I spent a lot of time, way too much time, playing this game. It is very very long. A bit of an old school fantasy RPG game, it really doesn’t work all that well on a console. If you were remotely interested in this sort of game, I’d recommend you play it on a PC instead.
I’ve always liked Halo, and I could probably blame Halo on my current video game addiction. Before the release of the original Halo, I enjoyed video games sure, but the addiction truly set in thanks to the Halo series. ODST is pretty much an expansion to Halo 3, a side story, and its Halo-ness means that naturally it’s a great game.
Recently finished this game, I wouldn’t say I’m a big Star Wars fan, but I had fun playing it. Unfortunately that fun was tempered by considerable frustration with the controls which were less than perfect. Having the ability to use The Force would as you expect lead to some pretty cool situations however the controls didn’t feel entirely right and there were plenty of times my character would ultimately not do what I was hoping it to do. I played it on the hardest difficulty which only added to my frustrations.
I finally got around to playing GTA IV and ended up sinking about 60 hours into the game. GTA 3 is my favourite video game of all time so I had high hopes for the next generation console follow up, despite finding San Andreas a bit of a disappointment. This one didn’t disappoint. The level of depth and detail found in the game is amazing. It is definitely a must play for anyone with a console. Five stars.
Forget about the movies, this game is the definitive Batman. It’s remarkable that super hero video games are usually lame, when you consider how awesome the source material is. This game is a refreshing change. Batman is awesome, and most importantly true to form. What makes the game so good, is the fact that it tries to capture Batman as Batman, as best as it can. The result is that the game is awesome.
The melee combat is hands down the best I’ve ever seen for hand to hand against multiple enemies. It is simple yet incredibly satisfying. Batman utilises his detective skills and his array of gadgets excellently, and the setting of Arkham Asylum means a fantastic use of the cavalcade of Batman villains within the story.
A near perfectly constructed game. Graphics, story, mechanics all are top notch. The only comment I would make is the “Detective Mode” – why would you ever want to switch it off?
Four stars.
The Japanese style of video games has never really connected with me, and for the longest time I have avoided the Resident Evil series. However the hype around RE5 had me believing that this game was more in the mold of US style action adventures like Gears of War.
This game is still very much Japanese in style, and while the production values are strong, it is ridiculously frustrating that you cannot move and aim your gun at the same time. What is with that? I get that it was possibly some kind of technical limitation in the old gaming consoles that was turned into a dramatic element of the gameplay to build the tension, but it’s just frustrating these days.
Gears of War it is not; and for some that’s a good thing, but for me, it was just a little bit disappointing. I played co-op with my brother and I suspect without him it would have been a little more disappointing.
Three stars.
The sequel lived up to all expectations, and in many cases exceeded them. This game is wonderfully immersive, richly detailed, and exceptionally beautiful. It is fun, action packed, but also thoughtful, intelligent and absorbing.
Some of the weaker parts of the original game, such as the planet exploration via the awkward Mako vehicle and the ridiculously cumbersome inventory system have been done away entirely. The adequate shooting mechanics have been tightened up significantly, and the small technical glitches such as the texture pop ins have been fixed.
For me the best part of Mass Effect is the amazingly detailed world you play in, the strength of the characters you interact with and the overall story. What is particularly special about Mass Effect 2 is that your experience is in many ways unique to you. Not only do the decisions that you make throughout the game affect the way in which the story unfolds, and each player has the ability to affect their story in different ways at many points, but the decisions you made in the original game also affect the way in which the story unfolds in this one. By allowing you to import your save game from Mass Effect 1 the story picks up from the ending you created in the original and carries through, and as the game progresses the impact of your decisions are integrated into the narrative.
This creates so many different threads that the story can run along and it will be interesting to see how all these threads continue to run into the third game. The overall gist is the same, but the manner in which it plays out can be quite different.
I played this game for over 40 hours, including a single day where I played for 13 hours non-stop, it is that addictive, and yet still I find myself wishing it was longer. Some additional downloadable content is in the works, and it can’t come soon enough.
One of the best games I have ever played. Five stars.
Boston Legal - Season Five
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