Ratchet and Clank bringing joy to the PS3

So this game has been out for a while now, it was launched with the ps3, but yet it still look simply amazing. Ratchet and Clank future tools of destruction is what I like to call a platformer where you get to blow everything up. Ratchet and Clank succeeds as an excellent platformer because it has a face pace fun game play mixed with exploration or a beautiful world and an interesting story line. Ratchet and Clank does a great job of explaining game play mechanics as you play the game. There is no training mission or long pages of text you have to read just cleaver game design. Also Ratchet and Clank immediately throws you in the action making the first level not just a task but an exciting experience. So as the title states this Ratchet and Clank is all about what cool weapons you can use. All the weapons in the game are different and fun to use, definitely the disco ball and transformer are on the top of the list. Ratchet and Clank may look all futuristic in HD but Insomniac has done a great job of staying true to the Ratchet and Clank style and humor. It is this style of humor that really puts the whole master piece together. The only flaw in the game (note im being super picky and it is a personal opinion) is that it was clear that Ratchet and Clank went out of the way to show off the Ps3 six axis motion control that personally felt a little clumsy. However if I was Insomniac I would have done the same as they got a good setup with Sony and should stick to it.

Banjo-Kazooie Nuts & Bolts: new tools not so good

I remember Banjo-Kazooie being and entertaining platformer that had the interesting game mechanic of you both Banjo the Bear and Kazooie the Bird. Unfortunately Banjo-Kazooie Nuts & Bolts breaks away from that past game mechanic. Banjo-Kazooie first major flaw is the very very long narrative introduction to the game. For the first 30 mins. of the game you have piratically no control of your character and are forced to listen to a very sub par story line. Banjo-Kazooie simply has to much game time when your reading text or listening to pointless dialogue opposed to actually playing the game. Banjo-Kazooie also changes the main game play removing pretty much all of Kazooie's moves and adds a vehicle game mechanic. There is potential for the vehicle game mechanic as building your own forms of transportation can be fun and the ability to share vehicle blue prints online adds to a community. However all and all the Banjo-Kazooie environment and humor is drowned out by a slow pace game that is simply not that entertaining.

Dont Water Down Wii Games!!!!!

So I am a big fan of the Wii and its innovation to the gaming world so when I heard this game uses the Wii fit board as a control I was all in. So overall Shaun White Snowboarding Road Trip was a fun game but not a great game. The controls worked well and it was fun to use the Wii fit balancing board to make it feel like your really snowboarding. The games art style and story did its work for the game but is not at all anything special. The main flaw in this game it that it just gets redundant really fast. Since your most likely only going to have one Wii Fit Board multiplayer is limited and really there is little player to player interaction (you cant directly effect the other person). The tricks are also realistic but personally I prefer the classic tony hawk games where you can grind everything and unrealistic but freaking awesome combos. Shaun White falls under the category that more realistic does not equal more fun. Also as you wonder about the title of this blog by now, So I saw my friend playing this cool snowboarding game and I asked what it was. To my surprise it was Shaun White Snowboarding. I will not to begin to rant on how watering down good games to make Wii games out of them is a crime to gaming humanity, but instead say get Shaun White Snowboarding for Xbox 360 and have a lot more fun.

Metal Gear Solid 4: The Movie or the Game?

So just to be fair and just I'm not a Metal Gear Solid fan and furthermore Metal Gear Solid 4 was the first Metal Gear Solid I played. So right off the bat I saw how nice the gamed looked and though there was a bit of a learning curve for the controls over all they where well mapped. The sneaking game play is also very well done even though my style of gaming is more geared to lets blow some stuff up. The main problem I had with Metal Gear Solid 4 is that there was more game time spent watching cinema movies then actually playing the game. I personally think the game should be more balance with the length of game play being more proportional to the cinema scenes. Of course now I must be careful passing boxes and barrels, don't want to get shanked by Snake.

Prince Of Persia: Great expectations not meet

Before I begun let me give you some perspective. I had just finish playing Prince of Persia: Sands of Time over the holidays for the first time and immediately the game became one of my top all time favorites. I was pre-warned that this new Prince of Persia fell short on many things but I put all that a side and popped in the disk. If you read my Uncharted review you will know that I spoke of three things that makes a great action adventure game, exploration, story and combat. Prince of Persia is the primary example of what happens to a game when you screw one of these up. Prince of Persia exploration was not bad, the world setup worked and the world itself was fitting of a next gen title. The controls were a little clunky at times but over all the exploration experience was a good one. The compass feature was very helpful and worked most of the time. The only serious draw back to the exploration was the collection of light seeds which forced players to replay areas and dragged down a already sluggish game. Prince of Persia story also feel under the category of good but not great. The over all prince and princesses attitude were entertaining but in order to get a lot of the back story you would have to putting playing the actual game on hold which is never a good thing. The combat of Prince of Persia is what destroyed this game and removed all hopes of me enjoying it. Combat was scares and extremely repetitive. There where only two types of enemies in the game generic mini bosses and main bosses. The combat consist of the prince performing a few sword attacks, then being forced to block this would repeat over and over until finally you chipped away all the boss health. Also you could never die in battle but by pressing the wrong button the princess would have to save you and the boss would regain health. Combat was rarely a surprise and the difficulty level consist of your moves being restricted. In short Prince of Persia combat consist of you following a hidden direct of press this now and the player has no freedom to fight their own battle. Also all the great acrobatic combos that made the new age Prince of Persia games so popular is no where to be found. Prince of Persia was a failure because it forgot that combat is suppose to be fun and without good combat in an action adventure game you have a game that is boring. I sent the game back to gamefly without completing it cause of pure boredom.

Uncharted: Drake Fortune is smiply awesome

Uncharted has been one of my favorite game to play this whole gaming season. Uncharted really captures the essence of a single player action adventure game and has set a great bench mark of how this game should look and feel on a next gen console. In Uncharted you play as Drake your Indiana Jones type, an average guy but archaeologist extraordinaire. At the very beginning of the game you are introduced to the primary combat of the game which is a third person shoot and cover mechanism with of course some close range hand to hand combat. Uncharted masters the three main pillars of a great action adventure game combat, world exploration and story. Without these three things you get an unsatisfying gaming experience but when you you balance these three things correctly you have a great game. Uncharted follows the some what well know story of the lost city of Eldorado. Now don't worry I can assure you that Uncharted takes a completely fresh and new angel to this story and does not disappoint at all. Uncharted also has a very strong cast of characters that really come to life on the PS3. Uncharted exploration is an experience that matches the classic Prince of Persia: Sands of Time (if you haven't played this game pick it up now and be amazed). The world of Uncharted is vast and beautiful, really taking use of the PS3 hardware. The game also does a really amazing job of intertwining cinema scenes both big and small into the game play never breaking the experience. The controls for climbing and jumping from ledge to ledge also are well thought of making it feel really natural to use. Lastly the combat in Uncharted is both exciting and challenging. You must use your surrounds to protect yourself as you must flank your enemy be fore they flank you. The AI is all well structure as they well flank, charge and retreat just like you would expect real people to do. The combat is also filled with a ot of explosive barrels and such which helps make the experience unique and fun as this is not an FPS game but an adventure game. I highly recommend this game to anyone and I am really looking forward to the sequel.

Gears of War 2: A shiny toy with rusty parts

Gears of War 2 was suppose to be the game of year and though sales were profitable the over all gaming community was cluttered with disappointment. First of all this game is definitely a rent and not a buy with only really 7 hours of game play. So if you do the math your paying about 7 to 8 dollars and hour for this game. In my opinion this is purely wrong but of course that is the trend and this is why I rent games through gamefly now. Gears 2 is an epic storyline that does not require but recommends you have played the first game. The story however can be boiled down to one giant tease. Most of the major plots never really get solved and those that do leave you going well that was worthless. Overall game play is good but nothing really stands out about it as the game play hasnt change sense Gears 1. So in short you got an overpriced, overrated and unsatisfying game experience. But fear not my Faithful Gear followers that are cursing this very blog entry im sure Gears 3 the quest to make more money is just around the corner.