Archive for November, 2007
If you flip over WW2 like I do you might like this game. Blazing Angels is the first flying game for the PS3. The PS3′s sixaxis controller works well for flying your plane. You get to go on historic battle missions. The graphics are pretty good as well.
This game has a lot of bombing and dogfights. After a short training period as an American pilot flying for the British you are sent on a mission to protect Dunkirk. After this you go through a number of missions.
Due to the sixaxis controller, it feels like you are really flying a plane. Try to play it on a large screen using a digital connection. I really enjoyed it. The tilt sensitivity controls are very realistic. The voice tracks for your squadron’s pilots are pretty good. Sometimes the graphics render slowly though.
There is also the option to play online with many players. Offline play is pretty good as well, though. There are many variations which make the game interesting.
If you like historic battles, specially air ones and are a PS3 owner, I will recommend this game to you. Enjoy an afternoon of historic dogfighting or bombing with your friends.
November 28th, 2007
If you have liked war movies like Platoon, perhaps you will like Mobile Suit Gundam: Crossfire. It is full of rocket launchers, beam sabers and machine guns – lots of action. Unfortunately, although this game is a great idea, the seed of that idea has not been watered properly. I have played many games that are far more creative.
The theme of this game lacks imagination. There is a lot of shooting. You get to shoot helicopters, tanks and other stuff. Do it till you are fed up of it. Although there are varied modes in the crossfire play, you end up playing the same game, with little variety offered to the gamers mind. Like I said earlier, if you like shooting, shooting and more shooting, then this is the game for you. Otherwise this is a good way to get bored and nothing more.
Human like humanoids that are big, tall and clumsy inhabit the game. You can uprgrade your suits to increase your attack capabilities but a lot of games offer similar amusement. It is really easy to get killed in this game. Just the regular kill or be killed fare.
In addition to all this the controls take time to get used to. Because of all this, I would not recommend Mobile Suit Gundam: Crossfire to you. Rent it if you are curious. Return it when you get tired.
November 26th, 2007
DEF Jam Icon scores over the first releases of this game because it is more realistic. The idea of a rapping wrestling match did not go down so well with a large section of the audience. Although the game created a bit of a stir in the gaming world, the new game is better since most of the characters are based on todays top rappers.
The background on which the game is framed (so to speak) is enticing. The graphics are great and lead you virtually to the real world of rap artists. Each artist has his/her own phrases, derived from their songs. The beginning of the game is as a person seeking their identity, combing the streets looking to build your label. I think this game will be well accepted by older teens, but it is a little ‘far out’ for the older generation.
As you get more money in DEF Jam Icon, you can get clothes and honeys – who will leave you with a dry wallet if you let them. As in real life your problems increase with the increase in cash. You come up against dirty cops and record executives of the same kind. You have to be careful as you grow in status.
I would recommend this game as it has a different kind of appeal. Fantastic characters, great graphics and an even better plot all add up to make a great game. Do not miss out on this one. I suggest renting it if you do not want to buy it. All in all, a game worth experiencing
November 19th, 2007
If you have heard the song Country Grammar by the rapper Nelly, this game is going to evoke nostalgia. It is like the song has transformed into a game for the gamers pleasure. Stick moves are similar to the classic Smash TV from the 1990′s. Here you use the right stick to shoot and the left stick to move.
The storyline goes thus – aliens have been lying in wait for us through the TV shows of the seventies and eighties. You have been kidnapped by them and are forced to fight for thier entertainment. It is not at all difficult to fight the bad guys here since they follow certain patterns of movement. These can be learnt and the bad guys can be defeated quite easily.
You will like this game if you like classics with a twist. This game style was liked a few years back but I am uncertain whether it will generate the same appeal again. This is not a challenging game and if you are looking for one, look elsewhere. Although this game is available as a download, the poor quality graphics turned me off.
I would not recommend this game highly. It does manage to entertain for a while, but after a time it gets boring. I like my games to be challenging. Again the issue of the large download and whether this game game is worth it crops up. In addition this game takes up too much disc space. I would rather spend an afternoon playing something like The Godfather rather than Cash Guns Chaos.
November 16th, 2007
Games on the PS3 are getting better. In this genre of great entertainment, the latest game is Heavenly Sword. The graphics and controls are great.
The main character, who you play is a female warrior called Nariko. The sword she uses in the game is called Heavenly sword. The aim is to take down your enemies.
There are many play styles and a lot of puzzle elements. This keeps the game fresh. One bad thing about Heavenly Sword is that it is too short. If you are good, you could beat the game in seven hours of play.
In addition, once you have completed the game there will probably be no desire left to replay it. When you finish the game, you unlock hell mode automatically but this is not so entertaining as you have to go through the same story again, mostly.
However the game has a smooth framerate and has a nice storyline to it. The tilt controls are great fun to use while guiding your weapons to their targets (arrows and cannon balls)
But it is great fun while it lasts. Many people would rank Heavenly Sword alongside the best games to hit the PS3. If you own a PS3 this game is a must have. If you do not want to buy it because it is too short, I suggest renting it.
November 14th, 2007
Giant Robots and controlling them have long been a fantasy with young teeny boppers. Armored Core 4 has been made with them in mind. In this game you build huge towering robots and then get to control them in combat.
The new Armored Core aims to bring forward the excitement of the series with a few changes. It is less customizable. The positive of this is that novices can get right into the game quickly. The game is fast and flows at a furious pace.
Now let me describe the look and feel of this game to you. In one word the graphics are fantastic, specially if you are viewing them on an HD TV. Apart from a few minor snags, I thought the graphics were great. The game scores in the sound department as well. The only downside to the sound is that there isn’t enough variety.
The fact that the game has been simplified is probably going to turn off fans who like to micromanage building their robots. The other part of the game – combat has improved tremendously. It is now easier to manage the robots and their movements are much quicker – putting a lot of waiting to an end. The single player mode is a bit short of expectations, though online multiplayer is great entertainment.
Now, if you want to know whether I would recommend this game, yes I would. It is great whether you play the game from a mechanics viewpoint or from a robot fighters. Some would put down the simplified robot building, but the great graphics, sound and better fighting scenario makes up for it.
November 12th, 2007
If you are a WW2 freak and have enjoyed movies like “Guns of Navarone” then “
Resistance: Fall Of Man” is the kind of PS3 entertainment for you. This game is made for guys who like to fight horrific enemies – the kind popularized by Doom. Also, it offers online multiplayer gameplay.
The plot is a fantasy that revolves around WW2. Here enemies attack Russia and move westwards bringing Europe under their dominion. You get to be the hero fighting in this scenario.
The graphics are cartoon like with smooth textures and simplified objects. The game is populated by horrific monsters though. There is a health display via bars on the left of the screen and the right side shows how loaded your ammo is.
The background score is epic like. Some of this game is about destiny. If someone is really meant to die, they will. You are healed by the stuff found in canisters around the game.
There is an effort to make the game as realistic as possible. Also you can choose which skill level you want to play from 3 levels of difficulty.
The downsides of Resistance: Fall Of Man include a slowdown in frame in later levels. The game straight away gets to the action without enough introduction. The game is too violent, not unlike many of today’s games though.
Despite the downsides, overall this is a nice way to pass time and a good enough addition to your PS3 games.
November 6th, 2007
The Untold Legends series was originally for the Playstation Portable, but when Sony Online Entertainment needed a dungeon-bash for the launch of the Playstation 3, it was this series that got the call. The result is Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom. It’s a solid enough title but disappointing if compared to something like Elder Scrolls: Oblivion.
Dark Kingdom doesn’t really do much that’s offensive, it just looks like it was slapped together on a weekend by a committee trawling through five-year-old fantasy RPGs and nicking bits. Almost every aspect is more limited than in most recent games in this genre, and more limited than a couple of really old games like Diablo.
Save the kingdom from Evil. Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom does succeed in giving a genuinely dark feeling to its storyline, and there actually is a storyline. But from the moment you get to choose from just three character classes, all of whom get spells and weapons, there’s a feeling something’s missing. There’s a little bit of puzzle-solving and a couple of escort missions, but mostly it’s all hack and slash. The action is tightly on rails too, which makes the world feel small. You’ll be following a single, one step at a time plotline from beginning to end.
That’s been true of a lot of RPGs, though, and they can still be compelling. Levelling up is a process that makes some people voluntarily forgo excitement for grinding, and that compulsion works okay here. Every level you’ll get two experience points to distribute among your attributes, and a star for one of your spells. You’ll get more powerful, but nothing about levelling is going to drastically change the way you fight.
Then there’s loot. There’s always the chance in a game like this that the next monster you cream will drop the Ultimate Weapon, or the coolest unique item. Apparently that was silly, and it’s almost completely done away with. Monster drops consist of orbs that recharge your health and mana; essence, which is the kingdom’s currency; and very occasional pieces of armour. No weapons ever. Essence can be spent to buy back health and mana, or purchase armour, but not weapons.
You’ll keep the same weapon throughout the game. This isn’t as utterly crushing as it sounds, because the weapons operate with a slot system. You can slot runes and gems in and out at any stage to change your weapon’s effects. Some of the slots are shaped so they’ll only take particular gems, so you’ll still have to make some choices. Still, many games manage multiple weapons and a slot system as well, so it’s hard to understand why Sony Online chose to do it this way.
Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom does feature drop in/drop out co-operative play, allowing a second player to come and go when they feel like it, and that is a nice touch. Online play is competent, too, with the game allowing up to four players to team up and play through the same linear campaign you play offline. You can’t transfer either games or characters from offline games to online ones though; another odd little place where the game just seems to be behind the times.
The graphics are an odd mix. The backgrounds and character models are pretty good, and would have been top-line a year ago. That line has moved, though, and PS3 games are supposed to look better. The character models look pretty standing still, but there’s something lacking from the animation when they move that might be what’s lacking from the whole game: spirit.
While there’s nothing terrible about the game, there’s also nothing about it that transports it above its little flaws. We’re back to cameras that swing round so you can see nothing but the tree in front of you and stunningly, Sega Megadrive-era bottomless pits of death. You can forgive little technical niggles, or bland plotlines, or limited character customisation, or repetitive combat, but maybe not all of it, not any more.
Still, if you have a PS3 and you really love dungeon-bashes as some mindless after-work stress relief, then considering all the options, Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom is the game to buy.
November 5th, 2007