Mass Effect Limited Edition
February 28, 2009 by Xbox Reviews
Filed under Video Games
User Ratings and Reviews
1 Star Worst game ever!
First of all, if you’re buying this game because you think there’s nudity in it, DON’T! Because there is NO NUDITY! As for the game mechanics, they are absolutely atrocious. The storyline is sleep-inducing. The controls are almost impossible to get used to. The characters are as uninteresting as they could possibly be. PLEASE don’t waste your money on this game!
5 Stars Another Bioware Classic.
Mass Effect is the latest in a long line of classic Role Playing Games from Bioware. Their previous games include Baldur’s Gate, Neverwinter Nights and Knights of the Old Republic. Mass Effect is the first game in a planned trilogy of games, and Bioware has stated the intention of having your character carry over from one game to the next.
Pros:
- Great atmosphere: The music and visuals evoke memories of classic sci-fi films like Aliens and Blade Runner.
- Intriguing Story: The storyline and inter-character relationships were engaging, and the game presents some interesting moral decisions.
- Replayability: The variety of classes and choices offered can provide new experiences over multiple replays.
- Achievements: The unlockable Xbox Live achievements do more than just increase your gamerscore; they also unlock abilities in the game.
Cons:
- If you do not have a High Definition TV, the text can appear blurry and hard to read. I started playing Mass Effect on a 36′ standard definition Sony Wega TV, and the text was small and blurry enough to cause eye strain (and I have 20/20 vision). While most of the game is voice acted, there are still large amounts of text to read. I was able to finish my first play-through in spite of the blurry text, but I credit Mass Effect with being my main motivation for upgrading to a HDTV. After upgrading to a HDTV, the game is even more beautiful, and the text is crystal clear.
3 Stars Massive Letdown
I had very high hopes for this game. I was a big fan of both Knights of the Old Republic games, and I think that Microsoft and Bioware really built this game up. Unfortunately, it really failed to live up to expectations. To be honest, the more I played it, the more frustrated and disappointed I became. Ultimately, I wasn’t able to force myself to finish it.
I could write several pages critiquing the game. But I’m feeling a little too lazy for that right now. My biggest advice would be, if you buy this game, stick to the main plot. The side-quests are tedious and poorly-implemented, often relying simply on text pop-ups and involving very little (if any) meaningful “exploration” of the galaxy.
The game’s high points would probably be the graphics (although it’s plagued by inexcusable popping-in of textures, embarrassingly small numbers of character model variations, and a conspicuous absence of characters with any meaningful amount of hair), music, and the thoroughness of the sci-fi universe that they have envisioned.
These strengths are heavily outweighed, however, by an innovative but ultimately ill-conceived dialog system, shallow inventory system, laughable “decryption” mini-game, lackluster voice acting, painful vehicle control, cookie-cutter dungeons, a combat system that is a step-back from KOTOR, and, apparently, a total lack of vegetation anywhere in the galaxy.
In a holiday season with countless outstanding titles, there are MUCH better ways to spend your precious spare hours of free time…
5 Stars One of the best games I’ve ever played
When I first heard of this game, I had mixed feelings about it. KOTOR was a great game, but wasn’t exactly one in my favorites list. Same with Jade Empire, so I had kind of medium expectations of the game. When it was released I decided to give it a chance, and bought the Limited Edition of the game.
At the very start, I was a little bored but as soon as I started playing on Eden Prime I was hooked. From that point through the rest of the game I was addicted to this game. I reached level 60 on my second play through and I can’t wait for “Bring Down The Sky” to be released. The story itself is an amazing achievement.
I really enjoyed how the story plays out by your choice of multiple paths while in conversation, as well as being rewarded with EXP for choosing your paths. Another thing I enjoyed about the game is the gameplay itself.
Unlike KOTOR, its Action based, not turn based which really got my attention and helped made this game so fun, as well as the multiple side quests that can be done.
The only things about this game I did not like was not being able to skip cut scenes my second time through and the many glitches I encountered but other than those two I give this game a perfect 10.
5 Stars One of the most incredible, immersive videogames ever
Mass Effect is an incredible leap forward in videogame interactivity and storytelling. The combination of storytelling, impressive visuals, film techniques, and intuitive interaction lifts Mass Effect to a whole new level.
Which is actually a funny thing to say considering that each element on its own is really not so great an advance, more of a slight evolutionary step that still has its own flaws. The story feels so much like Knights of the Old Republic that I wondered at times if I was really playing a new game. I could name the SF movie from the past 30 years (mostly Star Wars) that inspired nearly every line of dialog. The gameplay mechanics are almost identical to both KOTOR and Jade Empire, with plenty of meaningless side quests to take up my time and give me minimal additional XP. The visuals, while beautiful and obviously painstakingly created, are jittery and susceptible to pop-in from the very beginning of the game.
However, the evolutionary step forward in each individual element leads to a truly remarkable creation. Sure, the dialog’s derivative of far more popular SF, but I really cared about the people who were speaking it in this game. Sure the game plays out very much like KOTOR and Jade Empire, but those were outstanding games too. By the time I finished this game, I was thrilled with the heroic stand I was able to take, and I was truly saddened by the characters who died along the way toward this conclusion. Extremely few games have made me care this much.
The bonus content on the limited edition set is good. You get a couple small books (which I actually haven’t even read yet), a making-of DVD with some fun interviews, and a ton of gamer pics and dashboard themes. It’s worth it if you’re a fan of this genre / company / game, but probably not for the casual player who isn’t too invested.
Overall, this game is a truly remarkable experience, and they can’t put out Mass Effect 2 soon enough.
The Bards Tale
February 23, 2009 by Xbox Reviews
Filed under Video Games
The Bard’s Tale was the great-grandfather of modern-day computer role-players. This updated version brings back the fun and adventure, as you play The Bard — a hero who’s only after coins and cleavage. Is a dragon attacking a village? He’ll face it, for the right price. Has a princess been kidnapped? He’ll save her, but only if she’s hot. Comedy and fantasy action combine for a uniqe 3D role-playing experience!
User Ratings and Reviews
4 Stars It sure sucks to be the chosen one.
It sure sucks to be the chosen one.
The Bard’s Tale for Xbox and PS2 is a new title in a very old gaming franchise. Before talking about the game directly, let me tell you a brief bit about the history of its genre.
Once upon a time (80′s, 90′s), you could’ve roughly split up computer and console role-playing games (RPGs) into two groups: Japanese RPGS and American RPGS. Japanese RPGs tended to focus strongly on a plot. The game mechanics were just a mechanism to move the story forth. Character advancement was not nearly as important as story advancement. Ask anyone who has ever played any Final Fantasy or Dragon Warrior game and you will find this is true. Enjoyment of the tale the game presented was the main goal of Japanese RPGs.
American RPGs on the other hand tended to be very open adventures with a very heavy emphasis on exploration, character development, and game statistics in general. The `story’ of these games worked more like a general game playing guideline than a strong dramatic plot. The stories presented would give you a rough idea of what needed to be done next, but would rarely push you into doing anything in particular until you really felt like unlocking some new area or getting some special item. Players would often run around the game world trying to build up their character statistics as high as possible. The emphasis of these games was enjoying the gameplay, not the story. Two series that were the hallmark of this type of game were Wizardry, and The Bard’s Tale.
This trend has even continued into the new century. Just compare Morrowind to Final Fantasy X: an open book versus a staged Soap Opera. Both titles are good games, just very different.
The original Bard’s Tale was a classic example of one these open, statistic driven American games. You created a party of characters using Dungeons and Dragons like statistics. Then you would run around a pseudo 3D dungeon, kill monsters, and collect treasure. After that, you would return to the inn to gain levels, heal your party members, and then repeat the whole process over again.
This new Bard’s Tale eschews that type of design completely, opting for instead a Diablo type action RPG style of control and play. The menu based combat of old is replaced with good ol’ hack and slash button mashing fun. You control a singular character from an overhead view, while partaking in multiple story and non-story related quests.
Another difference with this Bard’s Tale is that it is a humorous game. Unlike the previous titles which had somewhat serious stories to follow, this game is a laugh all the way through. It parodies other games in the genre, picks on common elements such as killing rats, opening random treasure chests, chosen ones, and has a very witty script to back it up with. I found the Bard’s dialog to be a constant source of amusement. The character you control and the games narrator often banter with each other, usually to humorous effect. This humorous script writing even shows up when you engage other characters in dialog. You are often give at least two response choices, a nice response, and a `snarky’ response. You quickly find out being nice doesn’t help you get what you want.
And, in another departure from traditional RPGs, the character you control isn’t your typical hero. No wide eye farm boys, elven princesses, or honor seeking knights here. He’s a roguish bard who takes advantage of people whenever he can. He is very fond of beer and the ladies, and doesn’t have any loftier goals than finding a warm bed to crash in at night, preferably accompanied with a barmaid. This is an attitude that never changes in the game, fortunately.
The basic story is that your character of the Bard gets drafted into being `The Chosen One’, and ends up trying to rescue to a trapped princess. You quickly find many other `Chosen Ones’ who have met a sad fate, and also discover that all is not as it seems…
The controls are fairly simple. You use the primary buttons to attack, block, jump, and activate things with. The left and right trigger buttons activate your summoning spells. Summoning can get a little tricky in the heat of battle so you generally want to do that in advance. Over all I found that the controls worked pretty well.
I was happy with the graphics. Nothing overly special, but nothing shoddy either.
Other than the script writing and humor, the other place this game shines is the sound effects and music department. The sounds always seem to be on cue, and I loved all the amusing sing-a-long songs they had in the game.
Overall, I really enjoyed this game and highly recommend.
One would never think that such drunken lout would make such a great chosen one.
1 Star I want my money back!
This has got to be the saddest RPG I have purchased in recent memory. Is this game honestly supposed to compete with Elder Scrolls 3 and 4, Dungeon Siege, Diablo 2, etc etc etc. Look elsewhere for your RPG’s, guys. This game is sad.
The drawbacks are almost too numerous to mention. You have to be a bard. You can only have one character in your party. You can summon a few monsters but most of them you don’t find until the very last tower. Once you beat the game you cannot replay your character. You can raise levels but it’s not that fun and the monsters keep getting stronger as you raise levels. The magic items are idiotic.
5 Stars Like a fish I was hooked start to finish.
I bought the game because a friend of mine recommended it. I am glad I drank the punch. I was not expecting such an entertaining humorous game and this was a real treat. The Bard has great wit and the help you can summon for battles was a nice touch. The story line and humor kept me looking forward to playing every night until I finished the game. I never took it out of my XBOX until I finished. This game reeks of character and in the end it is what I love about it. The best $20 I spent on a game in a long time.
3 Stars Rent this one
For those of you (like myself) who played the old school Bard’s Tale: Thief of Fate and it’s sequels, this game is completely unlike the originals. Gone are the seemingly unending dungeon crawls, the parties of six cusomizeable, leveleable, equipable adventurers. The intricate mazes filled with darkness, traps and hordes of (sometimes enormous groups) monsters.
This, although much modernized game, is completely different. It is viewed in 3rd person, real time, extremely limited in size (compaired to its predecessors), and has but one character (which must be…you guessed it…a bard) which does gain xp and level but is not nearly as interresting or customizeable as the old parties of six plus one summoned creature.
The summoned creatures, I have to admit, are a lot of fun. The only bad thing about them is that many of these cool and interresting creatures are only found (and therefore, only useable) in the very last dungeon (which is actually a tower).
You can eventually summon up to three allies, choosing from sixteen creatures. These include an archer, a knight, and a rat. Many of these creatures are upgradeable. The rat, for example, can be upgraded into the “vorpal rat,” which, although weak, is capable of inflicting huge ammounts of damage. Different combinations of summoned creatures enable you to have, for example, a blocking summoned creature supported by a healer and a high damager. Others do area effect attacks.
The gameplay is somewhat challenging. You will probably find yourself dying a few times and having to reboot your saved game. Some of the fights were challenging enough that I died five to ten times, but I was eventually able to overcome them all and win the game.
Because the combat is real time, you are forced to button-mash and pay VERY close attention to what’s going on at all times. This is far removed from the old game system where you could sit and munch doritos while your hearty adventuring party pounded the snot out of hordes of monsters. Even a very weak monster can kill the bard if you’re not paying attention.
Another down side is that the game has very limited replayability. After you win the game you cannot “go back” and play your character. The game is over. That’s it. All those levels, all that treasure and upgrading for nothing. The closest thing you can get to infinite gameplay is if you simply do not enter the last tower. This leaves you with wandering monsters, scant (and unimagineative) treasure and only leveling your bard.
Wandering monsters automatically grow stronger as you gain levels. This too is a drawback, I think (it’s like penalizing you for growing stronger). The fights actually become more difficult rather than getting easy as you become more powerful.
I played this game for a week and traded it in for another game. This is why I suggest you save your money and rent it for a week.
5 Stars An absurd amount of fun!
I am totally loving this game. I’m not your typical video-game player–I’m a 28 year old woman, a wife, and a mother, with a professional career. I don’t have a lot of time to play video games, which explains why I’m just now getting around to playing this–and I received it as a Christmas gift. But this game is such fun! It occurred to me, as my little Bard character was walking around, about to shoot some crows, followed by his little dog and the crone he’d summoned (“covered in sores and tattoos” no less!) how delightfully skewed this game is. Random characters pop up and sing songs. There are grutuitous close-ups of ample cleavage. Your adventure is narrated by an elegantly disdainful commentator. Ah, I just love this game.
It is not, mind you, for everyone–there aren’t any loud explosions and realistic machine-gun fire or anything like that. But I must say, it really and truly grabbed me. Love it!
Mass Effect Prima Official Game Guide
January 27, 2009 by Xbox Reviews
Filed under Book
Mass Effect Prima Official Game Guide
To get the full effect, you need this guide
•Full mission & optional assignment walkthroughs
•Massive galactic codex section for all the background you could want
•All Achievements and how to get them
•Mass Effect warfare secrets revealed
User Ratings and Reviews
4 Stars Very Good
If you want to get all the missions and play the game at 100% you’ll need this.
5 Stars mass effect guide book
Well described, Easy to read and well illustrated. Made the game alot more enjoyable to play.
4 Stars The game guide is very good
Of course I purchased the Xbox game guide and I have the PC version of the game, but otherwise, it was a good guide.
4 Stars The Manual you don’t get with the game.
You’ve seen all the reviews above. So I’ll be brief. This is a guide on what all the who’s and what’s and fiddly bits are in the game. The 1st few chapters are a perfect primer for getting your head around the game mechanics and concepts. Especially if you are a person with a busy schedule (and or family) whom can’t spend hours on end in front of the screen. You don’t have to use the walk-through, but it’s nice to get you out of sticky spots.
Definitely recommend this as a buy!
3 Stars WHy?
I dont understand why people waste their hard earned money on Game Guides…i mean not only can you find strategy on the internet but in the case of Mass Effect it is a pretty straight forward game. I’ve beaten the game on Hardcore mode and I’m working on Insanity and I have used no game guide at all. Stop wasting your money and just play the game
Perfect Dark Zero
January 24, 2009 by Xbox Reviews
Filed under Video Games
From famed game developer Rare LTD., Perfect Dark Zero takes place when a secret war begun between shadowy corporations bent on world domination. Joanna Dark and her father, Jack, are caught up in the fight for the planet’s future. A routine bounty hunting missions opens a global conspiracy that cahnges Joanna’s destiny forever. Guide Joanna Dark on her journey to become the Perfect Agent. Perfect Dark Zero features a compelling and captivating story pluging players into a world of corporate espionage and conspiracy. Perfect Dark Zero merges the excitement and intrigue of its predecessor with recolutionary game design, online play and amazing graphics to deliver an experience that defines next-generation gaming and entertainment. Multitude of Weapons, Gadgets and Vehicles – Perfect Dark Zero features many of the classic weapons and gadgets from the original games as well as other additions. Combat-enabled vehicles include jetpacks, hovercrafts and motorcycles.
User Ratings and Reviews
2 Stars so outdated now
It’s amazing to read reviews from 2005-2006 saying how this game has great graphics, it’s 2008 now and this game looks so simplistic and outdated. hard to enjoy playing a shooter game with such outdated graphics when there are games like bioshock and gears of war, this game looks like a ps2 game in comparison.
4 Stars good bang
I was a little concerned about buying this because I thought a girl character and the low price would make this a likely whimpy game, but in fact this game was great bang for the buck. A really good shooter that was good fun and very reasonably priced.
3 Stars Just another half baked title
there is nothing special here I really don’t know why this game go high reviews mainly a lot of creeping around and it has kind of a poor aiming system for the weapons.
4 Stars Perfect Dark Zero review
Blast to play, a slightly lighter hearted shooter than Halo, similar game mechanics. Many weapons, toys to play with.
3 Stars Not Perfect
As crazy as this may sound,if I was given a choice to either play Halo 3 online or the original Perfect Dark with three other people,I’d take Perfect Dark in a heartbeat.The multiplayer maps were great,the guns (and their second features) are incredible,and the ability to create your own character was the sweet icing on the cake.The original game absolutely destroyed my social life,along with a few of my friends as well.So if you can imagine I had extremely high hopes for Perfect Dark Zero,and in the end I was some what satisfied but more disappointed than anything.
For one the campaigns story is a JOKE.I know the original story wasn’t anything special,but this is just terrible.The first half of the game you’re running around with your dad,who is supposed to be literally the best secret agent in the entire world,yet he is constantly getting himself into trouble because he’s so clumsy and seems to be a magnet for bullets.I don’t know how this guy managed to survive all these years without Joanna,because she is saving his sorry life every other minute.
But for what the campaign lacks story wise,it makes up for in it’s gameplay and graphics.A lot of the guns you know and love from the original make their appearance in this game.Don’t expect to use them all to much in the campaign though because it is fairly short,and with a story like this you won’t seem to mind.
The only other reason I can forgive this game is fun factor from the multiplayer.Even though Rare decided not to put maps from the original game,and it’s other hit GoldenEye,it’s still a blast.Especially by adding vehicles and jetpacks.
I don’t regret buying this,even though it didn’t live up to every little expectation I had.And for the low price it is now I’d recommend it to fans who haven’t picked it up yet.
3.5/5.0
Iron Man
January 22, 2009 by Xbox Reviews
Filed under Video Games
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars Much better than I thought!!!
The bottom lines is this game is fun! Not every game can be as exciting as “Halo”! This gives true fans of Marvel comics a chance to play as Iron Man. Yes the flight controls are lacking. However once you get the feel of how this games works it is a a blast.
I would tell anyone that this is worth the money and keep practicing, and before you know you will be truly having a blast! This game is completely underrated!
3 Stars Disappointed.
Iron Man starts off alittle dull but forgivable when you take the Mark I suit smashing through a war-torn desert village making Smore’s out of terrorists with your flame thrower. You soon learn how to shoot wrist missles at tanks, thugs, and helicopters. But when you get to a more traditional expectation of Iron Man in level 2 (i.e.: Flight & Laser Blasts) things go down hill quickly. The flight controls are very clumsy. We have a serious problem when game mechanics make me instictively have Iron Man fight on the ground. In all poor framerate & dull game play. I really felt like I was playing an early lifecycle, original XBox game(and not a good one at that). Unless you are looking to farm some achievement points, this game is not worth your time or money.
4 Stars Underappreciated
I found this game to be fun, even though it was a video game that coincided with a movie. I know it has gotten bad reviews from other sites and gaming magazines, but I have to disagree with them. The game does take some time getting used to the controls are a little advanced, but can be quickly mastered. The only thing I fell is missing from this game is a target lock. It is often difficult at first to target an object, but again you get used to this after the first 2-3 levels. The unlockable suits were fun to explore and the voice acting was great. The game itself is short (it is a movie game though) and will probably last you around 8 hours or more depending on difficulty and if you unlock the other suits.
4 Stars Great Game!! You are going to be challenge later
I enjoy purchasing this game. I thought it was going to be another lame title to make money. But it was well worth it value. There are playable mission & you will be challenge on some mission. But if you like me, and re-think what you did wrong, they can be overcome. If you like shooting up & Thumb fighting game, this is for you. But beware that you might not finish it on the first time.. This will take time.
2 Stars Save your money
Although its nice to play as Ironman, this game is not worth $[...]. More like $[...]. The cut scenes are horrible. Some of the graphics are nice, the ironman suit is nice as well. After a day or two of playing this game, i regretted not getting GTA4 instead. I hope the new Hulk game isn’t this bad:(