Today we are reviewing Ghostbusters: The Videogame, the latest adventure in the Ghostbusters universe. The game is essentially a sequel to Ghostbusters 2 as it takes place in 1991 - two years after the events of the movie. You start the game off as the newest Ghostbuster member; appropriately the character you control goes by the name of Rookie. After the initial training level in the Ghostbusters Firehouse HQ you jump into the actual story mode by chasing down ghosts from the past two movies and even new phantoms exclusive to the game’s story.

This is not your typical action game; it mixes action with puzzle solving. During various events in the game the player will be blasting ghosts and also solving puzzles, even though the puzzles are easy to figure out it is a nice way to break up the action in between levels. Now as far as the action part of the game goes it is very well done. When I captured my first ghost it gave me a sense of accomplishment because the ghosts are not easy to capture. The player must use their Proton Pack to weaken the ghost, and then you must set a ghost trap. Once the trap is ready you have to use your Proton Pack to get a hold of the ghost, once you have them captured in your Proton stream you have to direct the ghost over the trap with the joystick, once the trap opens a ray of light will appear and the player will have to hold down the joystick to capture the ghost inside the trap. Besides ghost traps the Proton Pack is your best friend in this game because it is your main weapon. Unlike in the first two films the proton pack has various weapon modes such as the slime gun and the dark matter gun. Also each of these different weapons has various upgrades that make the Proton Pack more powerful as you progress through the game.

The multi-player is also very well done and creative. In the multi-player mode you assume the role as either the Rookie or one of the original Ghostbusters. Once you choose your character you will be partnered with three other people and you will work as a team capturing ghosts to earn money. Even though you will work as a team to fight ghosts the player with the most money is declared the winner of the match. I think this unique concept works very well with this game and makes the multi-player in Ghostbusters one of a kind.

Overall I was very impressed with this game. The graphics are amazing; the gameplay actually makes players fell like they are a Ghostbuster. I am also glad they kept the original soundtrack for the game. The only downside to this game is that there are not a ton of weapons and upgrades and the game’s story is too short.

Pros (+):

- Great graphics, music and gameplay
- Multi-player is fun and unique
- Good variety of levels and ghosts

Cons (-):

- Limited amount of weapons and gadgets
- Story is too short

Overall:
I give this game a 4/5 due to its great story and gameplay, this game has moderate to high replay value.

Today we are reviewing inFamous the long awaited sandbox action game for the PlayStation 3. The game starts off with the main character Cole, who has just survived an explosion that demolished six blocks of Empire City causing him to gain superpowers in the process, and now local gangs are taking over the city and it is your job to find out what caused the explosion.

This unique sandbox game is all about choices, and there are a lot of them. Not only do you have multiple options in the main story path, but there are also even more choices when it comes to the side missions as well. The basic side missions range from protecting civilians to preventing gang wars. I have had just as much fun from the side missions as I have with the main story missions.

Another choice presented to you early in the game is whether or not you are good or evil. During the game the player will be presented with a choice whether to use your powers for good or for evil. To help influence the character’s good and evil karma level the player can also choose good or evil specific side missions. There are also various “karma moments” in the main story that develop whether you choose to be good of evil. Depending on how you play the game the environment also transforms with your karma level. If you choose to be good the city will eventually clean up and look like a regular city, or if you choose to be evil the city will eventually become run down and very ominous looking.

The graphics for the various buildings and overall city design are very well done; the character models look amazing as well. Overall inFamous is a very good game it has a great story and great gameplay the only issues I have seen with the game is slight pop-in during gameplay.

Pros (+):
- Great story and graphics
- Smooth gameplay and easy controls
- Lots of mission variety

Cons (-):
- Slight pop-in during gameplay
- Same type of enemies for each gang, just different skins
- No multi-player

Overall:
I give this game a 4/5 due to lack of enemy variety and no multi-player, this game has moderate to high replay value.

Today we’re going to be taking a look at the last of the 3 confirmed pieces of DLC for Fallout 3. Once again, this is only available for 360 and PC gamers, so sorry about your luck people on the PS3.

Broken Steel picks up right where the main story line leaves off; with you waking up from a coma 2 weeks later to discover that the Brotherhood of Steel are scouring the Wasteland for remnance of The Enclave. You’re quickly dispatched on a mission to escort Liberty Prime while it takes out an Enclave Base.

What I Enjoyed: When I originally played through the game, I was rather pissed off when I discovered I could not continue my character after I dealt with Project Purity. In Broken Steel, however, your existing characters instantly start the new questline once they reach “Game Over”, and you can continue to play and explore after Broken Steel finishes. I also like the raise in level cap from 20 to 30, as well as all the new perks that come with it.

What I Detested: One word: Deathclaws. Next to the Supermutant Behemoth, these guys are the strongest enemies in the game, as well as being the fastest. In the past I’ve never had to fight more than 2 at once. Broken Steel sends you to the Old Olney Sewers, which is not only CRAWLING with these things, but is in close quarters, giving you very little room to run or dodge. Besides that, Broken Steel was fairly boring. All of the “new” enemies were just stronger versions of preexisting foes; Feral Ghoul Reavers, Super Mutant Overlords, and Enclave Hellfire Troopers.

Conclussion: 3/5 for this set. Broken Steel was a let down when compare to the other two, but was by no means bad. To finish the the wording from the image above, “This is how the game ends; not with a Bang, but a Whimper.” I can only hope that the rumored Fourth DLC turns out to be true.

Today we’re going to be taking a look at the 2nd of 3 pieces of DLC for Fallout 3. Once again, this is only available for 360 and PC gamers, so sorry about your luck people on the PS3.

The Pitt starts off when you recieve a distress signal that takes you to a radio tower in the farthest Northern region of the Capital Wasteland.  There you meet a man named Werhner, who has traveled a long way to seek help in liberating his people. He quickly directs you in how to travel to The Pitt; the post-apocalyptic version of Pittsburgh, full of new enemies, weapons, and armor galour.

What I Enjoyed: Unlike Operation: Anchorage, The Pitt keeps more to Fallout 3’s feel of twisted metal, broken buildings, and horrid enemies. The Steel Yard is the largest area I’ve encountered in the game (not counting the Captial Waste as a whole), and is by all accounts an aesthetic marvel. It’s possible to climb onto almost everything there, and I could’ve spent hours exploring and still not seeing everything. The new weapons, such as the Autoaxe, are astounding in their ingenuity, and the armors are numerous and exotic looking.

What I Detested: There is always a downside, unfortunately. With the vast amounts of unique weaponry and armor types, I quickly found myself overburdened (even after relenquishing ALL of my possesions at the start of the quest), and was forced to leave behind a lot of the heavier items. The Steel Yard’s enormity also can be quite frustrating; and achievement for finding all 100 Steel Ingots hidden throughout the Yard would take a person hours (I personally used a guide found on the Fallout Wiki Site, so it took me about half an hour). Collecting items has never been one of my favorite parts of a video game.

Conclussion: 4/5 is fair enough for this batch of DLC. I’d say it’s a small improvement over the previous set; I just hope the 3rd installment will be even better.

Resident Evil 5 is the first of the long serialized and non-serialized Resident Evil series that I’ve ever considered playing. The survival horror genre isn’t exactly my cup of tea. There are horrors that indeed require you to survive in this latest installment, but you never feel that it is a survival horror game. It plays and feels different, but old features return: the “hold still and shoot” school of thinking is still present, and the quick time events (which killed me more than any chainsaw wielding Majini). It most closely resembles Resident Evil 4’s setup, but you don’t have to babysit the president’s daughter.

Read the rest of this entry »

If you’re a wrestling fan and are tired of the Smackdown game series and are looking for a change of pace, WWE Legends of WrestleMania just might be the game you’re looking for. With it’s arcade style of gameplay and various game modes Legends of WrestleMania could be the perfect substitute for the modern day wrestling games.

Read the rest of this entry »

Overall I wasn’t too impressed with the game. It’s your run of the mill combat flight sim. The one cool thing that HAWX offers that is different from other flight sims is the experience system that lets you unlock more jets and weapons. I think that will generate alot of replay value unlike other games in the genera that just give you the jets and weapons after finishing the campaign. The graphics are mediocre and the gameplay is pretty much what you expect. Lock onto the enemy, fire missiles, enemy dies, lock onto new enemy, repeat. It gets rather boring.

I give it a 3/5. Ubisoft doesn’t butcher the combat flight sim genera, but they also don’t show any innovation.

If you know me you know that I am the biggest Halo fan on the face of the planet. Others may argue that there are others more obsessed than me, but meh what can you do? When I first heard about Halo Wars I didn’t know what to expect. I’m not the biggest RTS fan, but it’s Halo. Who could go wrong with Halo right? Not only that Ensemble, the developers of Age of Empires, is developing Halo Wars.

The Halo Wars demo dropped on the Xbox Live Market Place a few days ago and I finally got to try my hand at it. I do have to say that I wasn’t super impressed, but at the same time I was not disappointed. Check out my overview and video review and hit the jump for my written thoughts.

Read the rest of this entry »

After the great success of Resident Evil 4 in 2005 it’s hard not to get excited about the upcoming release of Resident Evil 5 this month. Capcom couldn’t possibly mix up the formula that made its predecessor such a smash hit, could they? The simple answer is yes, oh yes they can.

I’m not going to bother going into detail about the control scheme problems. Chris Redfield, like all the protagonists of RE games past, still moves like a tank with blasted treads. What’s new is that Capcom has decided to capitalize on this novelty by making the controls difficult enough to feel like the player is actually driving a 65-ton tank instead of just watching one. Don’t forget to gas up Chris and change the oil before heading into battle.

Movement issues aside, combat can actually be a lot of fun. Enemies surround you, hurl pointy things at you, and make mean faces with the best of ‘em.  The brutal atmosphere of  RE5 will get your heart racing. The computer-controlled buddy forced on you has a tendency to suck up items that you want, but overall she handles herself fairly well. The sound effects and graphics are excellent (fuel barrel explosions are awesome!) and fit the theme both in and out of combat with one crucial exception. Whenever you hit a baddie with your weapon the game treats you to a pathetic little squish noise and a blood effect that doesn’t seem to hurt the enemy at all. I’m not a gruesome person, but I expect bullets to have some impact on the human body. I felt like I was firing a cap gun and everybody was just popping squibs and playing along. On the whole the enemy AI seems content to let you run circles around them while they just follow you like lost puppy dogs.  Even the infamous chainsaw baddie was defeated by repetitively running up and down the alley he was in and pausing at the ends to squeeze off a few rounds. The Gamecube’s RE4 suffered from these same issues, but with the greatly improved graphics and processing power of today’s systems I would expect more improvement from RE5. It’s at this point that we sooth our nerves and remind ourselves that it’s only a demo version.

What’s Good: Impressive graphics, genuinely creepy atmosphere - big guy with axe may have made me pee my pants a little. Quick item switching with D-pad. Inevitable campy dialogue will lead to many great drinking games.

What’s Not: Clunky control scheme requires eight-week training course and a crew of three. Unchallenging enemy AI.

Conclusions: Despite showing some early flaws in the demo version, I remain optimistic that RE5 will be able to live up to the hype. (4/5)

If you haven’t played Fallout 3 yet, go and get it now you poor deprived child. If you have, and have an Xbox 360 or PC, go and download the Operation: Anchorage DLC. Just a bit of background info for the folks in the former category, Fallout 3 is a shooter RPG that can go between 1^st and 3^rd person. It’s also fairly sandbox, with an enormous world you can do almost anything in.

The DLC starts you off with a distress signal from a detachment of Brotherhood of Steel Outcasts, and leads you through a newly added subway to there base of operations: an old subterranean training facility. The leader of the outcasts asks you to assist them in accessing the armory room by completing an old pre-war simulator of the 2077 liberation of Anchorage, Alaska. And if you want to know more of the story line, you’re going to have to go and play it (sorry PS3 users, this is exclusive to the 360 and PC).

What I Enjoyed: This has so far been the most fun I’ve had in Fallout. The sequence is a lot more tactically based than the rest of the game, and is a little reminiscent of Call of Duty 4. The new weapons are awesome, and the equipment is out of this world. It was also really nice to fight something that looked normal, instead of mutants and zombies. 

What I Detested: This section was a lot more linear than the rest of the game, and doesn’t give a lot of room for exploring. While I did appreciate magically glowing health and ammo dispensers, they really took away from the integrity of surviving. I also did not like the fact that very little was intractable, and bodies would disappear before you could search them. Stupid simulations…

Conclusion: A solid 4/5 for this set of DLC. This also has me really psyched for the February and March DLC’s for Fallout as well.