Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II
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Stars Wars is a vast universe, expanding far beyond the reach of the films. The Force Unleashed II is a perfect example of this, telling the story of an alternate timeline in which Star Wars’ equivalent of Broly is born.
You take the role of Starkiller, the apprentice of Darth Vader himself. Or rather, a clone of the original. Your goal is to find your identity and seek out Starkiller’s lover, Juno Eclipse. The Force is strong in you, so strong that you are able to deal out insane amounts of destruction in your wake. If you’ve ever wanted to test the full extent of the Force, here is your chance.
Gameplay is superb. Being true to its platform action base, you can use the Force to vault from level to level, taking about any enemies who oppose you. The dual wielding lightsabers are a very interesting improvement from the first game, added virtually twice as many possibilities when dealing with foes. Controls are smooth and easy to learn, and never seen to fail you. Access of powers is always quick and convenient, rarely leaving you frustrated.
The graphics are very nice. The lightning looks vivid and fluid as it courses from your hands and into the clone troopers misfiring at you. Deflecting lasers is satisfying because they are visually accurate, causing burns on surfaces and even other troops.
The sound is relatively good. It’s not particularly special, but it is definitely not subpar. You can hear the troopers talking and the sounds your powers make, which create a nice feeling.
Overall, Star Wars, the Force Unleashed II is a great game, and should be played by anyone who is a fan of the series.
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Crysis 3
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Crysis has always been known as a series with lush visuals, fun gameplay, and a faceless protagonist. Crysis 3 does little to change that. Other than a few gameplay tweaks and a better multiplayer, itʼs still Crysis to its core. Unfortunately, it stands in the shadows of its much dominant predecessors.
Crysis 3ʼs story is somewhat predictable. After twenty years of being cryogenically frozen, the nano-suit wielding, gun toting super soldier, Prophet wakes up to find the Earth pretty much dominated by the evil CELL Corporation. While CELL is the real enemy on everyoneʼs minds, Prophetʼs main goal is to kill the Alpha Ceph, the leader of the raptor-like alien species. Still, the real story revolves around Prophetʼs relationship with his partner Michael “Psycho”.
Now on to the core gaming experience. Crysis 3ʼs gameplay features standard first-person shooter mechanics with a few perks to keep it interesting. For example, there is in-game weapon customization. This means at any time, you can switch out the stocks, barrels, and scopes of your weapons. This helps when you need a particular type of weapon to win in a firefight. Another thing that separates this game from other FPSs is the “Hunter” bow you acquire early in the Campaign. This weapon has several different arrow tips and the weapon customization applies to this as well when youʼre switching them out.
The star of the show is still the nano-suit. Whether you wish to cloak yourself, or turn on your shield which makes your suit rock hard, it makes Crysis feel unique in the crowded shooter genre. Much like past Crysis titles, this game encourages stealth and assassinations over anything. With the fact that your cloak doesnʼt break when firing an arrow, this becomes a real treat to do.
Visually, Crysis 3 is stunning. It follows in the footsteps of its predecessors by being one of the best looking games to date. From the beautiful vistas, to the amazing amount of detail, itʼs hard not to stop and and admire the amazing layouts that Crysis 3 presents.
Overall, Crysis 3 is a great game. While it pales in comparison to to the first two installments, itʼs not to be missed.
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Terraria
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When Terraria and I first met I was like many other gamers: „Meh, it’s Minecraft 2D, I will give it a chance but probably get bored after some time”. Believing I was right for a few hours I noticed I ended up doing something way different than in Mojang’s pixel sandbox.
Building complex structures is slower and trickier compared to Minecraft. That means not so long after you have built your shelter to keep you safe from monsters of the night, you will end up discovering subterranean caverns for powerful items and fighting lots of different mobs while descending deeper and deeper underground.
As your strength grows and you stumble upon some special loot you may summon bosses who pose a real threat to you but have some nice drops when defeated. The introduction of NPCs who offer their services is also a difference to Terraria’s 3D counterpart. These people only appear if you build rooms for them this way the game makes sure you build at least a little village overground.
The former sentences describe the PC version as well, but let’s see what is different in the Xbox version. The controls are different of course but it shouldn’t be considered as a drawback. Digging is way faster with this control scheme and you can switch into a more precise mode for detailed construction. Sure, some things are easier to do with mouse/keyboard but overall it works alright. They could have revamped the inventory/crafting interface though.
An automap is also included, making navigation easier. While it can be useful some might consider it unnecessary help. The inclusion of a tutorial is a welcome change. A bunch of new items/creatures have been also added to this release but they are not so interesting. Multiplayer is different because you have to say goodbye to dedicated servers, you can play through LIVE or in splitscreen mode with your buddies instead.
Visuals haven’t changed a BIT (pun intended) they still reflect the SNES era of colourful sprites. Music is catchy but repetitive and sound effects aren’t exceptional either.
If you want to get rid of some useless days of your life, Terraria is a perfect tool. You will soon discover that despite the similarities it’s different from Minecraft in so many ways and it’s fun to play with friends. Happy spelunking!
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Ghostbusters: The Video Game
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When something’s strange in the neighborhood, who you gonna call? GHOSTBUSTERS! If you now have the song playing in your head then Ghostbusters: The Videogame might be for you.
The game has you play as the Ghostbusters’ new rookie but overall the story really isn’t about you. It is mainly about the 4 original Ghostbusters who each lent their voice and likeness to the game and the world they inhabit. The Stay Puft marshmallow man, Sedgewick hotel, and Slimer are just some of the many callbacks to the two movies. The inclusion of all these callbacks can give the story a pandering to nostalgia feel at some times but that’s okay because the writers, again the same people from the movies, mostly use them as things to expand upon.
As a Ghostbuster you are equipped with all of the standard gadgets including the proton pack and PKE meter which you will use to bust ghosts in a multitude of indoor, outdoor, and multidimensional areas. Money that you collect throughout the game by catching ghosts can be used to add upgrades to the proton pack giving you a variety of ways to deal with each threat though it usually comes down to blasting a ghost with a proton stream until it is weak enough to be captured in the trap. This process does get repetitive at times but thankfully boss battles and environmental puzzles come around just often enough to keep the gameplay interesting.
The game’s presentation tends to be all over the place. The CG cut scenes looks amazing but the rest of the game doesn’t hold up to that standard. The in game models are decent and if you are like me that won’t bother you much since you will be too distracted with destroying the hundreds of items, furniture, light fixtures etc. that are strung through the games environments. Unfortunately in-game rendered cut scenes don’t allow you to destroy things so you are stuck looking at its mediocrity. The soundtrack of the movie is also borrowed by the game and although it is great it wasn’t meant to carry an 8 hour game so you’ll be hearing the same tracks often.
While a 3rd Ghostbusters movie may not ever come to life Ghostbusters: The Videogame may be the next best thing. Through this game I was able to come to the realization that busting makes me feel good!
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Red Alert 3
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Thanks to Red Alert 3 you may experience another fictional conflict between Allies and Soviets. As in previous installments time travel plays a vital role in the plot: as the Soviet forces are on the verge of defeat their leaders travel back in time and remove Einstein from existence. They return to witness their victory but their celebration soon turns into despair as they realise they have created a new enemy in this alternate timeline. The Japanese Empire of the Rising Sun proclaims its desire for world domination and declares war on the other two factions.
With the introduction of the Japanese army three campaigns are available in single player or cooperative multiplayer. If you decide to play offline, an AI controlled ally still appears to help you with your missions. Simple orders may be given to them and sometimes they are useful but their expansion may hinder your own plans.
No real innovations can be found in terms of gameplay: build a base, defend it while you assemble a decent army then demolish enemy forces (usual RTS stuff)! Both the Allies and Soviets have lost some of their signature technologies but some old friends return (tesla troopers, spies, Agent Tanya etc.). A bunch of new units also appear, like the Soviet war bears or the transforming air/ground units of the Empire (and of course they have a giant robot with a katana).
Instead of building the usual superweapon sites, commanders have access to special powers which can be upgraded an utilised from time to time. Campaigns are quite fun despite Allied and Soviet missions are often mirror images of each other and the Japanese story feels somewhat lashed-together.
RA 3′s visuals are nice but not outstanding, some areas are quite spectacular as well as the appearance of water. Unit voices are cool as always and the soundtrack also lives up to expectations, though it surely lacks the genius of Frank Klepacki who only contributed a few songs to this game. Trademark FMV videos also return with the usual cheesy characters who can easily be remembered and great actors like Tim Curry, Ivana Miličevic and Kelly Hu.
Red Alert 3 is a good sequel that has some fun moments and is surrounded by an aura of nostalgia. Still, it has much lesser shelf life than its predecessors and lacks the love Westwood put in earlier C&C titles.
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