Showing posts with label entertainment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label entertainment. Show all posts

Game Review: Guitar Hero 5

Category: , , , By Ryan


Overview:  I don't think that an introduction to this franchise is really required.  Everyone knows what Guitar Hero is by now...  it has become a household name.  Guitar Hero 5 is very similar to Guitar Hero: World Tour at its core.  There have been several key additions to the formula, and most are very appreciated and well thought out/executed.


The ability to play any one of four instruments returns from World Tour... so each player has the choice to play the Drums, Lead Guitar, Bass Guitar, or Vocals. One of the changes to this aspect of the game, is also one of its best features, so I will explain the another section of this review. 


This installment includes 85 on-the-disc tracks, from various decades/genres.  There is also the option to import many songs from Guitar Hero:World Tour and Guitar Hero: Smash Hits, which is great, but slightly flawed.


The Good:  The track list is pretty expansive, and spread out across many decades and genres.  For the most part the selection is very good.  I have been waiting to see Bush and Rammstein appear on the track list, and I was very surprised, and happy to see a Peter Frampton song as well.  I love music, and have a very broad appreciation for it, so a track list such as this one appeals to me very much.


The graphics have been improved.  The animations look a lot better, the Guitar Hero characters look a helluva lot better, and the venues add more to the experience this time then ever before.  Each edition of the Franchise makes improvements on the visuals, and this time it is really starting to come together.  I think that is an obvious advantage of doing franchise games, as opposed to reinventing the wheel each time with a new title entirely.


Another feature that has been introduced are challenges for every song.  For example one song may challenge you to use your whammy bar during every sustain...  you're awarded medals depending on how long you used the whammy over the course of the song.  Another example would be achieving a very high score on a particular song, in solo play, or specifically in a 4 play arrangement.


The best feature introduced this time around is by far the Party Mode.  This enable you to turn on the XBOX, and start the game, and jump right into the gameplay without any menu navigation whatsoever.  A random song will start automatically, press the respective yellow button on whichever controller you're using, pick your difficulty and you are playing.  This can be done at anytime you choose, even mid song.  A friend can do the same while you're playing without interruption.  If someone is being a wuss because their fingers are bleeding, and they can't possibly play anymore, then they can just drop out of the song at anytime.  If you'd like to create a playlist, you can do that as well.  If you do not like one of the songs that plays you can skip it. Activision/Red Octane have thought of everything this time.  You can even leave the game at the title screen and just watch the band play random songs.


Another thing about party mode that has to be mentioned is that any body can play any instrument at any time.  You can have 4 singers, or 4 guitarists, or 4 bass guitarists, or 4 drummers (fucking crazy, but possible).  And any player can switch from one instrument to another at anytime as well.


The Bad:  Why the fuck is Kurt Cobain in the game?  and Johnny Cash, Carlos Santana, Shirley Manson and the guy from Muse???  This is just retarded now.  It adds nothing to the game, and the whole Kurt Cobain thing is just plain wrong.  Kurt should not be singing a Stevie Wonder song...  That is fucking retarded.


The track list has a bunch of songs that flat out suck...  I love music, and I know a TON of it, but there are some songs included that no one in their right mind would enjoy playing.  I don't know how they make their way into the game, but they need to stop.


There are not many songs that lend themselves well to a singer.  That is a shame, as I really like singing, but if the majority of the songs are composed by band with singers that have not been through puberty yet, I have a terrible time singing.  I realize that the song can be sung an octave lower, or higher when necessary, but it just doesn't feel the same.


Verdict:  If you like Guitar Hero, you already have this probably.  If you're on the fence, get hell off, you'll hurt yourself.  If you haven't purchased a Guitar Hero yet, then this is the one to get!  Improvements were made where they needed to be.  Finally Guitar Hero is the perfect party game.


5 out of 5 rofls!
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Game Review: Typing of the Dead

Category: , , By The Bearded One
Overview: 
 We all love killing zombies, and we all have to use a keyboard from day to day, well most of us. So why not combine both of these activities?

Typing of the Dead is a mod that was created from House of the Dead 2 back in 1999. Basically, it’s an educational typing game which is funny as hell.

First, all of the characters have replaced their guns with this sort of backpack / Sega Dreamcast / keyboard harness… thing. This makes me laugh my ass off every time there is a cut scene, which still includes the horrible voice acting from the original game. There everyone is, standing there killing zombies by pointing their keyboards at them lol.

When a zombie pops up, a random word or phrase is generated and you must type to kill said zombie or boss. Sometimes this makes for hilarious word combinations on-screen, I have stopped a few times just to laugh at the words that show up.

Here are a few that made me lol:

  • Sour beer
  • Boner
  • Throbbing
  • Enormous hair
  • Girlie show
  • Jichael Mackson (WTF? LOL)

Challenges also pop up in each area, things like killing ten zombies in X amount of time. These will usually all have the same genre of words showing up for each one, like names of flowers or articles of clothing ect ect…

They also incorporated hidden items, usually in a quick one letter keystroke when the character is moving around. One of them that I got so far was a zombie costume, this made the following cut scene even more ridiculous. There I am, as a zombie, wearing the Dreamcast backpack keyboard combo.

The zombies have had some changes made as well. In the original game, some of the zombies would be wielding knives or axes. In this, they have replaced them with things like toilet plungers and soup ladels.

The Good:
Teaching tool
Ironically enough, it is a pretty decent teaching tool for typing. If you mess up, your character dies, pretty simple.
Also the words and phrases get longer and tougher as the game progresses. The time you get to type them also gets shorter as the game goes on.

Funny as hell
The sheer hilarious aspect of this game is enough to make anyone try this at least once.

There are just so many things in this that will make you lol, you really need to try it. Some of them are as follows:
  • Killing zombies with a keyboard
  • Random hilarious word combinations
  • Hidden items
  • Zombies wielding ridiculous weapons
  • Horrible voice acting
Replay value
Also, the random words generated creates a good enough replay value, you never type the same thing twice from what I have seen. And, let’s face it, we all love killing zombies over and over again.

The Bad:
Some of the teaching aspects of the game fall short when you realize that you do not need to capitalize or use spaces when typing the words or phrases. (good god that rhymed, why?). This really only becomes annoying when you instinctively use spaces or the shift key when typing.

Verdict:
Great game, I personally think it is worth playing around with for a night or two just for shits and giggles.

Again, it’s a decent teaching tool, but if you are teaching a small child how to type, this obviously isn’t for them. Unless I ever have kids, then this is what they are getting :3

Other than that, probably something you would only break out for hilarity when your friends are over for a few hours.

I give it 4 out of 5 ROFLS.
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Game Review: The Beatles: Rock Band

Category: , , , By Ryan


Overview:  The Rhythm game genre is one of my personal favs.  I love music, and I think the interactivity with some of my favorite music that these games offer  is awesome.  I was first introduced to Guitar Hero 2 on the XBOX 360, and since then I have purchased every game involving plastic instruments for the 360 since.  I have 3 plastic drum sets, 5 plastic guitars, and 3 microphones now...  yeah, I'm hooked.

I have been very skeptical about entire music games devoted to single bands.  So far the Guitar Hero franchise has "gone there" with Aerosmith, and Metallica...  Aerosmith was OK, and Metallica was fucking awesome.  I wonder though...  Metallica is one of my favorite bands of all time, how widespread is their appeal to the target audience of these games.

Now here comes The Beatles:  Rock Band.  There is no question that their appeal is widespread...  I don't know a single person who doesn't know and love at least a couple of their songs.  This game was a potential gold mine as soon as it was announced.  This game takes you through The Beatles career chronologically.  The songs are grouped according to the general time they were released.  It is basically a sequential list of songs that you go straight down, but there is so much atmosphere in each venue and dream sequence that it really gets you excited about playing each song.

The Good:  The track list is excellent.  Of course, I can't think of many Beatles songs that I wouldn't be happy to have included, so deciding on these songs must have been difficult.  There are 45 songs announced but some songs double up (Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band/With a Little Help From My Friends).  So really there are 43.

The guitar/bass/drum note highways are laid out well.  While easy, most songs are a lot of fun to play on instrument, and all songs are fun to play on at least one instrument.

3 singer harmonization is possible now.  This works perfectly, unfortunately I do not know many people capable of harmonizing, aside from my wife.  I could not convince my voice to do anything but match the note of the lead vocal track.  I will continue working on that.

There are a ton of Beatles goodies that you can unlock, such as pictures and video clips.

DLC packs will be released each month throughout the rest of the year.  All you need is love was released on the release date of the game.  The entire Abbey Road album will be released on Oct. 20th.  The entire Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album will be released in November, and finally the entire Rubber Soul album will be released in December.  These packs are very welcome in my track list, and I look forward to seeing the additional dream sequences that will most likely be included (All You Need is Love included its own custom dream sequence).

Speaking of dream sequences, they should be explained/mentioned in this section as well.  There were several years during The Beatles brief career in which they did not tour, but holed themselves in their recording studio on Abbey Road.  Any song recorded during this time in the game starts out in Abbey Road Studio, and gradually fades into a "Dream Sequence".  For example:  Yellow Submarine starts in the studio but quickly fades into an entirely aquatic scene featuring none other than the Yellow Submarine, and each of the members of The Beatles.  Each dream sequence looks beautiful, and you can't really get enough of them.

The graphics are quite good.  They are what you would expect from a Rock Band title.  Not too realistic, a bit cartoony, but you certainly can tell that Paul is Paul, Ringo is Ringo, George is George, and John is John.  In each Beatles rendition the members of the band look accordingly (John has his long hair, and Paul has his full beard by the end of the story mode).

The Bad:  Not enough songs...  Every single song that the Beatles ever released should be included...  Get on that shit Harmonix!!

Songs are all pretty easy...  I managed to get 5 stars on every song on expert on guitar...  scored 100% on many of them as well.

Verdict:  If you like music, and the rhythm game genre, buy the damn game.  That is really all there is to it...  now I am going to go listen to some Beatles music and get through the rest of my day at work.

5 out of 5 Rofls
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Game Review: Rolando (iPhone)

Category: , , By Ryan




Overview:  I am not a handheld gamer normally.  I purchased an iPod touch several months ago simply because that that thing does so damn much, and is a kickass MP3 player on top of it.  Naturally I had to make a couple purchses on the apps store, but I always try to spend my money wisely.  After a little investigation, I stumbled upon Rolando.

Rolando takes on a very unusual journey, one which might leave you a bit dizzy after you're done.  The goal is simple, solve each level's puzzle by delivering Rolandos to the end of the level safely, more or less.  You control an assortment of characters, all of which are circular, and roll when you tilt the the iPod (or iPhone).  This a a really nifty mechanic, and one that is used to perfection in this game.  That seems to be the only problem with gaming on the iPhone (or iPod) so far...  there are a shit ton of games available, but most of that shit ton, are well...  shit.

They are shit for numerous reasons, and one of the key reasons is simply, the developer does not focus on the medium's strengths (touch screen, and accelerometer)...  they commonly make games that would work well on  your typical handheld gaming device (DS or PSP) with their built in analog sticks, and d-pads.  So they make on screen touch interfaces that take up very limited space on the iPod's (or iPhone's) screen.  Who the hell wants to look around their fucking thumbs the entire time they are playing a game on that tiny ass screen? Rolando gracefully uses the iPhone's (or iPod's) strengths in all the right ways...  I will get into this a bit later on.

The Good:  There is so much that can be explained in this section, but I think I will stick to the real selling points.  Rolando features incredibly intuitive gameplay.  My 4 year-old daughter launched the app, and immediately understood that if she tilted the iPod (or iPhone) that the Rolandos would roll.  She also quickly realized that if you flick up on the screen with a Rolando selected that they jump.  With just that understanding you 're well on your way.

The difficulty ramps up, in exactly the way it should.  After every couple levels a new game mechanic is introduced.  Some mechanics are explained step by step, and some are left for the player figure out on their own.  This adds a bit of spice the game every level, and kept me interested throughout the game.

The graphics are perfect for the iPhone (or iPod).  It is completely cartoony, so the performance is excellent...  no worries about framerate or anything.  The soundtrack is excellent, and very well selected in my opinion.  There are no licensed tracks or anything, and it is composed of only instrumentals, but they are the right instrumentals.

The Bad:  I really love this game, and I don't have many problems with it that I can think of.  There a couple cases where it is hard jump in the direction you want, and this results in restating a level two or three times, but I expect this is just "operator error".

The story was not at all a focus in this game...  but what IS there is pretty good.

Verdict:  Just buy the damn game if you have an iPod (or iPhone).  You'll like it.  I think it only costs like $5 now... well worth every penny.

This one gets 5 out of 5 Rofls
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Game Impressions: Guitar Hero: ...Aerosmith?!?

Category: , , By Ryan




The new wave of rhythm based games, that have become so popular as of late, are great. I am a huge fan of Guitar Hero, and even more of a fan of Rock Band. I have spent countless hours shreddin with that little plastic guitar. At first it felt ridiculous, but as time went by it became an all out addiction. I now play these games regularly... nearly every Friday night in fact. They are just the perfect game for "get-togethers", or parties. Guitar Hero III debuted on October 28th of last year. It was a solid game, that introduced a couple questionable features. Overall I have had a lot of fun with it though, and continue to do so.

Now they are going to release another Guitar Hero game. The game is titled "Guitar Hero: Aerosmith". It is titled this because the game is 100% focused around Aerosmith. The avatars used in the game are now the band members of Aerosmith. Steven Tyler is featured as the singer of course. And yes, even the virtual Tyler's mouth is still big enough to consume a basketball. It looks like the game will not consist entirely of Aerosmith songs though, the split should be about 60-40 in Aerosmith's favor. This is a pleasant surprise.

I have a couple issues with this game so far:
  1. Why is Activision releasing another totally seperate title from Guitar Hero III this early? The game is still selling great. Why not release some GOOD DLC for starters? They must realize that Rock Band has totally taken advantage of this ability, and has made a ton of money from it.
  2. Why waste an entire title on ONE BAND? Wouldn't it make more sense to appeal to more fans then just the fans of Aerosmith? Maybe a classic rock game, or 90's game would have more success. Perhaps Aerosmith can make an appearance... or maybe even Aerosmith and another band as well. I understand that it might take more time to develop a game like that... but Activision has plenty of time. No one needs another game yet... just give us some good DLC dammit!
  3. Why waste time with Aerosmith? LED F$%@KIN ZEPPELIN!!!!! Spend whatever money it takes and make Guitar Hero: Led Zeppelin
All in all, I may still end up buying this game. With the addition of music made by bands other than Aerosmith, and what seems to be an interesting career mode, I must admit I am intrigued.

1 more thing... looks like Guitar Hero: Van Halen is next... no joke.

WTF

-Look for Guitar Hero: Aerosmith in stores this June.
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Movie Review: Jumper

Category: , , By Ryan


Overview: Jumper is a movie about a guy (Hayden Christensen) with the power to teleport instantly to any place he has a memory, or picture of. He soon learns how to control this power. He then gives into temptation and uses his new power for personal gain (not to give too much away). It turns out that there are other people with this power, and they are referred to as "Jumpers". These special people have been around since the middle ages. The "Paladins" have been trying to rid the world of the Jumpers. Samuel L. Jackson plays the part of a level 70 paladin, the top dawg.

The Good: I am somewhat impressed with the underlying story. A group a people with the power to teleport, and the villainous Paladins trying to take out all of the Jumpers. I like the idea of the Paladins chasing after these Jumpers as far back as the middle ages. That is moderately interesting. The special effects were not too bad either. The "Jump" scenes, and battles where the ability was used, were quite cool. Griffin, another "Jumper" was played by Jamie Bell. I thought that he did a pretty good job playing his part as the "more experienced badass Jumper". Aside from that... I can't say anything else positive about this movie.

The Bad: The movie was not well casted. I think that Hayden Christensen was simply not the right actor for the part he played. His character starts out as a shy, troubled teenager. He ends up as a cocky, over confident, a-hole; jumping around the world, and sleeping with random women. This would probably be fine if the actor playing the part could pull this off. I don't wish to totally rag on Hayden though... Star Wars: Episode 1-3 were great movies, and he played his part quite well. That was because the movie was well casted. On top of all that, I think that Samuel L. Jackson just wasn't into his role or something. He didn't yell enough... more than likely because there were no mother f*$%ing snakes on any mother f*$%ing planes this time around.

Verdict: Bad casting can kill a movie. "Jumper" is a perfect example. The actors casted are not bad actors, they just did not fit the parts the played. The story was not too bad, it had a good foundation for a decent action movie. They chose to build onto that foundation in the wrong way, and the end product is not up to code.

I give this movie 2 out of 5 rofls
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