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Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Sony Wants to Save You Big This Holiday Weekend
Its been a big year filled with many choices for PlayStation fans. In addition to introducing must-have exclusives like God of War III, ModNation Racers and of course Gran Turismo 5, we also packed PSN with everything from sports to your favorite movies and TV shows and added the new PlayStation Move motion controller to our hardware family. What’s more, we made sure that PS3 owners were the first to receive access to stereoscopic 3D entertainment from Blu-ray movies to games! With the holidays upon us we want to ensure that we keep the choices coming.
That’s why this Friday, across many of your favorite local retailers, you’ll be able to find the 160GB PS3 system packaged with everything from a selection of this season’s hottest games to the latest Blu-ray movie releases. We worked closely with retailers to ensure that we provided you with an option tailored to meet your entertainment needs. Whether you’re looking for a package you can enjoy with your gaming friends or something more suitable for a family get-together, we’re confident there’s a bundle out there for you.
Available PS3 bundles include:
Amazon: 160GB PS3 system, UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves Game of the Year Edition, a voucher for PixelJunk: Shooter and a copy of The Karate Kid on Blu-ray $299
Best Buy: 160GB PS3 system, ModNation Racers (PS3), LittleBigPlanet: Game of the Year Edition and Cars the movie on Blu-ray $299
GameStop: 160GB PS3 system, the God of War: Collection and a copy of God of War III $299
Target: 160GB PS3Holiday Bundle, includes StarWars: The Force Unleashed 2 game, a copy of Prince of Persia on Blu-ray movie and one black DUALSHOCK 3 wireless controller $299.99
Walmart: 160GB PS3 system, UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves and Medal of Honor: Limited Edition $299
Sam’s Club: 160GB PS3 system, ModNation Racers (PS3), black DUALSHOCK 3 wireless controller, Blu-ray Disc remote and a copy of How to Train Your Dragon on Blu-ray $399
These are just a few of the great deals you can find should you choose to brave the elements. There are limited quantities of each bundle, so be sure to shop early to take advantage of some great entertainment savings. Check your paper on Thursday and let us know what other deals you come across!
Happy shopping,
Tim Bender
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Call of Duty: Black Ops Review!
Publisher: Activision
Developer: Treyarch
# of players: 1 player, 18 online
Platforms: PS3 360 Wii PC DS
Genre: Action, Shooter
Release Date: Nov 9, 2010
ESRB: M-Mature
Mean As Hell Rating
10/10
Was there ever any doubt?! Did you think for even one iota of a minute that COD: Black Ops would not delivery?! COD is a franchise that hits the mark with unparalleled accuracy with each new entry. This is a series that has set the bar pretty high; a sure tough act to follow. I mean ask yourself; what have you come to expect from COD games? The attention holding campaign is filled to the rim with exciting varied gameplay and sweats with high level intrigue and depth. The amazing multiplayer hypes some stimulating new details, and the new combat mode has finally paved the way for rookie gamers to enjoy the ambitious action without being bomb rushed by veteran gamers. This is without a doubt one of the best shooters this year!
Now sometimes I can be nostalgic so you'll have to forgive me... but I remember when Call of Duty first arrived on the scene back in 2003. The standard for first person WWII shooters was set. But it was quickly becoming bombarded like a bunker with more WWII shooters for everybody and their mother. Then someone wised up and decided that it was time for Call of Duty 4 to head into the modern day and a top selling star franchise was born. After that we had World at War; a solid game but almost seemed like an afterthought, most recall it for the Nazi zombies more than anything else. And then there was Modern Warfare 2, very controversial for sure, but mostly due to the "No Russian" level, afterwards for it's infamous glitches, cheaters galore and late patches. Then with most of Infinity Ward casting off, there was the question if any of us would ever see a Modern Warfare 3 and what was in store for the series as a whole.
That was the bad news. Black Ops is just as incredible and shows the elevation of Treyarch's chapter into this era. The game succeeds on two levels; pushing the the time period several years ahead into the time of Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis while acknowledging that everyone wants to shoot each other in the present, I guess the multiplayer is nostalgic also. The single player campaign has you as an elite covert operative during the Cold War; you end up bouncing to hot spots like Cuba, Russia, and Vietnam. Each time you're out in the field is a past memory, and each memory slowly but surely builds up while the interrogation cutscenes puts each piece of the fractured jigsaw puzzle into place. You've seen it before but the action is still very good and most of the characters are strong and the story has enough polish of intrigue to keep you going. With that being said, the single player is more comprehensive, duration aware, campaign then most have seen from the series in quite some time.
Now I must admit that I haven't had as much time as I wanted to really play the multiplayer as needed with the general online game population. I mean Black Ops never had a public beta right? But with all the improvements to the multiplayer it is really not a big deal. Forget about what you know from Modern Warfare 2, it is obsolete. It really has everything you need and is balanced for both hardcore and casual gamers alike. The really hardcore fans will come to grips that a lot of features from MW2 did not make it to Black Ops. The one man army perk, nuke kill streak, stopping power, and dual wielded shotguns are not in Black Ops, but who is really going to complain about it.
One of the things that is not present and will be missed (by me) is riot shield. Man I used to love killing people who used that thing... but it would seem that Treyarch is really trying to keep the game balanced this time around. Another thing that became obvious is that a lot of perks have been renamed and assigned to different loadouts and slots to hinder player abusing perks that work in unison too well. As an adjustment to newer players, most perks, special equipments and attachments are available to buy ASAP.Play multiplayer a few times and you'll have enough points to get anything you need. Guns are unlocked as level up just like always, but there is no more discouraging post prestige rounds. The pick up and play aspect of the game is more user friendly.
At it's core; this is still the superb Call of Duty action players have been enjoying for the past 7yr. There really is no wrong way to play it, and there are a ton of modes that can feed the hunger you didn't even know you had for this solid shooter. On top of having pre-existing modes like Domination, TDM, and Barebones, you can now give Wager Matches, Combat Training, and a very deep version of private matches. Wager Matches are pretty much exactly what they sound like, you can buy in for little to nothing or a large amount of money depending on how good you may or may not be. The top 3 players of each round share the pot. There are no more knives only private clan matches on the honor system. You can actually enforce your own game restrictions with other players over servers. One of my favorites (and probably everyone else) is the human vs. zombie theme. I think something like that is an another game... whatever.
I found Call of Duty: Black Ops to be an awesome game. The new modes and sweet mechanics are like icing on an already delicious cake. The competitive multiplayer and the compelling new campaign really help mold it as one the best shooters ever. There is so much more to the multiplayer let alone the single player that if you're trying to get all the trophies or achievements... lets just say your time will be well spent. Call of Duty: Black Ops went above and beyond the "Call of Duty" by delivering one of the most incredible new shooters you'll see this year. Enjoy; I am!
Friday, November 5, 2010
God of War: Ghost of Sparta Review!
Developer: Ready At Dawn Studios
# of Players: 1 player
Platforms: PSP
Genre: Action, Adventure, Platformer
Release Date: November 2, 2010
ESRB: M-Mature (Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Nudity, Sexual Content)
Mean As Hell Rating
9/10
They say that big bangs come in small packages! That is truly an understatement of epic proportions with God of War: Ghost of Sparta! Ready At Dawn Studios went all out for this one, and it shows. A lot of games tend to describe themselves as epic, bigger than life. This is a game that is epic in every sense of the word. I know what you're thinking; "It's on the PSP, it's too small, the game is too short!" I say nay! Like Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker that came before it... this game is bigger and better than a good amount of titles on the home consoles.
GOW: Ghost of Sparta doesn't pull any punches in it's visual presentation or sharp controls. It is an awesome technical acheivement that gives it's PS2 predecessors a run for their money. It is almost a shame that such a grand entry in the GOW series is on such a small screen. The action can get so chaotic at times that you can lose sight of ole Kratos. And some aspects of the controls can cause moments of frustration, but they are few and far between.
Kratos is not an overly simple character, but neither is he very complex. Nevertheless, his nature and unique bond to his family is what connects every game in the GOW series together. What is different about this game is that it explores a family member we haven't seen before... his brother Deimos. And where has Deimos been this whole time? Why the underworld of course. The details are fleshed out well enough but the tale does seem somewhat condensed compared to console interations.
Ghost of Sparta is still very much a GOW game and never plays like a demo. It has awesome locals, QTE seqences, and even the infamous sex game! Who cares if the quest is linear; aren't all GOW games?! If you didn't like it before then you probably won't like it now. But if you have stuck around from the beginning than you have some sembalence of what to expect and you can bring a cup to catch the saliva from being in awe of the consistancy of greatness that is God of War: Ghost of Sparta.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II Review!
Developer: LucasArts
# of players: 1 player
Platforms: PS3 360 Wii PC DS
Genre: Action, Adventure
Release: Oct 26, 2010
ESRB: T-Teen, (Violence)
Mean As Hell Rating
6/10
I miss Star Wars: The Force Unleashed! No really I do. After playing through Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II in full I truly realize that this game is merely a shadow of its predecessor. Don't get me wrong, it's not to say that the game is not immediately engaging. It looks beautiful, awesome character animations, and is a decent hack and slash. But it lacks in story, character development and is way too short! I really wanted to like it and I'm not saying it is a bad game, it's just not a great "Star Wars" experience I was hoping for.
So what kind of experience did I get? Repetitive combat and level design, a seemingly half finished story and very little dept. The story starts off interesting enough and uses the "light side" of the force ending as canon(spoilers? maybe.). Starkiller had sacrificed himself by holding off the Emperor long enough for the newly formed Rebel Alliance to escape. Force Unleashed II starts off with Vader training a clone(or not) of Starkiller. Vader can't control the clone because he is flawed like the rest that came before him. The clone can't suppress original memories of Starkiller and escapes from Kamino to look for Juno Eclipse, the love interest from the 1st game.
The messed up thing about the story is that it feels very unfinished or rushed at best. You might even go as far to call the ending a cliffhanger. It just ends at an awkward point where you feel like you've only completed less than half of the game. The game itself is extremely short. You could probably beat this one in a day; maybe 4-6hrs to finish. Less than that if you could skip the unskippable cutscenes. The story is still good in some places but that was the case in the 1st game. Starkiller has no real character, he just starts off promising. The somewhat hyped appearances of Yoda and Boba Fett are lackluster at best. They must have appeared less than 2 minutes in a cut scene that you can't interact with them in. What a waste!
To add insult to injury; there are rumors that The Force Unleashed III may have been put on indefinite hold. So there is a possibility that we may never see the end of this story or that we may have to pay an arm or leg for DLC to see the end of the story we already paid $60 for.On the plus side, even though the combat is repetitive(especially in later levels), it is greatly improved over the original. In fact the overall gameplay is an improvement. No more chunkiness in combat and your enemies are smarter. The stormtroopers with the anti-force bubbles are out also. Replaced with Sith apprentices who must be defeated with some lightsabre skills.
Speaking of lightsabre, it is worth mentioning that sabre itself feels much more powerful then it did in the 1st game. It is able to remove limbs and heads with ease. I also found the force grip much tighter this time around. Other than that, the controls are pretty much the same but a little more responsive. One of the things I had a problem with in the 1st game was the targeting issue. Targeting what you wanted to grab then throw it was almost a lesson in futility. It is not perfect but more often than not, I got Starkiller to do what I wanted.
There are 10 challenges for you to try out once you're done with the campaign, they have leaderboard support. Word of warning; they may be short but they are tough enough to give the best player a run for his money. Hey if you like thrill of a challenge maybe it will make up for the short campaign. Or not.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II is step up and a step down from what came before. Like the main protagonist, it inhibits both the light and dark side of the Force. The story leaves something to be desired, and the duration of the game is intolerably short for a full priced game with no form of multiplayer. I just felt like there could have been more to it but at the end I was left violated. If this game was more complete it could have been one of the best sequels ever. I can only recommened it as a rental or if you have to phurchase it, wait til it's $30 or less. Otherwise you're going to be asking for the other half of your money back when you complete it.
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