Bargain Bin Bio: Spider Man Web of Shadows

This week I dive into the Bargain Bin once again to bring you a review for one of the latest entries into the Web Slinger series Spider-Man Web of Shadows.

• STORY: 

 Our story finds us taking over the role of Spider-Man it what shown to us by the tutorial to be in the heart of terrible goings on as we soon discover that Venom is back and he is up to no good, but it's not just Venom you have to worry about some of Spider-Mans other iconic villains make an appearance and can potentially become allies to our wall crawler. Overall the story is what you would expect from this sort of game where our hero sets out to save the city and potentially the world, however along the way choices can be made that affect not only who will fight alongside you but also can affect the outcome of the game.

• GAMEPLAY:

The gameplay overall is fairly decent, but most of the OPTIONAL tasks get really really really repetitive and you will find yourself sighing after saving 100 citizens only to find out the next goal is 200 more. The good news is if you don't care for optional goals you do not need to complete them to move on, however if you are an achievement whore like myself you will need to complete 60 to get the achievements associated with them.

•  CONTROLS:

The game controls very well, and you will find yourself easily pulling off high hit combos with no problems. The only real bad thing is the insanely crappy camera angles that randomly make it to where you cannot see anything at eye level as trying to adjust it will either place you looking up at the sky or down at the ground an easy fix is to re-center the camera by pushing the left stick in.

• GRAPHICS:

The graphics are pretty decent with crisp textures on some of the character models, however as with any open world game there are some draw distance issues, and the occasional texture pop in but nothing that really detracts from the experience.

• SOUND:

Probably the weakest point in the game. The music I  noticed at times would skip, and some of the sounds would stutter but really its not anything that would stop you from enjoying playing the game.


Overall I would give Spider-Man Web of Shadows a 3.5 out of 5, while it is not up to par with other open world games it is probably the best Spider-Man game since the one based on the second movie. For any fan of Spider-Man I recommend a rental at least, but at the low price of about 17 bucks it worth checking out.

Another Left 4 Dead Expert run complete

Well we have done it again. Another person on my friends list has been helped to attain the "What are you trying to prove" achievement in Left 4 Dead last night after completing Blood Harvest on expert. Blood Harvest is probably by far the most difficult campaign on Left 4 Dead with some of the cheapest Director spawns for the Tank and witch. However with a little will power and 1hr and 47 mins of our time we were able to get NvaderJim safely on the rescue vehicle. I believe this marks the 3rd or 4th person I have helped through on this but each time is just as satisfying.

Next up on the agenda is expert on Left 4 Dead 2.

If anyone reading this needs help on Left 4 Dead or Left 4 Dead 2 please let me know I really enjoy running through them. You can reach me via comment here or by sending a message to me on Live GT: Biohzrd451

Update

Well I should have been updating but have been busy with my Final and writing my research paper, but fear not I am still here.

So here is the low down, tomorrow my wife will be getting surgery so I will be at the hospital pretty much all day until she is discharged that evening, after that it is pretty much going to me being Mr. Mom and taking care of things around the house, however in between that there is gaming to be had.

On the agenda:
Complete the 7 Day Survivor achievement in Dead Rising... this baby right here is a 14 hour endeavor so I plan on getting up early to complete it, probably try and tackle this on Thursday if possible.

Complete the last two achievements on Tropico 3 finishing that game completely.

Finally trade in Just Cause 2 for ODST, while I have had tons of fun with Just Cause 2 I cannot pass up another opportunity to get some more co-op games in. I have already completed ODST but Rift33 showed an interest in playing it so I would be more than happy to assist, he also interested me in getting Halo Wars again which was a freaking blast.

So that is what is on the list right now, probably more to fall in there somewhere but who knows.

So if you read this blog which I seem to get atleast a few hits a day and would like to game with me sometime drop me a line on XBL: Biohzrd451.

Till next time.

Dead Space 2 Debut Trailer

 have to admit I was late to the party for Dead Space, but having recently caught up with it last fall I have to say I am eagerly awaiting to see what new horrors the game creators have in store for Issac Clark.

Check out this Debut trailer for pure epic win.

Whew

Well finally getting settled into the new house, the hardest part is over now its time to unpack.
Got my TV and xbox setup as well as my Wife's TV and xbox. Now I get down to the nitty gritty which is setting up my wireless network, and I am planning on getting the D-Link DGL-4500 which is a shibby little number which appears to have the power to give my wife a seemless gaming experience and allow us to stream Netflix in our room.

Put one of the new links to amazon in this article check it out and let me know what you think.

Heads up on new stuff to the Blog.

Well good morning their true believers.

Just a heads up on some new features I added to the ole blog.

From now on when I write a review I will be placing an Amazon ad for said product in my Blog.

If you are intrested in buying the game please feel free to use my link and help support Bio-hazardous blogs :). In turn the money I gain will be used to purchase new games and write more reviews.

Thanks again for the people who search here and support me.

The Passing DLC Review

Just A quick review of the new DLC out for Left 4 Dead 2 titled The Passing.

The passing is a bridge between the Dead Center and Dark Carnival Campaigns and sees our rag tag team of survivors meeting the cast from L4D.

Overall this DLC proved to be 100 times better than Crash Course which hit last year for L4D, and it seems like they threw in alot more humor as seen in the writings on the wall. I really only have one complaint and I noticed it only while playing Scavenge; We noticed that the hit detection seemed way off, firing point blank range into a zombie horde with a shotgun would down maybe one or miss altogether, also another example my friend was grabbed by a charger dropping his gas can right next to him, now me being the team player unload into the charger chest level up only to have the gan can which is on the ground explode with the text stating I destroyed a gas can.... now mind you I was using the AK-47 which to the best of my knowledge does not have shotgun like spread.


Altogether this is a really good piece of DLC and I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to renew their passion for Left 4 Dead2. Despite the few bugs which more than likely will be fixed in the coming weeks I give the new DLC a 4 out of 5.

Review - Just Cause 2

Well it has been awhile since I have updated... been really busy sorting out the new house and everything, but fear true believers I am back and have a fresh review this week for Just Cause 2.


Let me start by saying I never played the first Just Cause, and in fact the Demo for Just Cause 2 was pretty meh in my book, but coming across 50 bucks from work and having many friends rave about how much fun they were having I decided to take the plunge and pick up the game; I have to say I am glad I made that decision, and came to the conclusion that the demo did absolutely no justice for the full game as it throws players in without showing them the really cool things they can do and without letting the players get a feel for the controls.

• Story

The game once again puts us in the shoes of Rico Rodriguez international man of mystery... and well chaos. You find yourself tracking down your former superior Tom Sheldon who has gone rogue on the island of Panau and it is your job to take him out. Well to prevent spoilers I won't go further than that, and to be honest I have not gotten too far into the game yet to give any spoilers, so far I have clocked 13 hrs into the game and have only completed about 13% of the game.

Did I mention how massive the game world is? No? Well here is a map of Panau and let me be honest for a Sandbox game this is huge.

• Gameplay

Here is the real strength with Just Cause 2, you are able to go anywhere right after completing the tutorial missions, and to be honest you have alot of places to choose from, the game world is massive filled with snowy mountains, all the way to sandy deserts, and dense jungles. I found myself toying around quite a bit getting familar with the different controls, trying out things and pretty much playing around. There are lots of things to do as well, from freeing towns by destroying government property and collecting upgrades, to completeing challenge races, or just screwing around exploring the island. Be careful though the more chaos you cause increases your heat level and will draw the attention of the island military, but really they are no problem for the great Rico Suave. Be forewarned however this is a sandbox game, and as many of us know with any sandbox game comes some form of repeativness and Just Cause 2 is no exception you will find yourself completeing various missions that are laid out almost identical; For instance when playing the missions where you are taking over the stronghold it is the same task everytime you do it, escort a technician to the terminal so he can hack it and take over the base. Oh yes I almost forgot their are escort missions and yes they can be frustrating as the AI tends to love being killed.

• Sound

The sound effects are pretty good, you can hear bullets whiz past your head, and I am sure on surround sound the explosions must be spectacular. The music is also pretty good, nothing really stand out but decent enough to not really get on your nerves.

• Graphics

What can I say, Just Cause 2 features some of the best graphics I have seen in awhile, the world is absolutely beautiful, and I never noticed any slowdowns due to graphics.

• Controls

Here is where I have a problem, not necessarily with the controls in general but with how stiff they feel. You will really notice how stiff it feels with driving a vehicle or flying a plane, however on foot I didn't really notice any issue with the controls other than it feeling a little slower than I like.



So there you have it my two cents on Just Cause 2. It's a really fun game with flaws that so far I have been able to overcome and have enjoyed my time in the shoes of Rico. I gave Just Cause 2 3.5 out of 5 it's a really fun game with lots of stuff to do, but stiff controls and repetitiveness might turn some people off.

REVIEW: Army of Two the 40th Day (XBOX360)

Whew haven't updated the blog in quite some time due to changing work schedule, but never fear I am back and coming back at you with a review for Army of Two the 40th Day.

Story:

For those not familiar with the first Army of Two your are put into the shoes of either Salem or Rios two badass mercs who are out to make some money but somehow always find themselves in unfortunate situations. This go around we find them in Shanghai in what should be an easy mission that quickly turns into an all out battle for survival.

Gameplay:

Gameplay has made a vast improvement from the first game, and alot of the elements I found tedious from the first have been removed from the game or have been tightened to be easier to perform. There also have been a few new tricks added to the mix such as taking an officer hostage and have your partner tie up his cronies, or performing a mock surrender while your buddy lines up his shot from his rifle. The only thing that returned that I hated in the first game is the back to back areas while it might seem epic to be fighting with your buddy watching your back spinning around killing countless enemies I just found the back to back thing very tedious and at times extremely cheap.

The game itself is a co-op blast as anyone can guess the entire experience was built from the ground up with co-op in mind and it really shows. I played the entire game co-op with my wife and we have had a blast figuring out how to take down various enemies or planning out or strategies for getting past an area and to me this is co-op at its best.

Controls:

The controls are decent however I did notice at first they seemed very clunky but after a bit of gameplay they seemed really solid and I found myself running and diving for cover quite easily.


Sound:

The sound effects are pretty good. From bullets whizzing past your head or explosions going off around you everything sounded solid, however the background music is decent but not something really remarkable.

Multiplayer:

Tried out the multiplayer a few times and it is really fun if you can find a game without lag. Bascially out of the box if you did not preorder you are given a few game modes: Co-op Deathmatch (2v2v2v2) Warzone (4v4 competing to complete objectives) and Control (4v4 taking over points on the map. I enjoyed the co-op deathmatch the best so far as it pits you and a partner vs others and the teamwork can be nothing short of amazing. If you were smart enough to preorder you get exculsive access to Extraction which is pretty much a Gears of War style horde mode.

So altogether Army of Two the 40th Day is a very solid game to play with a friend, and the multiplayer modes provide a little extra to do when the story mode gets old. With clunky controls at the start but solid gameplay throughout the game I give Army of Two the 40th Day a 4 out of 5.