Friday, February 25, 2011

Bulletstorm

Gameplay:
Bulletstorm is very unique and different than any other FPS. Now Epic games is the creator of Bulletstorm, therefore, it is running on the Unreal Engine and is very similar to the Unreal series. What makes this game different from the Unreal games is the fact that you "kill with skill". What I mean by that is if you kill an enemy with a skill kill you get points for it. In the campaign there is an in game currency which allows you to buy ammo, charges, ammo upgrades and charge upgrades. Charges are basically ammo for the guns secondary shots. For example if you have the shotgun and press "RB" opposite button of the leash you are able to switch to the shotguns secondary shot with unleashes a supersonic wave which vaporizes enemies. There are over 130 different kinds of kills which will earn you more points. Each gun has it's own list of skill kills including environmental skill kills which can all be accessed pressing the "back" or "select" button. The game can be fairly short depending on the difficulty you are on. I beat the game on normal in about 5 hours.If you play on a harder difficulty and try to find all of the news bots and whiskey bottles then it will take you much longer. During the campaign there are some pretty cool quick time events. If you hit the correct buttons, depending on your reaction time, you are rewarded with a large amount of points, but if you do not hit the buttons at all your action will still process but you will not be rewarded with any points.

Right in the face!

Now the only problems I had with the game was that most of the vulgar language was completely unnecessary. The language did not bother me at all, it was just too much and overused at some points in the game. Some of it is hilarious and used at just the right moments but most of it is overused. Another problem I had was it was a little bit to short and some stuff just happened was to fast. The story is good but stuff happened to quickly and the game was too short.

Overall:
9/10

Graphics:
The game like I said earlier is run on the Unreal Engine as the graphics are very well done and the environments are absolutely breathtaking especially when you are walking up towards the water dam. The visual effects in the environment are well done as well as in the water effects, background environment (ie. nature, animals, etc...). I also really enjoyed the visuals of the guns. When you use the big guns it actually looks like it hurts. When you activate the guns secondary your screen and controller will vibrate giving you that feeling of power. The enemies are really cool as well and are all very unique. The animations, art style, and animations as well as special effects are nicely one as well.

Damn he's big!

The only bad thing I can think of is during some of the cut scenes where Trishka's hair would randomly flip in the air which catches you off guard. Some of the cut scenes also have a lag or drop in FPS issue where it rarely gets choppy. Also there is a rare and not noticeable cut scene where the animations look cheesy.

Overall:
9/10

Audio:
The audio in Bulletstorm is exceptional and is very well done. Lets start with the music. What I really enjoyed about the music is that it gets your adrenaline pumped especially when your in a big battle or big moment in the game. When these events happen in the game the music will pick up and has a metal sound to it where it is fast paced just to give you that "Epic" feeling.

The voice acting in Bulletstorm is very well done as well. Gray which is the main character almost sounds like Jack Nicholas. Not much to say about the voice acting but that it sounds great. The enemies don't really talk but some of their screams sound scary as in when they yell or chase after you....RUN!!! Even the sound of the enemies exploding or being ripped to shreds sounds gruesome yet is very satisfying because you killed them "with skill".

Overall:
9/10

Conclusion:
Overall Bulletstorm is a must get game but please consider the ESRB rating, M for Mature. I say this because this game has already gotten enough of the media on their backs because parents cannot control their kids. Bulletstorm is a very fast paced and wild game. The kills are gruesome, fun, funny, and very satisfying. When you beat the game make sure you go and beat Echo Mode as well. If you are a fan of the Unreal games or even an over the top FPS fan, go and please pick this game up.



Overall Game Rating:
9/10

Monday, February 7, 2011

World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Review

Gameplay:
Cataclysm brings two brand new races to the game. The two new races are the Worgen and the Goblins. Worgens are alliance and the Goblins are for the horde. As a Worgen you will start defending the city of Gilneas from the Forsaken led by Sylvanas. When you reach level 6 and do a certain quest you will be able to turn into a worgen, when the area is complete you can switch between worgen and human whenever you want but as soon as you enter combat you automatically turn into a worgen. Goblins also have a new starting area as well. You start off on some islands and is a great addition to the lore. A new secondary profession has been added as well known as Archaeology. You go around azeroth surveying certain areas to find hidden artifacts. The higher it is the more rewarding the artifacts become. The new instances are very well done, they provide a nice challenge unlike the previous expansion. You will be able to use new currency to buy your level 85 gear. This currency is called Justice points from heroics and Valor points from the raids. The quests are very fun with a lot of cut scenes. Some of the cut scenes are a little to much. For example in Uldum a level 83 zone after every couple of quests there is a new cut scene, can be annoying but most of them are full of cool information. New skills have been added obviously for every class, and the talent trees also got a new make over as well. The raiding experience is great again like back in Burning Crusade. The boss fights are unique and provide a nice challenge for the core players. The raids are Blackwing Descent, Bastion of Twilight, Throne of Four Winds, and Baradin Hold. There are many new additions to the game where you can now fly in azeroth, all of azeroth has been revamped, and the quests have all been revamped as well with new ones added to each area. Each dungeon has quests at every entrance with some nice XP, money and usually loot. Cataclysm is a fantastic addition to the World of Warcraft series and looks very promising in the future patches. A recommended purchase for any MMO and WoW fan.

Overall: 9.5/10

Graphics:
The updated visuals came out as soon as the pre patch came out. This all started with the water effects and then the sunlight effects as well as the shadow effects. The water got the biggest update in Cataclysm. The water now looks very realistic and interacts with your character. What I mean by that is when you walk in the water the ripples move to your character. The sun shines on the water and you are able to see your reflection in the water as well. They updated the shadow effects to not be a little dot underneath your character but an actual shadow of your body. When you enter the Cataclysm areas you can instantly tell the visuals have been update for those areas.

Overall: 9.5/10 

Audio:
As soon as the pre patch to Cataclysm came out all of azeroth changed as well as the in game music. Each zone got a revamp on the environment and the music. The most noticeable changes are in areas like Stranglethorn Vale. Personally I find the music to be much better, and each area sounds unique. Most places still have the classic music in it but with new music and sounds added to it. Overall it provides a new and exciting experience.

Overall: 10/10 

Overall Rating: 9.5/10

Dragonball Raging Blast 2 Review

Time for another review! Sorry for the lack of reviews, been extremely busy. Time to get on track! Anyway this is a review for Dragonball Raging Blast 2. Enjoy!

Gameplay:
Well where to get started. DBRB2 is a very enjoyable game when it comes to fighting games. I personally am a huge DBZ fan so obviously I'm going to love that game, but I will base this review on a non fan perspective. DBRB2 has a wide variety of characters to play, more than the first one. in DBRB2 there is no story mode. The mode is known as "Galaxy Mode" which is really neat in my opinion. Every single character in DBRB2 has their very own galaxy you can play. Each galaxy has about 5+ fights. You can rush through the game is just beat each characters main missions in their galaxy or try for 100% completion of every characters galaxy. If you rush through it, it will still take some time to beat all of them. When you complete certain people's galaxies you unlock other character galaxies as well as hidden roads. What I mean by hidden roads is say you beat the last mission for Goku, you will unlock an alternate mission for gohan, teen gohan, etc... It basically means if a characters galaxy is linked with another characters then you will unlock sub mission known as "hidden roads". Now there are a TON of unlockables in this game. From concept art, to characters, to soundtracks, moves, costumes, accessories, voice clips, etc... There are A LOT! One of the new modes they added is called "Battle Zone". It's basically missions and when you have beaten the battle zones then you unlock ultimate zones which are much harder fights. The online play is better, a lot less lag and a lot of titles to unlock. Yes there are a lot of move spammers online like the other previous games. But what fighting game does not have those type of people? Overall this is a good fighting game to play with your buds or alone beating galaxy mode. The controls are really good and the combos are fun. They also added a raging blast mode, when you fully charge up with your ki press "RB" on the 360 controller and you will enter raging soul. This basically makes you faster, stronger and pull of longer combos. 

Overall: 8/10

Graphics:
The graphics are much better compared to the first one. The auras and detailing on the environment and characters are much better than DBRB1. They are very pretty. The super attacks look much better as well such as the Kamehameha. Overall all of the graphics got a nice upgrade.

Overall: 9/10

Audio:
The music choice is very well done in this game. Many new soundtracks have been added and are all pretty decent. The voice acting is kind of off on some of the characters. The voices for Jeice, Frieza, and kid gohan are all different voice actors and sound terrible. The other characters are great. The combat audio is good as well, when you hit with a big attack or big combo it sounds like it hurts.

Overall: 8/10

Overall Rating: 8.5/10