Our friends at Volatile Mode

For those of us who follow Jeff on Volatile Mode, he has relocated to Armed Mode, which can be found here.  If you are unfamiliar with his postings, now is a great time to get acquainted with them as Jeff is a longtime and avid gamer with some great opinions on the industry.  Let's help make him nice and cozy in his new home!

 

Click the image above to be taken to his first post on Armed Mode

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Gaming thoughts - Lots of game deals this week

Seems like there are a lot of game deals this week as I was scouring the net, and just figured I would do a quick dump of what I found here.

The theme for Xbox Gold deal of the week is Fable III.

 GameStop has a buy 2, get 1 free Vita deal going right now.

Gamersgate has Painkiller Complete Pack and Ship Simulator for 70% off as their midweek sale.

Speaking of midweek sales, Steam has Cities XL 2012 for 75% off right now.

I personally like to pick up slightly older golf and hockey games because you can get them for so much cheaper.  If you're equally inclined, Amazon has Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 for the 360 for $15 right now, and two lightning deals coming up later (one is a Wii fitness game and the other appears to be a Sims title).

Good Old Games has a pair of promotions going right now - not sure if they stack or not, but one is a February promo of buy at least 2 titles, get 10% off, and a buy one, get one free on all D&D games promotion as well.

Lots of stuff on the stuff mentioned on the PlayStation Blog including these:

• 5-in-1 Arcade Hits (Mini)
• Blimp: The Flying Adventures (Mini)
• Crazy Taxi (PSN)
• Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars (PSP)
• Crush (PSP)
• Darksiders (Retail)
• De Blob 2 (Retail)
• Hamilton's Great Adventure (PSN)
• Homefront (DLC)
• Homefront (Retail)
• Marvel Super Hero Squad (PSP)
• MX vs. ATC: Reflex (PSP)
• MX vs. ATV: Untamed (PSP)
• NBA 2k12 (DLC)
• Sonic Rivals (PSP)
• Spongebob Squarepants: Yellow Avenger (PSP)
• UFC: Undisputed 2010 (PSP)
• Warhammer 40,000: Kill Team (PSN)
• Worms: Battle Islands (PSP)
• WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2010 (PSP)

Though I personally liked the PlayStation Plus freebies this week:

• Altered Beast (PSN, Free)
• Comix Zone (PSN, Free)
• Crazy Taxi (PSN, Discount)
• Golden Axe (PSN, Free)
• Hamilton's Great Adventure (PSN, Discount)
• Search and Rescue (Mini, Discount)
• SEGA Rally Arcade (PSN, Discount)
• Sonic the Hedgehog (PSN, Free)
• Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (PSN, Free)
• Streets of Rage II (PSN, Free)

  And lastly, just in general, there's a used game site called Gamestaq that a couple of friends have used and like, but I haven't tried.  Still, they have some decent prices at times and may be worth a look for those inclined.

Not sure if you guys find a big update like this useful mid-week or not, or even just interesting.  If so, let me know.  Thanks!

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MX World Tour - PlayStation Network Review

This is just a quick hit, but I got the chance to play the PlayStation 2 classic, MX World Tour courtesy of our friends at Digitally Downloaded, and posted my review thoughts here.  If you're interested in my quick thoughts, I scored it 2.5 out of 5 stars.  Some nice jumps and plenty of tracks don't add enough to the mix to keep me playing very long.  If you're interested, check out the review!

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Bit.Trip Beat & Runner - PC Game Review

I acquired both Bit.Trip Beat & Runner some time ago on Steam.  Neither was a title I had paid much attention to and simply acquired them as some sort of addition to a sale or deal, though I cannot clearly recall which one(s).  Though these are two fundamentally different games, I find that my feelings on them are fairly similar so I figured I would just write about both at the same time, scoring each one separately as I talk about them.  The titles are both so short that writing a review on each separately seemed silly.

Bit.Trip Beat:

In essence you control a paddle on one side of the screen as pixels or blocks stream from one side of the screen to the other in varying patterns.  Your job is to simply use your paddle to block the pixels from falling off of the edge of your screen.  This is all done to fun, upbeat custom songs that match the pace of the flying pixels.

Graphics - 7:

I love the style.  They're blocky, old-school colors that just really appealed to me overall.  That said, sometimes in the course of flight you can lose track of what you are doing because there is so much happening on the screen.  There is a particular part with a comet or asteroid early on that really illustrates this point to me, because if you have not memorized the pattern of blocks incoming, it is very easy to lose them in the bright, colorful background.

Sound & Music - 8:

I mean, this is what the game is really all about.  You are combining songs with strong beats with a block-striking mechanism that makes this something of a rhythm game as well as a paddle one.  Integral part of the experience that works quite well.

Gameplay - 7:

This can be a tough game at times as there is a lot going on.  Each level feels just a tad long, truth be told, but the patterns blend with the music beautifully and create an almost relaxing experience - at least until you reach some of the later, tougher levels.

Intangibles - 6:

There really is not a lot new to do here over time, unfortunately.  You do the same basic thing, moving up and down to knock back these large pixel blocks in tune with the background music.  The songs are fun, and the visuals are interesting but over time it got pretty repetitive.

Overall - 7:

My oldest likes this game, and she doesn't like a lot of titles, so that adds a bit of value for me.  I played it a fair amount when I first acquired it.  Considering it was a game I had little to no interest in at the time, I would say it held up better than expected for me, but I would probably not purchase it at full price on Steam.

Bit.Trip Runner:

Simply put, you are going to sprint along an obstacle course that is in perpetual motion.  Mistime a jump and you're dead.

Graphics - 7:

Much like Beat above, the colorful visuals appealed to me.  Sure, there are better, more detailed titles out there, but the aesthetic at least works well in my opinion.

Sound & Music - 9:

I am even more impressed with this soundtrack than the one provided by Beat.  It is the same kind of catchy, quality music that times itself to your gaming experience, but this one feels more tied into what you are doing with your character, which adds to the appeal.

Gameplay - 5:

Ouch, here is our major misstep, but quite simply the platforming is not real good in my opinion.  It's a hard game, and none of my kids wanted anything to do with it after a few minutes.  The bright colors and sounds drew them in, only to frustrate them almost as soon as they started to play.  I didn't fare much better than them, truth be told.

Intangibles - 5:

From what I have seen, this is not a long game.  There are apparently only 3 worlds, not that I ever got to them.  I plugged through the first one after a lot of trial and error and had little interest in the second after a handful of deaths.

Overall - 6.5:

On the technical side, some things got done right here.  If you don't mind the tough platforming aspects, or even really enjoy those kinds of challenges, you might find something to sink your teeth in for at least a short time.  This title though was really not for me or my kids, though the budget pickup price I got it at takes some of the sting out of the experience for me.

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Streets of Rage 2 - Retro Reflections

This could fall under a Retro Reflection or a PlayStation Network Review, but I really did not want to break this down into a series of score points.  One of the titles I got to play while using PlayStation Plus was Streets of Rage 2 on the PSN.

This was a classic beat 'em up game from Sega that I played over and over again on my Sega Genesis.  I actually played Streets of Rage 1, 2 and 3 back then - but 2 for some reason was always my favorite of the trilogy.  By today's standards, it can be a bit slow and sometimes the fighting is a bit 'cheap' - but it is still a good throwback to the older days of gaming for those of us who recall Final Fight, Golden Axe, Double Dragon and Streets of Rage so fondly.

The premise is pretty simple - you walk from one side of the screen to the other, causing it to scroll in your direction as you take on wave after wave of street thugs.  Each level culminates in some sort of a boss battle that is equal parts amusing and frustratingly cheap.  Along the way you will pick up a variety of items like food, money and weapons stored in random barrels, benches and more from the environment around you.

You can play the game with a friend, which I recall doing repeatedly when I was younger and it is still fun today.  There is an online versus mode as well that does not hold up nearly as well, for a variety of reasons.  One, the fighting mechanics are really shallow - Street Fighter IV this is not.  Additionally, it seemed like the connections were flaky at best a lot of times.  If I can run around environments like Modern Warfare 3 and Battlefield 3 and suffer no lag, then it seems baffling to me that a game like this would consistently have trouble keeping up during a single isolated fight.

Beyond that, it seemed like every time I was about to win, my opponent would disconnect with no fear of tangible penalty that I could detect.  Anyway, not a big deal as the majority of my time spent playing was just trucking through the actual story mode on my own.  I beat it two or three times over the span of a few days, and it definitely provided me with a nice dose of nostalgia along the way.

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Gaming thoughts 2/15/12 - Mass Effect 3, PS+ and more

Let me start off by saying I'm a tremendous fan of Mass Effects 1 & 2.  I have had some concerns about #3 simply because of the unbelievable expectations I think the game is going to face, ranging from the success of the last 2, to the excellent trailers, to the addition of multiplayer and events like the VGA's naming it most anticipated game of 2012.  Well, while my wife it out of town this week with her best friend and friend's kids at Disney World:

I was downloading and playing this:

Sadly, it was just the demo and not the actual game (which I have on pre-order for my 360 - collector's edition to boot).  That said?  I felt as though the demo was excellent.  It started you off with just a bit of back story, introduced some important characters, and let newcomers experience the conversation wheel used to hepl make decisions that sometimes greatly impact the plot and at other times just add a personal slant to the story.  

Then you are taken to a fairly tense battle scene later in the game, and given plenty of points to invest into your squad so you can get a feel for the leveling system including the branching skills.  AGain, I just love how heavily you can customize your experience.  Make no mistake, there is an RPG game at the heart of this title, but when the action starts, it's more Gears of War than Legend of Zelda.  The speed of the gunplay and the cover mechanics are fluid and tighter than ever.  In one sequence I charged into a trio of enemies, shooting one with my assault rifle just before reaching him, did a melee strike with my omniblade on another, and then swapped to my piston, meleeing the remaining guy.  He staggered back and I popped him with a headshot.  It was an exciting little sequence.

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Magic Orbz - PlayStation Network Review

I have always liked a good brick busting game.  I remember Arkanoid quite fondly from when I was a kid and even as recently have been playing Shatter on my PC.  One title I had never really planned to pick up was Magic Orbz on the PlayStation Network, but last year when Sony offered it cheap with their Welcome Back program, I picked it up.  There was also some free addon content you could snag for free with your month of free PlayStation Plus trial.  This was not a long game by any means, but I did enjoy it for the most part and it caught my wife's eye as well with its cute visuals.  Here's a bit more of a breakdown on the specifics.

Graphics - 7:

This is a bright and colorful game that masks the 'brick' layout with actual buildings and hedges and other objects that fall apart when struck.  These visuals caught my wife's eye and she actually took over the controller and played for about an hour that night, and for about half an hour the next.  Keep in mind she spends probably less than 15-30 minutes a month playing video games, so this was quite unusual.  In some ways, the graphics are both this game's greatest strength and weakness, because the visual style is very inviting but it can get cluttered at times and make it hard to see what it going on.  I am okay with losing a ball because my reflexes were not up to snuff, but there are times when there is just so much going on at once on the screen that you cannot even see the ball until its too late.

 

Sound & Music - 6:

The music is pretty bland, to be perfectly honest.  That is not to say it was bad music, it was not - it just was not particularly interesting either.  The sound effects help as there is a fair amount of variation in them, and they seldom got repetitive.  Similar to the music, the sound effects really did not impress in the end, but they served a purpose pretty well.

Gameplay - 7:

The gameplay is pretty solid, though I found the directional pad more useful than the analog stick for accurately controlling my paddle.  There is a decent selection of power-ups (and power-downs) to be had which keeps things interesting.  Some of the later levels were a bit challenging (some would even argue cheap) by how close to your paddle the blocks were placed.

 

Intangibles - 7:

There are quite a few levels, and the free expansions helped extend the fun.  Still, I think you can blow through the main set in under five hours, and the side ones seemed to go even more quickly.  There are trophies to collect for people who like those, and for the most part they are pretty easy to collect just by playing.

 

Overall - 6.75:

I would have a hard time suggesting this title at full price, but I believe I got it and the expansions for about $3 in total, and I felt pretty good about that.  The steep spike in challenge around midway through the levels turned my wife off to it, and my kids though.  That's worth noting because the visuals appealed to both groups of people, but they grew tired of the (you could argue 'cheap') difficulty spike quickly and have never played it again.  I gave it a longer run, but even if you stick with it like I did, you can get through the majority of the content pretty quickly and after doing so there is not much reason to go back to it, though there is multiplayer as an option - but one that just never appealed to me.

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Gaming thoughts 2/9/12 - Pistons and lots of gaming

So last Friday, my wife took me out to a basketball game - Pistons vs. Bucks.  Her perspective of it was more from the 90's night music and Vanilla Ice halftime show.  I wish I was making that up, but she has the (Internet archive link) proof here on her blog (and while this post is tame, some of her others?  Not so much - you've been warned).

For me?  There was a basketball game, and lots of throwback to the 90's Pistons, which was awesome.  Oh, and we wont the game too:

 

So that was fun.  This week?  Yeah - I get to go again.  My wife's gotten me even better seats to the Nets game (whom we beat last night away)

This has of course led me to playing countless hours of:

Yeah.   A lot of hours.  Just finished my first season with my created player.  This is without a doubt my favorite mode.  Franchise/association is cool too.  Online would be better if I knew more people who played it because I would rather just have a few friends w/ teams and not a full roster of people I don't know which makes getting games played a pain in the arse.

I've been pretty busy as well - I got that promotion, and have decided to hold off on the tv for now, but wound up getting a slew of new games.  The one I've been playing the most so far is Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning.  I know there's been some mixed reviews on this game, but so far I'm really enjoying it.  This + Skyrim does mean I'm not playing much else.  Oh, and NBA 2K12.  And some NBA Jam and Mario Kart... okay, so I'm playing a few games, and that's a quick list of the ones that come to mind, but I'm sure there's more.

The career mode in NBA 2K12 made me think though - what are the gaming 'activities' that chew up the largest amount of time?  Is it the online component to a FPS like Call of Duty or Battlefield?  Getting through seasons in a sports title (NFL?  Not as bad.  16 game regular season.  NBA?  82 games.  And that's not as bad as MLB...).  Grinding for experience in an RPG title? 

Being that I play a lot of different game genres, these were the 3 biggest 'time sinks' that jumped out at me, but of them I have to give the nod to a sports game's seasonal grind.  Don't get me wrong, I love it, but the trophies/acheivements are usually spread out in such a way that you spend forever getting them (make 5 All-Star games!  That means you're going to play over 350 games!  Get your created player to an 80 overall.  That could take 2 - 3 seasons.  And then there's the different modes like franchise, online, career...)  I think perhaps the trophies take much longer to get in most of these titles than in others.

A case could be made for FPS games, but the sense of progression I think breaks things up more, and you have different modes, maps - there's just a bit more variety.  In RPG's the grinding never really bugs me either, but it feels more incremental.  You get to a point in the game where you might grind a bit for a few hours.  I have no idea how many hours I spent getting through a season of NBA 2K12, but I'd guess at least 10.

I'll have to detail some of my new titles when they actually arrive and get to play them.  I will no doubt be plugging away heavily at Skyrim and Amular for the next week or two to try and wrap those up and review them soon.

What are you playing?  Any game types you feel have a really long, grind-like time-sink to them?  Anyone out there as a big of an NBA or NFL fan as me?  Let me know in the comments!

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Madden NFL Arcade - PlayStation Network Review

With the Super Bowl upon us, this seems like the perfect time to talk football.  I already reviewed Madden this year, and if you want to review it, you'll see that I enjoyed it despite its several glaring flaws.  So I decided to review Madden NFL Arcade, which I picked up some time ago when it was on sale for $5 on the PlayStation Network.  It's unlikely this game is on anyone's radar right now, but because the NFL is going to be a theme today, I decided I should do my civic duty here and warn you away from this title.

Basically, this was a way for EA to try and capture over-the-top fast and furious football action without any of the slowdown found in the actual Madden sim.  The experience is a game that seems confused right from the get-go as you play with smaller teams and with altered rules that just are not as much fun as they should be.  Do not confuse this game with the recent Blitz release, though their style has a few things in common

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Heavenly Sword - Playstation 3 Review

There were a handful of games I picked up when I first bought my PlayStation 3, and Heavenly Sword was among them. The trailers I had seen impressed me while reminding me of the first God of War game - which was a title I was very fond of. I recently played this again, and thought I would put down my thoughts now - since I was not blogging when I first played the game.

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