I’m going to be a negative Nancy and start with the bad for this review. This game is fun fun fun in the sun sun sun, until you start playing the missions. The writing and voice acting for this game are HOOOOORRIBLE. All of the dialog sounds like it was written by 14 year olds that think they know how to make an action movie, and the actual voice actors don’t sound like they’re too far behind that. At some points it feels like they cut out pieces that you’re supposed to see / hear and did a very poor job editing it back together.

The map and environments are another trouble spot for me. You can destroy a lot, but not everything. It all looks very nice, but the things you can destroy have a very preset look and feel to them. Everything will blow up or fall down the exact same way every time. The map itself is HUGE, which would normally be a plus. But its more like 75% desert, 25% city. With the exception of a few side towns, most of the towns and communities you find are spaced FAR apart from each other. So far that if you lose your vehicle somehow in between the towns you’re going to, you’ve fudged yourself over for the next ten minutes. Enjoy walking or whatever it is you do when you press the sprint button, cause its not sprinting. On top of all of this, the towns and missions have a very Assassin’s Creed feel to them. Meaning that there are really only 3 or 4 originals, and the rest are carbon copies of those. On the plus side, you’ll feel like you know everything like the back of your hand after completing 15% of the game.

Ok. Enough bad mouthing. Now to the… good… mouthing? Can I say that? There are still good points to the game. The grappling hook and the parachute are fun toys that you get to play with. They are two of your main allies against all the choppers trying to gun you down for attempting to blow up everything in sight. The hook will attach to almost everything, can tether two objects together, and provides you with that extra way to cause more carnage. The parachute is an interesting addition to a game like this, letting you get to different places safely, or helping you get from one place to another. The cinematic elements they throw in are also nice touches. Jumping off cliffs or driving of big ramps (or more cliffs) will kick in a very nice looking “follow the leader” camera angle that gives me goosebumps every time it kicks in. I like the idea of the vehicle hijacking also. If you’re just stealing from citizen Bob or Sally, then its just a quick button press to get in. If its a more serious vehicle, they will require you to complete a button pressing mini game. When you combine all of the mentioned items together, you have tons and tons of self created situations that will keep you giggling and craving more destruction.

Here’s that technical mumbo jumbo. After one or two sessions of the demo, I had the controls down solid and was ready to be tearing ass all over the city on foot, in vehicles, or just being Spiderman grappling from roof to roof. The cinematic scenes done with the in-game engine, so you don’t really get an awesome show between missions. The map itself, tho is very pretty, especially when you kick in the cinematic camera and enjoy it from a parachute.

This wound up being another wait-to-buy. It seems like it was kind of rushed to get to the floor. Its another good $30-40 game, but in my opinion, definitely not work the $60 launch price tag.

Just Cause 2 – 6/10

Video Games

Rock Band: Beatles – PS3 / XBox 360 / Wii

Featuring more than forty songs from the band’s career, this game appears to have all the polish and care that are completely missing from the band-specific titles put out by that other music-based franchise. From the faithful replicas of the Fab Four’s instruments to the high-gloss, era-specific videos in the song backgrounds, this one looks like it will be bigger than Jesus for any fan.

Mini Ninjas – PS3 / XBox 360 / Wii / Nintendo DS / PC

I know very little about this title except for the following: the demo is fun, the character designs are awesome, the humor is sharp, and I have a badass button with the “Fox” character on it. In truth, this one looks to be a fun-for-anyone action/platformer in the tradition of the Spyros and Jaks out there.

Dirt 2 – PS3 / Xbox 360 / Wii / Nintendo DS / Sony PSP

The sequel to one of the most critically-acclaimed — and drop-dead gorgeous — racers on the market brings even more to the table, according to the developers. Apparently, the focus this time is on “making players feel like they’re at a real event.” So in the background of any screen, there will always be other races taking place, crowds coming and going, and the general atmosphere of being at a rally tournament. If the controls and car modeling can hold up, this one might steal some thunder from later racing releases.

DVD / BluRay

The Office Season 5 – DVD / BluRay

Arguably the best season of the show so far, this DVD release is a no-brainer for me, even though I already have access to all the episodes. The additional features on this title tend to be excellent, and I will undoubtedly end up sitting in front my of TV for hours on end re-watching these episodes.

Fringe Season 1 – DVD / BluRay

My knowledge of this show extends no further than J. Wolfwood’s initial description of it to me: “It’s like Fergie mixed with Jesus.” I do know that word-of-mouth on it alone will probably get me to buy this set, especially since the upcoming season will feature Leonard Nimoy in a recurring role. Like Lost, I will probably watch through it non-stop until I fall asleep from sheer exhaustion and have to start whole sections over again.

Parks & Recreation Season 1 – DVD

Another one that passed completely under my radar, friend reviews tell me that it delivers the laughs. Not likely to pick this one up, but very likely to borrow it from someone soon.

Harper’s Island: The DVD Edition – DVD

Apparently, I just didn’t watch TV recently… This one comes from Jericho veteran Jon Turteltaub, and will be purchased because my mom freakin’ loved this show. I’m stoked about getting to watch it, but do not want spoilers! I’m looking at you, Jeremiah.

Crank 2: High Voltage – DVD / BluRay

As kick-ass a movie as I have ever seen, this sequel delivers in an over-the-top way that makes it equal to the first, if different. Maintaining the tongue-in-cheek humor and breakneck pace of the first one, Crank 2 goes one step further by eliminating any semblance of reality. Balls-out (literally) fun, this one’s best when viewed with friends.

Seriously…

Ok. Long time no review from me. Ive been working my bunz off trying to get some stuff ready for Dragoncon, but I HAD to take time out to play this game after getting a little sneak peak before it was released. This review is probably going to wind up being a little scatter brained due to my, well, scattered brain (thank you dragoncon). So you’ll have to bare with me for a bit.

First, I have some questions for you. Do you like Batman? Yes, you say? Do you like video games? Yes, again? Good. Play this game. Its that simple. If you read thru my Ghostbusters: TVG review, you saw where i talked about actually getting to live a movie experience. Its the same with Batman:AA.

The plot for the game is incredible. It seems like I heard from a Batman nerd / friend that it was actually pulled from an existing comic or comic series, and if its not, it needs to be turned in to one. Long story short, you’ve caught the Joker and have brought him back to Arkham Asylum where he immediately breaks out and springs a huge elaborate trap on Batman, Commissioner Gordon and the rest of the Arkham Staff. Batman, Harley Quinn and the Joker are all voiced by the actors that did the same rolls from Batman: The Animated Series that aired on FOX. And yes, that means Mark Hamill as the Joker. I didn’t hear any other familiar voices, but they were all done very well.

The graphics and the visual style are all stunning. There aren’t any crazy neon lights or glow in the dark thugs (thank you Joel Schumacher).  All of the characters and the environments have the dirty / gritty look and feel like you would expect after seeing the two Bale Batman movies. Or like you would expect from an asylum that houses nothing but super-criminals.

The general workings of the game are also stunning. The game keeps you on a fairly linear path for maybe half an hour while they set up the story for you. Afterwards they open up all of Arkham for you and let you roam around. You cant do the missions in any order that you want since there is still a general plot to it, but they do let you chose when you want to continue with the story. Want to just go grapple and glide around for a while? You definitely can. Controls are no problem to pick up and go with, but in order for you to be the darkest knight you can be, it takes a little bit of getting used to. Combat is dangerously fun and addictive. Tons and tons of hard hits, flowing combos, changing directions to avoid a knife or a pipe swinging at you, and BEAUTIFUL counter attacks will get you pumped that there is a challenge mode that has levels of nothing but fighting. Seriously, i cant stop beating thugs. There are also a hand full of environment specific attacks you can do. Pulling someone off a ledge, stringing thugs upside down, etc.

Now for the best part of being Batman. The gadgets. I have to say they nailed the gadgets and how and when you can use them. One gadget per each of the 8 directions on the d-pad, and the two most important (batarangs and grapple gun) are able to be used quickly as well as in a time restraint free situation. Everything is unlimited, but several more powerful items require a slight recharge time before they can be used again. But unlimited batarangs?! Do you need anything else?! Most of the gadgets can be upgraded thru the simple XP system that they have, and when you get them all upgraded, its bliss. On top of that, you cant even get to certain parts of areas until you upgrade a few of them, which makes you have to go back to the starting areas if you want to collect and do everything. They even give you the zip-line device he used in the original Keaton Batman when the Joker makes the remark about the toys/ Take that nostalgia.

The only down side i found to this is that there isn’t too much to be done after beating the game. You can continue your career and run through Arkham rounding up the various hidden items, solving riddles, etc. but that’s about it. After completion, the game clears of all of the enemies except for a few weak escapees, which provide no fight. I’m assuming that’s a little bit of a push for you to start on the challenge mode, but id still like at least a few guys leftover to keep me busy while i search for all the hidden items.

So there you have it. Someone has played it and confirms that its good, so now its ok for you to go buy or rent it. Then you can freak out and get goosebumps when you’re doing all this crazy Batman stuff like I did.

Wanna buy it? Here you go!

Batman: Arkham Asylum – 360 Version

Batman: Arkham Asylum – PS3 Version

There are certain characters in Sci-fi that will continue to live on: There are the Star Wars, Star Trek (as J.J. Abrams has shown us recently), and Battlestar Galactica characters.  Then there are the ones that had potential but got killed by idiot directors like Michael Bay (Transformers).

Since I first saw Pitch Black I have loved the character Riddick.   He made you rethink your view of bad and good and helped establish Vin Diesel as a badass.  Unfortunately it also put Vin into movies that were stereotyped for him.   It is like the action heroes of the ’80s and ’90s who couldn’t break away from the mold that made them popular.

In 2004, Vin decided to embrace a character (Riddick) that had a lot of potential and tried to make a franchise out of it.  Unfortunately his attempt to make a blockbuster movie based on this character failed with the release of The Chronicles of Riddick.  The movie wasn’t too bad but could have been made MUCH better.

Something else happened in 2004 that will continue to set standards in the gaming industry when it comes to movie-based games: Vin Diesel realized the appeal of a game based on his character.  He then created a game development company (Tigon games), and along with Universal Studios, he produced a prequel to Pitch Black called Escape from Butcher Bay.  The game was one of the best released for the original XBOX, and until the XBOX 360 came out, it had some of the best graphics I had seen.  However, Escape from Butcher Bay was thrown aside when it wasn’t backward-compatible with the XBOX 360.  Most of us thought the character would be gone to the wayside, but we were wrong.

Back in April of this year I made sure that I had pre-ordered the new installment of Riddick called Dark Athena.  This game takes place right after Escape from Butcher Bay and complements it really well.  The gameplay is slightly different, but for the most part it is the same stealthy/first-person-shooter style of game.  One of the new features I really enjoyed was the ability to use these mindless creatures called drones as a body shield.  Just like Butcher Bay, Dark Athena uses Riddick’s best skill of seeing in the dark to help amplify game play.  I can’t tell you how many times I was playing the game sweating from the fear of being seen, ’cause I knew if caught that twenty people were coming to kill me.  The graphics on the game are up to the topnotch standard of most new 360 games, and the sound is really well done and helps with the pace of the game.  There are still some elements that need work, like how you move dead bodies around, but this game is very entertaining.  It even comes complete with really bad Riddick one-liners (which is just awesome!).

My favorite part of purchasing the game is that the powers that be decided to revamp Escape from Butcher Bay for the 360 and include it on the disc.   The game is better than I remember and for all of you who missed out the first time you get to experience a first-rate game that slid under the radar in 2004.

Since the game has been out for a couple of months I believe that you could stroll into your local game resale store and pick it up relatively cheap.  Plus it is two games for the price of one.

Please note there are few games that I would give a 10 to, but I also think it important to know where a reviewer’s standard is when considering their review.  Games I would give a 10 to are as follows: Fall Out 3, Bio Shock, Halo CE, Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic, and Doom (1993).  The games may just be great games or innovative in their day.

Dark Athena:

-Great Graphics and sound
-Moderate replay value
-Controls are moderately easy to get used to
-Moderately high story line

7/10

Escape from Butcher Bay: 8.5/10

The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena Trailer

Light a cigarette and get a drink. This is a long one.
Being the mega-ultra-super-huge fan of Ghostbusters that I am, I had a laundry list of high expectations for this game. Not only did it pass all of my tests, but it shot me in the face for even thinking that it was going to be bad. The first part of the review will be for the 360 / PS3 versions. Ill have a separate the Wii review from the rest.
Now, right off I’ll get to the bad stuff. There were only a few actual problems that I had with it, but it wasn’t anything that should put someone off from checking the game out. The biggest complaint that I have seen on other reviews, message boards, etc. is that the game is too short. The first round thru I played the campaign on normal and completed the story in 6-7 hours. Yes. That’s pretty short. HOWEVER. This was such a cinematic experience that I think it would have taken away from the game if it was too much longer. Aykroyd was actually quoted in a few interviews as saying that if you are a fan of the movies that this will be like the third installment with you as the main role. If you’re trying to get a whole lot more out of everything, then you will wind up making dialog, situations, objectives seemed kind of forced and thrown in. If you want to add a couple of hours on to the campaign time, kick the difficulty up. It will definitely take you a little longer. Along with the time problem I only found two others. There were several situations where the characters were conversing in-game (not in the cinematic cutscenes) and weren’t throwing their lines out when they should. Instead there was a few second delay, and then the appropriate line. I didn’t notice it more than 2 or 3 times. The last problem I found is that there was a time or two where the AI characters would “forget” what they were doing. You would have to backtrack a little in the level to get them to respond and to get them back on point. Apart from that I didn’t find any problems.

Now for the good! The game has completely taken over my life. The campaign was a blast. Like I mentioned before, for some of the fans it will be like a third movie, and it was for me. I laughed, I cried, I busted ghosts. Ok, not so much cried. Everything about the game was able to just draw me in and make me forget about everything else. They were able to nail the sounds and visual effects of the equipment, which was one of my main worries. The extra items on the proton pack also actually wound up being interesting. I didn’t really want anything past the original proton pack, but after playing around with all of the tools, Ive come to enjoy them and use a couple a lot more than I though I ever would. It gave the game a more sci-fi feel.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. “Im not an obsessive fan like you are. Is this game for me?” If you have seen and enjoyed the films then, yes. Yes it is. If you haven’t seen either of the original films, then you’re either 6, or you’re Amish. Either way, get out. I jest. This game is for everyone tho. The previously mentioned cinematic value of the film is reason enough to play thru it. The simple controls make it easy to pick up and go with, but it still takes some time and coordination to bust like a pro. Even the pretend friends that you have over to watch you play will enjoy themselves while watching and lol-ing at the script.

As far as the Wii version goes, its about what you would expect. Its almost like a parahprased and more animated version of the other next gen console versions. The controls are what you would expect. Point and trigger to bust, analog stick on the nunchuck to move, yadda yadda. You even get to make the trap throw motion to throw out the trap. Nerd boner. I still wasn’t able to completely enjoy the game but really only due to the fact that the wiimote / sensor combination still isn’t perfect, so there were ghosts that got away.  Not a huge deal, but it definitely frustrated me a few time. This has a little bit bigger learning curve than the other systems, its still a fun play regardless of how old you are or how much GB experience you have.

There you go. There’s 7 hours of your life wasted on a review for the game when you could be playing the game. This is a must have.

Ghostbusters: The Video Game (360 / PS3) : 9/10

Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Wii) : 7/10

And on a completely unrelated note, yours truly was selected for the next phase of the Ghostbustersishiring.com search for who should be the next Ghostbuster. Booyah.

So the next game in the Tom Clancy family is a flight sim? OK … I guess. I had heard several people rave about how good this game was, so I finally broke down and checked it out. The game itself is not too bad at all. All of the visuals are pleasing, and if you are slightly afraid of heights like yours truly, then it will even give you a touch of vertigo. The controls are incredibly straight forward, no crazy combinations of buttons to swap to missiles, lock on targets, etc. etc. Everything on the technical side of this game was fairly impressive. The problems I had with it were the playability and the replay value. After half an hour of playing, I became fairly bored with the whole “shoot the planes, shoot the ground forces, repeat.” deal. I should have seen it coming since that’s pretty much all of the options you have in a flight sim, but I didn’t, so take that. I was also playing with a controller, which took some of the fun out of it. Playing with a flight stick would definitely make it a little bit more fun and tolerable, but id rather not drop 75 dollars on an accessory for a game that I’m only playing for 30 minutes at a time. It’s just not my boat. If you’re a flight sim fan, I would suggest picking this game up with the flight stick. If not, either just play the demo a few times and get your fill, or just rent it.

“…they go up.”

Earlier this week, GameTrailers.com release the opening cinematic for Ghostbusters: The Video Game on their site. While its not really anything we haven’t seen before, its still entertaining to see all of it coming together.

Go check it out!

Ghostbusters: TVG  Cinematic

Also, don’t forget that the 25th Anniversary version of the first Ghostbusters movie releases on Blu-Ray on June 16th! Go reserve it now!!!

Ghostbusters Blu-Ray

Ghostbusters: TVG on XBOX360

Ghostbusters: TVG on PS3

Anyone that played Resident Evil 5 will be familiar with both the controls and the inventory system. The inventory is tweaked a little, making each item take up only one spot, but apart from that everything including game play is still the same running, knifing, picking up items game that you played on GameCube and PS2. Overall it’s a win / lose situation. You don’t have anything new to experience, but that also means nothing new to come in and slap your experience in the nuts a few times and ruin your good time. Its more of the same, and you lucked up because when you’re talking about Resident Evil, the same is all you really need, and really all you came for.

The visuals and audio for the game are still just as badass as before. If you’re playing on a larger TV, a high def TV, or a combination of the two, get ready to almost vomit your balls off several times. The zombies and other enemies are a little less scary than they were in the past games, but are by far some of the grossest things I’ve killed lately. All kinds of goop everywhere, crazy flying things exploding out of people, and even a few times where you will forget you’re playing a zombie game and think you’re watching tentacle porn without the penetration.

Now for the multiplayer aspect. The game still has the option to play by yourself (you’re still with a partner, just AI controlled), but the main push for the game was the co-op. As long as you like the person you’re playing with you will still have just as much fun. You just have to keep your cool when the other person picks up your machine gun ammo, even tho you’re completely out and have upgraded your MG to the max…sigh. Apart from that, I didn’t really notice a noticeable change in game play except that I was talking more, and had a little extra time to reload while my partner was still squeezing off shells.

So there you go. Game play, sound, visuals, multiplayer…check, check, check and check. There were less than a handful of things that I didn’t like about the game. Zombies on motorcycles? No thanks. Zombies came to be from some sort of chemical that was going to be used for a weapon? I don’t want it. Apart from those and maybe one or two other things that were too small for me to even remember, I absolutely loved the whole game.

This game gets a 9.5 out of 10.

BUY THE SUPERIOR XBOX 360 VERSION HERE !!!

BUY THE “INFERIOR, BUT NOT REALLY” VERSION HERE !!!

10 / 10. I’m getting it out of the way right now. The entire game has blown me away. They have brought the series back from the land of 37 move combos, 9 million characters that came out of nowhere, and titles that are longer than the wait for the Ghostbusters release on Blu-Ray (its been right at a decade since a Street Fighter game has had a numbered title).

Game play is back to the basics. Heavy, medium and light punches and kicks, and your special moves. Its back to the same jump kicks, haymakers and jabs that you used to destroy cars for bonus points in Street Fighter II. The biggest combo you’re going to land will be when you land 2 or 3 quick punches or kicks and then immediately chain it into one of the super moves. The super moves themselves are done tastefully. You have a gauge that fills when you get hit, and a gauge that fills when you do the hitting. Once either one is filled, its time to let loose with a devastatingly badass special attack that will 9 times out of ten leave you and whoever else letting out a huge “OOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHH”. Also, while the characters and levels are rendered in 3D, there is no 3D motion involved. There is none of the sidestepping attacks and enemies like there have been in so many fighters over the past several years. You can avoid by moving backward, jumping over them, or my personal favorite, hitting them first.

The rest of the game is done just as well as the game play. The visuals are INCREDIBLE. Try finishing a round off with one of your super moves, and you will see exactly what I mean. The characters and environments are done with a style that keeps them looking hand drawn and just plain mean. Each level is almost a clone of its original version from SFII, with a few tweaks here and there. Along with the slice of graphics heaven you get, your ears will also be pleased. You get updated versions of the same yells and attack catch phrases that you grew so used to screaming while hitting your friends at school. Oh, nostalgia, how I love thee.

I only had one real problem with the game, but it wasn’t big enough for me to actually count off of the rating. There were NO BONUS STAGES!! I didn’t get to break a brick wall or beat the hell out of a car! If I could have had those then the rating would be a solid 20 / 10 instead of the already perfect score I’ve given it.

Enough talk. Go buy, rent or borrow this game. Do what you have to, but this game HAS to be played.

Street Fighter IV : 10 / 10

BUY IT HERE ON PS3 !!!

BUY IT HERE ON 360 !!!