Alright, My first console review, The PSVita.
The PSVita is Sony's newest handheld. The Vita sports dual thumbsticks, a d-pad, the standard playstation buttons, 2 shoulder buttons, and most importantly, a HD touchscreen, and a rear touch pad.
First off the Vita sports amazing graphics, I can easily imagine the Vita competing with the Xbox 360, the 3DS(no contest), and to a lesser extent the PS3.
The dual thumbsticks and the graphics invite developers to create shooters and other games(can we say Portal on the Vita?).
The Vita's touchscreen is easily on par with the iPhone and iPod touch and the Vita also sports a gyroscope (or accelerometer, not sure.) and I am sure it is pretty safe to assume that some iPhone and android based games will definitely make a Vita experience.
Now my only complaint with the Vita is not a hardware issue, the problem is that the hardware appears to be extremely underutilized. The Vita so far does not support online video(youtube and other videos) and no netflix to my knowledge. Also in the game I played to test the controls (Ultimate Marvel VS. Capcom 3) I found that the touchscreen and touchpad had been severely under utilized. I was disappointed that in Simple and touch mode the only Hypercombos I could perform was the level one attacks, What might have been better was to be able to set certain attacks to be activated by tapping different areas of the rear touchpad, similar to the 3DS using the bottom screen in street fighter. I do have to say that I would probably play the game if I could do that because I am a horrible fighting player and have never intentionally used a move in street fighter type games. This feature might be able to be added as an update but I am not sure how that will work on the Vita as of yet.
The web browser is very snappy as well, not as snappy as safari on an iPhone but a definite improvement over the PSP, the touchscreen keyboard alone makes it more bearable, add in Youtube support and I will be really sold.
It might also be an idea to be able to view media from a network hard drive.
So far I haven't been able to come up with any thing that can't be improved upon.
So my final analysis is:
Very nice specs and solid design.
Good graphics and sound, with solid controls.
A very friendly interface.
A great improvement over the PSP and hopefully for Sony redemption for the Go.
A hefty but not out of this world price tag.
A bit disappointing list of launch titles.
A solid platform with a lot of potential.
Worth it? I would say yes. The system may be more expensive than the 3DS but it has some very solid specs to expand upon.
My last thought and it is very last second but a shout out to Majong, This would be a very good platform for Minecraft in my opinion.
Your stop for honest gaming reviews and opinions. I review games, gaming equipment, and generally have fun. Blog Updates on Mon, Wed, and Fri.
Friday, February 17, 2012
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Twisted Metal PS3 Review
Twisted Metal is a PS only title that I fondly remember from my childhood. I can now say I own a copy of every single game in the series.
Twisted Metal is a car combat game that revolves around the Twisted Metal tournament hosted by Calypso, if you when the tournament you get one wish, this wish can be anything, Fame, Fortune, even eternal life, if you can think it you can have it, there are NO limits. However, voice your wish carefully, Calypso usually adds a twist to the wish. Very few have outsmarted him.
Personally I love this game, it fits in nicely with the other titles and is quite fun to play. My only problem with the game is that while all TM titles have been dark this one seems to take things a bit further, I am thinking that I am going to have to take a break and go play a happy game soon.
On a scale of 1-10 I give it:
Ease of play: 7 (while veterans of the Twisted Metal series will have no trouble playing it, it might be a bit confusing to newcomers.)
Graphics: 9 (The game is well modeled and the live action cut scenes are great. Although you might not pay much attention to the world as you try to kill and not be killed.)
Replay: 7 (While there aren't any collectables or anything, you can try and go beat your records in single player and of course there is always Multiplayer.)
Family friendliness: 3 (Not family friendly. The game is very, very dark and will be a bit much to younger audiences, that coupled with blood splatter, violence, and Strong language, like F***, B****, and others of that caliber, make this game a no no for younger gamers.)
All in all I give it a 8.
This game is fun an I believe it will be very fun to play multiplayer even on split screen.
Twisted Metal is a car combat game that revolves around the Twisted Metal tournament hosted by Calypso, if you when the tournament you get one wish, this wish can be anything, Fame, Fortune, even eternal life, if you can think it you can have it, there are NO limits. However, voice your wish carefully, Calypso usually adds a twist to the wish. Very few have outsmarted him.
Personally I love this game, it fits in nicely with the other titles and is quite fun to play. My only problem with the game is that while all TM titles have been dark this one seems to take things a bit further, I am thinking that I am going to have to take a break and go play a happy game soon.
On a scale of 1-10 I give it:
Ease of play: 7 (while veterans of the Twisted Metal series will have no trouble playing it, it might be a bit confusing to newcomers.)
Graphics: 9 (The game is well modeled and the live action cut scenes are great. Although you might not pay much attention to the world as you try to kill and not be killed.)
Replay: 7 (While there aren't any collectables or anything, you can try and go beat your records in single player and of course there is always Multiplayer.)
Family friendliness: 3 (Not family friendly. The game is very, very dark and will be a bit much to younger audiences, that coupled with blood splatter, violence, and Strong language, like F***, B****, and others of that caliber, make this game a no no for younger gamers.)
All in all I give it a 8.
This game is fun an I believe it will be very fun to play multiplayer even on split screen.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Portal 2 Review
Portal 2 is by far on of my all time favorite games.
In Portal 2 you must complete tests to survive and hopefully win your freedom from the Aperture Science facility. Using the Aperture Science Quantum Tunneling device you will solve many puzzles to free yourself and save the day.
The game is full of wonderful characters and a brilliantly written script. Like most Valve games it manages to tell a wonderful story without the use of cut scenes.
On a scale of 1-10 I give it:
Ease of Play: 8 (The game has a very simple control set and pretty much all these controls are explained throughout the game, really the only things keeping me from giving it a 10 is that there are significantly more controls in the Cooperative Testing Initiative mode and that most newer gamers have issues in FPS games.)
Graphics: 10 (Portal 2 is beautiful no matter what console it is on, though it is probably prettiest on a high end computer. If Valve ever makes a sequel I would love so much to explore more of Apertures Sub levels.)
Replay: 6 (This is really the only area where it lacks, there are no collectables and the game is very linear so no exploring. But I have beaten the game 8 times now and I am thinking that after things settle down some more I will try for times 9 and 10. The game is just fun to play.)
Family Friendliness: 7 (While not inherently violent the game has some dark tones and the environment could be scary to younger audiences, Also there are some minor swear words used later in the game, the only one I can remember and it may be the only one is "Damn".)
All in all I give it a 9.
Valve, you have once again given us a wonderful game. Please make a sequel and as always we are still waiting for HL3.
In Portal 2 you must complete tests to survive and hopefully win your freedom from the Aperture Science facility. Using the Aperture Science Quantum Tunneling device you will solve many puzzles to free yourself and save the day.
The game is full of wonderful characters and a brilliantly written script. Like most Valve games it manages to tell a wonderful story without the use of cut scenes.
On a scale of 1-10 I give it:
Ease of Play: 8 (The game has a very simple control set and pretty much all these controls are explained throughout the game, really the only things keeping me from giving it a 10 is that there are significantly more controls in the Cooperative Testing Initiative mode and that most newer gamers have issues in FPS games.)
Graphics: 10 (Portal 2 is beautiful no matter what console it is on, though it is probably prettiest on a high end computer. If Valve ever makes a sequel I would love so much to explore more of Apertures Sub levels.)
Replay: 6 (This is really the only area where it lacks, there are no collectables and the game is very linear so no exploring. But I have beaten the game 8 times now and I am thinking that after things settle down some more I will try for times 9 and 10. The game is just fun to play.)
Family Friendliness: 7 (While not inherently violent the game has some dark tones and the environment could be scary to younger audiences, Also there are some minor swear words used later in the game, the only one I can remember and it may be the only one is "Damn".)
All in all I give it a 9.
Valve, you have once again given us a wonderful game. Please make a sequel and as always we are still waiting for HL3.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Minecraft Review
I guess with how much time I spend playing it I should review Minecraft finally.
Minecraft is an open world survival/creative based game. In it you are stranded in a strange and unknown world where you must collect resources, food, and build to survive and bring your dreams to reality. In the game there are two modes: Survival where you can be hurt and killed by monsters and hazards and must eat and collect resources to survive(duh); and Creative where you have almost all items given to you and you are invincible and can fly.
One of Minecraft's best qualities is that it is almost constantly updated. Most bugs are quickly eliminated and new features added.
On a scale of 1-10 I give it:
Ease of Play: 7 (While the game lacks a true manual it makes up for it with an easy to use, understand, and very extensive Wiki.)
Graphics: 6 (The game has block based graphics but is still beautiful nonetheless, also new texture packs can be downloaded from many sources and in many styles, I currently am using a Steampunk style. Also the Game is very forgiving on lower graphics cards and on board graphics of newer computers, though you will have to turn your draw distance to small or tiny.)
Replay: 10 (I play this game more than any other game I own. When I "Complete" the world I am in I plan on making a new one since I created the current world before upgrades where made to the generator, also world generator mods can be downloaded as well.)
Family Friendlyness: 9 (Very family friendly. No cursing, blood, and minimal violence. The only problem you might run into is scary nights when the monsters seem to be overly active.)
All in all I give it a 9.
I would highly recommend this game to anyone. No cons so far.
Minecraft is an open world survival/creative based game. In it you are stranded in a strange and unknown world where you must collect resources, food, and build to survive and bring your dreams to reality. In the game there are two modes: Survival where you can be hurt and killed by monsters and hazards and must eat and collect resources to survive(duh); and Creative where you have almost all items given to you and you are invincible and can fly.
One of Minecraft's best qualities is that it is almost constantly updated. Most bugs are quickly eliminated and new features added.
On a scale of 1-10 I give it:
Ease of Play: 7 (While the game lacks a true manual it makes up for it with an easy to use, understand, and very extensive Wiki.)
Graphics: 6 (The game has block based graphics but is still beautiful nonetheless, also new texture packs can be downloaded from many sources and in many styles, I currently am using a Steampunk style. Also the Game is very forgiving on lower graphics cards and on board graphics of newer computers, though you will have to turn your draw distance to small or tiny.)
Replay: 10 (I play this game more than any other game I own. When I "Complete" the world I am in I plan on making a new one since I created the current world before upgrades where made to the generator, also world generator mods can be downloaded as well.)
Family Friendlyness: 9 (Very family friendly. No cursing, blood, and minimal violence. The only problem you might run into is scary nights when the monsters seem to be overly active.)
All in all I give it a 9.
I would highly recommend this game to anyone. No cons so far.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Birthday!
It's my Birthday! No post today. Maybe later in the week.
Just wanted to say that it was my Birthday! 18 WOOOO! I can buy cigarettes(Ick.) now... Or a rifle where i live. The pawn shop my family gets it's ammo from has an AR-15 I have been eying but first I am going to build a computer. Almost have all the parts. I'll post pictures and specs when it is done.
Just wanted to say that it was my Birthday! 18 WOOOO! I can buy cigarettes(Ick.) now... Or a rifle where i live. The pawn shop my family gets it's ammo from has an AR-15 I have been eying but first I am going to build a computer. Almost have all the parts. I'll post pictures and specs when it is done.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Rage Xbox360 Game Review
Rage is set in post apocalyptic America approximately 160 years in the future. The planet has been devastated by a meteor that has turned at least the U.S. into a wasteland. Your character is an Ark survivor, the Arks were essentially big bunkers where about six people per unit where frozen and all that kinda stuff.
Your character must fight for survival in the wasteland and do jobs to prove his worth and fight the authority.
I found this game to be very very fun entertaining. My only complaint is that while the game is stored on 3 disks it is surprisingly short. The main game can be beaten in under 10 hours easily and is only stored on 2 of the 3 disks. I realize that the most probable reason for the extra disks is that the game has absolutely stunning graphics which understandably take some space, however I expected a much longer campaign and more of a sandbox type experience because Bethesda(Elder Scrolls) was involved in production.
However despite the shortness of the main campaign I still greatly enjoyed the game and can see myself returning to it to beat it on as many difficulties as possible.
On a scale of 1-10 I give it:
Ease of play: 7 (The game does and acceptable job of teaching the player how to play, however I have noticed that FPS games are surprisingly difficult for some people to play. I also did not like that I couldn't bring up a help tab or something for weapons with extra controls, such as sniper zooming, later in the game.)
Graphics: 10 (This is one of the best looking games I have played.)
Replay: 6 (I don't see that much replay in the game other than people wanting to beat it on all difficulties.)
Family Friendliness: 3 (The game is one of the gorier FPS game out, being able to decapitate enemies with the shotgun and wingsticks or blow them to pieces with various weapons makes this game a no no to violence wary families. The game has fairly severe language though not by the main casts, Most cursing will be heard from enemies during firefights or in conversation. No nudity that I noticed so if that is all you are concerned with then you are clear.)
All in all I give it a 8.
I would have given it a 10 but it was just to short to for me, I feel like the end was just cut off.
Over all I would urge anyone who enjoys FPS games to pick this up if they haven't and have fun and I look forward to hopefully seeing a sequel.
...Dynamite crossbow bolts are fun by the way.
Your character must fight for survival in the wasteland and do jobs to prove his worth and fight the authority.
I found this game to be very very fun entertaining. My only complaint is that while the game is stored on 3 disks it is surprisingly short. The main game can be beaten in under 10 hours easily and is only stored on 2 of the 3 disks. I realize that the most probable reason for the extra disks is that the game has absolutely stunning graphics which understandably take some space, however I expected a much longer campaign and more of a sandbox type experience because Bethesda(Elder Scrolls) was involved in production.
However despite the shortness of the main campaign I still greatly enjoyed the game and can see myself returning to it to beat it on as many difficulties as possible.
On a scale of 1-10 I give it:
Ease of play: 7 (The game does and acceptable job of teaching the player how to play, however I have noticed that FPS games are surprisingly difficult for some people to play. I also did not like that I couldn't bring up a help tab or something for weapons with extra controls, such as sniper zooming, later in the game.)
Graphics: 10 (This is one of the best looking games I have played.)
Replay: 6 (I don't see that much replay in the game other than people wanting to beat it on all difficulties.)
Family Friendliness: 3 (The game is one of the gorier FPS game out, being able to decapitate enemies with the shotgun and wingsticks or blow them to pieces with various weapons makes this game a no no to violence wary families. The game has fairly severe language though not by the main casts, Most cursing will be heard from enemies during firefights or in conversation. No nudity that I noticed so if that is all you are concerned with then you are clear.)
All in all I give it a 8.
I would have given it a 10 but it was just to short to for me, I feel like the end was just cut off.
Over all I would urge anyone who enjoys FPS games to pick this up if they haven't and have fun and I look forward to hopefully seeing a sequel.
...Dynamite crossbow bolts are fun by the way.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Iron Giant Movie Review
Today I am reviewing "The Iron Giant".
This is one of my all time favorite movies. It actually ranks higher than any "Star Wars" title.
The basic plot involves The Iron Giant who has come from (Space?) and makes friends with Hogarth and Dean. Together they must hide the giant from Kent Mansley who is a Government agent.
I highly recommend this movie to all ages. However, To parents with overly young children a word of warning, there "Bad words" in this movie, including: Butt, Dammit(muffled by explosion but noticeable to those with sharp ears), and stupid. Also the movie takes place during the cold war so there are some grown up ideas in the movie. And last but not least, ****SPOILER ALERT****
If you do not want to know this part and are willing to risk it don't read this next part.
****SPOILER START****
The giant is in reality a giant weapon so there are scenes with extreme violence. Also in an effort to kill the giant the Navy launches a nuke that will destroy an entire town. The giant then sacrifices himself and "Dies" to save the town by flying into the missile. (This part will make almost any children, and some adults, cry. I recently watched it with my 11 year old brother, who hadn't seen it before, he cried.) However, in the end we see that the giant is all right and putting himself together in Iceland.
****SPOILER END****
Once again I highly recommend this movie. It is available from iTunes and Netflix.
This is one of my all time favorite movies. It actually ranks higher than any "Star Wars" title.
The basic plot involves The Iron Giant who has come from (Space?) and makes friends with Hogarth and Dean. Together they must hide the giant from Kent Mansley who is a Government agent.
I highly recommend this movie to all ages. However, To parents with overly young children a word of warning, there "Bad words" in this movie, including: Butt, Dammit(muffled by explosion but noticeable to those with sharp ears), and stupid. Also the movie takes place during the cold war so there are some grown up ideas in the movie. And last but not least, ****SPOILER ALERT****
If you do not want to know this part and are willing to risk it don't read this next part.
****SPOILER START****
The giant is in reality a giant weapon so there are scenes with extreme violence. Also in an effort to kill the giant the Navy launches a nuke that will destroy an entire town. The giant then sacrifices himself and "Dies" to save the town by flying into the missile. (This part will make almost any children, and some adults, cry. I recently watched it with my 11 year old brother, who hadn't seen it before, he cried.) However, in the end we see that the giant is all right and putting himself together in Iceland.
****SPOILER END****
Once again I highly recommend this movie. It is available from iTunes and Netflix.
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