BioShock: Infinite - Neill (10.0)

BioShock: Infinite

by, Neill Good/ MythicalShadows

     OH MY GOD!!! I just finished this game 2 minutes ago and my mouth has still not come up from the floor.  If you do not have this game then you need to stop reading and purchase this game immediately.  Anyone that is familiar with the bioshock franchise must buy this game.  It will excuse the french Mind Fuck you till the end of the game, and you will like it.  I played through this game ruthlessly through its entirety in about 2 days.  I'm not quite sure of the time it took exactly, roughly 10 hours of non stop amazing action.  

   I am usually not one for stopping and smelling the roses in video games, however, irrational games makes it an impossible feat to go through the absolutely stunning city of Columbia without stopping and looking in amazement.  Every detail feels tailored by an artist down to the mini black and white soundless movies scattered around the town, all the way to the memorable characters. 

    One of the most amazing aspects of this game is the memorable story and characters.  By the end of the game you will looking after your female companion Elizabeth as if she was a real person.  The story is a wicked and trippy ride.  You must stick in there you can handle the twists and turns.  Just be prepared to loss your mind and your jaw will hurt from being on the floor to long.  

    Some people were mad that they took out the multiplayer, but come on was the multiplayer even worth it in bioshock 2? No is the short answer.  This game is so good that it can withstand my normal complaints for co-op or multiplayer.  

    I wish I could tell you more, but putting in spoiler alerts for this game gives it no justice, YOU MUST PLAY this game, trust me.

It is obvious that I give this game a 10 I would go higher if I could.  Enjoy.

You heard the dead guy, don't disappoint us and go buy this game!

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Dead Space 3: Neill (9.0)

Dead Space 3

by, Neill/ MythicalShadows

     Dead Space 3 was definitely at the top of my to get list of 2013.  I was most excited for the Co-op campaign the most.  I have played a little of the first two games in the series and I could not get into them.  I found myself wanting more out of the combat scenes and I never got it.  However one of my favorite parts of the series was the multiplayer in the second game in the series. 
     If you have never tried to play the series before I will tell you a little bit about it.  The dead space series is a special type of shooter that intends to scare the living day lights out of you.  In the first two games they succeeded in providing a great environment and gruesome creatures that accomplish the goal of providing a horror film like feel.  However, this review is about the third game in the series.
     Dead Space 3 is the first game in the series to have 2 player co-op campaign.  The first time I played through the campaign was with a fellow author Kuhn.  During the game we had a great time playing.  Unfortunately I had trouble finding the horror feeling that I liked in the little that I played in the first two games.  It simply was not scary knowing that a better player was watching my back.   The Co-op that everyone wanted so dearly changed the horror shooter that we loved into an action shooter.  With all of that said it was still a very fun and enjoyable game.  There were other aspects of the game that are worthy of stating in the review, before I make my rating decision.
    I'm not sure if it was me but the game focused heavily on a customizable weapon system that I found confusing and kind of unnecessary.  I tried making multiple types of weapons using all kinds of different stocks and firing mechanisms but I only found one combination that was worthy of using the entire game.  I never made another gun after that and I felt that I was under utilizing this system.

    Even though the weapons system was under utilized by me, I trust that others will find it a fun difference from the normal dead space games.  The other downfall that I found in the game is the repetitiveness of the missions.  It doesn't take long for you to notice that you will be going back and forth through the same hallways and the same rooms.  Grant it they will make you enter through a different door everytime to make it feel as if it is a new experience but its not.  It can get boring to someone who notices it but if you don't I still recommend this game. 

   So in conclusion I found that this game has its faults, but they do nothing to hurt this game overall.  It still makes its way to the must buy list.  I think that the only thing that could have boosted this game is a multiplayer similar to the second game.  There is not many games that kept me interested in the story and provided a decent gameplay that I could not put down for Rock band or Call of Duty.  I have based my rating off of everything that I covered in the article.  If you pick it up in stores you won't be sorry.

      Dead Space 3 - 9.0

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Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 - Neill (7.75)

Call of Duty Black Ops 2

Author: Neill Good / MythicalShadows

            Where to start?  The call of duty series has been a rapidly growing addicting drug with side effects similar to a cocaine addiction.  On the box alongside of the warning for seizures, there should have been the following side effects; brief enjoyment, satisfaction of killing and hurting others, black out anger, and in the end hysteria.  Black Ops Two brings just enough changes to the plate to give it a try.  The campaign introduces a new feature that provides a small boost, but do not get too excited. 

            This feature involves the ability to change the outcome of the story through a few decisions throughout the game.  The differences in the different story outcomes can be a reason to replay the game.  When the natural fact is that the differences are not really worth the stress.

            The characters and the story itself were very compelling and kept my attention more than any other call of duty campaign.  For anyone that is aware of the Call of duty series, (unless you were trapped in a mine for a decade?) you know that the Black ops versions are made by developers Treyarch.  The Modern warfare series was made by Infinity ward before they were disbanded.  The black ops campaigns, in my opinion blow Modern Warfare’s stories out of the water.  Although, that being said, Modern Warfare has far superior multiplayer.  It all depends on what you prefer. 

            The reason that this game maintains a high rating for me is the campaign.  Its story was very well put together.  Thoughtful and emotional characters bring a change to the usual jarhead emotionless soldiers of the Call of Duty series.  An experience that brought me to respect this game is the very first mission of the game.  The mission takes place in the 80’s in Africa during the Cold War.  One of the main characters from Black ops 1 is thrown into a counter attack of a brutal African civil war.  The beauty of this skirmish really brings out what is best about this game.  A very large amount of people can be seen on screen, mixed with tanks and of course a chopper that we get to control.  Tearing down dozens of people and tossing mortars and groups of enemy’s is what makes Call of Duty, Call of Duty. 

            The campaign was roughly a 6-8 hour game.  The one problem with Call of Duty games is that the campaign is overlooked and made to short so that people can get to the multiplayer.  However, in the small amount of time that they allotted to the campaign, it still ranks as my favorite campaigns of the series.  The astounding graphics mixed with great dialogue from one of the characters who is Walking Dead’s Merle along with many more great voice actors makes for a great blockbuster experience.  The main antagonist Mendez will piss you off, while gaining your respect at the same time.  The ending as always is not the best but can leave you feeling very accomplished and proud with your decisions. 

            The multiplayer is nothing special.  There are little changes from its predecessors in game modes and kill streaks.  The only thing of note is that the kill streaks are now score streaks.  For example a UAV is about 400 points.  This means that any points you receive can be used to obtain the UAV, things like capturing a flag in capture the flag, getting a kill or an assist, and destroying an enemy’s equipment.  It makes it easier in a way to get score streaks because you are not fully depended on your killing skills to get you the streak.  You can use strategy in capturing flags in domination or capturing headquarters in headquarters.  The weapons are nothing special and as always there is an overpowered weapon the Peacekeeper which ends up in the hands of at least 75 percent of people in each multiplayer lobby. 

            These two game modes to be honest are not enough to purchase this game at the full price of $60.  For me it is all about the new and improved zombie’s mode.  This installment of zombies is amazing.  The premise is that there are multiple maps in one.  There is a bus that you can ride from map to map, all the while, being attacked by zombies climbing onto the bus windows.  The best part of the zombie’s mode is trying to complete the very secret achievement the tower of Babylon. (If we get enough comments we can put a link to the solution of this achievement.)  I love this game mode and will definitely keep you and your friends busy longer than 6-8 hours. 

            The graphics and audio all blend together with a great voice acting crew making for a decent game.  I think that the replay value is somewhat low.  However it is higher than any other Call of Duty campaign experience.  The multiplayer like the other games is stressful but can keep you interested with many prestige’s to struggle through.  Zombie’s is definitely one of the best game modes to replay over and over again. 

            Pros: Zombie mode, Great emotional campaign, Amazing graphics, an interesting story plot, and attention to clans in multiplayer.

            Cons: Short Campaign, Stressful multiplayer, overpowered weapons in multiplayer, NO CO-OP Campaign, and a fail to implement the decision factor into the campaign successfully.

            I would rank Call of Duty Black Ops 2 the following:

            Campaign:  8.25

            Multiplayer: 5.75

            Zombies:  9.5

            Overall:  7.75

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