Review: Prince of Persia
Ubisoft Montreal has taken it upon itself to try and re-invent the Prince of Persia franchise once again for the current generation of consoles. The series had taken a turn for the emo and lost some of its steam, but we have left all that behind us to follow a new prince and his attractive female counterpart on a journey to save the land.. Now the first thing I am going to do is mention Assassins Creed in reference to this game and compare similar aspects. I am sure half of the people reading this will be saying something along the lines of “What, Assassins Creed? Who likes Assassins Creed?! Is Hollywood trying to defend Assassins Creed?! What an idiot!” Well settle down my hot headed friend, no one is going to force you to love any game, in fact it’s just the opposite. For those of us who played Assassins Creed it was obvious that a fantastic game was being ruined by repetitive missions and the crazy’s on the medieval street who push you, and only you, for no reason. Prince of Persia takes a lot of good things from Assassins Creed, and unfortunately a bad thing or two come along for the ride as well.
HCG Review: Socom Confrontation
Finally the PS3 has my attention. I wasn’t a big fan of the Socom series before as I did not have a Playstation 2 however I heard some great things about the online play which prompted me to go ahead and buy Confrontation.
The Socom series could easily be compared to the Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (G.R.A.W.) series. The game is played in the 3rd person view, soldier versus soldier combat. The emphasis is on tactical maneuvering and working together as a team. Socom Confrontation is an online only multiplayer game and can be downloaded via the Playstation Network or purchased at your local game store bundled with the Official Playstation bluetooth headset.
The graphics in Socom are decent, there is not much that is mind-blowing but it certainly is not sub-par either. What is really well done is the sound and the ease of control. Each gun sounds realistic and each shot feels as real as the sound it makes. Socom also uses the rumble feature of the Dual Shock 3 so making the upgrade is recommended.
There are a total of 7 maps available, each map is scalable to the size of the party you are playing with. Some game modes allow up to 16 players on each team while the comfortable games are played with 8 players on each team. The Playstation Network does host the ranked games while a player match is hosted by the game creator.
There is also clan support which allows you to recruit and fire players in your clan and of course play clan matches. Socom Confrontation is an exciting and addicting experience. It certainly is a reason for gamers to buy or keep their PS3’s. There is a good amount of lifelike military violence and a very slight amount of language.
This game is fantastic and is highly recommended for any PS3 owner looking for a good game for their Playstation 3.
Buy/Skip/Rent:
Buy
HCG Review: Baja Edge of Control
THQ’s intro to the Baja racing genre probably could have waited for a better time to launch. In the midst of a season with Rock Band 2, Fable 2, Fallout 3 and more this game will most likely be over looked. Unless you are a diehard fan of the Baja racing circuit I question whether you will enjoy this game. There have been many other racing games in the past that have incorporated Baja racing into a vast racing mechanic and it has worked. This time around a game devoted just to this racing style doesn’t seem to fit the bill.
The first issue I have with any game is usually the graphics. I am not sure who decided to put this piece together but it’s quite possibly their first time ever designing a game. The visuals could have been done better on the Xbox than what I saw. Note to developers-adding a blur effect does not give you reason to skimp on graphics.
The next issue I had, which usually I can over look the graphics if the gameplay is fun is the gameplay is not fun. It’s a tedious task to control the vehicles, let alone get ahead of the pack. I am not sure if they were going for racing realism (as I am not a Baja racer in real life) but I felt as if I was struggling to get ahead of the other racers even in the early levels of the game. To me what makes a good racer is one with a learning curve attached. Let me do well at the beginning to build my confidence and get used to the mechanics of the game, then steadily increase the difficulty when I am ready. Not this game.
HCG Review: Transformers Animated-The Game (DS)
Special thanks to Activision for allowing us to review this game. I was relatively skeptical about a TV-show-turned video game for the Nintendo DS thinking it would be too childish for someone like me but I was pleasantly surprised.
Transformers follows the animated series of which my son loves to watch. Certainly a step up from the old Transformers cartoons of my day. The characters are a little more “animated” in a cartoony way but it doesn’t take away from the enjoyment. Personally I think my son would be bored if he watched the old series. I digress.
In Transformers Animated you get to play as either Bumblebee, Optimus Prime or Bulkhead. Each character has his own strengths and is able to perform certain tasks that others cannot. For obvious reasons-Bulkhead (the largest one) is able to bash down walls while Bumblebee (the more nimble) can multi-jump on walls to make his way up obstacles.
HCG Review: Spiderman: Web of Shadows
Spiderman: Web of Shadows was one of my most anticipated games of this holiday season, so there was a sense of anticipatory joy when its release date finally came. The storyline starts simple enough, with Spiderman and Venom engaging in their typical battles when Venom’s symbiote starts reacting differently and breaks away from him. Spidey regains the black suit as a result. The training missions ensue, helping another Marvel hero, Luke Cage, stop a gang war in Harlem. A few other mundane mini-quests and missions follow, but things pick up near the end of the second act, when several humans start exhibiting symbiote-like characteristics. Of course, it’s up to your friendly neighborhood Spiderman to investigate.
Before you can say “invasion”, the symbiotes have started a full-on… well… invasion, actually. The rest of the game centers on missions to get the people of New York to safety and, of course, stopping the symbiote onslaught. Overall, the storyline is less than remarkable, this harsh truth being especially obvious in the third act, where things progress slowly and painfully. The developers may have studied the Capcom handbook on game making, as Spidey will have to fight each previous boss again, only this time… wait for it… their symbiote version. *gasp*
The graphics are decent, but suffer on current-generation systems, as Web of Shadows appears to have been engineered with both last-gen and today in mind for release. There are some good details easier seen on current-gen, evident in the differences between Spiderman’s two suits. The black suit really has an organic look, whereas the classic red and blue appears more like fabric, appropriately enough. If there’s one aspect that shines more than the others, it has to be the combat. Every Spidey game from now on should imitate the tight controls established here. The fight with Vulture is especially impressive, a mid-air scene showcasing the combat mechanics’ ease at switching between enemies, and then swinging in to attack.
Overall I would say that if you are a big fan of the characters and the mythos, then this game is a buy… or if you’re just looking for a good pick up and play title to chug through in a few hours. However, if you’ve soured on the Spiderman 2 or 3 games, you might want to pass, because honestly all of the missions are basically the same as the side missions in those games. Defeat this many bad guys or save this many civilians, etc. If there can be any Christian value to be had here- it’s purely a derived metaphor. If you’re looking for it, Web of Shadows shows how we can let a sin into our lives and while at first it might not seem like a big deal, it will slowly eat at us and change us into something that you are not.
Rate:Buy
Strong Bad’s Cool Game for Attractive People: Baddest of the Bands
Baddest of the Bands is the third game in the Strong Bad’s Cool Game for Attractive People episodic series. This is a point and click adventure. In this episode Strong Bad’s gaming system breaks and in order to fix it he decides to book a battle of the bands to raise the money he needs.
You control Strong Bad and click around the screen (on various items and characters) to solve puzzles to move the story along. There really isn’t much to tell on the controls side as it plays the same as the two episodes before it (and almost like any other point and click adventure).
The jokes are witty and I laughed my head off at Strong Bad being so hard up for cash that he would even take Canadian money.
This game took me around 6 hrs to finish. There was a good balance of easy and hard puzzles.
Christian Perspective:
Again this game really isn’t for your kids as this game does deal with adult themes. Strong Bad is always putting down everyone around him. This game promotes cheating to get what you want. The Teen Girl Squad cartoon in this games sees all the girls dying in some gruesome ways. That being said, this game is very mild. There is no cussing or sexual themes. I see no problem with Christian adults playing this game.
Buy/Rent/Skip:
If you are a fan of the Homestar Runner web comics then this is a buy.
HCG Review: Silent Hill: Homecoming
This is a dual review from Beanman and 9mmPreacher
Beanman -Silent Hill: Homecoming brings up an interesting question-do games have to be fun in order for us to enjoy them?
This was my first Silent Hill game (another entry off the Franchises-I-Need-To-Play list!) and I can tell you that it was certainly not fun. The combat is frustrating (pro-tip: run when you have the chance!), the game is often frightening, and the overall mood is oppressively dark and foreboding. In fact, all of those factors combined to make me reluctant to put the disc in my 360. I bought it the day it came out, but it took me three weeks to finish its relatively short story.
Here’s the thing though. With the exception of the most frustrating combat sections, this game completely pulled me into its world. The characters are interesting and complex people. You play the role of Alex Shepherd, a war veteran returning home after suffering disturbing dreams about his younger brother Josh. Josh has disappeared, a mysterious fog envelops the town and demonic creatures prowl the streets. The mystery of Josh’s fate, along with the unveiling of the town’s history, is the primary thread that drives the story. The plot is relatively straightforward, which I’ve read is a first for the Silent Hill series, but nearly every aspect of the game is infused with symbolism relating to the characters and the themes of guilt, vengeance, and forgiveness that run through the game. It’s worthwhile to sit back after completing the game and just think about what has happened, what the various revelations really mean, and how the various creatures and environments tie into them.
HCG Review: Guitar Praise (PC)
I was nervous when I read about Guitar Praise from Digital Praise (DP). DP’s history of games has been touted heavily to the Christian youth market with games like Dance Praise (Dance Dance Revolution for Christians), Adventures in Odyssey and various VeggieTales games. Naturally as a self-proclaimed hardcore gamer I thought that I probably would find no enjoyment in one of their titles. I was, however, wrong.
The beauty of Guitar Praise is its simplicity. In spirit it’s Guitar Hero but digging deeper it’s much more. As a Christian, the content alone should be enough for hardcore gamers and casuals to enjoy. The songs are all by Christian bands like Switchfoot, Skillet, Flyleaf or Chris Tomlin. The game allows for 2 players to play against each other (if they both have a guitar) and the lyrics are displayed as the song plays so that others watching can sing along.
HCG Review: ION Drum Rocker
Official Review written by SOG Pathfinder.
When I saw the new drum kits coming out, I knew I wanted to get one. I enjoy Rock Band and since I played drums in a universe far far away…I usually play them here with the family, but I must admit the set that comes with the RockBand game set are lacking a little, well, lets say realism. With that said, I opted to buy the ION DRUM ROCKER Premium Gaming Drum set.
I received the unit via 2 day air (thanks ION). The base set comes in one large box (would look great wrapped under the tree). The accessory cymbal and throne ship separately and unfortunately were not available at this time for me to get my hands on them too, but they are expected by Thanksgiving.
Review: LEGO Batman
LEGO Batman Review
By: SaulBecomesPaul
Okay, I have to admit- when I opened up the Gamefly envelope and saw that I had received LEGO Batman I wasn’t as excited as someone should be for obtaining a brand new game to play the day after it comes out. I literally wore myself out on the LEGO series by nearly 100% completing the previous titles. My daughters, however, were chomping at the bit to play as Batman so into the 360 it goes…
As the first level draws to a close, my preconceptions about the game- being repetitive, just like the other LEGO games, etc- remain unchanged. But something changed about the 3rd level of the first act, and it was then that I realized…
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