Honest Brink Review

Well it certainly has been awhile since I have updated the blog and I feel the time is right to get it going again.

For those of you who don't know my Wife and I are expecting are 2nd child in January so things have been hectic getting things squared away at home.

So since it has been awhile I am going to start off with my honest take on Brink for the XBOX360. Now I know there are alot of mixed emotions about this game it's really a love it or hate it game which is fine, but what you have to know going in is Brink in no way was attempting to be the COD killer labeled it as. Brink goes back to what made games fun and that is having the ability to play with friends against Bots, I know what your thinking Bots are no where near the challenge as a Human player and you may be right, but for me as I  get older I have lost that competitive gaming edge  and would rather hang out with friends online and stomp some computers down.

Graphics - Brink has some pretty cool visuals but at the same time suffers from some texture loading which to be honest in no way takes away from the game play and usually happens right when a match is starting. I actually like the cartoony style of the character models as it lends itself better to the experience.

Sound - This is one of the places that Brink shines, the gun sounds are nothing short of awesome and if the SMG sound effects annoy my wife they have to be good. The music is sub standard but if you are playing Brink to listen to the background music there is something wrong.

Gameplay - This is where Brink shines having the ability to play as 4 different classes each bringing something unique to the mix  able to support their  teammates whether through either buffs, heals, ammo drops, or just spotting enemy locations and marking mines. My only complaint with the gameplay has to do with the body types, for the life of me I can't see any reason to play as the heavy or medium body types yes they get access to different weapons but currently as it stands I can do as much damage with an SMG as I can with a rifle using a medium or heavy body and this really takes away from the point of even having them. Another thing that can get a tad frustrating is the friendly AI sometimes forgets that there is a primary objective and leave you and your human friends to do all the work, while the enemy AI is focused on the main objective and work as a single unit to make your life a living hell.

Brink is an amazing games despite the flaws it has that I am sure can be fixed with some patches. Also the devs are releasing free DLC for a two week period this month so be sure to keep a eye out for it on the dashboard.

Overall I give Brink a 4/5. If your looking for a solid shooter to play with friends vs AI this is your game, also if you liked TF2 you will fit right into the Brink world.

Bargain Bin Bio - Batman Arkham Asylum

So I missed the first boat for Batman AA when it first came out mainly because my money was tied up in other new releases at the time. Recently however I was able to pick up a copy for about 25 bucks and was greatly pleased with what I had purchased.

• Gameplay - The gameplay is surprisingly solid with well executed puzzles, and fantastic stealth elements... oh did I forget to mention that the combat is absolutely superb? With the right timing and moves Batman can achieve a combo that allows you to flow from each baddie in swift motions allowing him to pretty much down an entire room full of them. Instead of making a separate control section I will just include it here, the controls are solid and allow for easy movement and to execute combos with ease... well once you get the hang of the combat.
• Sound/Music - Everything from the voice acting, to the sound of breaking bones is executed well. I can't recall too much on the music side but I do remember that it fit the mood.

Final Word: If you are looking for a solid single player experience at a killer price look no further than Batman AA. It features awesome combat, as well as a stellar voice cast that will make the entire game an enjoyable experience for hardcore Batman fans, to those just looking for a fun platform game. I give Batman AA a 5/5.

Batman Arkham Asylum

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.

Baragin Bin Bio - Dead Space

Unless you have been living under a rock for the past year or so you will have heard of Dead Space, a third person survival horror published by EA that dare I say... is good?

Now I am one of those people who did not buy this game outright for 60 bucks when it was released nor did I purchase it when it dropped to around 20 bucks. I waited until this bad boy hit 17.99 and I almost feel bad for how much of a steal it was for this game.

• STORY:Your are placed in the role of a space engineer by the name of Issac Clarke who with the other members of his crew is sent on a mission to answer the distress call from the Ishimura the largest planet cracker of its class. Upon arriving on the Ishimura it becomes painfully clear that this is no ordinary distress call and you quickly find yourself separated from your crew and fighting for dear life against a horde of monsters known as "Necromorphs". Let me start by saying the story is solid and fits perfectly with the overall mood of the game, and fans of any Sci-Fi horror movies will find themselves right at home in the creepy metallic hallways of the Ishimura.

• GRAPHICS: Wow is all I can really say. The graphics for Dead Space are some of the best I have seen on the 360 to date, and mind you at the time of reviewing this Dead Space is a little over a year old. The first time I was really blown away was being in a room when a quarantine hit and this yellow caution light flashes around the room leaving creepy shadows and for me brought memories from the Aliens movie.

• SOUND: Everything from the gun fire, to the eerie noises the Necromorphs make this game pulls it off. The music is downright creepy and always leaves you uneasy when things are quiet. Like I said before fans of Sci-Fi horror will find themselves right at home here.

• GAMEPLAY: This I have to admit playing the demo left doubt in my mind how good this game really was, and I have to say having played the full version my doubt was unfounded. The full game offers better controls and explains all the controls to the player right from the start. Combat is downright intense and you will find yourself having to quickly react to each situation, lucky for us killing the Necros is not a matter of emptying X amount of bullets into their rotten torsos but rather strategically dismembering them is the key to killing of the beasts. Also unique to any game is the HUD system, Dead Space lets go of the normal HUD and replaces it all by stuff displayed on either your character or the weapon you are carrying; The only downside to this is your inventory menu/map does not pause the game so if you are in the middle of a battle I advise against going into these menus as well as menus of the store because you can and will be attacked.

Dead Space is a solid game to add to any library and with the 17.99 price tag at Gamestop you really can't go wrong. I give 5 out of 5 for having a fantastic story, easy to use controls, and for bringing something new to the survival horror genre.

Resident Evil 5 Review

So yea I finally picked up Resident Evil 5 despite how much the demo put me off, why you might ask well let me put it this way it was a Friday night our friends were suppose to come over... well it didn't work out so sitting there in our boredom my wife and I decided to get Resident Evil 5 to play coop, and let me tell you I have not regretted that decision yet.

First off if your no stranger to Resident Evil 4 you will be no stranger to the layout of the game, however if you have never played Resident Evil 4 or and Resident Evil game and you are looking for a shooter you might want to keep looking. Resident Evil 5 sticks to the formula of you having to stop to aim and shoot (No more two-piecing darn) I will admit at first this was one of my turn offs about the game however after playing the game for a bit I will admit being able to move and shoot at the same time would have made the battles way too easy, in a way having to stop makes you think more aware of what is around you and has to react sometimes out of fear.

Resident Evil 5 puts you back in the shoes of Chris Redfield and the newest edition to the series Sheva Alomar who is Chris's new partner in the BSAA which is an organization setup to stop bioweapons for getting into the wrong hands. In typical Resident Evil fashion things go from bad to worse the more you progress in the game, and the further you get the into the game the tougher the creatures get you fight. Here comes one of my biggest gripes about the game, instead of making more unique enemies Capcom decided to recycle a few from Resident Evil 4 and throw them into Resident Evil 5, ok I can deal with the Chainsaw guy and the El Giante but coming across the same Minigun guy made me think ok they honestly couldn't think of anything else? On the plus side they did add a few new creatures to the mix one of my personal faves the ever popular Reaver who can one hit kill you if you get too close.

Another thing I didn't like too much about Resident Evil 5 is the rehash of enviorments, not to say that they are the same from Resident Evil 4, and not saying that the previous Resident Evils didnt all feature a Lab of some sort, what I am saying is the overall path through the game feels very similar to Resident Evil 4, once you get to the ruins you will catch what I am saying.

New to the Resident Evil experience (without including Outbreak) is the addition of COOP, and let me tell you it feels so right in Resident Evil 5, you will find yourself working together to take down objectives and to keep each other alive. I remeber when my wife and I first fought the Reaver and we worked together to knock him into the furnace, it was just amazing how much you can do with another person, but it's not all fun and games you will find yourself at times having to save your partner when they are in the dying stage, this can be an annoyance if you are at one of the parts where you have to split up, thankfully Capcom included a pretty generous checkpoint system so you will never be retracing your steps too far.

Overall Resident Evil 5 is a solid game for coop, however its probably not one I would pick up to play singleplayer, it's better left played with a friend over live or via couch coop.

I give Resident Evil 5 4 out of 5 for solid coop play and and overall enjoyable experience despite a few gripes I have about the game.

This week in review

Remember when the Sega first came out and you were not the cool kid on the street unless you had one? Well know you can relive your glory gaming days with Sonic's Ultimate Gensis Collection which boasts a huge list of classic Sega games.

The List:

· Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle
· Alien Storm
· Altered Beast
· Beyond Oasis
· Bonanza Bros.
· Columns
· Comix Zone
· Decap Attack starring Chuck D. Head
· Dr. Robotnik's MBM
· Dynamite Headdy
· Ecco the Dolphin
· Ecco II: The Tides of Time
· E-SWAT
· Fatal Labyrinth
· Flicky
· Gain Ground
· Golden Axe I
· Golden Axe II
· Golden Axe III
· Kid Chameleon
· Phantasy Star II
· Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom
· Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium
· Ristar
· Shining in the Darkness
· Shining Force
· Shining Force 2
· Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master
· Sonic 3D Blast
· Sonic and Knuckles
· Sonic Spinball
· Sonic the Hedgehog
· Sonic the Hedgehog 2
· Sonic the Hedgehog 3
· Streets of Rage
· Streets of Rage 2
· Streets of Rage 3
· Super Thunder Blade
· Vectorman
· Vectorman 2

Plus 9 UNLOCKABLE GAMES:

· Golden Axe Warrior (SEGA Master System)
· Phantasy Star (SEGA Master System)
· Alien Syndrome (Arcade)
· Altered Beast (Arcade)
· Congo Bongo (Arcade)
· Fantasy Zone (Arcade)
· Shinobi (Arcade)
· Space Harrier (Arcade)
· Zaxxon (Arcade)

I gotta be honest most of these I never played growing up, however some of the ones on the list make the 29.99 price tag worth while for me, and I am sure some people out there will see a few games on there and pick it up as well.

Let me start by saying I have gone through every game on here since purchasing it, while not playing each one through I did play enough to get the achievements, however this allowed me to get a feel for games I might otherwise not have played, for instance Bonaza Brothers I had never heard of until playing this collection and it turned out to be one of my favs because you need timing and strategy to get past each level on one clean run one mistake and you lose time and points, another one that comes to mind that really gave me the old arcade feel was Super Thunder Blade man going for the 1,500,000 point achievement was tough but after getting the feel for dodging the fire balls that the enemy vehicles launch at you it turned out to be fairly fun/enjoyable.

What really sealed the deal for me was Sega including Shining Force & Shining Force 2 both are some of my favorite games on the Sega and with them I can see countless hours playing through again to experience the rich and enjoyful gameplay.

The one downside to this collection that could have made it really shine was the fact that they didn't include any Live play, sure you can couch coop but with the ability to play online with friends it seems Sega got lazy and just didn't feel like programming the games with the ability to handle it.

You may have your own favorite games on here that make it worth the purchase for you and if you only see a few I would still say pick it up to relive some of those good times you had when you were younger.

I give Sonic's Ultimare Gensis Collection a 4.5 out of 5.