Gaming with Buzzman

[Maynard]

you really do nice game reviews buzzman. the dead space review was a great read

 

[Buzzman]

I didn't think the Dead Space trophies were that hard, at least most of them. The ones for beating the two hardest difficulties are a different story.

So the Bulletstorm cheevos are tough too? Damn. And how did you get it for $20? If it's because you used a Kmart coupon I don't think that should count.

Do you remember the $20 PSN card or 1600 XBL points card you got from buying Homefront? Well they didnt have any at my store so Josh sent me a $20 gift card instead and I bought Bulletstorm when it was $40, hence $20. Best $20 of my life. Except for the Philippine whore.

 

[Rivers17ncsu]

great job on this, cant wait for more reviews. Your movie reviews are great, but these are even better.

 

[padman59]

I didn't think the Dead Space trophies were that hard, at least most of them. The ones for beating the two hardest difficulties are a different story.

So the Bulletstorm cheevos are tough too? Damn. And how did you get it for $20? If it's because you used a Kmart coupon I don't think that should count.

If you're going to go for the platinum for Dead Space 2, you might as well beat Hard Core before you tackle Zealot. The Hand Cannon you'll get makes the game easy regardless of difficulty setting.

 

[Buzzman]

L.A. Noire

Release Date: May 17, 2011
Developer: Team Bondi (Rockstar Games)
Game Type: Third Person Adventure
Price Paid: $40

Graphics: 8

Let’s me start off with the most talked about feature of the game, its motion capturing system that is used for their unique interrogation gameplay. I want to sit here and tell you that the faces look amazing and it works perfectly, but they came off as kind of creepy and a lot of the characters you interrogate seem to have a constipated look that doesn’t come off as the breathe taking technology they said it was. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a lot better than majority of other games, but I still would rather have Red Dead Redemptions character appearances. It was a good enough feature for a first attempt that hopefully gets more polished in a sequel.

Driving around this world they created, you just know they put a ton of research and designing to perfect it, but what I can never understand with these open world games is why they do all this work and then barely try to get you to interact with this brilliant creation. Something that looks so great is practically useless. This isn’t the first game to do this either, it seems to be a trend for open world “city” games. Enough about the negativity about it though, because it looks phenomenal and that’s all that matters here.

Since it is an open world game, you can obviously expect a few minor glitches and pop ups. I bought the PS3 version and ended up having enough problems to render it a problem, so I cannot imagine what the 360 version was like. More than ten times while I was driving a car, mailboxes, vehicles, and sometimes entire buildings popped out of nowhere and caused my car to die out on me. It was ridiculous. Then while I was walking around, quite a few times I must have found a little glitch because I could walk past a broken piece of wood or bush but when I turned to go back, I couldn’t find an opening and had to restart from my last save. These problems may not have happened with others, but it ruined the game for me at times.

Sound: 10

The voice acting in LA Noire is top notch. It also helps that a great number of the cast are professional actors. Unlike other games, I cannot think of a single character whose voice didn’t match their appearance. Usually there is that ONE character, but it never happened here. I think what made it so enjoyable was the actual fact that the mouths were perfectly lined up with the dialogue. That is due to that motion capturing magic. A lot of the times the characters voiced their emotions, their face matched it as well. Just brilliant. It was here that was the best part of the game, not the facial animations.

As for the soundtrack, it was nothing short of amazing. That opening title sequence fits the Noir style o so well. Any other score right there wouldn’t have worked nearly as well as the one they used. Then the jazz club singer Elsa sung some good beats that worked best in the cutcenes but were still effective during detective mode. I don’t remember if it was used during any other section, but the score they used during the flashback scenes in the war were badass. It doesn’t surprise me that a Rockstar produced game has an outstanding soundtrack.

The one annoying thing that bugged the fuck out of me was when Jack Kelso decided he was cool enough to call every female he came in contact too princess. It came across as weird and creepy.

Gameplay: 6

First things first, the story is fucking awful. The parts of LA dealing with Phelps jumped around so much, they only revealed what they needed to move forward, and apparently you can do whatever the fuck you want if you’re a member of the LAPD. Need to steal a car, flash your badge, need to search a house, tell the owner to shut the fuck up and sit down, and need to kill a few baddies, just cover and blindfire. It just felt too messy. It started to pick up towards the end, but it predictable. Whatever you are thinking happened a few hours in is most likely right. The only time I enjoyed the story was when they flashbacked to the war and revealed a completely different character of Cole Phelps than the one you’re playing in LA.

Now the unique part about the gameplay is its interrogation scenes. You essentially question a suspect or witness and based on their reaction you decide whether they are telling the truth or lying. If they are lying you then have to decide if you have evidence that contradicts their statement. If you don’t then you simply doubt them and listen to them sing like a bird. This was a very unique method that is fun but essentially broken. Too many times you have evidence that will work but the game doesn’t recognize it as worthy enough or they are blinking at 1,000 blinks a second but are telling the truth. It needs a little more work to play out the way they intended. If you ever get stuck they use intuition points the same way as Who Wants to be a Millionaire with ask the community and remove an answer. Remove an answer is the only helpful route though. The community is wrong a lot of the time.

As far as finding clues, they can be a little hard to find, but as long as you walk around and try to feel for that vibration that a clue is near you should be fine. This part gets tedious because sometimes an area will have 10 items that cause vibration, but only one of them is relevant to the case. It gets boring and as you progress through the game it starts to become repetitive. In fact a lot about the cases feel repetitive. Finding clues, questioning suspects, and catching running suspects become a bore after the 15th damn time. Speaking of running suspects, apparently everyone runs. The slightest hint that they are in trouble, they decide to run, you chase, then tackle them. Rinse repeat on the next suspect. Then they ran up pipes and onto dead end rooftops, real smart dumbasses.

Then the side missions for the game were pointless as fuck. Only thing I will say is despite there being 40 street crimes, not a single time do you ever question anybody during them. Apparently they thought those would be how you’d get your fix on shooting criminals. It did not though. I ended up skipping past most of the ones that came up unless I accidently drove past a crime in progress and was forced into them.

Lasting Appeal: 8

Hours Played: 25
Game Difficulty: 7.5
Trophy Difficulty: 6

The first run-through with the game was a good length clocking in at 22 hours. It felt like a long 22 hours though because of the snail’s pace the game runs at. You can’t really knock the game at all for its length. If anything it should have been a little shorter. Personally I do not find myself replaying the actual campaign, but I will run back through the cases where I missed out on the 5 stars. I really just don’t see someone replaying it for the gameplay right away. Maybe a year from now when they forget about it, but not anytime in the near future after completion.

As for collectables, they have a bunch of landmarks, film reels, and vehicles to locate in the game. They will take some time to collect and should keep you occupied. It also helps complete the more time consuming trophies, so it’s a win-win situation going for them. The trophies aren’t hard to attain at all and should end up being one of the easier platinums if you end up using a guide.

Final Comments:

I popped in LA Noire thinking it would be one of the best games I would ever play, but quickly I realized I was wrong. Everything about the gameplay was a risk and I applaud them for making a drastically different game then the norm, but it just didn’t work out too well for me this time around. Maybe once they fix the repetitiveness of it all, its sequel can be dynamite. Assassins Creed did it, so why not Noire. As it stands though, it leaves a very dissatisfying taste in my mouth and is the most disappointing game I have played to date. That doesn’t mean its terrible, it just didn’t live up to those lofty expectations I set it up at.

Right to the point:
+ The Originality
+ Presentation
+ Soundtrack
- Repetitiveness
- Story
- Side Missions

Final Score: 7/10
Recommended Price: $25​

 

[Maynard]

7 is a bit generous. it should get a 6 for being a major let down

 

[Buzzman]

7 is a bit generous. it should get a 6 for being a major let down

Ehh, it was letdown because I was expecting it to be an 11/10.

 

[Buzzman]

inFAMOUS 2

Release Date: June 7, 2011
Developer: Sucker Punch
Game Type: Third Person Sandbox
Price Paid: $40

Graphics: 9

The first game in the franchise was already a pretty good looking game in itself. Sure it had a lot of the same looking setups, but for an open world game it was very easy on the eyes. For the sequel they outdid themselves because they decided to take Cole to new places. Gone is the generic looking city that seems to be the go to spot for sandbox games and enter in New Maria, basically what we see as New Orleans. What so cool about this setting is all three places feel entirely new and different. One part of the island is an old city filled with historical buildings and structures. Another is just completely flooded to the brink of disaster. Power lines are knocked over everywhere; wooden walkways have been made to get around the water, and most houses are halfway submerged underwater. The last area is essentially a giant factory plant, which is far more different than the rest of the game. When you reach this area, it’s a sign that the game is nearly at its end.

The character designs look a lot better than the first game as well. I know they originally made a drastic change to Cole when the game was first announced, but quickly reverted him back to the originals look after a widely public outcry over the change. I have to agree with the cry-babies. Initially I said, who cares just play the game, but after watching him in action here, I couldn’t picture him looking like that teenage boy that revealed to everyone. When the camera zooms into him, you can see the wear and tear these powers have had on him, he has changed a bit since the first one and for the better. Cole Magrath has launched himself as one of Sony’s premiere heroes, who rightfully deserves it.

The game also contains its comic book type cut scenes that were in the original. The difference being it just wasn’t featured all that much this time, which is a bummer because I happen to enjoy watching them. It’s a nice little stray away from the traditional cut scene and can quickly cover time in the story to help you skip to the juicy action parts of the game.

Sound: 8

I cannot be positive because its been so long since I actually sat down and played the first game, but the voice actor for Cole seemed to change. Its still very similar to the original and still fits his personality to a tee. The husky voice in which he talks seems to command the screen. This may seem like a little nit picking, but having the wrong voice as your lead can really hamper an experience you have with said game. The rest of cast is nice, but sometimes I can get a little annoyed with Zeke. He can say some of the dumbest things, yet seems to have the intelligence of some of the brightest in the city. Its almost like an oxymoron the way the handle his character.

As for music, I have an extremely hard time of recalling anything. Sure they played a voiceless tune that was supposed to get you ready that something big was about to happen but for the most part while yu are roaming the city doing missions, its just you and sounds Cole makes when he makes contact with his environment. Nothing truly special about that, but it may speak to the gameplay itself when you could care less about something that is usually always there.

Gameplay: 9

The story this time around seems to focus more on Cole and the relationship of the people around him rather than figuring out what has happened, how, where, why, and who. It’s a lot more straight forward. I haven’t figured out if I loved him more but I can say without I doubt I enjoyed it as much as the first game. Sure it wasn’t as fresh, new, or revealing, but watching Cole with the other characters was great to watch. With the other conduits, he slowly earned their trust and allowed them into his world. It must not be easy for him after everything that went down in the first game, specifically with Zeke. Being betrayed by your best friend was tough, but that was what lead to some of the best moments of the second game. Watching Zeke and Cole become brothers again was good stuff you normally don’t see in a video game. When they sat down and watched that Western together, I just couldn’t help but feel we got our friend back.

The other side of the story focuses on defeating the leader of the militia who has taken over in light of the disaster New Maria has faced. The story and background here wasn’t really interesting. He was a weak boss, with weak motives, and a weak background. The other boss was the big bad guy that you heard whispers about in the first game as The Beast. You ran away from Empire City as it destroyed it, but it was so you could train and prepare for the fight. The storyline there seems a little goofy as well, and the battle with this beast was much hyped, but was rather easy to defeat in battle. If the game did one thing wrong was the difficulty and methods of the boss battles.

Moving along to your powers, they feel the same at the start, but as you gain XP and unlock more of them, you get to understand they went full out and got creative with a lot of these powers. As Cole matures, so should his powers. You can unlock everything from electric rockets, to scattering grenades, and even a sweet electric tether and makes moving around in open spaces a cinch. Everything they added seemed to be a little bit too powerful though. You could stick with just one power and be fine the entire game, therefor not getting you to explore your options. I am sure the fans though experimented just for the hell of it though. I personally stuck with 3-4 powers, rarely buying any upgrades.

As for the climbing, sliding, and gliding, it’s just like the first game but being 3x smoother than before. As Cole you just seem to move with ease. Nothing really needed to be fixed from the first game and they agreed with to give you more of the same here. My only gripe was with the climbing. The game sort of has a magnet that makes it easier to latch onto things, but a lot of the times I would grab the wrong ledge or piping and it took countless attempts to grab the right spot. It wasn’t a problem most of the time, but when it came up it was rather frustrating.

Lasting Appeal: 9

Hours Played: 28
Game Difficulty: 5
Trophy Difficulty: 6

inFAMOUS 2 provides itself with a slew of replay value. First thing that instantly catches your eye is collecting the blast shards that are scattered around the city. The difference this time is they allow you to find them easier if you do the side missions along with the game. They play out exactly like the first game but seem to be mixed up a lot better than the first. You’ll rarely get the same missions two times in a row. Along with the shards, you can collect dead drops, which give more background story about what was going on in the background of the first game. The game also changes up the story based on whether you were good or bad during your campaign. This allows you to replay the game the opposite way and still feel fresher than most of the other games you play. They seemed to make your karma choices actually matter in the story this time around.

They also implemented user generated content into the game that allows you to create your own missions for the community to play. So far I have seen some good ones, but in due time there will be amazing ones that will keep you coming back to the game every few weeks.

Final Comments:

The first inFAMOUS was one of favorite games this generation, but this sequel easily tops it. They didn’t change the game too drastically but the all the little tidbits they did made the game a whole lot better for it. Cole has become one of my favorite protagonists in gaming and is just below Nathan Drake in terms of awesomeness. Hopefully Cole comes back with force and this series contuse on because it is one of the best in the business right now. If you haven’t already experienced a bit of this franchise, your missing out, and if your holding back on this sequel for a lower price, don’t, its worth the dough. You’ll more than get your money’s worth. inFAMOUS 2 is the front runner for GOTY as it stands right now. Only time will tell if it holds up.

Right to the point:
+ New Powers
+ Continued Story
+ More of the Same
- Boss Fights
- Climbing Glitches
- Nix

Final Score: 10/10
Recommended Price: $60​

 

[Twigg4075]

Only a few things stood out for me in the review. As far as the music goes I thought there were several memorable tunes. My wife and I even commented earlier while I was playing that some of the tracks are really catchy and help keep you motivated through the mission. Also, I disagree about the game play. The controls are very, very good, but far from perfect. I can't even tell you how many times I cursed at the screen because Cole latched on to something, often numerous times, that I didn't want him to. There were also a few times that he completly missed somthing that I was right on top of.

As much as I loved this game, and the series as a whole, I still don't think it's a 10. Solid 9 though.

Also, how did you figure out your time played? I couldn't find anything in the game that kept track.

 

[Buzzman]

I keep track myself with a sticky pad so I can put it in the review. OCD in that department.

In the review I did mention the problem I had with Cole grabbing onto things that he shouldn't have grabbed, but it was only minor for me. It was specifically when I wanted to jump on those electric booster pipes that shot you straight up.

As for the 10, its easy for me to say that because if they add enough UGC I can see myself jumping into this game constantly. I would just roam around the city gliding for fun. It honestly will never get old.

 

[Twigg4075]

I keep track myself with a sticky pad so I can put it in the review. OCD in that department.

In the review I did mention the problem I had with Cole grabbing onto things that he shouldn't have grabbed, but it was only minor for me. It was specifically when I wanted to jump on those electric booster pipes that shot you straight up.

As for the 10, its easy for me to say that because if they add enough UGC I can see myself jumping into this game constantly. I would just roam around the city gliding for fun. It honestly will never get old.

Yes! So I'm not the only one! I swear those had a fucking magnet that would repel Cole. They were so awesome to use but such a pain to jump on.

I am really hoping that the community makes some kick ass UGC missions to bring me back to New Marais.

 

[Buzzman]

I havent written a review in a long ass time, but with the shitload of games I just boguht and am currently playing Im going to start again. I'm changing up the format a little bit and the scoring system, but before I do anyone want anything specific in them?

 

[Maynard]

how about ryan gossling

 

[Buzzman]

Was that supposed to be funny? I thought that was last months joke.

 

[Twigg4075]

I havent written a review in a long ass time, but with the shitload of games I just boguht and am currently playing Im going to start again. I'm changing up the format a little bit and the scoring system, but before I do anyone want anything specific in them?

I don't know. I think you have everything covered.

 

[IamMedellin]

WTF happened?

 

[Twigg4075]

He's probably been spending all of his free time playing the greates game ever made...Modern Warfare 3.

 

[Buzzman]

He's probably been spending all of his free time playing the greates game ever made...Modern Warfare 3.

I think I have 15 hours in that game. I haven't been able to get into gaming that much lately, but I fully expect a rejuviantion of this once Mass Effect 3 comes out. That will get me back, and despite not playing games, I still havent stopped buying them lol.




In a side-rant, Kmart Gamer shutting down just about pissed me the fuck off. They had such a great amount fo deals, and I became so accustomed to paying $40 on release day that I look at that $60 tag and think pffftt. That's too much. The only reason a ton of people even shopped at Kmart was because of those damn deals and just when the cashiers and stores were starting to get organized and knowing how to handle them, they fucking shut it down. No fucking wonder they're going out of business. Those stupid fucking cunts.

 

[IamMedellin]

I think I have 15 hours in that game. I haven't been able to get into gaming that much lately, but I fully expect a rejuviantion of this once Mass Effect 3 comes out. That will get me back, and despite not playing games, I still havent stopped buying them lol.




In a side-rant, Kmart Gamer shutting down just about pissed me the fuck off. They had such a great amount fo deals, and I became so accustomed to paying $40 on release day that I look at that $60 tag and think pffftt. That's too much. The only reason a ton of people even shopped at Kmart was because of those damn deals and just when the cashiers and stores were starting to get organized and knowing how to handle them, they fucking shut it down. No fucking wonder they're going out of business. Those stupid fucking cunts.

I bought so many games b/c of those deals, oh well..

though I did hear that KMART will offer a $20 coupon with ME3 at release

 

[Maynard]

In a side-rant, Kmart Gamer shutting down just about pissed me the fuck off. They had such a great amount fo deals, and I became so accustomed to paying $40 on release day that I look at that $60 tag and think pffftt. That's too much. The only reason a ton of people even shopped at Kmart was because of those damn deals and just when the cashiers and stores were starting to get organized and knowing how to handle them, they fucking shut it down. No fucking wonder they're going out of business. Those stupid fucking cunts.