MEMBER PROFILE FOR Jaken Bear
Average Overall Score Given: 8.38571 / 10
Total Forum Posts: 11
Reviews
NHL 11
Dear Hockey,I?ve been meaning to tell you something for awhile now. I?ve waited almost twenty years and feel it?s time to let you know how I really feel. I can?t hold my true feelings in any longer so I?ll just go ahead and say it. * Hockey, I think I love you *. I love the way you make me feel when I?m out on the ice, I love the tingle I get when I score the big goal, and I love the unparalleled excitement I get every time I hoist Lord Stanley?s legendary cup.
EA Canada?s NHL 11 marks the 20th Anniversary of the storied NHL Franchise, and I can say without a doubt that a new high watermark has been set (NHL 94 purists be damned). This is the closest a game has ever come to recreating the feeling of playing real life hockey. The combination of a real time physics engine, broken sticks, new quick dekes, a brilliant face-off system, the insanely addictive Hockey Ultimate Team mode, as well as a returning list of features too long to list in one review, will secure NHL 11 a future spot in the video game hockey hall of fame. With any sports game, you could probably write a novel detailing each new feature as well as the myriad of options and menus that have been added over the years. Let?s touch on a few of the major features that make NHL 11 so fantastic.
The big addition to the game mechanics is the implementation of a real time physics engine. Hockey by its very nature is a sport heavily influenced by crashing bodies in motion, bullet fast pucks sliding across slick ice, and having one dramatic shift in momentum be the key turning point in the outcome of a game. What the physics really allow is the game of hockey to be played out as intended. Unlike past games in the series, every hit is different and unscripted. The animations happen on the fly based on several factors including the size of the players, their speed, and where they make contact. I often found myself getting bumped off the puck by an opposing defender but still was able to remain in the play. You still get big hits when appropriate, but the overall result is a more realistic game of hockey. Pucks and sticks are also affected by the physics which plays into rebounds, stick lifts, and the new face-off mini game. Goal line scrambles and big rebounds off a goalie?s pads look and feel spot on.
Also new this year is Hockey Ultimate team, which merges fantasy hockey with an addictive league that will keep you playing all year. The premise is that you are given a starter pack of cards, and are then tasked to build your dream team. There are over 4000 player cards to acquire, cards for training and leveling up your players, logo and jersey cards, arena cards, head coach cards, and contract cards. Each player has a set career limit on how many games he can play as well as a contract number, which determines how many games he can play for your team before they need to be re-signed. Top level players cost more ?EA pucks? to sign, so I found a good strategy was to lock young prospects into long term deals before leveling them up. With a salary cap in place, as well as having to worry about players retiring and contracts expiring, each game becomes a micro game within itself. Careful planning is needed to ensure your team has a future in the league. I almost played myself out of the game by running out of contracts for my players, but was able to pick some up on the cheap in the auction house. You can even trade cards with friends, and bid on other cards and contracts available.
There wouldn?t be much point in creating an Ultimate team if you couldn?t take it out into the world and battle vs. friends and strangers. Thankfully, the EA Ultimate Hockey League has been introduced. The goal each month is to make the playoffs in one of three divisions (Amateur, Pro, and Elite), and then win the championship. Monthly champions will even have a banner raising ceremony before each game as well as a championship logo on the ice. Now you?ll know when you are matched up against a former league champion which should add to the intimidation factor. You can chose to play in a single EAUHL online game, in a single player match vs. the CPU, or in a variety or online and offline tournaments. In all of these games you earn EA pucks, which you then use to invest in your team, buy new card packs, or bid on some desired superstars. I?m really looking forward to seeing the various strategies people are going to use to build their teams. If you have ever wanted to be a GM or put your hockey money where your hockey mouth is, then Hockey Ultimate Team is your chance.
Be a Pro and Be a GM return this year with a few notable improvements, the biggest being full Canadian Hockey League (CHL) integration. In Be a GM, you can now draft real life prospects from the CHL as well as other European leagues. Authentic draft picks ensure you feel just as shamed as Brian Burke does when Boston has your first round picks for the next two years. The GM mode also takes into account the full set of rules in the CBA. This means rules nerds are going to have a blast playing around with restricted and unrestricted free agents and all the finagling that comes with the job of a real life GM.
The successful EA Sports hockey league makes another appearance and is even more robust than before. You can join a team with friends, or if you?re lacking in that department, can become an EASHL free agent. This allows you to jump into pick-up games with other free agents, while at the same time leveling up your player. A practice mode has been added so clubs can play up to full 6 on 6 scrimmages and work on their game strategies. Even human goalies can get in on the practice action which should benefit GAA?s across the league.
Out on the ice, it?s the subtle touches that really make NHL 11 shine. The new passing system is now pressure sensitive, allowing you to gently feather a pass to a teammate, or zipping the puck across the ice by holding and releasing the left trigger a bit longer. The board play has also seen significant updates the biggest being not allowing opponents to use it as an offensive exploit. An all new hustle system has been added and allows you to click in the left stick to gain a bit of speed in key situations. Over using hustle will tire your player out much quicker so its best used in moderation.
Continuing on, disallowed goals have been added which includes video review. Kick a puck in the net or hit it with a high stick and there?s a good chance the booth upstairs will need to take a look. These sequences even show the goal from multiple angles and can cause some nerve racking moments, especially near the end of a close game. When you do score goals, the variety of ways in which the puck finds its way into the net has never been seen before in a hockey game. The motto this year was ?Every moment can be a WOW moment?, and I wasn?t disappointed. I scored some simply artful goals, but also picked up my share of hard working, coal miner from Sudbury type goals as well.
To conclude my love letter to the game, let me just say this. If you love hockey, you need to play NHL 11. The lords of the burnt biscuit demand it be so.
Yours Truly,
Jake
Overall Score: 9.5 / 10
Tomb Raider Anniversary
Lara Croft is taking center stage yet again but this time she?s going back to her roots. In her ten year history she has seen many successes, and lived through many failures. From sequel after sequel and Hollywood block busters, this girl has been around the block a few times. Originally conceived on the PC Lara has always been known for her exploration skills, crafty puzzle solving ability, witty charm, and of course her two best polygonal shaped assets. Anniversary is a re-imagined remake of the original Tomb Raider that we first fell in love with all that time ago. Replacing the once clunky keyboard based controls with the controller centric ones from last year?s well received Tomb Raider Legend makes a huge difference, and even old veterans will want to relive the glory. The main story involves the search for the ?Scion of Atlantis? that Lara and her father spent years searching for. Your adventures will take you through the mountain caves of Peru, the cathedrals of Greece, some temples in Egypt, and you even make a stop at the great Pyramid. As always, the vibe here is very Indiana Jones like, and the exaggerated environments and puzzles you face and ultimately escape will leave you wanting more. Story elements are loosely tied together via cut scenes and grand set piece puzzles as you work your way to finding all the pieces of the Scion. It works as a nice backdrop for the real star of the game, and that is the excellent gameplay.
Tomb Raider Anniversary, despite being a remake of an older game, shows that regardless of graphics and technology, a "good game" is still a "good game". The environments you navigate through have been stunningly reworked and you will often find yourself in awe as you enter new areas. The way you play the game can best be described as an action/puzzle hybrid. Upon entering each zone, you are given a fly by of the area, and then it?s up to you to figure out how to get from point A to Point B. This has always been the beauty of Tomb raider. Ledges, cliffs, and conveniently placed poles are placed in precarious locations and it?s up to you to navigate them to the best of your ability using Lara?s ape like abilities.
The control here is spot on. Lara jumps and attaches to ledges that look impossible to grab, acrobatically swings around poles, and back flips with the ease of a world class gymnast through dangerous spike traps. That?s not to say things always work out though. When Lara doesn?t quite reach that ledge or land just on the other side of a menacing wall of spikes, things get messy. Not messy in a ?Holy Crap that?s a lot of blood? way, but more like a ?ouch that had to hurt? kind of way. Falling hundreds of feet to your death or being impaled has never looked so painful, as you can almost feel the impact of Lara meeting her maker. Thankfully for you, there is a generous auto save feature, but I also recommend saving more often which will avoid some frustration.
Not only will you need to be good on the pole, but Lara is also adept at gun play. An easy auto targeting system helps keep enemies in focus as you acrobatically flip around the world shooting and avoiding their attacks. Shoot one of the beasts (more on them later) enough and it goes into rage mode. Once in rage mode, they charge at you and you need to align two targeting reticules with your sticks as the game slows to a matrix like pace. This targeting system also applies to shooting switches and solving puzzles. New to Anniversary is the grappling hook that was introduced in Tomb Raider Legend. A lot of the old puzzles have been given new solutions as you have to use the grappling hook to swing across chasms, move large objects around the environment, and run along walls as you ascend ancient structures. Overall, these new control options are head and shoulders above what we first experienced back on the PC all those years ago. It?s true; Lara Croft no longer controls like a tank!
Those all too common ?Quick Time Events? (press the button that flashes up on screen in time) have also been added to the fray, as every game under the sun seems to be using these as an excuse to make you feel like you are actually participating in the cut scene as it unfolds. In theory, these are supposed to be fun, but in reality they just reduce you to a button pressing moron. It worked well for games like Resident Evil 4 and God of War, but doesn?t feel quite right to be used in the Tomb Raider universe.
The visuals have obviously been given a boost from the original, and many previously sharp and blocky objects and assets have been ?rounded? out. While definitely not as visually stunning as Tomb Raider Legends, you still get a nice looking game. The Lara character model is fairly well animated, and she even shows signs having been for a swim as she will appear wet for a period of time after leaving water. (Mind of out gutter please). There are also a host of well crafted enemies that you?ll be facing, and most seem to come from the animal kingdom. It won?t be uncommon to face off against giant Gorillas, ferocious lions, cougars, and even a prehistoric T-Rex. What really shines here are the expansive environments and awe inspiring locales you will need to navigate.
As this is a celebration of the franchise, Eidos was sure to include plenty of extra in the package. These are unlocked by doing well in the various levels, such as finding a certain number of hidden relics, or beating a level in a certain amount of time. Some of the things you can unlock include developer commentary, additional outfits, cinematics, art galleries, character bios, cheats, music, and more. To unlock all of these you?ll have to do a lot of extra exploring but fans of the series will want to take the time to do so. The Croft mansion is also available for exploration right from the start of the game, and that can be used to learn the game?s controls and unlock additional secrets.
It?s been a long and tumultuous ride over the years for our girl Lara. It?s nice to see her go back to what made her the woman she is today. Solid controls, huge areas to explore and conquer, and larger than life ancient block puzzles to solve all make an appearance. And while it?s not normally important to talk about a games price in a review, the 29.99 price tag makes this a must buy even for those who are a little ?Lara Croft? curious. Pick it up, you won?t be disappointed.
Overall Score: 8.0 / 10
Orange Box, The
What's an Orange Box you ask? The obvious answer would be somewhere that you keep your tasty oranges locked away. Perhaps you only take this ?orange box? of yours out on special occasions like Christmas or Easter. The real answer though is that the Orange Box is one of the best "bang for your buck" sack of goodness to come along in awhile, stuffing 5 chunks of gaming magic into one beautiful package. Included in the package you get Half Life 2, Half Life 2 Episode 1, Half Life 2 Episode 2, the class based multiplayer shooter Team Fortress 2, and to top things off the brand new world of Portal. It?s hard to know exactly where to start so lets crack open the box and see what we find.The first nugget in the package is the multiple game of the year 2004 award winning Half Life 2. For the uninitiated, Half Life 2 continues the adventures of the stoic Gordon Freeman and his adventures at the black Mesa research facility from the original Half Life. The story opens with little fan fare, as you awake and find yourself on a train full of refugees on your way to ?City 17?. Nothing is really explained as to why you are there or what to do next and that is part of the mystery of the story to come. As you work your way through the initial part of the game you can?t help be overwhelmed by an eerie sense of doom. The story unfolds via a series of brilliantly timed events and real time cut scenes that take place from your first person perspective. In fact, you never see Gordon Freeman in third person, as you actually become him yourself. The pacing of half life 2 is brilliant, and just when you think you?ve caught your breath from one encounter, along comes another. And then once you get the Gravity gun a few levels into your adventure, things get really fun. The excellent physics engine at work in Half Life 2 has you throwing saw blades through the air to cut zombies in half, and moving around chunks of wood on a sandy beach to form platforms as you avoid weird aliens known as ant lions.
Another great part about Half Life 2 is the expansive environments you will navigate throughout your adventures. The game world is so well crafted you might actually think ?City 17? is a real place. Graphically the game is 3 years old, but still holds up well. It certainly looks better than the its Xbox port released a few years ago, although Valve may have taken the easy way out and just cleaned up some textures, and added a few lighting effects. The bottom line though is that many a gamer who never had the chance to play Half Life 2 due to a sub standard gaming PC or just missed this little gem altogether, can now see what all of the hype was about. The only real downside to finishing the game is that it kind of has a cliff hanger ending. Fortunately, unlike back then, there are two more episodes of the story waiting for you in your Orange Box.
Episode 1 and Episode 2 are the result of Valve?s original plan to continue the Half Life story in bite size and regularly released chunks. Well, with years between both episodes, the whole episodic thing didn?t end up working out too well. Thankfully though, now you can dive right into them back to back because it?s all on one disk. Episode 1 essentially begins a few moments after the events in Half Life 2. Due to certain story elements, Gordon Freeman finds himself with no weapons except the gravity gun. The 5 or so hour episode starts off with you infiltrating the City 17 citadel. The first two chapters, with no real weapons at hand, have a heavy focus on using your gravity gun and its ability to toss enemies, move energy balls, and generally cause mayhem. The rest of the episode has some frantic battles back through the city that are even more epic than what you experienced in HL2. This means more fights with striders, more encounters with zombies, and a lot more environmental puzzles to solve. The graphics have also been given a shot in the arm, as the game was finished up quite a while after HL2. The pace of this episode builds gradually, until you reach yet another stunning conclusion.
Perhaps the real gem of the Half Life story so far, Episode 2 again continues where the previous episode left off. Finally free of City 17, the main premise of this episode has you fighting through forests, and open expansive areas as you delve further into the terrific story. There is a very heavy focus on the use of a vehicle in these large open spaces. While good in theory, driving around with precision can prove a tad tricky. Episode 2 also features the mother of all physics puzzles, as the gravity gun is still a key weapon in Gordon?s arsenal. New weapons and ways to play Half Life will also be introduced, and the stunning conclusion should only make the wait for Episode 3 that much harder. Again, both of these episodes look amazing, control for the most part like a dream, and have such a riveting story that you won?t want to stop playing until there is nothing left but the credits.
If single player isn?t your thing, fortunately valve also has you covered with the long awaited debut of Team Fortress 2. To many people out there, Team Fortress 2 has been in development for almost as long as Duke Nukem forever. Valve has been teasing gamers with a sequel to their ever popular Team Fortress classic for what seems like eons. It has gone through many iterations and game engines, but now that it is here, the wait has been well worth it. Take Pixar inspired cartoon and over the top visuals, and mix that in with 9 different and unique class types on 6 maps, and the recipe is there for a great game. You can have up to 16 players in a match, and each map has a unique game type associated with it. 6 overall maps may not seem like a lot at first glance, until you consider how carefully balanced each one really is. One map has you playing standard capture the flag, another involves base capturing, and yet another had you planning and defending bomb drop locations.
The real star of TF2 though is the various classes, and how they counter-act and add that extra layer of strategy rarely seen in online shooters. There are three different class types; offensive (scout, soldier, pyro), defensive (demoman, heavy, engineer), and support (medic, sniper, spy), and each of these types has three types of players. From the mini gun toting, slow moving ?Heavy?, to the frail yet nimble scout each character type has both a unique advantage and disadvantage depending on the opposing team. The medic class for instance, is weak offensively, but in the company of a Heavy and acting as his healer, the duo can wreak havoc. Part of the fun is finding these various team load outs in order to dominate your opposition. A key player is the Engineer class, as the can set up automated turrets as well as teleporters. To counter them, the spy class has not only the ability to disguise himself as an enemy team mate, but also the ability to sap and destroy engineer turrets.
Another great thing about the various class types is the hilarious personalities Valve has imbued into each of them. Rarely does a shooter have you laughing out loud while playing, but Team fortress pulls this off. The class types are clearly distinguishable from far away, so it?s easy to assess the situation and adjust accordingly. There is no mistaking the frail sniper in his cowboy hat from the rocker toting soldier. This humour and variety only serves to embellish one of the deepest multiplayer games of the year. Give it some time to learn the nuances, and you too will be glad to have this in your Orange Box.
Onto the final tasty morsel found within the Orange Box, it?s time to take a look at Portal. This game will bend your mind and warp your soul. It will change the way you think about what a first person "shooter" can be. At its core portal is much more than your run of the mill FPS. Part puzzle, part action, part comedy, Portal blends together these elements into a seamless package like you've rarely seen. It starts out simple enough; you are a human test subject and find yourself trapped in the Black Mesa ?wanna be? Aperture science labs. No instructions on where to go or what to do next, Portal is played almost by instinct. As you are let out of your cell to run through a lab is when you first meet the robotic voice that will guide you through the various levels. Essentially each level is a puzzle, and your goal is to reach the exit. In most games, this would be accomplished by some menial tasks such as stacking some crates, leaping up onto a platform and then climbing up a ladder to an exit.
But most games don't have the portal gun, and this changes the very approach to solving each quirky level. The basic concept is this: your portal gun can create either an orange or a blue portal (you get this later on as an upgrade). Whatever surface they may be on, be it a wall, a floor, or the roof, you can enter the blue portal and emerge from the orange one and vice versa. The laws of physics apply to the portals as well, so if you enter at a high velocity from jumping you shoot out the other end carrying the same velocity. Space altering solutions like this though are abound in portal, and what at first seems impossible to solve will turn into a "cake" walk once you figure it out. For some fun try placing a portal directly above you and then shoot the other one below your own feet. Hold on and enjoy the ride. No game would really be complete without a motive or goal, and what you strive for in Portal is, interesting, to say the least. At no point in your 2 to 4 hour journey (depending on how smart you are) will you become bored, although until you wrap your head around bending physics, you may be confused. It?s a short and sweet trip, but some advanced levels and challenges are unlocked after finishing it once and surely you will go back for more. In fact, Portal just by itself would almost make the Orange Box a worthy full price purchase.
So what else can really be said? The contents of the Orange box have finally been revealed. Included in the box, you will find an engaging single player adventure broken out into several episodes, a brilliantly balanced and class based multiplayer shoot-fest, and an original game that will bend your mind. It?s almost not fair to other developers out there that going forward we might always expect 5 great games for the price of one, but perhaps that?s the cross the Orange Box and Valve have to bear. So please, dig in, and enjoy the tasty oranges. Who knows when we may ever see such a treat again.
Overall Score: 9.6 / 10
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08
Golf can be frustrating. It can push you to your limits, and drive you crazy. Yet for some reason, avid golfers can?t get enough, and continue to push themselves to the limit as they work to improve their game and lower their handicap. Fortunately, video game golf can be a little bit more forgiving, and can help many a weekend warrior feel like the pro they probably will never be. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 brings a host of new features to the golf course and is the best way this year to "be like Tiger". Visually, everything in Tiger 08 is slick and well presented. Once out on the course, it?s the little details that really grab you. Be it the famous beaches at Pebble beach or the cavernous bunkers of St. Andrews, each of the game's courses is a unique experience waiting to be conquered.
The amount of game modes in Tiger 08 is mind blowing. There is everything from traditional round based play and skins matches, to crazier ways to play like Greensome and Bingo, bango, bongo. The latter of these modes awards three points per hole : one for being the first on the green, one for landing the closest to the pin, and one for achieving the lowest score. This mixes things up from the traditional and helps with Tiger's myriad of ways to play. The all new Career mode puts you right into the thick of a PGA tour season modeled after real life PGA events. They have even included this year?s new playoff format, the Fed Ex cup. If you can do well enough throughout the year then you will be invited as one of the top pros in the world to compete in this four week, four course showdown.
The other main mode is the Tiger challenge. In this mode your goal is to eventually work your way up to playing and then beating Tiger Woods. This mode includes a series of mini challenges such as closest to pin contests, par 3 only rounds, and one on one match play against a host of quirky characters and real life pros. Playing the Tiger challenge also rewards you with cash which you can spend in the pro shop and more importantly, improves your stats so you won?t be stuck as a low ranked peon.
If those two modes aren?t your thing there are even more ways to play. Traditional stroke play, skins matches, modified stableford, best ball, and the list goes on. Add in some arcade modes, a practice mode, and mini games and you will be happy and golfing well into next year.
None of these multiple ways to play would matter though if the game didn?t control well. Fortunately, the controls are not a problem. You start by targeting an area where you want your ball to go. The more skilled your golfer, the smaller your aiming circle gets, so early on in the game you might find yourself in the sand or rough quite a bit. The main swing mechanic is handled via the left stick. Pulling the stick back controls your backswing and power. Push forward, and your golfer drives his club towards the ball. If you push left or right slightly as you swing forward your shot hooks or fades.
The system isn?t perfect though as it can have a bit of a learning curve and tends to be a bit touchy. Be ready to restart a lot of holes early on. If you want to go old school, a click of your right stick before your shot brings up a ?3 click? swing bar. Basically one click starts the swing, one click chooses the power, and the third click determines your accuracy. As in real life, confidence comes into play on each and every shot you make. As you progress and build your character, the game keeps track of how you perform in certain situations and adjusts your shot air circle accordingly. The more confident you are the smaller your circle gets.
Putting has also been given an upgrade from last year. The main change is the introduction of the Putt Preview cam. After lining up a putt, pressing the Left Bumper shows you a projected path your putt will follow. The catch is that you can only use this feature once per putt preventing it from becoming a sure way to make each shot. What it does do, is allow you to read the green better. You still need to plan the right power and distance, and making long putts is very rewarding.
By far one of the coolest new things to do in Tiger 08 is to put your face in the game. Using either a few pictures taken via the live vision cam or uploaded to an EA website, you are able to create an eerily lifelike looking avatar. The process is fairly simple too. Snap a few pictures, map some points on the face, and 15 minutes later (as the Xbox 360 crunches some numbers) you are literally in the game . The reason the process takes so long is that the game actually generates your face geometry, rather than just mapping a flat image onto a premade polygonal head.
Perhaps one of the most unique and innovative things to come out of Tiger 08, is what EA has dubbed GamerNet. Essentially, Gamernet is a community hub where you can share your greatest moments and shots, and then challenge others to take them on and beat them. Anything you do in the game can be saved out to your own personal clip library and then posted to GamerNet. So now when you do make that amazing hole in one of the grandstand that no one would normally ever believe you made, there is a way to prove it. Challenges are broken up into various channels. In the celebrity channel you can take on challenges created by real life celebrities and professional athletes. The free style channel allows for more off the wall challenges, like bouncing a shot of the cart path ten times and then hitting 5 spectators. Not exactly golf in its purest sense but this mode can be addicting. Full rounds can also be posted to GamerNet and then you can challenge friends to attempt to beat them.
Tiger Woods 08 has finally delivered on its next gen promises. This is the entire golf package. From a variety of ways to play, to tons of courses, great player customization, and some unique online features, there really isn?t too much more golf nuts could ask for.
Overall Score: 8.4 / 10
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End
Ahoy Matteys! Ye be about to be enterin' the rough seas as ye be battlin' nefarious pirates and sea creatures in a quest to save yer' scurvy soul. Ye will face enemies such as "colossal slimy Squid face", "White wig wearing colonialist", and "generic barnacle encrusted sea pirate". Sharpen ye sword, and prepare to walk the plank. Enough Pirate talk though. While talking like a pirate sure can be fun for awhile, just like this game it tends to get old and repetitive after you've heard all of the "one liners". That is not to say "At World's End" (A.W.E.) is a bad game, but several mis-steps prevent it from being an all time pirate classic.You play the role of most wanted and legendary movie pirate Captain Jack Sparrow played by Johnny Depp. You will also get your chance to play as several other characters from the film although the only real difference between them is visually as well as a few special moves. Your travels take you across land and sea, as well as several levels aboard the ?Black Pearl? pirate ship. While the game claims 11 levels, several of them take place on levels you?ve already played but with a different set of enemies. The main method of dispatching said enemies is via your trusty pirate sword. Swashbuckling fans rejoice because A.W.E. has a lot of both Swash and buckling. So much in fact that the combat tends to get a bit repetitive after awhile (hope you like pressing the A button!). You have one main sword slash (A), a punch (X), and a grapple(Y). Combining these moves fills up a sword meter, after which a special move can be unleashed. Special moves are required to defeat one of the tougher to kill enemies who will appear in and amongst the myriad of generic and easy to dispatch peons you?ll face. The enemies you face keep spawning from magical enemy doors until you kill a certain number of them or defeat all the mini boss characters. While A.W.E. is teen rated, the finishing blows are visually violent and satisfying. You literally impale enemies on your sword or knock them down and stab right through their pirate physiques. Since there is no blood whatsoever, it?s all good cartoony pirate fun. There is also a simplistic boss battle mode used for one on one duels at the end of some levels that involves either pressing up, down or forward on your left stick in a back and forth battle of wits and piracy.
It?s not all about sword fighting though. Sparrow and friends also have a wide variety of acrobatic moves at their disposal to navigate the environments. Moves such as shimmying along cliffs, climbing pirate?s masts, and balancing on beams offer a bit of variety and puzzle solving. It helps break up the several long and drawn out sword battles but make sure not to fall into the ocean or it?s back to the last checkpoint. Nothing ever became too challenging, except a few instances where you need to alternate between controlling 3 characters at once and the AI is pretty much brain dead and unable to defend iself.
A.W.E. follows the storyline of the last two films in the Pirates series, but unless you've seen both you?ll often find yourself confused. You will be working together with an ally, and next thing you know you?ll end up having to fight them. The cut scenes attempt to piece the levels together and while fun to watch, make little to no sense at conveying the story. Why are you in the scurvy pirate village? Why are you saving Black Bart and going to Shanghai to invade a bathhouse? Good questions.
Incentive to go back and replay levels is offered in the form of several cliché collect-a-thons. Each level has seven hidden items such as shells or bottles of rum. Additionally, there is a hidden piece of parchment in each level, and collecting them all unlocks a special bonus (150 gamerscore too!). If you pay attention, the hidden chests tend to be in obvious hiding spots such as on up on clearly visible ledges, and behind obviously waiting to be opened doors. Diligent gamers who pay attention should be able to get most of them on their first play through and score an easy 1000 gamer points.
One area where Pirates really shines is in the visual department. From the dead on look of Jack Sparrow, to stunning water effects, this game dresses to impress. They even managed to capture Sparrow's signature drunken walk and mannerisms. Captain Squid face (aka Davey Jones) and his crew look delectably slimy, as if they were pulled out from the bottom of a dark and dirty ocean. It really is nice to see such high production values in a movie licensed game, and you can tell the artists didn?t just phone this one in. This visual quality helps suck you into the Pirates world, and at least for awhile helps you forget that you just dispatched your 1000th enemy using the same techniques learned from the very first level.
Audio is a mixed bag. While the soundtrack is fairly well done, the problem is that it tends to repeat a lot. The tunes are catchy though and if you find yourself humming along don?t feel too bad. There is a lot of sword clanking and pirate talk too, but again, lots of repetition.
Multiplayer is also included but is limited to local console only. You can take part in one on one duels using the boss battle minigame, or play in a series of timed pirate battles. Team up cooperatively for a high score or be competitive and try to kill more pirates than the other guy. It?s limited in nature but fun for awhile. Too bad the entire game can?t be played through in this split screen mode, as co-op always tends to add a little fun to long and repetitive single player campaigns.
In this summer blockbuster movie season, we are going to be seeing a lot of licensed titles hitting the 360. Pirates offers some spattering of fun, but in the end might bore you. Fans of the Pirates films or those looking for something to keep them busy over a weekend should give this a look. Ultimately, there isn?t enough meat here to keep you playing for weeks on end, but if you want something to show off your HDTV with not a lot of thinking involved, you are in for a treat. Not horrible at all, but also, nothing aside from the visuals is compelling enough to warrant a higher score. This is definitely the right direction to take a movie licensed game, let?s just hope they can build on this and offer some gameplay innovations next time.
Suggestions: There needs to be more variety both in combat and the types of enemies you fight. The first few levels are really enjoyable but by then end you are left wanting something more. The game looks freaking amazing though, so bonus pirate booty for that.
Overall Score: 6.6 / 10
Forza Motorsport 2
Car lovers rejoice! The ultimate car passion simulator has been unleashed onto your Xbox 360. Take a love of cars that lies deep inside us all, mash it up with a need to collect and customize those cars to your heart's content, and throw in one of the most advanced and realistic driving engines ever conceived, and you get a small sampling of what Forza Motorsport 2 offers. Following up on the heels of critically acclaimed 2005 hit Forza Motorsport 1 for the original Xbox, this true next gen sequel really delivers on the promise from Turn 10 studios to harvest what they like to call "car passion". It goes above and beyond by offering a little something for everyone, and by making itself accessible to the masses while at the same time challenging the hardcore.The star of the show in Forza Motorsport 2 is the cars. There are over 300 rides from almost 50 manufacturers to choose from and each one feels unique in its own way. While you won't have access to every single one of them when you first start, a big part of the fun is earning and unlocking the cars as you progress through the game. A big part of what makes each of them unique is the innovative Performance Index (PI) system. Basically cars are divided into several classes based on their performance characteristics. You go from the lowly D class cars, up to C, B, and A. Above A class, is the S class cars, followed by 4 race classes (R4, R3, R2, R1), and then mighty U class (these are hard to keep on the track). These letters have a 3 digit number associated with them and that goes up to 999. For instance, take a D346 class car, tweak it a bit, add a turbo charger and some racing slicks, and it gets reclassified to a B521. Upgrading your cars is all about finding the right balance, and those looking to add raw power to cars that can?t handle it will see the results as they end up in the side wall. It is totally possible to take a D class Lancia Delta, mod the crap out of it , and have it get up into the S class amongst Ferraris? and porches. This is all well and good, but it may not always be the best approach. A Lancia Delta after all, is basically a tin can on wheels. While it can get a similar PI value with lots of tweaking, it is probably going to find a better home in the B or A class. The good thing is that unlike most driving games, you can really take those starter cars from early on in your career, and not want to throw them to the curb once you unlock some of the more traditional big boy race cars. Tin cans, when paid the right attention, can race amongst the high end metal beasts.
Once you have all the upgrades you wish on a car, there's additional depth you can achieve via tuning. Tuning includes such options as adjusting the front and rear downforce, tire pressure, camber, and whole bunch of other high tech car wizardry that mechanics dream of at night. Again, as with the rest of the game, Forza 2 wants to teach you about cars and doesn?t presume you are an expert. Each tuning option available is clearly explained as you make the tweaks, and a handy benchmark tools shows you results at a glance. Real gear heads will want to take the car out on the track to really see the benefits. From within these tuning runs, you can even make on the fly adjustments with a few button presses. This is almost a mini game in itself. Finally, you can save out your different tuning configurations, as certain tracks will benefit from vastly different setups. None of this is necessary if you just want to race, but the level of depth it provides is a welcome addition to the game.
Once out on the track (there are 12 environments with 47 ribbon configurations), the excellent Forza driving physics engine takes over. Turn 10 was not kidding when they talk about being physics obsessed, as the game makes 360 calculations and measurements per second. One only has to pop open then handy in game telemetry screen (race data) to see all of the variables at work. The coolest thing about the telemetry screen is that you can pull it up at any time: live during your race, on your replays, and even while watching friends live games while waiting in the lobby. If you want to dig deep and pay attention to all of the details they are there for you to do so. If you just want to race and not worry about the details, you will still be amazed by the amazing feeling you get from each and every car you take to the road. The best aspect of driving the cars though, is how accessible the game makes it for beginners all the way up to driving pros. Even if you are not the best racer in the world, you are given a variety of assists and driving aids to help you along and to teach you the game. Making a return is the ever popular driver line, which is a dynamic line that turns red, yellow, or green depending on your speed and lays out the optimal driving line. You can also choose such things as Stability Control, antilock braking, and traction control to help you around the track. Having all of this help at your side really is a welcome addition and should help those intimidated by "sim racers" get into the game in ways they never thought possible. Online though, your mean pro race driver friends have the option of forcing certain assists on or off, so pay attention to the host if you rely on certain assists in order to survive races.
For those fans that enjoy spending time smashing into walls, the damage modeling on the cars will not disappoint. If you take a turn too fast, slide off the track and smash into a cement wall, a sickening thud of crunching metal along with a part of your car falling off will usually result. And depending on if you have damage set to cosmetic, realistic, or simulation, it may spell the end of the race as well. Again, the option is yours how you want to handle damage, but at the simulation level you really have to watch how you race. Highly damaged cars will veer off to the left or right, and smoke pouring from your engine will confirm the reason why you can't get the car into 5th gear anymore.
The real meat of the single player game can be found in career mode. You start off by choosing one of three regions (Asia, North America, or Europe), and are given enough cash to buy one starter car. From here you race in a series of "proving ground" races on various ribbon configurations of the fictional test track. Win a few races, earn some cash, and you can add a car or two to your garage, or spend the money on upgrades for your existing ride. What drives your career forward is the concept of Driver level. Each race you win earns you credits. As you continue to earn credits by winning, you level up your driver. You can also earn reward cars by as you level up, as well as by winning race series. A lot of times, you can take reward cars, and that unlocks various other races you are eligible for. There is a constant sense of reward as you advance through your career. Variety is another big factor here too. Races series are divided into events usually comprising of a series of races on various tracks. Examples of the type of events you will race are specific engine class battles, various class showdowns and championships, non aspirated engines only, manufacturer specific series, historical showdowns, Regional championships, and even grueling 30+ lap endurance races. Needless to say, career mode will keep drivers busy for a long time, especially those who want to reach level 50 and collect all of the cars. If that wasn?t enough, the car stable you build up in career can be taken online to challenge friends, and you can then race online to further line your pockets with career dough. The concept of reward is present throughout career mode too, and as you climb the ranks, you unlock new discounts on parts and cars from certain manufacturers. You are even rewarded for loyalty to using a favorite car, and just like your driver levels up, cars can level up too.
A lot of time will be spent rubbing fenders with the AI drivers. The brilliant part about them is that they really do know the tracks, and you really do feel like you are racing against a smart and savvy opponent, rather than a dummy that only follows a set racing line. (ahem , PGR3). One would expect nothing less though of a neural network learning system developed by Microsoft's advanced AI research team in Cambridge, England. Let?s just hope Turn 10 locked down the learning capabilities, because the last thing we need is sentient Forza 2 AI?s taking over the planet.
As for graphics, the level of detail Turn 10 has delivered to each and every car model is insane. Each car has been meticulously recreated down to the brake light and brake pad. The detail is that deep and impressive. As you lap around the tracks, dynamic dust accumulates on your car. Parts that have been knocked off of cars in all too common ?turn 1 crashes? remain littered on the track. Light and dynamic reflections shimmer and shine off the cars. Bringing this all together, the game runs at a rock solid 60 frames per second and never stutters. While the graphics may not look 100% photorealistic, this is as close as it gets. Minor graphical quibbles aside, only picky racers should find themselves complaining for too long because one you hit the track, you are immersed in driving heaven.
Sound wise, there is a real variety of detail between each and every one of the cars you?ll take out on the pavement. You can tell a clear difference when you upgrade the engine or drop in a turbo charger. Crashing has never sounded so good, as crunching metal on metal collisions result in some sickening sounds. And unlike Forza 1, the in game?s in menu music is actually decent (good bye crazy guitar riffs).
If all of the above were not enough, Forza 2 pushes innovation over the edge and brings to the table a host of community options that will keep this game alive for years to come. One of the gripes in Forza 1 was that while you could design and make some amazing cars, it was hard to share them with friends in the community. Sure you could take cell phone pics and post them onto forums, but Turn 10 has solved all of this with the inclusion of photomode. In fact, photomode in itself could almost be its own game. You can take pictures of your cars at any time, including in a nice showroom like user interface, or on the track. Pause the game mid race, position you camera, and snap away. You can even take photos from saved replays of online races. The results can then be saved to your hard drive or memory unit, and even better, they can be uploaded to Forzamotorsport.net. From there you can log in with your passport Id and grab the latest 5 shots you've uploaded to do with as you please. Finally, you will be able to show your works of art off to the masses.
As for paintjobs, there is almost no limit as to what can be accomplished. The Livery Editor has been fully blown out for the sequel, and there are thousands upon thousands of layers you can use to paint the car of your dreams. There are gamers who will probably spend a majority of time creating unique works of art and selling then on the new Online Auction house. Selling and buying cars online has never been so fun, and addictive.
Online play is here of course, and up to 8 players can race over Xbox live or system link. Even if you don?t have a full room, a cool option this time around is that you can fill the rest of the slots up with AI racers. The host of the room has a plethora of options and can restrict things such as car class, driving line, and even force certain views. This should prevent that typical online jerk from coming into your D class room with his souped up S class Honda and ruining all of your fun. Turn 10 will also be hosting weekly online automated tournaments you can qualify for and race against the best in the world.
For the achievement fans, there are a few low hanging fruits to pick off (like reach driver level 1), but a lot of them will be gained by progressing through the lengthy career mode. Many of them can be gained by collecting all the cars in a certain region, and other are focused on reaching certain driver level milestones.
So has turn 10 succeeded in delivering the ultimate racing sim? Between the gigantic career mode, the deep 360 Hz physics, hundreds of insanely detailed cars, the beautiful livery editor, the auction house, online tournaments, and an integrated online community site, it?s hard not to say they have. Casual fans and hard core gear heads alike will find something to love about Forza Motorsport 2. See you at the finish line and remember to always brake in a straight line when you can.
Suggestions: Release lots of new cars and tracks via Xbox Live Marketplace at regular intervals and for reasonable prices, and the community around this game will thrive for years.
Overall Score: 9.4 / 10
Rayman Raving Rabbids
DANGER!! The Bunnies are loose and no one is safe! Large numbers of bunnies have been reportedly showing up everywhere, and authorities fear more could be on the way. If you spot any of theses "Raving Rabbids" in the wild DO NOT approach them. They are armed and considered dangerous, with their weapon of choice being toilet plungers....dirty, dirty toilet plungers. The only way to deal with them is via a series of mini games and wacky challenges. This is what we know so far. Bunnies Don't Milk Cows. Bunnies Have No Memory. Bunnies Don't Understand Bowling and most importantly, bunnies Don't Use Toothpaste. There is some good news though as a hero has appeared and that hero's name is Rayman. Captured by the evil bunny overlord "Serguei" while out on a picnic with his green frog like friends the , Rayman is now in captivity and being used for the purpose of their daily entertainment. Every morning, he is taken to a coliseum and presented a series of four challenges. If he is lucky enough to pass these, he has a chance to partake in the days "Final Trial". No one expects Rayman to survive and things pretty look bleak. Can Rayman escape? Can he win the hearts and minds of his captors and save his green pals? Will Bunnies ever use toothpaste? These are all questions you can answer yourself by playing Rayman Raving Rabbids.While the game?s premise may seem a little out there, it is the foundation around which the Raving Rabbids Story mode is built. Each day in story mode, Serguei fetches Rayman and throws him into the middle of a roman style coliseum. All around, throngs of screaming Rabbids give the thumbs down, just like in the old gladiator movies we've all seen. The good news is that as you progress through the story the crowd will eventually end up cheering you on and become some of your biggest fans. Each game day consists of four mini games, and after completing at least three of them successfully; you are given a more complicated Final Challenge. Some of the mini games can literally last 10 seconds, while others will have you dancing like a madman using the left and right triggers in what can only be described as "DDR-lite meets Alvin and The Chipmunks". Your reward for passing a day's worth of trials? A giant Plunger. Taken back to his prison cell at the end of the day, Rayman quickly discovers that he can use these Reward Plungers to build a plunger ladder up to a high-up and distant window through which he can make his eventual escape.
The prison cell serves as a clever way of representing the in-game options for Story Mode. You can go to the clothes closet to change your look, putting on a selection of the multiple bonus outfits you are able to unlock by completing daily events. You can go and sit on the toilet to review the various day?s games (you are able to replay games you've already completed to try to get a higher score). You can also go to the jukebox and listen to music you've unlocked via completing the various dance mini game stages. You can also check on your progress by taking a look at how high your plunger ladder goes and how close it is to reaching the window. This scenario probably leads to one of the oddest cut scenes you will ever see. Rayman looks up as a wacky looking bird with giant eyes flies in the window. The two creatures smile at each other in a mutual exchange of respect. Then, out of nowhere, the bird craps on Rayman's face and flies off. Crude, yes, but it is humour like that drives the game forward and always keeps you guessing as to what you'll see next.
So how do these mini games play out?
For the most part the controls are fairly simple and will involve trigger pulls or presses on the A button as you move your character or an on-screen cursor around with the analogue sticks. It's hard to really summarize in a review all of the crazy things that you'll be doing since the game always keeps you guessing as to what will happen next. As you get deeper into the story, you will always be getting new challenges mixed in with some repetition of previous tasks. One of the challenges you get to participate in each day will be a dancing mini-game that has Rayman cutting a rug out on the dance floor. While one of many familiar songs plays(Girls just wanna have fun, the Pulp fiction song with the janky guitar), Rabbids roll onto screen on one of two conveyor belts, and you have to press either the left or right trigger depending on what side of you they appear on. It?s a simple beat-based mechanic, but as new songs are unlocked, the challenge grows as more Rabbids will come on screen at once. Feeling brave? You can bust out your Xbox Live Vision camera and have some real fun ? sort of. Some of the mini games support gesture-based control similar to what you might find on the Nintendo Wii version of this game.
In fact, Rayman was first released on the Wii back in November of last year to launch the system, so an admirable job has been done in giving 360 owners some "waggle" ability, while not totally overwhelming them. The vision camera control, when it actually fits the particular mini game you are playing, definitely adds a lot of fun to the mix. Some games that give you the option of using camera control though, just aren't as fun to control as you might like. For instance, playing the dancing game with the camera is near impossible and a more difficult chore than using the L and R triggers, as trigger presses are replaced by flapping your arms around on either side of the screen like a drunk ostrich. In mini games that require you to build up some speed by rapidly pressing L and R in alternating fashion, it is also easier to score better with a controller than a camera. Having said that, the most fun you will probably have with the camera controls is on a lot of the day's final trials. A lot of these consist of what can be described as a shooter-on-rails similar to arcade classics like VirtuaCop and House Of The Dead. Your movement is controlled by the game, and your job is to aim your plunger gun at an onslaught of attacking bunnies as they come on screen to attack you. To shoot, you simply aim your hands at the bunnies on screen and wave at them, and once targeted a plunger will shoot automatically. Reloading is accomplished by a swipe to the left of the screen. Now, besides the fact you will look like a cat hopped up on catnip as your flail your arms around rapidly for three or four minutes, the experience is actually quite engaging and provides a reason to move up off of the couch and kick some rabbit ass. It was actually a bit refreshing and a good change of pace to mix in some gesture based gaming, although not a deal breaker at the end of the day. If you do have a camera, give it a try.
Achievement fans rejoice, as you can get half of the game?s achievements (500 gamerscore) just by diligently playing through story mode which should take you about 6 or 7 hours total. It would probably take a bit less time if not for the constant barrage of loading screens in between bouts of fun. While the game makes up for the load times with a handful of quirky cut scenes starring the bunnies, by the end of the game you will be sick of seeing them. You could play a game for 20 seconds, load for 20 seconds, see Rayman celebrate, and then load again to get you back to the coliseum. Annoying! You would think on the 360 such load times could be avoided but maybe this is a consequence of having to design the game under the assumption not all xbox 360?s have hard drives.
The other main mode in RRR is the Score Mode. In Score Mode, you have the ability to play any of the 70+ mini-games from Story Mode, all while trying to best your top scores. On top of individually playing the games, there are a series of difficult challenges that combine several events into groups, which is a chance to earn even more points. The overall goal of this mode is to obtain a score of 183,000 and to ultimately become the GREATEST RAYMAN EVER (that?s the actual Achievement name, and it will net you 100 gamer points). Score Mode also supports local multiplayer for up to 4 players in certain games. Some games will have all players on screen at once, while others will involve taking turns to see who can set the best score. The camera controls are not supported in multiplayer though, so any ideas of accidentally punching friends in the face in the name of besting their score should be left outside the ring. Since the game is on Xbox 360, one would expect it to take advantage of Xbox Live for leader boards. The game does have leader boards, except you won't be viewing these via the game. In what is a glaring nod to the game?s roots on Wii, you are given an old school passcode that you need to enter into a website to compare your scores with those of other raving Rayman lunatics around the world. Pretty weak! Xbox live is there for a reason, and its disappointing it was not taken better advantage of.
The art style and character design, particularly of the Rabbids, is fantastically clever. These white beasts are both cute and menacing at the same time. It might take you back to the days of your childhood when you were partly scared of, yet at the same time fascinated, by the Muppets. The Rabbids seem very much as if they were ripped from a Tim Burton ?Nightmare Before Christmas? type of setting. An amazing art book is also included in the game box, and it?s so good you may actually want to buy some picture frames and start decorating your office. There is such a great variety in the types of environments and situations you will get to interact with the Rabbids in, and overall these environments look decent and well decorated. A lot of them even pay homage to past Ubi titles, so keep your eyes peeled for Rabbids in Sam Fisher style Night Vision goggles. Comparing the look and feel of graphics to the Wii version, you are definitely getting the most bang for your Rayman buck.
Rayman Raving rabbits may not be for everyone, but it does have several redeeming qualities that make it worth taking a look. Those interested in some mindless fun, and who enjoy these types of quick pick up and play mini-game collections should be satisfied. Trying to get a perfect game in Score Mode will keep you playing for a long time too. Plus, rabbits are cute, and who doesn?t want to play a game with cute psychotic rabbits.
Overall Score: 7.2 / 10
