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!

Read More

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

Read More

ZombiU - Mark Reeves (9.0)

ZombiU Review 

by Mark Reeves

Platform: Nintendo Wii U

Release date: November 18, 2012

Developer: Ubisoft Montpellier

Publisher: Ubisoft

                                         

27 years ago a newly formed company called Ubisoft released a simple arcade game, the name of this game was Zombi. Released for the Commodore 64 and the IBM PC, Zombi dropped players in a mall where they had to survive the zombie apocalypse.

26 years later Ubisoft finally delivers a successor to its first published title. As one of the Wii U’s premiere launch titles, ZombiU has a lot to live up to. With the survival horror genre struggling in recent years with more action oriented entries by Resident Evil and Silent Hill,  many gamers questioned if Ubisoft, who is not well known in the survival horror genre, could actually deliver where these established franchises could not. Well I am happy to report that Ubisoft Montpellier has delivered an experience that feels as if they have been doing this for years.          

ZombiU starts off in a post-apocalyptic London, think 28 Days Later. In the beginning cinematic your character is simply running around London, attempting to survive. Then a voice comes over a loud speaker telling you to run into the subway system. Just before your about to be ripped apart limb from limb by zombies, you rush into the subway. From here the cinematic is over, and you have to run for your life! After you enter the safe room you will become acquainted with the voice that saved your life. He calls himself “The Prepper” and he has prepared for this disaster well ahead of time. Your job then is to go into the streets of London and find a way to stop the zombie plague.

The first weapon your character starts out with is a cricket bat. For the first few hours of the game this will be your primary weapon. While it would have been nice to get a few extra melee weapons, you will soon learn that the only thing between you and a quick death is how effectively you use your cricket bat. The cricket bat is a very slow and weak weapon. Zombie’s usually go down after 3-4 hits plus a finishing move. This might not sound so bad, but if there is more than one zombie, you have to be aware of what the other zombie is doing before you decide to take a swing. Other reviewers might see this slow combat as a burden to the overall game, but I feel Ubisoft has managed to take the melee combat, something that would usually be an afterthought, and make it a strategic and tense part of the game.                                                             

Another integral part of the game is  of course, the Wii U gamepad. When wondering around London you will find various items like medpacks, ammo, and guns. These will all need to be stored in your backpack, which you can access only from the gamepad. The gamepad makes it easy to quickly manage your inventory and equip items. Other uses for the gamepad include the ability to scan rooms for clues and items, and it can also be used to scope your sniper rifle.                                                      

 When it comes to atmosphere, which every good zombie game needs, ZombiU excels on many levels. The graphics, while not the greatest in the world, do this game justice by providing very little light. This may not seem like a big deal, but when you are in a dark building with zombies and your flashlight goes out, you will see nothing but darkness and the red on the screen as your eaten alive. On top of the great lighting effects, zombies look very grotesque up close, and the city of London is very detailed.  The sound of ZombiU also adds to the suspense. Unknown shrieks and growls from the next room or floor are truly terrifying, and will have to on edge the whole game.                                                                                                                                    

Of course I cannot end this review without talking about the difficulty of ZombiU. If you are familiar with games like Demon Souls and Dark Souls you will be fine. However if you are not familiar with these titles, you will die, a lot. Your character is very weak, only a few hits, or one zombie bite will kill him or her. After you die you will respawn in the main safehouse as a new character. What is unique about ZombiU is, after you die you can go out, find your zombified corpse and hopefully retrieve your items that you had previously acquired.                             

ZombiU is no doubt a breath of fresh air for the survival horror genre. With its challenging gameplay and perfect atmosphere, it could be argued that it has done a better job with survival horror then the latest installments of Resident Evil and Silent Hill.  If you own a Wii U this game is a must buy. 

ZombiU- 9.0/10         

Read More

Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 - Quenga (8.0)

Call of Duty: Black Ops II

Joshua Quenga

MRownagePRO

            Close to four months after its release, Call of Duty: Black Ops II (henceforth mentioned as BLOPS) has made it to my ‘play if bored’ pile of video games. One can only play a series of fps’ for so long before it becomes a nuisance. In my opinion, COD should have stopped after the original Modern Warfare. It itself isn’t a horrible game, but like the song goes ‘the repetition kills you.’ But, in the nature of a true review, I will delve into some of the pros and cons of the newest addition to the seemingly never-ending series. 

            What I’d like to point out first, is that the campaign along with the improved zombie mode is the only reason that this game has replay value for myself. The BLOPs campaigns, made by Treyarch mind you and not Infinity Ward, both seem to contain more complex plots. Throughout the campaign you experience the perspectives of a conflict between a ‘madman’ named Menendez and the soldiers trying to take him down. The plot contains a handful of twists and surprises as you play through, as well as multiple directions to go in depending on certain choices you make. Although Treyarch didn’t use decision making to its full potential, it still adds something new to spice things up and possibly boost its replay value.

 The characters presented are believable and experience conflict that makes the player question the motives driving both sides of the story. The campaign also contains gameplay of the antagonist Menendez, which involved a very frenzied shootout that stood out as one of my favorite moments of the game. Another improvement is the graphics. Throughout the campaign you have many moments of gloriously beautiful scenes, like gliding from a cliff to an enemy camp or charging an army on a battlefield containing hundreds of soldiers.

            As for the zombies’ mode, the replay value has significantly increased with the addition of a simple bus. Essentially, they combined multiple maps with a boarded up bus that loops around. Each location contains a different perk and secondary type of equipment like turbines, turrets, and electric fences that a player can place or use. They have also added somewhat complicated achievements that require the players to follow instructions from the crazy doctors, which involve gathering and assembling parts of a table and acquiring ridiculously useless weapons such as an upgraded ballistic knife (this example is from the new Die Rise map). They attempted to make a worthwhile mode where you play as a zombie with the new DLC, but it turned out to be uneventful. It was nothing like what was expected; it basically pits 3 players against 1 player who is a zombie. They seem to be getting more creative with zombies. Whether that be good or bad time will tell.

            As for multiplayer, the only significant difference between it and its predecessor is the switch from killstreaks to scorestreaks. Instead of streaks based on kills, they now depend on the score you can achieve between deaths. You acquire score from kills, assists, destroying UAVs or enemy equipment like claymores, and also from completing objectives in the non-teamdeathmatch game modes. What hasn’t changed is the constant irritation and screaming at the screen from frustration (either from dying or losing). Of course there are new weapons and game modes, but still some weapons are overpowered and used by everyone like usual. Something that they did add that seems interesting is League play. Everything is unlocked and ready for use, and you play alone or as a team. You go up against others and eventual get placed in ranks. It seems like a great concept to boost replay value, it just needs tweaking.

            Overall, it just boils down to your gaming preferences. Each mode has been upgraded, whether significantly or otherwise. Of course the changes will only keep us gamers interested for so long, so new DLC and/or sequel games will have to keep pouring.

            Campaign: 8.5

            Zombies: 9.0

            Multiplayer: 6.5

            Overall: 8.0

Read More