The Buzz

Well, it certainly has been a longtime since I wrote an article for the page. You can blame Macy’s and World of Warcraft for that. However, were not going to get to into it right? I am now going to bless you with the grace of my presence and drop some a review on you.

Before I begin I’m going to show you all my rating system. If you read my many reviews on the otaku site before it got hacked, then you may know my system. For those who don’t this is the system:

Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, here is my Review on a game that many of you may have turned the other cheek on. However, being a sucker for rock music and all I am giving it a try. People of MCG, I present to you the review for Brutal Legend…

Now for those who don’t know fiddly squat about Brutal Legend, don’t be alarm this is what I am here for. Brutal Legend is a game found on the PS3 and Xbox 360 which features Jack Black doing the voice of Eddie Riggs. A pretty kick ass roadie; who’s pretty awesome at the job he does and who also believes that metal music is dead. (That’s not the only music that’s dead) Anyway, to keep from spoiling the story I won’t put too much of the story here. All you need to know that Eddie is transported to another world in which he is the savior of the human race who have fall victim to a higher (or lower) power so to speak. So, it’s up to Eddie to free the human race from this higher (or lower) force.

The storyline for the game is pretty awesome. It’s doesn’t go off into the deep end and leaves you with this “What the hell?” like some other games (cough…x-blades….cough) It genuinely has a good storyline that carries it’s weight. Another cool thing about the game is even before the game gets well under way; in the opening scenes you are actually given the choice on whether you want strong adult language and gore in your game or not.

I like to say that this is a good feature for the chitterlings. If you actually have parents who will sit there and make sure their child chooses to be noble. I mean let’s face it a rated M game isn’t a rated M game because it had little lizards and fat Italian (or Japanese) plumbers in it trying to save a princess that he’s never going to get it from. So, if you are against gore and strong language just know it can be turned off at the beginning of the game.

The game play in my opinion is pretty straight forward and the movements of the game are pretty good. The only thing I didn’t like was the car; which has terrible handle and you have to do so much to drive it. Sometimes, the control of the car can get a bit tricky; as you find yourself hitting the L2 button instead of R2. I imagine on X-box it’s the LT button for brake and RT to drive.  Also, I had an issue with not being able to bring the map up to view as your playing the game; you know kind of put the map in the corner as a mini map. They ask you to follow the white beacon to get to your next destination but in yet, I can’t drive with the map on my screen. So, more often then not you may find yourself lost.

Other then those few minor problems, the game is not relatively as bad as some other games I played recently (again cough…x-blades…cough) and I would at least give it a try as a rental if not by purchasing it GameStop is selling it for both PS3 and X-Box 360 for $19.99 new and $17.99 pre-owned.

Final Verdict

Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4 (PS3)

Developer: Traveler’s Tales Games Publishing
Publisher: Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment
US Release Date: June 29, 2010
Systems: PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, DS, PSP, & PC
ESRB: E10+
Official Site

BOTTOM LINE

Graphics: 2
The detail put into the environment, animations, effects, and cut scenes was adorable and fun to watch, but there were a few glitches. Most of the graphics looked as if they were rendered for the Wii.

Sound: 4
The sounds were timed perfectly and made the actions seem real. The annoying muffled “Hello” given by almost every character you walk pass was a little too much.

Game Play: 3
The game is fun and entertaining with well designed controls that are pretty easy to learn and master. The films/books are followed pretty well with a diversion or two here and there. Too bad that backtracking sometimes gets tedious, the AI is barely ok, there is no online co-op, no playing quidditch, and players could only save at the end of a mission or when an unlockable item is collected.

Replay Value: 5
With 24 missions to complete, a list of achievements to attain, a large amount of unlockable items to collect, and the ability to replay any mission at anytime with any characters gives the game high replay value.

Overall: 3
This is the best of the Lego game series so far. The game is excellent for kids and any Harry Potter or Lego fan, young or old. Unfortunately, some players may find the humor and game play a bit juvenile.

Recommendation: RENT or BUY USED

FULL REVIEW

As a long time fan of the Lego franchise and the Harry Potter series, buying this game was a must for me. I have played a couple other Lego-themed games before, so I was excited to see how this rendering was going to come out. In this fun action-adventure title, players explore the magic and wonder of Hogwarts in the colorful world of Lego. Like other Lego-themed games, the main focus of the game is to play through a generally linear story while destroying any destructible thing in sight to collect tons of Lego studs and various unlockable items. This time, players get to do this with the help of magic spells, potions, various vehicles, and a host of characters straight from the massively popular film/book series.

The game covers the first four years of the Harry Potter series with great precision. Each year has about six fun-filled missions to complete. A number of bonus stages are also available for play. Players start each mission with a team of three characters, who are predetermined based on their importance in that mission and the special skills that they possess. For example, Hermoine and Ron can use their pets to fit into small areas and Hagrid’s strength gives him the ability to pull levers. Players take control of one character while the other two are AI. It is possible to switch control to any of the two AI characters by pressing the triangle button. Later in the game players learn how to create polyjuice potion, which will allow them to transform the character they are controlling into any character that has been unlocked and bought. A second player may chime in or out at anytime for exciting co-op play. That second player will control one of the available two AI characters and will have the same ability to swap and transform characters as necessary. No online co-op is available. If a player ever gets confused as what should be done next, they can follow Nearly-Headless Nick as he floats to the next area that should be explored.

The graphics of the game are a little less than impressive for the PS3 and on par with the Wii. Hogwarts was a bit gloomy looking, but the distant views from outside of the castle walls and the effects of the spells were quite nice. I did not notice too much HD graphics, but the careful attention was placed on detailing Hogwarts. The animations were fluid and the cut scenes were adorable and fun to watch.

From the majestic “Ahhhh” of the expecto patronum to the nerve numbing shriek of the mandrake roots, the sound effects were very well developed. Various sountracks from the original movie playes softly in the background and did not distract me from the actual sound effects of the game play. I did find the greetings of characters walking arounf Hogwarts a bit annoying at times. I simply loved building radios and watching a procession of skeletons and other characters dance around to the music.

The game play is very intuitive. Spells can be easily changed by selecting the spell you want from a spell wheel and the incantation can be implemented with the push of a button. The analog sticks are used for exploring the terrain and maneuvering vehicles. There are mini-bosses, such as the troll in the girl’s restroom and waves of Death Eaters, and epic main bosses, such as the Basilisk and Lord Voldemort himself. Most of the time all a player needs to do is figure out the sequence and frequency of their enemy’s attacks and counter it with a spell or two. Some enemies do require a little more skill and wit to tackle than others. Vehicles were a little clunky at times, but they were pretty easy to control. All animated violence was done so that it was humorous instead of horrific. Instead of leaving a pool of blood after death, players explode into a number of Lego studs. The automatic game saving system could have been better. The only time that the game was saved was when a mission was complete or an unlockable item was collected. The AI friends could be a little more helpful and AI enemies a little more intelligent. I was a little upset that you rode a broom, but did not actually get to play quidditch. Nor did you get to actually ride Buzzbeak.

The replay value of the game is pretty high. Players have the option of replaying any mission that has been completed to find secret areas and items that were missed or previously inaccessible. There are over 100 playable characters and a wide range of spells to unlock. There are over 10 bonus stages that are available and over 30 trophies to collect. With the cut scenes and backtracking, a player wishing to complete the main story may be looking at about 12 hours of total game play. The player determined to play the game to 100% completion may be looking at least 19 hours of play time.

Upon release, this game was stamped with a typical $49.99 price tag. I did expect a little more out of it for the price, but the game is very fun to play and will leave players entertained for hours. Trying to get all of the achievements and items may be a bit draining because of the repetitious gameplay and amount of backtracking that will be involved. Unless you are a diehard fan of the Harry Potter or Lego series, I suggest that this game be rented or bought when it is a bit cheaper or used.

Remedy Entertainment announced Alan Wake all the way back in 2005 during the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo. Since then it’s popped on and off of people’s radars at sparing intervals, and now that it’s finally been released, it seems as if Duke Nukem Forever should be only just around the corner. It can then only be described as fortunate that with such a long development period, Alan Wake has turned out to be a compelling and rewarding title to experience.

Having written multiple bestselling novels, Alan Wake has spent the last two years suffering through a severe case of writer’s block. With his mind stumped for ideas, he and his wife Alice head to the small logging town of Bright Falls. After setting up their cabin, things take a turn for the worse as Wake finds himself waking up after a car crash, with no recollection of how he got there. He’s missing a week of his life, Alice has mysteriously gone missing and members of the town have turned into shadow axe wielding maniacs, controlled by malevolent darkness intent on stopping Wake and his efforts to find Alice.

Alan Wake is not an open world game. What you do have though is a linear game that for the most part, gives you quite a bit of breathing room to explore. The game is structured like a TV show/novel in episodic fashion with recaps at the beginning of each episode. This serves as a great formula as the game become more story driven and allowing gamers to play through an episode take a break, pick it up again and still have an idea of what’s going on in the story.

Alan’s primary enemy is the darkness which embodies all of his enemies. Generally, if it’s daytime, you’re safe as safe can be. At night however, the ghouls come out. In order to properly combat these foes, you’ll need to first melt away that darkness through various means of light, then blast away at them with your standard firearms. The primary tool to do this is a flashlight that you’re rarely without, but you’ll also get to use spotlights, shop lights, and street lights as a method to deter your enemies. Flashbangs, flares, and flare guns are also present and provide some nice crowd control for those sticky situations. While it doesn’t really evolve much, the combination of darkness melting and gunplay is entertaining enough that it holds up fairly well throughout the game. The driving seems pretty solid when the game calls for it or when you have the option to, resulting in you mowing down those same pain inflicting enemies with glee. One problem with the driving system was the way the camera would somewhat whiplash back to the center.

Interspersed between Alan’s nights hikes are daylight sequences in Bright Falls. Daytime in Bright Falls reveals a rustic Pacific Northwestern town that has been exquisitely detailed and constructed.  It’s in these sequences that you feel the greatest weight of Remedy’s development period. Every towns-person and character is distinct and feels alive, their personalities all painted with a careful brush. It’s extremely immersive, unlike like say Oblivion’s town’s people with the same 5 faces and the same 4 voice actors. Rose, the Tor brothers, Barry. All of them have their own heart and soul in the story

In-game, the graphics are beautiful and solid. A brilliant soundtrack gives an ambient feel throughout every level within Alan Wake. The voice acting is also nice. The developers make the best use of motion blur and focus. The use of dark and light is almost perfect and the atmosphere is even enhanced by swirling, mist-like darkness that envelopes the world throughout the game. However the quality of the cinematic movies is erratic from start to finish. Lips fail to sync with dialogue and characters fall in and out of low resolution textures. It’s almost as if Remedy forgot to go back and touch up older cut scenes to ensure proper continuity. The lighting is so mesmerizing in Alan Wake it practically becomes a character in itself. The way it represents not only the spark of inspiration but also as a safe zone against “the taken” creates a profound sense of comfort in the gamer whenever they encounter pools of light.

The game should take most players about ten to twelve hours to complete their first playthrough, not exactly a long time but at the same time it doesn’t overstay its welcome. As far as replayability goes, Alan Wake has collectibles like Coffee Thermos, Manuscript, TVs & radio and hidden supply chest scattered throughout the level. An unlockable Nightmare difficulty upon completing the game which contains a small portion of exclusive manuscript collectibles to be discovered. There is no multiplayer, which is understandable as trying to incorporate the unique combat into a competitive setting would probably not work

Remedy said they spent so long developing Alan Wake because they wanted it to be as perfect as possible. While it may not reach the realms of perfection, it’s still a stunning title that’s almost worth the long wait. The Finnish developers have built a believable universe surrounded by a strong narrative, impressive storytelling techniques and enjoyable combat with a unique twist. It has its flaws with repetition, linearity and some poor presentational issues, but this is a world ripe for a sequel to improve upon every single aspect. It might take another five years, but you can guarantee it will probably be worth it.

If you’ve ever spent an afternoon playing Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh, Magic: The Gathering, or have ever gotten hooked by an collectible-driven game the appeal of PoxNora should be easily apparent for you: you are a summoner who collects various monsters, spells, relics, and Avatars and summons them to defeat your *opponents [*both human & computer opponents are instantly available round the clock] in fully realized turn-based battles against other summoners. I picked this game up, played through all of the starter campaigns back-to-back, and now I’m knee-deep in creating and customizing my ideal Battlegroup; An elusive, yet oddly addicting task. Honestly this is the only online computer game I’ve made a habit of playing daily. 

The real beauty & addictive quality of PoxNora appeals to any gamer looking for an addictive and strategic online game. It has triple-A makings, SOE [Sony Online Entertainment] is handling the title & gleam of polish that nearly all ‘free-to-play’ titles are missing.

Check out this video to see if PoxNora up your alley:

The combat in PoxNora is highly strategic, turn-based, & grid-based. If you’ve ever played any of the games in the ‘Final Fantasy Tactics’ series you should feel right at home after a few adjustments to some of the games interfaces. For those of you who’ve never played a Tactics title it’s better for you to imagine PoxNora like a mix of Pokemon [or Magic: The Gathering] and Monopoly. Complete with guilds, tournaments, and even booster packs. There are 1,000+ runes in PoxNora for you to add to your deck.

You still collect characters, abilities, & spells but you play them at the cost of your Nora, the game’s main currency, on a game board that serves as your battlefield. Across the battlefield there are Nora Fonts that add a set amount of Nora to your Nora bank at the beginning of each turn [think Energy in Pokemon or Mana in Magic: The Gathering]. Game are won by destroying your opponents Shrine [their base, basically].

In the standard mode of the game you find players in heated battles over control over the vital resources of Nora Fonts, which adds a nice little ‘king of the hill’ aspect to the gameplay, and feverishly defending their Shrines while plotting the demise of their enemies. Gameplay takes place over turns with preset a time limit that, like many other of the game’s rules, can be manipulated by the players. 

All in all PoxNora is one of those easy to pick up but abitch to master games that will suck you right into to it’s addicting web if you let it.

I give it 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Yay!! So it’s my first review. ^_^  so, Giddiness aside I’m going to be doing”random video game from Aaron’s Collection” Yeah I know i plugged my own name in there. Don’t judge me. The random Video game this time is  Tomb Raider Anniversary for the Nintendo Wii. Your probably  wondering how i go about choosing these games. well,  it’s a pretty complicated process that is very taxing on the body. I lay all of my games on the floor and i blind fold myself and then i choose one. pretty difficult  I know.  (I’m usually shirtless when this is all goes down for some reason) Well enough of me and my being blindfolded and shirtless =P. On with the review!

For those who don’t know, the game stars Sexy, used to be extremely busty heroine Lara Croft as a er…. Tomb Raider of sorts.  Back in the late 90′s she was the go to gal for female action heroes in video games. Guys would drool over her polygonal cubed as hell model and her “assets” I guess you could say. Plus she had a killer english accent. The plot in Anniversary is fairly simple.  Lara is offered to search for the scion by Natla. For spoilerish purposes I’ll leave the rest out. Lara travels from Egypt, Peru, to Greece in search of Artifacts, Relics and hidden treasures. Gone are the days of Lara moving & jumping robotically. She moves and runs with fluidity like a normal person would. This was implemented in “Tomb raider Legends” and carried over to this game. Lara climbs and does everything with ease and the animations are nice for each move.

Tomb Raider is known for being a tad bit on the difficult side  (I never beat the first on the original playstation, hey i was a young kid) with it’s mix of action,exploration & puzzle solving. Which have been the most satisfying parts since the series began. The isolation and the overwhelming feeling of being alone and getting out of the caves and hidden tombs are very present in this game. It has it’s hard moments but you can view Lara’s journal on what do to next if you get stuck.

Of course since this is the Wii version it gets the added feature of motion controls which is the core of the game. You will climb and grappling hook your way through environments with ease using the Wii remote and nunchuck.  The big draw of this version is being able to solve puzzles, pull levers,  dust off artifacts, and crack open broken walls to reveal secrets. The overall feeling is cool and it makes you really feel like your part of the game as opposed to just sitting and watching. It does a good job without feeling too gimmicky. The controls are simple. you shake the nunchuck to use your grappling hook. analog stick controls Lara. the C button is your camera. The controls aren’t clunky but the camera.. could use a little work.

My Quote for this game would truly be “Look before you leap” believe me.  The camera caused many deaths because I simply wouldn’t know where to jump next. It’s good to take note of your environments and look  around before you just start climbing around like a monkey. If you haven’t played a next gen TR game the majority of it will feel fresh thanks to the added gameplay enhancements and different things Lara can do made for the Wii version. It’s a lot more fun overall. There’s an adrenaline bar so you can pull of some slow mo kills.  The Croft Manor is also in this game which is Lara’s ridiculously large mansion that you can explore and put things back in order. Her butler hasn’t been doing his job apparently. There is concept art, Developer commentary and alternate outfits and cheats galore. If your a huge TR fan then this is a game you must play.

In 2007, Nintendo released Super Mario Galaxy, their next 3d console sequel to the Mario franchise. It was praised highly for its unique level design, fantastic soundtrack, and its genuine fun factor. 3 years later, we come to Super Mario Galaxy 2. It features great new changes to an already amazing formula.

Princess Peach has been kidnapped by Bowser, once again!!! Bowser escapes into outer space to create his empire at the center of the universe again. Naturally, Mario is going to rescue her, with the help of star power from master luma (star-like creatures with the capability to transform). After launching into outer space, Mario is given control of Starship Mario, made by Lubba, which are powered by Power Stars and piloted by other Lumas. Mario’s mission is to fly across the universe in pursuit of Bowser and recue the Princess and to help Lubba find the lost Lumas that were part of Bowser’s plot.

The game leaves the hub world from the first game, and sticks to a traditional world map, like in side-scrolling Mario titles. This works great, and is much easier to navigate making it more linear or straightforward as opposed to the somewhat open world. From here, Mario can enter galaxies. . The music though does bring back at times classic melodies from past Super Mario Brothers titles like the first Super Mario Galaxy did, still remains as epic and very appropriate for the game’s atmosphere which perfectly accents the action.. The graphics are absolutely amazing through-out the game

The gameplay of Super Mario Galaxy 2 is similar to that of the first Super Mario Galaxy, with a focus on plat forming based on and around 3D planets with varying sizes and landscapes. The controls are pretty much the same as the first game, and they seem much smoother and more responsive. There is more challenge as the levels are longer and somewhat more difficult. This is a welcome change for experienced gamers.  Another change is that there is more 2-dimensional gameplay, which is very well done and serves as a good change of pace, giving that traditional Mario game touch.

Making his galaxy debut, Yoshi as your trusty steed. Yoshi can use his tongue to swing across gaps. When riding Yoshi, the Star Pointer is replaced by a red dot which allows the player to aim and control his tongue to swing off objects, pull levers or swallow and spitting out enemies. Yoshi can also eat fruits that give him various powers, such as the dash pepper which makes Yoshi move like a speed demon through Zero-G platforms, or the blimp fruit with the ability to inflate like a balloon and float in the air to get to certain platforms, or the power to reveal secret paths.  Luigi is also available as a playable character much soon then the previous game which required you to collect 120 stars.

With a new game, come new powers and abilities. From the new Cloud suit, where as you jump you can create cloud platforms in midair to the Rock suit that can make you Invincible as you can easily smash your way through foes and rocks to uncover hidden star bits and coins all can be used to help you on your quest. Mario can get a drill that allows the player to drill through planets adding a new dimension to the game. The game also allows a second player to control an Orange Luma to help Mario. In addition to freezing enemies and grabbing stars for the player, the Luma can attack enemies and collect items such as coins and bubbles, holding on to them until Mario needs them.

Super Mario Galaxy 2 is smooth, polished and shows the time-dedicated love and attention that was bestowed upon it during its 3-year absence. It takes the best parts of the original and makes them better while taking away what didn’t work the first time. They have wisely included more for player 2 to do while acknowledging that Mario is still, front and center, the star of the show. The music is even more fully orchestrated than before. The attention to detail is phenomenal and showcases Nintendo’s desire to never compromise by releasing a product too quickly without undergoing the rigorous quality control that this game clearly had.