01.01.08
Posted in Game Reviews at 12:13 pm by earl
(8.75/10.00) I have been a big fan of the series of Simpson games in the past, but this game really showed me what could be done with the franchise. And despite a few flaws, this game succeeds. The story is relatively simple, with the gang basically realizing that they themselves are in a video game. However, they take it different ways. Marge wants to change the world, Bart wants to use his superpowers to fight crime, and well Homer, he just wants to eat. You run an early few of the just-right 16 episodes trying out the different powers of each character, and then the plot thickens with Treehouse of Horror-related episodes, and then they move on to try to save their game from extinction when the “Xbox 720″ comes out. Each character has his or her own ability, with Homer’s super ball attack and gummi ball, Lisa’s Hand of Buddha and it’s assorted attacks, Bartman’s Skills, and the occassional Maggie level, the game is well balanced. The game is also hillarious, with the all of the cast reprising their voice roles. You can just walk around SPringfield and hear random quotes or funny sayings as you walk by. There are several hillarious moments, and several references to the series sometimes only veterans will get-Linguo. I really liked this game, although it did sometimes have some flaws. The camera is one of the biggest, several times getting in my way of completing the mission. Also, sometimes the mission objective could have been a little clearer, and you’re a little curious as to what to do. The language in this game can also be a little coarse, too coarse for younger gamers. However, if you like the series and you want a great game to keep you busy, this is the game for you.
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12.27.07
Posted in Game Reviews at 10:41 am by earl
(7.75/10.00) This game came with the Wii Zapper peripheral, and it is well worth the price of the Wii Zapper alone. After popping in your Wii Remote and Nunchuk into the peripheral, you get started into Link’s Crossbow Training. It works pretty well, with the look of the Zapper basically going for a gun shape. There are 10 levels in the game, the first 3 already unlocked. You have to meet a certain point level to be able to go on to the next level. I got stuck on Level 5, but soon I’ll move on. There are 3 game types, one where you just point, shoot, and rack up points, another where you have to defend yourself from live targets, and another where you have full control of Link. The game looks just like Twilight Princess, and is quite reminiscent. Although it takes some getting used to, Link’s Crossbow Training packed in with the WiiZapper is a bargain at $25.
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11.18.07
Posted in Game Reviews at 9:32 pm by earl
(4.75/10.00) Yes, My Name is Earl and I have a review of the not-yet-released Rock Band. How did I do it? Well, I’ll just keep that a secret. Let’s get down to the review. Rock Band is a potential “Guitar Hero Killer”, but to casual fans of this genre like myself and not to hardcore eat, sleep, breathe, can-beat-free-bird-expert, this attempt falls flat on its face. I got a chance to play the drums and guitar portion of this game, but I’ve played SIngstar, I think I could figure out how that works. You play as whoever’s playing your instrument, which can make a lot of difference. First off, the controller setup is a little awkward. Whenever playing “Dead or Alive” on EASY I found the experience difficult if not frustrating. This is mainly due to two things. 1. The keys on Guitar Hero 3 are way easier to hit than the anorexic pathetic excuses of notes. I would hit the note on what would propel me to Star Power on Guitar Hero 3 on Rock Band, and it would say I missed it. But don’t worry, I was too busy trying to hit the overly difficult for easy note repetition to complain. 2. The drum system is messed up! While playing Guitar I can feel my notes to hit them. On Drums, I just have to throw the drumstick down and hope I hit the right pad to hit the note. Half the time I was hitting the plastic between the pads! The character models are nice, and so are the backgrounds, however they don’t really match the graphical power of Guitar Hero 3. You’ll notice I’m referring to Guitar Hero 3 a lot. Well, when you’re imitating the same system used on Guitar Hero 3, except you’re doing it worse, you can’t help not mention the better. I would personally have a stroke if I spent $200 on Rock Band to find out it was this dissapointing. The main redeeming qualities of this game would be the fun character models, extended party aspect not found in GH3, and good tracklist. I personally would rather stick with the neater, smoother system of Guitar Hero 3. I would only recommend this game to pure experts of Guitar Hero that want a harder experience to try out, however I wouldn’t recommend spending $200 on it. Just drop by Best Buy and see what I mean. If you love Guitar Hero 3 and think it’s the best Rhythmn game out there, just stick with it overlook this narrow title.
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11.17.07
Posted in Game Reviews at 1:38 pm by earl
(9.5/10.00) I was dissapointed when I found out that Ratchet and Clank 5 was going to be a PS3 exclusive. However, playing the game, I realize next-gen is it’s new home. Goodbye PS2. The game takes place, of course, in he future. Ratchet is the only living Lombax in the universe, thanks to a mad man, leader of the Cragmites, Emperor Percivile Tachyon. He claims revenge on the Lombaxes, including Ratchet, and there is soon a race to find the weapon that the Lombaxes used to wipe out the Cragmites in the first place. The story finally comes down to a climactic Boss Battle, and a cliffhanger ending, involving Clank. The characters and dialogue, in the story, as always, are hillarious. From the Plumber “not recognizingRatchet and Clank in HD”, Tachyon not being able to crank start his doomsday helmet and having to resay his final threat, or anything Captain Quark says, this game is hillarious, even to rival that of the humor in Up Your Arsenal. The graphics in the game are gorgeous, each character having a shiny look not seen in previous games. The voice acting is also great, as it has always been. The weapons, are solid, however, Insomniac has done better. The Groovitron is a classic that even made Tachyon dance, leaving him vulnerable to attacks. The new upgrade system using Raratanium is a welcome addition I hope is in future installments. The game just has an overall cinematic feel in its boss battles, grind segments, and overall combat. I feel as if I’m too picky with this title since Up Your Arsenal was my favorite. The microscopic nitpicky faults are there though. My major would be the fact that I couldn’t really hear most of the dialogue from other characters during firefights, which I really wish I could have. Second, there are a couple of glitches in the game that could have been smoothed out, providing a neater package. Some of the vendor’s lines can seem repetitive. Overall, Tools of Destruction is a great game for the PS3 that any PS3 owner should have in their collection. And besides some minor nitpicky flaws that keep it from perfection that was acheived in Up Your Arsenal, this is a hillarious, epic title that noone should miss.
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09.30.07
Posted in Game Reviews at 4:14 pm by earl
(9.75/10.00) After waiting for what has seemed like an eternity, we have finally gotten our hands on Halo 3, and boy was it worth the wait. The game tells the story of Master Chief and the rest of his faithful gang (now including the Arbiter) finally “finishing the fight†against the Covenant. The game also performs extremely well in the technical department which has become a huge part of gaming today. The reflections of the sun on building panels, the reflections from MC’s visor, and the water effects are astonishing and are something I’ve never seen before. However, sometimes in the environments there could be some bad lighting, but it’s nothing major. The game also sounds wonderful. The score provided by Chris O’ Donnel and the voiceovers are pretty good. Even the marines have their own voices, mainly yelling “Shoot at them, not me!†when I was playing. But let’s get down to what Halo is known for: The multiplayer. The game provides tons of new game modes like Infection, which is basically a zombie romp, and VIP, where one player is a bodyguard to another. There are also several new maps, like High Ground and my new favorite, Valhalla, which has a warp pad that can work like a cannon if you throw your grenades into it. One thing I did love about the game was its new vehicles, including the really cool Mongoose. The game also has the really big but slow Elephant. But don’t think the game’s shy on weapons, oh no, I have a new favorite weapon, the Gravity Hammer. The Spartan Laser also spurs on some hilarious moments with it being able to destroy Banshees in mid air. The new Forge mode also is a lot of fun being able to place items anywhere. The film save feature will also help you show your buddies what awesome matches you played over the weekend. However, whenever playing multiplayer with my buddies, I was frustrated several times by the changes made and some of the new things. For one, one of my favorite maps, Lockout, is missing! I’m still trying to find Coagulation, and why can’t the zombie in Infection drive? Basically he’s a target for the other two guys with Ghosts. Trust me, I know. However, these are just minor complaints, nothing to move me from the big picture of Halo 3’s greatness. Overall, Halo 3 is a great experience that no Xbox 360 owner should deprive him or herself from. I strongly recommend it to any video game fan with an Xbox 360. So go, settle down with a 20 oz. of Mountain Dew Game Fuel, and finish the fight.
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08.07.07
Posted in Game Reviews at 3:02 pm by earl
(9.25/10.00) Well, Mario has come back to his RPG roots with the original title Super Paper Mario, and just think, this one started out as a Gamecube title! The surprisingly deep story for a Mario game tells of a world that Mario has come to save where the evil Count Bleck is trying to use his Chaos Heart to destroy all worlds and create a new better world. So Mario has to go world to world through all 8 worlds to collect the Pure Hearts. The storyline is more than that however, and unfolds gradually into a large, somewhat Lord of the Rings style throughout the 15-hour adventure. Throughout the game you will run into your buddies Bowser, Peach, and Luigi, and be able to use their unique abilities to get past puzzles. Bowser-fire breath, Peach-Shield/Umbrella jump, Luigi-super jump. Speaking of unique abilities, one very cool thing in this game is the ability to switch from 2-D to 3-D with a press of a button. It will be able to get you through a lot of situations. Once you’ve beaten a level, you can come back to it and replay it which makes for some great replay value for hardcore old-school Mario fans, which is basically what this game is. You go world to world, level to level stompin’ Goombas and trying to get to the end with a boss at the end of every world. That, plus items which implement the use of the Wii’s motion-sensing. Another thing this game excels at is the humor. This is a pretty funny game, from moments the Nerd-boss Francis obsessing over Peach being a “hot babe” or Bowser telling people to get out of the way or he’ll squish them. You can play through the numerous boss battles with each character, with the dialogue in the cutscenes varying who you’re playing as. The only problem I had with this game was it was a little too easy at times, me beating the Count Bleck on my first try. That and sometimes the Wii motion-sensing tasks felt a little silly, but were still fun. Overall, at 15 hours long this is a great game for anyoe whose looking for a good summer play or who wants a game to hold them over until Metroid or Galaxy comes out.
 
 
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07.23.07
Posted in Game Reviews at 2:19 pm by earl
(9.5/10.00) As mentioned below, one of my favorite games is 007:Nightfire. This completely new storyine has 007 (Pierce Brosnan) on a mission to stop Drake from blowing up the world or something. Although the missions are amazingly fun, where this game shines to me is it’s multiplayer. Up to four people can battle it out in several different maps in several different game modes as several different characters, from Oddjob to Bond Spacesuit. Another thing I loved were the weapons. Including the Golden Gun, Scorpion (heatseeker missile), Sentinel (regular missile), Tactical Sniper, and more, this game could keep any Bond enthusiast entertained for days. The only thing that could get annoying would be the shortness of the game and sometimes I just wanted different things from the multiplayer. Overall, this is a great game for any gamer looking or a great, replayable game.
 
 
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07.09.07
Posted in Game Reviews at 1:26 pm by earl
 (9.75/10.00) Finally, after 45 hours of running through dungeons, fighting epic boss battles, and finally taking down Ganondorf on my first try, I am ready to review The Legend of Zelda:Twilight Princess. I know I usually tell the storyline, but I could spend a week typing up all the things that happened, so here’s the general jist: Link is a farmboy in Ordon, whose friends are kidnapped by creatures. He then gets kidnapped and transforms into a wolf, and soon is going through temples collecting tears of light, fused shadows, and pieces of a mirror in order to save Hyrule from the impending Twilight whic is being ran by Zant, a false king, who is being ran by Ganondorf, the big ol’ king of evil. Honestly, this is the most epic game I have ever played. I felt like I was playing through Lord of the Rings or something. Yeesh. Anyway, this being on the Wii, there is motion-sensing. Shake the Wiimote to swing your sword and shake the nunchuk to use the spin attack. You also use the Wiimote to aim certain weapons. Not only is there a main quest, but there are also mini little things thrown in. One of my favorites being the Hidden Skills:Seven sword techniques that a mystic swordsmen will teach you when you locate him. The temples, although sometimes annoying (9.75), are variative, and the boss battles are amazing. The ones with Zant and Ganondorf are the most amazing overall, having 4-6 completely different phases each. Overall, Twilight Princess is a gaming treasure and should be played by any Wii owner.Â
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07.08.07
Posted in Game Reviews at 8:04 am by earl
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(8.00/10.00) More than meets the eye! I picked up the Transformers movie game for the Wii and as a movie game, it is giving Spiderman a run for his money! You play through the movie’s storyline with extra, more in-depth, explaining missions. There are different “levels” with 4-5 “chapters” in each. The first level you play as Bumblebee, then in Level 2 Jazz, Ironhide, and Optimus, in Level 3 Bumblebee, and then mixed up in Level 4, Level 5 being a boss battle only. With guess who?…..Bobby Bolivia from the car dealership! Not really. There’s also a Decepticon storyline which is also pretty neat. One thing I loved about this game were the graphics. The Transformers look spot-on, and the ability to transform when you please was very cool, and it also gave you two different ways to complete some missions. The combat is pretty fun, shaking the Wiimote for melee attacks (punching, kicking, etc.) and moving the Nunchuk vertically to pick up any object aroung you. Overall, this is a great movie game that anyone with a thirst for more after the movie will love.
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06.23.07
Posted in Game Reviews at 4:01 pm by earl
 
 
 
(6.75/10.00) Yarghhh!!!! I got a chance to play the new Pirates game, and here’s what I think, Savvy!??!! Playing through the first thwo or three levels, I thought the swordplay was pretty cool in your bosses, but not as cool when you’re taking on the mindless minions. The “jackanisms”, which were little minigames where you had to pull of analog/button combos to unlock something, were also neat. The environments were also kinda pretty. The gameplay was pretty straightforward:L1 to block, Square and Circle to attack. The replay was also cool, allowing you to play through previous missions as different characters, although your new character, say Davy Jones, would still do the same things as say, Jack Sparrow. It was pretty weird seeing women slap ol’ Davy and people call him Jack. Overall, this was a pretty fun game for your Pirates fans who want to play out the movie, but to a hardcore gamer, they’ll just wish for more.Â
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06.19.07
Posted in Game Reviews at 8:26 am by earl
 
 
 
(7.50/10.00) I really didn’t think this game was going to be as good as it was. In this game you play through the events of Spiderman 3, with some extra, pretty fun missions. There are also gangs, which can be interesting. The game will give you the choice to respond to random events around the city, which have a lot of variety. Another thing I love is the other villains you run across. I’ve ran across a super-high tech gang and the lizard, along with the New Goblin. Which brings me to my next point, the boss batlles. The game will have you pulling off button combinations. You had to pull off a certain button combination just to get up and knock Harry around on his board. Overall, despite the some-what dissapointing graphics outside of cutscenes, some camera glitches, this is a good game for any Spiderman fan.
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06.17.07
Posted in Game Reviews at 2:31 pm by earl
 
 
(9.00/10.00)Â Another great game for the Wii! In the fourth installment of the Rayman series, you must help Rayman save the bay globoxes from the maniacal, undescribable Rabbids. You will play through 15 arenas, each having 4 minigames and a boss game. But good news for me is that you only have to beat 3, you can beat all 4 for extra prizes and the like. There are about 70 minigames that you’ll run across, and although I had a problem with repetitivity on the PS2 version, I wasn’t as much with the Wii version because I was having too much fun! The controls are interesting and intuitive, and the game responds quite well. I first thought about not getting this game because I thought it would be too similar to Warioware, but I was pretty wrong! The rabbids are also some of the funniest characters I’ve ever seen! Overall, if you’re looking for a fun game that has great use of the motion-sensing Wiimote, this is your game!
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06.06.07
Posted in Game Reviews at 9:18 am by earl
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(9.5/10.00) This is one of the best games I have ever played! You play as Raz, a newcomer to the summer camp for psychics, and along the way you go into several minds in extremely unique levels and you learn some cool/interesting powers. The graphics are in the regular Tim Schafer style, which is cool in its own way, and the voice for Raz is provided by the genuis Richard Horvitz. This is a great game that everyone should play!Â
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06.04.07
Posted in Game Reviews at 5:55 pm by earl
With the release of the combined editions heading towards the Wii and PS3, I thought I would review them seperately. Yea.
Lego Star Wars-(8.5/10.00)- This was definitely my favorite of the two. This one has you playing through Episodes 1-3, covering every battle from the battle on Naboo with Darth Maul to the fight with the Wookie resistance on Kashykk, this one covers them all. You have a variety of characters to play as-Jar Jar, Obi-Wan, etc. And each class (Jedi, Gungan, Droid, etc.) have a specific attack pattern. Except for Jar-Jar, he can’t attack. Just jump really high. The only problem I had was it was a little too short, although the two-player co-op was nice.
 
 
Lego Star Wars II:The Original Trilogy-(7.75/10.00)- This one was also pretty fun. This time you’re playing through Episodes 4-6, and it’s just like the other. A neat feature I liked is that if you has a game save of the other L.S.W. game you could load the characters from there onto this new adventure and play as them. Oh if only I could share the joy of seeing Pre-Evil Anakin fight Darth Vader. Or see Jar-Jar fight Vader. Either is satisfying. This one had more puzzles, which could sometimes be pretty challenging. Both of these games are great for any Star Wars fan.
 
 
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05.23.07
Posted in Game Reviews at 4:50 pm by earl
 
 
 
(7.75/10.00) I put PS2 out to the side because I believe that there will be a vast difference between the PS2 and Wii versions in term of gameplay. (The Wii version’s more fun.) And I will get the Wii version’s to you as soon as possible. This game tells the story of Rayman, who has been captured and is being forced to compete in strange minigames. Although the minigames are fun, you continuously see pretty much the same one over and over again, with little variety, so it can get very repetitive. The game is also very short, with it only taking me and Silverwing about 5 hours to beat. The humor in this game is great, and probably my favorite part. Overall, this is a fun game, but I would recommend that, if you have the choice, to buy it for it’s original console.
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