Sunday, February 19, 2012
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception.
I completed Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception. The third title in the Uncharted series was developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 3. There isn't really a lot to say about Uncharted 3, especially if you've played the previous two entries. Uncharted 3 is more Uncharted 2 although there are some differences. They've beefed up the hand to hand combat to something closer to a pale imitation of Batman: Arkham Asylum's combat and given it a larger focus in the game. The game still features outrageously over the top action set pieces. The more impressive ones, like fighting on a listing ship in the middle of a massive storm while your cover slides back and forth and a gunfight in a sandstorm, are fun. They've also tried adjusting the pacing from the previous entry. There is more downtime in this one. There are larger stretches without combat or that oh my god run sense of urgency that was too prevalent in Uncharted 2. Much like the third Indiana Jones movie, we see the early days of Nathan Drake and his introduction to Victor Sullivan as a kid. The story spans twenty years and introduces a new villain that has a bit more substance as a character than the previous games. The plot is decent enough. Standard Uncharted. The characterization is also standard Uncharted. And that's to say, great. Among the absolute best in the industry. The characters remain the best reason to play the Uncharted games. The puzzles were a step up from the previous entries. A couple of them will require a little more thought than usual. The game retains some of the technical flaws from the previous titles. The gunplay is still wonky. The enemies are still massive bullet sponges. Headshots still don't kill with any sort of regularity. Nathan Drake's animation got in the way more than a couple times resulting in death. Especially in crushing difficulty. The game still is adventure platforming for dummies. A too well defined single path. And the series just can't do an interesting final boss battle in the slightest. I'm giving Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception an 8.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Another Lagging Update...
I'm late once again. I've completed another bunch of games without individual entries. Too many this time to really give any detailed impressions. So I'll just give the basics so I'll have them on the record. Which is essentially the whole point of my having done this all these years.
I've completed Dead Rising 2: Off the Record. The game was developed by Capcom Vancouver, formerly Blue Castle Games, and it was published by Capcom. Off the Record is a what if version of Dead Rising 2 with Dead Rising's Frank West replacing Chuck Greene. They added a whole new area with the Uranus Zone theme park as well as a couple of new psychopath battles and a slew of combo weapons. They also added a new final boss battle that comes off more like a true boss battle than anything the series has seen. Frank's a photojournalist and his camera mechanics make a welcome return. The story is interesting enough. They also added in a sandbox mode which allows you to mess around without a timer. Your experience and money transfer back and forth between sandbox mode and the main game. They added thirty challenges to get through in sandbox mode. There are co-op versions of each of them. The game engine is the same so most of the issues from Dead Rising 2 return. Especially in the broken saving in co-op. This retelling isn't drastically different but it provides enough content to make it well worth while for fans of the series. Especially if you've going through it all in co-op.
I've played Pushmo for the 3DS. The game is from Intelligent Systems, the makers of Wild Gunman, Fire Emblem, Paper Mario, Advance Wars and more. The game was published by Nintendo. Pushmo is a puzzle game where you can jump and push and pull blocks within a limited 3D space. You push and pull blocks out of structures so that you can essentially climb up to the top and rescue a trapped child. It's a simple concept that's great for a handheld where you just want to kill ten minutes here or there. I don't think it hold ups that well for extended play sessions but for bite sized play sessions it's great.
I've played Mutant Mudds for the 3DS. The game was developed by Renegade Kid. Mutant Mudds is a platformer that harkens back to the 8-bit era. It has great 8-bit styled visuals and sound. The controls get the job done in a game filled with tight timing and lots of platforms disappearing and reforming. The game's gimmick is a heavy use of parallax scrolling and the ability to jump in and out of the background at certain points. It works well combined with the 3D of the system. I'm not that big a fan of the strict time limit in each stage.
I've played Sakura Samurai: Art of the Sword for the 3DS. The game was developed by Grounding Inc, and it was published by Nintendo. Sakurai Samurai is an almost bite sized action game that focuses on exacting combat. It's kind of like Punch-Out meets swordplay. The enemies all have tells that give away when they're going to attack. You're rewarded for successfully dodging their attack at the last moment. Once you've dodged their attack they're left open to your attack. You'll need to strike fast. The game has you moving across an overworld selecting areas to fight in. There are towns with inns to restore your health and save your game. You can upgrade and sharpen your sword. You'll talk to NPCs and play mini game based challenges. And there are shops to sell you items. The game has three bosses and can be completed in a couple of hours. It's a cool little game with great combat. I'd like to see it fully expanded into a full sized game.
I've completed LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars for the Xbox 360. There isn't a lot to say here. It's just like every other LEGO game. If you've played them, you know exactly what they are. I really like the games, so I keep playing them. And I like the Star Wars license so this one was inevitable. It does throw in a new wrinkle. You have ground and space battles for each of the sixteen star systems represented beyond the levels based on episodes from the show. The space battles are represented by challenges that last a minute or two. The ground battles are a very light real time strategy element where you can command troops on the battlefield. There is a lot of content packed into the standard LEGO game. I was at least able to escape any glitches this time around.
Dead Rising 2: Off the Record -- 8
Pushmo -- 7.5
Mutant Mudds -- 7
Sakura Samurai: Art of the Sword -- 8
LEGO Star Wars: The Clone Wars--8.5
I've completed Dead Rising 2: Off the Record. The game was developed by Capcom Vancouver, formerly Blue Castle Games, and it was published by Capcom. Off the Record is a what if version of Dead Rising 2 with Dead Rising's Frank West replacing Chuck Greene. They added a whole new area with the Uranus Zone theme park as well as a couple of new psychopath battles and a slew of combo weapons. They also added a new final boss battle that comes off more like a true boss battle than anything the series has seen. Frank's a photojournalist and his camera mechanics make a welcome return. The story is interesting enough. They also added in a sandbox mode which allows you to mess around without a timer. Your experience and money transfer back and forth between sandbox mode and the main game. They added thirty challenges to get through in sandbox mode. There are co-op versions of each of them. The game engine is the same so most of the issues from Dead Rising 2 return. Especially in the broken saving in co-op. This retelling isn't drastically different but it provides enough content to make it well worth while for fans of the series. Especially if you've going through it all in co-op.
I've played Pushmo for the 3DS. The game is from Intelligent Systems, the makers of Wild Gunman, Fire Emblem, Paper Mario, Advance Wars and more. The game was published by Nintendo. Pushmo is a puzzle game where you can jump and push and pull blocks within a limited 3D space. You push and pull blocks out of structures so that you can essentially climb up to the top and rescue a trapped child. It's a simple concept that's great for a handheld where you just want to kill ten minutes here or there. I don't think it hold ups that well for extended play sessions but for bite sized play sessions it's great.
I've played Mutant Mudds for the 3DS. The game was developed by Renegade Kid. Mutant Mudds is a platformer that harkens back to the 8-bit era. It has great 8-bit styled visuals and sound. The controls get the job done in a game filled with tight timing and lots of platforms disappearing and reforming. The game's gimmick is a heavy use of parallax scrolling and the ability to jump in and out of the background at certain points. It works well combined with the 3D of the system. I'm not that big a fan of the strict time limit in each stage.
I've played Sakura Samurai: Art of the Sword for the 3DS. The game was developed by Grounding Inc, and it was published by Nintendo. Sakurai Samurai is an almost bite sized action game that focuses on exacting combat. It's kind of like Punch-Out meets swordplay. The enemies all have tells that give away when they're going to attack. You're rewarded for successfully dodging their attack at the last moment. Once you've dodged their attack they're left open to your attack. You'll need to strike fast. The game has you moving across an overworld selecting areas to fight in. There are towns with inns to restore your health and save your game. You can upgrade and sharpen your sword. You'll talk to NPCs and play mini game based challenges. And there are shops to sell you items. The game has three bosses and can be completed in a couple of hours. It's a cool little game with great combat. I'd like to see it fully expanded into a full sized game.
I've completed LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars for the Xbox 360. There isn't a lot to say here. It's just like every other LEGO game. If you've played them, you know exactly what they are. I really like the games, so I keep playing them. And I like the Star Wars license so this one was inevitable. It does throw in a new wrinkle. You have ground and space battles for each of the sixteen star systems represented beyond the levels based on episodes from the show. The space battles are represented by challenges that last a minute or two. The ground battles are a very light real time strategy element where you can command troops on the battlefield. There is a lot of content packed into the standard LEGO game. I was at least able to escape any glitches this time around.
Dead Rising 2: Off the Record -- 8
Pushmo -- 7.5
Mutant Mudds -- 7
Sakura Samurai: Art of the Sword -- 8
LEGO Star Wars: The Clone Wars--8.5
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