Read + Write + Report
Home | Start a blog | About Orble | FAQ | Blogs | Writers | My Orble | Login

Review Nintendo DS - Gaming for Life

Gamerverdict on GTA: Chinatown Wars

March 28th 2009 11:49


When your main character is pilfered of everything he has and chucked out into the gutter, you know you’re playing a Grand Theft Auto game. Chinatown Wars feels like a combination of GTA1 and 2’s style with GTA3 and 4’s controls, which equals into a fun, portable package.

Rocky start


Despite being two connected islands, Liberty City is freakin huge. So huge that you will find yourself bored out of your mind when driving from one island to another to get to a mission. The top-down view makes the environments look less interactive as I would’ve liked, which made driving from one contact to the other rather monotonous. Storywise, the main character is my favourite in the series; his sense of sarcasm is equal to Seth Green’s character in the movie Sex Drive. The only downside is the lack of a female character in the mix, as there are only male characters in 98% of the plot.

The good

I liked how Chinatown Wars improved on GTA4’s cop detection. The vibe of the game is more GTA3’s sense of humour rather than GTA4’s quest for realism. Instead of trying to escape from police radars, you are encouraged to ram the amount of cop cars equivalent to the stars you acquired. It would take 1 cop car smash to get rid of a one star, than two to get rid of 2 stars plus another to get rid of a 1 star. The cops are quite eager to smash into things, so it never felt like your struggling to get rid of cops, but is actually quite fun to experiment ways in destroying them.



Unlike most GTA games, gangsters come at you in numbers, spiraling around the double digit mark. Luckily, mowing down people is very easy since the next bad guy is automatically targeted after you kill the first one…

The bad

However, the lock on can be frustratingly unintuitive, you could be bashing the right shoulder button as hard as you like, but you’re likely to aim at a person several feet away, instead of the gangster shooting right next to you.

The good

For a handheld game, hell even for a GTA game, there are so many missions! You can tell the script writers had a ball naming all the missions in the game. There are even missions that you will run into by chance, like when a person icon pops up on the screen, which usually leads to hilarious missions that won’t be spoiled here. The strongest aspect of the game is the selling of drugs to dealers. It’s similar to the territory-taking game in San Andreas and its very addictive (pun intended).

GamerVerdict: ****

I guess the old view never really appealed to me as much as GTA3's 3rd person view, but I never was deterred from completing it. GTA on handheld doesn’t mean a smaller helping of the series, its, in fact, equal in size to GTA3. I loved the main character, the drug size missions are fun, and the main story is long and gets really epic near the end as it twists and turns to a very sharp conclusion. There are your niggles, but it never hampers the feeling of satisfaction after completing a mission. I’m happy to say it’s a worthy edition to the series, and its fun enough to motivate me to complete it, unlike a certain number 4 at the end of the title…
26
Vote
Add CommentsAdd Comments
[ Link ]
Posted By: Edward 1 - Category: Review, Action, Nintendo DS
   


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.





72
Vote
Comments (1)Comments (1) Add CommentsAdd Comments
[ Link ]
   


WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009 Review

November 11th 2008 00:12


Yes, there is another wrestling game, much less another SmackDown VS Raw game... But since it's been released and since we're all playing it, I'm writing a review for those who haven't played it yet.

SmackDown vs. Raw seems great, and in a way it's a little impressive with over 60 wrestlers and 14 different one-on-one matches, but when you get down to actually wrestling- punching, grappling, and slamming, it's not the most impressive.

Don't get me wrong SVR 09 is fun, but there's not much improvement from last years game. The basic controls are still there, but they've added a few minor touches like "Signature Move" when you set off a stored special and the ability to enter the ring via steel steps.

Otherwise, the game is reversal heavy, but it does sotre Finishers, break up pins in tag matches, and it'll give you some run for your money.

You have sliders to adjust the game's thinking if you're not 100% happy with the AI. Basically, adjust how effective the Finishers are, how much the computer reverses, and modify momentum rates. You can customize the sliders.

Using the game's Roster Editor, you can actually mold the WWE as you want by changing what brand people are on, giving and taking championships, and deciding who's clean or dirty. This is actually a pretty cool feature of the game, if you ask me.

You will also find alternate attires for some characters such as CM Punk, Rey Mysterio, Chris Jericho, and a few others.

There are 19 arenas that you can play in, not to mention that you can unlock the WCW brand and classic championship. You'll also find that you have a few gimmick matches such as the Inferno Match, Falls Count Anywhere Match, Parking Lot Brawl, KO-only match, and a few others.



There is also emphasis on the tag team scene. I won't give you many details, but let's say that there is something a little different about it. You'll just have to check it out and see for yourself.

The biggest change that you will notice is with the Superstar/Diva's Fighting Abilities. With SVR 09, the broad styles have been replaced with specific abilities. Every character has 6 fighting abilities that will give them special advantages in the ring, which makes them unique and varied. For example, Santino has the Dirty Pin ability so that he can use the ropes for leverage when going for the three count, whereas Big Show has the Hammer Throw ability which allows him to hurl his opponent over the top rope with a strong Irish whip.

Other than that, SVR 09 has Road to WrestleMania, which is probably one of the best storylines that you'll come across in a wrestling game. You get to choose to play as one of seven playable Superstars and take to the grappler into his original storyline. Chris Jericho, Triple H, the Undertaker, CM Punk, John Cena, and Rey Mysterio/Batistia all have angles that are unique to their own thanks to original voiceovers, branching storylines, cutscenes, and more. Each show starts with fireworks and an announcer's summary of what's going on and then ends with the WWE copywrite logo and the usual dramatic scene that you'd expect from a WWE program. Jericho has to figure out who the masked man that keeps attacking him is, Triple H has to choose between DX and Evolution, and Cena needs to figure out how to contend with MVP's new world order. And although this mode is only open to 7 characters, you'll find that once you get started, you'll be having loads of fun unlocking entrances, characters, and creating superstar pieces.



If you decide that you're not a fan of the Road to WrestleMania mode, you can always fall back on the Career mode. Unfortunately, though, the Career Mode is just the barebones. No matter who you choose, you'll start out with a pitiful rating and you'll have to choose a championship path- Cruiserweight, World Heavyweight, WWE, WWE Tag Team, World Tag Team, Intercontinental, Women's, United States, Hardcore, and ECW championships. When you get the required stars, challenge the number one, and unlock the next match, you can go face the chapmion, win the title, and then choose another career path.

There is more to the Career Mode, but you'll have to play it to find out all of the details that surround the mode.

Another new addtion to SmackDown vs Raw is the Create A Finisher, which allows you to create a finisher that is all yourse. There are supposidely over 500 moves that you can choose from, but as you begin to choose the options you become more and more limited as to what you can really do.

But, in all seriousness WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009 is for the most part the same game that we see every year. There are a few upgrades, but it's really just a remake of last year's game.

But, you will never know if you will like the game or not until you try it. You can purchase SmackDown vs Raw 09 in the following consoles if you think that you can handle it...

Nintendo DS
Nintendo Wii
PSP
PlayStation 2
PlayStation 3
Xbox 360

The IGN rating is 7.8

42
Vote
Add CommentsAdd Comments
[ Link ]
   


Pokemon Ranger: Shadows of Almia Review

November 10th 2008 21:32


Ok, so I will admit that I'm not much of a Pokemon fan, but there have been some ok Pokemon games taht have kept my interest for more than an hour or so. Pokemon Ranger is a little more in detail than some of the other games, especially considering that you're no longer limited to cutting grass, flying, or pushing boulders, you're given access to a variety of creatures with a variety of strengths and weaknesses. You are able to complete each mission and quest with whichever creature that you want.

The storyline of Pokemon Ranger is pretty slim to none and just plain limited, which makes the game pretty predictable, but as a student in Ranger school who later joins the corps and is assigned a few missions, you'll start to have a little more fun with the game.

You'll quickly find out taht with the previous Pokemon game, the missions are less predictable, even though the storyline isn't hard to guess. The cool thing about Pokemon Ranger is that you aren't just going from point A to point B, you get to save other Pokemon creatures, extinguish fires, recover crystals, and so many other adventures that you haven't really been able to do in the other Pokemon games.

Throughout the missions, you'll want to use all the Pokemon creatures that you've captured so that you can make it through the game. You are not limited to just one or two creatures, and since there are more than 270 creatures, you'll want to use as many of them as you can. Just remember that your resources are still going to be limited.

Another col innovation with Pokemon Ranger is that the game now introduces styler power and monster HP. You still have to encircle your monster, but depending on what your styler power is, you will decrease the monster's HP. You have to keep circling or else your monster's HP will start to increase again.

As you gain experience and increase levels, your styler power will increase.

In the game, you will encounter "quests" which aren't quite like missions, but they are fun and unpredictable, which will enhance your fun and will help your gain bonuses.

After you complete the "quests," you can try out the "Ranger Net," which is the online WiFi Service that Nintendo offers, where you can download new missions.

So, as you can see Pokemon Ranger has a lot of new innovations from the previous Pokemon games, and even though the storyline is a little bland and predictable at times, you'll find that most players will enjoy the game. The averaged playing time is about 60 hours.

Buy your copy of Pokemon Ranger: Shadows of Almia DS game today, and while you are at it, go ahead and purchase the Pokemon Ranger: Shadows of Almia: Prima Official Game Guide.

The IGN rating is 6.7


38
Vote
Add CommentsAdd Comments
[ Link ]
Posted By: Whitney - Category: Review, Role-Play, Nintendo DS
   


Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa Review

November 9th 2008 18:41


The first Madagascar was probably one of the better animated films of the year, but with the second film, it's not as great, if you ask me, but anyway, we're all here about the Madagascar Escape 2 Africa video game, not the movie. Although, if you are looking for a purely entertaining family friendly movie, Madagascar Escape 2 Africa is definitely it.

As for the video game, this is a likable and action packed romp through Africa with fun and larger than life characters that you can't help but love.

Throughout the game, you'll encounter diverse and interesting gameplay that will offer enough fun and contentment to keep you busy for a while. Although, if you are looking for serious action and thrilling scenes, Madagascar Escape 2 Africa probably isn't going to be your game of choice.

This video game is a happy go lucky game that is crammed with fun gameplay for even your youngest gamers.



You get to hope through canyons hunting monkeys, drive jeeps, play musical chairs, roll up garbage, and chase down runaway cubs, which all in a hour long segment of a middle level in the video game. You never know what all you will encounter thoughout the full game, but you will have hours of fun packed into one disk.

Just remember if you get bored or in a rut, you can always just swit to a different level for a break.

The one feature that you can't help but to enjoy is that the video game is designed to look just like the movie. But, unfortunately, the video game doesn't feature the same voice overs as the movie. The stand-in voices do the trick, but the it's just not he same, since your characters are spot on doubles from the movie.



Although, the video game is aged for 10 and up, you'll find that there are a few innuendos, gambling, and mild cartoony violence, that not all parents will want their 6 year old playing around with, but for the most part (as for the innuendos at least) the average child will miss them.

There are loads of mini games and even a four player tournament that the whole family can get involved in. So overall this is a pretty good video game that is packed with fun. Just remember if you're a hard core gamer, it may not be the game for you.

You can find Madagascar Escape 2 Africa at low prices, for the following game consoles:

Nintendo DS
Nintendo Wii
PC
PSP
PlayStation 2
PlayStation 3
Xbox 360

The IGN rating is 8.2


84
Vote
Add CommentsAdd Comments
[ Link ]
   


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 ]
68
Vote
Read MoreRead More Comments (1)Comments (1) Add CommentsAdd Comments
[ Link ]
   




[ Gaming for Life Home ] [ Create A New Post ]
Moderated by Whitney
Copyright © 2006 2007 2008 On Topic Media PTY LTD. All Rights Reserved. Design by Vimu.com.
On Topic Media ZPages: Sydney |  Melbourne |  Brisbane |  London |  Birmingham |  Leeds     [ Advertise ] [ Contact Us ] [ Privacy Policy ]