ATTENTION READERS:

This Game Is Rated: http://i47.tinypic.com/i5bzvd.jpg
There’s Your Warning!

To begin, I am only going to say this once. the Heavy Rain video game contains scenes of Explicit Language, Violence, Nudity, as well as Very Strong Dramatic Scenes that are inappropriate to anyone under the recommended age of 17+. I, John Yomtov Jr., Eric Gargiulo, Sony, Quantic Dream, as well as everyone else here at The Camel Clutch Blog are NOT to be held accountable if anybodies children get a hand on this game and are playing it. I do not want to receive any email from parents who are complaining about a game that I reviewed for the site while I mention in the opening paragraph that this game is NOT FOR CHILDREN, period. While I will not go into great detail as to what is actually shown and said in the game, I will make references to those scenes very safely to keep this article as clean as possible.

The ESRB created a list of ratings that they use on video game box covers to alert parents of the content that is in games. This game did receive a Mature Rating, in that regard, this game is an R Rated Movie. In today’s world, Grand Theft Auto is always shown as the biggest negative influence on the children of today. Sooner or later, at the time of this writing, the media will pick up Heavy Rain and do a piece on the game to only highlight its violence, language, and suggestive scenes. Heavy Rain is Rated M For Mature for a reason, if your kid plays it, do not blame anyone but yourself. Instead of calling your lawyer or local media outlet, look at who it was they let there attention wander for a second while there little kids were playing this game or any M Rated Games. Once again, for the last time, Heavy Rain is Rated M For Mature.

Meanwhile, Back At The Blog…

The Following Game Has A Movie Poster: http://i45.tinypic.com/6i90jr.jpg

Here is what has been billed as one of the most anticipated games of 2010 and for good reason. Heavy Rain has been advertised as gaming’s biggest drama and it has been teased as a full on dramatic experience that makes you, the gamer, question every decision you make. For every decision you make, someone’s life is at stake or your own life may be at stake depending on what your choice is. Unlike GTA, if you fail a “Trail” as Ethan, you do not get second chances, also, you cannot restart your PS3 to force the game to go back in time so to say. The game uses Auto Saving like none other, Quantic Dream did not want anyone trying to alter the outcome of there decisions, once its made, your out of time.

And if you let the choices wander, the game will auto select you a decision and you will have to live with it. The game centers around the lives of 5 characters: Ethan Mars, Scott Shelby, Lauren Winters, Norman Jayden, and Madison Paige. Each of these characters lives have been affected in some way by the serial killer known as “The Origami Killer”. Ethan Mars is recovering from the accident that claimed the life of his first son, Jason, and now he has to suffer the pain and agony of now knowing that his other son, Shaun, is in the clutches of this serial killer. Ethan’s story is in a sense the main story of the game, while the other characters have ample amount of screen time, Ethan’s story is much more depressing and so much more intense that you almost feel for this video game character. Scott Shelby is a Private Eye who was hired by the families of the Origami Killer victims to investigate this case which has seemed to have gone cold. Norman Jayden, who can be mistaken for Mulder from The X Files, is an FBI agent.

Jayden’s been assigned to The Origami Killer case in hopes to bring it to a close. Being that local police and detectives seem to have absolutely no clue on how to bring it to a close, there only concern is to capture someone who they can force to admit that they are the Origami Killer. Lauren Winters, like Ethan, lost her child to this serial killer, she meets with Scott Shelby, if you have played the demo you know how they meet. Its nothing over the top on how they met, but its an introduction to the games control system. Madison Paige, the games Playmate so to say, is a girl who is an insomniac, she has a great place to live in only issue is that she cannot sleep in it. One night, she has unexpected guests break in and from there on she frequents Hotels all over the area since she can only sleep in those. While at one of the hotels, she meets a battered Ethan Mars and an unexpected friendship forms.

Ethan’s story has yet to be told to her for she is completely out in the cold when it comes to details. All the while, the days are winding down and time is moving quickly. Ethan receives a package from The Origami Killer, inside this package contains Origami Figures, a Cell Phone, and a Gun. The figures are unfolded and inside a message awaits along with an address. Ethan has no choice here, he must go to the address and he must complete whatever the trail that is set forth for him to complete. These trails REALLY begin to show how deep this game digs into your mental psyche and it really begs to question: Is This Game Playing Me? I have never felt such a sense of conscience from a game that I have played its as if the game is learning about me more then I am learning about it. The overall sense of sadness, sorrow, and fear from Ethan is done so perfectly that it is unrivaled by anything I have ever seen.

Box Art: http://i49.tinypic.com/1fwb5t.jpg
Europe Box Art: http://i48.tinypic.com/vdemmh.jpg

The folks who made this game must have PHD’s in Human Emotion or Psychology since its not everyday that game designers can capture raw emotion like that and when they try to do it, they cover it with huge explosions so to cover up the fact that they could not pull off the emotions well. Metal Gear Solid captured the emotions very well and also brought the cinematic with it, it was truly perfection at its finest. Metal Gear Solid, Gears Of War, Uncharted, and Killzone have done emotion combined with a huge movie experience so well that they are the benchmarks for creating that “Summer Action Blockbuster Movie” game.

However, there great games that also don’t really deserve that tagline since they are more then just bangs and booms, that tagline has absolutely no business next to those game since they bring the whole gamut to the table. Games like Modern Warfare 2 deserve that tagline since all they are really is just well done action sequences with lots of explosions. Metal Gear Solid, Gears Of War, Uncharted, Killzone 2, and now Heavy Rain can be added to that list since these games are all the benchmarks on how video game experiences should be. Combining its amazing dialog and decision making comes great music. Heavy Rain’s musical score captures the raw elements of the feelings of the characters given the situations your in.

The music takes a fever pitch during some of the trails that Ethan is involved in. You can lose a trail and miss out on information that is critical to Ethan in his search. The acting of the character models is stellar during the pain and suffering they are going through. Only Ethan goes on these trails, the other characters are either investigating or traveling in search for answers or any little piece of information. The more grueling trails await Ethan as you progress through the game, Ethan’s body takes a huge blow and your health will begin to fade, Ethan’s fate is in your hands.

Ethan Mars: http://i48.tinypic.com/if5o91.jpg
Madison Paige: http://i47.tinypic.com/opy7oz.jpg

While completing the Trails, you gain more information to locate Shaun and save his life, all these clues help out Ethan as well as the other characters. While Ethan is the only character who goes on trails, Scott & Lauren find clues as well. Scott brings with him his experience as a Private Eye to uncover all sorts of information that can bring closure to this ordeal for he and for Lauren. While searching for information as Scott, Norman is also moving quickly on his search for information that can bring an end to this serial killer. Norman however does not use the standard methods of gathering information. He brings with him toys from the FBI, a pair of Glasses known as ARI and a Glove that can scan out anything on the ground or in the scene of a crime from fingerprints to blood, anything that is at the scene can and will be scanned. The eye glasses can also record and photograph anything that Norman asks it to.

ARI is a very cool device thats for sure. The only problems for Norman are as follows, his has an addiction and he also has to deal with a hard headed police detective who is going hardcore rogue into capturing this serial killer even if it means having someone else take the fall. He is also very much into having meaningless press conferences that his boss plans to have. The main thing to point out about this police force, its the Philadelphia Police Department! That’s right, the entire East Coast is in this game, while Philadelphia and New Jersey are showcased the most, New York and Washington are also shown off as well. Philadelphia gets the most screen time and if your paying attention, you can see the entire Map of Center City in Scott Shelby’s office complete with the REAL names of Neighborhoods.

Scott Shelby: http://i45.tinypic.com/25u2mj5.jpg
Lauren Winters: http://i49.tinypic.com/2qd3czk.jpg

The gameplay is very much centered around choices, there are fight scenes in this game as well as driving. The controls are like nothing I have ever seen in a game. Its totally different from anything I have played, its all centered around timing and order. The timing of the buttons are in accordance to the intensity of the situation that you are currently in. If its just a sneaking situation, meaning your trying to get through a fence or get by someone without making any noise, the buttons you press or hold are pressure sensitive, so if you put too much pressure on the button that is shown on the screen, you will either fail at sneaking or get hurt trying to get through a fence of barb wire.

Also, its not just buttons that have this going on. While the R2 button must be held throughout the entire game because it moves your character, yes the WHOLE game you have to hold R2. Its the reverse of Resident Evil and Metal Gear Solid and Gears Of War where you hold a button to run, this game has no run. You do not run at will in this game, you only run if the games feels like you should have to. Basically, the game can sense from your decisions and assess an outcome of those choices that you make in this game. While this may seem like its hard to believe, trust me, this is how it actually works. The engine of this game is generic at best but its the interesting twist on the controls that make it unique and different from anything I have ever played. However, this leads me to the controls, and how amazingly frustrating they truly are. From the beginning of the game and to one of its many endings, the controls are a nightmare.

Norman Jayden: http://i48.tinypic.com/2h7zz0z.jpg

The demo was basically an introduction to them but in that sense its was more of a warning of what you may be getting into with the sheer frustration that I have had throughout playing this game. The controls are laid out very well but its just that they are so unresponsive and so frequent depending on the situation that it almost begs to question that did the developers even pay attention to there programming when it came to lag time. There are instances where I lost a trail or two because of the lag time from button press to the reaction of the character on screen. Also, there are instances where the slightest move of your finger can lead the game to think you moved your finger off of the button all together. This is very damaging to you throughout gameplay because there are some tense scenes where your fighting or trying to gather some critical information and due to the technical issues dealing with the controls its almost impossible to find anything that the controls can do right.

Another issue with the controls is the amazingly awful camera angles they give you. Depending on what the situation is in the portion of the story your going through, you may get more then two angles but by default you only get two separate camera angles. The purpose of the camera angles is to further help you find clues and or to see if anything is hidden beneath any desks or cars or anything else that may be in your view. You can interact with almost anything there is to interact with in the environment, almost anything can be examined to see if its a clue or not. You can also interact with a lot of different people you meet throughout the game, the controls can be very problematic with this as well. As your walking forward, if the camera is switched manually or automatically you will go from walking forward to walking backwards.

Another issue I have with the walking is that you do have any control over the walking, all you do is control which direction your going in, its like driving only with a person. The walking is very weird since you can literally stutter step, which means that for some reason or another your characters walking can skip at times which causes you to stop and then start and stop and repeat. Its a very annoying occurrence in this game because it can cause the game to stop progressing in very tense moments. The beginning of the game is filled with a lot of technical issues with the controls. You are Ethan and your home preparing the house for your son Jason’s birthday party. You go into the yard and play with your sons, via the decision making system, and the controls really begin to show there true nature of being very buggy and very unresponsive.

The second analog controls all of your actions, it is also used in button pressing scenarios. You can rotate the second analog stick, press it in as a button, or move in directions that are shown on the screen. There are white boxes that surround the buttons or the directions that the analog is to be moved in. The solid square box just wants you to press it the button normally, the dotted line box is pressure sensitive so you should be very gentle moving the second analog stick, the solid box with the down arrow is indicating that the button is to be held in until the box completely disappears, and the flashing box is used to indicate the button is to be pressed repeatedly. You have seconds to press the buttons indicated by a circle around it since its a time sensitive action. Failure to press the buttons in the correct fashion will cause dramatic changes in the story line. The story in this game is so deep and it is really refreshing to see a game take strong interest in character development and story more then any other important aspect of a great game.

Button Pressing Sequence: http://i46.tinypic.com/2111kpl.jpg

What I also find interesting about this game is the level of overall development of the story and characters. As I mentioned before this game can lead you to think to yourself “Am I playing this game or is the game playing me?”, its that deep and intense. As the story progressed I felt so bad for Ethan and I felt awful putting him through the motions of those Trails and those scenes of sheer terror and pain. For example, the trailer showed this part of the game, there is a trail that asks you “Are you prepared to suffer to save someone you love?” and the only way to win this trail: Cut Off The End Of A Finger. You have 5 minutes to decide on what your going to do and how your going to do it. If you do not cut off the tip of a finger, theres other trails, if you do cut it off your pain will be intense and your appearance will alter completely and you will also draw more concern from Madison. Madison’s attraction to Ethan is evident as she voluntarily steps up and helps him with his injuries with bandages and medicines.

However, she is completely out in the dark when it comes to why these things are happening to him. Meanwhile, in Norman’s story, the police commissioner is holding many press conferences to update the public about the search for The Origami Killer and basically labeling Ethan Mars as the killer, but is he? Also, in Scott’s story, the search for Lauren’s answers continues. For some reason however, the Mob get involved with Scott in some apparent vendetta that exists between the son of a boss and Scott Shelby. While I will not give away what that vendetta is, if you make a bad choice or miss a button combination, you will no be informed as to why this vendetta exists.

There are even Trophies that reward you if you put Ethan through this grueling trial or if you skip it. There are tons and tons of trophies to get in this game and there all almost completely related to the choices you make throughout the game. Make good or bad choices and even have missed opportunities you will earn a Trophy every time. There is a trophy that is given for anyone who actually viewed all of the endings, trust me there are a lot.

The best way I can describe the control scheme with regard of the button pressing is to think of it as a Guitar Hero like system, or a Dance Dance Revolution for all you Dance Dance addicts out there. The only saving grace to the controls is that the story and the developments are so amazing that I absolutely have to find out what happens to everyone and does the killer get caught. Now I mentioned that there are many endings, the interesting thing is to think which one of them is the real deal. Its as if the creators are tricking you into believing what is real and what is fake. The game play is very straight forward but the controls are not. While it is new and refreshing to see a new game come along that breaks the mold from what is going on right now out there, its just a shame that more attention wasn’t given to retooling the controls. While I believe they were very creative in there thought process when laying out the button plans, they should have done more testing on responsive controls.

There are many incidents throughout the game where you have to use the Sixaxis motion gestures on the Dual Shock 3 that add even more freedom for Quantic Dreams since it gives them more interaction between the gamer and the game. What I find interesting about this that this game feels like it was being created with the hopes that the Playstation “Arc” would already be out at the time of Heavy Rain’s release. Sadly it wasn’t to be, but in the end, the folks over at Quantic Dreams did a great job on the layout, but they should just have put a little bit more effort into the responsiveness of the controls. Also I find that the game really relies heavily on the motion controller functions more then anything else in this game. Its just as frequent as the button pressing sequences.

Who Is The Origami Killer? http://i46.tinypic.com/jv20b4.jpg

I also find that the character models are well done but there are instances that the character models break up in transition from cut scene to gameplay. Also, the dialog while it is very well written and delivered, there are instances where the dialog does not transfer well into the dramatic nature of the situation your in. What they did was record the responses and just labeled them as “Choice A, B, etc.” and put them into the game when the aforementioned button is pressed. Its as if your the DJ and the answers are the tracks to play, that’s the only way I can think of it. The way the text is put into the story once your choice is made proves this because the character does not react the way they should once the choice is given. Its like they just animate the words into the situation, not adding any emotion from the character who is speaking or giving an answer.

The decision making transitions well in the game its just that the speaking portions are not nearly as well done as they should be. The graphics also have some issues with texture mapping. The game has instances where the background either breakup or you can see them developing in the background, much like they do in Halo 2 and 3. There are even times where I can see the game skipping, maybe that just my copy of the game. All in all, because the story line is so brilliant and well thought out that I have to finish the game just to find out the truth. I have seen a few endings already, and each offer amazing twists and make you think “WOW, did that happen?” or “WOW, is that how it ends?”. Its an amazing experience to be had.

Heavy Rain is now available for an MSRP of $59.99. Rated M For Mature 17+. Only On PS3. Once again, I reiterate, this game is Not For Children. This game is totally different and as of this writing, I am labeling it the 2010 Camel Clutch Blog Game Of The Year, its that good in terms of story. This is a must own for anyone who is of age and owns a PS3.

Hits:
-Fantastic Story
-Amazingly Deep Character Development
-Original And Very Innovative
-Controls Are Very Well Thought Out
-Philadelphia Is The Center Of The Story!
-Decision Making System Makes You Think Many Times Before You Make A Choice
-Motion Control Gameplay Is Extremely Accurate And Responsive
-Fantastic Soundtrack
-The Game Learns From Your Choices And Alters The Story
-Trophies Are Rewarded For Both Good And Bad Choices
-No Game Over’s
-Almost Unlimited Angles Can Be Created With Your Decisions
-Lots Of Endings, Which Is Real However?
-If A Character Dies, The Game Continues On Without There Story Mixed In
-Amazing Replay Value
-Finally, An Game For Grown Ups

Misses:
-Frustrating Controls
-Texture Mapping
-Voice Over Work Is Good, But Theres No Added Emotion After Decisions Are Made
-Button Pressing Is Very Unresponsive And Buggy
-Camera Angles Cause The Control To Reverse
-R2 Is Held The Entire Duration Of The Game
-Character Models Almost Look All Identical
-There Are Lots Of Instances Of Slow Down
-Skips (Maybe Its Just My Copy)
-If You Fail An Objective, Your Story Alters Without Any Way Of Retrying
-Angered Parents Who Will Most Certainly Complain About The Content Of This Game

———————————
Official Score:
Heavy Rain Rating: 4 Stars Out Of 5
Editor’s Choice Award
2010 Camel Clutch Blog Game Of The Year*
———————————

Click Here To Buy Heavy Rain

The Official Site: http://www.heavyrainps3.com/

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One of my favorite video games of the last five years has turned into one of my least favorites. Apparently I am not alone in thinking that the Guitar Hero video game series has jumped the shark. A plethora of reasons from overkill to game changes has take this from one of the premier party games of the last decade to a game with a serious need of a tune up.

The first Guitar Hero video game I picked up was Guitar Hero 3 – Legends of Rock. From the second I saw red, blue, yellow, green, and orange I was hooked. The set list of songs were great, it was challenging yet not too difficult, and the game itself became addicting to anyone who dared to pick up a guitar in my living room and take a “Slow Ride.”

Most of the world agreed with me as Guitar Hero 3 – Legends of Rock was a smashing success. The game reinvented the genre of interactive music games. Add the success of Rock Band and its multi-player instruments and you had the perfect recipe of fun for an old school rocker and video game lover that just can’t sink his teeth into the crazy fantasy games of today. Unfortunately with success came greed and later games have never achieved the level of success that came with Guitar Hero 3. A few Activision blunders later and the future of the series three years later looks more bleak than ever.

Activision recently announced layoffs within the production of Guitar Hero. Activision also announced after a year of flooding the market with several new Guitar Hero games that they have cut back production to two games per year, one of which will be DJ Hero. It didn’t have to be this way. I have gone from being hooked on GH to selling most of my games and barely playing the ones I do have. As the customer you have alienated over the last two years, I am here to tell Activision just a few simple tweaks to fix the series and bring this game back from the clubs to the arenas. Here are just a few fixes that in my opinion would reinvigorate the franchise and bring back the lost rockers like myself.

Go back to guitar rock! It was immediately evident as I loaded up Guitar Hero 4 and saw the set list that this game wasn’t for me. Gone was a set list of guitar smashing classic and hard rock classics replaced with pop music favorites that you are likely to hear at your typical Friday karaoke night at the local bar or club. Load the next game up with fun classic and guitar rock and you will get me and most other rock fans that found very little appetizing about the last few Guitar Hero games.

Drop the all instrument portion of the game. The big problem here is that Guitar Hero turned from a game that made it fun to play guitar to a game that had to alter their set list of songs to include drumming and singing. This eliminates a ton of great guitar anthems that would normally be included in the game that couldn’t because they didn’t have vocals or drums. Hey, leave the vocals and drums to Rock Band. They do it better anyway or create a Music Hero game. Activision may be leaving a ton of dough on the table by getting rid of the addons, but I believe they would make it back in sales of a new all-guitar Guitar Hero.

Bring back the No Fail Guitar Hero cheat. Personally, I don’t mind playing without the No Fail cheat. However, it can be really useful when you work your way through new songs. Yet the biggest reason to bring this back is party play. Most people struggle with the songs the first time you pick up the game, especially Guitar Hero – Van Halen. At a party, people just want to pick up and play no matter how much they suck. That is why I throw Rock Band when people come over who haven’t necessarily played before. It also leaves some wiggle room for little kids to play the game who may not be good, but want to jump in with the adults. Activision removed the party fun when they removed this cheat and at the same time, removed the party fun of any future Guitar Hero games that don’t include this option.

Finally, improve the DLC! A Smashing Pumpkins or Country pack aren’t going to cut it. As much as I like to play Guitar Hero more than Rock Band, I made the full switch to Rock Band because of their DLC. RB constantly updates their DLC. On top of that, the selection of Rock Band DLC is massive. They hit everyone from Buddy Holly to Slayer. I can’t tell you the last time I saw anything on Guitar Hero that I cared to spend 160 points for, yet I drop points like crazy on Rock Band content that admittedly isn’t as much fun to play on guitar.

While I am sure we can sit here all day and come up with a wish list for the next GH game, I think this is a great start of tweaks that Activision can make to revitalize the franchise. Like a 70s rock band that hit rock bottom and made a successful come back in the 80s, Guitar Hero can be that band. The ball is in their court and it’s up to them whether they want to be a one hit wonder or a classic comeback.

Order Guitar Hero 5 with bonus Guitar Hero Van Halen on Gamestop.com by clicking here.

Buy Guitar Hero 5 and get Guitar Hero Van Halen for free on Amazon.com by clicking here.

Order The Beatles: Rock Band with 3 free downloads on GameStop.com by clicking here

Order The Beatles: Rock Band on Amazon.com by clicking here.

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At E3 2008 Sony and Zipper Interactive revealed a brand new franchise. Outside of SOCOM, Zipper has yet to show us anything outside of that major franchise, until the announcement of Massive Action Game or MAG for short. MAG at the time of announcement was so early in its production that only details of the game could be announced.

One of the biggest announcements for this game was the introduction of Massive Online Warfare in the form of 256 Players in a single server, this was huge for a console based shooter. At the time, Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare was the biggest shooter in existence, so to do something even bigger was a complete and distant thought. Modern Warfare shows everyone that it doesn’t have to be Halo, SOCOM, or Unreal Tournament that there are new and better ways of creating an insane addictive online shooter. Modern Warfare is one of the biggest franchises currently available, however, its dominance of the market overshadows its one sided gameplay nature and the overall buggy programming that was involved in its design. Killzone 2, in my opinion a much better game then both Modern Warfare games, with so much competition out there how could Zipper Interactive even compete with the heavyweights out there being the first game of its type on the next generation of consoles.

Perfect Dark Zero, the flagship launch game of the Xbox 360, was supposed to support 128 players and sadly it feel very short of that goal. Proof that a feat of having over 100 players in a single game at a time was a challenge. However, in comparison, the Xbox 360 is inferior to the Playstation 3 in terms of technical horsepower. Both have there weaknesses in some regards but the biggest advantage the PS3 has is the requirement of the Hard Drive. With this requirement, Sony can push developers to utilize that onboard drive and really push for more data processing speeds and more reliable networking capabilities.

The Xbox 360’s Live service is much bigger in scale since it has a huge install base that grows each month, but the Playstation Network is gaining momentum and now with a game like MAG now available, if marketed correctly, Playstation Network could grow to even Xbox Live numbers! Its a lot of pressure to put on one game I mean really with the likes of Killzone 2, SOCOM: Confrontation, LittleBigPlanet, and Uncharted 2 the Playstation Network has received more users from those game all together making it a large installed base of users. Xbox Live has the advantage of being simple to use and also being on its second console, Xbox Live was marketed, installed, priced, and handled extremely successful. A game like MAG can really set the PS3 into the stratosphere, and its definitely worthy of doing so, its an amazing game to say the least.

MAG At E3: http://i49.tinypic.com/2ly0mqg.jpg
Official Logo: http://i45.tinypic.com/6faa8k.jpg

I have been beta for this game since Last Fall and let me just comment on that. The users I have encountered during the beta were all very excited to be involved in such a large scale game, an online MMO-FPS (Massively Multiplayer Online First Person Shooter) with the entire engine and mechanics built from the ground up on a console its hard to believe that we can finally have a game like this without the need to update our computers or hope it runs on our Mac. Also unlike the MMORPG’s of the PC and Console scene, MAG also has something else involved in it that many users who have never played an MMO do not have, No Monthly Subscription. All of us beta testers loved playing the game and were in complete awe of its scope and amazing detail.

The major problem with the beta was the issues of connecting online to play games, now there were only set times where the servers were open and when they were there were major issues with connecting due to the fact the game was beta so it was yet to be finished and Sony was not going to let there huge online shooter experience a known server wide crash while in its testing cycle, an event like that will draw doubt as to whether or not Sony can handle this type of game once it goes live. MAG missed the 2008 and 2009 holiday seasons one reason for a missed holiday was the game was the game was to far off from release back in 2008 and it missed last years holiday due to the gam being in its final testing phase before the game would go public. MAG was finally released on January 26th, 2010. Making this the first major game for 2010 for the Playstation 3.

Box Art: http://i47.tinypic.com/2wlttts.jpg

Sony used the launch of this game to announce the street date for another major game, God Of War 3. Sony announced at the grand stage of the MAG launch that God Of War 3 will be released on March 16th, 2010 and now that news will constantly be cited to any article related to MAG thus creating cross game promotion. MAG released nationwide with midnight launches and from the first day I have found absolutely no time of day where there isn’t millions online playing this game. The premise of the game is simple, three factions: SVER, Raven, and Valor are at war with each other for complete global domination of governments and information, thus the factions are striving to have complete power and control over the worlds governments.

In the year 2025, the game’s set year, these factions also have to adhere to the laws of war being that the three factions are not allowed to leave there respected boarders to invade neighbor countries. However, in these times there exist PMC’s (Private Military Corporations) who compete for contracts from these three factions. There biggest advantage, they can fight anywhere thus leading to this on going struggle between the three factions. Each faction is setup with either modern equipment and weapons, high tech weapons and body armor, or left over equipment from other countries as well as various weapons from all over the world. Depending on which faction you chose, the skill sets and weapons and character creation will be determined by the faction you side with.

SVER Logo: http://i45.tinypic.com/2rq2fc9.jpg
Raven Logo: http://i49.tinypic.com/2ezpyk4.jpg
Valor Logo: http://i46.tinypic.com/2n8wnpg.jpg

If you choose Raven, your given the options of high tech equipment, if your Valor your given all the left over armor and weapons however there impact on the battlefield is anything but leftover since these soldiers are highly trained for battle and are very effective, and then there Raven with its more standard weapons and armor. Character creation is very straight forward and very quick. You can use a preset character or you can go all in and create something that really resembles you. You create everything from which weapons you carry to which voice your character will speak when in combat. Your microphone will only broadcast your actual voice while playing online, your characters voice is not controlled by anything but your action while in combat. You can issue many commands ranging from medical assistance to objective based orders such as capturing and securing to arming and destroying. Your characters skill set is all determined on which abilities you buy from the barracks.

The more levels you advance in rank, the more skill points you achieve which can then be used as currency to buy Skills, to those who want to know what this really is just think of Perks from Modern Warfare. Each skill ranges from tactical to medical, you can even purchase newer versions of already bought skills, however, you cannot unlock higher leveled skills until you have purchased a previous levels upgrade. The skills are broken down into tiers, you cannot buy tier two until you own a tier 1 skill, you get the point. Each skill set has its own tier level wether it be a new weapon or the ability to revive teammates with full health, you are in complete control of what your soldier can and cannot do. Once you purchase a skill, you cannot turn it off unless you RESPEC your skill set. RESPEC completely resets your skill set and returns all of your Skill Points back to you so you can reset your skills. So if you do not wanted to be a Senior Dragoon and would rather be a Senior Sniper with Medic Skills you can do that. However, RESPEC is earned just like XP, you can only RESPEC your character when you have enough RESPEC points to do so.

SVER Soldier: http://i47.tinypic.com/2gtdqb6.jpg
Raven Soldier: http://i50.tinypic.com/os6hcp.jpg
Valor Soldier: http://i46.tinypic.com/2nbee06.jpg

Once you have your mind set onto a particular set for your character, its time for you to decide which mode you want to play. For starters, its wise to go through the training mission before you even step foot onto the battlefield since it is quick and painless and your all alone while doing said training. Its an exact clone of the training mission from Modern Warfare 2, only in another game. There are certain modes that require you to obtain a specific Level before you can even play that mode. You can play in up to a total of 5 modes each that require you to play with a set amount of players. There are no modes that have you playing with less then 32 players on your team. Suppression, which is basically Team Death Match, pits 32 Vs. 32, Sabotage which is also 32 Vs. 32 is a mode where one team defends 3 targets from the hostiles. In order to win Sabotage, targets A & B have to be destroyed in order for Target C to be unlocked. Depending on how good your team communicates with one another will determine the outcome in any objective based mode.

Acquisition, which is a mode with 128 players (64 Vs. 64) and it puts one team in charge of protecting vehicles from the hostiles from being stolen with there contents being used for thee own personal gain. Before the enemy can do that however, there are other targets that have to be hit such as Bunkers, AA (Anti Aircraft) Missiles, Roadblocks, and Mortars. These are also available in Sabotage as well but in Acquisition its more important to eliminate these other locations before you obtain the vehicles due to the fact that if your steal one, the enemy can destroy it and there encouraged to do so. However, anything that is destroyed can be repaired by using the Repair Kit skill. You can also level that set up to obtain faster repair times so you can quickly get your bunkers and AA Missiles, roadblocks and gates, as well as spawn points operational once again to continue your assault on your enemies. There are nine locations in this game: Alyeska Terminus, Flores Basin Transfer, Copper Hills Relay, Darien Network, Syr Darya Uplink, Elk Bay Logistics, Corvus Research, Aralkum Mechanical, and Absheron Refinery. Each has there strengths and weakness, a common weakness: Spawn Point Camping!

Massive Battles: http://i49.tinypic.com/p3h8i.jpg

The other modes are: Domination and Directives. Domination is the big mode: 256 Players! 128 Vs. 128! The gaol here is simple, one team is trying to capture 8 targets and the other is trying to protect them from being taken over. Your squads are spread all over the country so you can quickly begin to mount your defensives or offense depending on which side you are on. This mode is absolutely insane since there is just chaos all over and its so awesome to see if all function correctly with little to no lag at all. To be honest I have yet to see ANY serious lag at all, this is a major positive since a game of this size usually would be a haven for lag. Not true about MAG, someone was paying some serious attention to data flow here. As Domination continues, and it will drag on and be intense for all 30 Minutes of the set time limit, if you continue to capture targets you can end the game before the clock runs out. If your on the other side, you must hold the targets for the entire 30 minutes. You do not have to keep all the targets captured but if you have less then half or if they capture them all, the game will result in a lose for you if your defending.

Unlike Sabotage, when the final objective is being contested, the clock will continue to run. In Sabotage, if your contesting the final target the clock will stop. This mode is a haven for XP since there is simply carnage all over, so if your a medic with a repair kit you will be leveling up super fast. However, if there is too much pressure being put onto your team, the enemy squad will eliminate you while your reviving or rebuilding. Also a common theme here is that enemies will camp near the wounded in order to pick up additional kills waiting for the medic to arrive. This mode is absolutely awesome to play and its even better when your fitted with a squad that competes correctly and communicates properly. The control keep up very well and are solid in this mode that combines a fast paced warfare setting along with just shear action all over you. I have played this mode on both offense and defense and its just as enjoyable on either side of the squad.

Sniping In MAG: http://i48.tinypic.com/2ecohh5.jpg
Attacking From Above: http://i46.tinypic.com/fbzvp4.jpg

And then there is Directives, your basically sent into war with one objective: Capture All Targets. Your sent into battle with your squad to fight for any and every target that is set before you. Also, the interesting thing about this mode is that when you select it your not shown where you will be fighting on the world map, your just told that a soldier joins the battle where he is needed most. All in all, these modes are very addictive and very fun to play. I have had my fair share of awful teams which seems to be a little trend here so many people are trying to be the super sniper that they all seem to think they are with these types of games. I have also noticed instances where the controls can be a bit on the slow side in terms of response times which can be costly since your in such a rush to help teammates but to also protect yourself.

It gets really intense when your laying in the trenches trying to plan your route of attack but then bam! An airstrike unloads onto your entire squad and destroys your bunker. You can also disarm any bomb that is in place from the enemy but be warned, do it quick or your toast. Another major plus to this game as I mentioned above is the Free To Play online system. I know its an odd plus for me to point out since Modern Warfare 2 is a similar game but not entirely the same since it MAG is online only and MW2 is both online and local play. MAG’s deep character creation system is the only form of user generated content, buts its all from a preset of defaulted kits and character builds. If it were similar to LittleBigPlanet the game would be so much larger then it already is, but it is still amazing for what it already is. Zipper Interactive and Sony are really banking on the users to keep this game afloat.

For the most part the game is very well rounded and solid, its just the incidents of players who are out for there own stats hurt the overall experience. It doesn’t hurt it enough to where I do not want to play again but it is quite annoying at its core. This game was designed from the ground up to be a Cooperative Experience and it pulls it off very well with its awesomely detailed maps and the objectives you are assigned to capture or protect. Most people play the Suppression Mode because of its basic nature and its a quick pick up and play mode, but I have noticed the other modes, specifically Domination, Sabotage, and Acquisition are getting so many players that finding a game usually does not take too long.

There is lots of excitement here since there is just so much to do and its all live, there are no computer controlled characters, the only thing that is computer controlled is where you will be air dropped into the battlefield and the air strikes. You can however control the helicopters your team is dispatched in by utilizing the turrets and missile launchers. You can also control turrets on the rooftops of the bunkers and you can also snipe from anywhere you see fit. There are other spawn locations your team can choose from and when you use a UAV you can leave it in locations and it will open up as a spawn point until it is destroyed. There are some weapons that just don’t do the damage that you would think they would by firing them, later on as you progress as your character you can unlock more power upgrades for those weapons.

Airdropping Into Battle: http://i47.tinypic.com/4ruvd1.jpg

All in all, this game is simply amazing and addictive and truly lives up to the hype that was created by its initial announcement 2 years ago. While there are moments of dumb players who do not play the game the way it was meant to be played it certainly is an amazing experience regardless if your team is winning and losing. There is simply lots of things to be had in this game and it is an instant classic on the PS3 and I look forward to all of the potential content that is yet to be made available to download via Playstation Network. MAG is now available for an MSRP of $59.99. Rated T For Teen. Online Only. Only On Playstation 3.

Hits:
-Huge Online Battles
-256 Players!
-Training Mission Is Quick And Painless But NOT Required
-Runs Smoothly While At It’s Most Intense Moments
-Easy To Pick Up And Play
-Controls Are Solid
-Graphics Are Awesome
-Fantastic Attention To Detail
-Lots Of Different Locations To Wage War
-Objective Based Modes Are Super Addictive
-Lots Of Chances To Gain XP
-Free Online MMO
-Little To No Lag While In Battle
-Awesome Audio
-Parachutes!
-Countries Are Your Battlefield
-Hilarious Commercial Starring Playstation Spokesperson Kevin Butler
-Did I Mention 256 Players?

Misses:
-No Local Multiplayer
-No Single Player
-You Can Only Create One Character At A Time!
-Users Can Ruin The Experience If There Not Working Together
-Voice Chat Channels Are Annoying To Figure Out
-Spawn Point Camping Wrecks The Game For The Other Team
-Spawn Point Locations Are A Problem On Some Maps
-Button Response Is A Bit Off
-Specific Weapons Are Not As Powerful As They Should Be
-Very Addictive But Can Get Repetitive

-No R. Lee Emery
———————————
Official Score:
MAG Rating: 4 1/2 Stars Out Of 5
Editor’s Choice Award
———————————

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The Official Site: http://www.mag.com/mag.html

Playstation Blog Article And Official Commercial: http://blog.us.playstation.com/2010/01/it-only-does-256-players/

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The buzz is already well underway for the next Ultimate Fighting Championship video game. UFC Undisputed 2010 is just a few months away with a scheduled May 25, 2010 release date. One of the designers from THQ recently revealed a ton of news and details about the upcoming MMA video game. As great as the first UFC Undisputed video game was, if even half of these changes and improvements live up to expectations, this game could go down as one of the greatest video games of all time.

Other than my countless hours spent playing Madden 2010, I have probably wasted more hours over the last several months playing UFC Undisputed 2009. Needless to say for a big MMA fan like myself, the game provided me with hours of fun and excitement. However, like every critic I also found myself frustrated and disappointed by many aspects of the game. Back in January I wrote a wish list for the next edition of UFC Undisputed. By the sounds of a recent interview on Gamespot.com, THQ not only listened to me but listened to thousands of critics on game and MMA message boards when it came to a wish list of game improvements.

One of the UFC Undisputed 2010 designers, Omar Kendall wasn’t shy in talking about the new game in his recent interview. Here are just a few UFC Undisputed 2010 highlights and tidbits revealed by Omar Kendall to Gamespot.com.

- Brock Lesnar will be the UFC Undisputed 2010 cover fighter. Last year’s American cover fighter Forrest Griffin went 1-1 since the release of the game, thus I don’t see the cover as a curse. Lesnar is a curious name though. For one, Lesnar has only been a part of the UFC for a few years. This is quite a reward for someone who just jumped into the UFC not too long ago. Two, Lesnar hasn’t fought since last July. While there are tons of rumors regarding Lesnar’s return to action, nothing has been officially announced. Three, this only solidifies Lesnar’s MMA stardom. Lesnar is not very popular with hardcore MMA fans, yet even his biggest critics can’t objectively deny his recognition with the spot.

Let’s just hope as a cover fighter he can get a little more love than the 88 rating in last year’s game.

- The game will put more of an emphasis on cage technique. The cage is a big part of MMA, and not being able to use the cage to your advantage in UFC Undisputed 2009 was a big disappointment. The new edition will feature more cage work and give a fighter a slight advantage when he is dominating a cage battle.

- UFC Undisputed 2010 will feature a tournament mode. Hallelujah! I’d say out of everything on my wish list going into the 2010 edition of the game, this was tops. My biggest gripe with the game was that it got old fast. Once you complete a career mode, there are only so many matches you can make. It is nice to get your fix in with a match, but it is too open ended for my tastes. With a tournament mode, the game will never get old. There will also be more of a reward for exhibition play rather than a win and done. THQ had to know that EA Sports would include a tournament in their MMA game since most EA games have some kind of tournament mode. I love it!

- Since we are talking about the best news, let’s talk about the biggest disappointment. Unfortunately the submission controls won’t get much of a facelift. If there is anything most UFC Undisputed gamers can agree on, it is that the submission controls suck! The idea of simply turning your stick to get out of a submission or mash buttons is just ridiculous for a game of technique. To give THQ credit, they are dropping the mashable button escapes. THQ will also skew the ability to escape towards your stamina, sub skills, etc. I just don’t think that really matters at the end of the day. I am quite surprised at the lack improvement here, as I think it is universally agreed that the submission controls stink.

- The career mode will get more intuitive. According to Kendall, the game will keep track of past victories, sparring partners, camps, and skills. As your career progresses, the commentators will reference all of these facts during your fight. That is nice on paper, but I don’t think that will matter much as your career progresses.

Kendall reveals a lot more improvements to the career mode, specifically a new style of camps, as well some enhancements to the Create-A-Fighter mode, additional skill sets, online fighting, and more. Kendall’s candidness was refreshing in this era of secrecy when it comes to video game releases.

So far, pretty good when it comes to UFC Undisputed 2010 tweaks, additions, and advancements. Other than the submission controls, it seems as if THQ is intent on trying to make this as real of a MMA fighting game as possible. If these improvements and additions live up to expectations, EA Sports is going to have a really hard time getting millions of people to spend another $50 on a video game featuring B-level fighters and subpar graphics.

Thanks to Pastapadre.com for the tip.

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Ratchet & Clank have been some of my favorite games across multiple Playstation systems both portable and console. The first game was an instant classic on the PS2, it introduced new ways to play a 3D platform and it also brought with it a very good sense of humor. Jak & Daxter at the time were the kings of the 3D platform for the PS2 and many felt that this game would simply just use those characters as a spring board to make some cash, but they were wrong.

Ratchet & Clank many people feel is the better game. To me, there so even its hard to tell them apart. What I love about the Ratchet & Clank games is there endless amounts of exploring and creativity. It’s like a futuristic GTA but for Kids. Jak & Daxter went there separate ways with there own spin off games. They reunited on the PS2/PSP and are yet to be seen on the PS3. Ratchet & Clank are into there 3rd outing on the brand new PS3 and this game is by far the best in the current story line. The game centers around Ratchet & Clank as usual but in this game the emphasis is on working well alone and then reuniting to deliver the knock out blow to your arch nemesis Dr. Nefarious and his side kick Laurence. The game centers around Time Travel for both characters as well as the continuing story of Ratchet’s origin. The two stories later combine into one mission with a single purpose, protecting Time.

Logo: http://i45.tinypic.com/5xmple.jpg

Box Art: http://i45.tinypic.com/nxjgxv.jpg

As Clank you travel throughout an area known as The Great Clock which is located at the Center Of The Universe give Or Take About 50 Feet, that’s the actual location as told in the game. While in the Clock, you begin to unravel your own clouded background as well as travel inside Clank’s sub-conscience to not only learn more about yourself and your many attacks, but to also learn how to control time yourself. As Clank, you are known as a Junior Time Keeper, someone with the responsibility to keep Time in line so to say. For completing your first journey into your sub-conscience, you are rewarded the Chrono-Septer, a lance with a built in Flux Capacitor, this weapon has the ability to turn back time on any given object it touches. It also is used to defend yourself and to also deflect incoming enemy attacks right back to who sent them. Your also given Time Bombs, which are used to either slow down moving object or moving enemies. These bombs come in handy while your traveling through the entire galaxy as well as through those fast paced areas where you have to act fast. You can also slow down enemies in there tracks so you can either get out of there or put those enemies down for good. These weapons also work on bosses as well its not limited to small enemies or just for moving objects.

Our Heroes: http://i46.tinypic.com/2lxjrld.jpg

One of the coolest aspects of this is the ability to literally take control over the game, as Clank you have a lot more control over the environment then Ratchet does. You can restore walkways, bridges, as well as record a digital version of yourself to unlock doors you couldn’t without help from others. You can record many versions of yourself to stand on switches so you can open those doors that require many switches to be hit at the same time to unlock them. You can record at first 2 version of yourself, each version is color coded and if you stand back on the platform where the color hologram of yourself is, you will see and outline of what that recording will do before you click on Record & Play. You can overwrite a previous recording to further on in the puzzle so you can complete it, and once you complete the puzzle your given a huge reward in bolts depending on the difficulty of that puzzle. Bolts are the currency that you need in this game to buy the vast amounts of insanely cool weapons in this game. You can also buy Armor upgrades as well. All of the buying applies to Ratchet mostly since Clank already has a weapon that’s able to control the flow of time. Most of the Weapons are so strange and so powerful, there some of the funniest things I have ever seen in a game. There’s two in particular that are very funny, Mr. Zurkon and The Rift Inducer 5000. These weapons as I said are for Ratchet only, even after you reunite with Clank your still controlling all of the weapons with him. Mr. Zurkon is an automated floating android with one purpose: Destroy Anyone That Is Not Mr. Zurkon. Obviously, Ratchet & Clank are protected due to them both being the owners of said weapon. Mr. Zurkon goes even further then that, his never ending taunting and witty one liners are so awesome. And speaking of upgrades, there are 10 pieces of a blue print that are scattered all over the universe that once all collected, form the most powerful weapon in the known universe: The RYNO V. This weapon is a walking Fourth Of July with all of the explosions associated with it. It also has the ability to level up to max out at level 5 just like any of the other weapons. Also, when you finish the game, you can purchase OMEGA versions of the Level 5 weapons you have unlocked. The RYNO V can reach level 10 before its capped but the coolest part of this weapon is the Music it plays while your blasting away. And to give you a hint of what it was, well, its basically the music from Caddyshack when Danny sinks the put. Get It?

The Zoni: http://i46.tinypic.com/vrg1p3.jpg

The Rift Inducer 5000 is one of the last weapons you can buy in the game and it shows why it takes that long to access it. The whole purpose of that weapons is to create a black hole that floats above wherever the weapon is fired and then out of no where, Fred Attacks! The creature that lurks inside that black-hole is known as Fred and it is VERY hungry. Fred will devour any enemy within the cloud and reward you with all of the bolts they dispense. All of these weapons have there own personality as well even if they don’t speak. The first weapons your introduced to are blasters and hand grenades. These two weapons, The Constructo Pistol and Constructo Bombs, are named that for a specific reason. The Constructo Company owns there rights and said weapons have upgrades that can be found throughout the entire galaxy. These upgrades include damage ratio, ammo count, projectile type, explosive power, as well as adding explosions that damage aerial enemies. You can also customize the weapons with different color schemes. The Constructo Weapons are the only weapons that can use the Constructo Mods which are the upgrades you find throughout the galaxy. You can do so many upgrades to your weapons before and after you find these Mods, and you can also change them as much as you want as well. If you save your game and start again, you can keep changing the weapons layout.

Rift Inducer 5000: http://i48.tinypic.com/nv60xx.jpg

Mr. Zurkon: http://i48.tinypic.com/669lhg.jpg

Constructo Mods: http://i47.tinypic.com/a4l7c0.jpg

But the upgrading does not stop there, your weapons as well as Ratchet have an RPG element that has been in all the games throughout the series. Only now is it more implemented, XP! For every enemy you destroy, puzzle you complete, hidden item you find, bosses defeated, as well as for giving a hand to needy robots and monsters throughout the galaxy will land you XP that is used to level up Ratchet. Each level you gain, the more health you get and the more you can unlock. The more levels you gain, the stronger the weapons will become when you go and purchase them. Weapons also have XP as well, which is separate to Ratchet’s, there XP is determined solely on how much they are used and how many enemies you destroy with said weapon. Weapons leveling up is much different then Ratchet leveling up since Weapons will eventually max out at Level 5, Ratchet really doesn’t have a leveling system like an RPG character, he only gains more health and better weapons. Ratchet also does not increase his fighting power much as well with each level up. Don’t get me wrong, you do get more power to your attacks but the primary source of your attacks will be weapons or your trusty Wrench, there is no hand to hand combat. Weapons do more then just increase ammo count, they also transform and become far more powerful then before. With each level up, your ammo automatically is restored and your ready to inflict chaos on unsuspecting machines. For example, when you level up to level 5 with Mr. Zurkon, he becomes Mr, Zurkon: The Destroyer, his blaster gets a huge power increase and he is able to attack faster and last longer in the fights. Also, level 5 weapons get a new name and a brand new appearance, so do not get used to seeing the same weapons very long. Also, some weapons allow you to decide which type of attacks you want to use whether it being a single shot or a triple shot, regular rounds or explosive rounds, all the while you ammo count remains the same.

This game has so much destroying going on, there explosions all over and there effects are very well done. You find more ammo in crates as well as bolts you can use. You can revisit areas for quick bolt fixes or you can simply go to the Battleplex and compete in tournaments with monsters and robots for the prizes that await. Its there that the final 4 weapons of the game are unlocked, but be warned go there with low health and limited weapons and you will be owned. All of these weapons you can buy are from a company known as Grummel Net. Before you select which weapon you want to buy, you can watch a commercial for said weapon. These commercials are hands down the best part of this game, there all hand drawn cartoons with a huge sense of humor is almost mind blowing to see a well done cartoon within a well done game. Usually great games spawn cartoon shows but this game just pokes fun at commercials with these hilarious cartoons. These cartoons show you the origins of the weapon as well as a demo on how they work. These weapons, some useful and some useless, are very cool to use and are very easy to use. One button controls your attacks whether they be with the Wrench (Square), or a weapons (R1), you can also side step to get an even better angle on your attack. This comes in handy with some of the bigger bosses in the game, you can also so all type of somersaults and jumps and the controls just flow so naturally and well that its completely fluid and lag-less its unreal. The cameras can use a little bit of work, these types of games have there share of camera issues but due to there generic ways of being controlled, someone will have to get creative to figure out there more annoying issues.

Amazing Graphics: http://i45.tinypic.com/25j9gzr.jpg

Clank The Time Keeper: http://i45.tinypic.com/xy70z.jpg

The controls are so well done that it should be shown as the template on how to do control for 3D platforming. Everything just feels so smooth and responsive, most FPS games do not even have this much fluid like controls and there supposed to be the most advanced of there generation. Ratchet & Clank games are known for so many things but to me this is the biggest selling point: Great Controls. The characters you will meet throughout the game are some of the most outrageous you will ever see in a game. First up are our heroes Ratchet & Clank, returning once again for more galactic adventuring. Then there’s our villains, Dr. Nefarious and Laurence, the evil Dr. who is also more machine then a man, get it? And his side kick, Laurence, a robotic butler who is usually quick to throw in sarcasm when he sees fit. He also smacks around Dr. Nefarious a few times when he malfunctions. Then there is Grummel, the mutant behind all those weapons you own and upgrade as well as the voice of the commercials you watch before each purchase you make. As you progress through the game, your often sent out on rescue missions, these missions are all the same: Rescue Captain Quirk. This guy is a superhero…sort of. This guy reminds of the character the late Phil Hartman played, Blasto! This PSone cult hit spawned Captain Quick since the whole premise of Captain Quirk is all macho and all self indulgence. He is so full of himself its hysterical, he even has his own movie, TV show, and hit arcade game that only you play…because no one else is playing it. My Blaster Runs Hot, a complete ripoff of the classic Robotron 2084. The game is flash based so it very easy to play, just use one analog to move and the other to attack. Its just like Robotron…in fact it is Robotron, Captain Quirk merely put himself in it.

Our Villains: http://i47.tinypic.com/68wi6r.jpg

Captain Quirk: http://i50.tinypic.com/desk95.jpg

General Azimuth is another one of Ratchet’s kind, there known as the Lombax a mysterious race known for there agile speed and there trusty wrench. There the builders of the galaxy who suddenly and mysteriously disappeared from existence. Throughout the game you find more clues and information about Ratchet’s family and race as well as finding out the true nature of The Great Clock and what it was built for. There is also another group of beings in this game that are very important, the Zoni. These little bug like glowing creatures are what caused Clank to vanish from Ratchet and there also used to level up your space ship so you can travel deep into the universe. You have a ship in this game that can be used to travel the many different galaxies in this game as well as help out stranded aliens and robots. You can also locate the missing pieces of the Ryno V Hologram, Gold Bolts, Zoni, as well as face off in boss battles in space. Your space missions are not mandatory to a degree, you do have some that are required to complete in order to continue on in your journey. The space missions are so easy to play and so quick and responsive, I just wish I could control going up and down, you can only move your ship side to side. It feels like Star Fox, but it is no Star Fox. They go as far as even copy some of the communication elements from that game as well as the weapons you can use in your space ship. You can do barrel rolls, fire lasers, missiles, tow stranded ships, and drag missing or broken equipment to various wholesalers for rewards. There are also many side quests that can be done while in space, so pay attention. You can also use Warp Speed! No longer do you have to select a part of the galaxy and then fly to the planet you wish to land on, you can use your warp drive and just land there no problems. You can also land on many moons that contain mini games that reward you with many of the hidden items you need to unlock even more powerful weapons.

General Azimuth: http://i46.tinypic.com/104gcio.jpg

Ratchet & Clank: A Crack In Time is hands down a system seller. But then again, every Ratchet game is that way. It has so much to offer to so many different types of gamer there are that its literally endless if your playing it for fun. If your playing it to finish it 100%, you will be rewarded with Trophies as well as being able to track your progress and compare to your friends. Ratchet & Clank: A Crack In Time is now available for an MSRP of $59.99. Rated E10+ For Everyone 10 And Up. Only On PS3.

Hits:

-Gorgeous Graphics!

-Fantastic Sense Of Humor

-Amazingly Responsive Controls

-So Much To Do

-Time Controlling Is So Unique Compared To Other Games That Have Done It

-Space Missions Feel Like Star Fox

-Lots Of Different Weapons

-Lots Of Upgrading Options

-Weapons Are Insane

-Awesome Cast Of Characters

-Great Scale Of Depth With The Galaxy

-Lots Of Places To See And People To Meet

-Lots Of Hidden Items

-Trophy Support!

-Quick To Pick Up And Play

-Mr. Zurkon

-The RYNO V Is Simply Put: Awesome!

-LOTS Of Back To The Future Mentions!

Misses:

-Camera Can Be An Issue

-Movements Are Fluid But Can Be A Bit To Fast

-Space Missions Do Not Allow You To Control Up And Down

-Captain Quirk

-No Online Multiplayer – It Was Removed From The Series Since Ratchet: Deadlocked

-You Can Get Lost In All Of That Lots To Do

-It Ends

-Hoverboats Don’t Work On Water Unless You Got POW-er

-If It Wasn’t For Uncharted 2, This Would Have Been 2009 Game Of The Year
———————————
Official Score

Ratchet & Clank: A Crack In Time Rating – 5 Stars Out Of 5

Editor’s Choice Award
———————————
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Meet Mr. Zurkon

The Ryno V

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Back in the early 1990’s, Super Mario Bros. dominated the platform game market, and for good reason. Super Mario Bros. 3 was and still is the most successful video game to have ever been released, spawning a generation of competition that could not even come close to its dominance. Super Mario Bros. 3 was the most sold and highest reviewed NES games to have ever been released, this game has even the dubious honor of having one of the first product placement movies ever to be its launch pad.

The Wizard, a film starring Fred Savage of “The Wonder Years”, soul purpose was to announce Super Mario Bros. 3. The film stars Savage who find his brother in a mental hospital. He is there due to the traumatic mental damage caused by witnessing the death of his sister. Savage, who is a run away, breaks his brother out of the facility only to meet another run away who all embark on this journey that somehow lands them in another product placement, Universal Studios Florida. It is there that they are all involved in this “Video Armageddon” video game tournament. During this train wreck, but cheesily good for some reason movie, Savage’s younger brother turns out to be a Super Saiyan of gaming and completely dominates all of the competition except for one, another character they meet during the movie. The culmination is an all out battle in an unreleased and unannounced game. There were lots of games and accessories announced in this movie but only ONE thing was successful. This movie introduced the Power Glove….enough said. Super Mario Bros. 3 had a movie announce its existence, and to this day that is all this movie will be known for.

Logo: http://i46.tinypic.com/1z688zt.jpg

Super Mario Bros. 3 was the biggest NES game ever made, maxing out the technology for the NES and even keeping the NES afloat until the launch of the SNES in the USA. Super Mario Bros. 3 alone outsold anything and everything on the Sega Genesis, Turbo Graphix 16, Neo Geo, and so forth. Nintendo could have rode that success for the long haul but instead choose to use that games success to fund there 16 Bit Terror known as the SNES. Gamers everywhere waited for Super Mario Bros. 4, only not to get it. Instead we all get Super Mario World. Using the same platforming style but with on a much larger scale, Super Mario World was successful but not on the same level as Super Mario Bros. 3. Thats just the problem for Super Mario World, Super Mario Bros. 3 exists.

The same can be said for successful movies like The Terminator and Star Wars, Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines was a good movie but very unnecessary since Terminator 2: Judgment Day is a classic. Star Wars: Return Of The Jedi say an end to a classic trilogy, but it was Empire Strikes Back that drew up all our memories of classic cinema. Point being, if your after a classic, your living in it’s shadow. Same goes for Dragon Ball GT, while enjoyable, it wasn’t on par with anything Dragon Ball Z had. Great Scott, Back To The Future Part 3 was fun to watch just like Part 2, but its the first movie that was the instant classic. Making me and many others think that perhaps maybe its best to leave classics as are and not make a direct sequel, being original is just as successful. Terminator: Salvation is a great movie, Revenge Of The Sith is amazing, and the original Dragon Ball series is fantastic…but they live in the shadows of there previous/future counterparts. So where do I place New Super Mario Bros. Wii? Its a mash up of SMB 3 and SMW, its an awesome experience.

Boxart: http://i50.tinypic.com/2dv4u8p.jpg

World Map: http://i48.tinypic.com/2c0uxk.jpg

From the start, your playing classic Mario right out of the box, you can use the classic two button Mario controls, or you can add the nunchuk to further enhance the controls. While you can use the attachment, you cannot really utilize the Wii’s motion gestured based gameplay although there are some motion based elements to this game. For example, as normal Mario, you can wiggle the Wii remote to make Mario or whomever your character is to cause that character to do a spin jump. This jump doesn’t go very high but if you have a power-up, you throw Ice or Fire depending on which power-up you have in both directions of your body.

This is helpful when your in a hurry but you can only do this while your on the ground, you cannot do this while in midair, there are other attacks that can be done from a jump such as the classic ground pound. You can also use the Wii remote gesture I mentioned to pick up objects on the ground or blocks of ice you create from the Ice Flower or Penguin Suit. You can use these blocks to mow down enemies in the way or as a platform to reach higher areas. There are classic power-ups such as the Mushroom, Fire Flower, Star Men, the return of the POW Block from Mario Bros. Arcade fame, and the Mini Mushroom from New Super Mario Bros. DS, this game introduces 3 new power-ups: Penguin Suit, Ice Flower, and the Propeller Suit. Each can be used by any of the 4 characters you play as in the game and all have there own unique usefulness and weaknesses.

Penguin: http://i47.tinypic.com/2py8395.jpg

Propeller: http://i48.tinypic.com/1yl1k7.jpg

Lets start off with Penguin Mario since it is the most popular and the coolest lets be honest, running around in a Penguin Suit would get you committed in real life so where else can I do this? The Penguin Suit gives you so many abilities then all of the power-ups in this game can, it gives you the Ice Flower’s ability to freeze objects as well as the ability to swim quicker and more agile, the belly flop, as well as the ability to walk on Ice much easier, however, due to your flipper like arms, walk jumping can be an issue and there are some instances where you can be a little too fast while swimming. Ice Flowers give you the reverse of the Fire Flower, nothing major here but it is a useful power-up. And lastly, Propeller Suit allows you to blast off into the air and either land or glide for a brief period of time.

There are no projectiles associated with this power-up but the great thing about it is that you literally can escape any pitfall if your really good at your timing. Also with this suit, you can clear clouds in your way to uncover hidden items and Star Coins. Star Coins are different from regular coins and Red Coins which give you extra lives. Star Coins are hidden in each level, three in each. These coins are collected to unlock a hidden World in the game, also they give you an extra life or a power-up once all are found. The game centers around a world map scheme being that you travel from level to level by moving your character like a piece on a board game. You can play any level as much as you like and in some instances you can play levels in any order you wish. Be warned though, the further you get, the more difficult the levels will become. Also in some instances, you cannot travel to specific locations in a world without completing a level previously.

Each level you complete will create a path for you to follow, creating ladders, bridges, as well as mountains and even lakes will spawn up from the world you are on and you will travel to those new levels to complete the task at hand. Each world had 8 levels and 2 castles and some have an extra level which is the Air Ships from Super Mario Bros. 3. There also exists many hidden warp zones through out the game that can only be unlocked by finding hidden exits from random levels. There are also Ghost Houses in some of the worlds that are from Super Mario World as well as ! Switches from that same game that create blocks in levels that had Boxes there were clear but had outlines, these ! Switches turn them into blocks you can use to reach hidden areas and access out of reach secrets or they can be even used to finish levels easier depending on if you know how to use the Propeller Suit wisely.

The World Map also contains mini games that can reward you with extra lives and power-ups that can be used while you journey through the world. The World Map is mostly based of the Super Mario World Engine since it has moving parts as well as many hidden routes throughout but it also has parts of Super Mario Bros. 3 in it since you can fight enemies that are on the map. Each enemy you run into will automatically bring you into a special area and you have to collect 8 Toad balloons to finish the mini game, if you die, you can try again but not instantly since the enemies move around like chess pieces. These mini games also reward you with more then items, you can also unlock hidden Toad Houses and 1-Up Houses that allow you to gain more lives and or power-ups. These houses are from Super Mario Bros. 3, they do not require you to spend any type of money or unlock any particular location to enter them, they do give you a game of chance that will determine what you unlock. Its a pick this box or that box affair.

Classic Gameplay: http://i50.tinypic.com/5vuk5w.jpg

Yoshi: http://i49.tinypic.com/2dgt5as.jpg

This games shear brilliance is in its insanely addictive gameplay, there is so much to do here, and it really picks up when you bring along friends or family members. You can play with up to 3 others in this game and the Co-Op engine is really well done, its only weakness is the abilities of the players you have with you. You can work together or work against each other in so many ways, biggest setback for this is the lack of online play with the Co-Op, Nintendo opted out of this since they felt that it would bring the game down in some regards since there maybe exploits people can find to finish the game without any effort. I agree with that, but at the same time, why would Nintendo introduce a new feature called “Super Guide” which is unlocked if you die 8 times in a single level. A green ! Box will appear and you can hit it or let it be, but if you hit it, a video will be shown to you on how to finish this level.

There are also videos that can be bought by using the Star Coins mentioned before that show you many secrets in this game that can give you infinite extra lives and many of the Warp Zone locations are shown in this video as well. While the Super Guide is a nice addition, I would still like to have seen online play anyone can go online the internet to find out these secrets the Super Guide and Star Coin Videos can show you. Its a nice addition to rookie players and veterans alike since these levels are challenging at times and it is nice to see Nintendo give a hand to new comers since the Wii is ringing in a new generation of gamers. There are 8 worlds all together with one hidden world which pays homage to the Star Road world from Super Mario World. Each world has its own theme wether it be Grass, Desert, Mountain, Ice, Fire, and even the classic BIG/small World themes all come into play here. There are classic enemies from both generations of Mario games including the classic Koopa Kids which are making there return to the Super Mario universe.

Old School Koopa Kids: http://i50.tinypic.com/314a681.jpg

New Look Koopa Kids: http://i48.tinypic.com/vpx5yx.jpg

The world maps have 2 castles each with star coins as well as hidden exits for the first castle. The first castle is the half way point, you finish up in that castle by battling one of the 8 Koopa Kids in the classic bounce on there head three times gameplay that made them famous in Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World. However, the second castle is the last stop in each world, with the exception of an Air Ship battle where you face off against Bowser Jr. from Super Mario Sunshine fame. The second castle is much bigger in scale and much more difficult and this time around when you face the Koopa Kid in waiting, he or she will have an advantage from Kamek, a Wizard Koopa, from Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island.

The advantage will be an enhanced environment which will benefit the Koopa more then you. The method to defeat this enemy in the second castle will remain the same, only this time around with so many factors in play, it wont be as easy. You can also use the Fire Flower to defeat the Koopa Kids as well just like you could from Super Mario Bros. 3. Speaking of which, another classic character returns to the scene….Yoshi! You and your teammates can ride on Yoshi and use his abilities from Super Mario World’s 1 & 2 to find hidden areas as well as make traveling a level much easier. Yoshi’s appearance is very brief and short lived, I would have like to seen more of him but I guess that since this game really emphasizes Co-Op with friends more then using Yoshi, thats why he is not in this game as much as he should be.

There are some problems I have with this game though, its fantastic but its not perfect like Super Mario Bros. 3. For starters, there is NO Classic Controller Support, meaning that nice Classic Controller you use for the Virtual Console is useless here. This is a disgrace since the game plays and feels like Super Mario World, it should use a controller that resembles the SNES Controller. Second, No Online Support in any form, not even stat tracking or level downloading. And lastly, it is a great game that tries too hard to be Super Mario Bros. 3, not that that’s a bad thing or anything. It takes so much of the great things that made SMB 3 awesome that it doesn’t really introduce anything new, it shows us 3 new power-ups and 8 unique worlds that inside contain objects and or platforms from previous games. Also, it is even easier to get extra lives in this game then it was on the DS game. However, this can be due to the fact that it is a Co-Op based game so that can attribute to the extra lives.

In the end, this is an instant classic regardless of which angle you look at it. Its a true addition to the Mario Bros. platforming family and is a MUST HAVE if you own a Wii. I’d be foolish to say anything negative about this game, these things I mention are shortcomings that could have been ironed out. Also, man was it hard finding this game in stock, it was sold out everywhere. New Super Mario Bros. Wii is now available for an MSRP of $49.99. Rated E For Everyone. Only On Wii.

Hits:

-The Return Of Classic Mario Platforming

-Insanely Addicting Gameplay

-Very Creative Co-Op

-Unique Worlds

-New Power-ups Are A Welcome Addition To Mario’s Arsenal

-Lots To Do, Lots To Collect….You Get The Idea

-Feels Very Old School In The Good Way, It Doesn’t Feel Dated At All

-Easy 2-Button Controls

-Lots Of Hidden Collectables

-The Return Of Yoshi!

-Lots Of Extra Lives

-Colorful With Very Good Graphics

-Classic Audio With A Remastered Soundtrack

-Penguin Suit Wearing Is No Longer Weird

Misses:

-Super Guide Is Helpful, But Feels Like There Holding Your Hand

-Too Easy Gaining Extra Lives

-No Online Integration At All

-Co-Op Is Only As Good As You And Your Teammates Are

-Yoshi’s Appearance Is Very Brief

-Levels Can Be Very Easy If Your A Veteran Mario Gamer

-No Classic Controller Support

-Tries To Hard To Be Super Mario Bros. 4
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Official Score:

New Super Mario Bros. Wii Rating – 4 Stars Out Of 5

Editor’s Choice Award
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Official Site: http://www.mariobroswii.com

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