Mass Effect Citadel

What can I say? After such a long time without seeing my Shephard I was very eager to jump back into Mass Effect 3. The size of this new DLC (5Gb…holy crap) really had me hoping for something spectacular (I mean, the entire Skyrim is ~6Gb). I can away a little disappointed but felt that the DLC is overall a great addition to the game…something THEY SHOULD’VE PUT IN THE GAME IN THE FIRST PLACE!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This DLC shows its true color only a few minutes in. I soon realized that its meant to be funny, ridiculous, and overall lighthearted. The amount of one-liners and bad jokes is ridiculous, but if you still give a damn about the characters and your Shephard, then you’ll have a blast. The majority of the DLC’s additions comes in the forms of small cutscenes and this DLC adds a ton of them. Because Bioware needed to untangle each individual plot thread/decision the player made, the amount of these small scenes make up most of the size. After completing the DLC, you can invite most (if not all) of your crew to come and enjoy themselves, and even host a party. Its a one-time deal, so you invite them up, watch a scene, occasional do a button prompt for renegade/paragon action, and done. Its great if you love the game and characters and story, but otherwise leaves the average player snoring.

Things I knit0pick about: There is like, 3 total soundtracks for this beast of a DLC, and given the amount of area and other places, its a real shame. Its a good music piece, but it gets really really repetitive. The final boss is pretty damn hard if your Shepherd is all maxed out with top gear and skills, he/she scales with you (you will see why haha). This DLC also bugs quest icons, which I hope they fix soon.

Did I have fun? Of course, it was great to talk even a tiny bit more with my squadmates because here comes the biggest flaw of this DLC: Its catered towards people who are really into the Mass Effect universe. If you played the games and didn’t care too much about the story/people/places etc? Then give this DLC a wide berth, it hardly adds anything new.

Ill write my thoughts on the new Tomb Raider soon, take care guys!

Review of the Skyrim DLCs…so far

Hello all,

After recently finishing Skyrim: Dragonborn, I’ve decided to string together this little helper post on whether you should pick up one of the DLCs or not. This is mainly for people who got the original game since if you’re waiting for the GOTY edition or already decided on picking everything up you don’t really need this!

I look at Dawnguard, then Hearthfire, then Dragonborn, so scroll down if you are looking for something specific.

First off: Skryim: Dawnguard

After the critical success that was Skyrim, Dawnguard had alot of expectations for being the first DLC. I went into Dawnguard with an open mind, thinking that anything at this point, is just icing on the cake. My overall impression of Dawnguard is positive, because it spawned the best (unmarriable) companion in the game, Serana:

I know that basing this entire review on one character is rather shallow but Serana is probably the best addition of Dawnguard.

You get the usual things from a DLC, more weapons, armors, areas to explore (more on this later), enemies to fight, mechanics, etc. Nothing except for the areas and mechanics really stand out, with the addition of huge new areas that (sadly) don’t play that much of a role after the end of the main questline for Dawnguard, which is a major fault. The new mechanics include the long-waited for Vampire and Werewolf skill trees, that level depending on how many kills the player gets during transformation. The vampire tree is rather glitchy, and not very practical unless outnumbered vastly. Especially annoying is traveling in vampire lord form, as the player can constantly get stuck in doorways. Honestly, I think the addition is just to please the crowd and added purely for novelty and also so players don’t feel vampire/werewolf is a hindrance to the overall gameplay.

Story-wise, Dawnguard is quite emotional at times and very engaging. There are very few side-quests due to the very linear nature of the main questline but being a vampire really enhances the whole thing, especially when fighting enemies in the vampire lord form. However overall, I feel like the story is really hit-miss (a hit for me, definitely) and if you’re not caught up into the fantasy and drama then it’ll feel like a drag.

Several boss fights are scattered throughout and the amazing fight with the two underwater dragons is really the highlight, and the battle with Durnehviir is quite challenging. After playing through the two main DLCs, I have to give higher-level, more experienced players one advice: go in naked…literally. Don’t wear any weapon/armor, carry a few ingredients and potions and mainly a soul-gem or two, and try to really experience the DLC. Its no fun with high-powered gear and millions of gold…probably not even a challenge on Master.

The biggest highlight (other than Serana) is the new environments, from the gorgeous valleys to the dank falmer strongholds, to the extremely well-crafted Soul Cairn everything feels lush and better than vanilla Skyrim. The only complaint I have is that most of these places feel very shallow and empty, size doesn’t matter (something GTA4 and other games should realize) when there’s so little things to interact with.

Other small, misc things: There is a level requirement, I think its quite low. Also, in order to beat Dawnguard you must have progressed through the main quest of Skyrim for a little bit. Arrows can now be crafted and Dragonbone weapons, but they don’t feel as awsome as I thought they would haha. If you are under level 30- or so, I wouldn’t spam Soul Tear (new shout) just because its very cheap and can kill most enemies in 1-hit…so don’t abuse it =)

If you’re nice to Serana, she will become a permanent (unmarriable) companion, and she is also essential and voiced by the beautiful Laura Bailey, whom I instantly recognized as Christine from Fallout…what a great voice actress, she seems so cool!

Skryim: Hearthfire (thats Hearth not Heart!)

Short and nice little “plugin” for Skyrim that lets you build houses and adopt kids and basically live a life of leisure in the comforts of your own virtual house. Not very pricey and surprisingly deep for such a small DLC. Many new features are introduced and I’m probably going to forget many so forgive me!

Your house: straightforward tutorial, you buy building materials and build your foundation then expand your house. There is limited space so you must pick and choose your rooms carefully. There are many things to add, such as a garden (you plant a alchemy agent and it grows into more…maybe try planting a giant’s toe?), a tower, a fishing pond, etc. The buildings materials are quite pricey once you get your house to be pretty big, especially since you must furnish your house from scratch.

Family: New children NPCs are added that you can adopt, and if the parents of some of the pre-existing kids were to somehow suffer a horrible accident…um…yeah you can adopt them also (I think). You can tell your spouse to move into the new house and the children will go as well, as long as you have spare beds! If your spouse is not a follower (AKA your spouse is a civilian NPC) then you might also get an interesting side quest. You can buy clothing for your kids, and play games with them, etc. Its all good fun!

Other small things: There are many houses to choose from, and the in-city houses (the ones you don’t have to build from scratch) can be modified with children’s room. New housecarls are added to holds that did not grant you one after becoming thane, with Falkreath giving you the only unique housecarl in terms of race.

On to the main event:

Skyrim: DRAGONBORN

I went into Dragonborn with GREAT expectations and guess what? I came away very satisfied. Skryim: Dragonborn is one gigantic nostalgic trip back to Solstheim, with everything you love from Morrowind, especially the lore, items and music, imported into Skyrim intact. To use a comparison, Dragonborn is very similar to Shivering Isles from Oblivion, giving you a giant island to explore and offering many new game mechanics, materials, and numerous side-quests to complete.

While the massive amount of new items, weapons, armors, quests were cool, I was most interested in seeing what Bethesda did with the lore and the transformation of Solstheim after the eruption. Although a few characters (such as Neloth) offer up some interesting things to say, most of it is up to the player to read (from a bunch of new books) and see. After such a long time from Morrowind, I was happy to spot my first reikling (although their number soon became a major source of annoyance) and revisit places such as Thirsk and Raven Rock.

Gameplay: Dragonborn is pretty tough, especially since I went to Solstheim more or less naked with a few hundred septims. It was great, it was the challenge I haven’t experienced in an Elder Scrolls game for awhile. The highlight of this DLC comes from the Serpentine dragon fights and the final boss fight, both of which were intense and satisfying (The last boss fight glitches alot, more on that later).

Graphic: Solstheim is gorgeous, and the distant views of Morrowind only makes it better.  While not as exotic as Shivering Isles, Dragonborn does have Apocrypha, the realm of old Herma Mora…you’ll have to experience his tentacle madness yourself, don’t want to spoil too much!

Story: The main quest is short, and I mean, compared to Dawnguard, very short. However different from Dawnguard, is that its more open-world like vanilla Skyrim so you spend more time wondering around looking for Stalhrim or exploring caves. It revovles around a dragonborn/dragonpriest trying to return to Tamriel and take over the minds of everyone on Solstheim…play it and find out more!

Now, I have to mention that Dragonborn is exceptionally buggy. There were many many animation bugs and scripting problems, many game-breaking. I have managed to fixed all of them either with the console or community patches. Right now the unofficial Dragonborn patch is still rather young and does absolutely nothing. If you need specific help on a bug, just comment here and I’ll get to you promptly.

Overall, Dragonborn was a blast and definitely a great addition to Skyrim’s DLCs, I just can’t imagine what the next batch of DLCs will bring to us next…can’t wait!

In overall values (like, more bang for your bucks) Hearthfire>Dragonborn>Dawnguard.

Hope you guys enjoyed reading this, and have fun! Be sure to share some of your adventures here!

Orchestral Music from Skyrim: Dragonborn

I’m not sure if this one is from Morrowind or not, but it is awsome. Listen for a few minutes of peace, and if you have the DLC, enjoy!

My honest, no BS review of: Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

Haven’t posted anything in awhile, so here goes!

To be honest, I really had low expectations coming into this game and it totally blew me away! Needless to say, I really enjoyed this game.

Because RPGs tend to be have many aspects to it (especially this one, Ill explain in a little bit), Ill break it down into little pieces. Kingdom of Amalur: Reckoning (or KOAR) is pretty much a blend of many different aspects from many different games put together into one…it feels like the the developers really just played a bunch of different games and said: oh hey this looks cool, let’s add it into our game! The result is actually not too bad, the lockpicking reminds me of Skyrim, the Dispelling reminds me of 007 Bloodstone (yes, 007 Bloodstone), combat feels like Dynasty Warriors, Atmosphere (map included) feels like any number of MMORPG, interface feels like Skyrim, gameplay feels like Dungeon Siege 3, etc etc…I dont really think there is anything particularly unique about this game, except maybe the story is written by R.A. Salvatore, a famous fantasy author. But its nothing relaly unique; you have your standard good looking elfs, gnomes, humans, devilish looking things…etc.

Here is a picture I snagged from Google, it pretty much displays most of the interface. If you dont feel like reading through my discriptions, I posted a homemade video showing some of the footage from the game (note I also display some of the bad), it contains very minor spoilers because its a side quest. Scroll to the bottom.

Ok lets get technical!

Graphics: There really is not much to say here, it is very slightly substandard to today’s RPGs, but compared with similar games of its kind, the graphics are not bad. IGN complained about their draw distances, and I agree: alot of things dont show up untill its pretty close, and you can’t toggle it in the options. Character faces are slightly polygonal and VERY expressionless, but to be fair Skyrim’s faces are pretty bland too; the only REAL facial expression I’ve seen are from LA Noire (more about this game later). Other than that, its one of those graphics: if you dont pick out minor things to look at, the game looks adequent, the landscape is pretty varied and the combat effects looks very flashy and fantasy-like. Lightning is also very good, but of course not on the same tier as Skyrim.

I know Im making quite a few comparisons to Skyrim, and thats actually slightly misleading and unfair to this game: They are very different games! While Skyrim emphasizes on exploration, open-worldness, interactions with NPCs, KOAR emphasizes combat, technique, reaction time, and overall GAMEPLAY. Skyrim tries very hard to immense the player in its world and lore, but KOAR just wants the player to have a blast cutting things up and getting loots; and both are very successful.

RPG elements: There is no shortage of loots in this game, and unlike Diablo’s drop table, KOAR drops rare items VERY often…it uses almost the exact same drop-color-chart as Borderlands, if you ever played that game. Skills are hotkeyed and are easily accessable, as well as handy potions and quick-switching to secondary set of weapons. Leveling up is usually not as grindy as MMOs but a little slower than Skyrim, since the monsters in this game rarely scale to your level. The skill system (social and combat) are very flexable and can be reset for a meager amount of gold to start a different build. Combat skills are easily maxed while social skills take a little time to max and usually bring lesser benefits since this game is not as immersive as Skyrim. What I can say is, this game is quite easy, and with so many different ways to do things, it makes the game even easier, just dont expect dodge to save your life; most spells home and attacks can still hit you mid-roll/teleport. There is a little “fatality” skill thing you acquire called “Reckoning mode” that allows you to pretty much defeat anything once the bar is full but its not really important and only serves to identify with the character and story and make an already easy game, easier (Dovakhin knows Dragonshouts, KOAR guy/girl knows Reckoning stuff…yeah).

Gameplay: Here is where the game REALLY shines, and I mean, surpasses-almost-any-game shines. The combat is quite simply, awsome and smooth and no other game feels like this (Dungeon Siege 3 tried but failed). Not only do you have combat skills (that cost mana) and special moves for special classes, but there are also Dynasty Warrior-like combos you can perform with specific weapons that do cool effects, such as juggling, crit, AOE effect, etc. The combat comes alive when facing multiple foes and everything strings together very nicely…plus the game is not difficult and the learning curve is quite short. You are allowed to steal and murder villagers etc, but it just feels kind of tacked-on to give the feeling of open-worldness.

Speaking of which, people will probably ask, well is KOAR an open world game? The answer is NO, it is not. There is very little freedom of movement; you can run around, go into places, smash stuff, kill stuff, jump down from desginated places, roll/teleport, swim, thats about it…there are alot of invisible barriers. That been said, it does have a very big world to explore filled with varying enviroment. This is not the aspect of focus for this game, and I am not disappointed that it’s not stand out.

Lets go over the last few points of this game:

Things I nit-picked about/hated: The f****** dispelling mini-game is so s*** and annoying, if you’re gonna take one thing from 007 Bloodstone, why take the stupidest, most unnecessary mini-game? Plus, if you fail it MANY times you get put a curse WHICH DOES NOT COME OFF untill you spend (level-depend) a large sum of gold on it. You might think, ok so what I get -10% health or something like that, but you are mistaken the curses are RIDICULOUS. To name a few really annoying ones: -99% mana regen and -1pt mana regen per second (that was in one curse), -25%hp and 25% physical damage, -50% lightning resist (they put this where lightning monsters spawn and have the potential to uno-hit kill you). Not only that, failing dispelling also hits you for about 1/2 of your hp and does a HUGE DOT on you. How to succeed in dispelling you ask (since the 2 second tutorial does NOT help), just click right before the circle hits the rune. On Average/Hard traps, just forget about it if you’re not fully leveled in dispelling, might as well hit the 10% auto-try and pray for the best.

Pheww…ok other things they can improve on: make the game harder, add something more to the player-owned-house, maybe a maid or something. More facial animations. Don’t put quest-sensitive NPCs in danger areas, they aren’t essential and you don’t even get a warning when you “failed” a quest. More combat combos! They are awsome! And lastly, more races to choose from (default only has 4, 2 humans and 2 elves LMAO). Lastly, more weapon/armor models never hurts.

Things I really liked: The animation is superb, and probably better than anything I’ve seen, especially on the combat moves and the little “slide” the PC does when you change direction while running. Combat is flashy and the effects are very cool, especially with the Faeblade. All the girls look pretty. Yeah, thats about it.

Here is the video if I can upload it. It shows a short quest and afterwards I show a couple more fighting styles that I can do (as a rogue). Enjoy!

So in the game, did I enjoy it? Of course, it feels like something different because it mixes up aspects of many different game however the replay value is not there since this game is actually quite linear (higher level mobs will kill you). Would I recommend getting it? This game is setup for DLCs, and by the look of things most people won’t buy this game anyway when it comes out, so my suggestion is GET it, but wait for a complete package. If you don’t care about DLCs, get it now.

My GOTY (Game of the Year) Predictions

Well, the year is wrapping up and the blockbuster titles are already out. Time to pick your game of the year! Here are my predictions, I only predicted for the three major reviewer whose opinion I pseudo-respect, IGN Gametrailers and Gamespot.

But first off, my game of the year (personally) would definitely have to be Skyrim. I actually first thought of Uncharted 3, but it’s just way too similar to Uncharted 2 for it to truly be an awsome sequel. I guess Uncharted 3 would the “runner up”. Ever wondered why Gamespot gave Battlefield 3 and Modern Warefare 3 an 8.5, a 9.0 on Uncharted, Skyrim..etc? it probably means both shooters will never be a contender for GOTY, sorry shooter fans.

Here are my PREDICTIONS for the three magazine, post your own here as well!!!

Gamespot: 75% chance its Dark Souls, the other 2 being Gears of War 3 or Skyrim.

IGN: 90% chance Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception, 9% Skyrim or Rayman. 1% Battlefield 3.

Gametrailers: 50% chance Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception, 50% Everything else, including Skyrim, Gears 3, and don’t forget about The Witcher 2.

Its pretty trendy nowadays for reviewers to judge a game without looking at its forerunners (Halo reference not intended), but they won’t be doing that anytime soon due to reviewers mainly promoting “milking” by the companies. Oh well, expect the worst which is Skyrim not being GOTY haha.

Have a great thanksgiving guys!

My Review of Saints Row the Third

Once upon a time, there was Grand Theft Auto, and thats it. Here comes Saints Row the Third, doing everything GTA was SUPPOSED to do and better (well most things anyway).

My short review: Great, over-the-top game with some of the most fluid gameplay since Unreal Tournament (funny comparison, I know) 2004+3. Weak, unlikable story but extremely honed-gameplay and action sequences. Gets a little repetitive after awhile but gets reinforced by cooperative play online. If you loved GTA and Red Dead, then don’t get this game because both are story-heavy while SR: The Third is definitely not story-driven. However if you only like one, then give this game a try.

Is that Battlefield I see? Nope, its Saints Row!

Anyway, lets break this game down a bit.

Graphics wise, this game is not very remarkable…I mean it looks very slightly better than GTA4 with better explosions. The physics is a little jerky, stuff tend to fly around alot, especially the RIDICULOUS throw (yes, you can grab anybody and throw them like a doll). Compatibility is also an issue, since the game refuses to run well on my laptop unless you I lower AA, filtering, and set the Set-Detail to Medium instead of High when the game doesn’t look that remarkable in the first place. Minor complaints aside, this game’s city feels alot less realistic that GTA’s, especially with the massive amounts of stripper/hooker ladies running around wearing thongs.

Before moving on, lets just say that this game is totally OVER THE TOP and everything is extremely exaggerated and unrealistic. This however, is the selling point of the game, its so fun to play and care-free about any sort of physical constraints. Its hard not to compare this game with GTA when in fact, they are completely different games: while GTA focuses more on character development and story, Saints Row puts much more emphasis on dynamic action and fluid controls (the controls are responsive, keys are easy to use, and feel great). I mean, what can you do in GTA other than drive around, shoot people, do missions, go on dates? Think of Saints Row as an exaggeration of everything about GTA, ridiculously stereotypical characters, over-the-top weapons and vehicles, over-the-top story and gameplay.

If there’s one thing the game did extremely well, its the action. The attacks are simple and fun to execute, especially the unarmed attacks and the melee weapons. Jumping into cars into unrealistic yet very satisfying and vehicle variety is greatly improved in this game. My only complaint is that the game is a little too easy…I mean regenerative health and you soak up more bullets than frickin Snake.

To help you determine if this is the game for you, watch the following video. If you like what you see, then by all means go for it:

http://www.gamespot.com/saints-row-the-third/videos/a-griefers-guide-to-saints-row-the-third-6340850

Did I have fun: 100% of the time, the action is non-stop and fluid. The steep system-tax on your computer is a little frustrating but the great gameplay and music makes this game a worthwhile adventure.

My Honest Review of: The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim

Short review: Imagine putting the good things of Fallout and Oblivion, put them in a blender, and there you have one of the best action RPG ever made. GET THIS GAME

WARNING: When I say get this game, it really depends on what kind of person you are. If you are impatient, go get it NOW however with enough level in your Patience skill, I would HIGHLY recommend waiting for the Gold/Game of the Year/Complete copy of this game along with all the DLCs because you just KNOW skyrim’s gonna have a ton of them.

I would also HIGHLY getting this game for the PC UNLESS you have a gi-normous TV.

And yes, I do say bad things about it, scroll to the end.

Here are some screenshots. For the long review, read after the pictures (click to enlarge).

Because Skyrim is so big, Ill break this up.

Graphics, Compatibility: First thing in many people’s mind is, how does this game look? Well, it looks FANTASTIC. If you nit-pick about the texture size, model details, then the answer is no, the game does not measure up to standards of say, Metal Gear Solid 4, Uncharted, Crysis, even Call of Duty. HOWEVER, know two very important things: Skyrim takes about give or take, 5.6GB (thats about a-third of The Witcher 2, or Modern Warfare 3 etc…) of your harddrive, and the fact that loading takes somewhere between 0-4 seconds (remember that really annoying loading screen with the photoshopped picture in Oblivion?), most of the time INSTANT loading on the PC. And, when you’re outdoors, the game streams smoothly without any loading screen whatsoever (even on consoles of course). It also runs alot better than Oblivion, which is strange yet pleasant; if you can run Oblivion, you can run Skyrim…just don’t turn AA, draw distance, and Anis Filter too high. Seriously, you didn’t WOW to the 5.6GB disk space requirement?

Combat/Action: Ok, this might sound strange as well but this game plays almost exactly like Fallout 3+NV with a melee-focus. Its so smooth and not awkward like Oblivion’s combat, and the finishing-moves you do randomly is reminescent of Fallout’s as well. Bethesda added a “favorite” button to replace to number keys and pressing it brings up a small menu and pauses the gameplay so you can switch between different combat styles in a breeze. One thing I have to say is, the Bow-play is still pretty damn hard…I can never hit people unless it’s the first hit or if they are running straight at me…it feels like Oblivion’s archery has not been improved here. Magic feels oh-so-satisfying in Skyrim as well, as they now do more than just hurt your enemies and create some cool looking effects.

Leveling up/RPG element: Leveling up is really frequent in Skyrim, and once you gain a level you pick which base-stat you want to level (HP Stamina or Mana/Magicka) and you get 1-perk point to put into whichever skill you want to. Skills (just like Oblivion) level independently from your current level and the more you use a skill the more it will level. The only way to increase your overall level is to increase the levels of your major skill (naturally the ones you use the most). With loots, Skyrim feels the same as Oblivion, with bosses wielding higher-tier equipments and enemy-scaling depending on your level. I have to say though, Skyrim is a bit harder than Oblivion and most bosses will kick your ass unless you go prepared (HINT when you first see Giants, stay away from them they kill you in uno-hit and have AOE attack. Same with Mammoths except mammoths do it in 2).

Story: Ok, I know how the developers said during interviews that they’ll limit the amount of side-quests and give some support to the main story, but I ditched it 20 minutes into the game. Yeah yeah Dragonborn blah blah blah…some of the sidequests are actually really involved and interesting, especially the ones I made for myself when Im attempting to clear the dungeons. Speaking of dungeons, EVERY dungeon/mine/fort looks different and have unique loots which is a big thumbs up from Oblivion’s mostly gray-ish insides. Im not really far into the main story so I can’t comment here. You decide!

So what is this game like?: Its called Bethesda answered the calls of the gamers and improved almost EVERYTHING in Oblivion, Fallout and smashed them both together. Actually the settings, way characters interact, music, and story all scream Morrowind to me and this game bears an uncanny resemblance to Morrinwind and NOT Oblivion. Bethesda made what a videogame sequel SHOULD BE, bigger, better-looking, and better everything with TONS of new content, new skills, new ways to play the game. It puts so called sequels to shame (cough cough gears 2, uncharted 3, call of duty..etc etc) and shows us that Bethesda isn’t out to milk franchises and truly care about what the gamer is saying about their games.

I enjoyed EVERY SECOND of this game (well, maybe not the part where I keep getting killed by a giant in uno-hit, I had to circle strafe him using a guard and a wall…BEWARE giants run faster than you unless you sprint, and that drains stamina) and would highly recommend it. A few bugs I noticed (here we go): Still have the stuck-in-landscape bug present in Fallout/Oblivion, AI companions are still dumbasses who triggers traps and keeps sheathing/unsheathing their weapons for no reason, underwater-water looks funny, NO COOP, lack of proper tutorial for new players, can’t block when you have a spell in one hand and sword in the other (it lets you block in ALL other cases, there is NO REASON why you cannot block when holding a spell)…I think Im out.

Little things I REALLY LOVE: You can catch flying bugs/insects and use them as alchemy ingredience, hunt animals and make cool grilled meat/soup/stuff, go fishing, make your own higher-tiered equipment, walk/run animation is SUPERB, much better character-screen, breakable covers, running into someone now has consequences, randomly dropping/picking up crap now excites comments from NPCs, Menu system is ICE-SMOOTH and no lag and doesn’t take two years to open when you have alot of stuff. I can go on for days…

Only things Bethesda still need to do: Add multiplayer (coop prefered, like Fable did), better looking NPC faces (no worries here, mods will probably fix this), MORE dialogues.

Post screenshots of your characters here (if you have one)!

My Uncharted 3 Review: Because I just beat it

I remember awhile ago when I saw videos of Uncharted: Drake’s fortune and thinking to myself, this game looks like a really simplified, action-oriented tomb raider (and not liking it), however after playing through Uncharted 2 (multiple times) and now Uncharted 3, I have to say this is easily PS3’s flagship series right here. Forget about Killzone, Resistance, MGS (yes, MGS), Final Fantasies, JRPGS, silly anime-based crap, Uncharted is where the highest level of PS3 gaming is at. Not only does this game play smoothly, but it also makes every other Xbox360 game look like Gimli in front of Legolas (ok, bad comparison, just saying PS3 games look great and play like pieces of multimedia art…but wait, isn’t that part of the definition of videogames?). Picture below is ACTUAL GAMEPLAY FOOTAGE. Scroll to the bottom for my 1-sentence review.

I started my playthrough on normal (like I did Uncharted 2) and had a blast for 95% of the game untill the ending few chapters, thats when things get a little hairy. Nothing is wrong really, except that it gets really HARD. Most of the times you won’t die at all platforming, but there will be certain sections where you will die a few times especially Naughty Dog (game developer) decided to pull the plug on Drake being constantly acompanied by invincible AIs, about 50% of the game you spend alone with only your wits and reaction time. Certain parts, such as the pirate ship, are especially challenging (grenade spam anyone?), Uncharted 3 unlike Mass Effect 3, tries to get you moving around with constant grenade spam and AI-flanking action…your AI friends are also a little less helpful and tend to shoot (alot) less at the bad guys and more running around. Im fine with this though, Uncharted 2 felt like a breeze and I must’ve died at least 200% more times in Uncharted 3.

Overall, this game is alot of fun, and the whole plot is pretty varied with many interesting scenes breaking up the action/stealth/kind of vehicle sequences. Did I mention there are some new weapons? Most are mere model replacements however (the three-round bust rifle got replaced by a…three-round burst rifle that looks different) specialty weapons got added, such as sniper-revolvers, better shotguns, and interesting pistols, etc etc. This time around, Uncharted focuses more on Drake and Sully’s relationship, sure Elena, Chloe comes now and then (Chloe and her ass dissappears really quickly sadly) to tank and take pot-shots at your enemies but they don’t stay long.

There is nothing to say about the graphics, it alone can destroy the 360’s STILL pixelated textures. Im especially impressed by end scene (go screw yourself Theo lol) in the quicksand.

Played only a little bit of the multiplayer, and for once UNCHARTED 3 HAS SPLITSCREEN COMPETITIVE+COOP MULTIPLAYER!!! Now that itself, deserves instant recognition. There is a little leveling-perk-dress-up-weapon system thingy trendy of current-age multiplayer games people will be familiar with. Also present is a “survival” mode which is really hard/fun! Comon, did you really buy Uncharted 3 for the multiplayer? Its there alright, and its quite formidable.

All-in-all, this game plays exactly like Uncharted 2 and suffers the same (sometimes) annoying cover-locking, getting-stuck bugs, but these are small nit-picks to something much greater. Here is my short review:

Did I have fun? HELL YES, should you buy it? If you have a PS3, you must buy it (get it used later, its expensive), if you haven’t played Uncharted 1,2 don’t worry. Actually I think fans of Uncharted 2 will actually be dissappointed with Uncharted 3 more than new players…I guess it depends on if you’re a republican or democrat.

Is it me or is Claudia Black in WAY TOO many of my games? (cough cough, Chloe, Morrigan, Sam (gears of war 3))

(My) Games so good that they ruin gaming

I read this article on N4G a little while ago, about how some games are so GOOD that they ruin gaming. All it means is that they make every other game (similar genre usually) look bad after you play them. Ill give you an example here:

After playing Warcraft 3, Age of Empires becomes “meh”. Know what I mean? Ok here you go, read the article if you want but here are my picks

http://n4g.com/news/877748/7-games-so-good-they-ruined-gaming

The Witcher 2/ Elder Scrolls: Oblivion

F***, if you even played a little bit of TW2 you know what I’m talking about. This game LOOKS awsome, PLAYS awsome (just a little harsh on noobs), and makes most of the action-rpgs look like “overcooked broccolis at a turkey dinner” to quote Sgt Johnson. The same can be said about Oblivion a fews back when it first came out, it still is one of the most engrossing games I have ever played (I would love to go back and beat it again, but it’ll take me another 100+hours)

The Oblivion picture was taken on my old PC, which ran it on pretty low-specs however I did have several mods installed (french maid hat give it away?)

Dragon Age: Origins

Even if you don’t like strategy/rpg/action games, you need to play Dragon Age for its story. Its not perfect but its as close to a good blend of strategy/rpg/action as you can get without mucking up. Don’t worry, this is the only Bioware game Im going to mention because I don’t find Mass Effect 2 as amazing as everyone thought…more on that later.

This pilfered image from Google once again, has a few mods installed, most noticeably the Leliana/Morrigan sacred ashes mod…I prefer the original, they look really…slutty here

Diablo 2

Ok, there are more Diablo clones/Diablo inspired games than I can count. And guess what, NONE of them is as good as good ol’D2. I’ve played quite a few, maybe I’ll review them one day (Titan Quest, Sacred(s), Torchlight, etc etc…). Actually, this is the opposite case because I usually TRY to play something else but always comes back to D2 instead of the other way around.

My old LAN buddies will immediately know where this is from…

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare

You know why? Because after this the COD franchise began to go downhill…fast, talk about milking franchises why doesn’t anybody mention the stupid sports game or COD?

Too sleepy to go on, I can think of a few more, can you?

Target and Amazon have buy 2-get 1 game deal

I saw it first, but kudos for Richard for (unknowingly) pushing me into actually using this deal.

Now the only difference between the two deals is their game library. Everything about any kind of deal is the same here; the lowest price item gets omitted, only selected games, and shipping is still charged, not sure if this deal is valid in-stores.

I used the Target deal mainly due to my mistrust of Amazon (call it paranoid) and that Amazon’s library doesn’t have Uncharted 3 (instead replacing it with a less-desirable Resistance 3…if you haven’t read my review of Resistance 2, go ahead now). Of course there are many older games (not 60$) also in the library, but I ended up with Uncharted 3, Arkham City, and Gears 3. I will get them this weekend, so here I pose the poll for everyone:

If you’re interested in the deal, just google the respective store and put “buy 2 get 1” after it, simple.

Have fun!