Tag Archive: xbox 360


Are You Afraid of the Dark?

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April 20, 2010

Originally Published: August 7, 2009, on Examiner.com and 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com)

Xbox 360 is in the middle of its second annual summer push of original downloadable content. Later in the month we’ll look at some of the new and revamped games being released on Xbox Live’s Arcade, but we can’t forget the great add-ons being released for some of the already established hits for the Xbox 360.

In that vein we look at the latest and greatest map pack for the 11-time platinum Gears of War 2. A total of seven new maps with 13 new achievements which would award 325 more Gamerscore points, the Dark Corners map pack also includes a very special addition to the story mode campaign.

Originally a part of Act IV the new scene, “Road to Ruin”, was a level that took Marcus and Dom along a Locust highway deep in the hive. Of course, this level never made it into the final cut of the game…until now. After a brief intro movie from Lead Game Designer Cliff Blezinski, the level starts off giving you the choice to go in guns blazing or to sneak around in Locust armor to avoid an enemy confrontation. This new level helps to expand on one of the most powerful scenes in video game history (Dom finding his wife a shell of her former self and putting her out of her misery) and adds to the lore of Gears of War by giving you the chance to meet up with an old friend from Gears 1 along the way and that alone is worth picking up the Dark Corners add-on.

One of the greatest aspects of Gears of War, though, is the multiplayer so I am sure that more people will be looking at what they can do with the seven brand new maps. After a week of non-stop multi-player mayhem, I feel I can now paint you an accurate picture as to how great these maps are.

The first map of note at is Allfathers Garden. A COG landmark that honors the long gone founders of the Coalition, this sacred ground is great for all kinds of matches, but provides fast, heart-thumping action best in Warzone, Execution, or Submission game modes because its small size provides for lots of quick confrontations. Add-in a plethora of heavy weapons and you have all the pieces in place for some explosive combat situations.

Next, we look at the Memorial map. Set in a landmark dedicated to the soldiers who have fallen in battle against the Locust, this map is another great Warzone or Execution map, but also does well in Guardian mode because it forces the leader to constantly be on the move due to the most secure areas are also re-spawn points. Nothing worse than settling into a corner of the map to have someone you just picked off appear behind you and cut you to ribbons. This, again, makes quick confrontations a constant, especially when everyone realizes the Boomshot (grenade launcher) in the center of the building is up for grabs…

Similar in tone to the first two maps, Sanctuary is set in a temple whose walls have long since been abandoned after being battered by Locust attacks, the stench of death its only inhabitant now (I would assume considering video games haven’t become THAT realistic yet). Tight, narrow hallways and mostly blind corners makes this an ideal Annex and King of the Hill battleground as you can regroup with your squad mates and easily flank different positions.

Stepping away from the monuments, we head indoors to an abandoned train station for War Machine. Blank terminals line the walls of the once bustling travel hub as sandbags line the rails now instead of train cars to provide extra cover during frequent firefights. Probably the smallest of all the new maps, it is one of the two easiest Horde maps due to being able to easily hunker down in one of the four corners and pick off the unsuspecting Locust as they wander in front of your crosshairs. It also has a plethora of powerful weapons scattered about that makes the scramble in Execution and Warzone modes a joy as you see the indecision as newbies don’t know if they should secure the high ground or pick up a Boomshot.

Keeping up with the travel theme, we head deep into Locust territory in Highway. A complex system of hallways and passages for moving enemy supplies, the screams of chained Brumaks echo in the background as you try to maneuver through this Locust maze. This is the other great map for Horde for the same reason as War Machine. This is a larger map that would make you a little more likely to wander out and search for you prey, but it has some great areas to hunker down with your teammates and pick off Locust. Another great Annex and King of the Hill map due to its maze-like tendencies providing many ways to sneak up on unsuspecting foes.

Even deeper in the Locust stronghold is the Way Station where captured Stranded and COG soldiers sit in limbo between “processing” and death for whatever nefarious purposes the Locust are using them. A great map for Guardian because, much like Memorial, the leader has to be on the move. It does have a couple of areas that a leader could settle into and make a valiant defense if necessary, but otherwise scrambling for the grenades and Torque Bows and taking the fight to your enemies is probably the best way to go here.

The last map is truly unique from any map in this or any other map pack. Nowhere was once considered an oasis, now long abandoned and reclaimed by the desert as you maneuver down the main street and work your way through boarded up stores and hotels. This is a great map for Execution and Warzone as you have plenty of options. You can either take up a defensive position inside the stores or try to go on the offensive and snipe your enemies with heavy weapons on the roof of the hotel. Either way, fast paced action makes this a great, quick way to build up experience if you can decide on a winning strategy.

It goes without mention that this is a must have download for Gearheads. If you haven’t been keeping up with all that is Gears of War though, there is also the All Fronts Collection that has been released along with Dark Corners that includes ALL previous map packs, which makes this a perfect time to get back into the chainsaw swing of things.

All Fronts is now available for 1600 Microsoft points (roughly $20 American dollars) and Dark Corners is available by itself for 1200 Microsoft points (roughly $15 American dollars).

-Ray Carsillo

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Bungie Finally Snapped

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Originally Published: July 31, 2009, on Examiner.com

It put both Bungie and Xbox on the map back in 2001 and proved to be one of the most prolific first-person shooters in video game history with its second and third installments. Its original characters and compelling plot helped usher gamers into the current age of gaming and set a high bar for all who would follow in its wake. Of course, I speak of the Halo franchise.

Recently, though, Bungie’s Lars Bakken spoke to IGN about Halo: Reach, next year’s FPS that looks back at the beginnings of the Halo story and he mentioned some possibly grave news for the series.

“After Reach that’s it for us. We’re already working on a new IP that we can’t talk about yet, I don’t know when we’ll be talking about it – when we’re ready I suppose,” said Bakken.

Although there is much speculation as to what this new intellectual property could be, the move isn’t all that surprising if you think about it.

With the recent recession affecting the gaming industry just as much as everyone else, it wasn’t a surprise for Bungie and many others to return to the hits. Sequels for popular gaming series are almost always to be sure winners, as long as the games are worthy of the originals, and Bungie has made sure not to disappoint with the Halo series since it has developed one of the strongest followings in games today.

Halo: Reach will mark nearly a decade of dedication to this single franchise, though, and with the market beginning to show signs of bouncing back, and the sure numbers that Halo 3: ODST, coming out this fall, and Halo: Reach, coming out next fall, will provide for Bungie, 2011 looks like a great time to start taking a few chances again.

Also, don’t forget that the recent real-time strategy game Halo Wars showed us that another publisher, in this case Ensemble Studios, could take the franchise and change it around and still be successful with it.

These factors make me confidant that Bungie’s wish to develop this new IP and not be typecast as simply the guys who brought us the Halo series will be a successful one as we wait with baited breath as to what this new IP could potentially be. Until then, I guess Halo 3: ODST and Halo: Reach will just have to do for now.

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Xbox Portable in the Plans

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Originally Published: July 24, 2009, for Examiner.com

San Diego Comic Con is always a magical time of the year as announcements from all spectrums of the geek media rainbow permeate the culture and help us salivate over new details for upcoming releases or announcements of brand new projects. It’s why Microsoft felt it was the perfect forum for them to confirm their plans for a portable system.

Microsoft’s VP of Strategy and Business, Shane Kim, confirmed earlier in the week that the internet rumors are true and that Microsoft is hard at work on a handheld device. When pressed as to what the device would be, whether something multi-purpose along the lines of the iPhone to compete in another field with Apple, or something more gaming related to try to cut into the DS and PSP’s profits, Mr. Kim admitted that he himself did not even know.

Because of this, I’ll keep the mindset that I’ve had since the rumors began to surface, I’ll believe it when I see it.

I hate being skeptical considering how much the Xbox 360 and Microsoft look to be giving us in the near-future, but why even bother confirming rumors on a product that even your top brass don’t know about?

Personally, I’d rather Microsoft continue to focus on Project NATAL and worry about a portable system after they master that first. And considering how many resources are probably being poured into NATAL to try to have it released in time for the 2010 holiday season, I wouldn’t be surprised if this “Xbox Portable” wouldn’t even come close to enter existence until late 2012-early-2013.

The possibilities are fun to think about, though. A portable Halo or Gears of War would surely make a strong impact for Microsoft in the handheld wars, but the device itself would have to be something spectacular considering how late in the game Microsoft is throwing its hat into the handheld ring.

In another press release from Comic Con, in order to maybe take the heat off of Mr. Kim’s comments, Microsoft confirmed that there will be two new Dashboard updates in the near future. The first will be August 11th, which will include the “Games on Demand” feature. Confirmed with the launch of this feature were Bioshock, Assassin’s Creed, and Mass Effect among others. Shortly after this update, around August 25th, original Xbox programming like the new exclusive Girls Go Geek and the third season of The Guild will return for your viewing pleasure.

The second Dashboard update should be released late in the fall. This would be the update that we heard of at E3 that promised us Facebook, Twitter, last.fm, and Zune HD coming to Xbox 360. Microsoft had promised us to attempt one major Dashboard update a year, but like many major conglomerates, they failed to keep this promise. For once, though, this broken promise is probably a good thing. The more updates the better!

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The Highway to Hell

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Originally Published: July 31, 2009, on 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com), Examiner.com, and Lundberg.me

Fallen angels, hellfire-based powers, mind-control, and a lost god are all rolled into the new game for the Xbox 360, Infernal: Hell’s Vengeance. You would think that all these amazing action elements would spell a sure winner, but this port of the 2007 third-person shooter for the PC, Infernal, should have stayed put.

The basic plot has you playing as Ryan Lennox, a renegade angel whose methods were called into question a few times too often by the holiest of causes and is banished to the earthly plane. His amazing talent with a firearm draws the attention of Lucifer, though, and he offers Ryan the chance to serve him in an attempt to maintain the balance between good and evil as heaven has supposedly procured a weapon that would vanquish sin from the Earth for all time. Now an agent of vengeance, Ryan Lennox must fight both an internal and external battle to maintain the eternal balance.

A decent sounding plot aside, this game is abysmal. The glitches in this atrocity are beyond anything I have ever seen on the current generation of consoles. Freezing after dying, while saving, and/or just standing around and you have easily the most frustrating gaming experience that I’ve had in years.

And that is just from the glitches! Never mind that there is no auto-save or quick save feature so when you do actually get into the plot of the game, on those rare occurrences, and forget to save and then die and get flung back two levels…THAT’S FRUSTRATION.

I understand how easy it is for a PC game to be directly ported to the Xbox due to the Microsoft connection, but you have to fix these small, irritating, repetitive errors when you do because console players expect a more streamlined playing experience than those who deal with the PC.

Add in that the graphics haven’t been brought up to speed and do not take advantage of the 360’s capabilities, the music is annoyingly repetitive, and the A.I. tries to overwhelm you more with sheer numbers than any sort of strategy, and you have a horrible gaming experience reminiscent of Goldeneye: Rouge Agent. There is no stealth required in this game and it is more about conserving ammo as you mow down seemingly limitless enemies in each room as the game tries to hold your attention through five sleep inducing levels.

Infernal: Hell’s Vengeance was full of potential considering the abilities to wrap your bullets in hell-fire, teleport, and consume people’s souls for energy. The lack of polish on this game, though, along with a plethora of glitches and a poorly implemented plot leaves me with no choice but to only recommend this game if you find it at the bottom of the $5 bargain bin somewhere.

Ratings are based on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the best.

Graphics: 5.0: Infernal: Hell’s Vengeance looks exactly like the PC game it was ported from. No upgrades or polish added to visuals that were only on par in 2007 leaves this at a sub-par level now, especially considering the capabilities of the Xbox 360. This game is best described as visually lackluster and dull.

Audio: 4.0: Repetitive, uninspired music really takes away from the already poor experience with this game. On top of this, the voice acting sounds like it was done by a cast of anime voiceover rejects. The SFX are solid and is the only audible saving grace for Infernal: Hell’s Vengeance.

Plot/Plot Development: 7.0: This gets a passing score because the overall plot is actually an awesome idea. Fallen angels trying to maintain the balance between good and evil sounds like it could be full of great action sequences that would keep you entertained for a long while. Due to awful story telling and glitches galore, though, the plot is implemented poorly and knocks this back down.

Gameplay: 1.0: Considering all the glitches, lag, and lack of firing accuracy (that’s a big problem since it is a third-person shooter) and I could not give this anything more than my worst possible score.

Replay Value: 2.0: Aside from the three difficulty levels, there is nothing to bring you back to play this again, especially since you should be able to beat the entire game on the hardest difficulty without much effort, just like I did.

Overall (not an average): 3.0: Horrible glitches, abysmal gameplay, no replay value, and a lackluster attempt on the peripherals leaves this game towards the bottom of the bargain bin at best. This was a pitiful effort on porting over what was once a decent PC game over to the Xbox 360. I expected much more from this effort and am horribly disappointed. I would avoid this game at all costs.

Infernal: Hell’s Vengeance is available now for Xbox 360.

-Ray Carsillo

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Gentlemen, Start Your Engines!

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Originally Published: July 20, 2009, on 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com) and Examiner.com

When describing the Forza Motorsport online community, “hardcore” does not even come close to doing these folks justice.

Keeping that in mind, the Microsoft gaming gurus teamed up with Audi, one of the top of the line racing car manufacturers, and decided to reward their racing community as the launch date for the highly anticipated Forza Motorsport 3 nears.

Microsoft flew the top nine players in the Forza community, hailing from all over the United States, to New York City for one very special weekend that coincided with the Le Mans 24 hour race in France (that Audi just so happens to dominate most of the time).

After being broken into three-man teams, these elite players competed on a never-before-seen Forza 3 demo for a chance to win a trip to France for Le Mans 2010.

The outlines of the competition had the teams facing off for three hours at a time, one driver for every 40 minutes with the first driver also taking the fourth shift, with the best overall times being electronically monitored by Microsoft experts. After a full 24 hours, the winning team would be decided with the conclusion of the competition tied in directly to the end of the Le Mans race overseas.

While these select few players were competing for the trip of a lifetime, I had a chance to hop on a Forza 3 demo myself in Microsoft’s special simulator pod to get some first hand impressions on the game. I was also able to catch up with one of the racers during an off-shift and Brian Lockhart of Turn 10, one of developers of the Forza Motorsport franchise.

Forza Motorsport 3 Preview with Ray Carsilllo
Video by Jared Bodden

Be sure to stay tuned for my second preview of Forza Motorsport 3 where I got to sit down with an extended demo for over an hour and truly put the framework of Forza Motorsport 3 through its paces.

-Ray Carsillo

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June Swoon – June Video Game Sales

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Originally Published: July 17, 2009, on Examiner.com

Being an admitted geek, things like charts and numbers and tables always make me smile a little, especially when tracking things like video game software sales. It’s a great way to see how your favorite systems are doing and which third party developers are hot at the moment.

Being the Xbox 360 Examiner, I will focus on the Xbox games in terms of analysis, but will give the entire list of top 10 in terms of software sales in terms of both worldwide sales and United States sales.

The June month time period is measured from May 31st through to June 27th and further information can be found at http://www.vgchartz.com

Worldwide Sales:
1. Wii – Wii Fit – Nintendo – 745,576
2. Wii – Wii Sports – Nintendo – 691,255
3. Wii – EA Sports Active – Electronic Arts – 587,434
4. Xbox 360 – Prototype – Activision – 526,434
5. DS – Pokémon Platinum – Nintendo – 459,899
6. Xbox 360 – UFC 2009 Undisputed – THQ – 412,482
7. Xbox 360 – Red Faction: Guerilla – THQ – 382,115
8. Wii – Mario Kart Wii – Nintendo – 356,149
9. Wii – Wii Sports Resort – Nintendo – 349,411
10. PS3 – Prototype – Activision – 345,388

United States Sales:
1. Wii – Wii Fit – Nintendo – 387,170
2. Xbox 360 – Prototype – THQ – 358,515
3. Wii – Wii Sports – Nintendo – 339,350
4. Wii – EA Sports Active – Electronic Arts – 339,138
5. Xbox 360 – UFC 2009 Undisputed – THQ – 312,410
6. Xbox 360 – Fight Night Round 4 – Electronic Arts – 268,942
7. Xbox 360 – Red Faction: Guerilla – THQ – 237,754
8. Wii – Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 – Electronic Arts – 208,010
9. Xbox 360 – Ghostbusters: The Video Game – Atari – 188,923
10. PS3 – Prototype – Activision – 185,692

This short list provides countless amounts of information. First off, Nintendo’s worldwide dominance is still clearly evident with having not only six of the top 10 titles worldwide (5 Wii, 1 DS), but five of those six are all first party published, which means Nintendo is just raking in the profits on the worldwide market.

Xbox 360 is making a nice showing, though, by having three of the top 10. Microsoft has to be pleased considering its poor influence overseas, especially in Japan.

This poor overseas influence I speak of can be seen most clearly by comparing the United States list with the Worldwide list. Even though Nintendo and the Wii still have the top spot in the US, it’s a much closer deficit between one and two and on this list an Xbox 360 game is listed as number two.

Aside from having the second best selling game, Xbox 360 has five of the top 10 slots compared to four for the Wii showing that Xbox 360 is competing very well in the United States with the Wii right now and if Xbox 360 could take a larger chunk out of the worldwide market, which seems to be trending towards all these workout games, then it could make a case for the top spot that Nintendo has held since the Wii’s release.

A consistent sales trend showing a continued pattern towards workout games might make Microsoft want to push harder for Project NATAL to become a reality a little sooner than first planned. If a workout game is what the people want, then the tools and means to have a workout game is what the people should get.

In terms of total software sales in the United States for June, even though the Wii had three of the top five, Xbox 360 sold 92,876 more total software units in the top 10.

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It Must Be The Greatest

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Originally Published: July 7, 2009, on 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com), Lundberg.me, and Examiner.com

With its unprecedented dominance in most sports games, EA Sports felt it was a good time to continue another one of its majestic, untouchable franchises. Fight Night Round 4 was green lit and, after months of hype, was being touted as one of the most anticipated games of the year (it even had a sticker on the cover saying so) with two of the all-time great heavyweight champions serving as the game’s cover boys in Mike Tyson and Muhammad Ali. Could such a highly publicized title live up to its positive press, though?

One of the major appeals for the game churned out by EA’s hype machine was the “what if?” premise. Upon your first time selecting Exhibition mode you’re provided a roster that features some of the greatest fighters of all time combined with the greats from today as you mix and match to answer those questions fight fans have always had like, “Who’s better: Ali or Tyson?” or “What would Frazier or Foreman do to Lennox Lewis’s weak chin?”

Disappointingly, there could only be so many boxers included in the game and so some of the other all-time greats, like Rocky Marciano and Floyd Mayweather, had to be excluded. Fortunately for die-hard fans though, there are rumors that they could be available via downloadable content at a later date over Xbox’s or Sony’s respective store systems.

After living out your boxing fantasies in Exhibition mode, you can jump into the create-a-boxer feature and try your hand at the impressive “Legacy Mode” to see if you could work your legend up to somewhere near that of the two athletes that grace the game’s cover. With hundreds of customizable features for your boxer, ranging from blocking styles to the color of your trunks, you’ll feel as if you’re actually living the dream as you begin to work your way up from dingy gyms to some of the most spectacular arenas in all of boxing in an attempt to become the “Greatest Of All Time” (or G.O.A.T. as the game prefers).

The legacy mode isn’t difficult once you’ve figure out the patterns for the mini-games, which constitute the fighter’s training, to raise his stats to near unbeatable levels. On the first go-around, I received the max reward on half the mini-games and began maxing out my stats to the point that “Legacy Mode” just didn’t have the luster to bring me, a more casual boxing fan, back for more after I was 12-0 with 11 KO’s.

Continually, it is once you step into the ring as your created fighter where the game’s hype starts to show a few openings in its airtight defense. If you build up your stats enough (so you turn that chin of yours from glass to granite), you can just button-mash (or analog-stick mash, either way I averaged 1200 punches per 10 round bout, that’s about a punch every 1.5 seconds) your way to victory over almost any opponent. You might not always get a knockout, but unless you’ve imported someone like Ali (whose stats are off the chart) as an opponent you can just keep dropping haymakers and straight rights until the match is over and you have your hand raised.

Aside from the lackluster A.I., the game does deliver on most other fronts. Instead of the system used in previous versions of the franchise (where you would physically apply ice to different parts of your boxer’s face to keep the swelling down and allow him to fight longer) a new, three-level system has been implemented that measures your boxer’s health, stamina, and damage.

Depending how your well your boxer performs, points are awarded to your corner, allowing you to heal and prepare your player as the fight continues. A high punching-accuracy will net you a lot of points. Stunning or knocking down your opponent is worth even more. These points can then be applied to healing your fighter’s damage, restoring health, or rejuvenating his stamina. Obviously, the longer you keep these bars filled up, the better your boxer will be as the fight goes on. A low stamina will mean your punches will have less bite and can be thrown less often. Having high amounts of damage inflicted on your boxer, along with a low health bar, will mean he is more likely to be knocked out. This new system makes it much easier to gauge how well your boxer is doing as the fight progresses and where you might need to make some in-between round adjustments.

Along with the Exhibition and Legacy modes, there is also a strong multiplayer mode where you can fight other boxers, either online or off, and use either imported boxers that you create yourself or boxers from the roster.

Overall, considering that EA Sports lacks any real competition in most sports franchises, it was nice to see the improvements they made on this more distinguished one. It might not have the long-lasting appeal for more casual boxing fans, but hardcore fans will keep thinking they have a puncher’s chance for a long time.



Ratings are based on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the highest.

Graphics: 8.0: The boxers themselves look great, but the backgrounds and in-between round animations lack the polish I would expect from an EA Sports game, considering the time they usually pour into their hit franchises. However, it is still a very strong game visually to the point you can see sweat flying off of your opponents after landing a devastating haymaker.

Audio: 9.0: Joe Tessitore and Teddy Atlas do a great job with authentic ringside commentary and the soundtrack provides you with a beat to get your blood pumping before you step into the ring. Joe and Teddy do get a little repetitive after a while, but that is just expected with sports games nowadays if you play them long enough. The punching sound effects are solid, but not special.

Plot/Plot Development: N/A: It’s a sports simulation.

Gameplay: 7.0: A lackluster A.I. and repetitive motions keep this from being anything more than average. This game is too much of a button masher to make it great, but the new health bar system is one of those changes you didn’t realize you needed until you saw it.

Replay Value: 7.0: Unless EA Sports begins to have other great boxers added as downloadable content, there isn’t much to bring to bring the casual fan back for more. A strong multiplayer or the chance to be known as the G.O.A.T. will bring hardcore boxing fans back for more for a long time, though.

Overall: 8.5: Most of the improvements and changes that EA Sports made between rounds were welcome additions to this franchise that many would argue were needed to be fully rejuvenated. Hardcore boxing fans will be happy to pick this up since it is the best pure boxing game out there right now, but more casual fans will tire of it quickly.

Fight Night Round 4 is out now for the Xbox 360 and PS3.

-Ray Carsillo

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More Than Meets the Eye

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Originally Published: June 30, 2009, on 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com), Examiner.com, and Lundberg.me

Continuing with my summer series analyzing blockbuster movies and the video games based off them, today I look at Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen.

This sequel to the smash-hit based off the Hasbro toys and cartoon of the mid-’80s picks up two years after the first movie. The Autobots, led by Optimus Prime (still voiced by Peter Cullen, the same man who voiced him in the cartoon), are now known by the world’s governments and work in tandem with them to cull the persistent Decepticon threat, even after the defeat of their leader Megatron (voiced by Hugo Weaving of the Matrix, V for Vendetta, and Lord of the Rings fame).

After extinguishing the sixth Decepticon attack in eight months against the humans, this time in Shanghai, Optimus receives an ominous threat from the dying Decepticon Demolisher that the Fallen shall rise again. Unsure of how to perceive this threat, the Autobots return to US shores to try to appease political red tape that has arisen from the damage their latest excursion.

Meanwhile, Autobot ally Sam Witwicky (Shia LeBeouf) prepares for college on the East coast by consoling his girlfriend Mikaela (Megan Fox). After delivering her a long-distance-relationship survival kit and breaking the news to Autobot Bumblebee that he will be leaving him behind, Sam begins to pack. As he rummages through his closet, he comes across a shard of the all-knowing All-spark (which was the focus of the first movie) that embedded itself in his clothes.

Upon touching the fragment, Sam has the language of the Autobots and Decepticons, Cybertronian, embedded into his mind with a map of where an ancient Autobot artifact, the Dagger’s Tip, is located. Unable to decipher the information, Sam goes off to college, spasming all the way. Now, as the mystery of the Fallen begins to unfold, the Autobots and Decepticons race to the East coast in order to procure the map from Sam; one side trying to prevent a worldwide catastrophe, the other trying to ensure its outcome.

This movie was amazing. I loved almost every second of it. From the first fight scene in Shanghai five minutes in, to Optimus battling three Decepticons at once midway through, to the final climatic battle between the Autobots and Deceptions in the deserts of Egypt, this movie was non-stop action. It is no surprise, though, that the fight scenes between giant alien robots would look phenomenal from director and special effects guru Michael Bay.

Die-hards of the Transformers will be thrilled with this movie because it held true to a lot of the original cartoon. From the inclusion of the Decepticons’ moon base to Soundwave unleashing his pet robo-dog as an advanced scout were both brilliant moves that only fans of the cartoon will truly appreciate. Die-hards would also recognize all of the extra Transformers that were thrown in to flesh out the rosters, from Mudflap and Beat for the Autobots to Grindor, Sideways, Long Haul, and Devastator for the Decepticons.

These additions though may ostracize more casual fans because they see these brightly-colored robots dropping bombs (literally and figuratively) and they’re barely acknowledged in the movie by their more popular counterparts, such as Bumblebee for the Autobots or Starscream for the Decepticons.

I felt that all of the main characters were used almost perfectly in this big screen visualization of a giant alien robot war. With all the new robots though, I was surprised, as a die-hard myself, that Breakaway wasn’t included for the Autobots (an F-14 fighter jet and the good counterpart to Starscream), but I guess too many planes might take away from everyone’s favorite evil second-banana.

The only other point that takes away from the overall experience is that the movie is two hours and a half hours long. For the most part, it flows surprisingly well for a long movie, but there easily could have been 15 to 20 minutes cut from the entire Cairo excursion scene. It felt drawn out and you just keep asking yourself, “When is Sam going to get to Optimus already?”

Aside from those minor complaints, this movie really delivers the goods. You have funny, memorable characters, like Leo, and John Turturro coming back to reprise his Sector 7 role from the first movie (some would say there were a few too many of these characters, but I understand the need to have a counter-balance between the human and robot characters), deeply dramatic moments, a compelling plot combined with over-the-top action, and giant robots. What else could you ask for from a summer blockbuster?

Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen gets 4 out of 5.

One of the problems with most summer blockbusters is that the movie will typically deliver the goods and you’ll have a sub-par video game that takes away from the overall experience. The only exception to this trend, where both the movie and the game have been exceptional, was Spider-Man 2.

Spider-Man 2 finally has some company on that short list.

Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen is also an awesome video game. Getting a chance to hop into the driver’s seat of both your favorite Decepticons and Autobots as you follow the plot of this amazing summer blockbuster is a thrill. It appeals to both die-hard and casual fans because it fleshes out the roles of more minor characters from the movie while also letting you wreak havoc or save the day with Megatron and Optimus Prime.

The transformations from vehicle to robot and back are seamless and often necessary to complete the missions in the fastest possible time. You need a fast time in order to get an energon reward (energon is the life force for Autobots and Decepticons) and upgrade your characters’ firepower, speed, recovery time, etc.

As you progress, you can also go back and perform the same missions with different robots. Sometimes Starscream’s fighter jet is more apt for a mission than Long Haul’s dump truck or Iron Haul’s turret ability is more of an asset against a large group of foes you’ll face compared to Bumblebee’s EMP (electro-magnetic pulse) ability.

Along with the ability to replay missions for better scores or to play through two different storylines as either Decepticons or Autobots, there is also an online versus mode that will pit you against different people in team or single death-match, capture-the-flag mode, or Guardian mode where a team has infinite re-spawns until one of the teams’ leaders is defeated. This really ups the ante in terms of the game’s replay value.

Included with these aspects, the unlockables are probably the best feature of all. By meeting certain mission requirements, you can unlock original episodes from the mid-’80s cartoon. There are six episodes in total, three from the Decepticons and three from the Autobots, and this will bring die-hards back time and time again.

The only real knock on the game is that the high-end graphics, such as the transformations and explosions, create a real strain on the system’s processing power. In order to prevent further slow-down, developers had to tone down the backgrounds. Not to say the terrain graphics are bad, they’re just a little bland.

The sound effects are perfect for the game in terms of transformations, explosions, and jets screaming through the air, but the music is generic at best. Aside from this minor complaint, the audio works pretty well.

Overall, this game is a must-have for any Transformers fan because you’ll flash back to all of your battles with your action figures as a kid, except the explosions will be more than you making swooshing sounds. Casual fans will appreciate the game because it will help them get into the lore of Transformers and probably help them understand the movie better because it cuts away all of the superfluous comedy of the plot and gets to the heart of the matter. Either way, Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen is a great game that is worthy of this great movie.

Ratings are based on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the highest.

Graphics: 7.5: Nothing special in terms of graphics. The transformers themselves look great and the transformations look smooth, but this needs extra processing power and it leaves the terrain looking bland and monotonous.

Audio: 8.0: The SFX are great and fit the game perfectly, but some generic music takes away from the overall experience enough to dock it a couple points.

Plot/Plot Development: 9.0: The plot follows the movie perfectly in the Autobot storyline and only deviates slightly towards the end for the Decepticons (obviously so that they can win), but does so in a way that was a little bit of a stretch. Aside from this blemish, the plot is just as good as the movie.

Gameplay: 9.0: No glitches to speak of keeps the game flowing at a great pace just like the movie. The only thing that knocks this down a peg is that the targeting system can be a little fickle at times, but not enough to take away from the overall experience.

Replay Value: 10.0: When you offer entire cartoon episodes as unlockables, you’ll be working towards them all night long if need be. Add in high score online leaderboards and a near flawless online versus mode and this game is definitely worth the $60 pricetag.

Overall (not an average): 9.0: Minor aesthetic complaints aside, this game delivers on all fronts. Die-hards will love taking control of their favorite characters and wreaking havoc or saving the day with them and casual fans will love how it fleshes out a story they might have a little difficulty understanding at first. Couple this with tremendous replay value, classic cartoons, and just as many explosions as its movie counterpart and you have a sure winner on your hands.

Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen is available now on all platforms.

-Ray Carsillo

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A New Prototype for the Superhero Genre

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Originally Published: June 25, 2009, on 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com), Lundberg.me, and Examiner.com

With super hero popularity at an all time high, one of the premiere super hero video game publishers, Activision, teamed up with DC and Wildstorm to create a brand new anti-hero and to put out a brand new game.

In Prototype, you fill the shoes of Dr. Alex Mercer after he wakes up on a morgue slab with amazing metamorphic abilities; the ability to change his body’s structure at the molecular level into almost anything he can think of. Along with enhanced speed, strength, leaping, and the ability to run straight up walls, Dr. Mercer must use his new found powers to piece together his lost memory and figure out the nature of a pandemic virus that turns those it infects into uncontrollable, zombie-like beasts.

Many people have already found out how good Prototype is considering it sold nearly 500,000 units combined for PS3 and Xbox 360 in its first week, but for those of you who haven’t and are looking for a solid action/adventure game, this is something you should probably consider picking up. The action is frenzied and there are always missions to complete and upgrades to collect. The experience reminded me of the Spider-Man 2 game from the last generation of consoles (also an Activision product), which was easily the best super hero movie/video game adaptation in a long time.

The bounty of powers and possibilities is obviously the biggest draw for this game. From making hammer-fists or blades come out of your arms, creating full body armor and developing limited flight, to absorbing your enemies into your body to regain heath, it’s hard to see how you couldn’t have fun with this on your quest to becoming the ultimate weapon.

The main drawback I felt for the game though was also the big draw; there might actually have been too many powers. All of those choices left a lot of room for experimentation, but usually you filtered out powers you never used and only used these powers during the missions in which you earn them. I never used the heat vision or the shield feature once you developed the full body armor; they were pointless.

Aside from the abundance of powers, there really wasn’t much to complain about with this game. Running up buildings could be difficult at times because it seemed Alex had trouble with any uneven surface; this glitch could be frustrating. But, when you have streets full of New York City residents screaming in terror as hive zombies emerge from infected buildings without any lag, it can be forgiven. Add in music that set the mood perfectly and your senses are kept constantly stimulated.

Unfortunately, again, aside from the powers, there isn’t anything that sets this apart from any other super hero game either. I was able to draw too many parallels to games that come before it. This prevented Prototype from feeling as if it was something truly special and original.

Although the game lacks multi-player, there are plenty of collectibles scattered around New York City and the opportunity to try and get gold medals on any and all challenges will keep you coming back for more. Plus, there aren’t many things I enjoy more in gaming than climbing to the top of a virtual Empire State Building and then flying off into the skyline.

Prototype is out now for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.

Ratings are based on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the highest.

Graphics: 9.0: The graphics weren’t overly flashy, but being able to have an abundance of Non-Player Characters on screen at once and having some awesome live-action cut scenes when absorbing enemies make this a visual gem.

Audio: 8.5: There isn’t a theme song that will stick in your head or anything truly memorable, but the music does a fine job of setting the mood. The SFX are all solid and the voice acting is top-notch with voice-acting vets like Phil LaMarr or big screen talent like Barry Pepper lending their talents to the game.

Plot/Plot Development: 8.5: The story is a little predictable in most aspects, however, a surprise ending and the overall mystery to the game makes this a memorable plot more-than-worthy of the super hero genre.

Gameplay: 7.0: A minimum of general glitches in terms of lag, but the difficulty with running up curved walls, switching between powers in the middle of battle, and aerial attacks make the gameplay only on par with most games of this nature.

Replay Value: 6.0: A lack of a multiplayer mode hurts this game, but it still gets an okay score because there are plenty of collectibles and the chance to replay side-missions for higher scores.


Overall: 8.0 (not an average): The game really revolves around your powers and their development more than anything and this is a huge plus and downfall for the game at the same time. Even considering this dependency on your powers and not a great amount of originality, this game is still worthy of the super hero genre and deserves a look from any action/adventure fan.

-Ray Carsillo

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Putt Precision Perfection

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April 19, 2010

Originally Published: June 22, 2009, on 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com), Lundberg.me, and Examiner.com

Right off the bat I’m going to admit that I’m not a golf aficionado to say the very least. In honor, though, of the conclusion of the U.S. Open, especially since it is being played in nearby Bethpage Golf Course in Farmingdale, NY, I am taking this time to review EA Sports’ Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10.

I sheepishly admit that I got addicted to this game for the entire weekend and for someone with as many games as I have to play, to devote an entire weekend to one game, shows how good this game is. It’s not going to dazzle you with graphics, but I think this is easily the best simulation for a sport there is right now, from mimicking the difficulty of sinking a 10 foot putt to trying to play in the rain at Bethpage.

I found myself wanting to throw my controller after every missed putt like I was actually living it. And this was on only the first hole of the Buick Invitational. The new putt-precision system is a nice addition and does make it a little easier for amateurs like myself, but for you pros out there with Tiger, you can simply up the difficulty for that more classic feel.

The putt-precision system though does need a little tweaking. Allowing only one look at how your ball will track is a little frustrating and can actually up the pressure if you see that your current path will send the ball spiraling into the fringe if your corrections aren’t enough to sink the putt. One thing, though, that can really push the casual player away is how the consequences for squandering a putt opportunity, as opposed to a normal shot, are extremely harsh and unforgiving.

If you have the Wii, these problems are a little less noticeable since with the inclusion of the 1:1 Motion Plus sensor with the game, you can judge your shots with a little more accuracy than with the analog stick on a Xbox 360 or PS3 controller making this the first preferred sports game for the Wii, at this point in time. Add in the lack of processing power needed for the simple graphics (grass is grass, whether in 480i or 1080p) and the Wii might be the best buy of the bunch for this particular game.

Along with an extensive career mode, that will lead you through every major as you try to up your stats to near-Tiger levels and became a tour de force, the game now includes a Tournament Challenge mode. In this mode, you can relive some of the most impressive performances in tour history at some of the most famous courses from Bay Hill to Sawgrass to help you unlock new and better clubs and louder and more interesting clothing apparel.

Include live, online tournaments, mini-games, and plenty of other multi-player options; if you are a golf fan, this game is your dream come true. Even if not a golf fan, you’re going to have a good time and find yourself mildly addicted if you’re anywhere near as competitive as someone like me. Just don’t go smashing too many controllers.

The only real knock on the game is as with most sports games that the commentary gets tired very fast and Scott Van Pelt is tired to begin with so you might want to grab your iPod or put a CD on to cover up the droll ramblings. Other than that, this is an early front-runner for sports simulation of the year. Of course, that could change very quickly with Fight Night Round 4 coming out shortly.

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 is out now for all systems.

Ratings are based on a score of 1 to 10 with 10 being the highest.

Graphics: 8.0: There aren’t a lot of knocks here in terms of graphics, but it doesn’t exactly push any system’s threshold either. There are only so many ways to make grass look good, especially when not supporting 1080i or 1080p.

Audio: 6.0: A generic music playlist is disappointing considering the lineups EA usually compiles, but it is a golf game. Coupled with repetitive, dry commentary (even for golf) and the audio is a clear weakness for this game.

Plot/Plot Development: N/A: It’s a sports simulation…

Gameplay: 9.0: Although the putting is frustrating to say the least, I think that it adds a level of difficulty that you would only see if you were playing on a real course so I can forgive it. Even having people in the crowd reacting from some shots that slice astray was a nice touch to this spectacular sports simulation.

Replay Value: 10.0: If you like golf, you’ll keep coming back to this game over and over again until next year’s release. Mini-games, online play, an extensive career mode, and now the Tournament Challenge mode along with tons of unlockable content will keep every golfer happy for a long time.

Overall: 9.0: (not an average) The putting system can be frustrating at times and the game doesn’t exactly stimulate the senses. Of course, it’s not like there is any competition for golf games out there since EA has the monopoly on the field like with their Madden franchise. The gameplay, though, is what makes this game and if the game of golf is what gets you pumped up then you’ll be all set for another year as Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 improves on their already high golf gaming standard.

-Ray Carsillo

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