7 posts from 2007

final verdict:

8.6 excellent. Head and shoulders above the competition.

8/10  Concept - a mario game. somewhat repetitive, but hard to go wrong.
8.5/10  Gameplay - i like the jump between 2-D and 3-D.
10/10  Graphics - i LOVE the way this game looks. i know it's no final fantasy, but screw final fantasy. overrated. the graphics for this game are perfect for this adventure.
8/10  Sound - classic mario sounds with a twist.
8.5/10  Entertainment - you get to play as bowser. that's worth the 8.5 right there.

the story

a side scrolling adventure with rpg elements, you start off with a scene of luigi and mario lounging around, looking for some entertainment. they decide to visit peach in her castle but just when they begin to embark, a messenger is sent to tell them peach has been kidnapped. again!

mario and lugi head straight away to bowser's castle, and we cut to a inspirational speech by bowser to his minions. they're gonna do it this time! capture peach, kill off mario, and take over the world!
so when mario and luigi arrive to find bowser hasn't captured peach .. yet, they're perplexed. someone else beat him to it? bowser's kinda pissed about that.

enter count bleck, a strange new villian, who knocks out mario and takes bowser and luigi.

mario is transported to the town of flipside where he is asked to go on a mission to collect 8 pure hearts - the only known way to stop count bleck from destroying all the worlds. he's got more gall than bowser, who just wanted a bride and a castle mario couldn't blow up.

each level (you start with a pure heart, so i imagine there's seven total) is four stages long, ending with a boss (normally one of count bleck's minions). after their defeat you're awarded with a pure heart, which transports you back to flipside so you can place the heart in a "heart tower". while running around flipside looking for the next heart tower (they're all hidden, of course, and some are a real pain in the ass to find), you can talk to various villagers, obtain or sell items, and even play in the arcade (if you can find the damn thing.

you don't just play as mario! excellent! as you rescue (or find and defeat them), you open up three different playable characters. i mentioned BOWSER already so i'll just leave the remaining up to you.

the controls

famous for his 2-D side scrolling adventure, paper mario stirs it up a bit by allowing you to switch to 3-D to find hidden doors, pipes, entrances and even enemies.  basically, if you can't figure out what you're supposed to do switch to 3-D and it'll probably reveal itself to you.

you hold the wii-mote sideways to use the d-pad and 1 and 2 buttons to control the game. i thought this would be mildly uncomfortable, but it really wasn't. only on ocassion do you point the wii-mote at the television and such times take place when your friend/guide , a "pixl" named tippi, wants to reveal things to you that you wouldn't normally be able to see.

various pixl's join you throughout your adventure to aid on your quest such as: thoreau (clever), a pixl used for picking up and throwing objects, boomer (a bomb), and carrie (a pixl that turns itself into a floating platform).

the graphics

i love them. that's all i'm going to say about it. well, i'll show you these too.

the only problem i have with the game (and i'm leaving it for last because i really did enjoy this game), is the god-damn mazes. through a door, down some stairs, you've got a locked door. what'd we miss? up a floor, 3-D, find a hidden door, go to the third door, fall, end up where you started. damn. which door did i go through?

i would play, save, and then start up again going, "okay. where did i leave off. where am i supposed to go?". i know the maze like levels are part of it's charm, and i don't mind them when they're carefully laid out, but wow. some of them have you shooting through twenty different doors with no way of picking the right avenue.

overall, i found myself wanting to play it more and more, which i imagine the defining element of a great game. if i could leave a trail of breadcrumbs through the doors i might like it a little more but i mentioned you can play as boswer, right? that's all i need.

Anything You Can Do GAME REVIEW by Jill.

the marvel ultimate alliance downloaded that was posted about earlier has been postponed while the kinks are being worked out (it wouldn't corrupt your saves entirely, just un-equip and re-equip your characters at their will.)
we bought microsoft points specifically for this. (and teenage mutant ninja turtles arcade game.) how disappointing this news was to our household.

i'm about 75 percent through super paper mario, i'm going to play it some more before i have to return it. i'll write up my own review later. (i'm on the fence right now.)

and we will definitely, definitely, eventually get that grindhouse movie review up, too.

if you've ever moved your console while it was on and the result wielded a scratched disc, then you're an idiot.

however, if you still have that disc and you're looking to replace it, microsoft might help you out. for a small fee.

"Xbox Disc Replacement Program

If, for any reason, you have a damaged Microsoft® Xbox 360™ disc and like to replace it, please review the information below:

THIS PROGRAM IS GOOD ONLY FOR XBOX 360 CONSOLE OWNERS IN COUNTRIES WHERE XBOX 360 IS SOLD AT AUTHORIZED RETAIL LOCATIONS.

This program only applies to games where Microsoft is the publisher, and is subject to availability. To check and see if your game is available for replacement, please review which Microsoft products currently fall under this program here. Link to Game List Page

You will need to print and complete the program form.

For additional terms and conditions on this policy, please review the Terms and Conditions.

Once the products have been received by Microsoft, please allow four to six weeks for delivery."

apparently 20 bucks is the price you'll have to pay to replace said discs, and its worth if for higher priced microsoft discs like gears of war and viva pinata. you might just want to bite the bullet and replace your copies of kameo and pgr3 at a store .. if you feel the need to replace those titles in the first place. 

- jill

final verdict:

6.0 Average.  Nothing that even casual players haven't seen before.

5/10  Concept - a WW2 fps? haven't seen one of those before.
6/10  Gameplay - controls are hard to get used to.
6/10  Graphics - not bad. not great, either.
6/10  Sound - gunshot, gunshot. screaming. not much to go on, but the opening music was good. main character's voice was highly annoying.
7/10  Entertainment - relatively enjoyable once you get the hang of it.

 i have to start with: i never really liked fps games. it seemed a little dull to me; shoot, clear an area, move on. do it again. and again.

that being said, i have to follow it with: i'm changing my opinion of fps games but not because of medal of honor: vanguard.

the story

the game starts out with an annoying voice over of your main character, frank keegan, a paratrooper in the 82nd airborne division. i wanted to mute his voice, it was so annoying, but i was afraid i might miss something important.
you're on the coast of sicily, about to jump out of a plane, when it's hit with enemy fire. mission: kill bad guy. isn't it always?

the controls

the wii gives you a quick crash course on steering your parachute jump but it still manages to contradict its explanation when it comes time to put it to use. after landing, you're given another tutorial about how to control your character. unfortunately, the nunchuck is used for everything. standing. crouching. laying down. reloading. turning about face.  you keep flicking your nunchuck in the air in an attempt to stand up, but you keep turning around and reloading instead. how annoying is that when you're trying to move quickly?

the wiimote is your line of sight and your gun. i hate to brag but i will: i have excellent aim. medal of honor: vanguard does not. it takes about three or more shots to kill off a character and god forbid they be in the distance. the rule isn't a two way street, however. i was picked off a few times by characters so far in the distance their bodies were just outlines against buildings. once i figured out where the game required me to aim, i was down to killing characters in one or two shots but something seems off about aiming a foot above their head for a head shot.

the only other problem i had with the wiimote was that my character would sezuire every once in awhile, and instead of turning to look right i would turn upward, all the way up, around and then aim at the ground.  of course this would happen in the most pivitol of situations, like the moment i choose to come face to face with an enemy. i closed the blinds in our living room and that seemed to help a bit, you can also alter the turn sensitivy in your options if keegan keeps sezuring out too much for you.

the graphics

i'm not playing this game for graphics, but i've heard from more than one source that the wii version outshines the ps2 version. there was nothing particularly brilliant about the graphics, but nothing so bad that it really diminishes gameplay. i'd show you an image but they're pretty impossible to find (with a 30 second google search they were anyway, and that's all the time worth devoting to it.)

i really wanted to like this game. i had a blast with cod3 for the 360, and i figured, "a fps where your controller acts as an actual gun? sounds like fun to me."
 
unfortunately, while the premise is good, vanguard doesn't pull it off in the end. stick with call of duty.

Anything You Can Do GAME REVIEW by Jill. 

FINAL VERDICT:
 
6.4 Average.  Nothing that even casual players haven't seen before.

7/10  Concept - amazing license poorly executed.  it's just another MMO.
6/10  Gameplay - controls are a little off.  GUI very familiar *cough, cough*.
7/10  Graphics - you'll never really see them without a $1200 computer.
6/10  Sound - reminds you of the movies.  but it's just not music from the movies.
6/10  Entertainment - you've definitely been there and done that.  go kill some rats!


I'LL MAKE A BELT FROM YOUR SKIN

If you haven't played the LOTRO Beta, get ready to hear that phrase at least a hundred times in your first two hours of gameplay.  And get ready for some disappointing surprises.

Lord of the Rings Online has been in development for at least 6 years, having changed hands from Sierra to parent company Vivendi Universal and finally to Turbine Entertainment.  Based on the literature of Tolkien, it promised a richer fantasy setting and deeper roleplaying experience; what it delivers is really just more of the same.

HEY!  YOU'RE WEARING MY FACE

One of the major improvements in MMOs over the years has been increased customization.  LOTRO has taken a few steps in this direction, but ultimately offers a handful of options.  Characters have a choice between around 5 different faces, eyebrow and hair styles but have a great selection of colors for skin and eyes.  There's also a body type option, that scales according to light builds and more muscular ones.

The problem is in the window dressing.  Even though the colors may be different, the basic features are the same.  You'll find yourself running into palette swapped versions of yourself very often.  This is painfully obvious when you find yourself running into the same few people over the next hour.  And you will.

MY OLD FRIEND THE FED-EX QUEST

It appears that even in Middle Earth people still need to kill defenseless animals in order to get a few copper starting out.  Just don't do it for too long, or you'll find out that Frodo already got to Mt. Doom and you're still selling pelts.

The designers at Turbine must really hate grinding, because it's pointless in LOTRO.  Actually, grinding reaches the point of absurdity because quests give a ludicrous amount of experience compared to them.  If you kill a wolf you'll get 1-3 exp.  If you're on a quest and kill 10 wolves, you get 800 exp.   While this design decision was probably made to foster questing, it presents the player with few viable options on how to level.

The quest system itself seem to come in only two varieties:  kill x get y and everybody's favorite take x to NPC, lovingly referred to by gamers as Fed-ex quests.  Though they tend to be dressed up in clever packages, eg. "Take this letter to Dwalin because he must know what the Dourhands are up to!" it still means that I need to spend another 5 minutes running back to where I just came from to drop off an item. 

And we were getting along so well!

BEWARE THE ELVEN BOW OF I PWNS YU

Even an MMO about The Lord of the Rings has its share of k3wL d00ds:  the stalwart dwarven guardian Obsidiknight  and the elven hunters Olliefant and Midnyght.  And who can forget that honorable fellowship of heroes Ered Luin Yacht Club.  Tolkien must be turning over in his grave.

I thought that Middle Earth fans were purists.  I thought they would respect the grandfather of all fantasy.  I was wrong.  Legolas, don't take your bow to town.

WAIT A MINUTE.  I REMEMBER YOU

You finish quests and kill things to get experience.  Your stat increases are automatic.  When you reach a certain level you can buy a new skill.  Skills use mana.  You can replenish mana by eating certain things.

Sound familiar?  It should.  And it's sad.

While you have to admit that MMOs share certain conventions, the GUI combined with the levelling system screams World of Warcraft.  The only real difference here is different class abilities and the lack of a real magic user, eg. Loremasters create a fireball by using an oil flask and a rag.

In truth, LOTRO has been in development since well before WoW, but didn't meet it to the market.  I fear that the parallels drawn between the two are unavoidable and will hurt LOTRO in the long run, since nothing seems to run quite as smoothly.  A glaring factor for me was the absence of a quest compass; it would have been better to enable one with the option to turn it off.

The crafting system and auction houses are also undeniably similar.

SHE LOOKED PRETTIER FROM FAR AWAY

The graphics in LOTRO are really stunning.  Just take a look at some the screenshots and you'll agree; the designers went for a more realistic approach with their game engine and really pulled it off.

i will never look this good

The problem?  You'll never see it look this good.

Anytime the settings go above medium on any option, they lag.  The game is going to look like a blurred mess after you turn down the draw distance and go with lower resolution textures.  For the life of me, I can't understand how a game that's been in development this long has issues with streaming higher end content.

Lagging in an instance is never a good sign.  In fact, I lagged in three different instances.

There is no need to avoid realism.  Guild Wars does it beautifully, so why not LOTRO?  Dungeons and Dragons online had the same problem, and I suspect the flaw resides in the rendering software used by Turbine.

LET THE RINGBEARER DECIDE

LOTRO isn't the worst MMO out there.  It has a great license, excellent art, and a huge fanbase.  The problem is that it doesn't seperate itself from the others in any real way.

And we're talking GANDALF here!  ELROND!  Seeing these guys in action should take my breath away; instead it just gives me a sense of how they should have been depicted.  The environments are the same way; upon entering Hobbiton I couldn't identify Bag End without really looking.  It's unforgivable.

But don't take my word for it.  Open Beta begins on April 6th.

Just remember that though the sign says "Click friend, and enter" it really reads "Play me for about two weeks and regret spending $50."

Anything You Can Do GAME PREVIEW by Jack.