To start I have played runescape since the beginning. It started out as a good game and had looked like it had a great future in front of it. I mean what more could you want in a game that had 400 people on it. But then it all changed. People started coming in mass amounts and Scammers and cheaters took over...and the game went to basically crap.
For gameplay, the game when you first start, is great. You have quests to do people to meet, things to buy. There are a large amount of things to do when you first start maybe you want to start leveling up right away maybe try to make some money. Or you could also try your hand at killing monster's and fighting dragons. But you could also go on a adventure do some quest get some goods. Then there are the people. Alot of then are nice and want to help you out. You can make some of the best friends in Runescape (RS) and the people are one of the best parts of the game. But they are also the downfall of it. When you have 2000 people on and you cant get anything done because you are being nagged to hell. What fun is that. Or you have people trying to trick you out of your items that you worked hard to get. And I bet you think that's the worst of it. But oh no you also have cheater that use programs (bots) to play the game for them and they don't do anything to get the level you worked for. However, i think the new updates helped fight against bots.
For the story, I wish I could say something but I cant. There is really no story for this game. It is a bunch of nothing. You start. You walk around you click. And after that you click some more. I mean you do do quest and kill ''things'' but thats the highlight of it. Other then that it is just standing somewhere clicking.
There used to be no sound for this game. Then they made it for members only. And now it is available to everyone. The sound is just some little beeps and tincks that are really just a bunch of rubish and background music, oooooooh.
The graphics used to be very horrible in the late 90's early 2000's. Now they have been updated. Well they are not all that great I mean I am sure they really tried to make them good. Graphics are still pretty crappy compared to other games.
The game is free and that is its best point. yes, you can get some extra bonus's for a sum of cash but its really not worth it. You have things to do and you do find it fun for a while. So If you want a game that most people do find addictive that you dont want to pay for then yes, this game is for you. I did and I still do play it.....Just beware that its not the best game in the world by a long shot, just somehow...addicting.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Crackdown
The only reason people bought this game because it came with Halo 3 Beta. This game is for the Xbox 360. To be honest, I wasn't thrilled with this game, it looked like a Grand Theft Auto (GTA) clone, hands down. And it was...but that doesn't mean it isn't worth playing.
The sound in Crackdown is pretty nice, though it is a bit over the top volume-wise. Stuff is just loud, plain and simple. But the quality of the sound is good. No major problems here, aside from occasionally you won't hear the sound when you land after a large fall. Graphics were not that bad. It was a step up from Grand Theft Auto. The glaring problem here is that it's full of glitches that will randomly make large patches of terrain and objects vanish.
Gameplay was where the developers' focus was, and they did a good job on it, mostly. The controls are essentially the same from a GTA game but with the added bonus of superpowers. The ability to jump 30 feet in the air is a refreshing and fun idea. I like jumping around the city from building to building. It gets old after a while however. The targeting system is rather annoying. If there is more than one enemy in front of you, targeting a specific one is a nightmare. And when enemies are killed, you are, for whatever unknown reason, still able to lock on to their bodies; again, very annoying when dealing with a group of two or more enemies. When breaking into a "boss's lair," the game does compensate for your superpowers by loading the area with enemies that have almost 100% accuracy. You could pretty much get by in this game using only the strength skill (trained by meleeing enemies), and the shooting skill. Agility is painfully slow to level, driving sucks because the only useful cars are the ones from the Agency Garage. Explosives is a really fun skill. Watching realistic explosions is really exciting. However, you might kill civilians or peacekeepers, thus slowing your training in this skill. Still, the gameplay overall isn't bad, there are just some elements to the game that overshadow others. There are also some downloadable content available on Xbox Live, which ruined the game for me because i dont have Live.
A storyline?!?!? I didn't know there was one! Well, alright, TECHNICALLY there is a story but its flat, boring, and only makes the most pathetic of attempts at being interesting. Here's the story: You are in Pacific City. There are 3 gangs each with 7 members. Go around, find the 6 lower members in each gang, then find the leader, kill them all, game over. At the end, they throw in this random "twist" that is a blatant attempt to make the story interesting, but only serves to make you go, "Huh?...Well that's just dumb." It's mostly just lame.
Replay value is another dissappointment. Once again, I didn't know there was any. If there's one trait they didn't inherit from GTA, its the fun side stuff. There are no side missions or anything in Crackdown. The only variance from the main "story" (term used loosely) are the two dozen are so foot and car races, as well as the nearly 1000 agility and hidden orbs around the city that help to increase your skills.
Overall, this game is pretty fun, but only for a little while. You can pretty much accomplish everything interesting in this game in about 6 hours, if even that long. If you are attempting all of the achievements it will take significantly longer, but even the achievements don't really inspire you to play much longer than the feeble story holds out. Rent it, save your money.
The sound in Crackdown is pretty nice, though it is a bit over the top volume-wise. Stuff is just loud, plain and simple. But the quality of the sound is good. No major problems here, aside from occasionally you won't hear the sound when you land after a large fall. Graphics were not that bad. It was a step up from Grand Theft Auto. The glaring problem here is that it's full of glitches that will randomly make large patches of terrain and objects vanish.
Gameplay was where the developers' focus was, and they did a good job on it, mostly. The controls are essentially the same from a GTA game but with the added bonus of superpowers. The ability to jump 30 feet in the air is a refreshing and fun idea. I like jumping around the city from building to building. It gets old after a while however. The targeting system is rather annoying. If there is more than one enemy in front of you, targeting a specific one is a nightmare. And when enemies are killed, you are, for whatever unknown reason, still able to lock on to their bodies; again, very annoying when dealing with a group of two or more enemies. When breaking into a "boss's lair," the game does compensate for your superpowers by loading the area with enemies that have almost 100% accuracy. You could pretty much get by in this game using only the strength skill (trained by meleeing enemies), and the shooting skill. Agility is painfully slow to level, driving sucks because the only useful cars are the ones from the Agency Garage. Explosives is a really fun skill. Watching realistic explosions is really exciting. However, you might kill civilians or peacekeepers, thus slowing your training in this skill. Still, the gameplay overall isn't bad, there are just some elements to the game that overshadow others. There are also some downloadable content available on Xbox Live, which ruined the game for me because i dont have Live.
A storyline?!?!? I didn't know there was one! Well, alright, TECHNICALLY there is a story but its flat, boring, and only makes the most pathetic of attempts at being interesting. Here's the story: You are in Pacific City. There are 3 gangs each with 7 members. Go around, find the 6 lower members in each gang, then find the leader, kill them all, game over. At the end, they throw in this random "twist" that is a blatant attempt to make the story interesting, but only serves to make you go, "Huh?...Well that's just dumb." It's mostly just lame.
Replay value is another dissappointment. Once again, I didn't know there was any. If there's one trait they didn't inherit from GTA, its the fun side stuff. There are no side missions or anything in Crackdown. The only variance from the main "story" (term used loosely) are the two dozen are so foot and car races, as well as the nearly 1000 agility and hidden orbs around the city that help to increase your skills.
Overall, this game is pretty fun, but only for a little while. You can pretty much accomplish everything interesting in this game in about 6 hours, if even that long. If you are attempting all of the achievements it will take significantly longer, but even the achievements don't really inspire you to play much longer than the feeble story holds out. Rent it, save your money.
Monday, March 31, 2008
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.
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.
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.
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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