Posts filed under 'PS3 Game News'
Watchmen: The End is Nigh by Warner Bros is available for the PS3 for a price of $43.99. This product lets you get the directors cut of the movie – Watchmen as well as part one and two of The End is Nigh on a single Blu Ray. The Watchmen is a celebrated graphic novel and this game is a prequel to the novel.
The setting is an alternate history of the U.S.A. The actors are costumed vigilantes. Their personal lives and struggles as well as their adventures make up this game. You can play alone or in co-op. The playable characters are Nite Owl and Rorschach. The streets see crime and terror on the loose. Criminals and brutal gangs are everywhere.
Underboss is out of prison and ruling the dark world of crime. Rorschach is a street smart fighter. He disarms enemies and uses their own weapons against them. Nite Owl uses both the ancient martial arts as well as high tech wizardry to defeat his opponents.
The game has six chapters of great action. Dolby Digital and HDTV1080i is supported in the game. In part two the mission is to track a missing girl which brings them face to face with the mysterious Twilight Lady. This is a fun game and in many ways, different.
August 4th, 2009
The sixth installment of the Call of Duty Franchise is hotly anticipated and releases on November 10, 2009 which is just in time for the holiday shopping season. Click here to watch the trailer of this exciting new game for the PS3!
Continue Reading July 6th, 2009
Bionic Commando from Capcom isn’t the most exciting game around though it has a few moments of it’s own. This Third Person Action game puts so many possibilities before you. In a minute they are replaced by others – like a tease. The gunplay is limp and aside from a few good moments this game is the average of average games…nothing special really.
There are ideational errors in the creation of this game. The good aspects are eclipsed by other ideas…like a group project gone wrong. Although the bionic arm is fun, it can’t carry the game to the level of real enjoyment.
The encounters with enemies are lifeless because of the crummy weapons. You can die quick. Mediocre entertainment at its mediocre best is all I can say for this game. Apart from bare hand/leg maneouvres this game is no fun.
Nathan Spencer is not a highly likeable protagonist. He is a stumbling block of the story instead. There is multiplayer support for up to 10 people. Bionic Commando from Capcom costts $56.99. If you are a die hard fan of the original game go for it. Otherwise there are many other great games out there.
June 3rd, 2009
Nothing Else Matters if you are a Metallica and Guitar Hero Fan. After Aerosmith, Guitar Hero: Metallica revolves around the songs of Metallica and their career. 28 Metallica songs and 21 other songs are part of this offering. Enjoy Guitar, Drums and Vocals of Metallica.
The game begins with you as a newcomer as the new band on the scene. Progressing in the game leads to unlocking of bonus features. The audio quality of the Metallica songs is the best there is. Their latest album Death Magnetic can also be played to.
As you progress from Beginner to Expert you will relish the excitement of playing Metallica. Going on tour, you will play small and large venues. Multiplayer is fun as usual and with friends and family, Guitar Hero Metallica is going to be a great hit. There are interesting Metallica specific powers – Fade to Black fades out your opponents notes and Trapped Under Ice freezes the whammy.
You can also create your own music and upload and share the musci through the GHTunes service. For $59.99 get your own Guitar Hero Metallica for the PS3!
March 8th, 2009
Metal Gear Solid 4 is available for the PS3 from Konami. You get to visit a number of locales during the game. Among these locales is the Middle East and South America. The game begins when Col. Campbell contacts Solid Snake to tell him that Liquid Snake is running outer heaven. What this means is that he has overall control over private military companies worldwide.
These military companies are basically Liquids private army – you will have to battle them. You also discover that Liquids operations stem from the Middle East. Snake is given a contract on Liquid. You need to meet informants tracking Liquids movements. For this you need to go around a number of streets.
MGS4 is different from the earlier version in the shooting controls. Snake can’t fire from the hip. You can’t kill enemies on the run. However the way enemies go down – like rag dolls is a tad satisfying. There is a stress indicator as well = expressed as a percentage. The close quarters combat is enhanced in this game.
The guns you fight with include rifles, submachine guns, pistols, sniper rifles and the antitank javelin weapon. This game has a lot of extras. Recommended for action fans.
March 16th, 2008
FIFA 08 is the soccer game by Electronic Arts and is available on Amazon at a price of $59.99. It builds upon last years game with new gameplay and new features. With this game, something like real football, the more you practice, the better you get and the more you are rewarded.
The presentation of this game is brilliant. The new modes and features are flagged in the games menu, making access easy. You get points based on how good you are to the team. The maneouvering involves passing, tackling and scoring goals. The focus is on team performance rather than solo performance.
The L2 button and the analog sticks give you a lot of power. Other than the Be-a-Pro mode there are many other ways to play. You can practice with the kick off mode. With so many tournaments in the offline and online modes of the game, you can take this game up as a long term challenge.
You can control your favorite team in the interactive leagues online. There are so many modes of gameplay in this game that it gives you great value for money. With difficulty levels the game progresses slower than last years version.
Although this new version is better than all the previous versions, Pro Evolution Soccer has more responsiveness in the players. The majority of the game relies on basic moves.
However with great overall presentation, authenticity, a fantastic sountrack and great graphics, this game comes well recommended.
January 4th, 2008
The first two Soldier of Fortune games were some of the best first person shooters I have played. This one, however is just not in that league. This game traverses a completely wrong path to gamer fun.
The visuals are attractive and bright. You get to play a mercenary amidst a world wide terrorist organization that is dumb enough to give all its operatives the same neck tattoo. How cliched can you get!
However this game is not lateral at all. It is completely linear. There are many flaws in the game. If you die you need to restart the game from the last checkpoint. This makes the game pretty frustrating.
Bad AI adds to make this game pretty boring. The weapons hardly recoil. Although the good part of the game is that the weapons are pretty effective. The visuals are quite similar to the earlier games. If you want to see separated body parts less often, then you can choose a low violence option in the game.
I liked the music although I did not like the rest of the audio. The voice acting is off mark. Since so many great first person shooters have been released this year, I will not recommend this one. Soldier of Fortune: Payback is for those who want blood, gore and (sigh) frustration.
December 28th, 2007
Judging from reports about the number of labor hours lost due to March Madness tournament pools, College Hoops 2K8 should gather a load of interest as we enter the college basketball season.
With some nice additions to last year’s model, hoop fans will find plenty to keep them busy.
One aspect taken from 2K7 is the 6th Man Advantage and it still needs some work. Crowd reaction seems random when one score elicits thunderous applause and the next score does not raise crowd noise at all.
The biggest improvement is the Play Designer function that allows the more knowledgeable and adventurous among us to make our own play sets and defensive alignments. This creates so much more variety that College Hoops 2K8 takes on a complexity not seen before in a sports games.
By supplying a Tutorial mode, the publisher helps you work on some of the fundamental controller moves and helps you focus on skills you might otherwise ignore.
The All-American Challenge comprises fourteen drills that are designed to test you skill level and thereby improve your stats and you players’ games.
College Hoops 2K8 offers decent graphics but the action is not always as smooth as you would like. On the audio end, the music fits well but the commentary timing seems off and rather generic.
The title is a good addition to the dedicated gamer/hoop fan who merely wants to get psyched for the upcoming tournament. Online tournament play is available and promises more competition.
December 16th, 2007
Robert E. Howard created Conan seventy or more years ago, not knowing that his barbarian would lend himself so well to future generations’ need for diversion.
Well, perhaps he hoped that the literary arena would find interest but he would be pleased that the computer age has taken on Conan and done so with panache.
After a short exposition concerning an evil wizard and a combative warrior queen, Conan’s jaunt through dank, musty caves, white-capped mountains, and rubble-strewn cities begins in earnest. As Conan meets squads of enemies, his single sword gets proliferates as he skewers more and more opponents. Weaponry accrues to him as he works his way through a thoroughly convincing world that Howard would readily recognize.
The fighting makes up the strength of this game as Conan’s skills grow and diversify. You will need to change your approach as the enemies learn to parry your moves as you repeat a particular maneuver. The big difference is the level of gore. Conan pulls arrows right out of his body and continues to disembowel and otherwise disfigure the onslaught of warriors sent at him. Very impressive.
You will have some issues with the repetitive audio track, although the music fits the action nicely. The actor, Ron Perlman (Hellboy), voices Conan but sounds a bit too cultured to be a barbarian. Some of the gratuitous flesh will make you wince but overall, Conan is a worthwhile investment, even if the adventure times in on the short side.
December 16th, 2007
You are prepared for the noted filmmaker’s trademark gore and inventive killing methods with this title and your blood thirst is satisfied.
However, the game play does not stray far from the standard first person shooter, straight ahead movement, sitting duck targets you can find in many games.
Armed with an impressive panoramic march through time and space, Clive Barker’s Jericho comes equipped with what could be a compelling story about the Firstborn, God’s failed prototype for Man, and the vengeance it seeks for being banished to the Abyss. Jericho is a squad of seven, dispatched to a Middle Eastern city to block the release of the Firstborn into the world, and their back stories, if a bit hackneyed, at least inject a little interest into the game. Each of the seven has distinctive strengths and weaknesses, some paranormal and some physical. All of these qualities can be used to combat enemies who crop up everywhere but who don’t have enough mobility to get out of the way of an elderly bulldozer. The squad can split up into two sections but this doesn’t help in achieving the objective. Just aim and plunk away on your own.
An inordinate amount of time is spent resuscitating your comrades as they inevitably get wasted. If this is supposed to be a point and shoot game, why should you bother to keep bringing your squad members back to action?
Heads, guts, and limbs all splattered over the hallways and walls of the fight locations are enough to satisfy the visceral need for gore but Clive Barker’s Jericho needs more difficult game play to truly be a winner.
December 16th, 2007
It’s hard to imagine the developers of Championship Sprint making a worse choice than taking the wheel away from the original arcade game but that is just what they have done. By making this game downloadable, the makers have eliminated the only part of the game that was worthwhile. Without the wheel, the controls of this exceedingly monotonous racing game are so sensitive as to be impossible to go around the track once and not run into a wall or another racer.
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Even when the walls open up to let you take a short cut, you can’t respond quickly or precisely enough to take advantage. Besides, the walls open often enough to make the short cuts redundant and unnecessary. Only one opportunity to upgrade presents itself on each level so once you have passed the wrench in the road (I did laugh at the reference to the fork in the road—if it was intended or not), you might as well spin the dial on the radio to get a better song.
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The game is also meant to be played online but this presents more problems. First, you have to find someone to play and then you have to deal with a time lag that can be maddening. So you just race and race and race and race—you get the picture. Championship Sprint doesn’t have much to recommend it so sprint away from whatever site you can download it from.
December 9th, 2007
Events in Radiator Springs begin to heat up as Lightning McQueen establishes new headquarters and Mater decides to host a new racing tournament. All of the familiar spots can be seen here like the Wagon Wheel Motel and Willie’s Butte and you will see most of the characters from the movie as well.
And just like the movie, the game is aimed mostly at young gamers with rather simplistic action and easily controlled racing moves. What make Cars: Mater-National Championship interesting for the younger set is the number of tracks and the ability to take on the various personae of the movie roles. Voices are done by the same actors (Larry the Cable Guy, Tony Shaloub), thus lending a certain amount of credibility to the game.
The look of Cars: Mater-National is commensurate with the movie also so that kids will have gravitate to it more readily. This is an environment that kids will have an easy time adapting to and probably will not get bored too quickly with the tracks and game play. The responsiveness of the controls is a bit sluggish but will probably not get noticed by youngsters.
Mini-games are an important part of Cars: Mater-National Championship as the game shows us 17 races across 14 different tracks in the story mode. The challenge mode features 28 events in three different categories, (Trophy Hunt, Elimination, and Beat the Clock.) It is this variety that will make this a favorite among the kids who have seen the movie (and there are lots of those) so Cars: Mater-National gets a thumbs up but primarily for those who have just stopped sucking their thumbs.
December 9th, 2007
With graphics that do not pretend to be real and non-stop action, Calling All Cars has the formula for lots of fun. Saturday morning cartoons are brought to mind here in a maverick cop and robbers game where the objective is simply to catch the bad guys. Suitable for single or multi-player modes, the pace is frantic and the action varied. The arcade aspect of this game is attractive while the online experience is enhanced by a split screen function that adds excitement exponentially. Practically devoid of a story line, you will nonetheless find yourself shouting at the screen as your quarry (or opponents) outsmarts you again and again.
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But the most fun comes from the online players with headsets who offer a running commentary on the action. The fun of the game is commensurate with the verbal cleverness of the participants. The vehicles are evenly matched which makes for some very close multi-player contests. You can take control of another player’s captured criminal by crashing into his car and escaping with the prey.
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One limitation is the sparse number of maps (4) but this is really only a minor gripe. You are designated to catch a crook and the map points the way. How you get there is most of the fun as each map has a varied environment that keeps even the most prolific user on edge as the action gets extremely hectic. Some might say that using four players makes it a bit too chaotic. Anyway, the path back to the jail can be just as dangerous as the capture. Three weapons are available but you might just choose to be a bully and smash into the other competitors to take the crook yourself.
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Calling All Cars is more than worth the ten dollars you will put out for this exciting and enjoyable game.
December 9th, 2007
Castlevania has a long history that cannot be detailed in this space so suffice to say that gamers everywhere are aware of the premise of this astounding game series.
What distinguishes this game from its forbears is the absence of the whip in the protagonist’s arsenal for he now wields an incredible array of weapons. Alucard—mmm, what could that possibly spell backwards? Alucard is the protagonist waking from a long sleep and searching his father’s castle for clues as to why the original hero, Richter Belmont vanished mysteriously. Along the way, he encounters some rather grim enemies amidst a gothic environment that has no end of surprises. Hidden passageways populate the numerous rooms of the castle and the gruesomeness of the monsters is particularly appalling.
The 2-D backgrounds are surprisingly deep and gorgeous to look at. The game play and the astounding number of weapons are what make this game so good. Alucard’s attributes increase as he kills enemies and uses the available weapons, so you shouldn’t pass on kills when you have the chance. The map system reveals itself as you go from room to room, and while you can buy the map at any time, this won’t do you any good because you can’t get into some areas until later in the game anyway.
Working your way through the castle in numerous ways with a variety of weapons will keep any long-time fan of Castlevania’s past games occupied for repeated plays. This game you will love to play repeatedly. It goes right for the throat.
December 9th, 2007
Ripping graphic action, compelling story lines, diverting game modes, all the while supporting multi-player involvement. Umm, let me see. Would anyone go for this?
A resounding Yes is my answer and so should any gamer’s response who sees the value in a game designed for long-term replays. Call of Duty 4 is a candidate for Game of the Year in my humble opinion.
First, the armament is varied and many. With over 70 weapons in addition to laser sights, claymore mines, night goggles, and ghillie suits, Call of Duty 4 has no peer in this assault game mode. As your skills and kills increase, you gain more strength as well as more choices to customize your firepower and campaigns. There is no cheating in Call of Duty 4; you must earn all of your perks, which are supplements to each class as you advance.
For graphics, Call of Duty 4 shows us realistic shadowing, disconcerting perspective, and striking three-dimensional action. You may never have experienced such rendering of voluminous battlegrounds and claustrophobic shelter spaces. Both are done with incredible attention to detail where your reactions betray your involvement. Pull back in shock at grenade explosions while your heart pounds during chopper landings under fire.
Prepare your ears to hear bombs bursting in air as garbled radio transmissions create confusion. The sound of Call of Duty 4 is as real as you can get without being there.
You will want to visit this game again and again. The only flaw might be the brevity of the single player campaign but this is more than made up for in the intensity and realism of the action. You won’t regret this purchase for one second.
December 6th, 2007
If you liked the battle scenes in Braveheart, you will absolutely love Bladestorm, the newest release from KOEI, maker of the Dynasty Warrior series.
You get to take on the role of a mercenary who can choose whichever side will pay you the most. Set in the Hundred Years War, you can opt for the English or the French, depending on your particular allegiance in any given skirmish. The soldiers are numerous and convincingly depicted. Hordes of armor-coated minions come at you and your chosen cohorts in waves and you use various strategies to fight them. Without the busy button pushing of the Dynasty series, Bladestorm possesses tremendous sound effects of swords clashing and clanging, trumpeters rallying the troops, and soldiers expiring.
The vast battlegrounds allow for the presence of amazing numbers of soldiers so that the screen looks so busy at times that you find yourself looking away from the fight at hand to the background movements.
The power up function can be replenished after a short wait that only seems interminable. Bladestorm has the lasting advantage of changing strategies or changing sides as well as an independent status. Skill levels for individual weapon classes are earned by successful battles and this permits nearly unlimited customizations. Any group of soldiers chancing by can be conscripted for your side by taking hold of them to join you.
You set up missions in a contract with the English or the French where you can set the duration and use the entire map if you want. Graphics could be better but the sheer number of soldiers more than makes up for this deficiency. Bladestorm is a mixed improvement over Dynasty Warrior and worth the money because of the long-term appeal.
December 6th, 2007
Take a trip to inner space. Blast Factor puts you into a Petri dish of organisms that might well be in your bloodstream, dangerous enough that you wouldn’t want to know about them. Your vessel is a microscopic ship injected into different media rife with bacteria and viruses attacking as you try to cure the “organism” of its maladies. A series of seven cells present themselves and you must clean up each of the several screens in each cell. Blast Factor’s difficulty increases with each successful cleaning but when you suffer significant losses, you are directed to an easier cell where you can be a winner.
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Mastering the fundamentals of this game is easy but the atmosphere in the cells is fluid and detailed, making an interesting environment for your little ship to travel in. As viruses and bacteria stream at you, you employ the controller much like the old Asteroids game where you squeeze off a multitude of projectiles at the swarming enemy. A reasonable variety of bad guys keeps you occupied for the most part but their moves become predictable after a few encounters. Colors are a bit dull and the sound is practically nonexistent.
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The most interesting device in Blast Factor is the SIXAXIS controller’s ability to tilt sideways, issuing a wavelike effect through the liquid environment. You will need this maneuverability to flip one of the rotund enemies over into a vulnerable position. One drawback is that you may inadvertently flush enemies directly right into your path with an imperceptible accidental wrist flip.
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Blast Factor is a welcome addition to the gaming world but only because of the SIXAXIS function.
December 6th, 2007
It’s been three years since we’ve seen an All-Pro Football release and all of the great features of that game are incorporated in All Pro Football 2K8.
What makes this a bit more fun is the nostalgia aspect of having so many now-retired players in all of their idiosyncratic glory here. Jerry Rice’s upright running style is immediately recognizable as is Mike Ditka’s bulldozer-like moves after a reception. Each player has been set with his own unique moves so we can identify the player without even seeing his number.
Other than a few other improvements such as gang-tackling that seems scarily brutal, they really haven’t done that much to this version. Choosing and customizing your teams is intriguing because of the older players but the choice of logos is a bit limited.
The running attack is done realistically although some player movement is too mechanical while the defense is set at such a tough level that you will consistently play close games. One glitch is the disconcerting time lapse between your command to pass and the actual pass, but this is not a major drawback. All-Pro Football 2K8 lends itself very well to a multi-player situation rather than a single player.
The audio broadcast is well done but seems lifted almost straight from the last version. Stat compilation is effective and immediate and the broadcasters themselves are entertaining if a bit stilted. The soundtrack is repeated a few times but the sound quality is quite good. All in all, All Pro Football 2K8 is a good buy but not at the top of the heap.
December 5th, 2007
When you take a classic story that was itself adapted into a Hollywood action epic with A-List stars as prototypes, you run the risk of being unable to fulfill expectations. Beowulf is no exception here as the story line gets short shrift with an overemphasis on gore and unending battle sequences that borders on the ridiculous. Of course, this is just what sells this type of game so we shouldn’t be surprised.
This ages-old story does not get any kind of coherent treatment here so if you want disjointed action with no rationale for various developments, this is your milieu. Beowulf’s minions (Thanes—up to twelve of them), can be summoned in quantity as you progress through the battles with random enemies.
Beowulf can move into Carnal Mode which increases the available power exponentially with more aggressive moves accruing to the hero as he gains experience. The ultimate monster, Grendel, has mother issues that never manifest themselves nor undergo any explanation. For those who have actually read the poem, this narrative has all the coherence of the battles on Jerry Springer. The main thrust of both is to titillate and shock. Gratuitous violence and some skin seem to be the thread that is common to both spectacles.
With a lack of complex commands for the actors in this failed venture, Beowulf disappoints with a vengeance; we see battle after battle with only an increase in the power exerted by the “hero” who turns out to be a manipulative grasping power seeker. This is unfortunate as Beowulf has the existing story line that could have made this game an involving adventure but doesn’t get the royal treatment it deserves.
December 5th, 2007
The Bigs is a welcome addition to the arcade games we have seen in the past like Street and Blitz. Not a sim game, The Bigs features a Rookie Challenge where you can create a player who learns skills and increases his ability to compete with the best.
With a turbo boost that increases power by up to five times normal, home runs show a trail of light or fire as they exit the park, making them an exciting part of this game. You can go through training mini-games and learn new controller moves. The Bigs lends itself pretty well to multi-player games but the controls are complicated enough that it can be frustrating if the other players are not up-to-speed.
Player replication is very convincing (if you put credence in the steroid controversy) and player movement is realistic enough that the slow motion feature is fascinating. Pitching is nearly as difficult as the real thing but can be mastered with a little time spent in the bushes (practice mini-games).
There are alternatives to every pitch in that your pitcher will throw differently depending on the batter’s skill level. This great attribute makes The Bigs an endlessly enjoyable game. Stadiums are faithfully represented down to minute details (hot dog stands) and the most well known are here (Comerica Park, for example).
Although the soundtrack is strictly from the 90′s, the sound quality is superior while the broadcasters seem to repeat a limited numbers of phrases. It really isn’t that difficult to script a greater variety of lines for them to use. The Bigs can be played in a few modes such as career, home run derby and just try the come-from-behind mode; you will be pleasantly surprised at the excitement generated in beating your buddy when you seemed hopelessly behind.
Overall, The Bigs is an intriguing game for both baseball fans and neophytes.
December 5th, 2007