rachel and Ross get a non-private room at the hospital.
[*]The One Where Rachel Has A Baby (Pt. 2): 4.75/5 Rachel delivers her baby after 47 hours of labor and names it Emma; Joey accidentally proposes to Rachel and she out of nowhere says yes.
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Friends: Season 8 is a good one. While there are a few forgetable episodes, several of them are absolutely fantastic. The One Where Joey Dates Rachel, The One Where Chandler Takes A Bath, and The One With The Baby Shower are freakin' great episodes. Season 8 is one of the better seasons of Friend's, BUT, not the best.
4.75/5
----------
[*] Indicates a "Season Great"
The One After "I Do": 4.25/5 Everyone finds out that Rachel is really the one that is pregnant, but no one knows the father yet; Ross tries to impress one of Monica's co-workers.
[*]The One With The Red Sweater: 4.5/5 Ross and Chandler attend another wedding and take fake pictures at another person's wedding; Joey finds a red sweater, and Phoebe may think it's Tag's, Rachel's assistant.
[*]The One Where Rachel Tells: 4.5/5 Rachel tells everyone that Ross is the father of her baby; Monica and Chandler get jealous when another honeymoon couple gets everything before they do.
[*]The One With The Videotape: 5/5 Ross and Rachel argue who came onto who the night Ross knocked her up; Everyone finds out by a line Joey started that Rachel came onto Ross first; Chandler and Monica get a fake number from the couple at the honeymoon.
[*]The One With Rachel's Date: 4.75/5 Phoebe dates a guy that she wants to dump the same day Monica wants to fire him; Ross finds out Chandler's been called Toby by a co-worker for 5 years; Joey gets Rachel a date with one of his co-stars.
[*]The One With The Halloween Party: 5/5 At Monica's Halloween party, Joey dresses up like Chandler, and Chandler dressed up with a rabbit. Ross comes as "Spudnik", and Chandler and Ross arm wrestly to see is stronger; Phoebe meet's Ursula's fiance and finds out she's lied to him about nearly everything.
[*]The One With The Stain: 4.5/5 Rachel wants to get an apartment in Ross's building, but she finds out that the lady in the apartment that she thought was dead is still alive; Chandler hires a made, and Monica thinks that she is stealing her clothes; Phoebe reminds Eric, Ursula's fiance, too much of Ursula.
[*]The One With The Stripper: 4.5/5 Chandler finds out Monica had a bachelorette party, so she gives him one, not knowing the "stripper" she hired was actually a hooker. Rachel tells her dad that she's pregnant, but he's furious when he finds out she's not marrying Ross, so he confronts Ross personally.
[*]The One With The Rumor: 5/5 Monica invites a friend from high school to her Thanksgiving dinner; Joey vows to eat an entire turkey; Phoebe and Chandler pretend to watch football to avoid helping out. ( Guest starring: Brad Pitt )
[*]The One With The Boots: 4.5/5 Monica buys very expensive boots and promises Chandler to wear them all the time. After a while they are killing Monica's feet but she doesn't tell it to Chandler.
The One With Ross's Step Forward: 4/5 Ross freaks out when Mona wants to send out joint Christmas cards and wants to have "the talk". Chandler tries to get out of spending time with his boss.
[*]The One Where Joey Dates Rachel: 5/5 Now that Rachel can't go on dates anymore due her pregnancy Joey decides to take her on a date. Monica and Chandler get a Ms. Pacman arcade game for a wedding present; Ross is late for his classes.
[*]The One Where Chandler Takes A Bath: 5/5 Monica turns Chandler on to the concept of a bath to relax. Rachel and Ross learn the baby's sex (a girl). Everybody finds out about Joey's feelings for Rachel.
The One With The Secret Closet: 4.25/5 Chandler becomes obsessed with finding out what is behind the door of Monica's secret closet. Phoebe feels betrayed when she discovers Monica has been using a different massage therapist.
[*] The One With The Birthing Video: 4.5/5 Phoebe gives a birthing video to Rachel. Monica, Rachel and Chandler freak out when they watch it.
[*] The One Where Joey Tells Rachel: 4.5/5 Joey confesses his love for Rachel, but Rachel politely and lovingly turns him down.
The One With The Tea Leaves: 4.25/5 Phoebe determines through tea leaves that she'll soon meet the man of her dreams.
[*] The One In Massapequa: 4.5/5 Monica writes a speech for her parent's 35th wedding anniversary. Phoebe dates Parker (Alec Baldwin), who's very enthusiastic about everything.
[*] The One With Joey's Interview: 4.5/5 Joey prepares for an interview with Soap Opera Digest, although he's afraid of appearing stupid, so he enlists his friends to make sure things go well.
[*]The One With The Baby Shower: 5/5 Phoebe and Monica prepare for Rachel's baby shower and forget to invite Rachel's mother. Joey auditions for a job as a game show host.
[*]The One With The Cooking Class: 4.5/5 Monica's cooking skills get a bad review in The Post. After confronting the critic who wrote it, she decides to join a cooking class, with Joey in tow.
[*]The One Where Rachel Is Late: 4.75/5 Joey invites Chandler to his movies premiere but Chandler falls asleep during it. Monica and Phoebe bet on when Rachel's baby will come. Rachel's water breaks.
The One Where Rachel Has A Baby (Pt. 1): 4.25/5 Monica and Chandler decide to have a baby; Rachel and Ross get a non-private room at the hospital.
[*]The One Where Rachel Has A Baby (Pt. 2): 4.75/5 Rachel delivers her baby after 47 hours of labor and names it Emma; Joey accidentally proposes to Rachel and she out of nowhere says yes.
----------
Friends: Season 8 is a good one. While there are a few forgetable episodes, several of them are absolutely fantastic. The One Where Joey Dates Rachel, The One Where Chandler Takes A Bath, and The One With The Baby Shower are freakin' great episodes. Season 8 is one of the better seasons of Friend's, BUT, not the best.
4.75/5
Game Review ( Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - 360 Arcade )
Graphics: 4/5 For coming out in 1989, the game really doesn't look all that bad. Sure the game looks really cheesy and the animation and movements aren't realistic, but give the game a break. It looks pretty good, even 18 years later.
Sound: 4.25/5 To be honest, I don't really pay all that much attention to the sound in this game. But the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles theme song is so good, it deserves a decent rating.
Control: 3.75/5 A little bland and simple - and that isn't neccesarily a good or bad thing in some cases, but for this game, it isn't good. All you do is move with the analog stick, and press A to jump, and X to attack, or B+X at the same time to do your "special attack", which can be done at any time, as long as you want. I recommend using it, because your opponents will die a lot faster.
Fun: 3.5/5 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is what it is - a fun game to run through a couple times, and then forget about. There is co-op mode, and co-op achievements, but that's all there really is. There's leader boards too, but whoop-de-doo. This game is really only for someone who remembers playing it back in the day or has any interest in the Ninja Turtles. If you don't, and you're an achievement whore, this game still isn't for you. This game is not easy to get achievements for. Overall, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is really just a game to bring back memories at the arcade.
Achievement Difficulty: 9/10
I've only had this game for 2 days, but even so, the achievements are always going to be hard. Achievements that ask you to not get burned by a flame thrower by a boss, frozen by a trap, and not getting turned into a normal turtle while facing Shredder are all difficult. Unless you play the game twice through on co-op and let your buddy get it the one time, and have him let you get them the second time, it will be very hard to get the achievements in this game, since you can't skip certain chapters to play certain bosses. I'd say that someone who devotes about an hour to the game will only get about 30-50 achievement points - and a person playing without co-op may only get about 30-50 if they play the game several times through. ( The game only takes maybe 30-45 minutes to beat )
3.5/5
Sound: 4.25/5 To be honest, I don't really pay all that much attention to the sound in this game. But the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles theme song is so good, it deserves a decent rating.
Control: 3.75/5 A little bland and simple - and that isn't neccesarily a good or bad thing in some cases, but for this game, it isn't good. All you do is move with the analog stick, and press A to jump, and X to attack, or B+X at the same time to do your "special attack", which can be done at any time, as long as you want. I recommend using it, because your opponents will die a lot faster.
Fun: 3.5/5 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is what it is - a fun game to run through a couple times, and then forget about. There is co-op mode, and co-op achievements, but that's all there really is. There's leader boards too, but whoop-de-doo. This game is really only for someone who remembers playing it back in the day or has any interest in the Ninja Turtles. If you don't, and you're an achievement whore, this game still isn't for you. This game is not easy to get achievements for. Overall, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is really just a game to bring back memories at the arcade.
Achievement Difficulty: 9/10
I've only had this game for 2 days, but even so, the achievements are always going to be hard. Achievements that ask you to not get burned by a flame thrower by a boss, frozen by a trap, and not getting turned into a normal turtle while facing Shredder are all difficult. Unless you play the game twice through on co-op and let your buddy get it the one time, and have him let you get them the second time, it will be very hard to get the achievements in this game, since you can't skip certain chapters to play certain bosses. I'd say that someone who devotes about an hour to the game will only get about 30-50 achievement points - and a person playing without co-op may only get about 30-50 if they play the game several times through. ( The game only takes maybe 30-45 minutes to beat )
3.5/5
1 Year Anniversary! ( March 19th 2006 - March 19th 2007 )
Well, it's already been a year. Over 200 reviews in one year. It hasn't been much of anything. Of course, I first started copying my Amazon.com reviews over to this website, but then I gave up on Amazon.com and started posting everything right here. After this one year I have gotten new stuff. Got rid of my PSP and DS, but recently got another new DS Lite, had to get a new PS2 because my old one broke, I got an Xbox 360 on July 24th, and I also got a Nintendo Wii on December 2nd. From this year, to next year, there will be many more reviews - unless I die or something. Anyways, thanks to anyone who actually likes or even looks at my blog. Call me whatever you want: [GGR], [TBR], or [MBR], but it's the one year anniversary. Also, I'm changing my name now and forever this time, and just calling this blog [47]. The tag will from now on be:
www.47reviews.blogspot.com
Thanks again.
[MBR]
www.47reviews.blogspot.com
Thanks again.
[MBR]
Saturday, March 17, 2007
DVD Review: Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
In Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, Peter LaFleur ( Vince Vaughn ) has to find a way to earn $50,000 in only a month or he'll lose his gym, Average Joes. Glo Gordon ( Stephen Root ) tells Peter that they should enter a dodgeball tournament, seeing as how the grand prize is $50,000. Peter and his friends enter the dodgeball tournament and win their first game, only because one of the opposing players used anibolic steroids, and tested positive for beaver tranquilizer. At a celebration party, White Goodman ( Ben Stiller ) from Globo-Gym ( The gym that plans to take over Peter's gym ) intimidates Peter and his players by showing off Fran Stella Noskovich Der Vinivisckvy, the best female dodgeball player in the world. Afterwards, Patches O'Hoolihan, ( Rip Torn ) a former professional dodgeball player, offers to help out Peter and his team by teaching them how to play the game. With the five D's of dodgeball: Dodge, Duck, Dip, Dive, and... Dodge, Peter and his team enter the tournament in Las Vegas. While about to enter the finals, Peter thinks about quitting out, until being motivated by Lance Armstrong, who tells him that he thinks he and his team can win. ( End of the movie spoiler ) Peter regroups with his team, and manage to make it to sudden death. Peter and White face off against eachother, and Peter wins. In a former deal that Peter made accepting $100,000, he bet that his team would win. Making his total earnings for the game $5,000,000. Peter LaFleur takes over Globo-Gym, while White Goodman gains back his weight he once lost.
Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story is probably one of the best comedies I have ever seen. Not only is it an original movie, it has great actors that offer really great jokes, and the story is good too. The only flaw with this movie is that there aren't really enough scenes of dodgeball - only at the end do you see a lot. Vince Vaughn and Ben Stiller are comedic geniuses in this movie, and it is definitely the best movie I've seen from either of them. Dodgeball won't dissapoint anyone who likes comedy movies - it's a lot of fun to watch more than once.
5/5
Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story is probably one of the best comedies I have ever seen. Not only is it an original movie, it has great actors that offer really great jokes, and the story is good too. The only flaw with this movie is that there aren't really enough scenes of dodgeball - only at the end do you see a lot. Vince Vaughn and Ben Stiller are comedic geniuses in this movie, and it is definitely the best movie I've seen from either of them. Dodgeball won't dissapoint anyone who likes comedy movies - it's a lot of fun to watch more than once.
5/5
DVD Review ( Seinfeld: Volume 6 )
So it's been awhile since I've reviewed Seinfeld on DVD, so here is my review of the most recent volume released. ( It came out back in November of 2006 )
----------
[*] Indicates a " Season Great "
The Engagement: 4.25/5 Elaine has trouble sleeping because of a dog and has Newman and Kramer help her with the situation; George gets back with Susan and gets engaged.
The Postponement: 4.25/5 George decides he wants to postpone the engagement; Kramer and Jerry go in to see a movie, and Kramer brings in a Cafe Latte. Kramer burns him self, and tries to sue the place he bought it from.
[*]The Maestro: 4.5/5 George helps out a security guard at Susan's uncle's store; Kramer gets a settlement that lets him have a free coffee from anywhere he got his Cafe Latte before; Jerry asks about a house in Tuscany.
[*]The Wink: 4.5/5 George gets grapefruit in his eyes, and his winks get misinterpreted; Kramer promises a sick boy in the hospital that Paul O'Neil would hit 2 homeruns just for him to get back a brithday card he sold.
[*]The Hot Tub: 4.5/5 Kramer gets a hot tub in his apartment; Elaine let's a marathon runner stay in her apartment who missed the Olympics the year before from over sleeping.
[*]The Soup Nazi: 4.75/5 George and Elaine are bothered with how Jerry and his girlfriend act around them; Elaine gets banned from the Soup Nazi's kitchen for a year; George makes a mistake by asking for bread; A couple of faggots steal the armoire Kramer is trying to protect for Elaine.
The Secret Code: 4.25/5 George refuses to tell Susan his secret code for his bank account; Elaine dates an amnesiac; Kramer takes a ride on a firetruck.
The Pool Guy: 4.25/5 Jerry meets a "pool guy" and can't get rid of him; Kramer's number is the same as the Moviefone number, and starts giving out movie times.
[*]The Sponge: 4.5/5 Elaine buys a lot of sponges, but still doesn't know who she thinks is "spongeworthy".; Kramer doesn't want to wear an AIDs ribbon.
[*]The Gum: 5/5 Lloyd Braun brings back some gum from a Chinese market that he has everyone try; Elaine accidently "reaveals herself" to Lloyd. Jerry tells Lloyd he wears glasses, so has to wear obnoxiously big ones that he can't see through.
[*]The Rye: 4.75/5 Elaine dates a saxophonist and makes the mistake of saying they are "hot and heavy"; Kramer gives a horse Beef-a-Reeno, which makes Susan's parents want to get off a very short lived horse ride.
The Caddy: 4.25/5 Kramer gets a caddy for golf tips, and life tips; George leaves his car at work, having his employeers thinking he's working overtime.
[*]The Seven: 4.5/5 Kramer heals Elaine's back after she pulled it trying to get a bike off the rack, and Kramer wants the bike for his duty; George get's mad when someone steals the name he wanted to use for his own child - Seven; Jerry's girlfriend always wears the same dress.
The Cadillac: 4/5 Morty Seinfeld gets impeached for the marble rye incident in New York that Jerry caused; Susan thinks Elaine is having an affair with George; George gets obsessed with Marisa Tomei.
The Shower Head: 4.25/5 Elaine is tested positive for Opium; Kramer and Jerry hate the new shower heads installed in their apartments; Jerry's upset to find out his parents are going to be staying in New York.
[*]The Doll: 4.75/5 Frank turns George's room into a billiards room and plays with Kramer; George is disturbed by a doll that Susan has that looks just like his mom; Jerry is amazed over a new tooth brush.
The Friars Club: 4.25/5 Kramer takes in sleeping patterns like Da Vinci; Mr. Peterman hires a deaf man. ( Played by Rob Schneider ) Elaine has to take in work that the deaf man acts that he can't hear; Jerry loses a jacket from the Friar's Club.
The Wig Master: 4.25/5 George get's an unwanted house guest that is a "Wig Master"; George finds a condom in his car; Kramer looks like a pimp.
[*]The Calzone: 5/5 George gets Mr. Steinbrenner hooked on calzones; Kramer starts baking his clothes for warmth; Elaine gets mad at her "boyfriend" for never actually asking her out.
[*]The Bottle Deposit: 4.75/5 Kramer and Newman find a plan to try to be able to get to Michigan for a bottle deposit without losing a lot of money on gas; George is sent to a crazy house by Steinbrenner.
[*]The Wait Out: 4.5/5 Jerry and Elaine try to move in and get dates with a couple that just broke up; Kramer has trouble getting out of his pants.
[*]The Invitations: 4.5/5 Jerry proposes to a woman he thinks is the one for him; Kramer tries to get $100 by a bank's hello rule flaw; George wants to get out of his relationship with Susan; Susan dies from licking toxic glue on wedding invitations.
----------
Seinfeld: Volume 6 is a kind of dissapointing season. While it does have some real classics such as The Calzone, The Soup Nazi, and The Gum, a lot of the episodes are pretty filler. There aren't many memorable moments from this season, but there are some. Seinfeld: Volume 6 has some great extras and stuff, but there are better seasons. Still, this is a great buy, as it does have some really good episodes.
4.5/5
----------
[*] Indicates a " Season Great "
The Engagement: 4.25/5 Elaine has trouble sleeping because of a dog and has Newman and Kramer help her with the situation; George gets back with Susan and gets engaged.
The Postponement: 4.25/5 George decides he wants to postpone the engagement; Kramer and Jerry go in to see a movie, and Kramer brings in a Cafe Latte. Kramer burns him self, and tries to sue the place he bought it from.
[*]The Maestro: 4.5/5 George helps out a security guard at Susan's uncle's store; Kramer gets a settlement that lets him have a free coffee from anywhere he got his Cafe Latte before; Jerry asks about a house in Tuscany.
[*]The Wink: 4.5/5 George gets grapefruit in his eyes, and his winks get misinterpreted; Kramer promises a sick boy in the hospital that Paul O'Neil would hit 2 homeruns just for him to get back a brithday card he sold.
[*]The Hot Tub: 4.5/5 Kramer gets a hot tub in his apartment; Elaine let's a marathon runner stay in her apartment who missed the Olympics the year before from over sleeping.
[*]The Soup Nazi: 4.75/5 George and Elaine are bothered with how Jerry and his girlfriend act around them; Elaine gets banned from the Soup Nazi's kitchen for a year; George makes a mistake by asking for bread; A couple of faggots steal the armoire Kramer is trying to protect for Elaine.
The Secret Code: 4.25/5 George refuses to tell Susan his secret code for his bank account; Elaine dates an amnesiac; Kramer takes a ride on a firetruck.
The Pool Guy: 4.25/5 Jerry meets a "pool guy" and can't get rid of him; Kramer's number is the same as the Moviefone number, and starts giving out movie times.
[*]The Sponge: 4.5/5 Elaine buys a lot of sponges, but still doesn't know who she thinks is "spongeworthy".; Kramer doesn't want to wear an AIDs ribbon.
[*]The Gum: 5/5 Lloyd Braun brings back some gum from a Chinese market that he has everyone try; Elaine accidently "reaveals herself" to Lloyd. Jerry tells Lloyd he wears glasses, so has to wear obnoxiously big ones that he can't see through.
[*]The Rye: 4.75/5 Elaine dates a saxophonist and makes the mistake of saying they are "hot and heavy"; Kramer gives a horse Beef-a-Reeno, which makes Susan's parents want to get off a very short lived horse ride.
The Caddy: 4.25/5 Kramer gets a caddy for golf tips, and life tips; George leaves his car at work, having his employeers thinking he's working overtime.
[*]The Seven: 4.5/5 Kramer heals Elaine's back after she pulled it trying to get a bike off the rack, and Kramer wants the bike for his duty; George get's mad when someone steals the name he wanted to use for his own child - Seven; Jerry's girlfriend always wears the same dress.
The Cadillac: 4/5 Morty Seinfeld gets impeached for the marble rye incident in New York that Jerry caused; Susan thinks Elaine is having an affair with George; George gets obsessed with Marisa Tomei.
The Shower Head: 4.25/5 Elaine is tested positive for Opium; Kramer and Jerry hate the new shower heads installed in their apartments; Jerry's upset to find out his parents are going to be staying in New York.
[*]The Doll: 4.75/5 Frank turns George's room into a billiards room and plays with Kramer; George is disturbed by a doll that Susan has that looks just like his mom; Jerry is amazed over a new tooth brush.
The Friars Club: 4.25/5 Kramer takes in sleeping patterns like Da Vinci; Mr. Peterman hires a deaf man. ( Played by Rob Schneider ) Elaine has to take in work that the deaf man acts that he can't hear; Jerry loses a jacket from the Friar's Club.
The Wig Master: 4.25/5 George get's an unwanted house guest that is a "Wig Master"; George finds a condom in his car; Kramer looks like a pimp.
[*]The Calzone: 5/5 George gets Mr. Steinbrenner hooked on calzones; Kramer starts baking his clothes for warmth; Elaine gets mad at her "boyfriend" for never actually asking her out.
[*]The Bottle Deposit: 4.75/5 Kramer and Newman find a plan to try to be able to get to Michigan for a bottle deposit without losing a lot of money on gas; George is sent to a crazy house by Steinbrenner.
[*]The Wait Out: 4.5/5 Jerry and Elaine try to move in and get dates with a couple that just broke up; Kramer has trouble getting out of his pants.
[*]The Invitations: 4.5/5 Jerry proposes to a woman he thinks is the one for him; Kramer tries to get $100 by a bank's hello rule flaw; George wants to get out of his relationship with Susan; Susan dies from licking toxic glue on wedding invitations.
----------
Seinfeld: Volume 6 is a kind of dissapointing season. While it does have some real classics such as The Calzone, The Soup Nazi, and The Gum, a lot of the episodes are pretty filler. There aren't many memorable moments from this season, but there are some. Seinfeld: Volume 6 has some great extras and stuff, but there are better seasons. Still, this is a great buy, as it does have some really good episodes.
4.5/5
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Game Review ( MLB 2K7 - 360 )
Graphics: 4.5/5 Although the players look fantastic, ( for the most part ) some are just flat out ugly to look at. The Detroit Tigers have a lot of players that look like the real thing, but one example of one that doesn't is Magglio Ordonez. He has short hair, which that alone makes him look like a completely different person, and his face also looks melted in a way - it looks virtually nothing like him. On another subject, the stadiums look pretty decent. Sightly fields like Yankee Stadium, Fenway Park, and Comerica Park all look pretty good - Comerica especially. Now for the audience - Ugly. Compared to games on past consoles, they look really good - they're all in real life animation, but every three people have the same movement and usually look exactly the same. So if one player with a red shirt crosses his arms, the guy sitting two seats next to him that looks like his twin brother does the same. The weather and game clock in this game is screwy as well. When it rains in game, it will often be blue skies, and the rain causes nothing but a distraction. Jersey's don't get wet, and neither does the field, so all you see is a line of grey going down your screen randomly at times. Also, a small thing I noticed, is that for Detroit Tiger's home games, it says it's in central time, when Detroit is in the eastern time zone. And one last thing. Hypothetically, if you were the New York Yankees playing the Boston Red Sox in the bottom of the ninth inning at Fenway Park with the game tied and hit a grand slam over the fence via Jason Giambi, the crowd wouldn't be phased. They don't jump up, they remain seated. Also, the players don't really get all that excited. It's just the little things that count.
Sound: 3.75/5 The sound is nothing fantastic or unique. I'd say 40% or so of what I hear from this game is from past versions of the game. MLB 2K5, for instance, had a LOT of the lines that are in this game. The exact same ones, too, and it's pretty annoying. Other than that, there's not much to talk about. The bats crack at the sound of the homerun, the crowd cheers non-stop with no real uproar at any time. Like I pretty much said, if you were to win the World Series, the fans would still be at their normal constant sound, and the players wouldn't do anything fantastically interesting at all. It's almost like no one in the stands is watching the game. There is a soundtrack in this game, with songs from Sublime, 311, Nirvana, Wolfmother, and several more bands, but that's nothing new. The sound is just average.
Control: 3.75/5 Everyone that played MLB 2K6 for the 360 knew the game was messed up control-wise, and everyone wanted MLB 2K7 to control better. Well, it does and doesn't. Here comes the big reason why it doesn't control all that well. When you are running the bases, there will be times where your player on a base will stop in the middle of the base path and not run acting like he doesn't know the ball will be in or not, when it already is in play. The new control bat stick feature is also kind of weird. It's unique, but doesn't function perfectly. Basically, you pull back on the right stick and let go for a contact swing, and pull back and push forward for a power swing. Thing is, you can't exactly hit the ball where you want it to go all the time like the game claims you can. Anothing thing is when you try to rob a player of a homerun. If the ball is able to be caught, you can TRY to steal the homerun by running up to the wall, but often when you try this, your player dives face first into the wall instead of doing what you want. This is really frustrating, and it most likely will follow by several controller whippings to the ground. Another new thing this year is that your catcher will give you signs with his mit with what pitch to throw, and in what spot. Since you will likely give up a lot of homeruns because of this, and/or pitch a lot of balls, it will make the game take longer to finish, and/or make you want to stab your catcher. I'm sure there are more little things to talk about, but none that I can think of right now.
Fun: 4.25/5 MLB 2K7 is definitely a solid game. The players have phenomenal graphics, and the game plays much better than MLB 2K6 in virtually every way. A new menu thing that you use when playing franchise mode is also awesome. It has a stat-tracker at the bottom of the screen, and it also shows stats, news, and everything else from around the league, all in one menu. It's really a great addition, and it should be used by ALL 2K games in the future. There is also online play, where you can have quick plays, tournaments, and online franchises. Roster updates are also most likely to show up, too. While MLB 2K7 is fun, it has its problems. The controls are pretty bad, the sound is re-used from past seasons, and the remarkable come back games that resemble those of the 2006 Tigers that happen nearly every time you're winning at all are just hugely unrealistic. MLB 2K7 may not be loved by every baseball fan, but it's your only choice if you have an Xbox 360. I think that if you like baseball or baseball games, you will like this game. Let's just hope the bugs can be fixed next year - at least a few.
Achievement Difficulty: 7/10
A lot of these achievements are pretty tough. Finish a perfect game on Pro difficulty or higher, 5 hit game with, steal six bases in a game, steal home plate, hit a single, double, triple, and a homerun in the same game with the same player ( Called "The Cycle" ... very hard to do in real life too ), 3 homeruns with one player in a game, and others, are all very difficult if done legitamately without doing some kind of cheap achievement point desperation act. Some achievements are easy, though. You can squeeze even 100 points out of this game with little to no effort.
4.25/5
Sound: 3.75/5 The sound is nothing fantastic or unique. I'd say 40% or so of what I hear from this game is from past versions of the game. MLB 2K5, for instance, had a LOT of the lines that are in this game. The exact same ones, too, and it's pretty annoying. Other than that, there's not much to talk about. The bats crack at the sound of the homerun, the crowd cheers non-stop with no real uproar at any time. Like I pretty much said, if you were to win the World Series, the fans would still be at their normal constant sound, and the players wouldn't do anything fantastically interesting at all. It's almost like no one in the stands is watching the game. There is a soundtrack in this game, with songs from Sublime, 311, Nirvana, Wolfmother, and several more bands, but that's nothing new. The sound is just average.
Control: 3.75/5 Everyone that played MLB 2K6 for the 360 knew the game was messed up control-wise, and everyone wanted MLB 2K7 to control better. Well, it does and doesn't. Here comes the big reason why it doesn't control all that well. When you are running the bases, there will be times where your player on a base will stop in the middle of the base path and not run acting like he doesn't know the ball will be in or not, when it already is in play. The new control bat stick feature is also kind of weird. It's unique, but doesn't function perfectly. Basically, you pull back on the right stick and let go for a contact swing, and pull back and push forward for a power swing. Thing is, you can't exactly hit the ball where you want it to go all the time like the game claims you can. Anothing thing is when you try to rob a player of a homerun. If the ball is able to be caught, you can TRY to steal the homerun by running up to the wall, but often when you try this, your player dives face first into the wall instead of doing what you want. This is really frustrating, and it most likely will follow by several controller whippings to the ground. Another new thing this year is that your catcher will give you signs with his mit with what pitch to throw, and in what spot. Since you will likely give up a lot of homeruns because of this, and/or pitch a lot of balls, it will make the game take longer to finish, and/or make you want to stab your catcher. I'm sure there are more little things to talk about, but none that I can think of right now.
Fun: 4.25/5 MLB 2K7 is definitely a solid game. The players have phenomenal graphics, and the game plays much better than MLB 2K6 in virtually every way. A new menu thing that you use when playing franchise mode is also awesome. It has a stat-tracker at the bottom of the screen, and it also shows stats, news, and everything else from around the league, all in one menu. It's really a great addition, and it should be used by ALL 2K games in the future. There is also online play, where you can have quick plays, tournaments, and online franchises. Roster updates are also most likely to show up, too. While MLB 2K7 is fun, it has its problems. The controls are pretty bad, the sound is re-used from past seasons, and the remarkable come back games that resemble those of the 2006 Tigers that happen nearly every time you're winning at all are just hugely unrealistic. MLB 2K7 may not be loved by every baseball fan, but it's your only choice if you have an Xbox 360. I think that if you like baseball or baseball games, you will like this game. Let's just hope the bugs can be fixed next year - at least a few.
Achievement Difficulty: 7/10
A lot of these achievements are pretty tough. Finish a perfect game on Pro difficulty or higher, 5 hit game with, steal six bases in a game, steal home plate, hit a single, double, triple, and a homerun in the same game with the same player ( Called "The Cycle" ... very hard to do in real life too ), 3 homeruns with one player in a game, and others, are all very difficult if done legitamately without doing some kind of cheap achievement point desperation act. Some achievements are easy, though. You can squeeze even 100 points out of this game with little to no effort.
4.25/5
Monday, March 05, 2007
Game Review ( Crackdown - 360 )
Graphics: 4.25/5 Up close, Crackdown doesn't look good away from the character models, but from afar when on a high roof, the game looks stunning. The water looks fantastically real, ( although when you jump in it, nothing happens ) and the buildings look unique and noticable from each city. The graphics are pretty strange, to be honest. The character models are cel-shaded, but the surrounding world isn't 100% cel-shaded - it's hard to describe. The explosions in this game are also AWESOME to look at, and the rag-doll physics are also a great addition.
Sound: 4/5 The radio in cars is full of boring music for the most part, but the explosions sound super cool, and your agency-talk-dude features some nice voice overs, albeit repetetive lines are looped over and over again. He will constantly tell you even through to the end of the game how to do things you learned the second you started the game. "There's a rooftop race near-by, agent. Finish the race to gain agility points, et cedra.
Control: 4.5/5 Everything is up to you. You do what you want, and for the most part, you can. When you jump onto window ledges, your agent USUALLY grabs on, and if not, he'll fall to the ground. Camera angles are also frustrating at times, too. But the lock on aim is almost flawless, although it does make the game quite a bit easier, but the fluid controls make this game shine.
Fun: 4.25/5 At first, Crackdown seems like nothing more than a GTA rip-off, but quickly you'll find out as your skills increase ( one of the best things in the game - gain experience in different categories like driving, firearms, explosives, agility, and strength, and you will gain experience to get better at driving, aiming, blowing stuff up, running and jumping, and lifting heavier objects. ) the game gets better and better. Although this game has its flaws - and several of them. The game is pretty easy to beat, and you will get your skills up within just 2 days if you play a lot. The bosses aren't tough to beat either, for the most part, and the online play is limited. Sure, there's Co-Op, but with only one other person, and it lags - a lot. Online play would be awesome if it was an MMO explosion fest, or something in the like. Crackdown will be bought by probably 90% of people for the Halo 3 Beta, but it's good enough that people that don't even give a shit about Halo will try this game. ( like me. ) So Crackdown, with some flaws, is a worthy visit for anybody looking for another fun sand-box game - or any achievement whore.
Achievement Difficulty: 5/10
I got 24 of the games achievements in the first 2 days. And a lot of the achievements are easier to get as soon as you get 4-stars in every class. So really, the only tough achievements are finding the 300 orbs, getting the 500 agility orbs, and getting through the stunt rings. Other than that, the game for anyone willing to put a few days into it will get about 300-500 achievement points.
4.25/5
Sound: 4/5 The radio in cars is full of boring music for the most part, but the explosions sound super cool, and your agency-talk-dude features some nice voice overs, albeit repetetive lines are looped over and over again. He will constantly tell you even through to the end of the game how to do things you learned the second you started the game. "There's a rooftop race near-by, agent. Finish the race to gain agility points, et cedra.
Control: 4.5/5 Everything is up to you. You do what you want, and for the most part, you can. When you jump onto window ledges, your agent USUALLY grabs on, and if not, he'll fall to the ground. Camera angles are also frustrating at times, too. But the lock on aim is almost flawless, although it does make the game quite a bit easier, but the fluid controls make this game shine.
Fun: 4.25/5 At first, Crackdown seems like nothing more than a GTA rip-off, but quickly you'll find out as your skills increase ( one of the best things in the game - gain experience in different categories like driving, firearms, explosives, agility, and strength, and you will gain experience to get better at driving, aiming, blowing stuff up, running and jumping, and lifting heavier objects. ) the game gets better and better. Although this game has its flaws - and several of them. The game is pretty easy to beat, and you will get your skills up within just 2 days if you play a lot. The bosses aren't tough to beat either, for the most part, and the online play is limited. Sure, there's Co-Op, but with only one other person, and it lags - a lot. Online play would be awesome if it was an MMO explosion fest, or something in the like. Crackdown will be bought by probably 90% of people for the Halo 3 Beta, but it's good enough that people that don't even give a shit about Halo will try this game. ( like me. ) So Crackdown, with some flaws, is a worthy visit for anybody looking for another fun sand-box game - or any achievement whore.
Achievement Difficulty: 5/10
I got 24 of the games achievements in the first 2 days. And a lot of the achievements are easier to get as soon as you get 4-stars in every class. So really, the only tough achievements are finding the 300 orbs, getting the 500 agility orbs, and getting through the stunt rings. Other than that, the game for anyone willing to put a few days into it will get about 300-500 achievement points.
4.25/5
Friday, February 23, 2007
Some Future Reviews
MLB 2K7 (360)
Crackdown (360)
Seinfeld: Season Seven (DVD)
These three thing should be up and reviewed in 2 weeks or less. Stay tuned.
[MBR]
Crackdown (360)
Seinfeld: Season Seven (DVD)
These three thing should be up and reviewed in 2 weeks or less. Stay tuned.
[MBR]
DVD Review ( Friends: Season 7 )
[*] Indicates a "Season Great" ... it seems most of these episodes are.
[*]The One With Monica's Thunder: 5/5 Monica accuses Rachel of stealing her "Thunder".
[*]The One With Rachel's Book: 4.75/5 Monica finds out what happened to her wedding money; Joey finds an erotic book Rachel is writing.
The One With Phoebe's Cookies: 4/5 Phoebe wants to give Monica her grandma's cookie recipe, but finds out it was lost in a fire.
[*]The One With Rachel's Assistant: 4.75/5 Rachel hires a young guy as her assistant.
[*]The One With The Engagement Picture: 4.5/5 Chandler can't smile when getting his picture taken.
[*]The One With The Nap Partners: 5/5 Joey and Ross sleep together; Phoebe and Rachel compete to be Monica's maid of honor.
[*]The One With Ross's Library Book: 5/5 Ross finds his book in a local library and finds people having sex in the isle it's located.
[*]The One Where Chandler Doesn't Like Dogs: 4.5/5 Ross gets obsessed with trying to name all 50 states; Chandler reveals why he hates dogs.
The One With All The Candy: 4/5 Phoebe gets her first bike; Monica makes candy for the neighbors.
The One With The Holiday Armadillo: 4.25/5 Ross introduces Ben to Hanukkah.
[*]The One With All The Cheesecakes: 4.5/5 Rachel and Chandler eat cheesecakes meant for someone else.
[*]The One Where They're Up All Night: 4.5/5 Joey and Ross get stuck on the roof after a door closes; Phoebe is kept up all night because of a fire alarm that won't stop beeping.
[*]The One Where Rosita Dies: 5/5 Phoebe takes a telemarketer job; Rachel and Chandler both think they've broken Rosita - Joey's chair.
The One Where They All Turn Thirty: 4/5 Rachel worries about turning 30.
The One With Joey's New Brain: 4/5 Joey plays a man with a woman's brain on Day's Of Our Lives; Ross plays an instrument and practices it to play at Monica's wedding.
The One With The Truth About London: 4/5 Chandler finds out that Monica planned on sleeping with Joey on the night she was drunk in London.
The One With The Cheap Wedding Dress: 4/5 Monica and another woman fight over the same wedding dress.
[*]The One With Joey's Award: 4.5/5 One of Ross's students tells Ross he loves him to get a higher grade; Joey is up for a "Soapie".
[*]The One With Ross And Monica's Cousin: 4.5/5 Ross and Monica's cousin comes to town; Phoebe and Rachel try to make a shower for Monica; Monica helps Joey gain a foreskin.
The One With Rachel's Big Kiss: 4.25/5 Rachel reveals she kissed a girl in college, but no one believes her.
The One With The Vows: 4/5 Monica and Chandler don't know what to write in their vows.
The One With Chandler's Dad: 4.25/5 Monica and Chandler seek out to find Chandler's... "Dad"; Phoebe thinks that if Joey were a real man, he'd try on woman's underwear.
[*]The One With Monica And Chandler's Wedding (Pt. 1) : 4.75/5 Joey gets a part in a W.W.1. movie; Chandler gets worried about the wedding; Rachel and Phoebe find a positive pregnancy test in the garbage.
[*]The One With Monica And Chandler's Wedding (Pt.2) : 4.5/5 Joey almost misses the ceremony; Everyone finds out it's not Monica, but Rachel that's pregnant.
----------
Friends: Season Seven was unbelievable in the first half of the season, but then it kind of broke down. But how can you match some of those first few episodes? Either way, season seven is probably the best season so far.
4.75/5
[*]The One With Monica's Thunder: 5/5 Monica accuses Rachel of stealing her "Thunder".
[*]The One With Rachel's Book: 4.75/5 Monica finds out what happened to her wedding money; Joey finds an erotic book Rachel is writing.
The One With Phoebe's Cookies: 4/5 Phoebe wants to give Monica her grandma's cookie recipe, but finds out it was lost in a fire.
[*]The One With Rachel's Assistant: 4.75/5 Rachel hires a young guy as her assistant.
[*]The One With The Engagement Picture: 4.5/5 Chandler can't smile when getting his picture taken.
[*]The One With The Nap Partners: 5/5 Joey and Ross sleep together; Phoebe and Rachel compete to be Monica's maid of honor.
[*]The One With Ross's Library Book: 5/5 Ross finds his book in a local library and finds people having sex in the isle it's located.
[*]The One Where Chandler Doesn't Like Dogs: 4.5/5 Ross gets obsessed with trying to name all 50 states; Chandler reveals why he hates dogs.
The One With All The Candy: 4/5 Phoebe gets her first bike; Monica makes candy for the neighbors.
The One With The Holiday Armadillo: 4.25/5 Ross introduces Ben to Hanukkah.
[*]The One With All The Cheesecakes: 4.5/5 Rachel and Chandler eat cheesecakes meant for someone else.
[*]The One Where They're Up All Night: 4.5/5 Joey and Ross get stuck on the roof after a door closes; Phoebe is kept up all night because of a fire alarm that won't stop beeping.
[*]The One Where Rosita Dies: 5/5 Phoebe takes a telemarketer job; Rachel and Chandler both think they've broken Rosita - Joey's chair.
The One Where They All Turn Thirty: 4/5 Rachel worries about turning 30.
The One With Joey's New Brain: 4/5 Joey plays a man with a woman's brain on Day's Of Our Lives; Ross plays an instrument and practices it to play at Monica's wedding.
The One With The Truth About London: 4/5 Chandler finds out that Monica planned on sleeping with Joey on the night she was drunk in London.
The One With The Cheap Wedding Dress: 4/5 Monica and another woman fight over the same wedding dress.
[*]The One With Joey's Award: 4.5/5 One of Ross's students tells Ross he loves him to get a higher grade; Joey is up for a "Soapie".
[*]The One With Ross And Monica's Cousin: 4.5/5 Ross and Monica's cousin comes to town; Phoebe and Rachel try to make a shower for Monica; Monica helps Joey gain a foreskin.
The One With Rachel's Big Kiss: 4.25/5 Rachel reveals she kissed a girl in college, but no one believes her.
The One With The Vows: 4/5 Monica and Chandler don't know what to write in their vows.
The One With Chandler's Dad: 4.25/5 Monica and Chandler seek out to find Chandler's... "Dad"; Phoebe thinks that if Joey were a real man, he'd try on woman's underwear.
[*]The One With Monica And Chandler's Wedding (Pt. 1) : 4.75/5 Joey gets a part in a W.W.1. movie; Chandler gets worried about the wedding; Rachel and Phoebe find a positive pregnancy test in the garbage.
[*]The One With Monica And Chandler's Wedding (Pt.2) : 4.5/5 Joey almost misses the ceremony; Everyone finds out it's not Monica, but Rachel that's pregnant.
----------
Friends: Season Seven was unbelievable in the first half of the season, but then it kind of broke down. But how can you match some of those first few episodes? Either way, season seven is probably the best season so far.
4.75/5
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Game Review ( Over The Hedge - DS )
Many people overlook games that are based on movies, especially those not interested in the movie to begin with, but Over The Hedge is actually a good game. It is one of the very few movie games that are actually any fun to play.
Graphics: 4/5 The video clips in this game aren't very good. Not because of the DS's screen, but obviously because the videos are on a cartridge. The videos are grainy and not very clear at all, but the in-game graphics look great. The level design is very cool. There will be times when the game will pause for a moment, and there will be random times when a black bar will appear on the screem, but that's about it. Also, you may get the first impression that the camera in the game will be terrible - I did too. The thing is, it isn't bad at all. Some people may not like the "under-the-ass" camera, but you should get used to it. And finally, this game has one of the best maps - ever. The bottom screen displays a full 3D map of you and your surroundings from a birds-eye view, which is very nice. It looks cool, it's helpful, and it will get you through tough times.
Sound: 3.75/5 The character voices are good and everything, but the background music is quite annoying, and is very repetetive. There isn't much to hear besides that. A fan of the movie would appreciate the sound more.
Control: 4.5/5 Surprisingly good. Given that the camera angles actually cooperate, the controls make for a good gaming experience. Jumping onto small objects isn't hard at all - the controls are very simple. Each character has different abilities, but all are easy to learn.
Fun: 4/5 You can play as quite a few characters from the movie in this game, but you will mostly be playing as Verne the Turtle, or R.J. the Raccoon. There are 20 missions that will last a fair amount of time, and there is even multiplayer, which seems like it'd be fun, but I haven't actually played it. This game will probably be over and done with within a few days if you play it continuously, but even after you beat it, it isn't so bad to go over and play it again. It seems like it'd get repetetive going into houses, getting objects, and getting out, but the truth is, it's not - because there are different things in your way. Cats, dogs, people, and you have to get around them, get the object from where ever it is, and get out. Over The Hedge is virtually a little version of Metal Gear Solid, Tomb Raider, and a little like Splinter Cell. The only thing is, it's a dubbed down kiddy version. But either way, this is still a game that anyone can get enjoyment out of.
4/5
Graphics: 4/5 The video clips in this game aren't very good. Not because of the DS's screen, but obviously because the videos are on a cartridge. The videos are grainy and not very clear at all, but the in-game graphics look great. The level design is very cool. There will be times when the game will pause for a moment, and there will be random times when a black bar will appear on the screem, but that's about it. Also, you may get the first impression that the camera in the game will be terrible - I did too. The thing is, it isn't bad at all. Some people may not like the "under-the-ass" camera, but you should get used to it. And finally, this game has one of the best maps - ever. The bottom screen displays a full 3D map of you and your surroundings from a birds-eye view, which is very nice. It looks cool, it's helpful, and it will get you through tough times.
Sound: 3.75/5 The character voices are good and everything, but the background music is quite annoying, and is very repetetive. There isn't much to hear besides that. A fan of the movie would appreciate the sound more.
Control: 4.5/5 Surprisingly good. Given that the camera angles actually cooperate, the controls make for a good gaming experience. Jumping onto small objects isn't hard at all - the controls are very simple. Each character has different abilities, but all are easy to learn.
Fun: 4/5 You can play as quite a few characters from the movie in this game, but you will mostly be playing as Verne the Turtle, or R.J. the Raccoon. There are 20 missions that will last a fair amount of time, and there is even multiplayer, which seems like it'd be fun, but I haven't actually played it. This game will probably be over and done with within a few days if you play it continuously, but even after you beat it, it isn't so bad to go over and play it again. It seems like it'd get repetetive going into houses, getting objects, and getting out, but the truth is, it's not - because there are different things in your way. Cats, dogs, people, and you have to get around them, get the object from where ever it is, and get out. Over The Hedge is virtually a little version of Metal Gear Solid, Tomb Raider, and a little like Splinter Cell. The only thing is, it's a dubbed down kiddy version. But either way, this is still a game that anyone can get enjoyment out of.
4/5
Friday, February 16, 2007
Game Review ( Paperboy - 360 Arcade )
In Paperboy, you play a... well, paperboy, who has to deliver papers to customer's houses while avoiding people, cars, dogs, mailboxes, garbage cans, and a whole lot of other stuff.
Graphics: 3.75/5 Well, there's nothing at all different about the game. It is in HD , but looks no different. It runs smooth, and it looks like it did back in the day.,
Sound: 4/5 Still, the nice catchy music remains, with some more of that fake guy's voice that we all know from Gauntlet. ( The "Elf, shot the food" guy ) The voices are obviously pretty crappy quality given it is such an old game, but the sound isn't terrible thanks to the decent in-game music.
Control: 3.75/5 Paperboy is definitely a different game. You drive diagnally down a street throwing papers into a mailbox - diagnally, so it is pretty hard to judge whether the paper will end up on the porch, in the mailbox, or into a customer's window. The game also suffers from Dpadalitis, which hurts most games at the Xbox Live Arcade with the terrible 360 D-Pad.
Fun: 3.75/5 Paperboy is basically a game that you will buy, get the achivements for, and probably delete off your harddrive. There is nothing to come back for. It isn't really the game to continuously play to get on the high score boards, because it isn't fun to keep playing back over like some of the other games out in the XBLA right now. There is Co-Op, though, which is just the same as Root Beer Tapper. Seperate screens, share score, when one person dies, both die, and so on. There is also versus mode, which is a decent addition. Paperboy is just not as good as some of those arcade classics available right now on Xbox Live - there are better games. If you're a Paperboy fan, this is your dream. If you are not, it's just another game for achivement whores to hurry up and buy, because soon after purchasing, it won't be played again.
3.5/5
Graphics: 3.75/5 Well, there's nothing at all different about the game. It is in HD , but looks no different. It runs smooth, and it looks like it did back in the day.,
Sound: 4/5 Still, the nice catchy music remains, with some more of that fake guy's voice that we all know from Gauntlet. ( The "Elf, shot the food" guy ) The voices are obviously pretty crappy quality given it is such an old game, but the sound isn't terrible thanks to the decent in-game music.
Control: 3.75/5 Paperboy is definitely a different game. You drive diagnally down a street throwing papers into a mailbox - diagnally, so it is pretty hard to judge whether the paper will end up on the porch, in the mailbox, or into a customer's window. The game also suffers from Dpadalitis, which hurts most games at the Xbox Live Arcade with the terrible 360 D-Pad.
Fun: 3.75/5 Paperboy is basically a game that you will buy, get the achivements for, and probably delete off your harddrive. There is nothing to come back for. It isn't really the game to continuously play to get on the high score boards, because it isn't fun to keep playing back over like some of the other games out in the XBLA right now. There is Co-Op, though, which is just the same as Root Beer Tapper. Seperate screens, share score, when one person dies, both die, and so on. There is also versus mode, which is a decent addition. Paperboy is just not as good as some of those arcade classics available right now on Xbox Live - there are better games. If you're a Paperboy fan, this is your dream. If you are not, it's just another game for achivement whores to hurry up and buy, because soon after purchasing, it won't be played again.
3.5/5
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Game Review ( Mario Hoops: 3-on-3 - DS )
Mario Hoops is a hard game to review. A great piece of work, but being repetetive, might not last too long, depending on the player. Some may love it and play it for months, some on the other hand, may play it for a week and drop it. I'm reviewing this game assuming that you plan on playing it for at the bare minimum a month.
Graphics: 5/5 Spectacular - easily the best looking DS game I've ever seen. The character models look fantastic, and the animations, even better. The courts all different and are really creative and interactive. Definitely a high point of the game.
Sound: 4.5/5 Very good. The music might annoy some, but it fits the game, and the in-game sound is VERY good. The background music is different on every court, the sound effects are good, and the trademark sounds made by characters are all good, too.
Control: 4/5 Definitely unique, but not perfect. You do some movement with the touch-screen, others with the D-Pad and buttons. You can do a unique block feature by sliding the stylus across the screen, you can dribble fast to pick up coins on the court, ( leading you to a higher score ) and you can use weapons. Thing is, the control is kind of strange at times, but mostly simple, and the button layout is also pretty strange.
Fun: 4/5 Mario Hoops: 3-on-3 is not by any means a bad game like most reviewers say. It is relatively easy for the most part, ( There are different difficulty settings, but the game is never terribly hard ) and it will be easy to fly through the game, but there is single and multi-card multiplayer mode, which is pretty fun, there are tournaments, ( laid out like in Mario Kart with seperate tournaments ) and plenty of unlockables, including characters from Final Fantasy. Overall, Mario Hoops is a good game for awhile, but the game gets repetetive if you play it for a long while, and the game seems to be more focused on you collecting coins than to try and just play a game of basketball. Most anyone will like this game, even if it doesn't last a really long time.
4/5
Graphics: 5/5 Spectacular - easily the best looking DS game I've ever seen. The character models look fantastic, and the animations, even better. The courts all different and are really creative and interactive. Definitely a high point of the game.
Sound: 4.5/5 Very good. The music might annoy some, but it fits the game, and the in-game sound is VERY good. The background music is different on every court, the sound effects are good, and the trademark sounds made by characters are all good, too.
Control: 4/5 Definitely unique, but not perfect. You do some movement with the touch-screen, others with the D-Pad and buttons. You can do a unique block feature by sliding the stylus across the screen, you can dribble fast to pick up coins on the court, ( leading you to a higher score ) and you can use weapons. Thing is, the control is kind of strange at times, but mostly simple, and the button layout is also pretty strange.
Fun: 4/5 Mario Hoops: 3-on-3 is not by any means a bad game like most reviewers say. It is relatively easy for the most part, ( There are different difficulty settings, but the game is never terribly hard ) and it will be easy to fly through the game, but there is single and multi-card multiplayer mode, which is pretty fun, there are tournaments, ( laid out like in Mario Kart with seperate tournaments ) and plenty of unlockables, including characters from Final Fantasy. Overall, Mario Hoops is a good game for awhile, but the game gets repetetive if you play it for a long while, and the game seems to be more focused on you collecting coins than to try and just play a game of basketball. Most anyone will like this game, even if it doesn't last a really long time.
4/5
Monday, February 12, 2007
Game Review ( Root Beer Tapper - 360 Arcade )
The goal in Root Beer Tapper (RBT) is to give customers mugs by filling up root beer as a waiter. It sounds pretty easy, but it really isn't at all. My review.
Graphics: 3.75/5 RBT isn't an ugly game, it isn't an awesome looking game, it is just "meh". For 1983, these graphics looked pretty damn good, but now, they are nothing special. Updated to HD, and that's about it.
Sound: 4/5 Nothing more than cheap little generic bleep-bloops, with cheesy sounding music, but it will definitely catch your attention and it is nice to play with the sound on. The little noise that the tap makes after you will a mug will help perfect your timing so that you can complete levels easier, and quicker. The sound definitely helps you out, even if it is nothing special.
Control: 4/5 Thanks ( or no thanks ) to the terrible D-Pad on the 360 remote, there are several times where you will let a mug slip to the floor or get a customer pissed off, simply because the D-Pad won't respond at times. Luckily, there is the analog that can still be used on this game, which works much better.
Fun: 3.75/5 RBT is probably one of those games only certain people will have any interest in. It is certainly repetetive, but addicting, it does get damn hard really quick, ( but after a little practice, you will slowly but quite easily fly through the levels once you learn the patters ) but it's a fun little game to play. There is also a new Co-Op and versus mode. As you guessed, in versus mode you simply try to beat your opponent by getting the higher score, but in Co-Op, you work together to get a nice, big, fat high score. ( There's an achievement for getting 80,000 score. ) The Co-Op is flawed though. Instead of having you and your teammate on the same screen, you are on seperate screens, but your scores combine. Playing on the same screen would be better, more fun, and much easier, seeing as how there are four counters, you could each take two. Either this wasn't thought about including in the game, or it was dropped as an idea because lag could be a factor.
Either way, RBT is definitely a game chock full of flaws. It is fun for a little while up until you get the achievements, but after that you will most likely drop it completely. But since it won't be very easy to get all 200 achievement points, it's likely you will be playing this game for awhile until you get them all.
3.75/5
Graphics: 3.75/5 RBT isn't an ugly game, it isn't an awesome looking game, it is just "meh". For 1983, these graphics looked pretty damn good, but now, they are nothing special. Updated to HD, and that's about it.
Sound: 4/5 Nothing more than cheap little generic bleep-bloops, with cheesy sounding music, but it will definitely catch your attention and it is nice to play with the sound on. The little noise that the tap makes after you will a mug will help perfect your timing so that you can complete levels easier, and quicker. The sound definitely helps you out, even if it is nothing special.
Control: 4/5 Thanks ( or no thanks ) to the terrible D-Pad on the 360 remote, there are several times where you will let a mug slip to the floor or get a customer pissed off, simply because the D-Pad won't respond at times. Luckily, there is the analog that can still be used on this game, which works much better.
Fun: 3.75/5 RBT is probably one of those games only certain people will have any interest in. It is certainly repetetive, but addicting, it does get damn hard really quick, ( but after a little practice, you will slowly but quite easily fly through the levels once you learn the patters ) but it's a fun little game to play. There is also a new Co-Op and versus mode. As you guessed, in versus mode you simply try to beat your opponent by getting the higher score, but in Co-Op, you work together to get a nice, big, fat high score. ( There's an achievement for getting 80,000 score. ) The Co-Op is flawed though. Instead of having you and your teammate on the same screen, you are on seperate screens, but your scores combine. Playing on the same screen would be better, more fun, and much easier, seeing as how there are four counters, you could each take two. Either this wasn't thought about including in the game, or it was dropped as an idea because lag could be a factor.
Either way, RBT is definitely a game chock full of flaws. It is fun for a little while up until you get the achievements, but after that you will most likely drop it completely. But since it won't be very easy to get all 200 achievement points, it's likely you will be playing this game for awhile until you get them all.
3.75/5
Friday, February 09, 2007
New layout. New name.
"It's about time", I know. I finally remade the entire site layout-wise, and even made a new site name. It still may not be great, but anything is better than [GGR] ( Gnarly Game Reviews ), or [TBR]. ( Tru Blu Reviews ) I hope you like the layout. Some more reviews should be coming soon, but right now, I'm pretty addicted to Rainbow Six: Vegas (360).
Have a nice weekend.
[MBR]
Have a nice weekend.
[MBR]
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Game Review ( Diddy Kong Racing DS - DS )
Graphics: 4/5 DKR DS definitely doesn't show off the DS's graphics, but they get the job done. They look quite a bit better than the N64 version, but Mario Kart DS looks nicer, even being a year older. The best part about this game is the retextured maps which make them look and feel better, and the nice framerate. ( Although it is 30 FPS while Mario Kart DS was at 60 ). This game is also considerably slower paced than Mario Kart DS is in races, but it is still fun.
Sound: 3.75/5 If you liked the soundtrack in the old game, you'll like it here. The maps have the same songs with a few exceptions. The voices are, however, pretty much mediocre. Taj sounds weird - sort of British, instead of having a different accent in the original version, which sounded much better. Overall, Diddy Kong Racing DS passes in sound, but it's nothing at all spectacular.
Control: 3.5/5 Almost where the game fails. Controlling the cars aren't too bad, ( even though they take getting used to ) what's worse is controlling the plane or the god awful hovercraft, which is very difficult to handle. The controls in this game are twitchy, and at times unresponsive, and the hovercraft makes for a frustrating water race. This definitely drags the game down. Also, the balloon challenges in this game are also hard. A challenge where you must pop balloons and while doing so, trying to grab coins as well. It wouldn't be bad if it weren't so hard to grab a coin. If you try to grab coins while popping balloons, good luck, because the touch screen controls in this game are not very good at all.
Fun: 4.5/5 Overall, I really do think this game is a blast. I can't understand in any way why people think this game fails, because it doesn't. You do have to work quite a bit to get coins and unlock stuff, but that is the point - it gives it great replay value. The balloon challenges drag the game down fun-wise in a way, and it will take awhile and be hard to unlock some of the hidden characters, but this game is great. Wi-Fi play could be better, ( not quite as good as Metroid Prime: Hunters ) since you can't communicate in a race, but it is more fun than Mario Kart DS in my opinion online. If you enjoyed Diddy Kong Racing for the Nintendo 64, then you will definitely love this game on the DS. It has control problems, it is sometimes aggrivatingly repetetive, and there are some unneccesary things thrown in the bag, but if you are forgiving, Diddy Kong Racing DS may be one of your favorite DS games to date.
4.5/5
Sound: 3.75/5 If you liked the soundtrack in the old game, you'll like it here. The maps have the same songs with a few exceptions. The voices are, however, pretty much mediocre. Taj sounds weird - sort of British, instead of having a different accent in the original version, which sounded much better. Overall, Diddy Kong Racing DS passes in sound, but it's nothing at all spectacular.
Control: 3.5/5 Almost where the game fails. Controlling the cars aren't too bad, ( even though they take getting used to ) what's worse is controlling the plane or the god awful hovercraft, which is very difficult to handle. The controls in this game are twitchy, and at times unresponsive, and the hovercraft makes for a frustrating water race. This definitely drags the game down. Also, the balloon challenges in this game are also hard. A challenge where you must pop balloons and while doing so, trying to grab coins as well. It wouldn't be bad if it weren't so hard to grab a coin. If you try to grab coins while popping balloons, good luck, because the touch screen controls in this game are not very good at all.
Fun: 4.5/5 Overall, I really do think this game is a blast. I can't understand in any way why people think this game fails, because it doesn't. You do have to work quite a bit to get coins and unlock stuff, but that is the point - it gives it great replay value. The balloon challenges drag the game down fun-wise in a way, and it will take awhile and be hard to unlock some of the hidden characters, but this game is great. Wi-Fi play could be better, ( not quite as good as Metroid Prime: Hunters ) since you can't communicate in a race, but it is more fun than Mario Kart DS in my opinion online. If you enjoyed Diddy Kong Racing for the Nintendo 64, then you will definitely love this game on the DS. It has control problems, it is sometimes aggrivatingly repetetive, and there are some unneccesary things thrown in the bag, but if you are forgiving, Diddy Kong Racing DS may be one of your favorite DS games to date.
4.5/5
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