[ALL] Gaming with Buzzman.......Part 2

[Buzzman]

PS3:

• Batman: Arkham Origins
• God of War
• God of War: Chains of Olympus
• The Last of Us

PSX:

• Resident Evil: Director's Cut
  Resident Evil 2

 

[Buzzman]

I previously had my own little review thread before. It was back when I was really into playing games and actually buying them on release day thanks to Kmart. It was a very fun time for me. Once Kmart fired Josh and ended the gaming coupon train he had going for the store, I got of got into a rut. I stopped buying games as often and was in a gaming funk for a good bit. Since Tomb Raider came out though, I've been playing pretty much non-stop now and actually am getting into old school games that I never played to begin with. I always said I'd play them in the past, but now I am actually ni the mood for them. So you can expect all kinds of reviews in this thread raining from some really new games to old games to whatever I decide to play after each game. The length and quality of the reviews may stem from my enjoyment from the game but I will try and give games more thought. Previously I would jump the gun a bit and claim a game to be amazing or great, but dwindled over a small period of time. My goal is to give the game a proper grade that I can look back onto months from now and still agree with the score. I hope you enjoy them more this time around and hopefully I can stick with it longer and give them a more fair and accurate view of them.

So I cannot think of a better game to review at the start of this thread with..........

 

[Buzzman]

The Last of Us

Release Date: June 14, 2013
Developer: NaughtyDog
Game Type: Third-Person Action-Survivor?
Price Paid: $30

It’s funny because the initial announcement trailer for The Last of Us (LoU) didn’t really blow me away all that much because I just passed it off as just another post-apocalyptic game that NaughtyDog (ND) was wasting their time and talents on. All I really wanted was another Uncharted game. It’s a pretty good thing then that I didn’t have my way. After the announcement though, any further information released just piled on the enormous expectations for the game; it looked so damn good. It almost didn’t seem possible for ND to please everyone. In order to do so, they would have to just about make the perfect game. With little doubt now, ND achieved just that. It’s not perfect, but when you have to dig real deep just to nitpick at it, you know the game turned out as good as advertised, probably even better.

As far as visuals go, ND has pretty much set the standard for games since their universally praised sequel, Uncharted 2. The jump from the first game into the second was so massive, both games that followed them kind of got taken for granted. We have grown accustomed to these beautiful graphics but a lot of the times, I don’t know if people truly appreciate just how good this game looks. From a massive scale, the game is gorgeous. It may not seem like it that would be the term to describe a world that has become rotten, messy, and overrun with infected occupying abandoned cities and towns, but it is. Playing through the game, it immerses you so well, you almost never become accustomed to it. There is always some sort of visual combined with gameplay that makes you feel uncomfortable with what you’re seeing. That why everyone talks about the giraffe scene so much. They did such a great job of showing how upside the world has turned, that when you stumble upon that moment, they want you to get lost in it. I’m sure that has been mentioned in just about every review, but that’s because it’s so damn beautiful and impactful on you as the gamer.

The other impressive thing ND achieved this time around that Uncharted never had was the empty space visuals were just as good as the path chosen. What I mean by this is that what a lot of games tend to do is half ass rooms or areas in the game that only hardcore scavengers would look and didn’t put much time or effect in making them. I’ve always felt they shouldn’t include them if they go with this route, but in the LoU, I can’t recall a single time when I wasn’t impressed by what I saw, and I felt I covered the games territories pretty thoroughly on my first playthrough. Then when you get up close and personal to examine smaller objects, there is detail there. Bioshock Infinite is a shining example of this. All that propaganda spread on the walls and the garbage all around look fine until you actually try and truly look at them. They are really blurry and fuzzy when you get up to them.

In a game full of memorable moments, one thing that has stuck with me is whenever I fired a weapon, just how impactful they felt in my hands. There have been countless shooters I’ve come across where I just go guns a blazin and fire round after round, but here they feel as dangerous as they truly are. The first time I fired the revolver, my ears were ringing and the feelings in my hand caused from the vibration lingered with me for a few seconds after each shot. Since ammo isn’t as attainable in most shooters, the sound, feel, combined with the scare supply give the weapons of the game an authentic feel to them. I can’t remember a game handling weapons with such care. Then again, they seemed to handle everything with care. Funny.

So as the story goes, it’s a real doozy. As you all know, since many have played it already, it just an amazing experience from start to finish. It sucks you in right away with be the game’s most brutal moments and the consequences of that introduction linger with Joel the entire game. What begins as a kind of escort mission weaves itself into a relationship between Joel and Ellie that is the strongest a video game has ever seen. The story is a pretty standard affair. A virus consuming the world and looking for a cure is nothing new or groundbreaking, but that’s not what makes it so incredible, that comes from the bond that you get to form between your character Joel, and the young girl Ellie. The key for me was that I actually got to play through the bond. A lot of games might try and develop this through cutscenes but the fact that I got to experience these moments first hand is why I and apparently everyone else fell in love with Ellie. The interactions between the two are so damn good. When you get to the end, you do what you have always done, and that is survive, at all costs. Some people have mentioned you didn’t have a choice at the end, but you never had a choice the entire game. The entire game you dug deep inside and brutally ended the lives of many to ensure your survival, so why would you want the game to change? It’s a bittersweet ending that I think with time, people will come to really love.

In creating the characters for this game, ND really went above and beyond in creating two living character that I dare someone to say they didn’t end up loving by the end. Joel is a kind of asshole, but with one little sequence, you understand his approach to the matter. One of the best things about him is the fact that he isn’t a good guy. We get to see him come to care and protect Ellie, but it’s mentioned and demonstrated throughout the game that he is a selfish, lonely and miserable man. You can bet there was a sigh of disappointment every time he awakened in the morning, knowing there was another full day ahead for him. That is until he met Ellie, the young girl who managed to find the crack in his wall and made him feel something again. Her innocent view on things changed Joel. I laughed and smiled at so many of the things she said and did while in the middle of the game. It’s the best use of AI in a game yet. When she winds up going through the horrors the game throws at her, you feel terrified for her. This bond they form feels so real and authentic, you never feel cheated. They take you step-by-step through it all, and the game achieves a level of success with that. Everything great that the game accomplishes doesn’t even matter when compared to the game’s greatest achievement.

The game plays out exactly the way you’d expect Resident Evil would want to play as. I played on the hardest option at launch, so my experience may differ from yours, but it was difficult in many areas. The idea of stealth is key for this game. You can try and go guns out, but there just isn’t enough ammo laying around for that kind of playthrough. You will have to sneak around, that is unless you want to keep dying. To help route your plan, the game offers a splinter-cell tactic with what they call extreme hearing. When you zone in and hone that ability, you can spot enemies through walls. It’s kind of an unrealistic part of the game, but it’s done so well and necessary, I enjoyed it. You can use bottles and bricks to distract enemies through noise, or even use them as a weapon. I found myself using these three things far more than any gun. It was a real nice change in approach for me. As a type of inventory, you carry around a backpack that is your lifesaver. You use it to upgrade your abilities through pills that you find. You can use the other supplies you find to build your standard melee/throwable weapons such as smoke bombs, molotovs, and health packs. It’s nice to see a game go back to health packs after the respawnable health has been flooded in so many of our games. My one big complaint with the gameplay is just how easy the melee combat was. Even on hard I found that if I tapped the hell out of the punch button I could take out a whole group of runners without having to worry about dying. For such a brutal game, that felt a little overpowered. While the load time to boot up the game is terribly long, the transition from death is so quick, it almost feels like they rip the fear of death out of you because when you do its places you at the start of the checkpoint within seconds and your only seconds away from where you died. Dying was no big deal for this game. That’s some of the nitpicks I had with the game. They aren’t big at all, but there has to be some things that aren’t perfect. Lol.

The game had a multiplayer that seemed to be headed to throwaway because it took them so long to reveal. I feel confident in judging the online portion fairly because I’ve actually put almost 15 hours into it and played in all the manners possible. As a quick guide, you essentially play Team Deathmatch with rounds up the best of 5, or you play standard Team Deathmatch with respawns. Both are fun but respawns rewards you more for your time. If you don’t have at least another person playing with you, the enjoyment of it can dwindle pretty quickly. You need to work together to mark targets, heal, revive, and gang up on the enemy. Without it, you may have some good games, but more times than not your going to gather fewer supplies and with fewer supplies, your population could die off fast. A few bad games in a row can set up back so far, certain unlockables cannot be achieved because you need X amount of survivors by the end of your 12 week run. Everytime I’ve played up against a group of 4 I’ve struggled to be successful. This isn’t groundbreaking multiplayer, but it’s a lot of fun and a deviation from all the others. You can’t just run around and sprint with your head down, you take it slow and together just like the single player. For me personally, it’s the most fun I’ve had in a long time.

It’s kind of amusing to see the new consoles revealed and heading toward the public, yet in the same year, arguably the best game of the current consoles comes out. It’s a masterpiece that earned the right to be called that. It’s the total package. I wonder how long it will take for the new consoles to release a game as good, but I have a feeling that wait is going to be long. This feels like it’s one of those rare games that people will be talking about years and years from now. If they do decide to revisit this universe, regardless of what they come up with, it’s going to be impossible to duplicate the success they had here. Thank you ND. I had an absolute blast with your game.


Hours Played: 30 (14 Single Player)
Game Difficulty: 8/10
Trophy Difficulty: 9/10 (very time consuming)


Right to the point:
+ Amazing Authentic Characters placed into a breath-taking universe
+ An epic journey
+ Great, fun, multiplayer
- Bootup Load Time
- Casual infected difficulty
- It has to end

Final Score: A+​

 

[Swarley]

 

[Buzzman]

Resident Evil: Director’s Cut

Release Date: September 25, 1997
Developer: Capcom
Game Type: Survival Horror
Price Paid: $3.50

It’s the year 2013 and I can’t even keep track of the Resident Evil timeline and franchise. It seems like a new game is announced every year, two games find its way ported to a new system, and exclusives become not exclusives. The franchise is so widely known, its brand has kind of been diminished to a lot of its fans. I am in that very rare group that has somehow avoided every game in the franchise. It’s comes with a little shock when I tell other gamers that, but until last month, it was true. I don’t know exactly when it was, but Playstation Plus ran a sale on the franchise and I got about every game I needed for $25 total. Then I decided now was the time to jump into the franchise with the Director’s Cut and play through them all by the end of the year. That plan almost lasted about fifteen minutes for me.

I was pretty excited to start this game. The opening cutscene was so laughably bad with its live-action acting and cheap thrills; it gave me the perfect vibe. Then I saw the in-game graphics come after that and was blown away at how bad they were. I began to question my decision to buy this game, let alone actually play through it. Along came the character movement/camera angles assigned to the game. The fact that moving diagonal was physically impossible in this game blew me away. It was so frustrating at the start, that the controls combined with the graphics led to me saying fuck this game and I actually deleted it from my system. After I cooled down a bit and forced myself to give it a second attempt, I started to enjoy it a lot more.

The biggest obstacle that people will have to get over is that character movement. I know this game was made so many years ago and time usually makes things worse, but this was pretty terrible. With some time and effort, I learned to walk with very little frustration. The controls are manageable and the fixed camera angle is adjustable with time. That’s the key; time. If you were like me originally, you’d never be able to play this game and give up right away, but if you can get a handle on that, everything else becomes more enjoyable. I should have mentioned this earlier, but I played through the game as Chris Redfield rather than Jill Valentine, so it’s a little different than what you might have run into and experienced. This game is actually very fucking brutal. Ammo is very scarce, zombies aren’t easy to kill, and when you come across hunters, they are even worse. You have to be careful with how you approach certain things because I ran into many instances where I had little to no ammo and cautious health left. The problem that lies there is the save situation. You could handle it better f you could save whenever, but the fact that you need to find save stations and have a set limit prevents this. It makes it even harder. On a brighter side of things, it gets easier once you memorize the map of the mansion you’re in. You start to know where everything is and where to go, which gives you access to your supply box. Your inventory system is kind of bullshit. As Chris you can only have six slots on yourself at any given moment. That includes ammo. SO if you want to have a pistol and a shotgun on you, that’s 4 slots already taken up, leaving you with two and I ran into numerous spots where I had to backtrack just to play along with health packs or special items I needed to move onto different areas and shit. This was more of a time strain rather than being difficult. This really is the definition of survival horror.

Speaking of the horror part of this game, it’s sometimes really scary. I might sound like a puss, but the audio cues really were top notch in this game. Zombies made this little groan and slid their feet across the ground. With the crap camera angle, you would hear them a lot but only see them once you moved closer. I jumped a few times when the zombie was RIGHT out of screen so they’d bite you the minute you actually saw them. The Hunters make this croak in their presence and the fact that they are tougher and can jump had me downright terrified the first time I saw them in that great POV cutscene. For a game with such a shitty look to it, they really nailed the horror atmosphere that games today struggle to obtain. Perhaps the shit graphics added to that feel?

Aside from the poor graphics, it isn’t even the worst (or best? depending on how you view it) part of the game. I haven’t played many old –school games so I’m sure there are worse, but this is the worst voice acting I’ve ever seen. The dialogue is so fucking terrible; you cannot help but laugh at this shit. They are handled so poorly and combined with the pixilated version of the character is so full of win. There isn’t a whole lot of it, but when it pertains to the story is when it’s in full effect. Rebecca is my favorite experience with this because everything about her makes me cringe. Without the addition of notes and articles, there was no way I was going to understand the story in this through these conversation pieces. While it’s generic in today’s game, I am sure it was revolutionary upon its release.

For a game that is about 15 years old, I cannot believe how invested I got into it. I had my frustrations with it, but when I wasn’t playing it, my mind was still on it. I was thinking of ways I could approach some of the tougher situations and really thinking too much into it. I felt kind of crappy when I struggled so much with it when so many little kids breezed through this shit. It’s definitely a sign of the kind of gamer I grew up as that respawning health, save stations, and limited inventory was new to me. Age hasn’t been too kind to it, but it is indeed still playable and very fun. I know the franchise sticks to close to this formula for most of the series, but it’s off to a good start for me. One day when I am up to it, I’ll give Jill Valentine’s character a shot, but I cannot wait to play the second one.

Hours Played: 7
Game Difficulty: 9/10
Trophy Difficulty: N/A


Right to the point:
+ The atmosphere of the mansion
+ The strategy approach(basically difficulty)
+ The Live-Action cutscenes
- The movement controls
- The pre-determined camera angle
- The VA

Final Score: B-​

 

[SethMode]

"Jill, here's a lockpick. It might be handy if you, the master of unlocking, take it with you."

 

[SethMode]

My initial post was just immediately what I thought when I saw that you reviewed this. After reading it, great review man. Summed up my opinion of the game pretty perfectly. I hope you play the second one. It still has a lot of the same issues (camera angle, shit graphics, FUCKING HILARIOUSLY TERRIBLE VA), but I would say it's definitely the better game. It also has 4 possible playthroughs with endings and true endings and all of the other nonsense that RE games have.

I have a somewhat related question: how many RE games have you played and how invested are you in the fiction/how good do you think the fiction is? To avoid this question seeming like a trap, I will say up front that RE has quite possibly the worst video game fiction I can think of for a series, and I'm flabbergasted anytime I hear someone claim something like RE5 or 6 ruined the fiction. We're not talking about the sequel to Anna Karenina here people. So, yeah, if you like it, I'm sorry if I just shit on it

EDIT - Also, why the shit did you play as Chris? Were you told about how much easier Jill was and went for the challenge?

 

[Buzzman]

I already started the second one, but my friend REALLY is jabbing at me to play Dark Souls so I am going to play that, then jump back into Resident Evil 2. I was only an hour in so its not a big deal. I could care less about the storyline/plot in the long run as long as the story I am being told in the current game peaks my interest. I also liked the atmosphere, so as long as it stays the same until 4(which I read changes it to an action franchise) I should be satisfied. Whats funny is I have probably killed more zombies in the first hour of the sequel than the entire run-through of the first one.

In regards to playing as Chris, I picked him because I didn't realize each character had their own advantages. When I looked something up and saw that Jill had 8 spots in her inventory, I was waiting for Chris to find some belt and upgrade but it wasn't until I was near the end that I realized each character was different. Jill was so much easier it seems, but at the end of the day, I can't complain with Chris. Part of the fun I had was screaming at the TV and threatening to myself that I'll break the controller if I die again. For me, I think the more I am yelling, the more fun I'm having. I may kick and scream with things but when you finally beat those scenes, the moments are glorious. The battle with Tyrannt at the end was so hard because I had low health and almost no ammo, but after two days of trying to beat him, I finally did and jumped up in the air and told the fake guy on screen to suck my dick. Good times.

 

[SethMode]

I already started the second one, but my friend REALLY is jabbing at me to play Dark Souls so I am going to play that, then jump back into Resident Evil 2. I was only an hour in so its not a big deal. I could care less about the storyline/plot in the long run as long as the story I am being told in the current game peaks my interest. I also liked the atmosphere, so as long as it stays the same until 4(which I read changes it to an action franchise) I should be satisfied. Whats funny is I have probably killed more zombies in the first hour of the sequel than the entire run-through of the first one.

In regards to playing as Chris, I picked him because I didn't realize each character had their own advantages. When I looked something up and saw that Jill had 8 spots in her inventory, I was waiting for Chris to find some belt and upgrade but it wasn't until I was near the end that I realized each character was different. Jill was so much easier it seems, but at the end of the day, I can't complain with Chris. Part of the fun I had was screaming at the TV and threatening to myself that I'll break the controller if I die again. For me, I think the more I am yelling, the more fun I'm having. I may kick and scream with things but when you finally beat those scenes, the moments are glorious. The battle with Tyrannt at the end was so hard because I had low health and almost no ammo, but after two days of trying to beat him, I finally did and jumped up in the air and told the fake guy on screen to suck my dick. Good times.

I'll just say this: if kicking and screaming (and the inevitable sense of accomplishment that comes from getting through it) is your cup of tea, you will fucking LOVE Dark Souls (you should also give Demon's Souls a chance). Great game. Just an FYI though, you might not get back to RE for awhile if Dark Souls gets its hooks in you.

 

[Buzzman]

God of War: Chains of Olympus

Release Date: September 13, 2011
Developer: Ready at Dawn
Game Type: Hack and Slash Platformer
Price Paid: $6

This review will be based off of Chains of Olympus HD remake in the God of War Origins Collection. It took me forever to finally find that Collection at my price point, but I never budged, and now it is mine. This is my first venture into this entire franchise. When I decided I wanted to play it, I wanted to go in order of the game’s timeline rather than the order in which they were released. I don’t know if that was the best idea.

Normally I don’t jump into the story first and foremost, but I am going to here. I was confused a lot of the time on what exactly I was doing and why I was doing it. I was fighting wave after wave of enemies but the enjoyment wasn’t that high. I had no idea who they were. Then the sun fell from the sky and I went off on another journey to get it back up in the sky. This was a case of me mixing up the names of the gods and I wound up having to Google what was happening. Now I know I am not the smartest person with gods and their history but I felt like this game did a really poor job of relaying the proper information to me. Characters would get mentioned but never revealed to me and later in the game when they go “I am Morpheus” I have to pause and think about it for a second. You throw in my daughter into the storyline and it feels off. Something just doesn’t gel right. I felt uncomfortable with my thoughts, and what resulted was a disinterest in the story and ultimately my enjoyment of the game as a whole.

I know this is a HD remake, but I have to say that the presentation of the game looked really good, especially when you consider it used to be a PSP game. The stages and the levels are a little bare with details, but it all looks so smooth while you’re fighting. It’s when you stop and actually look is when the age of the game reveals itself. The background might be the worst part. It clearly didn’t have the engine to handle it, but it feels 2D when you look at it, which is distracting when everything close to you is in a 3D environment. Early in the game I kind of cringed at the cutscenes, but as I got deeper into the game, they seemed to get crisper and smoother to watch. Overall though, it looked better than expected and at the time might have been outstanding on the PSP.

I know the entire series has a ton of Quick Time Events (QTE), but I hope they improved upon them in further games. It felt really lazy here because while it may appear to be random, they were not. I figured out the pattern to most of the QTEs early on so it never felt challenging to me throughout. It was repetitive. That doesn’t bode well for the rest of the game. Fighting enemies in this game is the exact same thing. Its nothing but button mashing and in this game the Chain Whip Spin move is so effective, why use anything else? I know that’s my fault as the gamer, choosing to use the same move, but when its so powerful, why wouldn’t I use it. The attacks were pretty disappointing in this installment. On the other hand, I wound up using every type of magic. The game specifically designed situations that kind of forced your hand to use them all, which is what I wish they did the same thing with the enemies. They also throw in a finshing QTE on some enemies and after the first few times, I felt it was a nuisance because if I failed, there was no consequences. The enemy would still have the marker above his head and I’d just reattempt it. Give the guy his health back or let him attack me and I lose some health for Christ sake. It just felt so lazy with the designs. This will sound pretty bad on my part and speaks to the games quality, but I cannot even remember the boss fights in this game. It was just a forgettable experience for me.

My first foray into the franchise definitely wasn’t a good start. I didn’t let it shy me from the rest of the franchise, but I have never been of a huge fan of hack and slash games, and I think it will always boil down to the story for me. If I am fighting my way through various stages, I want to know why and what for, and I just didn’t get that in this game. It played great; I just wish they dug a bit deeper with the game as a whole. It felt too plain and simple.

I kind of forget to mention them earlier, but the puzzles in this game are a bit challenging. I had trouble with a few of them and they required a bit of thinking. I enjoyed that they challenged me, but sometimes the puzzle was solved and it was a matter of moving boulders around that would take forever. That would be a minor nitpick with the platforming side of the game. This is a game I feel like many could skip and not miss a whole lot of the franchise. There are still many more in the series to get your fix and I hope they are better than this installment. I feel like the franchise can only go up from here.


Hours Played: 7
Game Difficulty: 5
Trophy Difficulty: 9 (time consuming and repetition)




Right to the point:
+ The Smooth Flow of Gameplay
+ The Platforming Challenges
+ Converted Presentation
- The story feels messy
- The game feels repetitive/lazy
- The boss fights were forgettable

Final Score: D+​

 

[Twigg4075]

D+? Wow. Definitely way lower a score than I would give that game.

 

[Buzzman]

God of War

Release Date: November 17, 2009
Developer: Santa Monica Studios
Game Type: Hack n Slash Platformer
Price Paid: $7

If you’ve read my review and seen the score to what I gave God of War: Chains of Olympus (CoO), you’ll know that I wasn’t very impressed with the game. It’s funny that I decided to play the series in order of the timeline (outside of Ascension) rather than the order that they came out because one of my biggest problems in CoO was actually fixed in this game. It was mainly concerning Kratos daughter and the role she played in his life. It makes a lot more sense now that I have played this game.

Since I already mentioned a bit of the plot, I’ll just continue on and roll with it. This time around I once again found myself a bit disinterested in what was going on. I don’t know if it’s because Kratos isn’t a character I have come to like yet, or because the Gods and their names/roles confuse me a bit but I just couldn’t get into this game’s story. I was disappointed that I found myself button mashing like a zombie. Then about halfway through the game, it finally happened! I started to enjoy myself. The twist involving his family and how Ares, the God of War, tricked him into doing it was just as awesome as when I first read about it. Now that I have seen what Ares is capable and what kind of evil he really is, the story was narrowed down simple enough for me to enjoy it. I had to destroy Ares for Athena and my family with the powers that came from Pandora’s Box. You finally understood Kratos as a character and for me finally didn’t just look at him as a brute warrior, but a man with depth inside him. I don’t think it’s some grand storytelling on any level, but the second half of this game finally made me look forward to more adventures with the God of War.

Technically speaking this was the very first game of the series, and I think it shows just how powerful the PS2 was for its time because the updating of its graphics didn’t do a whole lot of improvement compared to some of the other HD Collections that have come out. Sure the environment feels a little flat texture-wise, but the characters and the way they move around within the universe run as smoothly as any other game on the system. I was impressed. Better yet, the cut scenes in this game are a vast improvement over CoO, which seemed blurry, but these felt nice and crisp. I still get the feeling that the 3D world needs improvement. The background in this game feels like its 2D and has a Disney animation look to it and it kind of throws me off a bit because I’m walking around in this 3D world, but then I get to the edge of it and it feels and looks so fake. I hope the series fixes that in later games.

The game play is something I feel was very well done for the hack and slash genre. The reason I think that is that while this game is older, it feels like and plays like the same games of its genre today. It was such a perfect system of free forming combinations that there didn’t seem to be much in line to change it. The combinations feel much balanced out and I found myself experimenting with them until I found a comfort zone in their strengths and weaknesses. The downside to having such a functioning combo system, I found little use in the magic this time around. I know that’s my choice to not use it, but the fact that I was able to go through much of the game choosing not to kind of give you an idea of how unbalanced they are. The game should’ve force me into using both in tougher situations, but too often, I mowed through them with ease. The QTEs in this game feel less repetitive than CoO by having them come in spurts rather than in such rapid succession. With the added effect that failed QTEs resulted in the lowering of your health, which I found to be a step in the right direction. I want to be punished for messing up; otherwise, they feel like I’m going through the motions. The platforming stands on each side of the scale. Sometimes it feels a little childish by having you move a box or stone around onto a panel, but then it would flip on you and require searching around the stage searching for various items just to move on. I wish it would’ve done away with the rather tedious easy puzzles and focused on a select few and make them more difficult. They feel more rewarding when it requires some thought and you solve it.

I feel like God of War was the right installment to jump into this franchise for people who never have before. I wonder how I would view CoO had I played it second or third, and whether or not I would’ve liked it more. This one started off a little slow and I still have some problems with the repetitive nature of the game play, but it’s a much better overall experience. There is a reason this one was the first game released and how CoO was built around this game’s history. I think this franchise is still a little stale and boring at times, I am glad I stuck with it because I hear nothing but better things about the sequels. Onward to Ghost of Sparta..

Hours Played: 9
Game Difficulty: 6.5
Trophy Difficulty: 9 (time consuming)


Right to the point:
+ The 2nd Half Storyline
+ The Smooth Gameplay
+ The contained QTEs
- The 1st Half’s Storyline
- The lack of useful Magic
- The background visuals

Final Score: C+​

 

[Twigg4075]

C+? Yikes. Nice review though.

 

[Buzzman]

I think God of War is one franchise I just don't see the love for.

 

[Twigg4075]

I think God of War is one franchise I just don't see the love for.

Agree to disagree because I love every game in the series.

 

[Buzzman]

Resident Evil 2

Release Date: January 21, 1998
Developer: Capcom
Game Type: Survivor Horror
Price Paid: $2.09

I had the pleasure of playing Resident Evil 2 pretty much right after playing the first one. I vaguely remembered a few things in the sequel that I had done when playing it as a kid, but nearly all of it came blind to me. I do have a few problems I’ll get to later, but I knew I was going to be in for a different kind of experience when I booted the game up because I firmly believe that in the first fifteen minutes of the game, I wound up killing more zombies than I did in my entire run-through of the original game. It’s a very disturbing foreshadow on what I’ve heard about the franchise becoming more action oriented and less tense/scary. One of the game’s strongest improvements eventually led to its downfall amongst most fans. Ironic.

The game introduces Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield into the series. Being the man that I am, I seem to always pick the male character, and the trend doesn’t end here. So just as a heads up, I cannot relate to anything that may be exclusive to Claire’s run-through of the game. Right off the bat, I can tell a few things about the game. One was being related to the graphics in the game. The first game was a giant clunker of shit that kind of added to the charm of the game. It was so terrible to look at that combined with other poor technical aspects, made it fun. For the sequel, that changes for the better. The graphics are still shit, but there is actual depth to them. When you walk around the streets, walk through the police station, and run through the laboratory, there are things to look at. Books are actually on the shelves, pictures hang on the wall, and texture is somewhat visible on all the surfaces. Again, coming from games of today, it’s laughable to bring this up, but the jump between the two is pretty significant. I am curious and ask you readers that played it upon release, were you amazed by the look of this game? I feel I came out way too impressed by a game that looks so bad. Ha. The one area they still improve all that much on was the character models. The first game essentially had them as colored blocks, but you can make out a human of some sort here. It didn’t feel as fun watching the cut scenes this time around. I was very disappointed by the choice to rid the game of the badass live-action cutscenes. They were so bad.

Enough about the look and let’s get into the plot. We actually have a really nice story that actually refers back to the first game all the time through papers and documents. Even very little things many people may have missed because I had just got done playing it. They seemed to actually try hard to bridge the gap between the games. All of this comes from the perspective of rookie police officer Leon Kennedy. He’s a bit stale, but never really touches the greatness of Chris or Jill. That is due in large part of not having terrible dialogue to laugh at. As the game furthers on though, the story just gets worse and worse. Backstabbing becomes a common thing, confusing relationships are thrown into your face, and just overall incompetent motivations lie behind all of the characters. It starts to become as laughable as the first. I think that comes from the games choice to actually let the characters talk some more. They are so bad that the first two games dialogue may go down as some of the best of all time. It’s delivered so unprofessionally, you’re amazed this is coming from actual working people. The game ends on a looming note that sets up future installment, but its attempt at a much more complex storyline makes it stumble near the finish line. Not enough to make it bad, but just enough to make it a bit tedious. It’s decision to take a much more serious approach benefits it a lot in many aspects but makes it less fun to think about after it ends, despite being the much better game.

The actually gameplay is a carbon copy of the first. They seem cemented on these and I know the future installments follow it as well. Moving is still a complete bitch for newbie’s trying to jump in, but I have it mastered after spending so much time with it. Once you get the hang of it, moving feels just as natural as any other game. This is something I never thought I would say. You still need to stop to aim and shoot, but I think it adds to the approach you need to take in certain scenarios rather than run and gunning and just skipping past all those cool documents you might have passed up. The number of enemies on screen has been upped as well. Now you could walk into a room and see three zombies coming at you. It’s a little easier this time around, but I still had to preserve some ammo for specific moments in the game. Part of me was glad it was a little easier because it allowed me to enjoy the game without screaming at it, but I love those moments once I actually get past them. The accomplishment feels bigger and more important. The puzzles feel like they are bigger than the first and more fun. I enjoyed the challenges to work my brain and frustrate me until my dumbass found what was right in front of me.

*In a side-note, after beating the game, I read about this Zapping System that is in the game that lets you play as the other characters from their point of view and all kinds of shit, but I have no clue about it. It was clearly not well thought of if I didn’t take a notice of it the entire time. Even reading it seems like I should have been prompted early on with this but it never was made clear to me. I am sorry, but because of that I cannot really comment on the tool.

Resident Evil 2 is a game that pretty much improves on everything from the first and creates such a better game. I know I have been joking about how much I loved the stupid shit of the first one, but in all seriousness, this was a very great game that would have blown my mind upon release. It’s a ton of fun, features much better combat, and feels much bigger than the first. I look forward to jumping into the third game and seeing where the franchise is going. Regardless, it’s in a win-win situation for me, because I enjoy the best of both worlds. I can find enjoyment in the shitty aspects while enjoying its finer mechanics. My dip into the franchise has gotten off to a much better start than I had intended.






Hours Played: 8
Game Difficulty: 7.5
Trophy Difficulty: N/A


Right to the point:
+ Better Presentation
+ Better/Bigger story
+ Just as bad dialogue
- Convulted ending
- Terrible side characters
- Character Figures

Final Score: A-​

 

[SethMode]

So, are you playing it on discs? Playing through the game as the other character is 1) how you get the true ending; and 2) much better and more challenging (and super neat for the time) than the original playthrough, IMO.

If you're playing on discs, you just pop the other disc in, it reads your completed game save, and it starts the "B" story. I don't know how it works digitally, but my guess would be you just load your end game save and the option would present itself. Needless to say, it HAS to be in there, because as I said, it is the only way to see how the game actually ends (and helps a TON with how convoluted the ending is -- even if it's still Resident Evil and thus fucking terrible storywise).

 

[Buzzman]

So, are you playing it on discs? Playing through the game as the other character is 1) how you get the true ending; and 2) much better and more challenging (and super neat for the time) than the original playthrough, IMO.

If you're playing on discs, you just pop the other disc in, it reads your completed game save, and it starts the "B" story. I don't know how it works digitally, but my guess would be you just load your end game save and the option would present itself. Needless to say, it HAS to be in there, because as I said, it is the only way to see how the game actually ends (and helps a TON with how convoluted the ending is -- even if it's still Resident Evil and thus fucking terrible storywise).

Alight. I loaded it up and indeed there is a Claire run-through but whenever I clicked on it, it wouldn't load and pop up saying these are Claire's files. I'll have to google the aspects that are revealed from her perspective.

 

[SethMode]

Alight. I loaded it up and indeed there is a Claire run-through but whenever I clicked on it, it wouldn't load and pop up saying these are Claire's files. I'll have to google the aspects that are revealed from her perspective.

So are you playing digitally then? That is such a bummer if the case. The 2nd story thing is really, really great. You will never get to see the crazy dude in a trenchcoat that will bust through walls to find you.

 

[Buzzman]

Batman: Arkham Origins

Release Date: October 25, 2013
Developer: Warner Bros. Games Montreal
Game Type: Action-Adventure
Price Paid: $3.98

The Batman games kind of came out of nowhere, but after Arkham City, it was a AAA franchise that was going to stay around for years to come. A third installment of the franchise was leaving fans salivating at the mouth for another taste, but then things started to look a bit fuzzy. Rumors were circling about a Justice League-like game being planned and it wouldn’t be the next entry, but rather the fourth. Arkham Origins reveal came later on and Rocksteady wasn’t developing, but rather a new branch in Warner Brothers. And it was going to be a prequel. And no Conroy; no Hamill. All hell was breaking loose. This game was going to suck. Then it came out and nothing. It’s bizarre thing to say, but this game feels completely forgotten. Fans of the first two weren’t talking much about it, nobody seemed to be playing it, and eventually just became that game that would briefly get mentioned every once in a while. The thread here on VSN is barely 5 pages when the other two were 10+. And that’s a damn shame.

You are once again taken into the world of Arkham City, but this time around, it’s not a city turned prison, but a crime infested Gotham just as Batman begins to roam the nights. This is one of those effects that hinder it a bit because you take it for granted. You were so amazed about the vast upgrade from little Arkham Asylum into Gotham, you don’t feel that original awe you did before. In fact, you will experience this with many of the things Origins brings to the table. It happens because nothing is new in this game. That doesn’t mean it isn’t good though. Why mess with a near perfect system of combat and gadgets. The world of Gotham still looks very good. Gliding around and traveling Gotham feels as smooth as ever, but there’s something a bit dull and lifeless at play here. People weren’t around, similar looking thugs were everywhere, cops were one in the same, and it was entirely dark and gritty without much of a color filter. Its cutscenes were top notch though. Really brought the characters into form and sparked some life into the story. I have complaints about the presentation but it’s still graphically beautiful.

A lot of people were worried (myself included) that Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill departing the franchise for now wasn’t going to bode well. Well you can quickly cross that problem out of the way. Not once did I become distracted or dislike the work turned in here for Batman and the Joker. Hell, I enjoyed them just as much and the difference was very slight. I have heard Gordon wasn’t up to par and I do agree but I feel it had more to do with the choice of dialogue given to the character. It was really bad and forced. We know Gordon and Batman will be allies but every conversation is foreshadowing to death. It wasn’t necessary nor needed. The rogue of mini bosses throughout the game was more of the same quality work, but I really dug Bane. He didn’t talk much of at all if recall in the previous installments but before his roid rage, he was a very smart and fierce foe that actually downgraded once his mind went to shit. This is one franchise that just excels in this area.

Not much has been said about this game, but the stuff I did hear regarded its storyline. Critics hampered it and kind of judged harshly, yet gamers kind of rejoiced and loved it. I feel in-between here but very much leaning towards the gamers here than the critics if having to choose. I really dug a lot of the material regarding Batman and his firsts. This isn’t a seasoned vet dealing with the same old foes. This joker character is a monster he’s never seen before and there back and forth playful nature is so damn good. I loved the interactions with them and how the game allowed you to enter the Jokers mindset when he decided Batman was his best friend and destiny forced them together. Moving past the relationship that forms between the two, the Joker puts a bounty on the head of Batman and the 8 assassins are all very good fights and characters (even if some are side-missions) and the personalities of each boss leaks into your fight and tactics against them. My only real problem comes from the sort of sudden end. The police being corrupt was a little lazy and half assed, Bane becomes really repetitive, and the credits took too long for that end credits scene. It’s a very solid prequel that shapes the characters a lot more than actually telling a great story. It’s not bad by any means, but not up to bar with the first two games.

If you’ve played the other two games (If you haven’t, why the fuck not?), the gameplay is almost a carbon copy of the previous games. The combat is still top notch, probably the best in the business, but I have only one complaint. The shock gloves you receive half way through makes any fight too easy. One punch knockouts through anything and bigger foes go down in just a few punches. Why would he ever get rid of these later on in his life? The boss fights are much more controlled and fun. They don’t feel like cheesy scenarios that didn’t quite feel right like before. The random thugs tho felt a little more repetitive in nature. Fighting the same group of baddies again and again. I also didn’t enjoy having to go back and forth across the map to progress the story. It was time consuming and I skipped past side stories so I couldn’t quick fly. Aside from those two complaints, its still such a smooth game with top notch controls that make combat crisp, flying so easy, and actually making you feel like Batman. Don’t fix what isn’t broken. It may not be revolutionary, and some franchises need to let this rule die, but not this one, not yet.

This isn’t that revolutionary game. My best comparison is the jump Uncharted 2 and 3 went through. It was a lot of what you expected and nothing much more. It’s a great look at the beginning of so many characters that set in motion the next two games, but a few problems hinder it a bit. It won’t be faulted much for it, but it needed to be said. Also for anyone looking to hear about the challenge rooms can keep looking. I don’t play that shit. My fingers tire too easily.

Hours Played: 10 Single Player
Game Difficulty: 7/10
Trophy Difficulty: 9/10 (very time consuming)


Right to the point:
+ Being Back in the Arkham World
+ The many “firsts” for Batman/Bruce Wayne
+ Investigation Walkthroughs
- A bit repetitive
- Too easy of combat
- A little lifeless

Final Score: B​