• Transformers: War for Cybertron

    Posted on July 6, 2010 by DG Crew

    Transformers: War for Cybertron

    Transformers: War for Cybertron is a game that really benefits from great timing. Not to say this is a bad game, oh no, this is probably the best Transformers game you will play. Transformers was released at a time during the summer were there was no competition, the heat from Red Dead Redemption sales was cooling down and the only other release the game competed against was Toy Story 3, and unlike the movie the Toy Story 3 game does not have a huge following.

    The best part about Transformers: War for Cybertron is the story, hard to believe, but I did find it interesting to see how Optimus Prime became the Autobot leader, and how Megatron met Starscream, I found the whole story kind of fun and interesting. The gameplay is a standard third person shooter with no cover system, this is how every mission goes, walk into a room kill everyone then go over an hit the switch on the elevator to go to the next room and kill everyone. That is it, that is the gameplay, you can transform into vehicles and kill robots that way as well. One interesting thing that everyone is skipping, in the original Mas Effect everyone hated the long elevator rides in the game, guess what, this game has them too!

    The multiplayer is fun, there is co-op and other standard multiplayer options, there were some glitches during this, a lot of lag and hard to get a match going sometimes as well. As far as the single player goes there are five Decepticon missions and five Autobot missions and at the end of each campaign you will fight a giant boss fight. The only let down, there is no fight between Prime and Megatron, as a matter a fact with the exception of Starscream and Soundwave you spend the majority of the time fighting nameless robots.

    Transformers: War for Cybertron is a good start but the game is not perfect, it is not to the level of last year’s Batman game, hopefully with a couple of sequels and time they can really polish this franchise up and make something really special.

    Transformer fans probably should buy this, everyone else just rent it.

    Posted in Play Station 3, video game, Xbox 360 | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

    Super Mario Galaxy 2

    Posted on July 1, 2010 by DG Crew

    Super Mario Galaxy 2

    Super Mario Galaxy came out a couple of years ago for the Nintendo Wii. It was a critical success and a financial success, but anything with Mario on it, pretty much does that. Super Mario galaxy set the standards for 3D platform  games on the Wii. the graphics for the game pushed the boundaries of what the Wii could do. Super Mario Galaxy 2 picks up right where the original left off, in setting that same standard.

    Super Mario Galaxy 2 has many new stages that are very unique and fun, like the Super Mario 64 level a small nod to us older gamers. Also along for the ride this time is Yoshi and new power suits, and Luigi can be unlocked for play much easier this time around. This game has every element that made kids of previous generations fall in love with Mario, bright colors, fun characters and wacky enemies. The sound is a blend of original sound effects and some new theme songs.

    Considering the age group Nintendo is going for with this game, you would think they would make the controls a little easier. This is the most frustrating part of the games the controls,  my daughter is 6 year old and can play the 2D Mario games with no problem, but when it comes to this game she is lost. You use the Wii remote with the nun-chuck attachment and use the nun-chuck to navigate. This is really a hard concept to grasp, especially for younger kids, which again is where this game is targeted too. If they let you use the regular controller attachment it probably would resolve some of these issues.

    Another draw back is the same story line that they have had for the past 20 years, princess captured, Mario save her. How about a game where you can be the princess? Or how about a game where you could be Bowser? This is a minor grip and I realize you don’t play them for the story line, but they are getting a little stale. With all this being said, I am sure Super Mario Galaxy 2 will be in the top sales for the rest of the year and is the best offering on the Wii.

    Little complicated for younger kids.

    Posted in Nintendo Wii, video game | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

    Halo

    Posted on April 7, 2010 by DG Crew

    Halo
    Written by Steve Markey
    Movies-n-More.com

    Halo has had an interesting history in the video game world. The original Halo started on the first Xbox. Bungie, the team behind the Halo franchise, was trying to make a RTS (real time strategy) game. If you are not familiar with RTS, the original Warcraft series for the PC is a RTS, basically you have and army and you have to get resources to build your army and vehicles to crush the other army. Some where along the lines Bungie decided  to go with a First Person Shooter instead and the legend of Master Chief was born.

    At the time of the release of the first Halo there were not very many good FPS on the consoles, with the exception of Golden Eye on the Nintendo 64, most FPS stunk. Halo on the original Xbox, was a good FPS, with great graphics, game play and most important fun.  It was a huge hit, and probably the game that saved the Xbox, because up until this point, Xbox was struggling to find an audience.  Of course with such huge success, a sequel would soon follow, which built on the story and had better graphics and a extensive multi player component. With the great Xbox Live service and the Multi player of Halo 2 it was a perfect match.

    Halo 3 did not make it to the original Xbox, that was held over for the Xbox 360, and at launch it broke tons of sales records. It was the next gen version of Halo, better graphics and even more multi player mayhem. By this point the Halo franchise was starting to expand, toys, animated movies, board games, you name it and it probably had a Master Chief version of it. Along with the huge success of the FPS Halo, Bungie also released the RTS, Halo Wars.

    Halo ODST was the first release of a Halo FPS game without Master Chief in it, and the game also had a unique way of story telling, with a Pulp Fiction  type time line in the game. The game was heavy on flash back sequences to help move the story along. The latest release coming this fall is Halo Reach, for the die hard fans this is like an origin story for Master Chief, and for the rest of us, just another reason to wear the Spartan armor and shoot our buddies!

    Posted in video game, Xbox 360 | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

    Playstation 3

    Posted on February 16, 2010 by DG Crew

    Sony Playstation 3The Playstation 3 was at one point the most expensive console of the the three. Since launch though the price has dropped quite a bit and is very competitive to the other two consoles. As I have wrote before there are some hidden charges in the PS3, but not nearly as many as the Xbox 360 or the Wii.

    The PS3 bundle is usually right around $400.00 as of 2010. Now you get the system, usually a 40 gig hard drive a controller and a cord to charge the controller, which Microsoft does not due, plus the PS3 controller has a built in battery, so you will not have to purchase a separate one, unlike it’s Microsoft counterpart. The only real knock I will give the PS3 and this goes for all the systems, it does not come with a HDMI cord. If you have a Hi Def TV you will definitely want to purchase one.

    Two major advantage the PS3 has, it plays Blu Ray movies and the online game play is free (for now). Blu Rays do look great on your Hi Def TV. At one point, Xbox 360 had way more games than the PS3, but over the past couple of years, PS# has caught up, and any major game release usually comes out for both, plus PS3 will have God of War 3 this March.

    PS3 and Xbox 360 are both great systems, but of the two, PS3 has far less hidden costs, plus more features.

    Posted in Play Station 3, video game | Tagged , | 9 Comments

    Xbox 360

    Posted on December 12, 2008 by DG Crew

    I would like to continue my in depth look at all three video game consoles. Today we are going to take a look at the Xbox 360 by Microsoft. The first thing you should know when looking into buying this console for yourself or family member, is the are multiple versions of the 360. One nice thing about the Nintendo Wii is there is only one to choose from, so eliminates a lot of confusion.  

    The Xbox Arcade is the cheapest of all the skus of the Xbox. At $199.00 it is even cheaper than the Wii. But with this price reduction you also have a reduction in features. There is no hard drive in the Arcade version or headset. Which means if you would like to play online and download movies or demos you would need to purchase it separately for about a hundred dollars.

    The most practical version of the Xbox 360 is the Pro model. This basically comes with everything you need to be a serious gamer. It includes the hard drive as well as the headset, but an extra controller will cost around $50.00 plus a rechargeable battery pack would be another $20.00 addition.

    As far as online goes, it is not free like Wii or PS3 online, the service will cost about $50.00 a year for Xbox Live. Now it does cost but it is by far the best online experience of the three consoles. Also Xbox 360 does not play Blue Ray movies at all. You can however download Hi Def movie through Netflix right on your Xbox.

    The best part of the whole Xbox 360 Experience is the games. They have the most and probably the best games available. From shooters to family friendly titles, Xbox has something for everyone. But by the time you buy your Pro Bundle (which does include two games) an extra controller, battery pack and Xbox Live you are looking at about $420.00 before tax.

    The point of all these articles is that there are pros and cons to every system, and every system has hidden money you will be spending that adds up rather quickly. Next time I will cover the Sony Playstation 3.  

     

    Posted in video game, Xbox 360 | Tagged , | 10 Comments