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Glancing back: Batman Arkham Asylum

September 29th 2009 10:46


Not so insane review of the latest Batman game.

The Collectors Edition (CE) of Batman: Arkham Asylum comes with a large Batarang, a thick booklet with biographies of several villains, a code to unlock exclusive maps online, a mini comic accounting the behind-the-scenes while Batman takes Joker to Arkham, and the game with the obligatory ‘making of’ DVD (sadly not on blu ray for the PS3 version), which rivals the goodies found in Grand Theft Auto 4’s CE. Does this epic CE talk the talk as well? Or is it compensating for something much like Batman’s armour?


Ok that sounded like a low blow to Batman. But he wouldn’t be Batman without his uber armoured suit and gadgets. He is rivalled against characters from the darker sides of their comic book counterparts. Thanks to the developers at Rocksteady, the character designs fit perfectly within the world it is created for. Special mention goes to Harley Quinn. Her costume design is never worn in the comics, but it complements her figure and character so well, I personally, find it better than any of her previous costumes.

Set on an island housing the most dangerous criminals in all of Gotham, how can Batman instil fear into thugs within their own fun house? Well Batman can take out one of their buddies by grabbing them like a slinky as they walk underneath a gargoyle he is perched on. You can stun them by chucking a flying bat-shaped projectile at their heads from a distance or/then fly in, cape out, drop kicking another. Or sneak behind, choke em out, and use your ever-reliable grappling gun to make a quick escape. Or you can use a sticky bomb spray on any surface to blow in their faces, or/then blow a wall with the bricks hitting them into their faces. There are many more creative gadgets and uber moves I haven’t addressed and it is what makes Batman such a satisfying character to play as and make encounters constantly fresh.


Batman’s hand-to-hand combat is equal to none. If Kratos, from God of War, is a brawler, Bruce Wayne is a technician; methodical as well as bad ass. What made the battles so much fun are the extremely responsive controls; there aren’t any delays from button to screen or having to worry about Batman’s animation to finish. You can counter a punch with a devastating takedown, and continue another counter with a single button as much as you like.

One of the most satisfying sounds in the game is Batman’s fist, in slow-motion, connecting into the ugly mug of the last thug in a room. The back stories of the main bad guys are explained in the form of recordings scattered all over the island, the voice acting is so well rehearsed, it makes listening to them a treat, yet can be totally avoided if you prefer to continue running through the story.

Speaking of story, it is built in such a way, that even people new to the Batman franchise can understand who the person under the mask is as they progress through the game. Each comic book villain is fought in unique ways and circumstances, the world changes constantly, which keep back tracking from becoming a bore, and enemies would change vantage points in familiar territories as well.

The only gripe I have is the anti-climatic ending. And the highlight of the game is a certain villain despatched in such a cool way, you couldn’t help but shout PWN! Like many other reviews on the web; Batman: Arkham Asylum is a great game, where every gamer and comic book fan will find there is nothing wrong with having fun playing a guy wearing a bat suit.

GamerVerdict: 5/5



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Wolverine the Video Game is Better than the Movie

May 13th 2009 18:30
The X-Man Wolverine movie has been fairly popular in the theaters, but the video game has been said to be much better than the movie... Not just one person has said it, but many... Even Hugh Jackman has given his approval to the video game. He even took some of the script from the game and brought it into the movie because he was so dazzled by it.

The video game vaguely follows the plot in the movie, but at the same time it really goes beyond the movie, expanding on various scenes from the film.

If you're in to bloody and gory video games, you'll find that in the opening, alone, you start the game with Wolverine using his Ginsis to butcher several soldiers, stabbing one through the skull and then going crazy stabbing the other two. That's definitely just the beginning of the blood and gore to the game, you'll see loads of shots sent through the air, stabs, blood, and severed heads.

You'll find that there is more X-Man lore in the video game. It's been reported that about 90% of what you see in X-Men Origins: Wolverine is featured in the video game, but that the events in the movie really only make up 50% of what's in the game. The video game is more of a savage adventure game, if anything.

There are more fights between Wolverine and his enemies, and the bigger fights are memorable with 300-foot tall bosses.

So, as you can see the Wolverine X-Men video game is rated Mature, which overpowers the PG-13 rating of the film. So, rent the game, buy it, you're choice... Just check it out for yourself.

Try the Wolverine: X-Men Origins in any of the major consoles including: Nintendo DS, Wii, PC, PlayStation 2 and 3, PSP, and Xbox 360. Also, make the choice between the standard or UnCaged editions.


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DR: Chop Til You Drop Review

March 5th 2009 18:27
Chop Til You Drop is the third remake of the game for the Wii console, but for the most part, it's a downgrade versus an upgrade. The trailer sounded great, but you know what? It's just not all there. There are fewer undead and the hero doesn't know how to use his camera apparently.

Basically you are in a mall of zombies and you must survive until rescue arrives by keeping the hordes at bay. You are using baseball bats, buckets, mannequins, saws, golf clubs, and just about anything you can find in the mall as a weapon.

The idea of the storyline is pretty cool, but the dialogue sucks and the delivery of the characters and weapons is terrible. There's just nothing there to make the story beliveable.

When playing the boss, it's even worse. I mean, the humans can withstand tons of bullets, more than any of the zombies, and sometimes the boss will actually escape instead of die.

On top of that, you've got random parrots dropping grenades and janitors asking for money to give your tips and shortcuts through the mall. Seriously?! Who's thinking baout making a buck when you're fighting for your life againsts crazed zombies?

The one thing that Dead Rising has going for it, is that the gameplay is actually entertaining and kind of fun. I mean, yea the graphics aren't all there, but you can have fun trying on costumes and mixing drinks in a blender. Another good addition is that there are multiple save slots in the Wii version of Dead Rising.

But, you will find that towards the end of the game, you'll start to lose momentum as things start to get repetitive with the quests and characters. It will probably only take about 10 hours to complete the game.

For the most part Dead Rising: Chip Til You Drop is a scaled down version of the Dead Rising game. The gameplay can be fun at times, but for the most part it can be repetitive and pretty short lived game. You will find the multiple save slots and the overall aiming features and such are much better on the Wii than the xBox 360.



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Posted By: Whitney - Category: Review, Action, Adventure, Nintendo Wii
   


Tomb Raider: Underworld Review

November 28th 2008 00:12


Lara Croft is one of the most known game icons in the world. She is by far the most popular heroine that you will find, as she explores various ruins, fights human and supernatrual threats, and solves numerous puzzles while she becomes one of the best and greatest archeologies in gaming.

Tomb Raider: Underworld is another game in the Tomb Raider series with Lara Croft, and with the most recent addition to the series, there are more hopes for expansion.

For the most part, you will find that Underworld is a continuation of the original storyline. There will be a quick summary and recap of the players as a refresher from Legend. But, Underworld will start as Lara Croft explores the coordinates that lead her to the Mediterranean Sea. She will investigates, she makes an interesting find.

The storyline of Underworld is pretty good, so if your a gamer that enjoys a good story, you'll find Tomb Raider: Underworld entertaining, to say the least. And, you'll find that the blend of cutscenes and exploration will keep the game moving fast.

The pace of the game is caused by a few adjustments and refinements in the game's mechanics. Where in Legend, you were given a large amound of flexibility with a lot of freedom for your agility and speed, it is pretty retained in Underworld. Althouth, you can still manipulate Lara's acrobatics and scale walls, the creators attempted to build on the basics with the gameplay.

The creators fof Tomb Raider Underwold removed the quick time elements and replaced them with Situational Adrenaline, that will give you the feeling that you need to react in order to avoid a particular threat.

They also made minor adjustments to combat. Where Lara Croft still retains her agility for tumbling and firing, she now has the ability to aim and fire at two enemies at the same time, which is rather useful if you are taking out swarms of bats or other creatures. But, at the same time this new ability hampers the progress of other enemies that attempt to close in on you and perform melee attacks.

In Underworld, Lara Croft has sticky grenades that go off in a specific location, which cuts down the frustration that was in Legend.

You are able to trigger the adrenaline at any time throughout the game, which will slow down the actions of your enemies and make your shots stronger. ou are able to store your adrenaline until you've maxed out your holding, to which you are then able to get close to any enemy and bounce off of them in attempts to a one-shot kill.

There is one main concern with the adrenaline system. It makes a large number of the battles way too easy because you are constantly refreshing your adrenaline, which allows you the ability to move quickly, giving you an edge over your opponent. You can still alter the game's difficulty.

Lara Croft comes with a sonar map that will guide you anywhere in the game, which allows you a 3D picture of everything at all times. This is pretty cool, I guess.



You will also find that Underworld has Field Assistance where if you find yourself stumed, you can access hints through your PDA. This is a nice feature for those who have problems visualizing where they need to go.

The game has slowdown and framerate drops that happen a lot throughout the game, which sucks as it is rather distracting. Although, the point is to be a little distracting to get you out of the visual and aural presentation, but the level of them just pop in and snap into place with odd shadows and flickers of light.

Another of the main concerns with the game is that there are a number of clipping and object detection issues. Lara Croft will frequently move into or through walls or blocks, which will sometimes force her into an animation loop as the game attempts to reconcile movements and areas that she shouldn't be in.

And of course the camera is a pain becuase as you move through the environment, the camera will zoom, pan, and tilt on its own accord without your instruction or direction. Normally, this wouldn't be that big of a concern, except the camera will stay in place making it hard to figure out the right jumping angle or location to move.

You will find taht the Xbox has downloadable ocntent, which you won't get with the Playstation 3, which gives the Xbox a slightly better edge.

Oh, and if you're wondering about the graphics and sound quality.... They are pretty good. The animations are well done, and the voices are pretty good.

The game is an average action game, that Lara Croft fans will probably get some good gameplay out of, but personally I find there are a good number of technical concerns with the game.

Check out just a few of the scenes that you will encounter.





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Metal Gear Solid 4 Trailer

June 10th 2008 16:09


To be released on June 12th, Metal Gear Solid 4 features an aging and exhausted Solid Snake in the middle of a futuristic battlefield. Snake is equipped with new devices and a high-tech suit that transforms its texture based on Snake's surroundings.

The gameplay allows Snake to seamlessly blend into his environment which provides him with the means to stalk his enemies.

In this chapter of Hideo Kojima's legendary espionage, it marks the return of many characters from previous Metal Gear Solid games. You'll see Revolver Ocelot, Meryl Silverburgh, Naomi Hunter, and Raiden.

There are rumors that Snake will not return for another game. I guess it's up to you to play the game and find out if there will be a Metal Gear Solid 5.


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Posted By: Whitney - Category: Trailer, Adventure, PlayStation 3
   


LEGO Indiana Jones

June 8th 2008 20:07
Released in the US on June 3rd, LEGO Indiana Jones has been a big hit in the gaming population. THe game is a great game for kids of all ages, but that doesn't mean that the game is just for kids. Anyone can find enjoyment out of playing LEGO Indiana Jones.

You can find the game in all sorts of game consoles, including Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Wii, PSP , DS, and PC


[ Click here to read more ]
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