Posts Tagged ‘video games’
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To answer the question, yes I do play video games. I have several systems, and like most people I know – I did have my personal information stolen in the big PSN breach.
However, that’s not what bugs me about modern video games. What does bug me is that modern games depend on DLC and regular updates.
DLC add on content I’m not generally opposed to. But when games are being popped out from the studios at a rate that they’re not even completed, this bugs me. Basically, video games are all released before they’re ready to. But it’s okay – they can fix the bugs with downloadable patches.
Those of you without internet connected to your game systems, you’re shit out of luck. Also, I recommend you get with the times. If you have an xbox, I’m not sure but I’m pretty sure you have to pay to get these updates because the online xbox isn’t free. Could be wrong, though.
So to top this off, when a game with these very obvious bugs gets released, the top game review websites still give it a 8+ out of 10. “It has some bugs, but I’m sure it’ll get fixed eventually.”
Now, if a game with these very obvious issues had been released with the previous generation of systems, it would be labeled as “broken” and the reviewers would have encouraged everyone reading their reviews to go buy something else. Something that wasn’t broken. And they would have berrated the developers and programers for letting such an obvious flaw escape from their studio, and condemned them and their mothers publicly on the internets and cursed their unborn children to a life of evil, death, and decay.
But now…now we just tell people to pay the $60 and wait for the update that’ll fix it.
If you want to pay me $60 plus tax for a broken product that I may update at some point in the future, I’d be down for that. Especially if you have an xbox and you’re paying to use the method you need to get that update. Plus you’re paying for the internet connection to use that method to get the update for the game you already paid for but it’s broken.
Let’s face it, gang. We’re all suckers. Addicted, hopelessly addicted suckers.
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Video Game Review: Alpha Protocol (2008)
Platforms: PS3, Xbox 360, PC
Developer: Sega
Official Website
Plot: You play secret agent Mike Thorton, a new recruit by the super-secret government agency Alpha Protocol. Some terrorists have blown up a plane filled with civilians over the middle east, and it’s up to you to figure out who and why.
Along the way you have to make decisions that determine loyalties and ultimately affect the outcome (and difficulty) of the game. These decisions play a larger role than in most games of this genre, so that was certainly refreshing, but I digress. While in the middle east, things go south and you uncover some super-secret information – that the terrorist acts are being orchestrated by a corporation called Halbech, which may or may not have a mole within your organization.
Now you’ve gone rogue, and by your decisions alone you have to forge alliances (or make enemies) with groups to solve the mystery of who’s behind these terrorist acts – and stop them once and for all.
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Alpha Protocol follows a pretty standard spy plot (bad guys are trying to do bad things, you try to stop them, someone in your organization is working for them, you have to go rogue to save the day, etc) this game was actually a lot of fun to play – despite poor reviews.
Sure the graphics aren’t the sharpest and the controls are a little lose at times (and textures pop in and out all the time. Oh my god, the texture popping). The game has you behind the wheel (in a manner of speaking) of a spy in training. As you level up, your skills get better and suddenly you find yourself being a bad ass by the end of the game. Or, if you pumped everything into your spy stats, you find yourself being an invisible ghost.
Sadly, that doesn’t help you during boss battles.
So why review a 3 year old game that many reviewers gave poor reviews to? Because 1) I just beat it, and 2) it was on sale on gamefly for like $12 over the holidays – which is why I got it.
If you like the Mass Effect type play model of RPG, then this game is worth checking out. Just be aware of the numerous graphical glitches you’ll probably encounter, and you’ll have fun blasting your way through what a James Bond video game should be like.
The return of Cynthia the TV (which is an LG, which is a brand made in Korea, hence the asian reference). I figured a bickering moment between the TV (picking up on my dating woes) and the PS3 wanting companionship – however unrequited it may be.
To me this can be comedy. It’s also another chance to play with the new camera. It’s also an excuse to get a comic up, because this weekend I’m back in Ann Arbor attending my friend’s wedding.
Enjoy your weekend, everyone! I’m going to get my drink on at the reception and flirt with bride’s maids. 
Video Game Review: Assassins Creed 2 (2009)
Platforms: PS3, Xbox 360
Developer: Ubisoft
Plot: Assassin’s Creed takes place in a near future where you play a character named Desmond Miles, who’s the long decedent in a long line of assassins. In the first game, you are taken by a corporation and put into a machine called The Animus, which can read history through your genes. In the first game we learned about the war between the assassins and the Templars, and their quest to find the missing pieces of Eden.
In Assassin’s Creed 2, you break out of the corporation and are whisked away by the assassins to a hidden location where there is another Animus. With it, they hope to train you to become an assassin in the modern day. You mostly play as your ancestor, Ezio, and as he learns how to be an assassin so do you. With Ezio, you discover a conspiracy throughout Italy of the Templars trying to find the missing pieces of Eden, and the power that these mystical objects holds.
It’s difficult to get into the plot of Assassin’s Creed because there’s a lot going on in the game – certainly more than the first game. A lot more missions and more variety to the quests, and some fantastic revelations that lead to another cliffhanger of an ending. But a much more satisfying one than from the previous game.
With better game mechanics and more variety, there’s no reason not to play this game. It’s fun, it’s full of stealth and action, and the two-handed hidden blades are absolutely AWESOME!
It may take a while to play through, especially if you’re trying to collect everything and get the hidden videos, so renting may be difficult (unless you have nothing else to do). But it’s certainly worth the price tag for owning.
Either way, be sure to check it out. The third one is rumored to finish off the story of Desmond, and I can’t wait to play him in some modern settings doing assassin missions!
Video Game Review: Uncharted 2 – Among Thieves
Platform: PS3
Developer: Naughty Dog
Official Website
Plot: The game opens with fortune hunter Nathan Drake (a descendant of Sir Francis Drake, a great explorer) sitting in the chair of a train, blood pouring out of a gunshot wound in his stomach. Looking out the window, he appears to be in the mountains. Upon trying to sit up, he realizes that gravity is playing tricks on him – and that the train car is actually dangling from the side of a mountain cliff. Falls and breaking out of the bottom of the train, Drake watches in horror as the door falls far down into the valley below. Losing blood and moving slowly, Drake begins to climb the train cars to reach a safe area….
…and that’s where Uncharted 2 starts you off.
After the events of the first game, Drake is looking for his next score that is going to make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. Apparently separated from Elena (the journalist that followed his adventures to find El Dorado in the first game), Drake teams up with new love interest Chloe and her partner to follow the clues left by Marco Polo and find the Cintamani Stone from the lost city of Shambhala. Based on some historical truth but with a measure of fantasy and fiction (think Indiana Jones meets Tomb Raider…but a little less fantastic), Uncharted 2 is like the biggest action movie (but with a plot that actually makes sense) where you play the movie hero. Drake is a fun protagonist with a heart of gold and quick with the witty banter, and some sweet moves to get him through the levels against armed soldiers and a madman trying to gain ancient power for himself.
The gameplay is mostly duck and cover mechanics, with very fluid animation and intuitive controls. You also do some platforming and puzzle solving, but if you get stuck the game does give you hints throughout. I will admit to getting stuck in a few rooms because your path doesn’t stick out as obviously as in other games of this type. The path you’re supposed to take blends into the lush backgrounds like it was actually part of the world. This is not a flaw, but something that I’ve been looking forward to in gaming for a long time. A level of emersion that completely brings the world to life, instead of pointing out the path you should take. Thankfully, there’s not much penalty for dying if you make a wrong jump.
The game is very forgiving in it’s platforming, though. Jumps that appear to be impossible are very probable with Drake being one of the most athletic characters in a game (even with a bullet in the gut).
The action sequences are what stick out to me the most in this game. While the first game focused more on the duck-and-cover mechanics, this game enjoys marrying more the gun play with fist-a-cuffs. The ability for Drake to duck behind cover, shoot some guys, grab a dude that’s running him to him and pull him over cover and punch him in the face, then run out shooting and get into a fist fight with another enemy is jaw-dropping to watch, and even more fun to play.
I’ve already reviewed the multiplayer beta for the game, but I’ll add here that they have added additional content, play modes, maps, and even extended the maps that were available in the beta! I’m not much of an online game player, but with some friends this game is rather fun – mostly because I can actually hold my own.
If you own a PS3, you need to get this game and the first one. They are fantastic, hours of fun, and with a great story and great play mechanics. If you don’t own a PS3, then you should be jealous of me like I’m jealous of you (ie: I want to play Mass Effect). This is the game to own on this system, and probably the best game of the year!