Tag Archive: ray carsillo


Hands-On: SimCity

Filed under: EGM (Electronic Gaming Monthly), Written — Leave a comment
November 20, 2012

Hello City

I admit to never being much of a PC gamer growing up. However, there were always a few titles that crept their way onto my harddrives, and possibly because of rarely using my PC for gaming purposes as a child, those few games hold extra special memories. One of those games was SimCity 2000, where I would actually stay after school in middle school and head down to the computer lab to try to build more and more fantastical cities. As subsequent SimCity titles were then released, it remained one of my favorite game franchises. So, when it was then officially announced at GDC this year that the first new entry into the series in six years would be coming in 2013, I admit a huge smile crossed my face.

Flash forward to a very recent EA event where I was able to get several hours of hands-on time with this title that intends to re-launch this classic franchise and really pick it apart. Mind you, the version I saw still had a lot of work to be done, but if you’re as much of a fan of SimCity as I am, then I think a lot more people are going to be smiling as well comes early March.

You start by obviously selecting a swath of land and building roads outward from the main highway to where you would like to lay the foundation for your, hopefully, soon-to-be megalopolis. And as soon as you wish to start developing this new city, you realize that more so than ever before, every decision you make is a major one and it affects the world around you in ways that you’ll need to see to truly start understanding.

After cutting out a square of roads and designating land for houses, factories, and retail centers, I knew I would need a few basic necessities for my starting population to survive and the first necessity I wished to tackle was power. I had to choose between coal or wind. Now, not only would coal pollute the city I had just founded, but if my initial land choice wasn’t rich in minerals, I might be forced into wind. The same problem could arise if my burgeoning city was at a low altitude and didn’t get very many gusts, I might be forced into coal, showing how even where you start to set up your city is important.

But if neither of these were an option, the new kink in the game is the social aspects where if I had some friends who had a surplus of power in a nearby city, I could trade them resources for access to their electrical grid, at least until I could afford nuclear power or some other option. This option was demoed for us, but wasn’t as clear to me in my game, but it also could have been because we are on a closed server and there really wasn’t anyone for me to trade with to really test it out.

All this then continues as you expand ever outward in the hopes of bringing in more people to your city to bring in more cash. In turn, more people then need more necessities ranging from very basic things like water and power, to trash collection, sewage disposal, police and fire departments, and much, much more as you tackle the problems your populous encounters. And there were a lot more problems than you might think as there were also new side missions that featured some more vocal members of your community. These civic-minded folks could bring dilemmas to your attention and as mayor, should your choose to intercede as all choices have consequences, could earn extra cash for your budget.

With all this serious stuff going on like managing power grids via the amazing layered graphics provided by the GlassBox engine or watching your people dynamically cause new problems for you to solve, it wouldn’t be a SimCity game if there wasn’t some zany fun stuff either. Beyond being able to transform your city in various ways from that of a potential gambling den to the ideal slice of American suburbia and more, there is also the power to destroy that which you create. Yes, you don’t have to just bulldoze what you’ve built to start over if you so choose, you can do it in glorious fashion via divine acts. Earthquakes, tornadoes, meteor showers, UFO invasions, and more can have you wreck all that you have created in the hopes of re-building it better, or just having some fun with wonton destruction.

After carving out a small, but sustainable little paradise for myself in the mountains, my time with the new SimCity ran out. It wasn’t nearly as long as I would’ve hoped, and the build was somewhat early so it still had a few bugs, but overall a lot of great memories were getting ready to possibly be supplanted by some new ones as this game is shaping up to be special for a whole new generation of gamers and I can’t wait to get my hands on the final product come March.

Tags: , , , ,
Comment

EGM Review: Forza Horizon

Filed under: EGM (Electronic Gaming Monthly), Written — Leave a comment

Peace, Love, Horizon

Forza has been one of the premier racing series for quite a while; the franchise has constantly provided top-tier physics, an impressive lineup of elite cars, and a variety of options to help personalize your driving experience. The setting of the game, however, has never really strayed from enclosed tracks and menus asking you where you wanted to race that day.

Enter Forza Horizon, the first open-world entry for the franchise. Horizon is set in a semi-fictional slice of Colorado where many real-world roads from the Centennial State cut together to form a twisting, turning spattering of insane driving roads along beautiful mountains, a rural expanse, and a suburban outcropping. So, what’s the reason all the in-game racers have gathered at this perfect storm of road racing? The (fictional) Horizon Festival, the Woodstock of car racing. And, naturally, you play as the young, up-and-coming nobody looking to make a name for himself and be crowned king of the festival.

Starting off in a crappy 1995 Volkswagen Corrado, you’ll race in beginner events in the hopes of earning credits to not only obtain better cars, but also to work your way up to stiffer competition until you’re finally ready to take on the champion in standard racing game fashion. Unlike previous entries in the series, Horizon offers many other ways to earn extra credits: illegal street races, promotional events where you take on unconventional vehicles like hot-air balloons or biplanes, and even racing for slips against the game’s seven bosses. In total, you’re looking at hours upon hours of racing outside of the 70 festival-sponsored races in single-player alone.

Along with the robust racing choices and the game’s main plot, there’s also the underlying quest to become popular. Yes, it does sound like something you may have had to do in high school, but in Horizon, this extra quest to do tricks or cause destruction in the environment to earn popularity points helps keep the long drive between some races entertaining as you look to move up from 250th amongst the racing fans to becoming the number one driver in their hearts. And performing enough of these tricks also adds to the in-game achievements where you can unlock more credits by performing specific stunts and maneuvers.

These new elements are all well and good, and when you jump into Forza Horizon to start, this new take feels original and exciting with the atmosphere of the festival, the radio DJ’s script, and the phenomenal soundtrack adding even more life to the scenes before you. But, as you get deeper into the game, if you’ve played any racing series besides Forza, you start to realize you’ve actually seen many of these tricks before.

Forza still does what it is known for very well in terms of physics, car choices, and customizing the driving experience. And the plot and quest for popularity are very enjoyable. But as an open-world game ,it still needs a bit of work, and the minor annoyances start to add up. The fact that the game doesn’t present a clear difference between what’s breakable in the environment and what isn’t particularly grinded my gears. I could smash up some fences but not others, and I’d be able to drive through some foliage only to be stopped suddenly by a single piece of lone shrubbery in the wilderness.

Another aspect of the open world that bothered me, especially later in the game, was how the area outside of the main festival felt like a ghost town. I loved how expansive and detailed the world was, but it barely felt like there was anyone else in it; much of the civilian traffic felt more like more random obstacles than actual people in the world. Many of the tracks also start to repeat themselves toward the end of the game, which was puzzling, considering how much unused open road there was. I also would have loved some character customization or at least some depth to the character you’re forced to play as. If I got called the “Mystery Driver” one more time, I was just gonna drive off a cliff!

All in all, Forza Horizon is a fine new take on this venerable racing series. It has a few quirks that come with the franchise’s first attempt at an open-world game, but at its heart, it’s still a solid Forza title. I can see Horizon being the start of a continuing bold new direction for the franchise, and with a bit more polish, I can even see it becoming the Forza standard. If you’re a Forza fan, this is definitely worth checking out.

SUMMARY: A different turn for the Forza folks maintains the high level of racing the series is known for, but their first open-world attempt falls flat in some ways.

  • THE GOOD: Same tight Forza physics and handling.
  • THE BAD: The open world feels empty and hollow.
  • THE UGLY: Starting the game off with a Volkswagen Corrado.

SCORE: 8.5

Forza Horizon is an Xbox 360 exclusive.  

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Comment

EGM Review: 007 Legends

Filed under: EGM (Electronic Gaming Monthly), Written — Leave a comment

Operation Game Slam

He is the world’s most notorious super spy. Men want to be him and women want to be with him. And after 50 years of books, movies, and games being set in his universe, the folks at Activision and Eurocom thought they should get in on his golden anniversary by giving us a game that lets us relive some of his greatest adventures while also setting up his upcoming movie romp, Skyfall.

Starting with Goldfinger and working its way through On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, License to Kill, Die Another Day, and finally Moonraker, the game gives us a brief glimpse at definitive movies of all the men to have played Bond before current actor Daniel Craig. Somewhere along the lines though, someone decided to remove the classic actors from these great movies and insert Craig’s likeness with a pitiful replacement voice in their place as the developers tried to tie together a very loose narrative about Bond’s history.

And unless you are the most diehard of Bond fans you may have trouble understanding just what is going on around you as this plot fails to set any sort of a stage around you. If you’ve never seen Goldfinger, you might miss out on why Auric Goldfinger, originally played by Gert Frobe and whose likeness returns from the grave, but his voice is done by the same shmuck who replaces Daniel Craig’s, wants to irradiate the USA’s supply of gold at Fort Knox. Or just who exactly is Ernst Starvro Blofeld as SPECTRE is never even mentioned throughout the entirety of the On Her Majesty’s Secret Service missions or why Theresa Draco is so damn important to James.

However, there is a perfectly logical reason why it may be easy for you to miss these important plot details. You’ll be too busy writhing in pain as you try to look past the last generation quality visuals to pay any attention to the actual dialogue. Although many of the environments have been re-imagined in order to better suit a modern vibe, the lack of detail in many instances makes the levels feel like lifeless, bland looking shells. When you combine this with some of the worst ragdoll physics I’ve ever seen in a first-person shooter and quite honestly it doesn’t even look like Eurocom tried to do Bond justice.

But even worse than poor visuals and story is that the game play is damn near atrocious. Exceedingly boring and mundane, you might wish you could turn your Walther P99 back on your own head at points. The boss battles have been trivialized into sloppy quicktime events, the stealth aspects are pitifully frustrating as you can’t even drag dead bodies into corners and are far too often discovered for it, and the guns are poorly balanced where it often takes as many as seven bullets to the torso to down enemies who are not wearing any sort of body armor.

And aside from poor visuals, game play, and plot, the game is also ridiculously short. The entire single player campaign is only five to six hours long as there are only so many scenes you can take from each movie and turn into a video game level. And even with the promised free Skyfall missions DLC, I don’t see them adding enough value nearly a month after the game’s release to be worth a $60 purchase. With Activision’s history of spoiling movies though in their games (see The Amazing Spider-Man game from earlier in the summer), it’s surprising they didn’t just include the levels with the disc anyway, or wait to release the disc for another few weeks.

There are a few aspects of the game that weren’t complete wastes of time however. The challenges mode, giving you special objectives and win conditions for most of the single player game’s levels, offered some difficulty and replay value as the levels were too boring on their own for the most part. Also, the versus multiplayer and its corresponding modes, although they were a carbon copy of last year’s Goldeneye 007: Reloaded with just the current game’s character skins, worked well enough. The remixed music of the classic movie themes was also well done, but the complete absence of the classic James Bond theme is unforgivable.

All in all, there is nothing legendary about 007 Legends. In fact, it doesn’t even quantify itself as average. If you are a James Bond fan and are thinking about getting this game, you should just re-watch the corresponding movies instead. You’ll get far more enjoyment from them and they will also take up far more of your time.

SUMMARY: For something that was supposed to celebrate 50 years of the world’s favorite super spy, it sure seemed more like a slap in the face. Poor visuals, bland game play, and a generic multiplayer seem to have become the gaming standard for 007 with Legends just being the latest example.

  • THE GOOD: Bringing together great moments from Bond history on one disc
  • THE BAD: Looking like an N64 game while doing it
  • THE UGLY: The voice actor playing Gert Frobe in the Goldfinger missions

SCORE: 3.0

007 Legends is available on Xbox 360, PS3, and PC. Primary version reviewed was for Xbox 360.   

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Comment

EGM Review: The Walking Dead: Episode 4: Around Every Corner

Filed under: EGM (Electronic Gaming Monthly), Written — Leave a comment
October 20, 2012

Decisions, decisions…

It’s not easy living in a world plagued by the zombie apocalypse, but Lee, Clementine, and whomever else you’ve saved up to this point in Telltale’s The Walking Dead are making the best of it as they continue to carry out their plan to get out of Georgia by boat and hopefully find a place they can start anew. But when they finally arrive in Savannah in Episode 4: Around Every Corner, their lives go from bad to worse as they now have a very live stalker following their every move with his eye on Clementine. All the while, the gang must uncover and then deal with a dark Savannah secret. Soon, it’s evident to Lee, Clem, and the rest of the group that the live humans aren’t as bad as the undead ones…they’re worse.

By now, fans of the first three episodes of The Walking Dead should instantly recognize the formula for how things work as Lee and the crew scavenge for whatever they can to keep surviving. Still, that doesn’t mean that the story has lost any of the qualities that have made it the achievement in game storytelling it is, and this new episode will suck you in just as easily as the others as new problems arise and require…inventive solutions. Lee and Clementine definitely have their work cut out for them this time, as the action ramps up significantly when desperate times begin to call for desperate measures.

The added action sequences also leave a few more lulls in the pacing, but rest assured, folks—these quieter moments are just as critical as Lee grabbing a shotgun to carve a path through a horde of walkers. The added drama is palpable, as it’s clear Episode 4  is all about setting up the series’ epic conclusion series in Episode 5. Although it may at first seem like a come down from the insane emotional highs of the past episode, you can bet that the groundwork laid out in this section of the story will result in a payoff that makes all the work you’ve put in so far well worth it.

The game is still mostly a point and click adventure, although there are a few more action sequences that’ll put your trigger finger to the test this time around. Aside from those moments though, the star here is really the story, especially with regard to Clementine. As she’s matured more and more with each new episode, she’s slowly become one of the most enjoyable characters I’ve ever seen in a game. The fact that you actually develop affection for this little girl you’ve been trying to protect shows just how well thought out and deeply written this story is.

When this episode concluded with the most epic cliffhanger yet, I actually stood up and clapped. Sure, there are a couple of glitches, an occasional minor plot hole, and the annoying fact that the button prompts break Zombie Media Rule #1 and explicitly label the Walkers as “Zombies,”but overall, this is one of the best written video game works I’ve ever seen. I cannot recommend this series more highly to anyone who enjoys good drama, zombies, and the mayhem they cause. If you’ve managed to miss out so far, go back and download Episodes 1-3 and get to work. You won’t regret it.

SUMMARY: The Walking Dead: Episode 4: Around Every Corner continues the landmark storytelling of the first three episodes as the situation takes a drastic turn in order to ramp up for the final episode. Fans will not be disappointed.

  • THE GOOD: Maintains the tension and epic consequences of the first three episodes.
  • THE BAD: A couple of minor glitches and plot holes.
  • THE UGLY: A barricade made of zombie flesh.

SCORE: 9.0

The Walking Dead: Episode 4: Around Every Corner is available on XBLA (Xbox 360), PS3 (PSN), and PC. Primary version reviewed was for XBLA. 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Comment

EGM Review: Marvel vs Capcom Origins

Filed under: EGM (Electronic Gaming Monthly), Written — Leave a comment

Clash of the Classics

When I was just a boy, my friends and I would argue for hours on end on the playground about what superheroes would win in an imaginary fight when pitted against each other in all different kinds of wacky combinations. We didn’t just mix up teams from a particular universe, but came up with all kinds of scenarios that put our favorites against all manner of pop culture heroes and heroines. So, when games like Marvel Super Heroes and Marvel vs Capcom breathed even more life into these conversations, you can easily imagine why we were hooked.

Flash-forward nearly two decades, and these games have led to the production of one of the most successful and beloved fighting game franchises there is. Because of this, Capcom wanted to make sure that not only us older games didn’t forget our roots, but also show a new generation the foundations of what set us on our hypercombo-ing path.

Marvel vs Capcom Origins is no ordinary old-school compilation, though. Included with these two original games—which have also had some HD graphic upgrades—are 8-player online lobbies with spectator modes, replay saving, dynamic challenges that unlock levels, and points you can spend on unlockables like characters that were hidden in the originals, end movies, or concept art.

The best part of the dynamic challenges and unlocks, though, may be that they give both games an unprecedented amount of replayability. Plus, if you’re as big a fan as I am, you will absolutely geek out over the sketches and stills of your favorites heroes and villains, as well as the chance to easily unlock the hidden characters that we originally had to input an impossibly long code for—Dr. Doom and Thanos in Marvel Super Heroes and Gold War Machine, Hyper Venom, Orange Hulk, and Shadow Lady in MvC.

Another nice aspect of the game is that everything that made these fighters unique in the first place is still there so you can relive the experience as if it were 1995 again and you were feeding quarters into an arcade cabinet under pink neon lights. The gem system of Marvel Super Heroes (inspired by the Infinity Gauntlet story from Marvel comics) still allows you to enhance your players temporarily with the powers of Space, Power, Time, Soul, Reality, or Mind, and MvC still gives you dozens of assist characters and the Duo Team Attack where you and your partner can combine your hyper combos into one truly devastating maneuver.

Unfortunately, in terms of gameplay, the games are a little too demanding at times, as players who are used to modern fighters will quickly see the age on these classics. Sometimes a little clunky and even a bit frustrating, both these games—but especially Marvel Super Heroes—can feel stiff, and the smooth combo chains you may be used to from Marvel vs Capcom 3 are much harder to string together and pull off in these titles. It’s not that you won’t be able to get the hang of these characters eventually and have fun in the process, but if you play modern fighters like MvC 3 religiously and then expect to be able to jump right into these games, you might be caught a bit off-guard by the stark differences.

When all is said and done, Marvel vs Capcom Origins hits enough of the right nostalgic notes to make it a more than worthwhile purchase for long time fans. I mean, the game even offers zoomed out, angled camera camera views designed to replicate the experience of playing on an old wooden cabinet. Younger fans might be a little frustrated with the less than silky smooth controls, but they should still play in order to truly appreciate how far we’ve come with fighting games. They’ll even likely start creating fun memories of their own once they adjust to the outdate feel. All in all, Origins is a fine compilation that’s more than worthy of a download.

SUMMARY: Marvel vs Capcom Origins does a fine job of staying true to the originals, while the addition of dynamic challenges provide a new layer of addictiveness that helps to overshadow how much these games have aged in the past two decades.

  • THE GOOD: New leveling up and variety of unlocks compliment classic game play well.
  • THE BAD: Games show their age at times.
  • THE UGLY: Far and away, it’s Shuma-Gorath.

SCORE: 9.0

Marvel vs Capcom Origins is available on XBLA (Xbox 360) and PS3 (PSN). Primary version reviewed was for XBLA.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Comment

The Sleeper Hold – Episode 13

Filed under: EGM (Electronic Gaming Monthly), Written — Leave a comment

CM Punk continues his unending quest for respect and not even Mr. McMahon would get in his way! All the details inside this week’s Sleeper Hold!

Main Plot Overview:

Monday Night RAW this week was one of the most adrenaline fueled, emotion driven episodes we had seen in quite some time, but that’s what happens when the Chairman of the Board is back in town. Yes, Mr. McMahon was present in Sacramento, CA, for his annual state of the WWE address. However, CM Punk would not let him finish since he felt that Vince McMahon, for the longest time, had been the most disrespectful one of all to Punk.

With a slap that no one would soon forget, Punk walked out of the ring laughing as Mr. McMahon writhed on the ground. But no one pushes Mr. McMahon around and gets away with it and with more venom and anger than we had seen probably in his entire feud with Stone Cold Steve Austin now more than a decade ago, McMahon said if Punk didn’t face him that night, he’d simply fire him. With an insane gleam in his eye, Punk gladly accepted.

And surprisingly, it was an interesting match. Heck, Vince put on a better match with Punk than John Cena has in half of the matches he’s had with Punk. At first, the WWE champ dominated the much older McMahon, but Vince doesn’t back down from a fight and when Punk thought his point had been made and turned his back, he made a vital error. The match then took on a somewhat old-school ECW vibe as Kendo sticks and announce tables soon became the theme of the match as the men battled and beat each other down. Finally though, Punk, with a pair of Kendo Sticks, wailed on Mr. McMahon’s back and it looked like he would be down for a while.

Then came Ryback.

Punk ran out of the ring though ‘like a scalded dog’ as JR so eloquently put it in his Oklahoma drawl, but there the injured, one armed John Cena came down to the ring and blindsided Punk, threw him into the ring, and Ryback got his last meal of the night. When he went to hit his finisher though, Punk wriggled out of his grasp and this time ran through the crowd. McMahon then drabbed the mic, his eye bloodied from the confrontation, and laid out an ultimatum for Punk. At Hell in a Cell he had two choices. Face John Cena for the WWE Championship. Or face Ryback for the WWE Championship.

Honestly, it’s clear that Cena is nowhere near 100% and that these Ryback interventions have been to try to build him up to Championship status in a short time. This ‘ultimatum’ is just another move by WWE to see how Cena heals after another week of rest and rehab. At this point though, I think Ryback versus Punk would make for a very interesting PPV match because Ryback is clearly a beast and the crowd loves him flaunting his power. Ryback would never come out victorious though because the ‘Punk is scared of Cena’ storylines are ripe for the picking once John is healthy again enough to continue his feud with CM Punk should Punk ‘choose’ Ryback.

Match of the Night:

There were some solid matches during this RAW. From Antonio Cesaro again dominating to Ryback being fed Epico and Primo and doing his maneuver on both men (yes, he put almost 500 lbs on his shoulders and walked around the ring carrying them). Of course, my favorite part of Epico and Primo is Rosa Mendes who seems to wear less and less now whenever she comes to the ring.

But no, these would not be our Match of the Night. In fact, hell no! As in Team Hell No versus Dolph Ziggler and Alberto Del Rio in a tag match was the winner. Kane and Daniel Bryan continued their winning ways after their odd mix of teamwork resulted in Kane choke slamming Dolph Ziggler (and Ziggler selling it very well as always) and getting the 1, 2, 3.

The best part of this match though was how it had a very old school tag team match feel with the heels dominating and isolating Daniel Bryan for a large chunk of the match before Kane got the hot tag and went crazy. And then we still saw glimpses of Team Hell No’s disfunction as the two would then tag each other in and out for the end of the match until finally Kane’s choke slam would prove to be the deciding factor. It was one of the better wrestled matches I’ve seen in a while and that’s a credit to all four combatants and it ended with a clean victory fitting of the faces that Kane and Daniel Bryan are becoming.

Promo of the Night:

I wanted to give this to possibly to Daniel Bryan and Kane arguing more backstage with special guest Larry King for when Daniel Bryan said that Kane looked like someone slapped him in the face with a Fruit Roll-Up, but one great line does not a promo make, no matter how funny it was.

No, and not really that surprisingly, it has to go to when CM Punk interrupted Vince during the State of the WWE address. It felt like they had wanted it to be more a Vince/Stone Cold promo of old, but Punk and McMahon went much darker and deeper than that and it felt more like the pipe bomb that Punk dropped a year ago as he started talking about how Vince held him back and didn’t know what to do with him. And then the slap was a great exclamation point as Punk then chastised those who cheered him because they were doing it only to be ironic. WWE has to be careful though because if they push Punk too hard with this heel arc, although he plays a great one, he’s getting dangerously close to ‘crazy Austin’ territory and all the work he’s done over the year could begin to unravel.

Shocker of the Night:

There really wasn’t much that was shocking on this episode of RAW beyond CM Punk, but in order to keep this from being dominated by Punk, I’m going to choose the Divas Championship match between Kaitlyn and Eve because it was actually well wrestled even if it was only a 5-minute match. Kaitlyn, still nursing her ‘injured’ ankle would finally cash in her Championship match as number one contender and dominated Eve for much of the match hitting some great maneuvers and even showing off some strength herself until said injured ankle gave way on an atomic drop.

Eve, ever the opportunist, would lock Kaitlyn into a painful looking submission maneuver that focused on the ankle (it looked like a cross between a figure four and an ankle lock) and Kaitlyn would have to tap out. But this was a rare women’s match that I enjoyed watching for the actual wrestling and not just the hot ladies in skimpy clothing. Definitely a shock to me.

Cheap Pop of the Night:

For some reason Larry King was on the show, promoting his new Hulu series I believe, and so a promo between him, Kofi Kingston and the Miz (looks like they’re finally going to give Kofi another singles push with a focus on the IC belt) erupted when the Miz demanded everyone sing him happy birthday.

Besides this though, there were two cheap pops in this segment. Larry King started it off by exclaiming his love for Sacramento and the Kofi did the same thing when he took the stage and the microphone. A good segment all around for Miz and Kofi as Kofi did some high-flying acrobatics off the stage and onto the Miz, but the pair of pops (which even the Miz pointed out) to get a rise out of the crowd for the pointlessness of Larry King was easily the Cheap Pop of the Night.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
Comment

EGM Review: Fable: The Journey

Filed under: EGM (Electronic Gaming Monthly), Written — Leave a comment

The longest journey begins with a single step

There are a lot of great Kinect games out there—exercise games, dancing games, even some iOS ports—but the hardcore audience is sorely underrepresented on the peripheral. Long have the hardcore waited for a game for the Kinect that could give them an experience similar to what they would get with a controller in terms of enjoyment. And I think, finally, they may have found one in Fable: The Journey.

Fable: The Journey is set 10 years after the end of Fable III. The hero of Fable III went missing a few years prior; Albion is in shambles because of it, as those who would prey on the weak have gone unchecked and an ancient evil has begun to sow it seeds once again. As chaos reigns in the cities of Albion, though, a group of nomads who skirt along the edges of the countryside avoid most of the insanity by keeping to themselves and taking care of each other. Here, among this group of wanderers, players take control of Gabriel, the slacker of this cabal with his head in the clouds who dreams of the days when there were still heroes. Little does he know that his dreams are about to become a reality…

After becoming separated from the caravan when he oversleeps, Gabriel soon finds himself on the most epic of journeys in order to get back to the only family he’s ever really known. Shortly after he starts his trek, though, he picks up a certain blind hitchhiker along the way who reveals to him that the old age of heroes, where they were born, is dead and that a new age of heroes, where they are made, is about to begin.

The most impressive thing about this game—and this should please Fable fans tremendously—is the story. By adding a new take on the original three Fable games’ story, as Theresa tells things from her point of view along the way, you see now how they all tie together as the story progresses. This brings closure to the last few loose ends of those great tales while also setting the foundation for a brand-new epic down the line. With tremendous voice acting, a script that maintains a dark humor throughout, and a plot that’s more than worthy of the original trilogy, Fable: The Journey’s story will suck in fans of the franchise and won’t let them go.

A great story cannot cover up this game ‘s fatal flaw, though. Unfortunately, like the few other Kinect hardcore games, when you boil Fable: The Journey’s gameplay down to its foundations, it’s really just an on-rails arcade shooter that you control with your hands. You’re forcibly dragged through a large chunk of Albion on your cart, pulled by your lovable horse Seren, and it can understandably get tedious at times, especially when the humorous banter of Theresa and Gabriel dries up. There are some mini-games that break it up occasionally, but even these can become repetitive and after a while. All you really want to do is get as quickly as possible to the next area where you blast franchise mainstay bad guys likes Balverines, Hollow Men, and Hobbes, as well as a few new bad guys produced by the Corruption exclusively for this game.

Aside from the repetitiveness, though, this really is one of the more polished Kinect games out there. The sensor actually picks up your arms when you try to throw fireballs or perform any of the other spells Gabriel learns along his adventure, which, if you play with the Kinect with any sort of regularity, you know is a big accomplishment. There is also some replayability to the game with a full-blown arcade mode alongside the main campaign where you can play through certain segments of each level again and attempt to hit high scores and chain together combos. Combine all this with graphics that just might make this the best looking Fable game yet, and all I can is that if you’re a Fable fan with Kinect, The Journey is a must-have.

SUMMARY: A great story that Fable fans will absolutely eat up, but some long stretches of lonely road keep this from being an absolute must-have for every Kinect owner.

  • THE GOOD: The deepest, most complete story for a hardcore Kinect game yet.
  • THE BAD: Riding in a caravan is about as much fun as you’d think…as in, not fun at all.
  • THE UGLY: Everything the Corruption touches.

SCORE: 9.0

Fable: The Journey is an Xbox 360 exclusive. 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Comment

The Pullbox – Issue #13.2

Filed under: EGM (Electronic Gaming Monthly), Written — 1 Comment

Sorry to do this to you again folks, but next week EGM will be at New York ComicCon so the Pullbox will be in hiatus for another week. Luckily we are here this week and it was a good week for comics with the AvX event wrapping up. Instead of focusing on that though, we’re going to look at a few comics that we don’t want you to forget about, including a couple of new #1’s. With that, here’s this week’s Pullbox!

Marvel – Minimum Carnage #1 (One-Shot) – Someone has broken Cletus Kasady, a.ka. Carnage, out of prison and he’s looking to go on a killing spree in a whole new universe! The micro-assassins who broke him out of jail want to get back to their home dimension, but Venom and Scarlet Spider may have something to say about that as Kasady leaves a trail of blood miles long to get to where he needs to.

Starting and ending in a one-shot, the bulk of this six-issue mini-series will carry over in a crossover between both Venom and Scarlet Spider over the next couple of months. Looking like the next issue will be your standard “Who are you? I hate you. Let’s fight. Wait, we’re both good guys. Team-up!” while Venom and Scarlet Spider try to figure out what universe they end up in. All I know for sure is that whenever Carnage is involved, the action is likely to be epic and Kasady will do something so deranged that you may crap yourself. He’s one of the best villains of all-time for a reason folks and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Marvel – The Defenders #11 – Finally, the massive Concordance Engine story arc that seems to have been going on since this series started will come to an end…next issue. This issue at least has explained what the heck the Concordance Engine is and it is an interesting take on the creation of the Marvel Universe. What the Engines do is pull the miracles from all the alternative universes out there into one universe, the Marvel Universe, in order to prepare for an epic confrontation between all those with powers and the dreaded Death Celestial, who actually acts exactly like DC’s Anti-Monitor.

The idea of what these Engines are is one of the most creative ideas the Marvel folks have come up with in a while. Basically saying that one universe was supposed to have mutants and the X-Men, while another would have the Fantastic Four, and another would have Spider-Man, but these engines pulled these unique situations into one world to prepare it for this final battle. A great idea and good action as things finally start to come to a head and we learn that John Aman was indeed always a good guy all along, but I personally can’t wait for this story to be over next issue.

DC – Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #1 – Three short Batman stories come together to help give us insight into just how Batman works, and in the case of these particular stories, how he overcomes his mental and physical weaknesses to be the badass superhero that he is.

One of my favorite DC Comics for a long time was Legends of the Dark Knight, so to see it return in this form brought a smile to my face. Each individual story had a special charm about it while also giving us a great look at how Batman operates. It even took the time to make fun of itself at one point by referencing the infamous Adam West ‘Bat-Shark Repellant’. Add-in a great confrontation with Amazo in one story and really I can’t wait to see where this new monthly goes from here and for me is a must-add to the Pullbox.

DC – Before Watchmen: Rorschach #2 (of 4) – Rorschach survived his surprise encounter with a bunch of gangsters only to collapse inside his favorite diner from internal bleeding. After spending three days in a hospital bed, Rorschach healed, and readied himself again to go after Rawhead, the head of the little criminal empire that Rorschach wants to take down and that meant shaking down every two-time thug he sees.

Great, gruesome action throughout this book as Rorschach’s methods of interrogation are amazing to see on the comic page. The lengths he will go to for justice show why this is most everyone’s favorite character from the original Watchmen. And doing his internal dialogue through his journal entries is brilliant as we get to see what really makes the character tick and how unwavering he is in his one-man war on crime. One of the best of the Before Watchmen books, if you get only one of these series, I think Rorschach should be it.

Image – Non-Humans #1 – In the future, inanimate objects take on life and develop souls. Action figures, teddy bears, store mannequins, and, of course, robots, all become sentient and its all people can do to try to keep this from spreading further. In fact, all creative thought becomes outlawed in order to keep this unknown plague from spreading into anything else and overthrowing what humans have come to know. So the internet, TV, movies, video games, and more, are all destroyed. And during it all, one cop is just trying to keep the peace between these new creatures and the old human race.

This was one of the craziest books I’ve read in a while. From serial killer dummies to drug dealing teddy bears, this book is like a little kid’s nightmare come to life. I was disgusted, shocked, bewildered, and I want more damnit. At least for another couple of issues anyway just to see how things develop in this weird and crazy world. There are so many questions this book brought up that I need to see a couple more issues and so for the time being, I’d recommend picking this up as you might be surprised at much you enjoy it.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
Comment

EGM Review: Pokémon Black/White 2

Filed under: EGM (Electronic Gaming Monthly), Written — Leave a comment

We won’t get caught again

When Pokémon Red/Blue hit North American shores 14 years ago, I don’t think anyone could’ve imagined the phenomenon it would become and continues to be to this day, as the franchise keeps churning out hit games (that, in turn, also lead to truckloads of other merchandise and media). In all that time, though, Pokémon‘s never seen a true sequel. Most of the time, we simply see the same game rehashed over and over again but with new opponents, new areas, or the most popular choice of new Pokémon, which has bloated the Pokédex to more than four times the size of that seen in Red/Blue. Finally, though, we get a direct sequel, and it’s a follow-up to one of the more beloved Pokémon games in recent history in Pokémon Black/White 2.

The game starts like every other Pokémon outing: You choose between a male or female trainer and then set off into the world to become the greatest trainer ever by collecting eight gym badges—and hopefully conclude your adventure by challenging the Elite Four and the Champion to become Champion yourself. Along the way, you’ll also try to bring justice to Pokémon and people in need and promote positive relations between Pokémon and humans by completing sidequests. Much of this revolves around crushing the resurgent Team Plasma, who wish to steal all the Pokémon for their own nefarious purposes.

But as you start to get deeper and deeper into the game, you’ll get a feeling of déjà vu; many of the areas and trainers you’ll meet are exactly the same from the first game—and this is Pokémon Black/White 2’s major flaw. Minor aesthetic changes can’t hide the fact that this game is a soulless carbon copy of its predecessor unlike any other Pokémon release before it.

Now, I understand that Pokémon has used this formula for years, but when you make a sequel and set a game in the exact same universe as the previous title, the story needs a little extra “oomph,” and players need to see more differences from the original game. The first Pokémon Black/White was so adored because it mixed things up for the first time in a long time while still sticking to the core gameplay values. These same values remain in Pokémon Black/White 2, but the story here makes it feel like you’re playing the exact same game most of the time but with a couple of meaningless new side areas like Pokéstar Studios.

The gameplay does at least shine through here, though—it’s still as tight as ever, and there are still few greater feelings in RPGs than capturing a wild Pokémon (especially a legendary one) or overcoming a difficult foe by knowing what types work well against your opponent and actually outplaying them. And some minor gameplay additions do augment the action in positive ways—like the new Challenge and Assist modes that allow you to raise or lower the level of your foes on a second playthrough. Still, all this doesn’t hide the fact that the game just feels like a sad attempt to doll up an experience that seems more like Pokémon Black/White 1.5 instead of Pokémon Black/White 2.

In the end, Pokemon Black/White 2 handles just as tightly as any other game in the franchise’s history, and it’s still fun to play; it would also serve as a great jumping-on point for any newcomers. But for veteran Pokémon players—or even fans of the first Pokémon Black/White—you’ll most likely end up disappointed.

SUMMARY: The story takes a step backward, and the new game modes aren’t that impressive. Mostly, it’s just the same ol’ Jigglypuff song and dance from Pokemon Black/White 2.

  • THE GOOD: A few interesting new locations and game modes.
  • THE BAD: The story takes a step backward and does little to differentiate itself from the previous game.
  • THE UGLY: The fact that the Pokédex is at almost 650 Pokemon now…

SCORE 6.5

Pokemon Black/White 2 are Nintendo DS exclusives. Primary version played for review was Pokemon White 2.

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Comment

The Sleeper Hold – Episode 12

Filed under: EGM (Electronic Gaming Monthly), Written — Leave a comment

Main Plot Overview: Due to AJ slapping Paul Heyman the week before at his ludicrous marriage proposal, he brought up that she could be fired for that as she was explicitly warned weeks prior to never touch another wrestler or manager ever again. So, Heyman wished to insert himself into the GM picture. But soon after, Vickie Guerrero with Dolph Ziggler close behind, argued why she should be the new GM. Things went really crazy though when Kane and Daniel Bryan showed up, saying it was their faults to begin with for what they put AJ through and it wasn’t her fault.

Finally, AJ, now on probation as GM, would come to the ring and in order to settle it would put all four men in the ring in a tag team match. CM Punk and Dolph Ziggler vs Team Hell No (Kane and Daniel Bryan incase you missed that a couple weeks ago as well). Later on in the evening though, AJ would add the stipulation that she would be guest referee to make things extra spicy.

In the main even, Ziggler would leave Punk to fend for himself and Kane and Daniel Bryan would easily capitalize and send Punk reeling with a choke slam, further validating Team Hell No as a tag team and adding more fuel for whatever pipe bomb CM Punk will want to drop next week. On a side note, AJ looked phenomenal in her referee uniform, especially when she got down on the mat to count the 1, 2, 3. Just saying.

Match of the Night: In a match that was worthy of a PPV, Savior of the Masses Damien Sandow and Sheamus put together one of the best cable TV matches I’ve seen in a long time and serves as Sandow’s stand-out moment so far in WWE. Worthy of a title match, this non-title bout so the fight go all over as Sandow attempted to escape several times, but got pulled back in by Sheamus. But Sandow was merely catching his breath it seems as he did a masterful job of turning the tables on Sheamus again and again.

Even with his tag team partner Cody Rhodes at ringside, Sandow put on a legitimate show against the Great White with no interference from the Rhodes at all. Until the end at least, when Rhodes, who was only trying to help Sandow to his feet after a boot near the turnbuckle by Sheamus, received one half a Brogue Kick that knocked both men out and saw Sheamus victorious. Sandow and Sheamus is a bout that I would love to see again for a title shot down the line and hopefully WWE took notice of Sandow’s in-ring skill as both he and Rhodes should be pushed not only as a team, but individually as well.

Promo of the Night: With all the writers at WWE Headquarters going crazy waiting to see if John Cena will be able to wrestle at Hell in a Cell, new feuds need to be fueled and fast incase John can’t go and a new main eventer needs to be crowned. So, while celebrating ‘J.R. Appreciation Night’ in Oklahoma City, who is filling in of course for the still recovering Jerry Lawler, CM Punk decided to crash the show and put J.R. in his place. After belittling poor Jim Ross and making fun of Stone Cold Steve Austin for a little while, Jim finally had enough and began his exit up the ramp.

Then Ryback showed up. Much like last week when Mick Foley was helped by Ryback after Punk’s unwarranted assault, Ryback escorted J.R. back to the ring and stared down the WWE Champion until he left with Paul Heyman screaming ‘You get paid to fight!’ CM Punk of course carried this promo and made it worth while, but the possibility of putting Ryback over as a main eventer has much of the WWE Universe intrigued because many of us do not think Ryback is ready for such a major jump in air-time. But with him taking down more established competition like Tensai earlier in the evening, the WWE knows they may need to push him faster than they want to if Hell in the Cell is going to sell.

Shocker of the Night: One moment more so than any other in the evening had my jaw dropping. It was when Antonio Cesaro hit his Neutralizer onto Brodus Clay. Not only was it impressive that Cesaro basically dead-lifted the behemoth of a man that is the Funkasaurus, but that he held it there for several seconds before forcefully slamming him down to the mat for the win. It wasn’t the longest match of the night or the most impressive overall, but that one moment was stunning and I’m still shocked at Cesaro’s show of strength.

Cheap Pop of the Night: With it being ‘J.R. Appreciation Night’ in Oklahoma City, many would think that just having J.R. there doing commentary would be enough to mark it as our Cheap Pop of the Night. But because of CM Punk’s interruption, there was little Boomer Sooner magic going on. No, the Cheap Pop of the Night came during the ridiculous World Heavyweight Championship debate between Big Show and Sheamus where Sheamus hammed it up for crowd by noticably dropping the city’s name several times. Although the debate was really nothing but a time kill as Big Show left the ring instead of fighting the Great White in the end, Sheamus’s love of name-dropping earned him our Cheap Pop of the Night easily.

Tags: , , , , ,
Comment