Review: Singularity

What would you get when you combine some elements of Bioshock, F.E.A.R., and Dead Space, and then mixing it with a little bit of originality? You get Singularity, an FPS made by Raven Software and published under Activision. Singularity doesn’t have a spectacular story line, a couple of twist here and there, but it does have the Time Manipulation Device or TMD which makes it unique, enjoyable, and totally worth your time.

General Information

Developer: Raven Software Publisher: Activision Platform: PC, Xbox, 360, Playstation 3 Genre: First-Person Shooter Release: June 29, 2010 Rating: ESRB-M

Storyline

In the year 1950, on the island of Katorga 12, the Russians discovered a rare element E-99. However, the E-99 was very volatile and caused a mysterious catastrophe killing everyone in the island and contaminating the island itself. As years go by, the Katorga 12 was forgotten until 2010.

In 2010, the Americans discovered unusual readings off Katorga 12. Fearing another repeat of the incident, the US dispatches a black-ops team to recon the island. As the team approaches the island, an EMP blast crashes the chopper on the island and leaves the team facing the after effects of element E-99 and warping between 1950's and 2010.

Gameplay

Singularity has a lot of special features; however, the main attraction that this game has to offer is the Time Manipulation Device or simply “TMD.” The TMD is a device that allows the player to reconstruct or destroy certain objects, quickly age enemies, and create a barrier to slow enemies down. You can find several upgrade spots so you could unlock the potential of the TMD.

Along with the TMD, you will also be using a variety of weapons ranging from Centurion Revolver to Seeker Special Purpose Rifle(since the name is a mouthful I dub it the SSP Rifle). The common weapons can be upgraded while the special weapons can't be upgraded nor stored. The best common weapons to upgrade is the AR9 Valkyrie (Assault Rifle) because ammo can be found almost everywhere and its an assault rifle, and the Auto-cannon (Chain Gun) for the simple reason that it is a CHAIN GUN. On the other hand, the best special weapon is the SSP Rifle because you can control the direction of the bullet (a really cool gun).

The proper combination of the TMD and weapons will be the key in surviving this game because the enemies are tough (my difficulty setting is set to hard). A good TMD and weapon combination is when you age a human turning him into a monster which would kill anyone, a good tactic if you are surrounded and has little ammo. Another good trick is to use the barrier that will slow down enemies so you could just pick them off. Be very careful though, some enemies can instantaneously move from one place to another which can be a bit of a hassle but also maintains the balance of the game.

The controls are your regular first person shooter with the addition of the TMD skills. You don't have to access a menu to use the TMD skills, to activate them you just have to press a series of combination and viola the skill is activated. Graphics wise, the game is good with a couple of glitches here and there but its tolerable.

Verdict

The start of the game was kind of slow though but the pace went up when I got the TMD. Sometimes the enemies can be also frustrating because they can pop out from anywhere especially the little spiders that explodes. The game was also designed so that you would not be able to max out all weapons and TMD skills making it balanced. However, with the proper TMD usage and FPS skills, the game can be a breeze.

Over all the game is enjoyable, it is indeed a combination of Bioshock, F.E.A.R., and Dead Space. Although I have to admit the game is in no where near the level of the three, I would still give this game a thumbs up because the developers were able to spice things up and make them interesting.

Score: 80/100

Pros -Its a mix of all the successful shooter game concepts -The TMD is a nice touch -Shows the possible effect of time travel

Cons -A little graphic glitch here and there but no big deal

-Slow start

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exga3AHHSe4]

Review: Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light

Lara Croft, is back to explore lost tombs, discover treasures, fight monsters, and save the world. Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light is the name of the newest Lara Croft game. Developed by Crystal Dynamics; this game tries to separate itself from the previous Tomb Raider games. A noticeable difference is that the game does not bear the “Tomb Raider” title, it no longer has the third person perspective and it focuses on cooperative playing. However, don’t let this change fool you, this is still one hell of a game and the cooperative gameplay is a very sweet addition.

General Information

Developer: Crystal Dynamics

Platform: PC, Playstation 3(PSN), Xbox 360(XLA)

Genre: Fixed-camera 3D action platform

Release: 18 August 2010

Rating: ESRB – T

Story

The game opens up with Totec, the Guardian of Light, battling it out with Xolotl, the keeper of darkness game. Xolotl decimated Totec’s army with the use of an ancient artifact called “Mirror of Smoke.” Totec was able to find a way to imprison Xolotl in the Mirror of Smoke and in turn he became a statue destined to watch over the prison of Xolotl. Centuries later Lara Croft was able to discover the location of the Mirror of Smoke; but unfortunately she was tailed by a group of Mercenaries who are also after the Mirror. The mercenaries take the Mirror which caused Xolotl to be set free and also releasing Totec in the process. Lara Croft, together with Totec, must stop Xolotl before the light of dawn or else he would be unstoppable.

Gameplay

The game has several unique features that separate itself from the other Tomb Raider franchise. The first and major difference is the fixed 3D camera with an isometric view, similar to the “Diablo” franchise. Another new feature is the addition of a cooperative player; you could choose between Lara Croft and Totec. The cooperative mode allows players to effectively utilize the unique skills of the two characters to solve puzzles and defeat the hordes of enemies. Some features from were also retained, like the single player mode, dual pistols with unlimited ammo, and the grappling hook.

In single player mode, you are limited to Lara Croft. Totec will be behind the scene providing pretty much no help at all. Single player mode is basically the same as the other Tomb Raider game except of course it is not in third person.

The cooperative mode is, in my opinion, the reason to play this game. In this mode you get to choose between Totec and Lara Croft, take note that the other character cannot be controlled by an AI. Teamwork is the key in this mode because the maps, although similar in single player, will have different a different layout. An example is that Totec cannot use the grappling hook so Lara will have to hoist him up. Another is Totec has a shield which he could hold up allowing Lara to jump on top of Totec therefore giving her an extra boost.

The controls are also different from the previous games. The recommended controller is a gamepad; since I played in my PC I used a keyboard and mouse. The keyboard and mouse, with proper mapping is great at fights although a little bit annoying when it comes to directional jumps since it has no analog. The gamepad is great when it comes to solving puzzles but not that accurate in fights due to the analog targeting. So it’s really up to you to decide what to use; I’m a keyboard and mouse person so I used them in the game, my brother used the gamepad.

The graphics is also great; the developers were able to present the lush green jungles of Central America with awesome detail. The enemies also have a great detail for an isometric viewpoint. There are also several weapons to be found, some can be awarded through finishing challenges and others are scattered all over the map.

Verdict

Being a long time Lara Croft fan, I loved the game. Especially since the cooperative mode and isometric view are a great tandem. Though the story is pretty much linear it compensates with a great game. Also, with all the challenges in the game you cannot accomplish a 100% on one run. For example, one challenge requires you to finish the game in less than 5:00 mins and another challenge would require you to complete the secret items. So in order to accomplish the two challenges, you will have to replay the stage.

The only part that I was disappointed in, well not that disappointed, is that the “movies” in the game are presented in a comic book style. Although the in game cut scenes are nice, it would be great if they added an FMV to the game. However, that is only a small setback.

I would urge Lara Croft fans to try this game out, especially the cooperative mode because you won’t be disappointed.

Score: 90/100

Pros:

+Cooperative gameplay

+Great visual effects

+Challenges require you to replay the game

+Reinvigorate the game franchise

+Abundant weapons

+Action and puzzles are well balanced

Cons:

-Game is too short if cooperative play is utilized

-Better if you could switch from isometric to third person view

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuFtLV8GUvs]

Review - Mafia 2

Mafia 2 is a sandbox environment type of game, pretty much like Grand Theft Auto. The game is set during the 1940’s -1950’s in a fictional city called “Empire State.” You control Vito Scaletta, an immigrant from Italy who grew up in poverty which resulted to him leading a life full of crime and eventually in the world of the Mafia.

General Information

Developer: 2k Czech

Platform: PC, Xbox 360, Playstation 3

Genre: Third-person Shooter, Action-Adventure

Release Date: 24 August 2010 (NA)

Rating: ESRB - M

Story

First off, the story of Mafia 2 is in nowhere related to Mafia 1 so don’t worry if you haven’t played the first. The game starts off with Vito telling his childhood story then progresses to his adult life in which you get control of him. Mafia 2’s story line is divided into chapters; each of them is pretty much straight through and will take you to different places in Empire State. The story has so many twist and elements in it that I personally played it because of the story. The game does a great job in building up the characters which in turn urges you to find out what happened to them.

Gameplay

The controls are pretty much similar to any third-person shooter; you just need to know how to aim, shoot, and use cover in order to survive this game. I played in my PC so the mouse and keyboard is a perfect match to a third person shooter; you just need to map the keys accordingly.

The only real annoying part is that this game is very much realistic and if you’re careless you might die instantly. For example; if you’re driving a car at a very high speed and hits a mere pole or tree, you’re dead, unlike GTA where you take no damage at all. So with this in mind, it is better to follow the speed limit in some missions rather than go full throttle, and this game contains a lot of driving scenes. (Fun fact: If you have a companion and drive at top speed or run through a speed light, he will voice his concerns regarding obeying traffic rules.)

The Empire State has a lot of hidden roads and alleyways which can prove useful when evading Cops. It will be very useful because the police at Mafia 2 are annoying and surprisingly strict; if they catch you doing something “unlawful” they will immediately give chase. Also; if they catch you stealing a car, the car will be wanted by the police so will be you. In order to get rid of the wanted status you must change your clothes and/or change the color/plate number of the car.

Gun fights are easy in this game, just find the right cover and pick off your targets. Always be careful though, the AI will try to flank your position and if they have a good enough weapon your dead in one shot. Speaking of weapons; you have 4 basic types: Melee, Small Arms, Machine Gun, and Rifles. The most effective in my opinion are the M1 Garand and the Thompson SMG or commonly known as “Tommy Gun.”

Verdict

The game altogether was nice although I will admit that the chapters may get repetitive. What pushed me to finish the game is the story line; the story telling was exceptional and the character build-up was superb and will make you play through the game because you will want to know what happened next.

After finishing it, I found out that there were DLC’s released: Jimmy’s Vendetta, Joe’s Adventures, and a PlayStation 3 exclusive The Betrayal of Jimmy (which unfortunately for me I have no PS3).

My final verdict: Gameplay is at 70/100 because the game is pretty much straight forward, no side quest, and may get repetitive. However, story is 100/100 which compensates for the gameplay.

Score: 85 / 100

Pros:

+Compelling Storyline

+Sandbox Environment

+Upgraded cars re-spawn at garage

+Fun driving experience

+Lots of gunfights

+DLC packs are available

+Multiplayer is now available (www.mafia2multiplayer.com)

Cons

-No side-missions only main story

-Cops are annoying

-Money has no value because everything is sold at low price

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_Q3MZC-34o]

REVIEW: Two Worlds 2

I took a chance with this title since many recommend it. With a developer that is completely unknown and the makers of the first two worlds, I had no expectations whatsoever and just went for it. Is it the best RPG I’ve ever played? Not even close. There are so many issues, glitches and problems that could frustrate the hell out of any RPG lover but the unique gameplay features and how huge this world is outweighs the games issues making it a decent game to spend X in-game RPG hours.

Two Worlds 2 Developer: Reality Pump Publisher: Topware Interactive Platform: Xbox 360, Playstation 3, PC

You start off with you and your sister captured by Gandohar. A group of orcs save only you and find out they need you for a bigger plan to bring the big baddie down at the same time-saving your sister. And that’s where everything starts. The whole escape with the Orcs is the tutorial to get you familiar with the game. After the escape you’re pretty much free to explore the world.  And boy is this world map huge! You’re tasked to do a quest related to the main story but with such a huge world and numerous side quests, I was easily sidetracked. The story is dull as any common RPG stories can get and was easily forgettable. The side quests pick up the slack though giving some interesting stories or hilarious and unusual requests.

There are so many side quests that it’s ridiculous. There are bulletin boards to pick up quests, NPCs with requests, and guilds that can give you more quests with their own bulletin board. This game is a handful and I asked myself at one point in the game “when is it going to end??” since I was still in Chapter 1. There are reputations to certain guilds but it doesn’t give any rewards to keep noted if you’re in a certain reputation with a certain guild. Voice acting can be laughable at times, especially the store owners but some are decent enough that won’t force you to cringe when you hear the dialogue.Some of the conversations are quite entertaining.

Like in other Open World games you have the option to kill NPCs(but not the ones with quests) and you get hunted down. Whats funny is they forget about it when you go off somewhere else for an hours or two. I attempt to pickpocket, fail and get caught. Run away and after an hour everybody likes me again. Aside from stealing or killing innocent NPCs you can join in a game of dice or a Guitar Hero-ish music mini game. You have a couple of songs you can play on different instruments and each instrument plays different. It's actually pretty tough and fast but can be rewarded with money if done properly.

Character customization is pretty much the biggest highlight in the game. When did you have a game where you can break down certain useless items to get raw materials to upgrade your current equipment? Or fuse certain crystals to add certain effects to your armor or weapons like fire damage to your sword and have fire coming out of your sword.  Magic is also pretty unique with the ability to create your own magic. You have the freedom to make anything.

The magic is a card system where you pick a main element and combine other cards to determine if the spell will be an area effect or a missile, damaging, healing, a buff, all depending on what cards you mix with. There are 5 kinds of magic, Air, Fire, Water, Earth, and Necromancy. Each giving different spells when added with  modifier cards and carrier cards . Spending points in a specific mastery means you can stack more cards on that specific magic, the more fire cards you stack on a spell, the more damage. The magic tutorial isn't enough to fully understand the system since its quite complex but when you get the hang of it, the spells you make can be quite satisfying.You can literally spend hours tampering with the magic system, upgrading your weapons and fusing crystals to equipment to best fit your character.

You can even create your own potions with alchemy from all the parts u get from fallen animals and monsters. just have at least 2 items that can be placed in the cauldron and you can make a potion. Each item that is for alchemy tells you what it gives to the potion like a longer duration of the buff or magic resistance etc.Customization is everywhere in this game, you can even pigments to change your armors color giving some uniqueness to your character. Customization is great but the inventory interface can be confusing when you start carrying a lot of items. Items are separate from equipment, items, to alchemy items. While all the items are sorted based on the type of item, its still very difficult to find the specific item you need in your inventory.

Leveling up may seem simple at first but it gets a bit complex when you have access to all abilities in each tree. You have 6 trees to put your ability points. There are 3 trees that improve your combat and while the other 3 help in crafting defense and you being sneaky. Combat skills are pretty neat with skills like fire arrow  or battle shout giving each tree a different feel.Progression isn’t straight forward, especially when you’re halfway into the game and ability points are harder to come by.  They also have a neat feature where you can swap equipment right away regardless if you’re in combat or not. So being a mix of either magic with warrior skills or ranger is possible, it all depends how you allocate your ability points.

Combat can really be clunky and frustrating especially for rangers and mages, struggling with the aiming of the game rather than the enemy. Enemy AI is flat-out dumb and can be easily exploited. like I was able to kill a tough monster because it got stuck on a chair or I had instances where they just stand still and take my blows. You can either be a melee guy, an archer, a mage or even a mixed. No matter what you pick, you will feel a sense of frustration in combat. The skills in the game makes the game more interesting but tend to get repetitive later in the game with the constant spamming of the skills since they just do more damage overall.  Combat may feel bad but there are a lot of option on how to take on your enemies be it from afar or up close. You can even lay traps to have a little bit of tactics to make things easier or to your advantage. But with the laughable AI, just pick what weapon you want to use and beat the crap out of it.

The world is Massive and beautiful. In the first part the game you are introduced to a desert setting that all looks amazing from the cities to the dungeons waiting to be explored. As you spend hours in this setting everything becomes familiar to you but as you move forward in the main story, the game takes you into a whole new setting that seems to be another world altogether. A city covered inspired by an eastern setting covered by trees and plants give the game a different feel altogether after how many hours spent on the last area. It’s a good touch and kept me interested in doing all those damn side quests. You have to give credit to Topware Interactive for creating such a good-looking game and keeping the setting fresh as you move on.

It’s also surprisingly easy to travel. Just like Elder Scrolls travel feature where you skip the boring traveling part, Two Worlds 2 gives you the ability to teleport from one place to another making it very convenient to travel. When you travel a loading screen sometimes appear but I’ve experience a couple of times where my character appears to the location but unable to move, loading without the loading screen seeing everything appear right in front of me.

Believe it or not, this open world game has its very own online feature. You get to create a character separate from your campaign mode and join 7 other players in going through a quest that’s at least an hour-long. They are called Adventures and you have around 7 of them to experience with friends. These quests are in-tuned to be tackled as a group since there are waves of enemies in each area of the quest. It’s pretty lengthy and addicting.

There’s also other modes such as death match duels and crystal capture which is pretty much like capture the flag. I wasn’t too impressed with these modes since some skills in the game can be quite overpowered and I don’t feel the urge to be really good in pvp in this game. That isn’t what I was looking for in this game so it feels more like a filler to me just give the impression that there’s a lot of online content. The last mode is village more where you can actually make your own village. It’s pretty simple, spend your money to make certain houses to get you income and create shops so you can visit them if there certain items that your character might need. There’s village moral so you’re occasionally tasked to get rid of a certain problem the village is having like a group of spiders or a hive of bees to keep the moral up and money going. You can also invite friends to your village so they can purchase certain items.

Online was a surprise and was fun while it lasted. When I finished the adventure quests I kept on playing them. Replayability is present if you are the loot whore type of person, pushing to get your character stronger and stronger.

This is a very ambitious game with features that top-notch developers haven’t bothered to implement. The Character Customization, the massive world, the impressive magic system, and online features covers what the game lacks making it decent enough for any RPG fan to enjoy. It lacks polish.  Even with the glitches and issues with combat I still enjoyed Two Worlds 2 for what it’s worth. It may look bad from the outside, but when you start giving it a chance and went past the tutorial part of the game, it will surprise you in many ways for the good.

Score: 75/100

Pros:

- Massive world to explore

- Deep Character Customization, complex magic system

- Amazing Graphics

- Online features

Cons:

- Major glitches and issues that lead to crashes

- Useless Main story

- Clunky user interface

- Frustrating Combat mechanics

Review - Beyblade: Metal Fusion

3! 2! 1! Let it rip! (Or "Go Shoot!" if you're from Japan) Yes, those tiny fighting tops from Japan are back with more metal than ever. It's Beyblade: Metal Fusion for the Nintendo DS.Beyblade: Metal Fusion

Developer: Nelvana Enterprises

Publisher: Hudson Entertainment Inc.

Platform: Nintendo DS

Rating: E for Everyone

Release: 11/9/2010

I guess you can call this a fighting game of some sorts since you partake in 1 on 1 battles using a small fighting top. Sounds bogus, I know, but obviously this game is meant for people who are a fan of the show of toys. I have tried many video game iterations of the Beyblade toys and I gotta say this is the best rendition of it in virtual form out there.

Story: An evil group called Nosferatu has put up a tournament to steal the spirits of fallen bladers who participate and it's up to Gingka and his group of rag-tag friends to put a stop to them. The story is pretty much the same as the 1st season of Metal Fusion (Metal Fight in japan) but with Nosferatu, its members and their Beyblade being exclusive to this game. You can choose 1 of 19 characters in Story Mode, each having their own version of the same story. You have no choice of where to go but simply just battle and move on until you reach the end boss. Pretty shallow but it's gets the job done. Seeing the villains play their own story has interesting twists at the end so that's a nice addition to the somewhat predictable story line.

No exploration whatsoever

Gameplay: Here's the meat and bones of the game. Gameplay is pretty much done on the touchscreen, battles and menu navigations. The top screen serves as showing stats or dialogues in Story Mode.

Graffiti approach to the background

Upon opening the game, you have access to 3 options. Story, Battle, Bey Garage. In Story you start with either 1 or 2 characters depending on what edition of the game you have. You unlock more by completing each character's story. There are 19 characters in the game. 4 of which are exclusives and can only be unlocked by battling against another person with a collector's edition of another version of the game (Cyber Pegasus, Bakushin Susanoo) or by connecting to the Beyblade: Metal Fusion Battle Fortress video game on the Wii.

In Battle mode you can enter Battle Coliseum which lets you play 2 challenge modes or take part in ranked matches to get the highest winning streak for the Nintendo Wi-Fi Leaderboard. You can also participate in local or online matches but I found the game to have significant input lags even in local battles. It's nice that there is online support but execution wise it could have been better. Bey Survival lets you pick a type of Beyblade (Attack / Defense / Stamina) and see how many opponents you can beat until you lose. An endurance mini game but without any real merit or rewards game wise. Options lets you select a character (avatar) for multiplayer, change your user name and type. Bey Garage gives you access to a shop for parts, a gallery to view all the parts you have, mod you own custom Beyblade and adjust microphone sensitivity.

Maxed stats anyone?

Combat: You pull on a virtual string on a Beylauncher after a countdown. Pulling well maximizes your spin power of the Beyblade you're using. Spin power is like you Beyblade's life bar, once it's out you are done. There is a balance indicator that shows the balance of your Beyblade, the more it wobbles, the faster you lose spin power.

Muscles baby!

Attack: Attacking is as simple as swiping the touch screen in the direction you want your Beyblade to attack. Hammering your opponent constantly can decrease their balance and spin power or the most obvious merit to attacking is by knocking your opponent out of the stadium and scoring a quick win. However attacking frantically can also be disadvantageous to you as a missed attack can leave you open, have you hit a wall, be to close to the edge for a knock out or even you fly out of the stadium yourself.

Defense: Defending is as simple as tapping your Beyblade. A blue barrier will surround your Beyblade for a limited time but while this is active your Beyblade will stay put and won't get knocked around easily. If your opponent does this, the barrier can be removed by tapping the opposing Beyblade.

Defense vs Defense , mine wins

Jump: Jumping let's you avoid attacks, uppercut your opponent, reposition yourself, or in certain stadiums leave bombs where you jumped. Jumping is as easy as tapping anywhere on the stadium. If you happen to land on your opponent, it counts as an attack.

Recover: You can recover a bit of spin power and balance by tapping and holding anywhere outside of your Beyblade. Doing a recover drains a bit from your spirit meter.

Spirit: By attacking or doing a succesful defense, you gain spirit. Having enough spirit lets you pull off special moves like an electric aura, a strong armor or even animated special moves that call upon asteroids or driving your opponent's Beyblade through planets. It may sound insane but trust me they're in there.

Grinding: Yes, there is a bit of grinding in this game. Aside from earning cash (Bey Points) or increasing your rank, you can assign stat increases to the parts of your Beyblade, these are called Bey Force. Bey Forces can increase specific stats such as Attack, Defense, Stamina and Balance. By leveling up each Bey Force, the over all performance of your Beyblade can improve vastly.

Scoring: There are multiple ways to score wins in battle. You need at least 4 points total to win. Out lasting your opponent awards you a Sleep Out which gives you 1 point. A Stadium Out awards you 2 points. And pulling off a Crash Out which is destroying your opponent by means of a special move awards you 3 points. Multiplayer: As I have said earlier, this game features both local and online multiplayer battles. This game even has game sharing which is rare of DS titles. But horrible input lag and slow match making leaves a lot to be desired. Then again this is better than no multiplayer at all, even if it is an after thought.

Over all I enjoyed this game very much. Obviously this won't appeal to people who aren't fans of the show or toys but this is the best Beyblade video game I have ever played. Physics are great and you actually have control in combat instead of just launching and watching them go until you can do a super move. The grind can be a bit tedious to some but I found myself playing a lot. The game clock says I've spent 32 hours, 34 minutes, and 51 seconds playing this game. Gameplay wise it's very solid and portability is great since it saves after every match. Oh and did I mention that every time you win, be it Sleep Out or Stadium out, your opponent's Beyblade explodes into a sea of parts which is always satisfying to witness.

If you or your child is a fan of the show or the toys / hobby then this is definitely worth a purchase. Aside from the solid gameplay, the collector's edition comes with a limited edition Beyblade (Counter Leone / Cyber Pegasus / Bakushin Susanoo) . If you're just after the Beyblade, it wouldn't hurt to give this a try.

Score: 65/100

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lHk4v_KMUg&w=480&h=390]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1XV8TntoXc&w=640&h=390]