Interactive storytelling was the goal developer Quantic Dream sought to create, and Heavy Rain is the product they and Sony have pushed oh so hard to make. Surprisingly, they fail in so many ways, while still making a unique and noteworthy title that many will undoubtedly enjoy, and many will definitely hate. (more...)
And she’s buying a stairwell to hell
Turning to one of the greatest pieces of literature was a bold move by EA and Visceral Games, the developers that brought us Dead Space. Choosing Dante’s Inferno, according to the developers, was a no brainer: the poem lays out in plain English all of the levels, bosses, and characters. All that really needed to be done was some story tweaking, a combat solution, and creating the world.
Does Dante’s Inferno do the poem justice? (more...)
Delayed into this year, Mass Effect 2 was one of my personal “I can’t wait to play” games. I was lucky enough to play the first hour, have several interviews about the game, and amazingly scored a copy from a local Gamestop, when the release date is so soon. After sitting down with it over the weekend and taking in the new, redefined universe, I can safely say that you will love this game. (more...)
If you change the W to a B for the word "Witch", you will find this review more comical, and entirely true.
So take this witch Bayonetta. She's got guns for heels, a faux British accent, she's voluptuous (and titular, according to every journalist who's seen her. WE GOT THE PUN IN 08!), and her hair plays the role of clothes and ultimate weapon. Besides the complete seductive nature of this playful and fairly tall witch, what's to like? Fast paced Japanese-style hack and slash gameplay.
Darksiders may be the most intriguing title released this year, even this early on. It combines classic action-adventure style gameplay with an exceptional story and dialog, all while molding it for today's audience. True, such a feat is gargantuan, and developer Vigil Games didn't hit all the notes they wished to play. Nevertheless, Darksides was a pleasure to play.
It was a pleasure for several reasons, most importantly because it's perhaps the most wonderfully written game of it's genre, at least in this generation. Making a comic-book plot out of the Four Horsemen noted in the Bible's book of Revelations, we play as War, a generic yet humble and intelligent hero, two traits rarely seen in today's protagonists.
DiRT 2 is a different kind of racing experience. It's just plain fun. I loved the original DiRT when I played it on my Xbox 360, and this just adds to my DiRT love.
DiRT 2 singleplayer is divided up into three main modes: World Tour, Arcade Mode, and Challenge Mode. In DiRT 2, the World Tour mode challenges players to take part in four different tours, each filled with many races in varying locals. While I found this to be fun, it seems as if it progressed much too quickly and is easily finishable in a small amount of time. The Arcade Mode gives players three main options: Single Race, Championship, and Time Trial. All of these modes pit the player against other CPU racers at any of the 9 countries that races take place in.
The platformer is becoming a lost art, but thanks to developer Frozenbyte, my faith in the genre has been restored. Their latest creation, Trine, is a side-scrolling masterpiece that combines the characteristics of a great puzzler with the nostalgic, yet modern, elements of a contemporary platformer. Simply put, Trine is the most beautiful side-scoller I have ever seen.
To be honest, I wasn't going to buy Pixel Junk Shooter, I have always been a fan of Pixel Junk owning Monsters and playing Eden extensively, but for some reason the E3 videos didn't really catch my eye. However after reading more about it I decided to purchase it and have never looked back, Shooter may very well be one of the best games on the Playstation store.
Famitsu, notorious for giving Dragon Quest IX, Bayonetta, and New Super Mario Bros. Wii perfect scores, evidently have not given Final Fantasy XIII a perfect 40/40. The magazine has four editors provide a 1-10 score for a game. Three writers gave the new Final Fantasy 10, but one gave it 9, claiming that up until halfway through the game, the story was pretty linear and that it didn't offer any new "gimmicks" in terms of storytelling. The magazine applauded the game's beautiful CG cutscenes and gameplay.
After attempting the first game, my experience with the franchise was not good. At all. However, when a PSP game came out, I decided to give it a second chance and well, I was happy I did. Bloodlines, despite its faults, is another good PSP game to add to the library despite what other reviews may think.
BNG Crew
