One of the best arcade games ever made

Last November I mentioned the announcement that the Simpsons Arcade Game would be coming to XBLA, and with that being said, I assumed it would come to PSN. I have heard no new information since then, such as a release date for the XBLA version, the confirmation of a PSN version, or anything else. Then today the PlayStation Blog broke the news. Not only is The Simpsons Arcade Game dropping on PSN next week, it’s going to be FREE to PS+ members!

I was initially going to purchase it on XBLA simply because I wouldn’t have been able to wait around for the PSN version. Now that it’s coming out next week, at no cost to me, I’ll be all over the PSN version. You can bet your bottom dollar I’ll be online Tuesday night taking on Mr. Burns’ well-dressed goons and gigantic obese wrestlers as I fight to bring Maggie back home.

One of the best games of 2011 that I didn’t get to play til 2012

I picked up Gears of War 2 for my birthday last April. By then most people weren’t playing it as much, so I just ran through the campaign on my own. I never touched the Horde mode or any other online mode. But I felt like it was something that would be a lot of fun online. So for Christmas Gears of War 3 was on the top of my list, and Santa ended up delivering. However, I didn’t really start playing til this week after figuring out how to hook up the PX21 to the 360. Now that I started playing Gears 3 online, I’m pretty much hooked.

I met up with four other guys from Co-Optimus last night and they walked me through my first Beast Mode. I really, REALLY had a blast. If you’re not familiar with the game or mode, it’s basically a survival mode with a twist…YOU’RE THE BAD GUYS! You and up to four friends can team up playing as the Locust. You earn cash for beating up the good guy soldiers and heroes (like Marcus and Cole) and use that cash to purchase respawns of different Locust units, ranging from the usual grunts with guns to gigantic centipedes and beserkers. I’ve grown quite addicted to the Tickers, which are pretty much running suicide bombers. You use these little beauties to run up to enemy troops and with the tap of a button you explode, taking anyone nearby with you. Unfortunately there is a slight delay as you ignite, and it’s easy for enemy troops to evade the explosion. With some more practice I think I’ll get better at guesstimating their reactions and plan my explosions so they are more devastating.

Nothing’s more satisfying than blowing yourself away for the good of the collective

Then today I checked out Horde mode in a random public match. It’s the opposite of Beast mode, where you play as the good ol’ Gears and survive waves of Locust. Unlike Beast mode you use your cash to purchase fortifications and ammo, though if you’re playing with a bunch of tools who don’t like to revive you when you’re down (like I was today), you may be spending big money for a respawn. I had fun running around at the start of each wave placing barbed wire and decoys to help slow down the incoming swarms of enemies. The biggest problem I had, like I already mentioned, was playing with three other guys who 1. didn’t use headsets, and 2. didn’t worry about reviving their partners, despite the fact that I saved their asses plenty of times. I look forward to playing more Horde with the some of the guys from Co-Optimus over the weekend.

Both Beast and Horde mode have been successful in dragging me away from the PS3 for awhile, and just when I was getting into Dungeon Defenders and Payday. I guess getting to blow the crap out of “Cole Train” is simply more satisfying than robbing a bank, and that’s something I never thought I’d say.

]]> http://www.bigbadbob113.com/2012/01/20/hooked-on-gears-of-war-3/feed/ 4 http://www.bigbadbob113.com/2012/01/19/ps3-review-rayman-origins/ http://www.bigbadbob113.com/2012/01/19/ps3-review-rayman-origins/#comments Fri, 20 Jan 2012 00:09:18 +0000 Rob http://www.bigbadbob113.com/?p=6105 PS3 Review: Rayman: Origins

Post from: BigBadBobs Wild World of Stuff

Destined to be yet another mediocre Marvel super hero game

When I first heard the announcement concerning the release of X-Men: Destiny, I was excited yet pessimistic. The fact that the game allowed you to create a unique character with their own powers was a great idea, but I immediately thought about how horrible this idea worked in Activision’s X-Men: Legends game, in regards to the character Magma. I enjoyed both X-Men: Legends games in general, but how would this game, that was focused so much on a non-cannon character, end up being. I can tell you that after spending twelve hours across two complete playthroughs, X-Men: Destiny is a mindless, fun little romp yet leaves you yearning for quite a bit more. Spoiler alert: Activision has failed to live up to its work with X-Men: Legends.

At the start of the game you select one of three unique characters. Which character you choose doesn’t necessarily matter… they all have access to the same pool of powers and there are no unique missions or anything associated with each different character (though there will be dialogue changes to coincide with your selected character’s backstory.) Once your character is selected they immediately find themselves in the midst of an attack, during which they will finally discover that they are mutants. As you continue through the game your character will develop their skills, equip the genes of famous mutants, and ultimately decide if their loyalities lie with Cyclops and the X-Men or Magneto and the Brotherhood.

Your three character choices: the football jock, the ninja chick and the ex-soldier

I’m sure you’re asking yourself about these powers. In a game where you create your own mutant, this is probably one of the most important features. While it is basic, it works well given the short length of the game (as I indicated above, one playthrough will take approximately six hours.) You are able to choose from one basic iconic power and from there you will gradually choose three out of six abilities for each tree. The three iconic powers are shaped around your general combat skills; there’s a melee build, a ranged build, and a weapons build (think Pyslocke with her blades.) I went with the ranged build, so by hitting the attack buttons I would fire out bursts of energy at enemies. When I started to unlock mutant powers I had choices ranging from a force field (heals me hurts enemies) to a massive energy beam to a sphere that decimates everyone in the room. Once you select which mutant powers to unlock you can then assign your XP to level these powers up, increasing damage and area of effect.

The other “powers” part of X-Men: Destiny deals with X-genes which come in three varieties; offense, defense, and utility (movement.) These little collectibles are awarded for defeating certain enemies or completing side missions and challenges, and they augment your current powers with the powers of the associated mutant. For example, by equipping Pyro’s offense X-gene gives fire damage to my attacks, Colossus’ defense X-gene helps reduce damage and Magneto’s utility X-gene gives you the ability to float. All these X-genes can also be leveled up using your XP to unlock additional features. You can also come across suits for your character, and rather than just make you look like your favorite mutie they also give you additional abilities based on the mutant. Now here’s the kicker; if you manage to come across an entire set of a particular mutant (their suit plus all three X-genes) you are given the ability to unleash X-mode, during which you will be able to take and dish out a crud load of damage.

A mighty combo of Wolverine’s suit with some ranged energy blasts

So while creating your own mutant and fighting alongside other muties may sound fun, there is quite a bit lacking from the game that stops it from being awesome. For starters, the “choices” you have to make based on which side you will take (X-Men or Brotherhood) are for all for nothing. By the end of the game you are given the final option to choose a side, and there is no perk to taking one side over the other. You won’t get any special powers or special levels…just a different ending. The fact that you can run about and side with the X-Men the entire game and then at the end switch sides to join the Brotherhood just makes the whole process rather pointless. Also, the gameplay can probably be boring for any but the most enthusiastic button-mashers; the mundane combat didn’t bother me but I can definitely see some people quickly grow tired of mashing buttons and using the same three abilities the entire game. The other thing hindering this game is its length. I completed the game in under six hours, and that’s pretty sad. The lack of content, combined with mediocre gameplay make me feel sympathy for anyone who went out and purchased it.

Just chillin’ with Iceman

X-Men: Destiny has a few hits that are overshadowed by misses. The basic storyline has a lot of potential, and the ability to create your own mutant and overpower them by combining the abilities of different mutants is a blast. However, the ridiculously short campaign, the lack of consequences for your limited choices and the repetitive combat mechanics are all major turnoffs. X-Men: Destiny is an example of a franchised game that had great potential by not being tied to a movie plot yet still comes off as nothing but shovelware for comic geeks. I would recommend giving the game a rental (it would make an excellent Redbox rental for a day) if you’re a fan of the X-Men or mindless button-mashing (guilty on both accounts) but otherwise I would avoid it.

Perhaps this game can be redeemed one day with the release of X-Men Legends 3…

When I first picked up the PS3 and was in need of a headset, I went with the Official PS3 Bluetooth (since for some bizarre reason Sony refuses to box even the lowest quality headset with consoles like Microsoft does) At the time it was bundled with some SOCOM game, and I immediately traded in the game once I had the Bluetooth in my possession. I’ve been using it for almost three years, and it got the job done. However, over the past year I have begun to find it uncomfortable in my ear. With Christmas over, I decided to use up some cash and treat myself (and my ears) to a new headset. Enter the Turtle Beach PX21 Headset!

Here are the things I like about it:

• It’s versatile: It works with my PS3, 360 and PC (and a Mac if I was silly enough to blow my money on such an overpriced piece of junk)
• It’s comfortable: The official PS3 Bluetooth was extremely uncomfortable when I had to jam the bud into my ear hole. The PX21 is a nice comfy set of headphones that fit nicely over my entire head and are made of a much softer material. And while the headset is wired, the wire is long enough (16 feet) where it’s not an issue at all.
• It pumps in the in-game audio: A good chunk of my gaming time occurs at night while Shell sleeps soundly beside me on the couch. With that being said, I’m a generally good husband by having the TV volume only at one or two notches, which is barely audible. This is no longer an issue as I can plug the PX21 into the TV and have the volume shoot straight into my headphones. Not only can I now listen to the game as loud as I want, I can hear things I never did before, be it footsteps or zombie groans.
• It offers superior voice chat quality: I was blown away by how clear my friends from Co-Optimus sounded through the headset when we played Trine 2. Not only did I hear them better than ever, but they heard me much clearer than they used to. I was shocked by the difference in chat quality, and the voice chat experience that the PX21 delivers makes for a much funner co-op session.
• It’s easy to use: All the different buttons and options are controller right from a black box that is attached to the wire of the headset. From there you can easily rotate dials to increase/decrease game volume, chat volume, and the bass, as well as simply flick a button to mute the headset. Having the controls on this box where you can see it versus on the actual headset is a feature that prefer.
• It’s relatively affordable: As far as nifty headsets go, this one is somewhere near the bottom of the price range, but high in the quality department. I paid $64 for it on Amazon, and have seen them go for $80 in retail stores. Seeing how there are some on the market that cost well over $100, this is a great model to choose for the cheapskate gamer. Of course there are cheaper headsets out there, but they will be superbly inferior compared to the PX21, not only in sound quality but also in comfort.

 Not the best screenshot but if you click on the pic you will be it clearer

I was zipping about Amazon today and for whatever reason decided to look at Aliens: Colonial Marines. I was shocked to see a release date set there for March 31, 2012 (which happens to be my mother’s birthday.)It’s still officially set for “Spring 2012″ but could Amazon have leaked the release date details?

All I know is that this is a guaranteed purchase for me. Four-player campaign co-op from the Borderlands studio set in the Aliens universe? Sign me up to kill ‘dem xenomorphs! Who else is excited for this potential 2012 Game of the Year release?

It’s hard to believe that it’s been two weeks since I sent my PS3 back to Amazon after it got fried. In that time I’ve been keeping busy by playing on the 360. I rented Saints Row the Third and Warhammer 40K: Space Marine through Redbox, rented Dead Space 2 and Bulletstorm through Gamefly, purchased Crimson Alliance and played through Lord of the Rings: War in the North (which I won.) But I still missed the PS3, particularly Skyrim and Dead Island. Even though I got my $250 back from Amazon I still wanted to know I was getting a deal.

I finally found the deal I had been waiting for today on Amazon. They had the 160GB Harry Potter bundle for $250 with a $50 trade-in credit. So the way I see it, for $250 I get a 160GB system, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II on BluRay and a game of my choice for $260. That’s just the deal I was waiting for, and I’m pretty happy. The best part of it all is that I get to choose any game I want, though I’ll definitely wait until after Christmas. Maybe I’ll pick up WWE ’12 or Gears of War 3 if I don’t receive them for Christmas, or maybe I’ll save it for a future pre-order like Aliens: Colonial Marines.

Either way, I’m pleased as punch to finally get a PS3 back in the house. Worst part is that it must be on back order or something since Amazon is quoting me with a delivery date of Tuesday, even with my Amazon Prime two-day shipping. I can’t wait to get back to the ol’ PS3!

I love the folks over at Co-optimus. Not only have I met a ton of online friends through the site, but they also have pretty frequent contests. For the approximately three years that I have been a regular on the site I have won an Xbox 360 console, a copy of Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga and now, as of today, I am the extremely proud owner of a brand-spanking new copy of Lord of the Rings: War in the North for the 360. And it’s not just any ol’ copy…IT’S THE FREAKIN’ COLLECTOR’S EDITION!!! I was anxiously sitting by the door all day waiting for the UPS dude to deliver my precious…

I felt I had to open this package LOTR-style so I pulled out my sword letter opener and got to work.

Upon opening the top portion of the box I discovered some secret swag in the form of co-optimus stickers! I’ll put them on Shell’s recipe binder to help decorate it and support co-op!

I then got to work pulling the game box out of the cardboard box. Low and behold, here is the front and back of the Collector’s Edition box:

The Collector’s Edition includes:

• War in the North game
• Quiver/ satchel case
• Cloth map
• Art book

Everything in the box is contained within the quiver. That’s right, this Collector’s Edition comes equipped with an actual quiver. It’s of such high quality and large enough to function if you ever wanted to take it to the archery range (though I wouldn’t risk taking this baby out of the house.) Upon taking it out it looks like this, complete with two arrow feathers sticking out:

The first thing I did was take the arrows out of the quiver. The arrows function as two poles for a cloth map. And I’m talking an actual, high-quality cloth map… not the “cloth” map that Amazon indicated was a pre-order bonus for Skyrim (spoiler: it wasn’t cloth at all…just a sandpapery-feeling sheet of paper.) The map is a full representation of all of Middle-earth, not just “the North” where the game takes place.

While the quiver is far too large to properly display in our apartment, I was able to find a suitable location for the map:

Attached to the quiver is a case made of similar material.

Inside the case is the game itself…

And an art book! The book contains concept art of the game’s characters, monsters and environments. It’s definitely a pretty neat thing to have.

So that is the contents of the War in the North Collector’s Edition. This is the first Collector’s Edition for a video game I’ve ever owned, mostly because times are hard and the cost of a Collector’s Edition game can be the same as two or more regular games. Of all the games out there that I could have a Collector’s Edition for, this one probably tops the list. The map and art book are great swag for a LOTR nut like me and I really appreciate the quality put into the pieces.

I’d like to thank the folks at co-optimus again for hooking me up with this swag. Keep up the great co-op coverage!!!

That’s the Soul Siren, your arch-nemesis

I’m sure many of you fellow gamers are familiar with the hack and slash/ dungeon crawler RPG genre. Here’s the generic laundry list that typically defines this genre:

• Fantasy setting
• Two or more players
• Simple, button mashing combat
• Several different classes of character, each with unique skills
• Develop skills by assigning points to skill trees
• Grind to get XP
• Smash boxes and open chests to find gold and equipment
• Purchase new equipment and sell off old equipment

• Fantasy setting
• Two or more players
• Simple, button mashing combat
• Several different classes of character, each with unique skills
• Develop skills by assigning points to skill trees
• Grind to get XP 
• Smash boxes and open chests to find gold and equipment
• Purchase new equipment and sell off old equipment 

Seems like your everyday, run of the mill dungeon crawler 

As you can see, Crimson Alliance takes many of the features of a traditional dungeon crawler yet removes some of the core concepts of the genre. How is it that this game falls under this category yet has no xp or skill trees? What’s the point of the game if you’re not grinding to level up?

Crimson Alliance is an XBLA-exclusive that allows one to four players to control one of three character classes; the warrior, rogue or wizard. Each character has four main skills, each of which is assigned to the face buttons on the controller. The warrior has light attack, heavy attack, dash attack and shield bash. The rogue has light attack, stun attack, dagger toss and a dash attack. The wizard has fireballs, ice blast, lightning strike and teleport (and there is no mana/magic bar so the wizard can do as many of these attacks as he wants.) That’s it…they are all unlocked from the getgo and you never learn new ones. Also, you don’t gain XP for defeating enemies so there are no skill points to put into each ability. Instead, each piece of equipment you find will grant your stat bonuses to the skills. For example, a broadsword may add two points to light attack and one point to health. It is up to the player to decide which items to give the character that will result in the best skill builds for their playstyle. With my warrior playthrough I worked to max out the light attack so the shield bash and heavy attack were not all that heavily built up.

It’s hard to see but that’s the stats screen…the text is very small in the game

Crimson Alliance substitutes the traditional grinding with high scores and leaderboards. While this is nothing totally new, the fact that the game is centered around gaining as high a score as possible (and not worrying about spending too much time on character and combat customization) is what makes the game unique. I was a bit put off at first since I was unable to choose particular skills or see level increases, but after playing through a few stages I was working hard to get as high a score as possible. Your score for each level is rated on three things:

• Your combat rating. Basically the more enemies you kill without taking damage increase a multiplier that can rack up the points. For each hit your character takes you will lose one level of multiplier, so avoiding damage isn’t just about staying alive…it’s about maintaining that score boost.
• The number of secrets you find. Each level has a number of hidden areas that contain gold and equipment. The more you locate the bigger bonus you get to your high score on the level.
• The amount of time it takes to beat the level. The quicker you run through the level, the more of a bonus you will get.

You can compare your score with friends to see who’s the best of the best

In the end, the big question is if it works. Is the substitution of grinding and customization for high scores and leaderboards a good thing? The answer is yes, in this case. It is a very unique game style that forces a player to worry more about avoiding hits and finishing a level quickly then leveling up to unlock that next stat or skill increase. The thing is that I still found myself missing some of the more traditional aspects that were missing from this game, so I would not want to see this as a new trend for several more similar-styled games. A sequel is one thing (the game already has some additional DLC levels), but for other companies to jump on the high score bandwagon will be detrimental to the genre. Heck, I’m still waiting for a hack and slash/ dungeon crawler that proves to be a worthy predecessor to Champions of Norrath (Sacred 2 is the closest I’ve seen, but there were too many issues with it to make it perfect.) If you’re a stickler for grinding your character and cultivating that skill tree, I would avoid this game. However, if you like the genre and want to try something a little different then I recommend checking out the trial to see if you like it.

No more feeling guilty when you hand the video clerk a copy of “Disney Universe”

With my recent console dilemma I was stuck with PS3 games from Gamefly yet no PS3 to play them on. I only have a handful of games for the 360 so I wanted something new to play for a little bit to tide me over until Gamefly can send me a 360 game. Enter the Redbox. I had never used one before, and Netflix has always fulfilled our movie needs just fine. Now that Redbox offers games too I figured I would finally give the service a whirl.

In case you don’t know, Redbox is a giant vending machine located in certain grocery and pharmacy stores that dispenses movies and games. You select your title, slide your credit card through, and they pop the disc out for you to take home. You have until 9:00pm the next day to return it and only pay one day charge ($1.20 for movies, $2.00 for games). If you keep it longer it’s an additional days charge per day. The really neat thing I discovered is that you can go onto their website and see what each kiosk offers, as each one not only has a few different titles but you can also see which discs are available and which are currently being rented. You can even rent a disc off their website and have it reserved so you can pick it up later!

So at 8:00 this morning I jumped online and looked at what each of the four kiosks within a five-minute drive from my apartment had available. The closest one to me was at a Food Lion grocery store, but they didn’t have anything that jumped out at me. I did see that the second Harris Teeter down the road (there are two about three minutes apart) had Saints Row the Third available on the 360, so I drove down there and had my first Redbox experience. It’s very simple, just push on-screen buttons to choose your discs, complete your order, slide your credit card, and out come the discs in nice plastic cases. So for $2.00 I have this game from about 8:15am today until 9:00pm tomorrow for only $2.00.

Now to see what all this “penetrator” talk is all about

Mind you, I don’t think this is a substitute for Gamefly. It is cheaper in the end to rent from Gamefly and they have a heck of a lot more choices. But if you want a new title to try out for a night or two while waiting for Gamefly to ship something, I highly recommend hitting up the local Redbox kiosk.