Gaming with Buzzman

[Buzzman]

Vanquish

Release Date: October 19, 2010
Developer: Platinum Games
Game Type: Third Person Shooter
Price Paid: $15

Graphics: 10

Never at any point will you be amazed by the graphic presentation Vanquish has to offer. Today’s graphic are normally done so well, you really tend to only notice them when they are extremely good or absolutely terrible. That seems really unfair for a game like Vanquish. Its levels look extremely smooth despite the massive amount of content that is happening at every moment. You’d think there would be some lag or screen tearing, but it never happens, even when you’re sliding on the ground with your suit shooting ten enemies in succession while four other guys shoot rockets at you whilst in slow motion. Truly overlooked aspect of a game that somehow got no critical praise for is visuals.

The repetitiveness of the levels earl on can be a little much, but the game mixes things up by adding unique features to them. One time you ride a “train” and suddenly there is another “train” driving upside down above you. It looks fucking awesome. They also threw in some great, albeit short zero gravity levels worked extremely well and looked much better then they played out.

The character models looked great even though they were very generic. Their facial animations changed whenever they talked. I’m talking about wrinkles appear when they smile or their eyebrows lower when they give the evil glare. It was neat. The enemies all looked the same. Just because they are robots doesn’t mean you can’t diversify them up a bit. And the first time I meet Robert Burns I swear to god he is an aged Marcus Fenix. They couldn’t come up with their own character?

Sound: 4

The easiest thing for a game to accomplish is creating a soundtrack and bringing in some good voice work. Vanquish decided it would use the same shitty tune for the entire game but you can only get away with that if its actually good. The fucking Japanese and there techno shit. Moving onto the voice work and it’s not that it’s bad, just very unoriginal and repetitive. They decided to find the two guys that sounded like Marcus Fenix and had them voice the main character whose voice doesn’t match his character at all and the clone of Fenix himself. That type of casting is getting extremely dated and used way too often in gaming. You can’t be angry with the Japanese developers because they only did what they think would help attract Western gamers, but they need to dumb that stereotyping because we hate that deep space marine voice.

Gameplay: 8.5

The opening cutscene looked as if you were in for a great story. The entire city of Los Angeles is wiped off the map in seconds and the US declares war with the Russian Nation. Everything after that was either a complete joke or a complete mess. 90% of the time you have no clue what’s going on or what your objective is. You just continue to move forward and shoot. Don’t worry about anything else.

The style of play is that of Gears of War. Since that game introduced the cover system we’ve had countless knock-offs. It would seem that way with Vanquish but it introduced a great new method of playing. Your suit allows you to slide around the battlefield with ease. It’s very fun and change of pace for a shooter. While you’re sliding you can slow down time and target you enemies with ease. It’s very fun to mess with and makes the game feel a lot faster than normal. You have to love when a developer takes a risk on something that is against the norm. Here not only does it work, but it’s the best part of the game.

You’re given a small amount of choice with your weapons, but they handle better than most shooters and features a very easy upgrade system that even casual fans can work with. You literally can just grab the upgrade box and pick your gun or you can simply pick up ammo 4 times for one gun and it’s automatically upgraded. It’s very simple yet addictive in a way. I found myself trying to upgrade guns I already maxed.

The enemy is a bit repetitive though. When did the idea start that if you have robots, you can simply have 4-5 different types and just throw waves at you? Many games with them do this and it’s annoying. Robots can built in a variety of ways, have some damn fun with them. At times I noticed they would actually hide behind cover and play smart, but then other times they ran out in the open and didn’t move. Very inconsistent there.

Going back to the zero gravity levels from earlier, they were very fun to play. They got to be somewhat dizzy walking around the entire walls with ease while also trying to kill some bad guys. The problem was it was over way too fast. They lasted about 13 minutes and were never played again. The best levels of the game and you can’t even make 10 minutes worth of game time for them? Fucking Japanese.

Lasting Appeal: 1

Hours Played: 4 Hours 30 Minutes
Game Difficulty: 7
Trophy Difficulty: 9

Vanquish has the worst replay value you could possible achieve in a video game. At a campaign that runs less than 5 hours, it has no multiplayer. If you’re not going to have that, you need a guaranteed 10 campaign. Well just replay the campaign again and you’ll get over 10 hours right? Well I have to give you props if you want to play through that bullshit story again. There is absolutely no excuse for this campaign they give you. To make matters worse, they did add in a little hoard type challenge mode that could have been fun, but they have no co-op for it. What a fucking joke. Without a partner you just shooting countless AI till you die. That’s not fun. So you honestly put a 5 hour game out for $60? The fucking Japanese wonder why they struggle to find a Western audience, well look no further for the problem.

Final Comments:

There is no doubt in my mind Vanquish is a great shooter, but everything outside of the actual gameplay is so poor that it stood no chance to succeed. It is the best shittiest game I have played in a while. It deserves to fail if they felt this product was worth $60. Such a shame too coming from a great lead designer of Resident Evil 4. When you walk by a bargain bin and find Vanquish, pick it up.

Right to the point:
+ Great Shooter
+ Battle Suit
+ Level Features
- The Story
- The Character of Robert Burns
- No replay value

Final Score: 5/10
Recommended Price: $10​

 

[Buzzman]

Singularity

Release Date: June 29, 2010
Developer: Raven Software
Game Type: First-Person Shooter
Price Paid: $17

Graphics: 8.5

Singularity is a good looking game, at times it can show off some great looking levels, but on the other hand, certain areas look not necessarily poor, but a lot worse looking then the rest of the game. They usually pertain to filler shit on the ground and on the walls. I certainly won’t hold it against the game though. The environment was so good and the amount of detail they put it every level is incredible. The impact E-99 had on this island is shown around every corner. Dead Bodies, blood splatter all over the place, loneliness, and nothing but what used to be the island’s former inhabitants running around the island trying to kill you. These things give them gave life through its graphics. It’s of the hardest achievements for a developer to do and Raven passed with flying colors.

The character designs were pretty good as well. You’ll take no note of the actual human players; they look like ordinary beings in most good looking first person shooters such as Half Life 2. The acknowledgeable factor is the amount of vast enemies you faced. They all have different distinguishable features, were taken out faster in different strategies, and all attacked you in a different way.

Sound: 10

I’ll say what I’ve always said; Russian accents instantly make your game better. They are like sex to the ears and instantly make a character far more interesting. The game taking place on a secret Soviet base, your introduced to a wide cast of them. Granted, there’s more to each character that make them great, but the accents come first and they did a great job of finding heavily influenced ones. You also can’t go wrong with Nolan North in a little cameo of sorts. I wanted more of him. It’s funny because the Russian enemy AI always has the same voice actor in every game from Call of Duty, Metro 2033 to this. It’s kind of funny.

The soundtrack was a treat that really helped set the tone and pace at which you moved. There would be times of sadness where a visual flashback would show the fate of an innocent victim, or a shitload of monsters were on your six and you have no choice but to move forward and don’t turn back, or even a sudden cheap scare and a haunting echo. The environment was better, but the audio helped make that environment become its own beast.

Gameplay: 10

Singularity is a First Person shooter that has heavy elements of two of the best in the genre: Bioshock and Half Life 2. The shooting mechanics are really smooth. They feel like a Battlefield style of combat. It may be a little slower than that, but it’s great for a game so non-reliant on actual guns. The variety of weapons is impressive, but they are all standard military weapons that shouldn’t excite you. All except the Reeper, which is a gun that lets you control the slow downed bullet and tears the limbs from your foes. Best gun in any game this year.

The great side that separates it from other first person shooters is the TMD or Time Manipulation Device. It allows you to do a shitload of things from fixing a old, broken things like staircases or ammo crates to brand new state of form. It’s impressive at first, but less appealing as the game goes on. You can also use it to blast solders to pieces or push them back. Then you can use it to solve the mini “puzzles” that usually require breaking down a box and then fixing it up to lift something up or to get you to higher places. It feels as if you have the gravity gun and a mix of plasmids at your fingertips. It really is one of the most unique devices I’ve seen in a game.

The use of time travel and manipulation allowed them to create a badass story that is way cooler than it should have been. You altered things and now you’re trying to fix them. Your alone, not knowing who to trust, there are mysterious messages written on the wall to you, characters that recognize you from the past, and a world that switches back and forth all the time. It was a great experience seeing the island at different times. You made you appreciate it more. You discovered a wide range of information through video projectors, audio recordings and ghostly flashbacks. Again it is very similar to Bioshock in that aspect, which is never a bad thing. Its conclusion felt a little meh, but everything leading up to it was completely immersing to move along.

There was a mini upgrade system in the game that allowed you to buy perks for yourself, your guns, and your TMD. You used EMP credit that you gather from looting the droppings around the island. You did notice a difference on your perks that protected you, but it felt way to easy to upgrade anything you may have wanted because there was just E-99 lying around all over the place. Granting you your whole arsenal would have made the game too easy so they only let you carry two guns, but the trade in lockers were so frequent it had the same effect, so at times it felt a little too easy to move forward.

Lasting Appeal: 7

Hours Played: 11
Game Difficulty: 7
Trophy Difficulty: 10

The single player almost ends up dragging, but wraps up neatly at about 10-12 hours long. For a first person shooter that’s about the time I like the to wrap up. It was one of the best 11 hours I’ve spent gaming this year. This is a game you will want to keep, you’ll want to replay it again at some point and catch some of the things you surely will miss out on because it doesn’t have a chapter select section at the main menu.

Its multiplayer is nothing to boast about. They tried to create something unique but the creatures don’t handle well enough to have them in competitive multiplayer. Plus the game sold like crap so it doesn’t have a big community. The problem with it’s poor multiplayer relates to achievement hunters. A good portion (maybe 40%) involves online achievements which are the worse. I don’t see anyone but the hardest of the core to 100% this bitch. The single player ones are all attainable but the lack of a chapter select can make them harder than they should be in case you overrun a checkpoint.

Final Comments:

Singularity may be the very best new IP of 2010. It takes a overused FPS genre and flips it on itself to become something more. It’s a shame it didn’t sell well because Activision didn’t market it for shit because it deserves more then it got. It’s the best environment since Bioshock and great setting to dwell upon more. I’m glad they finished the story, rather than leave a hint at a sequel because the closure is great. That’s not to say a sequel couldn’t happen though. There are dozens of scenarios they can create with any of the three different endings you can get.

Right to the point:
+ Great Gunplay
+ TMD
+ Environment
- The puzzles
- Chapter Select Option
- Multiplayer

Final Score: 9/10
Recommended Price: $25​

 

[Buzzman]

GHOSTBUSTERS
THE VIDEO GAME

Release Date: June 16, 2009
Developer: Terminal Reality
Game Type: 3rd Person Shooter
Price Paid: $13

Graphics: 6

At times, you may be deceived into thinking Ghostbusters has good graphics when you look at the ghostbusters while they are standing still or when you watch a cutscene, but don’t fall for it. Almost the entire time the ghostbusters are in motion, they look pretty much terrible. Their outfits never show any type of wear to them, the characters fire invisible plasma shooters, and their faces just look a little bit creepy. There is a big difference between real world Bill Murray and CGI Bill Murray.

The damn environments piss me off a little bit too much. They actually do a good job on the areas that you actually end up battling on. The amount of mall detail and product placement is very accurate to the films which a great accomplishment. The thing that annoys me is the generic looking paths that lead to those areas. They are plain as fuck with just vast amount of empty space. This laziness completely negates everything they accomplished with what I said earlier.

Sound: 8

I swear to you, even if you love the Ghostbusters theme song, your experience with this game will ruin your passion for it. You see, they don’t use the song at all in the campaign. Instead they play it every time you die and have to sit through the damn tune while waiting for the checkpoint to reload. I had to mute my television a few times because I was ready to throw the controller. I just can’t understand why you would use the song in such a negative manner.

The actual voice work was great to hear. The got everyone from the series to voice their own characters that make an appearance. They are very funny. I found myself cracking up countless times at the bickering they had between each other while degrading my character because I’m the new rookie member. The really downside was they seemed to have had a limit on how much they could record because a few jokes and lines of dialogue was constantly repeated throughout the game. It got annoying, especially when I got stuck on certain parts and had to listen to the same joke way too many times.

Gameplay: 5.5

With the story comes the closest thing you’ll get to a third Ghostbusters film, but sadly it is a fucking joke. From the very minute you start playing and they practically hold your dick on how to play, you know something is wrong. Next thing you know you get a weird alternate universe world and a bunch of cameos that nobody was even looking for. By the time it was over with, I was extremely relieved it was ending instead of pondering in my well-earned victory.

The actual gameplay handles like a shitty third person shooter. The weapons are shit unless you upgrade them 100%. The proton stream is very hard to control and seems to only work if you hit them at an angle. The four different types are all essentially the same except for fire rate and color. Never before would I believe a Ghosbusters game would be boring, but they manage just that.

Catching ghosts and killing spirits are all done with the same repetitive technique of aiming and holding the fire button down. It practically put me to sleep after the first few times. To up the difficulty all they did was send swarms of more ghost at you all the while making your AI partners completely useless. It’s a fucking joke how bad they actually were and the amount of glitches they had that caused me to flick them off and yell at the screen. These are supposed to be the Ghostbusters! Yet here in the game, they are dumb useless baboons.

The boss fights were all too easy. Most of them were defeated within five minutes, yet it always took an hour to get to them that were much harder. The final confrontation was laughable. I hate to even compare Arkham Asylum to this, but imagine that game’s boss fights, specifically the Joker, and these ones are 10x worse than that. Might be the worst I’ve ever played for any game.

Lasting Appeal:

Hours Played: 8 Hours 30 Minutes
Game Difficulty: 5 on Normal | 9 on Professional
Trophy Difficulty: 9 (online achievements)

The campaign is nothing pretty. It’s boring and short. The gameplay can’t even help its argument to keep playing. It’s all to repetitive and boring to actually enjoy playing. Even fans looking for that Ghostbusters fix would have a hard time liking this piece of shit. The game does feature a multiplayer that nobody plays, but if you do manage to find a group of people can actually be pretty fun. It’s a separate campaign that treats experience like money to help establish you as the ultimate Ghostbuster. It’s nothing spectacular but is worth your extra time after your worn out of every other option you have.

I might ass this game has stupid dumb fuck online achievements. I hate games that know full well their online is going to suck, yet put a shitload of online-achievement based ones on their game. It’s like they don’t want anyone 100%ing their game.

Final Comments:

Ghostbusters The Video Game is a big sloppy mess that deserved so much better than this big pile of shit. The deserved to go off with a bang if this was their last attempt with the original characters, but instead it whimpers out the gate and then dies about five minutes into the race. If you do manage to find it for $5 I’d buy it just to have it, but immediately put it at the end of your backlog so you can put it off for as long as possible.

Right to the point:
+ The voice-acting
+ Battle Areas
+ Stay-Puft Returns
- The Story
- The Gameplay
- The Boss Battles

Final Score: 4/10
Recommended Price: $5​

 

[Buzzman]

Call of Duty: Black Ops | First Strike (DLC)

Release Date: February 1st, 2011
Developer: Raven Softare
Game Type: First-Person Shooter
Price: 1200 Microsoft Points

Call of Duty in the past has had long legs for me. It was the only game that I would play with friends all year long until the release of the next title in the series. That was only going to last for so long, and with Black Ops it finally caught up to boredom. It wasn;t very much fun to play anymore because the vast amount of gameplay that was downgraded from Modern Warfare 2. It just wasn’t very fun playing anymore.

That is precisely why the map pack was anticipated and much needed for COD players. New maps meant new territory. It makes the game feel a little newer. But that feeling will only last about a month. As I’m writing this, 18 days after release, the maps have indeed already lost their appeal, but that doesn’t mean they’re bad, because that was expected.

Berlin Wall is easily the worst one of the bunch. Its middle is all open space while each side is just covered in buildings for people to hide in. It created way too many camping spots for the players. It also doesn’t help that majority of the open area is off limits unless you want to die to turrets. The most popular one, Stadium, is a little better, but it reminds me why too much of firing range. It’s too small, linear, and always gets voted to play. It is annoying just by mere play attempts. Discovery is like a big facility in the snow. It’s very balanced with its open areas having little things to cover behind while the buildings all have plenty of windows and multiple entrances to smoke out the campers. It also features the most useless map destruction of all time with the melting ice. The best map is Kowloon. It is based off the Japanese rooftops mission from the single player and just features a shitload of routes to take throughout the map, dozens of buildings to run through, and the second most pointless map feature, zip lines. Overall the maps are decent, but nothing really special, if it were just these the map pack would be worthless.

But that’s not the only thing that comes with the DLC, so it’s not worthless. The new zombie map, Ascension, is one badass map that is second best only to Der Riese. It features a slew of fun Easter eggs to discover, actually provides an ample amount of information of the zombie story, and actually has plenty of different strategies you can follow to advance into late rounds. It really is leaps and bounds better then both zombie maps that shipped with the game. It also features a two new perks. The PH D Flopper which creates an explosion on height falls and is basically pointless and the new StaminUp that allows you to run faster and further before stopping. It was a much requested perk that finally made its way into zombies.

If you have a group of friends that enjoy zombies, First Strike is a definite purchase. The zombie map alone is worth $10. For those that don’t enjoy zombies and just play the core game, it will definitely feel over-priced and underwhelming. Either wait for a 50% off sale or don’t even purchase it all together.

Final Score: 3/5
Recommended Price: 800 Microsoft Points​

 

[Twigg4075]

4/10 for Ghostbusters? I actually thought it was decent. I would say more like a 6/10. To each his own.

 

[Buzzman]

I fucking hate the game. Might even despise it.

 

[Buzzman]

Splinter Cell: Conviction

Release Date: April 13, 2010
Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
Game Type: Third Person Stealth Shooter
Price Paid: $10

Graphics: 9

Your entire time playing through Splinter Cell, you will never be wowed by its appearance. In today’s standards for gaming, great graphics are expected so when a game does just that, it was what was expected. That’s a real shame because we seem to take them for granted nowadays. Splinter Cell never glitches, tears, nor does it ever look average, it consistently delivers a well presented game from beginning to end. You can’t ask any more of it, the developers accomplished exactly what was expected.

A bit of a detour away from the actual game and into that same topic. Why is it that you rarely see a game with great graphics rarely get a terrible review score, yet when it has shitty graphics it has almost no chance of a 9 or a 10? Can graphics really affect a game even if the gameplay is fun? Graphics are nice, but in terms of the enjoyment of a game, they are third or fourth most important part of the actual game. I just don’t understand why we worry so much about them. It feels like a bit of a pet peeve of mine.

Anyway back to the game, one really cool aspect that might be underappreciated is comparing the state of the environment when you are in a gunfight and when you’re silently working your way around the level. During battle the level is lighted up as normal and it looks good, but when you’re keeping quiet, the black and white look just absolutely fits in so well with this new Sam Fisher and the tone he carries with him. They really fucking nailed it.

Sound: 10

Your walking into the White House, dead bodies are everywhere, fires are burning, people screaming, and the man you’re looking for is almost within your grasp. The one thing that ties this all together to make the perfect scene? A fucking kick-ass score that is reminiscent of the one from Modern Warfare 2. Say what you will about that game’s story and overall distaste, but the one dominating aspect of it was its score. Splinter Cell takes the best and throws it with their universe to let everyone know Sam Fisher is coming and you best get the fuck out of the way. Another thing that just absolutely nailed.

The voice work is good. It’s not great, but never did any of their characters just annoy the shit out of you as in most games. They usually have that one character that is with you the whole way and won’t shut up but this is a one man mission out for revenge. Ubisoft wisely keeps the entire focus on Sam Fisher. I have no idea if this is the same voice actor but he sure did a great job with the emotional scenes. They didn’t come off as a cheesy cut scene like the game I just finished, Homefront.

Gameplay: 9

The plot to the game is very short. If you haven’t played the previous games you definitely won’t catch on to all the reference to the first game. That doesn’t mean you can’t just hop straight into it because you can but the overall experience will be different for you. While the campaign is a bit short, because of all the extra content, I’m not agitated at the slightest. Ubisoft put together a well-paced story that didn’t overrun its course, and while it’s not the strongest aspect of the game, I see it as a positive then a negative blemish on the game.

The gameplay feels a lot like Assassins Creed, but with a silenced pistol. It’s third person and you run around on the terrain trying to make it across the map without being seen. To accomplish this you climb pipes, ledges, and stick to the shadows. It really can be fun challenge trying to actually play the game the right way. It’s a tremendous change of pace from the shooters of today.

A lot of the kills won’t actually be with a gun, you grab people off ledges, jump onto them from above, grab them from the shadows. Accomplishing things those ways gives you executions, which allow you to target enemies then press y and watch a mini cutscene of your great precision shots to the head. Pretty badass and never got too old to watch.

Throughout the game you are given a list of challenges to do that will give you points that you can then use to upgrade guns, equipment, and uniforms. Some of the can be received merely playing, but others are more of a challenge and if you’re up to the task, will take some time. It’s funny though, if you upgrade your pistol up right away, then you could playthrough the entire game using just that and hand to hand combat. It really is the most powerful pistol in any game I’ve ever played. It felt like I had a constant golden gun in my hands. I felt so powerful.

Lasting Appeal: 10

Hours Played: 25+ and Counting
Game Difficulty: 8.5
Achievement Difficulty: 10

As I said before the single player is rather short clocking in and over 5 hours and a few minutes. If that would have been the whole package, it would be a terribly valued game, but luckily it’s not even the best part of the game.

The game has a prequel co-op campaign that while isn’t the best story ever told, it a hell lot of fun to play with a friend. Twigg and I were having a blast for the most part working together to defeat the levels. The game actually requires you to work together, strategize, using all of your equipment. Otherwise you’re going to fail. No question about it. What was rather interesting for the first two levels was Twigg had a broken mic but he could still hear me. With that created an ever funnier unintentional experience, feeling like a leader of a squad of two.

That’s not to say the campaign was perfect. There was one rather annoying part at the very end that essentially required pure luck and took over 4 hours to complete. It was partly because the game has a non-stop spawn of enemies, and the character QTE situations felt really glitch, getting you killed or noticed at the completely wrong part.

In the end, the co-op campaign clocked in at about 8-9 hours’ worth of game time. To make matters far more amazing, there was still more content to explore.

The game’s online modes are a Hoard type mode that was fun until it turned bloody impossible, a protect a generator type Hoard mode that was fun, and a deathmatch mode that featured AI as well as human players. It’s the worst part in an amazing game. So much content for such an underrated gem.

Final Comments:

Splinter Cell Conviction probably tops Singularity as the most underrated game of the year. I rarely hear people talking about this game, yet it offers more content then some other amazing games. Maybe because it was a underperformed 360 exclusive that didn’t sell five million copies that made it become so under looked that people took for granted just how much they were getting. I got 25 hours out of it and I’m still not done with the game yet. Throw in the fact that I paid $10 for it in the first place makes it one of the most wicked deals of all time. If you passed on the game upon its release like I did, pick it up ASAP. It deserves your attention.

Right to the point:
+ Stealth Gameplay
+ Co-op Campaign
+ Hoard Modes
- Short Campaign
- Achievement Hunting
- Realistic Difficulty on the Last Mission

Final Score: 9/10
Recommended Price: $20​

 

[Buzzman]

Homefront

Release Date: March 15, 2011
Developer: Kaos Studios
Game Type: First-Person Shooter
Price Paid: $60

Graphics: 7.5

Homefront has the great advantage of appearing far better than it actually turns out to be. You may think that the world of Homefront is wonderful looking, but that comes from seeing a fallen America. They did a kick-ass job in that department. Those opening moments while riding the bus create very positive figure in your head. They did this on countless occasions; from the football stadium, to the giant wall forced to keep people inside Korean territory. There is no denying them about that. Once that freshness and shock value wears itself out, you start to notice some of the mess y things about the game. On occasion, objects glitch and stutter a bit visually. He feels like a bad kind of lag that shouldn’t happen during single player. When you start to walk around areas, you begin to notice the vast amount of emptiness. An example is a office supply company that is being infiltrated. The place begins to fall apart with fire, as your running it looks fantastic but you realize all the aisles are the same, all the products on the shelves are the same, and it isn’t quite amazing anymore. The presentation of it was fantastic, but the rest of it just screamed out average to me.

Sound: 7.5

Shooters in general are not very hard to provide a good soundtrack to the game. Just take any blood pumping song and throw it into a big-ass shootout and your good to go. It works the other way as well. If the scene calls for an emotional effect, throw in some slow ass song that sounds like a whisper. The reason they are so easy is because in shooters like these, the moments don’t last very long; you are constantly moving forward. It can almost always be counted on as one of the easier aspects to get right in a game. Homefront is no different with this.

Where it attempts to stray itself from normalcy is from the sound effects of the world the game comes from. Babies cry as parents tell them not to watch their deaths, men scream as they are lit on fire and left to die, soldiers scream in mental pain as the watch the bodies of Americans tossed away in pits like garbage. Mostly it works. They add a lot to the scene through small sounds that impact the scene drastically. But when they don’t work it usually comes from Connor, your Capatin Price, I must say. He is basically your boss who you work with and he never has anything good to say, even if you save his life. It wasn’t the voice that bothered me, but more so his dialogue, it came off as cheesy, cliché, and a bit over-dramatic. He single handily almost ruined the game for me, that is until he finally redeems himself towards the end. The voice-work here is good. It doesn’t stand out vs. many others in a good nor bad way. It, like its graphics, is ordinary in every way.

Gameplay: 8.5

One of the main selling points of the game was its single player campaign. It was going to be a brutal, no mercy outlook no what a real world between Korea and America would look and feel like. Was winning the battle in an otherwise bigger war fun? Yes, but by no means should this have been the whole story. It feels like an abrupt ending. There is way too much left in this saga to just end it here. Instead, they probably save it for a sequel, despite the ridiculous shortness of the game; I clocked it at 4 hours. One of the main problems I had with the campaign outside the shortness is the hold your hand cutscenes they had that took the best parts and basically turned it into a tutorial with the computer doing the work and having you follow them around.

A side-story with the game that develops a backstory to the current war comes through newspapers lying on the grounds all over the place. While I wouldn’t recommend finding them in your first playthrough because it slows down the fast pace of the campaign, they provide an excellent read about numerous subjects involving Wal-Mart, Japan, and everyday people having trouble with the falling economy. Highly Recommend doing this task.

Now onto the other selling point of the game: the multiplayer. I can tell you right now, it leans more towards Bad Company 2 then Call of Duty. I’ll tell you a few things about the way it runs, but anything else I don’t cover can simply be asked in this thread. The gunplay is great. You can kill people from distances with assault rifles, but it not nearly as easy as Black ops. That is a good thing. Pistols aren’t overpowered, sniper rifles take skill to master, grenades are terrible, and thank god the maps are big because knifing is the worst. It makes Commando in Modern Warfare 2 seem toned down.

The game has 2 modes and 2 different versions of each. One is a standard Team Deathmatch, and the other is a redefined version of domination. The second is the better one. With these two modes, comes a campers nightmare with Battle Commandeer that places a AI on each time that will point out people who are doing good and give you a relative location on where they are. This Battle Commander makes playing a respawn game far more enjoyable then I have ever had before. The maps seem to be pretty balanced. There a variety of them. Like Battlefield, only certain modes are available on certain maps. I think there are 8 available on the 360. About 10 hours of playing, I haven’t really developed a favorite but I do not dislike a single map. I usually have a blast regardless of mode or map, which is the most important feature for me.

The vehicles in the game have a lot more variety to offer then Battlefield. They are less powerful, easier to get, feature many types of them, and are easier to take down. Everything about them allows them to be sued by the casual gamer, but only mastered by the hardcore players. The man flown spy plane can fly around marking enemy loations, but unless you know how to maneuver it correctly, it will die very fast.

The biggest difference between Homefront and any other online game is its feature of Battle Points, the games currency. You start off every match with 500 and as you get kills, capture points, and take down marked targets, you earn more and more points. You then take these points and buy your two special weapons like a drone, a predator missile, or just a simple UAV. If you save up enough you can end up spawning in helicopters or Humvees and rain fire on their asses, but like Is aid be careful because the game balances them very good. This currency allows every game to be different and a match can quickly be swayed if you use them with your team in mind rather than your own score.

Lasting Appeal: 7

Hours Played: 20+ Hours
Game Difficulty: 6
Trophy Difficulty: 8

If you are a single player kind of guy, this is a borderline rent for you. It is very short and you won’t get a chance to take advantage of a multiplayer that is great once you get into the flow of how it works. For the online guys, if you hated Battlefield Bad Company 2, then you would hate this. This feels Bad Company 2 but with smaller maps that allows the player to instantly spawn into the action rather than have to walk to it. Call of Duty players might have a hard time choosing the team over themselves because you really only do have fun when doing what the game actually expects of you rather then bragging about having the most kills on the losing team. This title definitely has done enough to earn a spot in your regular playing mix of games.

The achievements aren’t necessarily hard, but rather time-consuming. This is what achievement whores call an “AVOID” title. I beat the single player and got about 100 score from it, which might be the lowest I’ve ever gotten in one play through in a FPS. Maybe they do it intentionally to keep you replaying a very short game.

Final Comments:

Homefront wasn’t exactly amazing, but it certainly feels a lot fresher than the current batch of shooters I’ve been playing. I haven’t had this much fun since the beginning of Modern Warfare 2. Respawn games have never been my thing, so when a title like this really attracts my attention, it says a lot about the game to me. It may end up being forgotten at the end of the year, but for the next 6 months or so, it will be in my 360 on a consistent basis, and I couldn’t ask for any more out of it.

Right to the point:
+ The Multiplayer
+ The Newspapers
+ The Presentation
- Short Single Player
- Scripted Events
- Knifing/Grenades

Final Score: 8/10
Recommended Price: $40​

 

[Twigg4075]

LOL at 9/10 Splinter Cell but recommended price $20. Although I knwo why because it's an old game.

 

[Twigg4075]

I guess you factored in the amazing time you had playing co-op with yours truly? oops:

 

[wingsfan77]

I guess you factored in the amazing time you had playing co-op with yours truly? oops:

Joke?:wavey:

 

[Maynard]

fucking shooters. they all feel like madden now

 

[stevsta]

fucking shooters. they all feel like madden now

play gears of war or bulletstorm even Battlefield

 

[Tengo Juego]

Final Score: 8/10
Recommended Price: $40

Why? 8 is a pretty solid score(on your scale), but it's not worth full retail?

 

[Buzzman]

Why? 8 is a pretty solid score(on your scale), but it's not worth full retail?

I factor in the fact that it feels like an online only game. Those that have been start off at $40. Then add on that the genre its in is a play for 6 months then move onto the next one type of deal, and I think 2 days after release Amaon and Walmart dropped the game down top $41.

 

[Buzzman]

Just an update to everybody that is addicted to my reviews (there is got to be 1 out there) I actually should be hitting a stretch of a consistent droppings of reviews. From Dec-Mid March I really didn't game a whole lot or buy any but I recently stringed together a shit ton of games and should work through them in the next coming weeks. Dead Space 2, Crysis 2, and Bulletstorm to name a few. Then a few forgotten titles I missed in 2010 like Medal of Honor and Mafia 2, plus other cheap games that go on sale.

 

artyhard:artyhard:artyhard:artyhard:

 

[Buzzman]

Bulletstorm

Release Date: February 22, 2011
Developer: People Can Fly/Epic Games
Game Type: First-Person Shooter
Price Paid: $20

Graphics: 8.5

Bulletstorm uses the same engine as Gears of War and you can tell. Some of the parts of the game look like they belong into the gears Universe and expect Marcus Fenix to come bursting through the door. The thing though is it winds up being brighter and more colorful that that game. These colors give it a far less depressing feel to it and helps keep the very non serious atmosphere moving along. I am not going to say the graphics are amazing because they are not, but they do damn look nice enough to please me. Then again I have never held graphics to a high standard. I think they are the least important aspect of a game, unless of course they look like an PS1 game, then it’s unacceptable.

One thing I really hate is a very non interactive environment. If I shoot a wall or blow up a tank next to a wall or a bench, I want there to be a cause to my effect. I can understand how hard it must be to code this into your game, but if you want your game to stand out amidst this graphical priming in gaming, that’s what needs to be done. You need to differentiate your game from the vast amount of others out there.

Also unlike Gears, I never found myself being glitched into a spot or falling off a map. It has always happened in both Gears games, but here it seemed to me that they have fixed up the unreal engine and got rid of those pesky problems. This might be the first game ever where I played through the entire campaign without a single hiccup. That’s one for my record book.

Sound: 10

I can tell you right off the bat that the dialogue to Bulletstorm will be extremely hit or miss. There will be no in-between. The characters constantly swear, even in situations that make no sense, and the swearing is not even the normal kind. Most of the time it felt like they were just thinking of ways to combine dick, shit, and bitch then they ran out and started to rehash some more. I found myself laughing my ass off at the dialogue. Whether it was actually funny or just in a random spot, I never found it to be distasteful. Other people though that do not have the same sense of humor as me might find it a little repetitive and over the top. This may be one of the rare games that the sound plays a heavy part in the game because there will be some people who won’t be able to play through the entire campaign because of the dialogue, that is unless they want to use the mature filter and hear a bleep every five seconds, which would kill the best part of the game.

As for the characters themselves, initially you won’t enjoy most if not all of them. They come off as generic choices to their generic characters, but as the game contuse you start to find out about their personalities and they grow onto you. Ishi the robotic human ends up going from absolute cliché into complete badass. He plays the part so cliché that you can tell they are mocking what he is and purposely did this. Grayson Hunt, you, is the funny one. He never stops talking and it just is balls to the wall out their sometimes. I could listen to him talk to himself all day.

This entire section may end up being the best part of an overall great game.

Gameplay: 9

The story of Bulletstorm is so bad that it happens to be awesome. If you treat it like one of those movies that you know will be shitty but want to see it anyway you should end up having a blast here. It is so cheesy and over the top that you just can’t help but fall in love. The emotional cut scenes, the insane plot twists, and the interactions between everyone are predictable but that doesn’t mean it cannot be enjoyable. It basically feels like a mockery of its genre which is low on boredom and high on awesomeness.

This in the end is just another first person shooter. If you have played a lot of them, this will be almost no different than the others. Most of the weapons handle just like a normal gun and they steal ideas from other games. One thing that seems to be catching into a fad is being able to control a bullet after you have shot it. I saw it first in Wanted, then Singularity, and now here. It’s fun to use but sometimes I just want my gun to go and that’s it. Some of the other weapons add creativity into your game. There is a grenade launcher with a chained grenade to wrap around enemies, an explosive bouncy ball, and a drill that can cut through anything. They are all fun and dandy, but you will always go back to ole reliable, the assault rifle. It is and will always be the standard.

The whip that you are given at the start of the game is the x-factor. It allows you to grab enemies and send them your way in slow motion. Here is where the game is at its best. Do you shoot him? If so how and where? If not, how about I kick him into those power lines, or those spikes, or let’s just kick him off the cliff and into oblivion. These are the choices you have to make every single time an enemy comes. You may think it gets repetitive but it really never does. I was always looking for new ways to kill some fools, and for a good portion of the game I was able to find that new way to complete the long list of skillshots that you can earn in the game. These skillshots are points you are given for doing certain types of kills and combos. You then can use those points to buy ammo or upgrades. Very basic system, but accomplishing all the skillshots on the list is a mighty challenge that won’t come easy, it will take time, work and some luck.

Lasting Appeal: 8

Hours Played: 17
Game Difficulty: 6.5
Achievement Difficulty: 8.5

The campaign on the hardest difficulty took me about 11 hours to beat. It was a very fast time too because I had so much fun playing it. I can definitely see myself going through it a second time just for the fun alone, but also to pick up the skillshots that I wasn’t able to achieve in my first run. Go into this game expecting at least two run through with the possibility of a third.

Getting all of the achievements for the game will be hard. I got a good chunk just going through one playthrough but some of the skillshots are tough to get. Whether it be the scenario you need or the reaction time, it will be a challenge. Then you throw in the online achievements in an otherwise average multiplayer you may not be able to obtain them all, but getting a good 500-600 is a respectable enough goal in a decent amount of time.

The online isn’t a standard deathmatch mode, but rather a AI vs you and friends type mode similar to Horde from Gears. It is fun but doesn’t hold its appeal as long as say Zombies from COD. It just doesn’t have enough strategy to play it consistently. The other mode I tried was basically a stripped down version of the campaign but with more enemies and a leaderboard to see how high you can rack up points compared to your friends. It is not fun AT ALL. Unless you your friends suck you will not beat their scores. They make you look a little silly.

Final Comments:

Bulletstorm was always an iffy game with me because it seemed to be too silly, but when I finally sat down and played it was overwhelming how enjoyable I found it to be. It is one the best FPS I have played this generation (easily top 5) and I feel it got labeled unfairly. It’s a mockery game that excels in bringing laughs and being a good shooter in itself.

Right to the point:
+ Dialogue
+ Characters
+ Skillshots
- Skillshot difficulty
- Multiplayer
- Absolute Ending

Final Score: 8.5/10
Recommended Price: $30​

 

[Buzzman]

Dead Space 2

Release Date: January 25, 2011
Developer: Visceral Games
Game Type: Survival Horror
Price Paid: $60

Graphics: 9

To say that Dead Space 2 had a major graphically upgrade would be a bit of understatement. The first game had some average graphics that just so happened to fall right into the correct style that matched the game so well. Maybe that is why so many people, including myself, did not care they weren’t up to standards, if it works do not complain was the correct motto to use for it. Here though they seemed to use a completely new engine that just looks great.

The character figures are great to look at. I was always iffy on the makeover of Isaac Clarke, but they managed it well. He was just a normal guy who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He isn’t some one dimensional meathead stuck in space. His appearance gives him a personality that doesn’t disappoint. I might add that Ellie is one fine piece of ass as well. After seeing how she reacted to her eye, you can just tell she can get it.

The level designs are a wide range as well. That didn’t try and half ass it like some developers. Every portion of the game is new and not reused with a fresh coat of paint, from being stuck in a normal looking science lab, to going back to the Ishomora, and flying about in space, it just feels massive. It doesn’t dip in visual at its expense. They really did a wonderful job in handing you eye candy that never becomes repetitive. You’ll never see this in best graphics categories, but it’s a damn fine looking game I must say.

Sound: 8

Dead Space 2 takes a drastic turn from the first game with its lead character, Isaac Clarke. This time they actually give him a voice and have him communicate with the horrors around him rather than having him give the occasional grunt. It actually enhances the experience of the game far more better this way. Sure the silent protagonist might have been good enough, but it seems as if they wanted it to be great. Hearing Isaac scream when something is coming, hearing him panic when the situation feels like a lost battle, and having him communicate with another human being adds much more value to the game and its story. It allows us as gamers to actually connect and worry about the protagonist. It was the single most important upgrade Visceral did from the original to its sequel.

The atmosphere feels different here though. Instead of being trapped aboard a ship, you are constantly in new places, those eerie creeks and sudden music cues in small linear paths are gone. To say it’s less scary might be a little off, but it feels true. Gone are those huge jumps from the first game. It is sort of disappoint, but that may be the only downright negative thing I could say about this truly great sequel.

Last thing that needs to be said is Ellie has the voice of an angel. La La La La!

Gameplay: 10
The story here feels less scary then Dead Space, but far larger in impact, far bigger in monsters, and far bigger in storytelling. It delves more into the world of this universe they have created. You begin to understand why things happened the way they did in Dead Space 1 and realize that was just a small spectacle in what could be this terrifying world. As Isaac, you also have to come to terms with your wife and the guilt you feel from her. It seems to take the story telling of the first game and place emotion into the setting and its characters. If you’re looking for the same horror as the first, prepare for disappointment, but expect to be surprised in how much you may end up loving this new prospective they show to you.

The first Dead Space felt extremely slow, clunky, and just awkward at times. For Dead Space 2 it still may look the same to someone not playing, but everything is a whole lot smoother. One of the comparisons I can make that closely resembles this same situation I Mass Effect 2 from mass Effect. Simply walking around was easier to control, aiming down your sights felt more accurate and stable, and melee combat has a better response then the original. It feels better in every way imaginable.

The weapons have always been one of the most unique features for the game, and while they did add in some better weapons, I still found myself going with ole reliable, the plasma cutter. It is just without a doubt the best weapon you could possibly want. It’s powerful, works against all foes, and never lets you down; its man’s best friend. The sniper rifle is modified with a more accurate scope and a few new ones appear that only will be used in moments of pure desperation.

One of the mini games they added was hacking. Let me be the first to tell you this may be the most useless ploy the game has to offer. They are very easy and are more of an annoyance than a challenge. You essentially have to rotate the left analog stick and fight the sweet spot in the machine 3 times in a row in a time period that is far too long. Just a rather forgetful section of the game. One mechanic they fine-tuned was the zero gravity scenes. Now you can actually move around on a “jet-pack” like device and go wherever you want to go instead of point and click type scenarios. These sections of the game provide some dizzy but cool experiences.

One lat thing I loved in this game was its references to the first game. The lines and objects you see and hear connect back to that first playthrough. Not only have that, but you actually to get boarded the Ishomora once again. Seeing it cleaned up may have been creepier then the blood splattered walls you remember of it. Nothing truly amazing happens during this sequence but it’s just such a great throwback, you cannot help but enjoy it. The ending also happens to leave off you with a giant smirk on there face. The same damn music and scene plays out as the first, the tension builds, then bam, it actually isn’t like the first. Just brilliant.

Lasting Appeal: 8

Hours Played: 13 Hours
Game Difficulty: 9
Trophy Difficulty: 10

I can tell you right away the multiplayer is and never will be my type of thing. II have never been of a fan of special aliens vs. humans type modes because they are just so unbalanced and here it seems no different. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to throw in some horde type zombie mode, but they dropped the ball and made it below average in nearly every way. Even if you have a group of friends I do not see anybody playing it very long. This has and will always be about the single player campaign.

Clocking in at a good 15 chapters and 13 hours on regular difficulty, its got great length. It never seems to drag and keeps you on your toes for the most part. I can definitely see myself going back to play through it again, but beating it on hardcore might be a feat not worth attempting since you only get 3 saves throughout. That leads into the achievements which are going to be tough to fulfill because that difficulty is pretty damn tough and the online cheevos aren’t even worth the hassle.

Final Comments:

Dead Space 2 is what a sequel should try to do; make a better game than the original. I think they succeeded here. While I was a fan of the first game, I never truly loved it. I found myself draggin through the single player and only near the dn of it did I not want to put the controller down. For Dead Space 2 I was instantly hooked. I probably sat down and beat it in 4 sittings at about 4 hours a piece and I just simply do not do that with many games. I have no doubt Dead Space 2 will be viewed as one of the major release for 2011 by the time the year comes to an end.

Right to the point:
+ The Campaign
+ Isaac Clark and Ellie
+ More Dead Space
- Less Scary
- Hacking
- Shitty multiplayer

Final Score: 9/10
Recommended Price: $40​

*I know Dead Space Extraction comes with the PS3 version, nut I will be reviewing that at a separate time and will not count it for or against this game. This is a standalone review of the game Dead Space 2*

 

[Buzzman]

Next up Crysis 2.

 

[Twigg4075]

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.