New Super Mario Bros justifies owning a Wii

I have been playing video games since the Atari 2600, and was a kid during the Nintendo Entertainment System era. Some of my fondest memories involve one iconic set of characters: Mario, Luigi, Toadstool, and Princess Peach. Over the years, games have changed (some changes for the good, and others…not so much), but I love that the Mario series have stayed true to their roots. Every Mario game that I can think of has stood the test of time, and has served as a model to countless other games. However, despite being one of the best game franchises around, one component was always missing: multiplayer. Sure, previous SMB games had a “2 player” option, but all you were able to do was pass around the same joystick, or take turns using 2 joysticks. The idea of 2 characters on screen at the same time seemed strangely impossible for these games… and why Nintendo wasn’t able to make this happen sooner than 2009 boggles the mind. But, having spent 7 or 8 hours playing New Super Mario Bros yesterday, I don’t care why or how they were able to finally do it…because this game is an absolute blast to play!

More Reviews: New Super Mario Bros

As soon as the game starts, you start to get an idea of just how great this game is going to be… especially if you have played Super Mario games before (and cmon…who hasn’t?!?). Everything looks very familiar, but in a good way. The game really feels like they took some of the best ideas, bosses, levels, and music from each of the Mario games and retooled them for NSMB Wii (New Super Mario Bros Wii). In fact, it feels mostly like Super Mario World and Super Mario Bros 3 rolled into one, with a little bit of Super Mario Galaxy thrown in as well… and that, my friends, is an AWESOME combination! Like I mentioned earlier…I have played hundreds…maybe thousands of video games in my time. And this game ranks right up there with the best of them. It is, in my humble opinion, on par with Super Mario Bros 3, which has been rated by numerous gaming sites as the best game of all time. Playing the game for the first time, there were lots of “oohs and ahhs”, plenty of mischievous giggles, lots of punching and name calling (see multiplayer), and even several times where one of us paused the game just to point out how great this game is. I hate to gush over this game, but it really is a work of art. It’s easily one of the best games I have ever played, and certainly one of the best available on Wii. Here are some of my observations about it:

Old Skool SMB: Mario games are good, and they work. Period. This is one series of games that doesn’t need to be retooled, revamped, updated, or changed dramatically in order for it to compete with the likes of Modern Warfare 2. In fact, there really is no competition for Mario games. Historically, they sell, are highly rated, and have a long shelf-life. This game is no different. It is classic Mario at his best. There are some updates that make the game fresh and interesting, but it is mostly classic Mario 2-D action, and that is a good thing.

Music: Mario games have always had great music. Who hasn’t found themselves whistling or humming one of the iconic Mario tunes? This game has some really cool new music, as well as some remixes/revamps of classic Mario music. When I found myself in the first of the Koopa Kid castles and I heard the original music from Super Mario Bros 3(??), I was ecstatic.

Screenshots and video: New Super Mario Bros

Multiplayer: For the life of me, I couldn’t tell you why Nintendo was never able to incorporate some genuine multiplayer in a Mario game previously. But, add it they did, and it is great. The multiplayer component of Super Mario Bros Wii is really well done. There are some competitive modes where you and your friends (or opponents) are running through a level and competing to get the most coins, and it is really fun. But where multiplayer really shines is when you are actually playing through the games with a couple of your friends. All of you are on screen at the same time. When you hit one of the “?” boxes, 3 or 4 mushrooms may come out… or maybe 2 mushrooms and 1 Penguin suit…and you have a choice: Will we all go scrambling for the penguin suit? Or will the most skilled player just take a mushroom suit and leave the penguin suit to the others? Or, will I scramble and get all of the mushrooms and the penguin suit, leaving my teammates out in the cold? I tried all of these scenarios, and it was pure joy to see the look on my friends faces either way!

You see, the multiplayer can be either competitive or cooperative. There will be times where getting a big coin or a 1-up will require that you cooperate…maybe I will need to pick up one player and hold him over my head, and then another player will bounce off his head to get the 1-up. Or, maybe there will be a player that I want to give some grief… so I can pick him up and throw him down a pit or in the lava… or I can throw a green shell at him. There will also be times where you are all trying to accomplish something (like jumping across a lava pit), and because we are all scrambling and trying to save our own skin, one player will bounce off the other’s head, giving themselves a boost up and over the lava, but sending their friend to their death. As you can imagine, the cooperative multiplayer would FREQUENTLY and unexpectedly become competitive, and there was no shortage of amazed/shocked looks back and forth (i.e “Dude… I cant believe you just did that!!”), punches in the shoulder, name calling, calling “dibs” on power ups only to be disappointed, and laughing ranging from a mischievous giggle to rolling on the floor in stitches. When we were playing, one guy even got really upset and went home! LOL. It was one heck of a fun afternoon! Once the sore loser left, we started cooperating more and competing less, and it was equally fun. Almost equally anyway…

Difficulty: I hate easy games, and I hate short games. I especially hate short and easy games. This game is neither. From what I have experienced so far, this is one of the most challenging Mario games I have ever played. It isn’t necessarily HARD…anyone can pick up New Super Mario Bros Wii and begin playing. That is the case with every Mario game. But it is challenging. You will die…a lot. Especially when playing multiplayer, since frequently one of your teammates will do something that sends you to your end on accident. Plus, the difficulty really starts to ramp up in some of the later worlds/levels. Also, there are 3 hidden achievement coins in each level, as well as these special “star” coins that you can go out of your way to find…and getting to some of these can be a real challenge. I estimate that it will easily take 20+ hours to complete this game… and even once it is done, it will be a blast to start over and play again. And the truth is, Mario games are always long and fairly difficult… I never did beat Super Mario 2! I think this game is going to have a long shelf life at my house!

I will spare you any more gushing details about this game. Clearly, I enjoyed it immensely. If you own a Nintendo Wii, you should own this game. If there was ONE Wii game I would recommend you buy, it would be this one. If you are considering buying a Nintendo Wii because you like this game…I guarantee it will be worth it. This game is destined to be a classic, and it would be a shame to miss out! Here is my personal rating for the game:

Gameplay: 10/10
Presentation: 9/10
Sound/Music: 9/10
Multiplayer: 9/10
Difficulty: 10/10
Lasting Appeal: 9/10
Overall: 10/10

Buy it now: New Super Mario Bros

Left 4 Dead 2: You had me at Pipe Bomb

When Left 4 Dead 2 was announced about six months after the first game came out, a lot of people were shocked for a few reasons. It’s Valve and Valve is notorious for taking their sweet time releasing quality games, was one reason. And then there was the more important question. Was this a cash grab? Is it merely an expansion pack masquerading as a fully priced game? And now it’s released and the answer to the above questions is evident: Left 4 Dead 2 had me at “improved pipe bomb.”

But you’re not here to listen to me go on about how cool the pipe bomb is and how awesome the changed effects of zombie bodies literally exploding through the air is. At least I hope not. The fact is, after playing through Left 4 Dead 2, the original game feels more like a blueprint. Everything that was in L4D is in the sequel, but the sequel is a completely different beast. I was surprised, when we played through the opening campaign “Dead Centre” just how varied and improved the game was. You begin at the top of a hotel, bringing to mind the small apartment complex that began the first game. Except that this time, there’s a whole lot more. You see, the building is on fire, you can create backdrafts through doors, and the entire event feels more context driven than…well, than the entire first game.

More Left 4 Dead 2 screenshots and video.

Fire will cause impromptu passages, forcing you to discover different ways through the crumbling building. This means sometimes climbing out a window and balancing precariously on a ledge, moving from window to window in your escape. The intensity is further exasperated by the introduction of the special infected. Imagine playing this in Versus as a Jockey, hopping onto one of the survivors and moving them off the edges or being a Spitter and spitting the goo at just the right moment. Moving through the hotel, the fire increases and eventually, smoke will cloud your vision, creating an extremely claustrophic even where zombies charge out of the dense, dark smoke or other zombies, wearing hazmat suits, will simply rush, unharmed, through the flames at you. This diversity continues as you race through the chapters. In the first campaign alone, you will race through a burning hotel, tear through a grocery store in search for cola to bring back to a crazed, holed up hermit so he’ll destroy a barricade and eventually reach the climax where you have to locate gas cans (like in the new mode) to gas up a car to escape.

Left 4 Dead 2 reviews.

The thing is, that’s only the tip of the iceberg. Later campaigns like “Dark Carnival” add a bit of whimsy as you can play some of the carnival games (kudos to Valve for bringing back the Half Life 2 gnome for an achievement), race up and down a roller coaster as zombies chase endless after you, and eventually reach the end which culminates in an inspired ending scenario that’s completely different (and a tad whimsical) than anything else in the game. This diversity only continues through the later campaigns as well, with “Hard Rain” being my absolute favorite. In “Hard Rain,” as you move through the maps, it starts raining harder and harder. It’s by far the most atmospheric and most interesting, since you eventually have to backtrack through the zones, but this time they are flooded and the weather adds a completely different challenge to the map. Additionally, unlike the first game where the campaigns all felt a bit too similar, resulting in my group relying on a couple campaigns we liked the most, each campaign offers so many differences, that I find myself wanting to replay them over and over. With five fully-developed campaigns, there’s a lot more content than in the original game. Also, if you’re feeling especially masochistic, try turning on the Realism mode which gets rid of the glowy outlines around survivors and ammo, makes infected harder to kill (headshots, please) and gets rid of the spawning closets…

And that doesn’t take into account the other features. Of course, there’s Versus and Survival Modes like in the original game, but L4D2 also throws in Scavenge. Scavenge essentially is L4D2’s version of a capture the flag mode, with the myriad of gas cans being flags. The survivors race around the map, fighting both the infected and the clock, trying to get as many gas cans to start a generator as possible. Meanwhile, the infected obviously try to stop them. What I love about Scavenge is that it’s not the time commitment that Versus is. It’s a quick best of three or five game that ratchets up the tension and can create some truly inspired situations. My only complaint about this mode is that there’s only one per campaign right now. Ditto the Survival mode which doesn’t seem to have as many maps as in the original Left 4 Dead. Hopefully Valve rectifies this with DLC.

After you get past the myriad of modes and campaigns, there’s still more tiny additions that made me smile. Guns are now strewn across the level and you won’t find conveniently placed groups of weapons that contain everything. The guns also have a lot more variety, with a few different options for each type of weapon (I really enjoy the combat shotgun). The newly introduced melee weapons are interesting. In lower difficulties, they are seemingly overpowered; however, as you start to play on expert, I’ve found their limitations to be too great. Still, a nice additional and some of them are fantastic: taking down a witch with a chainsaw is perfection. The two grenade types return as does vials of Boomer bile. This operates under the same concept as the pipe bomb, except that the undead will race to the impact point and try to destroy whatever’s there…like a Tank. Not that they will destroy a Tank, but they do provide some assistance. Then there’s the other miscellaneous items, like defibrillators that will bring back dead party members.

And I haven’t even talked about the characters and story. I do miss the original gang of archetypical characters; I miss Frank’s acerbic comments (“I hate vans…”) and the camaraderie they had. But the new gang is also better developed and their banter is fresh and entertaining as they move through the campaigns, which, by the way, feel a lot more connected and there’s more story here. So here’s the thing. Those who didn’t care for Left 4 Dead will probably not be swayed by L4D2 because it offers more of what the first one did. It’s not a radically different game, it just feels…more complete. When I blasted through the first game, I wanted more…I felt like I played through a blueprint of a fantastic game. L4D2 delivers on that promise. It’s not an expansion, it’s a great, new, longer and better game.

Very much recommended for fans of the original.

Buy it now: Left 4 Dead 2

Assassin’s Creed II improves the original in every way

I’ll be the first to admit that the first Assassin’s Creed had it’s faults. However, I did enjoy it quite a bit. Although I was pretty sure I would enjoy Assassin’s Creed II, I had no idea exactly how much I would love it. Read on for the full review, or skip to the BOTTOM LINE for the short and to the point recommendation.

GAMEPLAY
Admittedly, I haven’t finished the game yet. However, I can tell you that the structure is greatly improved from the first one. Gone are the rigidly structured assassinations where you must complete a certain amount of the same sidequests. Now, you can see the sidequests on your map (including race, beat-up random guy, etc.) but they are completely optional. Another part of the first Assassin’s Creed that I didn’t like was the insane amount of collectibles placed in the various cities in the form of flags. These are gone as well. There are still things to collect (statues in the home city and codex pages), but they are a lot more fun to find and, in the case of the codex pages, are marked on your map. In addition, there are secret glyph puzzles and crypts to find and explore, but these are revealed to be near when you get close to the buildings that house them. The combat system has remained largely the same, but you get many of your abilities much faster. You can also customize Ezio with various types or armor and weapons. But by far the most fun is the hidden blade, which has been improved for the sequel. How, you ask? Well they just gave us another one to play with. This leads to some truly spectacular assassinations, as Ezio leaps from a roof to take down two guards at once. If you invest the time and effort to remain undetected, you feel truly powerful as you pick off guard after guard, then leap from the shadows to quickly eliminate your target. You truly feel like an assassin. And further into the game, I am told that you can acquire even more toys to kill your foes in even more inventive and, most importantly, fun ways.

Assassins Creed II Reviews

STORY
This is another area that the first game fell short, in my opinion. Half way through I just got bored and had to take a few weeks off to play other things. This game has succeeded in completely drawing me in. You truly care about Ezio, and, without revealing any major events, his motivations make him a very realistic character. As he is ripped from his youthful shenanigans into a plot bigger than himself, he grows into that assassin’s cloak in ways that Altair never did. Simple gestures like sometimes removing his hood when talking to friends and allies make him seem more real, like there’s a real person under that getup that I’m actually interested in seeing through to the story’s end. As I mentioned before, I haven’t completed the game, but it looks as though Ubisoft has succeeded in making me feel emotionally invested in the story and the characters in a way that the first Assassin’s Creed never came close to.

GRAPHICS
Some people have said that the game’s graphic engine is beginning to show it’s age. Maybe in some ways that’s true, but in others ways this game is truly beautiful. The cities have a busy feel to them, much like the first game, and when perched high above the ground in one of the many viewpoints, the scenery can truly take your breath away. To be fair, there are some clipping issues with Ezio’s clothes and weapons, but that’s true of most any game. And the characters themselves could look a little better, but that would be nitpicking. Overall, this game has a beautiful environment that represents classic Italian cities very well.

More screenshots and video: Assassins Creed II

SOUND
Sound is usually one element of games that I don’t notice as much. But I found myself noticing subtle touches added in to enhance the experience that really work well. Like the best game music, it’s unintrusive, but enhances what you’re seeing if you pay attention to it. No complaints here.

BOTTOM LINE
This game is excellent. It takes elements of sandbox games, stealth games, action games, and even a few quicktime events (but undressing your lover is an acceptable use of this often overused mechanic) and turns them into a game that exceeded my admittedly high expectations. It’s attention to detail is impressive, and it strives to be historically accurate where it can be. The voicework is good, and I like that they included some Italian to be true to their setting. The story is good, and does its job in making the characters interesting and three-dimensional. It’s even quite funny at times. And if you’re interested, there are a lot of very interesting lore-type bits of items to find and obsess over that really develop the already interesting Assassin’s Creed world. So, if you liked the first game you should get this. If you found the first game too boring, you should get this. If you like Italy, you should get this. If you are even remotely interested in the premise, you should get this. In short, this game is excellent and should be on your list of must-haves for either console.

A note on the rating:
This game is rated M for a reason. While the aforementioned “undressing your lover” scene is quite tame compared to other love scenes in video games (or virtually every prime-time tv show) it could be a little much for the munchkins. Also, there is a lot of blood. You are an assassin, after all. Particularly brutal murders are shown, like stabbing people through the face. This is not overdone, and all you see is blood spray, but this is not a game for the kiddies. In addition, there are several cases of harsh language, including some uses of the f-word. You have been warned.

A note on religion:
The game opens with a screen explaining that it was developed by a multicultural team of various faiths. This is because, to put it simply, the story of this game may be offensive to those of religious faith. It is not truly hostile toward religion, and I would compare it to Dan Brown’s “The Da Vinci Code” in terms of offensiveness. I viewed it as entertainment, as a fictitious story, and I took no offense at the story. But once again, this game and its story are for intended for those who can appreciate it for what it is: a somewhat violent and (relatively) realistic take on Renaissance Italy society with mature sci-fi themes thrown in. Adjust your buying decisions accordingly.

Edit (11-22-09):
Finished the game. Wow. If, like me, you liked the sci-fi style near-future storyline of Desmond, then you’ll love the ending. It literally blew my mind. The story is immensely satisfying and comes to a completely awesome conclusion that sets up for the next game. If you despise the collection elements of the game, you might be disappointed by some mandatory collection at the end. I was lucky enough to have collected 29 of 30 codex pieces and so only had to find one more, but it is kinda jarring to be made to stop right at the climax of the story to find a few things you may have forgotten. Thankfully, they mark every missing piece on your map, but it still breaks the flow of the game. While this was a little irritating, the next hour of gameplay more then made up for it.

The much-hyped flying machine sequence was (thankfully) a short one time thing that, honestly, seems like it was included only for the awesomeness factor and didn’t, in my opinion, really seem to fit in with the rest of the game. Ezio’s character really develops into a mature and intelligent protagonist, even going so far as to lament about the seemingly endless killing that doesn’t bring him any closer to realizing his goals, exactly at the point when I was thinking the same thing. He is incredibly well written, and this makes him one of the more believable characters I’ve seen in a video game.

Since finishing the game, I can honestly say with certainty that this game is everything the original should have been. The story, while starting off slow, kept my attention the entire time, so much so that I finished the game in roughly four days. The length seems about right, and I finished in about 23 hours. If I go back and find all the collectable feathers I could probably get an additional five or so hours of playtime. The replay value isn’t very high, as there is no other difficulty level or any other reason to play again, besides a desire to see the admittedly good story again. And I’ll say it again: the story is very, very good. The difficulty is on the low side, and I don’t think I ever died, other than from long falls resulting from bad jumps and trying to get the Flyswatter achievement during the flying segment (the only missable achievement, fellow achievement hunters). The graphics and sound grew on me even more as I played through the rest of the game and experienced the other cities and locales. The many weapons and skills made for even more fun and amusing ways to kill my targets. The story missions stayed varied and fun, and I never got bored with them. I tried out every type of optional side mission and while they were amusing once, I didn’t feel the need to do any more of them, with the possible exception of the assassination missions.

In short, after finishing the game, my initial impressions remain accurate. This game is very good, and is well worth adding to your collection.

Buy it now: Assassins Creed II

Braid: The definition of a killer app

Braid
What is a killer app? An app that is so strong and valuable that it drives users and usage to a platform. By this definition, Braid is absolutely a killer app.

I’m a lifelong gamer. In fact, I’m a borderline game system collector. (I finally managed to part with most older systems, but I still have my beloved Dreamcast and even my Atari 800 cluttering my garage shelves.) Plus, many of my friends urged me to get an Xbox 360. Despite all this, I was not convinced. The Xbox 360 had serious hardware issues at launch (which now appear to be resolved), and there just weren’t any games that demanded such a hefty platform investment.

Braid changed the equation.   Read more Braid  reviews.

Two gaming friends insisted that I give Braid a chance. In fact, they sat me down and forced a controller into my hands, and they watched — for two hours, because I coldn’t put it down. The next day, I spent $600 on equipment (the best Xbox 360 system with all the bells and whistles), just so I could continue playing this $15 game. Braid is *that* good. And I’ve introduced other friends to Braid and they, too, ran out to buy the console.

Normally, I spend review space describing the game, especially for off-the-beaten-tracks titles like this, but I won’t do so in this case. I had the rare opportunity to experience a masterpiece cold, with no spoilers, and I really appreciated it. So instead, I will merely say this. If you enjoy puzzle games or platformers, if you enjoy games with intriguing and unique mental challenges, games that require more thought and less button mashing, if you enjoy beautiful artwork, both audio and video, you will definitely enjoy this game. If you need more information, other reviews and this site will no doubt provide it. (BTW, you likely won’t spoil yourself on Braid’s “plot” by reading other reviews, you’ll just spoil yourself on the groundbreaking game mechanics. If you play the game cold, you can discover the game mechanics yourself and have many fun “aha” moments in the process.)

Braid  Videos and Screenshots.

I’ve heard that Braid is coming out on PC soon. I can’t speak to the PC version, but I can say that the investment in the Xbox 360 was well worth it, and not just for Braid. It’s the strongest game platform available today. These opinions are best saved for a review of the platform, but my point is, if you want to play Braid but don’t have an Xbox 360, you can either wait for the PC version or take the Xbox 360 plunge. If you play a fair number of video games, you definitely won’t regret getting the Xbox 360 platform.

Regardless, Braid truly is an exquisite game and work of art, and I believe it’s a worthy contender to be added to all-time hall-of-fame game lists everywhere.

P.S.: in case this helps anyone decide about this game, I’ll point out that I view Braid as great in many of the same ways as I view Portal as great. The two games are quite different, but they both have excellent finishing touches, groundbreaking game mechanics, and are both transcendentally impressive.

 Buy it now: Braid

Assassins Creed 2 Preview

Key Game Features:

• Explore the deadly, shadowed world of the assassin with new assassin Ezio
• Roam freely through the lush and dangerous world of Renaissance-era Italy
• Do whatever it takes to complete your missions in the game’s all-new open world and mission structure
• Thrive in an environment rich with power, revenge and conspiracy
• Practice your assassin’s art with all-new weapons and instruments created by Leonardo da Vinci

Band Hero is a guilty pleasure – review

There are 2 groups of people that typically play Guitar Hero: Those who are score obsessed… they are all about mastering the most challenging of songs and having the highest scores on the leaderboards. Then there are those who love having a group of their friends over to play plastic instruments and yell at the top of their lungs for hours on end. For the most part…I fall into the second category.

I have loved every entry in the Rock Band series, and more recently fell in love with Guitar Hero 5. However, these games have failed me in one vital area: the soundtrack for these games is kinda niche. Oftentimes when friends or family would come over for a “Guitar Hero” or “Rock Band” party, it would turn into each of them taking turns scrolling through hundreds of alternative, progressive, or heavy metal songs until they find one or two that they know and KINDA LIKE… and since they don’t necessarily own a Guitar Hero or Rock Band game, they aren’t overly concerned about scores or anything like that…they just want to play music they know and love. That is where Band Hero swoops in to save the day (or at least save my party!!)

More Band Hero Reviews

Rather than focusing on niche genres of music, Band Hero does the exact opposite… Band Hero’s soundtrack is focused on Pop music. The very definition of POP MUSIC is music that is popular… songs that everyone knows and loves. And I have to say, Band Hero delivers. There is some great music on Band Hero. Granted, the setlist on Guitar Hero 5 was more appealing to me personally… but Band Hero’s setlist will be a HUGE hit at my next party, which, thanks to Band Hero, will be more of a “Karaoke party that also features all of the cool Guitar Hero elements for those interested” than a “Guitar Hero party”. Here are some of my observations about the game:

*The Music -- As I mentioned, the game focuses on pop music, with artists ranging from Yellowcard to Hillary Duff to Taylor Swift to No Doubt and so on. There are several “guilty pleasures” songs that, while I wouldn’t admit enjoying any other time, will be a HUGE hit when having friends over to play (especially my wife’s friends)… like The Spice Girls, Taylor Swift, Joss Stone. There are even classic songs like “Rio” by Duran Duran, “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me” by Culture Club, and “Kung Fu Fighting” by Carl Douglas (right?)… and cmon…who can really claim not to love singing any of those songs? Sure, they are really easy to play on guitar/bass/drums for the most part…. but they are fun. Besides, if you want a challenge…check out the SONG IMPORT feature!

Buy it now: Band Hero

*Song Import: For a small fee, you can import 61 songs from Guitar Hero 5, and several of the songs from Guitar Hero Smash Hits and Guitar Hero World Tour. Before importing Guitar Hero 5 (and after importing smash hits and world tour), I already had a total of 140 songs available to play in Band Hero! So, in addition to the pop songs included on the disk, I am also able to include alot of the great and more challenging songs from Guitar Hero 5 (like “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, “Medicate”, and lots of other great stuff!!!)

*Downloadable Content: Like Guitar Hero 5 and Guitar Hero:World Tour, Band Hero includes an in-game music store that allows you to purchase additional songs. Hopefully, this means that, in addition to the more hardcore downloadable songs available for Guitar Hero 5, Band Hero will also be getting downloadable pop music! Also, most (if not all) of the dlc that you purchase for Guitar Hero 5 and Guitar Hero World Tour are AUTOMATICALLY playable in Band Hero! If, however, you want these to be excluded from Band Hero, there is a place in the Options menu that allows dlc to be disabled. With downloadable content and importing the songs from other versions of Guitar Hero, I should have a library of over 200 song available for playing in Band Hero by the end of the week!

Band Hero screenshots and video.

*Band Hero = Guitar Hero 5 with more neon lights: Guitar Hero 5 for Wii is a game that any person with a Wii should own. Period. It was the first of the rhythm games to use high-capacity sd cards, effectively adding a hard drive to your Wii. It had AWESOME features like Party Play mode, drop-in and drop-out multiplayer, and the ability change difficulty on the fly. “Beginner” difficulty is also included, which will allow ANYONE to pick up this game and start playing, no matter what skill level. And then there was the AWESOME, Wii-exclusive “Roadie Battle” mode that allowed someone to sit on the sideline with a DS and sabotage other players…. PRICELESS!!! ALL of the features from Guitar Hero 5 are also implemented in Band Hero. That automatically makes Band Hero AWESOME. Period.

 

I really hope Band Hero sells well. Activision took a great game and made it more marketable. Between DJ Hero, Band Hero, and Guitar Hero 5, there is no longer any excuse for people not to jump in and enjoy rythym gaming. Unless you hate music and hate fun, you should own this game. =) Some parents/players were put off by some of the art style used in the Guitar Hero games (lots of skulls, demons, lightning bolts, and heavy metal)… and those people will be happy to know that the look and feel used in Band Hero is more family friendly…they’ve replaced those things with neon lights, starbursts, glitter, floodlights… it really feels like “Guitar Hero” meets “The MTV VMA Awards”. I really enjoy the game, and hope you will too!!

Aside from multiplay, Forza 3 is a perfect game

It’s often said the the third time’s the charm, and in the case of Forza Motorsport 3, that couldn’t be more true. FM3 manages to improve upon it’s predecessors in almost every imaginable way. If you’ve played Forza Motorsport 2, you’re probably aware that the game wasn’t designed with casual gamers in mind. FM3 changes this, and finally brings the franchise to a level that it has appeal not only as an uber-realistic racing simulator, but also as an entertaining racing game that just about anyone can pick up and enjoy. The addition of autobraking and rewind undoubtedly make things easier on newcomers, while the tweaked physics engine and ramped-up AI will give even the most die-hard Forza fanatics a run for their money. With over 400+ cars and 100+ tracks, one would be hard-pressed to get bored with this game.

More  Forza Motorsport 3 Screenshots and videos.

Without a doubt, the two most significant improvements are the graphics and the new “Storefront”. Forza Motorsport 3 displays in a native 720p (upscaled to 1080p by the console) running at 60 fps. This translates to a rich, detailed, and smooth-flowing picture that makes you feel like you’re actually racing in Le Mans. To further immerse gamers, Turn 10 added a true in-cockpit view that was rendered to be a perfect likeness of the real life car. The environment and tracks weren’t spared from this graphic overhaul either, and I often found myself going on free rides just to scope out the scenery and enjoy the ride.

Glossy graphics aside, the “meat” of the game is still incredibly satisfying. Those who were avid players of FM2 can testify to the integral part that online activities played. Don’t worry, as Turn 10 was obviously aware this and made sure to spice things up just for you. Painting cars, applying vinyls and decals, and selling customized cars in FM3 couldn’t be easier. In fact, this practice is encouraged with the addition of the new “Storefront”. Players now have the ability to sell not only liveries for cars, but also tuning configurations. Making a name for yourself as an artist in Forza Motorsport 3 is a definite goal for some, but even those who lack the finesse required to create liveries can benefit from the changes.

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Overall, this game not only meets all expectations set forth by hardcore FM2, but exceeds them. Those of you who are looking for a fun and relaxed racing game won’t be disappointed though, as Forza Motorsport 3 was also designed with you in mind. I would, without a doubt, recommend the purchase of this game. The only downside is that the game comes with two disks (and a total of 1.9 GB of data) and necessitates the use of a hard drive if you plan on adding the bonus content (100+ cars and 3 environments).

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Forza Motorsport 3 Reviews.

(UPDATE -- November 4, 2009) -- Numerous reviews have been posted addressing the shortcomings concerning the online multiplayer mode. They are correct. Turn 10 absolutely perfected the single player aspect of this game with “Season Mode” but, upon playing a few hours in the online multiplayer mode (which, due to all the waiting, is only two or three races) a glaring flaw reveals itself- Turn 10’s “reset” of the new matchmaking system sucks. A lot. Gone are the days of creating your own custom party. Gone are the days of racing sub-A class cars. Gone are the glory days of online multiplayer.

While this may not be a huge deal to me (I mostly play single-player anyways), it’s definitely a problem that NEEDS to be addressed. I’ve also noticed some problems in single player mode..

* Some in-car views aren’t interactive, or don’t render correctly.

* While the sound of cars has been vastly improved, there are still some problems. It seems that the exhaust note is based solely on displacement of the engine. A Camaro shouldn’t sound like a Murcielago.

* Uploading the “Movies” doesn’t work unless they’re shot in low-res. 720p videos just don’t upload.

* The “Performance Index” is broken. A Dodge Ram with a PI of 700 should, logically, perform on par with a Lamborghini Reventon with a PI of 700, right? Well, that’s not how it works. I don’t know how the PI is calculated, but it’s not right.

* The resolution of Photomode leaves alot to be desired. While it’s understandable that there needs to be a limit on file size to relieve strain on Turn 10’s servers, I feel that the quality of the pictures doesn’t do the game justice.

* Everything sold in the Storefront has a price cap of 10,000 credits. While this is just temporary, it’s a huge disincentive at to spend hours upon hours perfecting a quality livery to be sold.

* The AI occasionally does stupid things. Though it’s rare, I’ve seen opponents slam on their brakes for no reason when they’re in the lead, slam into walls, or just stop driving. I don’t know if these are just glitches, or the AI trying to be “more human”. Whatever the cause, it’s not right.

MY ratings so far-

[*****] -- Single Player Mode
[****_] -- Soundtrack
[*****] -- Visuals
[****_] -- Multiplayer (Split-screen)
[*____] -- Multiplayer (Xbox Live)
[***__] -- Fit and finish (Ready to be released?)

Borderlands defines roleplaying shooter

Borderlands has so far proved to be an immensely enjoyable game delivering in many ways where Gearbox promised. I feel it will be equally appealing to fans of shooters and dungeon crawlers alike.

You start the game going through a little story intro and a bit of a bus ride. Shortly after a bit of introduction you’ll be asked to select one of the characters and exit the bus to start your adventures. The game doesn’t come right out and tell you these are your “classes” but for the interests of the RPG elements of the game that’s what they are. Your choices are basically between stealth/special weapons, sniper, support/healing, and tank/melee. There unfortunately isn’t a vast amount of customization in their looks available but you can alter a 3 color scheme for their outfit and customize your name almost immediately after stepping off the bus.

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From here you do a short and sweet tutorial which throws you right in to the action relatively quickly. The controls are tight and will be very familiar to fans of popular FPS games such as Halo, Resistance, Gears, Unreal, and many others. You have the ability to jump, duck, melee, shoot, toss grenades, and eventually use a class specific special ability such as placing turrets. Aside from the general control of your character menus are easy to navigate for all of your weapons, the map is easy to read, and the HUD is simple and informative.

Following the tutorial you progress the game from doing various quests. These quests can be found on mission boards, from NPCs, and occasionally from random stuff lying around. The quests themselves so far haven’t been anything particularly noteworthy in the grand scheme of RPGs. It’s still a lot of “kill XYZ” “collect a fistful of whozawhatits” or “go talk to random NPC” but they have streamlined them enough to where the don’t feel forced but rather serve as more of a beacon of where you should realistically be taking your character and scoring some nice exp and loot while you’re at it. Quest objectives can also be tracked and objectives are clearly marked on your compass.

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Outside of questing there are a decent number of monsters to kill. I still don’t really have much of an idea as to what dictates when an enemy will respawn but it seems if you wander around enough you will likely run in to something to kill. It’s typically not a mindless slaughter either, I would highly recommend trying fighting tactically much like you would in a shooter. Until you out-gear or out-level your opponent you will find that the game can actually be quite challenging at times and reward clever use of your equipment and abilities. The game did a great job of encouraging this too by making your enemies respond to grenades logically, implementing cover well, and of course rewarding you with devastating critical with our beloved’ HEAD SHOT!

Sizable amounts of experience can also be earned through completing various challenges which are like in game achievements, some of which are actually tied to achievements/trophies. It’s mostly killing various things with various weapons but early on it’s a great source of experience and you can track your progress on them.

Borderlands Screenshots, Videos and more.

Starting at level 5 you will start to acquire skill points every level. These are used to boost various abilities of your character via a talent/skill tree. There aren’t a lot of choices and you can get quite a few of them with the number of points you wind up with but most of them are fundamentally decent options allowing for some individual diversity in how you build your character without having to over-think it. Aside from that each level your character will get a generic health, defense, and attack boost.

The weapons are pretty cool but I will state that some of the “87 Gazillion” claims were perhaps a bit exaggerated. While it is true that many of the weapons can do quite a bit of unique things, the vast majority of the weapons and gear you will find are going to be slight variations of each other much like any other similar dungeon crawler such as Sacred, Titan Quest, or Diablo. Perhaps later in the game the unique generation of weapons becomes more apparent but I could so far fairly compare this to the way the weapons were in Hellgate: London. As for the size of the actual database and possible combination of weapons, I’m sure their claims are accurate but I can only comment from a practical standpoint of what I’ve seen. In addition to weapons you also get shields which can do various things such as regen health or do elemental bursts when depleted and grenade modifications which allow your grenades to do all kinds of things such as teleport, stick to things, and bounce.

Looting is probably one of my few mild gripes with this game. You can’t simply auto-loot everything in your proximity. What the game has you doing is finding in item, hitting the loot button, and then holding it to pick up other relatively close items. It’s not game breaking annoying but the range on it isn’t very great and holding the loot button to pick up a weapon will auto-equip it which is something that can be frustrating at times.

The graphics will most likely be a love/hate thing for most players as they are highly stylized. I personally love them and think they’re quite well done but there are certainly realism junkies out there that won’t care for the cartoon approach at all. I will say that only decent videos of this game should be used to judge the graphics, still screenshots don’t do this game any justice at all. Graphics aside the environments are very interesting, the characters are well done albeit a bit generic, enemies are pretty decent (Tremors anybody?), and the animations are high quality.

Multiplayer can be done with 2 player split screen couch co-op and online with up to four players I believe. I haven’t gone online yet but the split screen was easy enough. Rather than scaling all of the menus down in split screen they opted to leave them full size and movable so that text wouldn’t get smushed together which I thought was a pretty clever move. What this means is both players don’t have to squint to read everything thing, simply centralize it in their field of view. Also as you do quests objectives/turn-ins will be shared meaning you don’t spend your time waiting for everyone to catch up all the time. In multiplayer you can also duel each other which I haven’t tried yet.

Vehicles haven’t really been much more than a way to get around for me yet. They can be customized in color and weapon outfit but my brother and I both agreed that they weren’t a very good way of killing anything aside from running them over which seemed to always been an automatic kill. For a giant vehicle mounted weapon they seem completely inferior to even the worst weapon you could collect at that relative level. The controls are very similar (identical?) to that of a Warthog in Halo. They’ll probably take some getting used to for new players but they’re relatively easy once you’ve figured them out. I personally find them to be a bit floaty and awkward but at the moment I don’t see myself needing clutch control out of the vehicles for combat so they are passable.

The story regards something involving finding a long lost vault of alien technology. While I’m sure it’s interesting I honestly haven’t paid much attention to it aside from parts of the story which I couldn’t avoid. This sort of game doesn’t really bank on the story for me.

That’s basically it. Quest, kill, loot, level, and become the destructive juggernaut that Pandora always needed while searching for the vault.

DJ Hero works for even the most casual players

By N. Surber -- DJ Hero Review

Let me start by saying that I’ve never been a big fan of this current generation of peripheral-based music games, such as Guitar Hero, Rock Band, etc. Sure I own a copy of GH2 and 3 (3 given to me as a gift from the bargain bin). I have a couple of GH controllers. But after the first few weeks with those games the thrill was gone. I could only play on easy mode. I’d got booed off the stage in defeat. Things in the game I wanted to try or see remained forever locked because I was neither good at it, didn’t have the time to get good at it, and even a small session would cramp my hands bad enough to wonder if I might actually develop arthritis from simply trying to play this game that I already paid a mint for. While GH has had great success, and is actually a pretty cool game, I found it rather discouraging and inaccessible.

I was therefore very skeptical about the new “spin” on this latest entry of the genre and brand, DJ Hero. I hardly kept it on my gaming forecast radar for all the bad memories of GH past and the fact that I figured it’d just be more of the same and slanted to rake the pockets of hip hop fans. Well, brothers and sisters, I am happy to report how wrong I was. I LOVE THIS GAME!

I saw it on display at a retail store. Everyone was crowded around and I became bold enough to start an inquiry. Is it hard? How much like GH is it? How are the songs? Is it fun? Well, long story short, somehow I dared myself to buy it for the entry level price, $120. I had a friend coming over that night and so I thought we might both give it a try and, if I didn’t like it, maybe I’d trade it to him for half the price and cut my losses.

Well, I got it home, hooked it up rather easily, started the in-game tutorials and never looked back. DJ Hero takes what was right with GH and practically fixed all of the aforementioned flaws. This game has improved on so many aspects that GH laid out in the past. It’s a very fresh take on this new music-based peripheral genre. It’s very accessible to ALL player skills. The gentle tutorial will lead your way to hours of great fun and music. Players will also feel a sense of accomplishment as the learning curve is very low. The game play is not as unforgiving as GH where you have to practice all the time and/or be a freak and end up with arthritis to get good at it and not get booed off the stage or be unable to unlock other parts of the game.

The peripheral it comes with is easy to learn and will get you playing in no time. Everything makes sense with this game. After the quick tutorials, you’ll be dying to try everything this game has to throw at you and you never feel like it’s a chore. It plays like GH in that you react to the oncoming rhythm indicators but, instead of the guitar, you have a DJ turntable with only three buttons you need to push accordingly, along with just a few other knobs to turn. Players should find this set up very intuitive. The peripheral it comes with is very capable, sturdy, and wireless. It’s also customizable for R-L hands, and it’s a LOT of fun playing around with that thing.

The best thing about this game is simply that it’s a lot of fun without a lot of work. There are enough songs to suit anybody’s taste, and almost every song has been remixed anyway so that most songs will sound new to anyone. There are plenty of goodies to unlock and the best part is you don’t have to master the game to unlock them. Just playing the game enough and doing well will have you unlocking items all the time, and like I said, it’s not hard to play well. You can make it as hard as you want though. The game is fun and will reward you for as easy or as hard as you want to play it. There’s even a bonus to the gameplay where you can plug in your old GH guitar into the second port and, for certain mixes, play dual turntable/guitar sessions with a friend.

The only drawbacks to this game is that if you play it for a really long time the novelty and fun might not be as appealing as it was when you first started. Like I said, you won’t be booed off the stage so you probably won’t put down the turntable until the thrill is gone. You’ll come back to it time after time, most likely, but the game will potentially lose its shine. The only other drawback that I can see is the price. $120 is pretty steep even at the entry level and there is a premium $200 “Renegade” edition where you get a more fortified turntable, a stand, a solid DJ like case, and an exclusive Jay-Z/Eminem CD. Most people should be happy with the $120 edition though. You get the same songs either way and the turntable is just fine with the entry level purchase.

In closing, if you already like these peripheral-based music games, DJ Hero is something you probably want to check out. If you’re new to these types of games or have given up on them, as I have done in the past, DJ Hero is a very fresh and inviting new entry into the genre. Fun for you, for friends, for family, for parties, for anything to do with music gaming. DJ Hero should be a GREAT time and product for just about anybody.

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Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 360 review

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 Review

CODMW:2 may very well be the best game of 2009. In a world where sequels often fail to live up to expectations, MW2 is certainly an exception. I gave this game five stars because its awesome and I think everybody should buy it. There are a TON of cool features added into this game, though I do have a couple of concerns that I’ll share as well.

Campaign – The storyline for MW2 is amazing for a couple of different reasons. Not only is the plot really exciting; the storyline is both realistic and believable. A large number of locales are explored – from the arctic, to the desert, to our nation’s capital. It really gives you the sense that what occurs in one area of the world can have great ramifications elsewhere. New vehicles and new weapons are introduced that really provide some epic gaming. Though the campaign is definitely one to be remembered, I feel like it could have been better narrated. I was really confused at a couple different points in the game, the end included. One minute you’re running the obstacle course at base camp and the next minute war has broke out on America’s doorstep. It would have been helpful if they threw in a couple shortish cutscenes throughout the game to help move the story along. The short dialogues that the characters had whilst the next map loaded often left me wondering exactly what the mission at hand was. I feel like we’re at an age in gaming where somewhat of a cinematic experience is expected from big-time games, but on the other hand maybe that’s just me. I also felt like this game was REALLY hard. I’m a pretty hardcore gamer and I found that playing just on hardened was way too difficult. I suggested to my friend that he play regular as opposed to a more difficult setting and he mentioned that even on regular he died pretty regularly. Maybe it has something to do with improved AI, but I definitely don’t anticipate I’ll give veteran a go anytime soon. Though I’m of the opinion that COD4 had a much better storyline and campaign, the campaign in MW2 will definitely blow your socks off.

Multiplayer – This is basically the same as COD4 with a couple of subtle changes. They did give this one a bit more of an arcade-type feel to it. It’s really fast-paced and I feel like they are trying to discourage sniping just a bit. Though I prefer the maps from COD4 by a great deal, I’ve had fun playing online and I wouldn’t expect that to change for a very long time.

Graphics – The graphics are the real deal – definitely top-notch as far as the 360 is concerned. Environments look sweet and characters actually look like they could be real people, as opposed to those in Halo:ODST.

All in all, this is a really sweet game. I don’t think it’s as good as COD4, but that’s because COD4 is undeniably one of the greatest games ever made. MW2 is certainly a sequel worth the hype.

Another note – This game is rated 18+ for a reason. There are gruesome scenes of death/disturbing images/themes that younger kids probably shouldn’t be exposed to. I’m not suggesting that it’s inappropriate for everybody under 18, but if you are trying to determine whether this would be an appropriate game for younger kids then the answer is probably no.

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