Archive for December 22nd, 2007
Colin McRae has come up with another winner. DiRT gives you an experience that has enough variety to keep you racing for quite a while. Everything about DiRT looks extremely well thought out ands executed. Where DiRT fails to continue the overall excellence of the McRae line is in the lack of effective multi-player game play. When you are with a few other racers, your options are limited to random assignments of cars and tracks and the time limits are, well, limiting.
With several racing modes (Rally, Crossover, Rallycross, Rally Raid, CORR and Hill Climb) available, you can keep returning to this game for a different look. The cars look fantastic, while exhibiting different handling characteristics, and the racecourses have enough variety to keep them interesting. The real bonus comes from the damages sustained and how they look and affect your choices. Bumpers fly off wildly, tires roll bounce like no tomorrow, and your viability realistically rises and falls with the amount of damage you incur.
The handling is another matter. On the more difficult settings, you will free as if the car is part of the river way at a water theme park, drifting through turns without any feeling of being solidly in touch with the track. Also, there seems to be a problem with the turning focus. With front and rear wheels, turning should feel linear or close to it. The cars turn as if they are stuck on a stick that rotates as a whole, instead of the back wheels following the front.
DiRT is a great looking game that needs a bit of tweaking in the handling and multi-player areas. Keep it up, Colin.
December 22nd, 2007
The insular music business provides a neat counterpart to the previous installment of Def Jam. Real fighting has been substituted for wrestling and the results are satisfying. In the Build-a-Label mode, you rise from humble beginnings into a position of power in the recording industry. As anyone knows, this industry is dirty and Def Jam: Icon does not mince about with niceties.
All of the requisite cliches come into play as you wade through attractive ladies, gangsta types, and even a paternity suit. Game play demands your complete attention because of the music tie-ins.One area that the publishers did not skimp on is the music and the way you can choose a favorite song to play as you beat down your opponents. You gain power and unlock features as you go but the best part is the ability to time your songs to the fights. Song choices are outstanding as the roster of licensed rap and hip-hop stars is very impressive. The Def Jam label is, of course, so heavily involved in this title’s production that the stable of artists required to participate (Big Boi, Bun B, E-40, The Game, Ghostface Killah, Jim Jones, Lil Jon, Ludacris, Method Man, Mike Jones, Paul Wall, Redman, Sean Paul, Sticky Fingaz, T.I., and Young Jeezy,) is a who’s who’s list of the best in the genre.The unique DJ controls enable you to scratch and manipulate the music at the crucial times to the point where your character makes turntable types motions in the air when prompted. So Def Jam: Icon makes for a good experience with fighting combos, cultural relevance, and a decent enough story.
December 22nd, 2007
In a re-release of an old title from 1995, Reflection has re-tooled the epitome of the chaotic racing game. Destruction Derby makes improvements on the original that make it a worthwhile purchase. For those tired of making left hand turn after left hand turn, Destruction Derby has a series of player modes that vary the approach just enough to warrant this re-invention.Â
The Stock Car Racing play is interesting only as far as making competition colorful and noisy. The best part of Destruction Derby is in the Wreckin’ Race where the elements of the race mode are combined with the demolition derby aspects to take the venture on a collision course with other players.
As a single player game, Destruction Derby satisfies but fails to provide the WOW that you are looking for. Track layouts are relatively simplistic but that should be expected in a racecourse game. Graphics have been taken to the PS3 level but the excitement still lies in the bangin’ and grindin’.
When you start demolishing other players, then you realize that your aggressions are surfacing. The visual of watching a wreck spinning out behind you is a WOW moment that repeats itself every time. Debris flying around each impact gives you a moment of satisfaction that the pristine racing oval fails to provide.
While the driving controls are a bit balky, the overall experience is worthwhile. Destruction Derby delivers a guilty pleasure that you might keep from your close friends.
December 22nd, 2007
If you want to whack a few guys who are bothering your action, we’ve got just the solution—The Darkness. You’re a young hit man for the Mob and your uncle Paulie has plotted to blow you to oblivion for your role in a muffed transaction. You want to get back at him in the best possible way and somehow The Darkness has infected you. What is this force?Â
Extra arms appear that act as whips, you develop vision that won’t quit in low light, and you get recuperative powers that can’t be believed. As your quest to avenge yourself against Paulie advances, your powers increase with the addition of guns and a black void that swallows up baddies. Four auxiliary beings (Darklings) add to your flexible killing tools but drain your available power.
This is all set in New York City (imagine that) in an environment that is downtown dirty and dingy. You always seem to know where to go as you go from room after room in a limited but free movement scenario. The back-story is more than adequate and the graphics are evocative of the urban landscape where we imagine all wise guy stories are staged.
Guns are unfortunately the best weapons provided and targets are achieved without much trouble. Auto targeting detracts from the difficulty The Darkness could otherwise benefit from. Some of the action is uncomfortably gory (eating the hearts of your enemies?) but the visual sumptuousness grows on you.
Single player mode is the best play while online multi player mode has a few pitfalls when one player can’t keep up. All in all, The Darkness is a successful title in spite of the limitations of somewhat simplistic play.
December 22nd, 2007
As a continuing series deriving from previous versions, Dynasty Warriors: Gundam seems aimed at those knowledgeable about the back-story. Exposition is sadly lacking for those who are not familiar with the anime series. What background that is given is not fleshed out at all, assuming that a few words or cut scenes will suffice to set the stage. If the game play were unique in any way, this would redeem the sketchy story but this is not the case.As you blast away at wave after wave of bad guys, you slowly insinuate yourself into a state of numbness, almost like a mantra designed to induce a state of nirvana. Repetitively repetitive, Dynasty Warrior: Gundam does have sixteen characters you can play across a few modes with several missions in each. The objective still is to mash buttons until your fingers get stiff and your mind has shut off.Pick out your protagonist and put him into the Mobile Suit mech that wins fields located in various environments around the provided maps. The maps are about as much explanation as is given in the game’s spoken interludes between missions. Numerous storylines seem to appear without rationale or motivation other than to provide targets to be blown away.Dynasty Warriors: Gundam needs too much improvement for this series to continue to be viable. Latch onto other mech games that have more interesting story lines and game play.
December 22nd, 2007
This game has been created by Sony and is available at the cost of $59.99. Included along with this game is a Playstation Eye Camera.
This game scores full marks for innovativeness. You fight it out using real cards that are picked up by the camera. There is a stand included for the Playstation Eye. The moves you make while you play with the cards are sensed by the camera and they result in great action on your TV.
The game begins when you draw five cards from your deck – which consists of thirty cards. The most common cards are summoning cards. They can summon monsters or machines. These cards each have their own function on the visual part of the game. The other interesting cards include spell cards that are very effective as well.
This game can be played easily, by even a novice, but to be an expert at this game requires time and practice. Watching summoning cards creating video game magic on the screen is something else.
This game can be played against a friend or the computer or even online. Online playing however takes away the social aspect of this game and half of its fun with it. In addition online playing can be affected by cheating.
This game is highly recommended for playing with friends. Set up The PS Eye, set out the map and begin playing. If you like card games and video games you will experience double the pleasure with this one.
December 22nd, 2007