Game Reviews

[Snake Eater]

Black is disappointing in my opinion. Gameplay gets really old, short game, and no multiplayer. It is fun for the first few hours, but then gets really boring. The explosions and graphics are good though.

[Archem]

Yeah, I guess it's not for everyone. I was promised great graphics, loud explosions, and destructablility out your ***, so I was pleased. Besides, I've been a fan of this kind of game for quite a while. For those less aused with a constant state of chaos, you could call it a 7.5 out of 10. I'm getting Metroid Prime: Hunters tomorrow, but I'm also gonna be grounded (again). Expect a review as soon as I get ungrounded (hopefully by the end of th week).

[Snake Eater]

heh.... What I posted made it seem like I really hated the game. Thats not true.... It was fun. I would give it a score around 7.5/10

[Archem]

OH MY GOD!!! I got Metroid Prime: Hunters yesterday (the GameStop near my house ordered them late), and IT PWNZORZ!!! I'll give a review as soon as I beat (or almost beat) the game, but until then, just keep in mind that it's crazy-awesome. Well, actually, you can judge for yourself in a couple of days, say, Friday.

[shadus]

Originally posted by shadus

quote:

Originally posted by X_marks_the_ed quote: Originally posted by Archem2 EDIT: By the way, the run animation is suprisingly mesmerizing. They should have a screen saver with Peach running continuously. No, it's nothing perverted, I just get lost while watching it. *Lowers the fan over Shadus'.....* B]

What is that mean?

I still want to know what that means..

[Archem]

It means that watching her running animation is kind of hypnotizing. I'm sure there's a gif on the web somewhere. Find it and you'll see what I mean.

[rush_fan]

If u like blowing **** up and free roaming, buy mercenaries:playground of destruction

[Archem]

Hehe... I wanted that game, but too many other games were (and still are) on my list.

Metroid Prime: Hunters
ESRB Rating: Teen
First-Person Shooter
Graphics: Oh my goodness... Think Metroid Prime (beautiful, by the way), but dumbed down just enough to prevent lag, but not so much to make it unbeautiful.
Playability- A little awkward at first, and prone to cause hand cramps, but after about twenty minutes, you've got it down pat, and it makes first-person on DS feel great.
Sound- I think they're using midi files for music (not a bad thing, however), but the sound effects really immerse you into the action.
Entertainment- Let's put it this way: I couldn't keep the details away from you until I finished the game.

Samus returns, but this time, she's got all the guns for the job (yes, Samus is a female. Sorry for ruining the secret, but it's been known for over a decade.) The base story is that a telepathic message has radiated throughout the universe carrying this message: "The secret to ultimate power lies in the Alimbic Cluster." The Galactic Federation intercepts this message, and becomes worried when they translate it. Naturally, they send in the galaxy's most revered bounty hunter: Samus Aran. Her orders- search for this "ultimate power", and either obtain it and keep it out of the wrong hands, or destroy it.

What started out as an unsuprisingly dull story and linear level designs quickly explodes into a massive scene. This game spans not just one, but TWO planets, and TWO derelict space stations! After attaining new weapons, you can open doors in previous places, vastly expanding the areas to explore. The game as a whole has far more graphical finess than I felt neccessary, which is a good thing for the gamer. Even the scan visor from the previous Prime games makes a return, despite its having less to scan (but that's not a problem, not in the least).

Samus has the same old good things in her arsenal: missiles, power beam, morph balls, morph ball bombs, and jump boots. And, the best part, she keeps ALL OF THEM!!! No more getting jumped by a group of weak enemies and losing everything, no more getting shocked and watching your equipment evaporate, no. She keeps all if it from start to finish. But, she also gets a whole arsenal of, get this, SIX weapons, including a sniper beam and a grenade launcher-style beam! And this is the part of the game that I honestly expected to be "tacked on" to a Metroid multiplayer game, but it turns out to be (for me) the REAL draw of the game.

But forget what you learned from Echoes, Samus CAN have her cake, and eat it too! Online multiplayer has all the bells and whistles, including a recruitable "rivals list" and a friends list. And, if the up to four person matched-up deathmatch games begin to grow old (not for a while, though), you can create your own game, and any active friends and rivals can join. Not to mention the seven different game modes: Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, King of the Hill, Juggernaut, Capture the Flag, Territories, and a game called Bounty, that involves taking a token and scoring a goal with it. And you can even send text and voice messages to friends. The levels are actually mildly modified single-player areas, and there's a whole host of unlockable levels and the other hunters from single-player.

I could go on and on about the good things that this game has, and I could spend all of two minutes tops thinking of the bads that it has (not too many), but this review is currently the longest I've ever written. I'll leave you guys off with a few good screenshots. Trust me, they just don't do the game any justice.

[rush_fan]

i just got 2 great games- godfather and TES4:oblivion

they are amazing!!!!

[Archem]

Oh, I wish I could play Oblivion... If only I had a 360... or a much better computer... Would you mind reviewing them?

[Bluhman]

I can review TES!

[Archem]

Go for it. Oh, and I forgot to mention that Metroid Prime: Hunters has offline multiplayer against bots. Just thought you guys would like to know. And, by the way, 9 out of 10.

[Meiscool-2]

The Elder Scrolls rox my sox.

[Bluhman]

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

Rated: T
Genre: Action RPG
Graphics-In perspective to other PC games, It's quite good-looking.
Playability-At first, in comparison to the previous TES title, Morrowind, Oblivion has a slightly different control and play style. However, in the span of the first 15 minutes, you'll get used to it.
Sound-What can be said? They're not great, but they were better than Morrowind's sound effects and music.
Entertainment Value-Again, what can be said? As entertaining, or moreso, than morrowind, but we can't really compare it to other games of such a small genre. The closest you'd get to what this genre is would probably be Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

Story:

You are given the task of finding the hidden heir to a throne that sits empty, the previous emperor having been killed by an unknown assassin. With no true Emperor, the gates to Oblivion (the equivalent of hell in the world of Tamriel) open, and demons begin to invade Cyrodiil and attack its people and towns. It's up to you to find the lost heir to the throne and unravel the sinister plot that threatens to destroy all of Tamriel.

Of course, such a plot might seem somewhat dry, but there are so many sidestories in this game that the main one doesn't need to matter too much.

Features:
-Somewhat slick NPC AI, which act out conversations, battle moves, training sessions, drinking at bars, and sleeping.
-Revolutionized combat, which allows players to throw out power attacks by moving in a direction whilst charging up your attack. With this, simply tapping your mouse, or the attack button, in the XBOX360's case, will cause you to throw a streamlined flurry of slashes with your weapon. Also, a system of blocking has been inserted, which allows you to shrug off enemy attacks by taking minimal damage.
-Updated Sneaking System.
-Upgraded Magic System; Instead of having to put your weapon away to cast magic, you can easily switch between throwing spells and crushing your opponents with a weapon.
-A face-making system, allowing you to make your hero the prettiest person to walk the lands... Or a fat-faced weirdo.
-Realistic Physics, which enables you to pick up objects and throw them across a room, drag off dead corpses, which, by the way, realistically flop around... like they're dead, gives archery a sense of realism, and, of course, traps in dungeons.
-Automatic levelling system, where, as you level up, so shall opponents. This means that, no matter how powerful you might be, there shall always be someone to at least match you in strength.
-Horses are now in the game. You can't fight on horseback, however.
-Really Damn long game to beat everything. If you embrace this game with open arms, you'll find that finishing it will take a very long time.

My Experience with the game:
I had gotten the PC version of Oblivion right on the day it came out: March 21st. I studied it with caution; somewhat worried wether or not it would work well on my computer. Nonetheless, I opened it up, popped the CD in, installed the game, and booted it up.
After watching an intro movie, explaining the current perdicament of the world, I was immediately greeted with the face of a fairly average, dark-skinned man who was of 35 or 40 years of age. About a few miliseconds later, I realized that this was my character's face I was looking at. I scrolled through the races that were available for my character to be, among them being Imperials, what one might call the All-Around race of the game, Kajhits, cat people who can see in the dark and jump higher than any other race, Nords, Viking like people who excell in combat, Orcs (No explination needed... I hope.), Redguards, Brown-skinned swordsmen, who focus more on strength than endurance than the Nords or Orcs, Wood elves, Quick and small elves, Argonians, A lizard-like folk who can breathe underwater, Bretons, A magic-centered race, Dark Elves, A well-rounded race with dark skin and red eyes, and High Elves, Tall, golden-skinned guys who are incredible spellcasters.
Since I wanted to be big and strong, so as to test out the new combat system, I chose to be a Nord. Then, maticulously, I crafted the ugly, 40-year old face of the nord into a 20-year old, blone-haired warrior, I planned to give a Claymore, suit of armor,
[STRIKE]and trainer who uses a staff to whack wolves with[/STRIKE].
Shortly after that, I then discovered I was trapped in a prison cell. Greeted by another prisoners raspy voice, the prisoner across from my cell then began to taunt me, saying that I would die. Few seconds later, 2 guards and The Emperor, Uriel Septim, came walking to my cell. Uriel Septim, being the insightful dude he was, looked at me and said "You... I've seen you..." He walked up to me and we then talked. I shant tell you what the emperor said because  
[STRIKE]I wasn't paying attention to what that silly goose was saying.[/STRIKE] that would spoil everything, but long story short, Uriel Septim's brothers were assassinated, and he was sure that he was to be next, and he had to escape. As to how I was involved in that story, I have no clue. Shortly after, The guards opened up a convenient secret passage in the wall, which we went through. The guards battled off some armored villanous men as we walked through the blue-lit stone halls. Then, at a doorway, we had to part pathes for some reason I forgot. The Emperor and his 2 guards went on ahead, and a few seconds later, a stone wall nearby conveniently crumbled, revealing a nifty back-passage that I could take, and 2 rats, which I battled off with my blade I had gotten from some guy who had died. Nonehteless, I cleaved right through those silly rats with some of my power moves, and went right on through.
In this room I found a skeleton who had a bow and arrows. I put on both, and tested out the archery sytem. As with actual archery, The more you pull back an arrow, the farther and faster it shall fly. Simply tapping the button will cause the arrow to uselessly flop right in front of you. Thankfully, you can re-retrieve your arrows after they've been fired... Sometimes.
I then found a lockpick, and a locked chest. Being the resourceful guy I was, I used the lockpick to open up the chest, but first, I had to play a Lock-picking minigame that involved raising tumblers in the lock. Since I wasn't a very good lockpicker, My lockpick moved sluggishly through the lock to the left and right. However, there was only one tumbler I needed to raise, so that lock was easy.
Deciding that there was no more to see here, I moved on and found the carcass of a Goblin. In his pockets I found an Iron key, and some other equipment. Using the iron key, I opened the door that was right next to the goblin and went on in.
After I entered this door, I was introduced to the concept of magic. Using a fireball spell that I had somehow initially started out with, I found a target; an unknowing rat, and fired the projectile at him. He set on fire and promptly was flung back a few feet. Did I mention he died? Anyway, after that, I was introduced to the usage of sneaking, involving a goblin that was facind the opposite way of me. I pressed the sneak button down, and an eye appeared in the center of the screen. This eye would light up if I were spotted. It never did light up for me, as I decided to just rush in there and slash that runt to death, which I did easily.
After passing through a number of caves, one with a swinging flail trap, and another with logs I could push down a hill, I came back into the stone, blue-lit halls which the Emperor and his 2 vassals had gone through to get where they were. They were ambushed by some more of those red-robed assassins that attacked me and the emperor earlier on. When the battle ended, and one of the guards wondered if I had followed them, I dropped down from the bove to confront them. The 2 guards approach me, suspicious that I was another one of those assassins, despite the fact I wasn't even wearing red, but then the Emperor ordered them to stop. He confronted me again; saying things about destiny and the gods. After a speech I didn't really listen to, I chose my birthsign. Birthsigns determine a special bonus for your character, which can range from a simple stat-increase, to an elaborate system of advantages and disadvantages, such as the "Atranoch" birthsign will demonstrate: When born under the Atronach, your magicka, or MP, as you silly folk call it, is doubled, but you cannot recover your magicka by any natural means. In other words, the only way you can possibly regain magicka as an atronach is by drinking a potion. Don't worry though, as the Atronach also has the very nifty ability to absorb oncoming magic attacks and add their power to his Magicka supply. This sign can make a mage extremley powerful, and extremley resillient. But since I wasn't feeling like absorbing magic, I just chose "The Steed" sign, which would offer me a high speed bonus, and moved on.
After going through another series of halls, we fell for a trap that the Assassins had set up. The guards fought vigorously for our lives, as me and the emperor hid in a backroom. Suddenly, the emperor confronted me saying that his time was up and that I had to deliver his amulet, the dragonfire amulet, to a priest he knew. Shortly after this, A secret passage behind the emperor opened up, revealing a rather nasty looking assassin, and the emperor was killed.
So after me and the guards fought off the remaining assassins, A guard went up to the emperors dead body. Shortly after, he then asked me where the Dragonfire amulet had gone. I told him that the Emperor had given it to me. The guard then gave me a key, and the ability to finally choose my class. Since I wanted to just get a move on with the game, I made my character a basic warrior. Afterwards, I went on to a secret passage through a sewer and finally got out of that rat hole.
Finally, I was outside..... And that's the end of my story.

Advantages:
+Extensive
+Above-Par Graphics
+Smart AI
+Involving Combat
+Cool dungeons
+Realistic Physics
+Face-making utility

Disadvantages:
-Computer-heavy
-Kind of expensive
-No horse combat
-Game is still somewhat glitchy
-Game doesn't utilize some feautres that I would have seen as VERY nice to have (such as a body-type system; THPS:3, GTA:SA, and The Movies all utilized such a system, what was stopping Oblivion from having this?)
-Might seem kind of Dumbed-down in comparison to Morrowind, but still a good game nonetheless.

Final score: 9.3/10

[Razor]

Dearest Archem,
Regarding your previous review, I would like to remind you that ENTER is your friend.
Best Wishes,
Frankie Roosevelt.


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