I just finished watching Pixels and I must say, it is a very fun movie and even better when you know the gaming references. I don't know why so many people and sites pass it off as a horrible movie. I think its just people just hate Adam Sandler and think he is irrelevant nowadays. I however think he is still a funny guy and I thoroughly enjoy his movies from old favourites The Waterboy to recent films That's My Boy.
So why watch it if so many people hate it and Adam Sandler's regular high school politically incorrect jokes are thrown in for good measure? Well if you like Wreck-It Ralph I would say you would like this too but just be careful about the amount of course language in this film. While this is Happy Madison Production film, it is bankrolled by Sony and man did they manage to get some great actors and video/arcade game stars together in the mix.
People that grew up in the 80s and 90s will absolutely be taken back by just how many arcade game characters there are. We have Donkey Kong from Nintendo, Pac-Man from Namco, Centipede from Atari, the lovable Q*bert and many more! How Nintendo let them licence Donkey Kong and Duck Hunt is beyond me but damn it was good seeing them included in this movie.
Story wise, at first you would think it was straight out from a typical alien invasion movie. Aliens come down and try to take over the world. While that is true, instead you have a movie that starts off with an arcade competition and all the best plays are recorded and sent off into space. Many years pass and aliens have received the recording and thinks its a declaration of war so they arrive at Earth and gives the humans three trials around the world for them to pass. Win two out of three and the aliens will just go scattering home.
This is where Sam (Adam Sandler) and his friends Ludlow, Eddie and President Cooper (Josh Gad, Peter Dinklage and Kevin James respectively) come in and try to save the world by taking on the aliens with their 80s arcade power skills!
I really enjoyed this movie and has some wonderful set pieces (especially the Pac-Man chase through Manhattan). If you are a fan of seeing retro games on the big screen and don't mind some cheesy moments, this is the film for you! Check out the trailer!
Wednesday, October 14, 2015
Wednesday, September 9, 2015
Devil's Third (2015) Review
Nintendo surprised us all in their E3 2014 when it was announced that they have partnered up with a MIA third party to publish Devil's Third. This is a game that I have not been looking forward to since its first announcment in 2010 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 to its current form on the Wii U. Five years and multiple engine and platform changes certainly didn't help this game feel polished especially from developer Tomonobu Itagaki (Valhalla Game Studios) of Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive fame.
I didn't have high expectations for this game but I am a sucker for Wii U exclusives from third parties so I gave it a go. The story isn't much to write about as there wasn't really any presented to players. Pretty much you are a master assassin in a previous life, betrayed by comrades and thrown into Guantanamo Bay but let go by the government when a crisis occurs. Worldwide satellites are taken out of orbit by terrorists so the government sends Ivan to take down his previous comrades who threaten the world.
My wish for this game was that I just go and shoot and slice bad guys up, in the end it was just easier to do the latter. The shooting mechanism are just so rough that aiming has lag and gitters around, It was easier for me just to aim-down-sights all the time to get the reticule auto-aimed at the target rather than use the right stick to adjust my aim.
What Valhalla got right was the transition from shooting to melee combat. It was as smooth as just clicking the melee button and you can start chaining attacks. Each melee weapon has its own strength and combos. However I found it much easier to stick to one melee weapon as there really was no incentive than to change others when the default one works so well!
The graphics aren't much to write about especially it seems to have been stuck in the graphics of pre-five years ago. It seems all the grapic work was put into Ivan while everyone else are just generic character models. As with most FPS games, the enemies are all the same looking for each level. The music has its moments, especially during boss fights but rather forgettable elsewhere
The deal breaker for me came in a boss fight. As much as I wanted to give this game a go, a one-hit kill from a boss really ruined the game for me. As much as I chipped away at the boss, the boss will have no indicators and just throw a one-hit kill move on you and you can't fight back. BAM! Dead and have to start the fight from the beginning.
What I didn't try was the multiplayer as I have no interest in tacked-on online multiplayer in most games.
VERDICT
I now understand why Nintendo US decided not to publish the game at first because it lacked polish and just overall sucked. I would've rathered that Nintendo US didn't give in to Nintendo fans to waste money on this game and just pay attention to what Nintendo Europe and Australia have managed to not achieve with this game.
I was already overlooking the flaws in the gameplay but that one-hit kill boss fight ruined it for me. I reckon the long development time, different console platform changes and constant changing of gaming engines overcooked it and just lost the direction in the end. It was a very interesting game when announced but has since turned out to be a poorly made generic USA vs Terrorists FPS game.
3/10
Labels:
Nintendo,
Review,
Tecmo,
Valhalla Game Studios,
Wii U
Sunday, June 29, 2014
soccer and gaming
Lately I have been trying to complete games but sadly, I still buy more games than I can play (thank you steam and EB). So now I am on holiday for two weeks and plan to watch world cup in the early mornings, sleep then play games when I wake up!!!!
So all the games I want to attempt to get through:
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (I've been trying to get through this game for three years!)
Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag
Age of Empires II: Age of Kings HD
Mario & Luigi: Dream Team Bros.
Super Mario Galaxy 2
Pokemon Y
Etrian Odyssey Untold Millennium Girl
The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
Final Fantasy X HD Remaster
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD
Tales of Symphonia Chronicles
Resident Evil 4 HD
I think thats a decent list to get through ey :)
As for the soccer part, a lot of people question why I took a fortnight off just for soccer. Well it happens every four years and it gets me and my mates around to share a common passion: watching soccer and drinking. Well the drinking part in some cases anyway. Also with my job, the soccer is too early (or late) in the morning for me to watch as I have to sleep early and wake at 5. I think its a noble reason to take some time off for.
a lot of Zelda games but I should get through a good chuck of it, I hope anyway. Lets do this!
Sunday, September 15, 2013
Aiming for the Skies
Well its been nearly two years since the release of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword and I have had three or four attempts to play it. The requirement of using motion control with the Wii Remote+ and Nunchuck just seemed like a chore in comparison to previous entries which was just using a normal controller just felt odd and exhausting. So I just gave up all previous attempts, not even getting through the first dungson.
Now after finishing Tales of Xillia (a mighty fine game I must add) and starting on Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix, I felt like going back to a game I haven't finished yet since I have finished Kingdom Hearts on the PS2 all those years ago and the Final Mix version is more of the same.
So it was between Skyward Sword or Super Mario Galaxy 2 and knowing that The Wind Waker HD is just around the corner, I thought I'll give Skyward Sword another go. Also I bought the Hyrule Historia book that just gives all the spoilers away while reading it so yeah, better get this over and done with
This time armed with a strategy guide (because I forgot where I left off) and a Wii U console, I slipped the Wii disc into the console and away I went and haven't looked back.
So far I am enjoying it even though the graphics are not HD on my 22" Toshiba LCD TV, the game's motion controls just feels so right after I have gotten used to it and the music and atmosphere has just brought me back to the Kingdom of Hyrule. Story-wise I may have forgotton the start but as the game progresses, I am more and more captivated by it.
The 1:1 motion control is done so well in this game, you will be forgiven at the start to be just waggling the Wii Remote thanks to all the gimmicky games we had in the years leading up to this. Sadly this game came out near the end of the Wii lifecycle when the realisation of motion control is where it should have been at the start of the Wii life with all those pre-Wii E3 trailers. Hopefully more games like this will come out exclusive for the Wii U and in HD graphics as well :)
I haven't finished yet, just in the Lanayru Mini Faculty dungeon so far but I will damn well finish it now! If I have time after I finish it, I will write up a review.
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
All the Movies I have ever seen in the cinema v2 Retaliation
Yo guys, just continuing on from my very old movies list I posted back in 2008. I am quite sad that I didn't update this countiously so I will try my best to add movies from what I can remember.
The new stuff starts from 101 and onwards!
The new stuff starts from 101 and onwards!
- Aladdin (1992)
- The Lion King (1994)
- GoldenEye (1995)
- The Phantom (June 1996)
- Hercules (1997)
- George of the Jungle (1997) - first movie with Eric
- Flubber (1997)
- Small Soldiers (1998)
- Antz (1998)
- The Rugrats Movie (1998)
- Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (May, 1999) - last movie with my father
- Pokémon: The First Movie (November, 1999) - saw twice
- The Perfect Storm (2000) - first movie with Apollo mates I believe
- Pokémon: The Movie 2000 (2000)
- Pokémon 3: The Movie (April 2001)
- The Mummy Returns (May, 2001)
- Shrek (May, 2001)
- Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (June 2001)
- The One (November 2001) - last movie with my mother
- Ocean's Eleven (December 2001)
- Van Wilder: Party Liaison (April 2002)
- Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002)
- Minority Report (June 2002)
- Die Another Day (2002)
- The Tuxedo (January, 2003) - first Jackie Chan movie
- The Matrix Reloaded (May, 2003) - for Milamber's birthday
- X-Men 2 (May, 2003)
- Bruce Almighty (June, 2003)
- Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (July, 2003)
- The School of Rock (November, 2003)
- The Matrix Revolutions (November, 2003)
- The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (December 2003) - first and only time at Forest Hill
- Steamboy (March, 2004) - first and only time with Cao
- Shrek 2 (2004)
- Spider-Man 2 (July, 2004)
- Unleashed (August, 2004)
- Around the World in 80 Days (August, 2004) - first movie at Knox V-MAX cinema
- Resident Evil: Apocalypse (September 2004) - watched in Japan
- Breaking News (2005) - first foreign live-action flick
- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (May, 2005)
- Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (May, 2005)
- Batman Begins (2005)
- Mr. and Mrs. Smith (26/6/2005)
- Initial D (July, 2005) - first movie at Chinatown Cinema
- Red Eye (August, 2005)
- Doom (October, 2005) - last movie with Pottsy
- The 40 Year-Old Virgin (24/11/2005) - first movie at Crown Village cinemas
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (6/12/2005)
- King Kong (12/12/2005)
- The Legend of Zorro (26/12/2005)
- Memoirs of a Geisha (January, 2006)
- Underworld: Evolution (21/1/2006)
- Big Momma's House 2 (7/2/2006)
- Date Movie (10/3/2006) - first movie at Glen Waverly Village cinemas
- V for Vendetta (5/4/2006)
- Scary Movie 4 (18/4/2006)
- Goal! (2006) - first movie at Southland Village cinemas
- Ice Age 2: The Meltdown (20/4/2006) - first movie with Satsuki
- The Da Vinci Code (19/5/2006)
- Mission: Impossible III (May, 2006) - first movie at Melbourne Central Hoyts cinemas
- X-Men: The Last Stand (May, 2006)
- Superman Returns (6/7/2006)
- Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (11/07/2006)
- Hard Candy (18/7/2006) - first movie with Deakin Uni buds
- DOA: Dead or Alive (September, 2006)
- Silent Hill (13/09/2006)
- The Departed (October, 2006)
- Children of Men (October, 2006) - movie for my 19th Birthday
- Casino Royale (November, 2006) - first movie watched in Malaysia
- Death Note - the last name (2007) - second movie watched in Malaysia
- Smokin' Aces (15/2/2007)
- Transformers (07/03/2007)
- Hot Fuzz (15/03/2007)
- TMNT (23/3/2007)
- Mr. Bean's Holiday (10/4/2007)
- 300 (13/4/2007)
- Curse of the Golden Flower (30/04/2007) - first movie with Ren
- Spider-Man 3 (04/05/2007)
- Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (25/05/2007)
- Shrek the Third (15/06/2007) - first movie with Meiling
- Tales From Earthsea (08/07/2007)
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (July, 2007) - first movie with Tsukasa
- The Simpsons Movie (20/07/2007)
- Flash Point (August, 2007) - first HK movie I watched with non-Asians
- The Bourne Ultimatum (August 2007) - free exclusive advance screening at Crown Village
- Stardust (25/09/2007)
- Rush Hour 3 (27/09/2007) - same day as I got my Ps
- Resident Evil: Extinction (24/10/2007) - movie for my 20th Birthday
- Rogue Assassin (1/11/2007)
- Hitman (November, 2007) - first movie with Monash Uni buds
- Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (December, 2007)
- I Am Legend (15/01/2008)
- Dan in Real Life (February, 2008) - won tickets to see advanced screening
- Iron Man (May 2008)
- Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls (22/05/2008)
- Get Smart (01/07/2008)
- You Don't Mess with the Zohan (2/7/2008)
- The Dark Knight (17/7/2008)
- Tropic Thunder (25/8/08)
- Pineapple Express (29/8/08)
- Max Payne (Oct 2008) - I believe first time watching a movie with aiman and james 3, Ren tagged along too at Chaddy
- Death Race (Oct 2008) - The start of our Jason Statham movie watching with Milamber
- Quantum of Solace (20/11/2008)
- Yes Man (3/01/09) - with Konami and Meiling at chaddy, first movie of 2009
- Transporter 3 (24/2/09) - continuing our Jason Statham tradition
- Watchmen (16/3/09) - watched this movie without knowing the source material -.-
- Shinjuke Incident (2/4/09) - first and only movie at Highpoint and Asian with Ren
- Fast & Furious (16/4/09) - @ Epping
- Dragonball Evolution (Apr 09) - ran late and missed 15mins of it, hate donnie parking
- X-Men Origins: Wolverine (30/4/09)
- Angels & Demons (19/5/09) - last film I watched in greensie
- Star Trek (31/5/09) - haha first time with 32, big mistaaaaake @ Northland
- Terminator Salvation (June 09) - with Ren and Meiling @ Knox
- Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (24/6/09) - The Great Teacher got his arm broken @ Northland
- Brüno (18/7/09) - first and only time with the two sisters xD
- G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (Aug 2009) - Just me and the black ninja @ Northland
- Inglorious Basterds (25/08/09) - @ Northland
- Funny People (15/9/09) - first time with Casino Man @ Epping
- Surrogates (Sept 09) - first time with Mars along with Rugman and Trampoline Man @ Northland
- New Moon (Nov 09)
- The Princess and the Frog (Nov 09) - me and Ren continuing our Disney tradition along with David @ Northland
- Avatar (Dec 09)
- Sherlock Holmes (Jan 10) - first movie of the year and with Milamber @ Northland
- Edge of Darkness (16/2/10) - @ Doncaster
- Shutter Island (Feb 10)
- From Paris with Love (10/3/10) - @Northland
- Green Zone (Mar 10)
- Kick-Ass (Apr 10) - with Ren @ Northland
- Ip Man 2 (16/5/10) - @ MC
- Iron Man 2 (20/5/10) - @ Northland
- Robin Hood (22/5/10) - @ Northland
- Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (May 10) - @ Doncaster
- Toy Story 3 (14/7/10) - first movie in 3D @ Northland
- The Expendables (10/8/10) - with Casino man and Milamber, more Jason Statham! @ Northland
- Salt (19/8/10) - @ MC
- Beauty and the Beast 3D (07/09/10) - missed the start song thanks to Ren overwatching Star Trek @ Chaddy
- The Sorcerer's Apprentice (21/9/10) - @ Donnie
- Resident Evil: Afterlife (14/10/10) - first movie with the girls and first live-action in 3D @ Donnie
- Saw 3D (28/10/10) - also in 3D and it sucked, with the gang @ Donnie
- Megamind (Dec 10) - dragged Konami, sis and Meiling down to Northland for this
- Tangled (Dec 10) - i think first movie with Julie @ Crown
- The Green Hornet (Jan 11) - First movie of the year and with Milamber
- No Strings Attached (Mar 11) - haha first movie I watched when I came back from Thailand @ Crown
- Battle: Los Angels (Mar 11) - free movie with Milamber @ Epping
- Paul (Apr 11) - followed by second free movie with Milamber @ Epping
- Fast & Furious 5 (Apr 11) - took up the whole row! @ Donnie
- Thor (21/5/11) - first movie with new Deakin guys @ Knox
- Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (19/5/11) - probably the third biggest group session I organised @ Donnie
- The Hangover Part II (May 11) - @ MC
- Transformers: Dark of the Moon (29/6/11) - @ MC
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (July 11) - first movie with Jen Ma @ Donnie
- Captain America: The FIrst Avenger (July 11)
- Green Lantern (Aug 11)
- Cowboys & Aliens (Aug 11) - first time I wore contacts to watch a movie @ MC
- Conan the Babarian (Aug 11) - Late due to work so missed the start @ Chaddy
- The Smurfs (Sept 11) - last movie with Lisa, first movie with small mouse @ Northland
- Abduction (Sept 11) - blackout in the cinema, lol @ Donnie
- Real Steel (Sept 11)
- Johnny English Reborn (Sept 11)
- The Three Musketeers (Oct 11) @ MC
- Puss in Boots (13/12/11) @ MC
- The Adventures of Tintin (Dec 11) @ MC
- Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (Jan 12) - first movie of the year!
- The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Jan 12) @ Crown
- Killer Elite (Feb 12) - me and Milamber watching Jason Statham once again! @ Epping
- Contraband (Feb 12)
- The Grey (19/2/12) - first movie with Daravy and she wasn't impressed by the nature of this movie @ Glen
- Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace 3D (Mar 12) - @ Northland
- John Carter (Mar 12) - @ Chaddy
- The Hunger Games (Mar 12) - @ MC
- Wrath of the Titans (Mar 12) - @ Northland
- The Avengers (25/4/12) - biggest and most epic group session guys! @ Donnie
- Safe (May 12) - Jason Statham again with Milamber! @ Northland
- Dark Shadows (10/5/12) - @ MC
- Men in Black 3 (May 12) - @ Donnie
- Prometheus (June 12) - During the mini-earthquake and shook the cinema, i thought it was a 4D effect, lol @ Knox
- Snow White and the Huntsman (June 12)
- Brave (June 12) - @ Northland
- Ted (July 12) - first movie with Jamie and his mates @ Donnie
- The Amazing Spider-Man (July 12) - dinner at Vincent's place then movie @ Glen
- The Dark Knight Rises (19/7/12) - skipped work for this! @ Donnie
- Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (3/8/12) - @ MC
- Total Recall (Aug 12) - @ Chaddy
- The Bourne Legacy (21/8/12) - @ Donnie
- The Expendables 2 (Aug 12) - apparently I tricked Daravy into watching this awesome movie @ MC
- Resident Evil: Retribution (Sept 12) - @ Donnie
- Looper (Oct 12) - First time in Gold Class thanks to Rugman @ Crown
- Taken 2 (4/10/12) - @ MC
- Argo (Oct 12) - @ MC
- Skyfall (Nov 12) - @ MC
- Wreck-It Ralph (Jan 13) - first movie @ Southland
- The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (13/1/13) - first time Gold Class for Daravy @ Southland
- Django Unchained (Jan 13) - @ Chaddy
- Silver Linings Playbook (14/2/13) - my first Valentine's Day movie xD @ Donnie
- Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (8/2/13) - @ Northland
- The Last Stand (5/3/13) - @ Northland
- A Good Day to Die Hard (25/3/13) @ MC
- G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2/4/13) @ Northland
- Saving General Yang (4/4/13) - Daravy's first chinese-only movie @ Chadstone
- Oblivion (10/4/13) - second time @ IMAX and first time with Daravy
Monday, March 18, 2013
OUTATIME
Once I was a great gamer, being able to finish game after game after game and each game I bought I treasured; either for the monetary value or the game was that good I have to have it! Nowadays with me working fulltime and all, I have more money and able to buy more games than before but that comes at the price of no time to play...
Also having a girlfriend taxes a lot of your free time and I don't see it laxing anytime soon especially I really enjoy spending time with her. And looking into the future I can see me getting less and less gaming time with more and more games sitting on my shelf waiting to play.
I have generations of games from the PS2 and GameCube era that needs to be played and even some SNES and PSone games thanks to the Virtual Console and PSone Classics respectively. Also now that the Wii U has arrived, I still haven't got around to Wii games yet.
Sitting on my shelf that needs to be played before I die are:
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword and Spirit Tracks
Final Fantasy VI/VIII/IX
Chrono Cross
Final Fantasy VI/VIII/IX
Chrono Cross
Paper Mario
Sin & Punishment 1 and 2
Resident Evil 0-3 and C:VX
Super Mario Galaxy 2
God of War 2-4 and the two prequels
Tales of the Abyss
Super Mario Galaxy 2
God of War 2-4 and the two prequels
Tales of the Abyss
Onimusha 1
Dishonoured
DMC1-5
and many more!
It is a scary future for me where I see myself not playing them especially when I am at my most passionate about games and with money to boot!
We'll see how it turns out and now back to Ni no Kuni :)
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Game of the Year 2012
Well 2012 has just ended and what a blast it has been! so many games that just ate my hip pocket and a girlfriend that kept me from playing as many games as I usually do. haha.
I have played most of the major games of this year and still got a number of them I still need to play (ala Dishonoured, Call of Duty 9 and Hitman 5) but I should have a clear winner here :)
lets start:

10. Need for Speed: Most Wanted (PS3, 360, PC)
Developer: Criterion Games | Publisher: Electronic Arts
After the lackluster Need for Speed: The Run, I was really really looking forward to Criterion's next Need for Speed outing. Thanks to their 2010's amazing Hot Pursuit entry (i still played it at the start of the year), it looked like Need for Speed was back on track and I was sooo not wrong! Adding upgrading elements into the mix was something that Hot Pursuit fans really wanted and thats what they got and really added some strategy into the mix for some fast-paced action!
Autolog was very well implemented...maybe a little too well that everything you did; such as speed through traffic cameras to how long you were being chased by the cops for were all recorded and placed online for you and your friends to see. Sometimes I found it intrusive but was actually quite fun to beat my mates at especially the racing times! For some reason I could not connect with my friends to race though so lost some points there.
Hopefully this year's entry will be just as good or EA can just give Need for Speed a rest and work on their Burnout franchises since Most Wanted is close to perfection!

9. Nintendo Land (Nintendo Wii U)
Developer: Nintendo | Publisher: Nintendo
Yes I know this is just a launch title for the Wii U and is bundled with the Premium Set of the console but it really was a very good game to be played with friends and to show off what the Wii U GamePad can be used for!
It is also the only Wii U game I play especially when theres a drought and when my friends and relatives are over. Extrememly fun and competitve and just wishes there was DLC for the game to add more attractions (mini-games) and extras! And extra points for Nintendo to allowing the good'ol Wii Remotes (MotionPlus-enabled prefered) and Nunchukas to be used on the successor. This not only saved me money but also allowed for five player gaming goodness (four wiimotes and one gamepad)!
Being a dedicated Nintendo fan also helped me enjoy and immerse more into the attractions that includes The Legend of Zelda, Animal Crossing, F-Zero etc. and really gives you a hint of what these franchises have in-store in the future!

8. Resident Evil: Revelations (Nintendo 3DS)
Developer: Capcom | Publisher: Nintendo
Given that I am a Resident Evil fan and dying for deep console-like game to play on my 3DS, this was a welcoming and doesn't disappoint! Sadly it needed the Circle Pad Pro accessory to fully enjoy and that cost me an extra $22 >=[ Also with currently only seven compatible games for it, seems a little steep when Nintendo should've added it into the console itself.
Anyway this game I wholeheartedly enjoyed and actually drained my battery a few times when other 3DS games have never done that. Including full voice-acting with an option for Japanese voicing was a plus when I have never heard the Japanese voice counterparts for Chris and Jill! Heading back into spooky dark territories from pre-Resident Evil 5 is a welcome coupled with enchanced gameplay (I can shoot and walk at the same time now!) and a story that explains what happened inbetween 4 and 5 gives this a must play for all Resident Evil fans!
Also did I say the graphics and sound are the best on the portable console? Looks better than the 3D games of the PSP I must say!

7. Tekken Tag Tournament 2 (PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U)
Developer: Namco | Publisher: Namco Bandai Games
Tekken! You guys definintely have your hits and misses. I always found the odd-numbered Tekkens are awesome while even-numbers are lacking. Tekken 6 while was a solid effort, just lacked polish and coupled with long load times was just annoying to play. And forcing you to play the awful story mode was just torture!
Tag has always been a favourite of mine since getting the first one on the PlayStation 2. While not a main-entry title, its more of a fanfare entry for all Tekken fans alike. Giving you up-to-4-player gaming fun, 59 characters and a young black-hair Heihachi, this is the biggest fighting game yet and everyone should play as its very easy to pick up and play!!!

6. Tales of Graces f (Sony PlayStation 3)
Developer: Namco | Publisher: Namco Bandai Games
Waiting three years for a game to come to English territories is a long time but I guess it wasn't as long as Tales of the Abyss as that took five years to come to PAL countries! This is an enchanced HD port of the same title created for the Wii back in 2009. That never came out outside of Japan so we got the better version now!
The game starts off like any JRPG, I'm a little snooty-kid that thinks he can take on the entire world until reality sinks in and have to take life seriously. This game's story is one of the strong points of the game. It deals with growing up, being accepted and responsible for your actions. It really related to me as I was one of those annoying kids that would fight against my parents but now that I am a lot older, wiser and mature, I can see from an older person perspectives that Asbel (the protagonist) was parallel to my own growing ups and I'm sure to other gamers too!
Mix in an awesome soundtrack by series composer Motoi Sakuraba, slick cel-shaded graphics and damn good voice-acting, this is one JRPG everyone has to play!

5. Final Fantasy XIII-2 (PS3, Xbox 360)
Developer: Square-Enix/tri-Ace | Publisher: Square-Enix
Everyone is saying that Square has lost the plot with Final Fantasy and that the series is doomed. While XIII-2 isn't as super awesome as back in their glory days, its still a very solid JRPG. Critics complain about JRPGs being linear but thats how JRPGs should be. JRPGs always places story first, helping you get immersed into the parties plight and how to overcome them to save the ones they love or the world.
Final Fantasy XIII-2 keeps that in-depth story-telling but mixes up the predecessors gameplay formula a lot with its crazy timelines and monster catching elements.You only have newcomer Noel and Lightning's sister Serah in the party and the third member is a monster that will help you take down Caicus from throwing the world's timeline into disarray!
Final Fantasy X and XIII's composter Masashi Hamauzu is back with his best and the graphics seems to have gotten a kick into overdrive. This game has so many things to do that I think i put in over 70 hours just to complete it satisfactory.

4. Paper Mario: Sticker Star (Nintendo 3DS)
Developer: Intelligent Systems | Publisher: Nintendo
What guys? another portable game makes it to the list? Why yes it does!
I have always been a fan of the Paper Mario series starting with The Thousand-Year Door on the Cube to backtracking to the original on Virtual Console. The artistic style of this game shows you that Nintendo is always innovating and knows how to draw in a crowd. I even showed this game to my girlfriend and she enjoyed playing it too (though she sucks at this game)
Thanks to the 3D imaging of the 3DS, the game looks like a pop-up book and is utterly amazing! Usually I will turn off 3D for most games but I found myself turning it on just to see Mario hammer a Goomba to the background and then having it bounce straight back into my face! Its quite a sight!
Just with any Mario RPG game, the humour is damn funny especially stuff that involves Bowser, Peach and Luigi and the music is very catchy with tunes that will have you humming the day
away!

3. The Last Story (Nintendo Wii)
Developer: MistWalker | Publisher: Nintendo
This really is the last story for the Wii and totally lives up to its name as it was the last game I played on the Wii and what a game it was. The Last Story is the first game directed by Final Fantasy's creator Hironobu Sakaguchi since 1992's Final Fantasy V and shows he still has the stuff in town!
Graphic-wise it doesn't look as good as other RPGs on the more powerful consoles but it makes it up with a grand story, one of the most exciting battle systems ever, best English voice acting since Dragon Quest VIII and a score to die for by Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uemetsu.
Back to the battle system: most JRPGs have me dreading combat but this one was actually very engaging and so strategic that it had me coming back for more! You have to play it to believe me or see all the other reviewers that praised it for catching up tired-old turn-based battle systems and brings in something new and fresh but also fun!
I really wish MistWalker will make a sequel and not let The Last Story really be the last!

2. Sleeping Dogs (PS3, Xbox 360, PC)
Developer: United Front Games | Publisher: Square-Enix
Another new IP and this one is from Square! Being a lover of all things Hong Kong action movies and Grand Theft Auto, a blend of the both was a real blessing to me! And I loved it enough to Platinum it and put it in my number two slot!
I have never been to Hong Kong but I really felt I was right in the thick of a Triad war in the middle of Hong Kong. Painstakingly recreated, Hong Kong is live and vivid and authentic with people shouting obscenities in Cantonese, illegal underground cockfighting down to how Westerners are treated in Hong Kong.
With so many things to do (karaoke anybody?) and a Hollywood voice cast (includes Lucy Liu, Tom Wilkinson, Kelly Chen, James Hong, Edison Chen and more!), United Front Games and Square has a winner on its hands and I hope for more in the future!
1. Assassin's Creed III (PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U, PC)
Developer: Ubisoft Montreal | Publisher: Ubisoft
While the "present day" story never interested me in previous Assassin's Creed outings, this one actually made me sit up and pay attention. With the upcoming Mayan apocalyspe getting nearer with each entry and it being 2012 when I played it, it howed what would happen if Desmond didn't stop it by reliving his ancestor's life.
You control Connor, a half white half red neck dude that goes a long assassinating political (Templars) people to bring order to the world. While this game was DAMN DAMN glitchy in every way possible (I heard most of the glitches are fixed now via patch) I still came back for more and more. I have never played so many minigames since The Wind Waker that I just had to play over and over again just to get 100% Sync.
The story starts out slow but once the action starts, BAM! Everything is out the window and you just feel you are in the American Revolution. My American history isn't very strong (I'm from Australia) and most of my history comes from movies but this take on the Civil War and how red necks are treated helped me learn and understand more.
This game kept me coming back for more and I really didn't want to stop playing but had to to play other games. Its as big as the latest GTA game and oh those Naval Battles mini-games can have their own standalone game, I don't care! I want a giant wooden ship taking down pirates and finding treature to loot!
This is my Game of the Year guys!
I have played most of the major games of this year and still got a number of them I still need to play (ala Dishonoured, Call of Duty 9 and Hitman 5) but I should have a clear winner here :)
lets start:
10. Need for Speed: Most Wanted (PS3, 360, PC)
Developer: Criterion Games | Publisher: Electronic Arts
After the lackluster Need for Speed: The Run, I was really really looking forward to Criterion's next Need for Speed outing. Thanks to their 2010's amazing Hot Pursuit entry (i still played it at the start of the year), it looked like Need for Speed was back on track and I was sooo not wrong! Adding upgrading elements into the mix was something that Hot Pursuit fans really wanted and thats what they got and really added some strategy into the mix for some fast-paced action!
Autolog was very well implemented...maybe a little too well that everything you did; such as speed through traffic cameras to how long you were being chased by the cops for were all recorded and placed online for you and your friends to see. Sometimes I found it intrusive but was actually quite fun to beat my mates at especially the racing times! For some reason I could not connect with my friends to race though so lost some points there.
Hopefully this year's entry will be just as good or EA can just give Need for Speed a rest and work on their Burnout franchises since Most Wanted is close to perfection!
9. Nintendo Land (Nintendo Wii U)
Developer: Nintendo | Publisher: Nintendo
Yes I know this is just a launch title for the Wii U and is bundled with the Premium Set of the console but it really was a very good game to be played with friends and to show off what the Wii U GamePad can be used for!
It is also the only Wii U game I play especially when theres a drought and when my friends and relatives are over. Extrememly fun and competitve and just wishes there was DLC for the game to add more attractions (mini-games) and extras! And extra points for Nintendo to allowing the good'ol Wii Remotes (MotionPlus-enabled prefered) and Nunchukas to be used on the successor. This not only saved me money but also allowed for five player gaming goodness (four wiimotes and one gamepad)!
Being a dedicated Nintendo fan also helped me enjoy and immerse more into the attractions that includes The Legend of Zelda, Animal Crossing, F-Zero etc. and really gives you a hint of what these franchises have in-store in the future!
8. Resident Evil: Revelations (Nintendo 3DS)
Developer: Capcom | Publisher: Nintendo
Given that I am a Resident Evil fan and dying for deep console-like game to play on my 3DS, this was a welcoming and doesn't disappoint! Sadly it needed the Circle Pad Pro accessory to fully enjoy and that cost me an extra $22 >=[ Also with currently only seven compatible games for it, seems a little steep when Nintendo should've added it into the console itself.
Anyway this game I wholeheartedly enjoyed and actually drained my battery a few times when other 3DS games have never done that. Including full voice-acting with an option for Japanese voicing was a plus when I have never heard the Japanese voice counterparts for Chris and Jill! Heading back into spooky dark territories from pre-Resident Evil 5 is a welcome coupled with enchanced gameplay (I can shoot and walk at the same time now!) and a story that explains what happened inbetween 4 and 5 gives this a must play for all Resident Evil fans!
Also did I say the graphics and sound are the best on the portable console? Looks better than the 3D games of the PSP I must say!
7. Tekken Tag Tournament 2 (PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U)
Developer: Namco | Publisher: Namco Bandai Games
Tekken! You guys definintely have your hits and misses. I always found the odd-numbered Tekkens are awesome while even-numbers are lacking. Tekken 6 while was a solid effort, just lacked polish and coupled with long load times was just annoying to play. And forcing you to play the awful story mode was just torture!
Tag has always been a favourite of mine since getting the first one on the PlayStation 2. While not a main-entry title, its more of a fanfare entry for all Tekken fans alike. Giving you up-to-4-player gaming fun, 59 characters and a young black-hair Heihachi, this is the biggest fighting game yet and everyone should play as its very easy to pick up and play!!!
6. Tales of Graces f (Sony PlayStation 3)
Developer: Namco | Publisher: Namco Bandai Games
Waiting three years for a game to come to English territories is a long time but I guess it wasn't as long as Tales of the Abyss as that took five years to come to PAL countries! This is an enchanced HD port of the same title created for the Wii back in 2009. That never came out outside of Japan so we got the better version now!
The game starts off like any JRPG, I'm a little snooty-kid that thinks he can take on the entire world until reality sinks in and have to take life seriously. This game's story is one of the strong points of the game. It deals with growing up, being accepted and responsible for your actions. It really related to me as I was one of those annoying kids that would fight against my parents but now that I am a lot older, wiser and mature, I can see from an older person perspectives that Asbel (the protagonist) was parallel to my own growing ups and I'm sure to other gamers too!
Mix in an awesome soundtrack by series composer Motoi Sakuraba, slick cel-shaded graphics and damn good voice-acting, this is one JRPG everyone has to play!
5. Final Fantasy XIII-2 (PS3, Xbox 360)
Developer: Square-Enix/tri-Ace | Publisher: Square-Enix
Everyone is saying that Square has lost the plot with Final Fantasy and that the series is doomed. While XIII-2 isn't as super awesome as back in their glory days, its still a very solid JRPG. Critics complain about JRPGs being linear but thats how JRPGs should be. JRPGs always places story first, helping you get immersed into the parties plight and how to overcome them to save the ones they love or the world.
Final Fantasy XIII-2 keeps that in-depth story-telling but mixes up the predecessors gameplay formula a lot with its crazy timelines and monster catching elements.You only have newcomer Noel and Lightning's sister Serah in the party and the third member is a monster that will help you take down Caicus from throwing the world's timeline into disarray!
Final Fantasy X and XIII's composter Masashi Hamauzu is back with his best and the graphics seems to have gotten a kick into overdrive. This game has so many things to do that I think i put in over 70 hours just to complete it satisfactory.
4. Paper Mario: Sticker Star (Nintendo 3DS)
Developer: Intelligent Systems | Publisher: Nintendo
What guys? another portable game makes it to the list? Why yes it does!
I have always been a fan of the Paper Mario series starting with The Thousand-Year Door on the Cube to backtracking to the original on Virtual Console. The artistic style of this game shows you that Nintendo is always innovating and knows how to draw in a crowd. I even showed this game to my girlfriend and she enjoyed playing it too (though she sucks at this game)
Thanks to the 3D imaging of the 3DS, the game looks like a pop-up book and is utterly amazing! Usually I will turn off 3D for most games but I found myself turning it on just to see Mario hammer a Goomba to the background and then having it bounce straight back into my face! Its quite a sight!
Just with any Mario RPG game, the humour is damn funny especially stuff that involves Bowser, Peach and Luigi and the music is very catchy with tunes that will have you humming the day
away!
3. The Last Story (Nintendo Wii)
Developer: MistWalker | Publisher: Nintendo
This really is the last story for the Wii and totally lives up to its name as it was the last game I played on the Wii and what a game it was. The Last Story is the first game directed by Final Fantasy's creator Hironobu Sakaguchi since 1992's Final Fantasy V and shows he still has the stuff in town!
Graphic-wise it doesn't look as good as other RPGs on the more powerful consoles but it makes it up with a grand story, one of the most exciting battle systems ever, best English voice acting since Dragon Quest VIII and a score to die for by Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uemetsu.
Back to the battle system: most JRPGs have me dreading combat but this one was actually very engaging and so strategic that it had me coming back for more! You have to play it to believe me or see all the other reviewers that praised it for catching up tired-old turn-based battle systems and brings in something new and fresh but also fun!
I really wish MistWalker will make a sequel and not let The Last Story really be the last!
2. Sleeping Dogs (PS3, Xbox 360, PC)
Developer: United Front Games | Publisher: Square-Enix
Another new IP and this one is from Square! Being a lover of all things Hong Kong action movies and Grand Theft Auto, a blend of the both was a real blessing to me! And I loved it enough to Platinum it and put it in my number two slot!
I have never been to Hong Kong but I really felt I was right in the thick of a Triad war in the middle of Hong Kong. Painstakingly recreated, Hong Kong is live and vivid and authentic with people shouting obscenities in Cantonese, illegal underground cockfighting down to how Westerners are treated in Hong Kong.
With so many things to do (karaoke anybody?) and a Hollywood voice cast (includes Lucy Liu, Tom Wilkinson, Kelly Chen, James Hong, Edison Chen and more!), United Front Games and Square has a winner on its hands and I hope for more in the future!
Developer: Ubisoft Montreal | Publisher: Ubisoft
While the "present day" story never interested me in previous Assassin's Creed outings, this one actually made me sit up and pay attention. With the upcoming Mayan apocalyspe getting nearer with each entry and it being 2012 when I played it, it howed what would happen if Desmond didn't stop it by reliving his ancestor's life.
You control Connor, a half white half red neck dude that goes a long assassinating political (Templars) people to bring order to the world. While this game was DAMN DAMN glitchy in every way possible (I heard most of the glitches are fixed now via patch) I still came back for more and more. I have never played so many minigames since The Wind Waker that I just had to play over and over again just to get 100% Sync.
The story starts out slow but once the action starts, BAM! Everything is out the window and you just feel you are in the American Revolution. My American history isn't very strong (I'm from Australia) and most of my history comes from movies but this take on the Civil War and how red necks are treated helped me learn and understand more.
This game kept me coming back for more and I really didn't want to stop playing but had to to play other games. Its as big as the latest GTA game and oh those Naval Battles mini-games can have their own standalone game, I don't care! I want a giant wooden ship taking down pirates and finding treature to loot!
This is my Game of the Year guys!
Monday, July 9, 2012
Fission Mailed
Alright guys!
I now have two platinum trophies and currently working on my third! those two are:
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
they were quite easy to get but working on MGS2 is actually quite hard. If i put in suffcient time I should have it done by month's end.
also i finished Phoenix Wright again. damn its an awesome game! i really thought i could fly through it since i played it before but nup, took me almost a month to finish it (playing it only before sleeping) and the story is soooo EPIC :D
currently I am playing:
PS3: Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
360: Halo Reach
360: Halo Reach
Wii: Super Mario Galaxy 2
3DS: Rhythm Thief, Metal Gear Solid 3D: Snake Eater
of course most of my time is dedicated to MGS2 atm, i want that platinum trophy!
i will try to update this as much as I can however I am playing games less now
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Back to the Blog
Well guys I think its time I did something here, been a while!
In the year or two I haven't blogged, I have finished many games and watched my movies but I don't think I can be stuffed typing about that now. So let's begin with the most recent entry:
Back to the Future: The Game
This game was quite highly anticipated by me since it was announced and as usual, I loved the movies! With Christopher Lloyd reprising the Doc, the original creator producing and Marty's voice actor sounding uncanningly the same; this was gonna be a BANG for the end of 2010!!
Sent from my BlackBerry® from Optus
In the year or two I haven't blogged, I have finished many games and watched my movies but I don't think I can be stuffed typing about that now. So let's begin with the most recent entry:
Back to the Future: The Game
This game was quite highly anticipated by me since it was announced and as usual, I loved the movies! With Christopher Lloyd reprising the Doc, the original creator producing and Marty's voice actor sounding uncanningly the same; this was gonna be a BANG for the end of 2010!!
Sent from my BlackBerry® from Optus
Monday, July 13, 2009
Braving Vesperia
Well it has been a while since I've posted... sigh. Right now I am playing Tales of Vesperia on Xbox 360. Yes I know its coming to PS3 as a Director's Cut version but I just can't wait another year for it to come here like freaking Eternal Sonata. So what do I have to say about this game... it is DAMN GOOD! After finishing Final Fantasy XII, I took a break from playing a console RPG and eagering awaiting this game. While I haven't finided a Tales game before (sad I know), I was pumped for this seeing as its by Namco and anime-style!
I must admit that when I first turned it on, I was bummed that there was no Japanese dubbed option. But after playing it for a bit, I actually didn't mind the voices, it is a lot better than Tales of Symphonia I can tell you that! Now I'm hooked on the game with 40 hours in and playing it every chance I can :p
While I am pissed that the PS3 version was announced being the better edition like Eternal Sonata with all its super awesome editions, I will still buy it but when its cheaper but I know I won't play it. I don't usually go back and play an RPG that I have already completed (except Pokemon) cause mainly I just have waaaaaaaaay too many games to play, sigh.
After Tales of Vesperia, I am thinking of playing either one of these RPGs:
Tales of the Abyss
Tales of Symphonia
Star Ocean: Till the End of Time
Star Ocean: The Last Hope
Grandia III
Rogue Galaxy
Yes I know three of them are PS2 games but its hard to deny that the PlayStation 2 was the king of Japanese RPGs, yes sorry SNES fans. There were just so many and many of them were also localised to English officially! Thats a huge bonus :) The Nintendo DS and GBA are fair good when it comes to portable RPGs, I just can't stand the PSP's load times even though there are CG/Anime cutscenes but if I wanted to see them, I'll just play their PSone/PS2 counterparts :p
Well if I have time, I'll post up a review for Tales of Vesperia when I'm done with it. For now, toodles!
I must admit that when I first turned it on, I was bummed that there was no Japanese dubbed option. But after playing it for a bit, I actually didn't mind the voices, it is a lot better than Tales of Symphonia I can tell you that! Now I'm hooked on the game with 40 hours in and playing it every chance I can :p
While I am pissed that the PS3 version was announced being the better edition like Eternal Sonata with all its super awesome editions, I will still buy it but when its cheaper but I know I won't play it. I don't usually go back and play an RPG that I have already completed (except Pokemon) cause mainly I just have waaaaaaaaay too many games to play, sigh.
After Tales of Vesperia, I am thinking of playing either one of these RPGs:
Tales of the Abyss
Tales of Symphonia
Star Ocean: Till the End of Time
Star Ocean: The Last Hope
Grandia III
Rogue Galaxy
Yes I know three of them are PS2 games but its hard to deny that the PlayStation 2 was the king of Japanese RPGs, yes sorry SNES fans. There were just so many and many of them were also localised to English officially! Thats a huge bonus :) The Nintendo DS and GBA are fair good when it comes to portable RPGs, I just can't stand the PSP's load times even though there are CG/Anime cutscenes but if I wanted to see them, I'll just play their PSone/PS2 counterparts :p
Well if I have time, I'll post up a review for Tales of Vesperia when I'm done with it. For now, toodles!
Monday, March 2, 2009
Almost There
Sigh, I really did drop the ball, only nine video games finished. Although I do have another four more days cause University doesn't start for me until Friday anyway, hehe. Working really hard as well, selling phones all day long and only thinking about phones and video games... not the best combination.
Just finished Gears of War and damn its so manly and i like it! All the jap action games make it kinda girly. Not so to US-made Epic Games' game where its all macho and no women at all (besides Anya that you never see)! Unless the Locust I killed in that level was a real female then I take it back. Well I'm like two-thirds through Dragon Quest IV so I should be able to finish it before Friday. Also I want to get Killzone 2 so that would be a good one to finish as well. Good luck to me!
Just finished Gears of War and damn its so manly and i like it! All the jap action games make it kinda girly. Not so to US-made Epic Games' game where its all macho and no women at all (besides Anya that you never see)! Unless the Locust I killed in that level was a real female then I take it back. Well I'm like two-thirds through Dragon Quest IV so I should be able to finish it before Friday. Also I want to get Killzone 2 so that would be a good one to finish as well. Good luck to me!
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Top 10 games of 2008
So 2008 is done and its been over a month for me to try out some games and all. So what did I find? 2008 has been one blast of a year for video games with major long-awaited titles being released such as Fallout 3, Fable II, Grand Theft Auto IV, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots and Super Smash Bros. Brawl. It really makes me wonder how 2009 will top this but we shall see!
So here are my top 10 of 2008. Yes I am missing quite a few games that should make it but I didn't have enough time to get around to playing them as now I work so my summer holidays was pretty much cut short.
10. Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit (Dimps/Atari | PS2, 360)
Ah Dragon Ball, you guys never fail at releasing minimum one game a year and as most of the other fighters, its a good one! However this game goes back to the good'ol Budokai days and throwing out the Tenkaichi fighting mechanics for the more traditional ways for its exclusive next-gen debut! Character roster is lacking but the ones that were included are animated so nicely and precise its like watching the anime in HD! The voice-actors from both the English and Japanese camps return to voice their characters and sounds surprisingly good no matter which language option you pick! The DBZ game for everyone! Much better than the PS2's crap DBZ swansong Infinite Worlds.
9. Guitar Hero: World Tour (Neversoft/Activision | Wii, PS2, PS3, 360)
So how do you get back at your former employees for joining a rival company? Show them that you don't need them and that you can do it better! So thats prety much the skinny on what happened when Harmonix jumped ship to EA to create Rock Band that adds drum and voice-play into the foray! Activision decided to copy and included those things as well but wasn't as successful huh. But I still enjoyed the guitar aspect of the game as it should be... its not called Guitar Hero for no reason -.-
8. Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney (Capcom/Nintendo | NDS)
A new chapter in the Ace Attorney series and it was a good one! While not as challenging as the previous three, it was still as fun to play and also to tie up some loose ends the original trilogy left behind. Not much I can say that won't ruin the story... this game was built from the ground up to ultilise the DS' features unlike the previous three (excluding the last episode of the first game) so now you know you paying top price for new game and not lazy ports so everyone please give it a go :)
7. Soulcalibur IV (Namco | PS3, 360)
While some of the costumes in this game scared me, this is a very good fighting game that totally kicks Soulcalibur III's arse. This time round the character customisations are done a lot better, no lag and online play! Theres also a way to penalise guard-happy players which is a nice touch from the first Soul Blade game. While the inclusions of some new characters scraches my head, its still a very decent game with heaps of replayability! I really wished that Hwang was back in this game -.-
6. Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- (Square-Enix/Ubisoft | PSP)
Pretty much PSP's only blockbuster game of 2008 and what a game it is. Finally we get to see who Zack Fair is after 11 years of waiting. This game was announced when the PSP was announced so it has been a long time coming. Theres problems with the battle system but everything else is pretty much flawless from the graphics to the beautiful music. Even though we know Zack dies, it was still a treat to follow Zack around Gaia seeing him mentor Cloud Strife meeting familiar faces (Yuffie and even Vincent!) and new ones (Cissnei!!!!) until his timely death. I will miss him and it was the only video game that made tears come to my eyes, even Aeris didn't do that for me.
5. Disaster: Day of Crisis (Monolithsoft/Nintendo | Wii)
The game that America never got is one hell of a game. Blue Ridge City is being contiously bombarded with natural disasters and terrorist and its up to one man to save the day: Ray. The former Internatinoal Rescue Team member must save the city from total destruction and at the same time save his best friend's sister from the terrorist. Sounds like a movie plot eh? Well it sure plays like a movie and I wouldn't have it any other way! From the cheesy dialogue to the different types of gameplay this game has, it is always kept fresh and never takes itself seriously. Also this is like the first Nintendo-made game wheres theres swearing... now thats a treat to all fans around the world (sorry America, blame Reggie)
4. Yakuza 2 (Amusement Vision/SEGA | PS2)
This is probably the most anticipated PS2 game of my life! i first got this game in Japanese at the end of 2007 but it had no subs and being such a story-driven game... it didn't work for me... So after two years of waiting, I finally got a copy in English!!! Man this is like the best original last game for the PlayStation 2, can't think of any others! Being a two-year-old game, it still makes my list! Everything was pretty much improved over the original from the graphics, music and even to the gameplay! The camera in the original really was annoying but they fixed it in this one and the leveling up system is made easier and more diverse! Oh and the cut-scenes are superbly shot just like the movies, very nice. If you are stuck in last-gen and love Japanese culture, give this a go guys,
3. Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Sora/Nintendo | Wii)
Heres the next part in the every-nintendo-fans'-wetdream series. Having to endure many years of delay, Brawl has finally appeared on the Wii. With brand new characters, stages, customisations, online play, stage sharing and many more things, this game is a dream. Also included are Solid Snake and Sonic the Hedgehog to fight against their Nintendo rivals. While everything seems cool, there are some flaws like some characters being WAY overpowered, some even became much weaker and the fact the game only plays well with a GameCube controller that are so hard to find outside of Japan and Nintendo Australia doesn't seem to want to fix it... idiots. All and all, brilliant game that I can see myself playing till the end of the Wii's lifespan.
2. Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo | Wii)
So why is this game on top of Super Smash Bros. Brawl? Quite simply cause this was way more fun for me. No other console game had me eating dinner with one hand and playing with the other thanks to the Wii Wheel :p This game also included the best online play I've ever played. There was virtually no lag and you could play co-op as well! Compared to other home online games with fast paced action, Mario Kart Wii takes the top, it was THAT good. So good that I bought four copies of it :)
1. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (Kojima Productions/Konami| PS3)
Now while I had a way more fun experience with some of the other games in this list, this game here is technically flawless in everyway possible. The gameplay doesn't fight with you, the controller becomes like a part of ya hands as you move around in the beautiful environment and pulsing at every enemy so they don't spot you. What is flawed is the long as cut-scenes, while I still enjoyed but I can see why the majority of people disliked. Coming packaged with this final game is Metal Gear Online to allow players to verse eachother to see who is a better Foxhound so thats a pretty good deal there too. So after six canonical games, what does happen to Solid Snake? We all know he grows older but what is to become of him? Well the only way to find out is to catch this on a PS3 cause Konami and Kojima Productions has no plans at all to bring this elsewhere!
Now thats a lot of writing I did and I know some people won't agree with it or not at all. So I'll list some of the games that didn't make it but was still enjoyable for me:
Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen
Prince of Persia
Mirror's Edge
Call of Duty: World at War
Red Alert 3
No More Heroes
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
Sonic Unleashed
Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood
Lock's Quest
littleBIGplanet
Grand Theft Auto IV
God of War: Chains of Olympus
Pro Evolution Soccer 2009
Having such a blast of a year, makes me wonder how 2009 will fair. It has however brought out the RPG classic Chrono Trigger and probably the most anticipated follow-up fighting game of all time Street Fighter IV is just around the corner so it shouldn't be too bad. I am looking forward to these following games:
Dragon Quest IX
Street Fighter IV
Tekken 6
Killzone 2
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
House of the Dead OVERKILL
Madworld
Tales of Vesperia
Mario & Sonic at the Winter Olympic Games
DJ Max Fever
Star Ocean: The Last Hope
Resident Evil 5
Resistance: Retribution
The Conduit
Bayonetta
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Have a good one guys and keep gaming :)
So here are my top 10 of 2008. Yes I am missing quite a few games that should make it but I didn't have enough time to get around to playing them as now I work so my summer holidays was pretty much cut short.
10. Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit (Dimps/Atari | PS2, 360)
Ah Dragon Ball, you guys never fail at releasing minimum one game a year and as most of the other fighters, its a good one! However this game goes back to the good'ol Budokai days and throwing out the Tenkaichi fighting mechanics for the more traditional ways for its exclusive next-gen debut! Character roster is lacking but the ones that were included are animated so nicely and precise its like watching the anime in HD! The voice-actors from both the English and Japanese camps return to voice their characters and sounds surprisingly good no matter which language option you pick! The DBZ game for everyone! Much better than the PS2's crap DBZ swansong Infinite Worlds.
9. Guitar Hero: World Tour (Neversoft/Activision | Wii, PS2, PS3, 360)
So how do you get back at your former employees for joining a rival company? Show them that you don't need them and that you can do it better! So thats prety much the skinny on what happened when Harmonix jumped ship to EA to create Rock Band that adds drum and voice-play into the foray! Activision decided to copy and included those things as well but wasn't as successful huh. But I still enjoyed the guitar aspect of the game as it should be... its not called Guitar Hero for no reason -.-
8. Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney (Capcom/Nintendo | NDS)
A new chapter in the Ace Attorney series and it was a good one! While not as challenging as the previous three, it was still as fun to play and also to tie up some loose ends the original trilogy left behind. Not much I can say that won't ruin the story... this game was built from the ground up to ultilise the DS' features unlike the previous three (excluding the last episode of the first game) so now you know you paying top price for new game and not lazy ports so everyone please give it a go :)
7. Soulcalibur IV (Namco | PS3, 360)
While some of the costumes in this game scared me, this is a very good fighting game that totally kicks Soulcalibur III's arse. This time round the character customisations are done a lot better, no lag and online play! Theres also a way to penalise guard-happy players which is a nice touch from the first Soul Blade game. While the inclusions of some new characters scraches my head, its still a very decent game with heaps of replayability! I really wished that Hwang was back in this game -.-
6. Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- (Square-Enix/Ubisoft | PSP)
Pretty much PSP's only blockbuster game of 2008 and what a game it is. Finally we get to see who Zack Fair is after 11 years of waiting. This game was announced when the PSP was announced so it has been a long time coming. Theres problems with the battle system but everything else is pretty much flawless from the graphics to the beautiful music. Even though we know Zack dies, it was still a treat to follow Zack around Gaia seeing him mentor Cloud Strife meeting familiar faces (Yuffie and even Vincent!) and new ones (Cissnei!!!!) until his timely death. I will miss him and it was the only video game that made tears come to my eyes, even Aeris didn't do that for me.
5. Disaster: Day of Crisis (Monolithsoft/Nintendo | Wii)
The game that America never got is one hell of a game. Blue Ridge City is being contiously bombarded with natural disasters and terrorist and its up to one man to save the day: Ray. The former Internatinoal Rescue Team member must save the city from total destruction and at the same time save his best friend's sister from the terrorist. Sounds like a movie plot eh? Well it sure plays like a movie and I wouldn't have it any other way! From the cheesy dialogue to the different types of gameplay this game has, it is always kept fresh and never takes itself seriously. Also this is like the first Nintendo-made game wheres theres swearing... now thats a treat to all fans around the world (sorry America, blame Reggie)
4. Yakuza 2 (Amusement Vision/SEGA | PS2)
This is probably the most anticipated PS2 game of my life! i first got this game in Japanese at the end of 2007 but it had no subs and being such a story-driven game... it didn't work for me... So after two years of waiting, I finally got a copy in English!!! Man this is like the best original last game for the PlayStation 2, can't think of any others! Being a two-year-old game, it still makes my list! Everything was pretty much improved over the original from the graphics, music and even to the gameplay! The camera in the original really was annoying but they fixed it in this one and the leveling up system is made easier and more diverse! Oh and the cut-scenes are superbly shot just like the movies, very nice. If you are stuck in last-gen and love Japanese culture, give this a go guys,
3. Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Sora/Nintendo | Wii)
Heres the next part in the every-nintendo-fans'-wetdream series. Having to endure many years of delay, Brawl has finally appeared on the Wii. With brand new characters, stages, customisations, online play, stage sharing and many more things, this game is a dream. Also included are Solid Snake and Sonic the Hedgehog to fight against their Nintendo rivals. While everything seems cool, there are some flaws like some characters being WAY overpowered, some even became much weaker and the fact the game only plays well with a GameCube controller that are so hard to find outside of Japan and Nintendo Australia doesn't seem to want to fix it... idiots. All and all, brilliant game that I can see myself playing till the end of the Wii's lifespan.
2. Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo | Wii)
So why is this game on top of Super Smash Bros. Brawl? Quite simply cause this was way more fun for me. No other console game had me eating dinner with one hand and playing with the other thanks to the Wii Wheel :p This game also included the best online play I've ever played. There was virtually no lag and you could play co-op as well! Compared to other home online games with fast paced action, Mario Kart Wii takes the top, it was THAT good. So good that I bought four copies of it :)
1. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (Kojima Productions/Konami| PS3)
Now while I had a way more fun experience with some of the other games in this list, this game here is technically flawless in everyway possible. The gameplay doesn't fight with you, the controller becomes like a part of ya hands as you move around in the beautiful environment and pulsing at every enemy so they don't spot you. What is flawed is the long as cut-scenes, while I still enjoyed but I can see why the majority of people disliked. Coming packaged with this final game is Metal Gear Online to allow players to verse eachother to see who is a better Foxhound so thats a pretty good deal there too. So after six canonical games, what does happen to Solid Snake? We all know he grows older but what is to become of him? Well the only way to find out is to catch this on a PS3 cause Konami and Kojima Productions has no plans at all to bring this elsewhere!
Now thats a lot of writing I did and I know some people won't agree with it or not at all. So I'll list some of the games that didn't make it but was still enjoyable for me:
Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen
Prince of Persia
Mirror's Edge
Call of Duty: World at War
Red Alert 3
No More Heroes
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
Sonic Unleashed
Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood
Lock's Quest
littleBIGplanet
Grand Theft Auto IV
God of War: Chains of Olympus
Pro Evolution Soccer 2009
Having such a blast of a year, makes me wonder how 2009 will fair. It has however brought out the RPG classic Chrono Trigger and probably the most anticipated follow-up fighting game of all time Street Fighter IV is just around the corner so it shouldn't be too bad. I am looking forward to these following games:
Dragon Quest IX
Street Fighter IV
Tekken 6
Killzone 2
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
House of the Dead OVERKILL
Madworld
Tales of Vesperia
Mario & Sonic at the Winter Olympic Games
DJ Max Fever
Star Ocean: The Last Hope
Resident Evil 5
Resistance: Retribution
The Conduit
Bayonetta
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Have a good one guys and keep gaming :)
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Too Many
Wow dudes, I've been getting way too many new games than I can handle and some aren't even opened yet! Still freshly sealed. People have been questioning me why I buy so many than I can play... well I can play them and will finish the interesting ones but they're all so cheap for new release games. I'm getting them at an average of $40 each when each of these console games RRP $100+.
So right now I have these games that are still sealed and waiting for me to play them:
Animal Crossing: Let's go to the City (Wii)
Call of Duty: World at War (PS3)
Enchanted Arms (PS3)
God of War: Chains of Olympus (PSP)
Mirror's Edge (PS3)
Prince of Persia (PS3)
Virtua Fighter 5 (PS3)
Currently working on Resistance: Fall of Man, thats a hard game and I really want to get that game out of the way first then I'll probably move onto GTAIV, well letsee how I go eh.
So right now I have these games that are still sealed and waiting for me to play them:
Animal Crossing: Let's go to the City (Wii)
Call of Duty: World at War (PS3)
Enchanted Arms (PS3)
God of War: Chains of Olympus (PSP)
Mirror's Edge (PS3)
Prince of Persia (PS3)
Virtua Fighter 5 (PS3)
Currently working on Resistance: Fall of Man, thats a hard game and I really want to get that game out of the way first then I'll probably move onto GTAIV, well letsee how I go eh.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Tonight, Tomorrow, Quite a few
with the holidays looming and exams a thing of the past until June next year, I have taken it upon myself to finish at least ten games. Now this would be crap easy if I wasn't working but seeing as I am, my daily gaming has been cut fair short. However working brings in new income and I am now able to afford new games... go figure :p
At the moment I have only finished one, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots but am looking at trying to get around to the following in no particular order:
Burnout Paradise
Chrono Trigger
Disaster: Day of Crisis
Dragon Ball Z: Infinite World
Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen
Final Fantasy XII
Grand Theft Auto IV
Half-Life 2, Episodes 1 and 2
Kingdom Hearts II
LostWinds
Medal of Honor: Airborne
Medal of Honor Heroes 2
Medal of Honor: Vanguard
No More Heroes
Pokemon Diamond
Resistance: Fall of Man
Ridge Racer 7
Rogue Galaxy
Sonic Unleashed
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
Yakuza 2
Well thats the list I can think of and I'll keep it updated with what I complete. Theres some nice DS games I should get to as well such as Castlevania, Lock's Quest and Flower, Sun and Rain.
At the moment I have only finished one, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots but am looking at trying to get around to the following in no particular order:
Burnout Paradise
Chrono Trigger
Disaster: Day of Crisis
Dragon Ball Z: Infinite World
Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen
Final Fantasy XII
Grand Theft Auto IV
Half-Life 2, Episodes 1 and 2
Kingdom Hearts II
LostWinds
Medal of Honor: Airborne
Medal of Honor Heroes 2
Medal of Honor: Vanguard
No More Heroes
Pokemon Diamond
Resistance: Fall of Man
Ridge Racer 7
Rogue Galaxy
Sonic Unleashed
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
Yakuza 2
Well thats the list I can think of and I'll keep it updated with what I complete. Theres some nice DS games I should get to as well such as Castlevania, Lock's Quest and Flower, Sun and Rain.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Having Dick Smith woes
So Dick Smith Electronics are currently having a sale and gamers around Australia are raiding the place! It was quite annoying that I found out about the DSE sale on its first day as I luckily stepped into the store for no other reason to waste time. There I saw some flyers saying that it was 50% off, fair cool. So I bought a game and that night, Ecogamer, Aussie-Nintendo, Kotaku Australia were all reporting it. Haha and the next time I went, three days later, most stores were all cleaned out so I had to hop from Dick Smith to Powerhouses and so forth, fun as.
So what did I get? Here we go:
Well the sale ends tomorrow so I'll see if I have time to head to Knox City to grab that Ridge Racer 7. Oh and thanks to Ren for getting The Orange Box for me all the way at Highpoint, legendary
So what did I get? Here we go:
- Dead or Alive: Xtreme 2 (360) - $5 Greensborough DSE
- Medal of Honor: Airborne (PS3) - $27.50 Nunawading Powerhouse
- Medal of Honor: Heroes 2 (Wii) - $25 Nunawading Powerhouse
- The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (PS3) - $22.50 Nunawading Powerhouse
- Kameo: Elements of Power (360) - $14 Preston Powerhouse
- ShadowRun (360) - $5 Greensborough DSE
- Bully: Scholarship Edition (Wii) - $20 Preston Powerhouse
- No More Heroes (Wii) - $30 Preston Powerhouse
- Lost Planet: Extreme Conditions (PS3) - $20 Preston Powerhouse
- The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (PS3) - $20 Preston Powerhouse
- The Orange Box (PS3) - $30 Highpoint Powerhouse
- Medal of Honor: Vanguard (Wii) - $20 Greensborough DSE
Well the sale ends tomorrow so I'll see if I have time to head to Knox City to grab that Ridge Racer 7. Oh and thanks to Ren for getting The Orange Box for me all the way at Highpoint, legendary
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Mind-Boggling Realism
Now that I have a PlayStation 3, a 1080p High Definition Television, a 1.5m HDMI cable, some HD movies and six HD PS3 games, I have been playing games and watching movies outside in the lounge instead of my room. Pretty much to get the best picture and sound quality since my room is just a little CRT TV with faulty Component inlets. I am very satisfied with the PlayStation 3. While I still love my Wii for its unique games and the News and Weather Channels (yeaaaaaa I use them bastards :p), the PS3 has its unique awesome features as well.

One major gripe is the Friends Codes on the Wii system where players have to trade their unique 12-digit friend codes away from the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection before they can connect with eachother to play a game together or send Miis and messages to eachother. Theres a unique code for each online-enabled game as well as a unique Wii console code. Thats a hell of a lot of codes just to have fun together. The PS3 on the other hand just has one PSN (PlayStation Network) name where you can include the standard alphabets, digits and symbols for everything, games and the PS3.
Another cool feature is that you can tell when your friend is online and what they are playing. Nintendo puts so much empathsis on community, simplicity and fun when they restrict you so much to have fun with friends over the net! Any person you meet online during your travels through the PSN will be logged into a list of the most recent ten ppl and you can invite them to be your friend. So much easier. Sorry Nintendo, you lose once again for being a tight-mother.
Being able to customise the XMB (Cross-Media-Bar, which is the home page of the PS3) like the PSP's is a great feature. I have a Street Fighter IV wallpaper and Metal Gear Solid 4 icons; it really makes cool that you can personalise it. A downer on the Wii is that you cannot download trailers, demos and personalisations mainly because of the space-restrictions the Wii has (512MB compared to 20-80GB on the PS3). I have been downloading PS3 and movie trailers left-right-and-centre just to see the game in its HD-optimised quality.
With the Wii having no capability for anything other than playing games, checking the weather and news, the PS3 can also play Blu-ray, DVDs, MP3s, WMV and DivX files for your liking from a disc, a USB stick, a flash card or even through the network! I have hooked up my PS3 to my computer and have it stream movie and anime files from my HDD to my PS3 with no lag at all! Its freakin' brilliant! The PS3 was recently enabled with Force Feedback and Trophy (same as 360's Achievements) support. Its all good and all but the fact that only some games support these features and not all will be supporting these features in the future is very frustrating.
The most annoying game I have is Soulcalibur IV. The game is awesome but the extra features are lacking. Since the game was released long after the release of the DualShock 3, it doesn't support it at all! There is already a trophy system in place to unlock for extra in-game content and that system being used by the 360's Achievements, its unabled for the PS3's Trophy system... oh man. If Naughty Dog made Uncharted with a trophy system long before the PS3's Trophy update then when it was announced and releasing a patch for Uncharted to enable trophies, why couldn't Namco do that to begin with? Very frustrating.
Hehe also the PS3 is the first video game system to give me motion sickness! Probably because of its realism in HD that I got so sick that I had a headache even the following day. I was playing Time Crisis 4 one night in the dark and I felt really really sick. Maybe because I was sitting too close to the TV and it was in the dark but man did I feel really off. I blame Namco for this for having the G-Con3 gun wired instead of being wireless-enabled. But that was the last time I played the game and gave it back to Ren soon after.
Anyway I'm happy with my PlayStation 3 but I wouldn't say its better or worse than the Nintendo Wii an vice-versa. Both have its strengths and weaknesses and I wouldn't trade both of them for anything else in its generation unless Sony brings out a PS3 slim :p
Anyway I'm happy with my PlayStation 3 but I wouldn't say its better or worse than the Nintendo Wii an vice-versa. Both have its strengths and weaknesses and I wouldn't trade both of them for anything else in its generation unless Sony brings out a PS3 slim :p

One major gripe is the Friends Codes on the Wii system where players have to trade their unique 12-digit friend codes away from the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection before they can connect with eachother to play a game together or send Miis and messages to eachother. Theres a unique code for each online-enabled game as well as a unique Wii console code. Thats a hell of a lot of codes just to have fun together. The PS3 on the other hand just has one PSN (PlayStation Network) name where you can include the standard alphabets, digits and symbols for everything, games and the PS3.
Another cool feature is that you can tell when your friend is online and what they are playing. Nintendo puts so much empathsis on community, simplicity and fun when they restrict you so much to have fun with friends over the net! Any person you meet online during your travels through the PSN will be logged into a list of the most recent ten ppl and you can invite them to be your friend. So much easier. Sorry Nintendo, you lose once again for being a tight-mother.
Being able to customise the XMB (Cross-Media-Bar, which is the home page of the PS3) like the PSP's is a great feature. I have a Street Fighter IV wallpaper and Metal Gear Solid 4 icons; it really makes cool that you can personalise it. A downer on the Wii is that you cannot download trailers, demos and personalisations mainly because of the space-restrictions the Wii has (512MB compared to 20-80GB on the PS3). I have been downloading PS3 and movie trailers left-right-and-centre just to see the game in its HD-optimised quality.
With the Wii having no capability for anything other than playing games, checking the weather and news, the PS3 can also play Blu-ray, DVDs, MP3s, WMV and DivX files for your liking from a disc, a USB stick, a flash card or even through the network! I have hooked up my PS3 to my computer and have it stream movie and anime files from my HDD to my PS3 with no lag at all! Its freakin' brilliant! The PS3 was recently enabled with Force Feedback and Trophy (same as 360's Achievements) support. Its all good and all but the fact that only some games support these features and not all will be supporting these features in the future is very frustrating.
The most annoying game I have is Soulcalibur IV. The game is awesome but the extra features are lacking. Since the game was released long after the release of the DualShock 3, it doesn't support it at all! There is already a trophy system in place to unlock for extra in-game content and that system being used by the 360's Achievements, its unabled for the PS3's Trophy system... oh man. If Naughty Dog made Uncharted with a trophy system long before the PS3's Trophy update then when it was announced and releasing a patch for Uncharted to enable trophies, why couldn't Namco do that to begin with? Very frustrating.
Hehe also the PS3 is the first video game system to give me motion sickness! Probably because of its realism in HD that I got so sick that I had a headache even the following day. I was playing Time Crisis 4 one night in the dark and I felt really really sick. Maybe because I was sitting too close to the TV and it was in the dark but man did I feel really off. I blame Namco for this for having the G-Con3 gun wired instead of being wireless-enabled. But that was the last time I played the game and gave it back to Ren soon after. Anyway I'm happy with my PlayStation 3 but I wouldn't say its better or worse than the Nintendo Wii an vice-versa. Both have its strengths and weaknesses and I wouldn't trade both of them for anything else in its generation unless Sony brings out a PS3 slim :p
Anyway I'm happy with my PlayStation 3 but I wouldn't say its better or worse than the Nintendo Wii an vice-versa. Both have its strengths and weaknesses and I wouldn't trade both of them for anything else in its generation unless Sony brings out a PS3 slim :p
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