One of the games I looked forward to the most in 2006 was The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. It's just like what the back of the box describes it as, plus much more. Four years in the making, it surpasses its predecessor, Morrowind, by a mile. It is obvious that four years making this game weren't wasted.Oblivion continues the firm tradition of the Elder Scrolls series - open-ended make-your-own-choice gameplay. In other words, you are free to do whatever you want, whenever you want. Whether it be a rampage in the city, doing the Main Quest, or just exploring the countryside and taking in sights.
If you take the path exploring, you'll be exploring for a long time. Sixteen square miles of countryside and cities. That 16 is not including water and underground locations. Dungeon-roamers, there's plenty for you, too! Hundreds of dungeons are scattered around Cyrodiil for you to find, explore and loot. Shipwrecks, deserted cabins, terrorised villages - Oblivion has something for everyone. Unlike Morrowind, the game guides you through a tutorial stage where you get to learn the ropes of combat, magic and whatnot. In the Morrowind days, the game dumped you in a perilous situation without giving you an introduction whatsoever. The most (or one of the most) notable features of Oblivion are the brilliant graphics. When you step out from the tutorial to the wide world, the first thing that hits you is the amount of land and forest the game renders.
NPCs are also well-rendered. Effects like fireballs are as good as the rest of the graphics. The game makes sure that an arrow flying through the air can bury itself in wood (if it needs to), not bounce off. Sound in Oblivion, where not being as spectacular as the rest of the game, is an achievement nonetheless. Exploration, town and dungeon music incorporate well, however, once an enemy enters your area, the music dramatically changes. This can be disturbing for some players, who are not used to subtle turnarounds in background music. Voice acting for NPCs are fine, however, it suffers from bugs like the presence of sound, with the mouth not moving, or vice versa. Battle effects are well-synchronised, with every metallic clang in the right place. In short, Oblivion isn't a game you should rent - buying would make much more sense. It has more value if you could spend more time playing it - with hundreds of dungeons to loot, with seven cities to purchase a house in, and a compelling Main Quest plus four factions, the fourth game in the Elder Scrolls series is bound to keep you coming back for more even after a year.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Gears of War
Gears of War was literally the best game on Xbox 360, up until Halo 3 came out. The storyline is amazing, the graphics are truly next gen, and the A.I. is actually intelligent.
The gameplay is excellent. The A button does it all, it takes cover, ducks, does roll dodges, swat turns, and etc. It's basically the survival button. There is very few lag in the game, no glitches that i have found, and from what i hear online is pretty kickass. This game is all about cover, without using it you die. The chainsaw bayonet never gets boring at all. You run up to an enemy and hold down the B button to rev up the saw, lots of fun. You can stick you enemies with grenades and they explode into pieces, literally. You can curbstomp people, and within 3 feet with a shotgun blast, your enemy get torn apart literally. When I mean literally, I mean it, this is the goriest, most bloody game ever. Heads blow off, guts come out, limbs are all over the floor. For those that say gameplay has been sacrificed for graphics, they are wrong.
These graphics are truly next gen, the gore looks realistic, the shading is magnificent, everything, and I mean everything is VERY detailed. Faces, clothing, guns, cars, you name it. On a standard T.V. it feels like you're playing on HD, on HD it look even better.
The storyline is very well and planned out. You are Marcus Fenix, a decorated war hero. The Pendulum Wars have ended. The planet Sera now enters a time of peace and prosperity. Until the locust attacked. They emerged in large forces from the ground to launch a surprise attack. They killed the humans ruthlessly, men, women and children. 14 years later, you and what's left on the Coalition of Ordered Governments (COG) are going to make a last stand against the Locust Horde, you will attack at the heart of the enemy. This game is a must have.
The gameplay is excellent. The A button does it all, it takes cover, ducks, does roll dodges, swat turns, and etc. It's basically the survival button. There is very few lag in the game, no glitches that i have found, and from what i hear online is pretty kickass. This game is all about cover, without using it you die. The chainsaw bayonet never gets boring at all. You run up to an enemy and hold down the B button to rev up the saw, lots of fun. You can stick you enemies with grenades and they explode into pieces, literally. You can curbstomp people, and within 3 feet with a shotgun blast, your enemy get torn apart literally. When I mean literally, I mean it, this is the goriest, most bloody game ever. Heads blow off, guts come out, limbs are all over the floor. For those that say gameplay has been sacrificed for graphics, they are wrong.
These graphics are truly next gen, the gore looks realistic, the shading is magnificent, everything, and I mean everything is VERY detailed. Faces, clothing, guns, cars, you name it. On a standard T.V. it feels like you're playing on HD, on HD it look even better.
The storyline is very well and planned out. You are Marcus Fenix, a decorated war hero. The Pendulum Wars have ended. The planet Sera now enters a time of peace and prosperity. Until the locust attacked. They emerged in large forces from the ground to launch a surprise attack. They killed the humans ruthlessly, men, women and children. 14 years later, you and what's left on the Coalition of Ordered Governments (COG) are going to make a last stand against the Locust Horde, you will attack at the heart of the enemy. This game is a must have.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Tenchu Z
My next game is onTenchu Z. It is for the Xbox 360 and can be played in single player or online with others. The single-player gameplay is where the gold is for all Tenchu games. I will start by saying it is a little lame that they reuse the same levels repeatedly as you go through the game, but at least the enemy layout varies. Also, you won't play the same level too soon if you go in order of the missions. The combat system sucks, but fortunately you don't have to fight very often. This is a stealth game. If you want amazing ninja combat, go play Ninja Gaiden. This game is designed for you to kill unseen, and instantly. It's like the Hitman games... you can't expect to go through a mission blasting every person you see. It's just not how it's done. When you do get to certain key fights where you do need to use standard toe-to-toe combat, it just takes a little practice. It won't be fluid and intuitive like other games, but it's not so horrible you'll want to throw the controller across the room. They give you combat abilities to purchase for a reason. As far as completing missions, you can go straight to the objective quite easily, but it's not really intended for you to play that way. Personally, I like to kill every single enemy on the level before I complete it, which is how I believe the devs intended since the first game was released. You just have to have the right mindset and patience to play the game and enjoy it. A level can take several hours to beat if you want the real experience of a ninja.
Multiplayer, I have no opinion on as of yet. Online co-op is something I've always wanted from stealth games, and the fact that Tenchu Z has it makes me happy. I wish I could write something about it.
Major improvements are the store/money system and customization of your character. No longer do you have to feel like a generic ninja, although I would have liked different weapon options. Being able to change practically every aspect of what your character looks like, their attributes, and even abilities is great. Make your ninja your way!
My biggest complaint is the AI. It hasn't changed since the beginning of the series. I don't need them to have eagle-vision and detect every move I make, but I expect them to see me if I'm standing 30 feet away right next to a torch with a sword to their buddy's neck. But, it rarely bothers me. In closing, if you have played Tenchu before and enjoyed it, this is definitely worth picking up. I can't wait to get started in multiplayer with some buddies, and finish buying all of the abilities/clothing options. The series hasn't aged very well, but they are making some progress. It's definitely not for everyone though. I truly feel that if the developers fail to make some major improvements soon, Tenchu will eventually die out.
Multiplayer, I have no opinion on as of yet. Online co-op is something I've always wanted from stealth games, and the fact that Tenchu Z has it makes me happy. I wish I could write something about it.
Major improvements are the store/money system and customization of your character. No longer do you have to feel like a generic ninja, although I would have liked different weapon options. Being able to change practically every aspect of what your character looks like, their attributes, and even abilities is great. Make your ninja your way!
My biggest complaint is the AI. It hasn't changed since the beginning of the series. I don't need them to have eagle-vision and detect every move I make, but I expect them to see me if I'm standing 30 feet away right next to a torch with a sword to their buddy's neck. But, it rarely bothers me. In closing, if you have played Tenchu before and enjoyed it, this is definitely worth picking up. I can't wait to get started in multiplayer with some buddies, and finish buying all of the abilities/clothing options. The series hasn't aged very well, but they are making some progress. It's definitely not for everyone though. I truly feel that if the developers fail to make some major improvements soon, Tenchu will eventually die out.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Assassins Creed
The first game I will be talking about is Assassins Creed. It is for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. The graphics are amazing. The game is rated M (mature) for blood, strong language, and violence. I however did not find strong language, maybe because I am used to it. =).
The story of the game starts with the main character, Desmond Miles, imprisoned (I think) in a research lab with this crazy doctor Warren Vidic and his assistant Lucy. They are trying to find a very valuable treasure thought to be lost in the far past. They think that Desmond has the same blood as the people who found the treasure and they are trying to find out what happened to the past with this machine called the Animus. When he is strapped into the Animus, he is sent to the past in the form of his ancestor, Altair. The past is set in a medieval time and you will be playing about 85 – 90% of the game during this time. The only times you come back to the present is when Desmond’s body cannot tolerate the Animus anymore and needs to take a break. During this time, you walk around the lab, but you mainly go to the bed and sleep.
As Altair, you are a top assassin in a brotherhood. You have three tenants (rules) that must be followed: do not kill innocent civilians, forgot the second, and the last is the most important, do not expose the brotherhood. Throughout the game you will be investigating your assassination target by eavesdropping on important conversations, interrogating (by punching) people who work for the target, talking to informants from the brotherhood, or pick pocketing people who have important information. After you do enough investigating, you have to get permission to kill the target at the Assassin Bureau. Once you get permission you are given a feather to dip into the targets blood when you kill them. After that you return to the Bureau with the feather to prove that you have eliminated your target. That is pretty much what you do through the whole game.
The controls are simple (I will be talking about the Xbox 360 version). You have a low profile, which is stealthy and does not attract much attention. However, you walk very slowly and carefully around people, and I am an impatient person. Then there is the high profile. In this profile you can run, sprint, shove people around. However, it attracts a lot of attention and may make the guards attack you. You are in low profile by default. To get into high profile, you have to hold down the right trigger on the controller. The A button controls the feet. It does not do anything in low profile, but in high profile you can sprint. The X button is for the sword arm. When you press this in low profile you attack with the weapon that you have equipped (sword, dagger, throwing knives, or fists). In high profile, you can counter attacks. The B button is for the other arm. Pressing it in low profile will allow you to slightly push people who are in your way while walking, but not too strong so that they drop what they are carrying and attract attention. In high profile, you can grab people and throw them around or push people out of your way while you are running. The Y button controls the head. It is only useable in low profile and when pressed, allows you to use Eagle vision, which is an enhanced vision for Altair. It allows you to see who is an ally, enemy, innocent, or assassination target. This game is very fun and I would recommend it to gamers.
That’s it for now….=D. Enjoy the Vid.
The story of the game starts with the main character, Desmond Miles, imprisoned (I think) in a research lab with this crazy doctor Warren Vidic and his assistant Lucy. They are trying to find a very valuable treasure thought to be lost in the far past. They think that Desmond has the same blood as the people who found the treasure and they are trying to find out what happened to the past with this machine called the Animus. When he is strapped into the Animus, he is sent to the past in the form of his ancestor, Altair. The past is set in a medieval time and you will be playing about 85 – 90% of the game during this time. The only times you come back to the present is when Desmond’s body cannot tolerate the Animus anymore and needs to take a break. During this time, you walk around the lab, but you mainly go to the bed and sleep.
As Altair, you are a top assassin in a brotherhood. You have three tenants (rules) that must be followed: do not kill innocent civilians, forgot the second, and the last is the most important, do not expose the brotherhood. Throughout the game you will be investigating your assassination target by eavesdropping on important conversations, interrogating (by punching) people who work for the target, talking to informants from the brotherhood, or pick pocketing people who have important information. After you do enough investigating, you have to get permission to kill the target at the Assassin Bureau. Once you get permission you are given a feather to dip into the targets blood when you kill them. After that you return to the Bureau with the feather to prove that you have eliminated your target. That is pretty much what you do through the whole game.
The controls are simple (I will be talking about the Xbox 360 version). You have a low profile, which is stealthy and does not attract much attention. However, you walk very slowly and carefully around people, and I am an impatient person. Then there is the high profile. In this profile you can run, sprint, shove people around. However, it attracts a lot of attention and may make the guards attack you. You are in low profile by default. To get into high profile, you have to hold down the right trigger on the controller. The A button controls the feet. It does not do anything in low profile, but in high profile you can sprint. The X button is for the sword arm. When you press this in low profile you attack with the weapon that you have equipped (sword, dagger, throwing knives, or fists). In high profile, you can counter attacks. The B button is for the other arm. Pressing it in low profile will allow you to slightly push people who are in your way while walking, but not too strong so that they drop what they are carrying and attract attention. In high profile, you can grab people and throw them around or push people out of your way while you are running. The Y button controls the head. It is only useable in low profile and when pressed, allows you to use Eagle vision, which is an enhanced vision for Altair. It allows you to see who is an ally, enemy, innocent, or assassination target. This game is very fun and I would recommend it to gamers.
That’s it for now….=D. Enjoy the Vid.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
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