Tag Archives: demo

Rock Band 3 (and maybe Billy Joel) Will Have a Keyboard

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Posted by Rob on May 25, 2010 – 8:45 pm
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So I downloaded and checked out the Green Day Rock Band demo today. After playing through the demo’s two songs, Boulevard of Broken Dreams and Welcome to Paradise, there were a couple of ads about Green Day Rock Band, and then the last ad was the above image (except this one is from the 360 demo apparently).  As you can see, there is a icon now that appears to be that of a keyboard. Thus, it is correct to assume (as most of the internet community has done as well) that Rock Band 3 will support a new plastic instrument in the form of a keyboard.

This could be fun, since keyboards are one of those instruments that everyone plays as a child. Also, I can see the keyboard being integrated more functionally in it’s true essence as opposed to the guitar. Also, what songs will there be? Will we be getting a Billy Joel Rock Band? Only time will tell…

PSN Demo Review: Rocket Knight

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Posted by Rob on May 21, 2010 – 7:02 am
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You might recall a game called Rocket Knight from back in the day. I do, though I never played it, I know of it. Rocket Knight stars Sparkster who I believe is an opposum in a rocket pack knight armor and wields an awesome sword. Anywho, Rocket Knight is the next game in a long series of old-school games that are getting redone with today’s graphics, yet maintain their original gameplay (see Mega Man 9 and 10, Earth Worm Jim, Sonic 4, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, etc.)

The demo was a lot of fun. The game is a basic side scrolling platformer. Sparkster has a small set of moves (common for an old-school game) with a basic sword attack and a few different rocket pack-fueled attacks. Using the rocket pack, you can dash a short distance at incredible speed to get past obstacles (traps or pits) or plow through enemies. You can also use the pack to briefly hover, which will extend the distance that you can jump.

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All in all, Rocket Knight has it all…the simplicity of an old-school 16bit game, but beefed up with today’s graphics engines. As fun as it was, I won’t spend the $14.99 price sticker to get it, but if they were to ever give it a nice 50% off sale, I’ll be sold. Definitely check out the demo for a blast from the past.

New Site Page: Game Reviews

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Posted by Rob on April 12, 2010 – 11:40 pm
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In an attempt to make my game reviews easier to find, I have put them all in one section. Now if you go to the “Game Reviews” page, you will see an alphabetical listing of all the full reviews, quick reviews, and demo reviews that I have done, broken down by system (PS3, PSN, Wii, and DS). You may see the same game listed twice, but that’s because I wrote a quick review, and later wrote up a full review for the same game, and can’t bring myself to get rid of my older posts.

Also, as a heads up, many of the Wii game reviews really stink. These were mostly done on my old blog (thejournalofronconnery), and I didn’t really have much of a professional feel back then. Thus, many of them will only be a few sentences long and contain no pictures. I also realized that as I went through all my game review posts,  some games I never reviewed that I should have (particularly Uncharted 2, Resistance 2, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and Sacred 2), and that a lot of my Wii game reviews are way to short, and don’t do some of the great games any good (like Boom Blox, Ghost Squad, and Mario Strikers Charged.)

From now on I will update this page continously as I add new reviews, whether they be for new games or full updates of the games I only skimmed over.

Enjoy!

Valkyria Chronicles on the Way

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Posted by Rob on April 3, 2010 – 1:48 pm
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So my next game coming in from Gamefly will be Valkyria Chronicles. This has been the first time in a long time that I actually had a full Gamefly queue and didn’t really care what came in next. I’m looking forward to playing a nice RPG again, and hopefully it’s a little more tactical and challenging than Dragon Age and Sacred 2 have been. I played the demo a long time ago, and the mix of an RPG with guns and tanks was pretty sweet. I’m looking forward to getting my hands on it.

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God of War III Ships Tuesday

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Posted by Rob on March 13, 2010 – 9:57 am
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It has finally come…March 16th is just around the corner, meaning that in a few mere days God of War III will be making it’s way to my house (I pre-ordered it from Gamestop.) I really have no idea what to expect. I have been avoiding reading up on the game, ignoring any review or article I see about it in magazines or online. I have also boycotted the demo and have not touched it, since I did not want to go into the game with any misconceptions based on anything that was not the final version of the game. God of War III is definitely one of my most-anticipated sequels, and would only be overshadowed by the release of a Kingdom Hearts 3 on the PS3.

Once I receive the game, you know darn well that all other games will be stepping aside for the time being, and all my gaming time will be solely devoted to the masterpiece which is GoW III.

Boycotting the God of War III Demo (for good reason)

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Posted by Rob on February 25, 2010 – 9:10 pm
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Today’s PSN update includes a demo for God of War III, and I for one am not downloading it. Not because I hate God of War, but because I don’t want to ruin the experience. I have the game pre-ordered from Gamestop, so I am definitely going to be owning it when it launches in a few mere weeks. I don’t want to spoil it by cheating and taking a peek at the demo before playing the finished game. That being said, I am not going to play the demo.

But I know it is going to rock!!!!

PS3 Review: Aliens vs. Predator

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Posted by Rob on February 20, 2010 – 5:27 pm
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As you may know, I had some real issues with the AVP demo that came out two weeks ago. While the demo proved the game had a good premise and some great ideas, complex controls and the fact that it was impossible to get a game going left me a bit concerned for the final product. Well, I received the disc from Gamefly on Thursday, and have since then given most of the different game modes a whirl. Unfortunately, the demo gave a very accurate pretense on how the finished game would be…a game with great ideas, but executed badly.

First off, the story/background to the game is virtually non-existent. The game takes place shortly after the events of Alien 3, but I would not have known that had I not read it somewhere online. There is no background story at all, and the cut scenes, while looking and sounding good, do little to explain what the heck is going on. Im going to take a stab at it and say that humans find some ancient Alien/Predator temple and start creating mutant Aliens. The Marines and Predators come in to put a stop to it, resulting in a three-way battle royale to be the last species standing.  There are three single player campaigns (Marine, Alien, Predator), and each three tell the same story through the respective species point of view. For example, as an Alien you are defending the hive from the invading factions, and as a Marine you are called in to clean up the mess. That being said, I’ll start this review up with the single player campaigns.

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AVP is on the Way

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Posted by Rob on February 16, 2010 – 10:43 am
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I just got the notification from Gamefly that Aliens vs. Predator has shipped, so I should be enjoying that by Thursday afternoon. Im looking forward to playing it since the demo was so lame and busted up. I have yet to check out the Predator, and I cant wait!!!

Finally Got Some Alien Time in Aliens vs. Predator PSN Demo

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Posted by Rob on February 8, 2010 – 8:20 pm
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As I mentioned earlier, I had a bit of a hard time getting a match going in the AvP demo that launched on Thursday. I tried throughout the weekend at random times, and was unable to get another match going. Today I tried again, and I finally got into a match. I basically set it up and while it searched for a match, I walked into the other room and played around on the computer. After about six minutes, I began to hear other people on their head sets, which meant that I had finally gotten into a game.

First off, I must correct a previous statement. In my other post, I complained that you were unable to choose your character in the demo, and that both times I was assigned to be a Marine. That is only half true. You are able to choose your own character, but you have to be quick. For some reason, the developers didnt want an 8-Alien or Predator battle royale going down, so once the first few Aliens or Predators are selected (I do not know the exact number), the remaining players are automatically assigned to be Marines.

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Frustrations with Aliens vs. Predator Demo on the PS3

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Posted by Rob on February 5, 2010 – 5:28 pm
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Ive been anxiously awaiting the release of AVP. I love the Alien/Predator series, and played the AVP game on the Atari Jaguar back in the day at my friend’s house in middle school. The game is right up on my Gamefly queue, so I will definitely be snagging it when it releases in two weeks. However, the demo released yesterday on the PSN, and I was excited to get my hands on it and try out the three races (Alien, Predator, and Colonial Marine) in the deathmatch demo. Unfortunately, the demo is plagued with failure, and I have been unable to enjoy it.

Apparently, the game servers were not prepared for the amount of people who downloaded the demo yesterday. As a result, it has been impossible to find a game to join. I tried at four different intervals to get a game going yesterday, and succeeded in getting two matches total going. After each match was over, the initial host left, so I was booted out and then unable to find another game. This inability to find a game to play is very annoying and frustrating. I hope it gets fixed so I can start checking out the game more.

My other complaint is with choosing a race. Both times I was unable to choose a race, and was stuck playing as the Marine. This is upsetting because the Marine is the least original. Playing as the Marine is just like playing any other FPS. While the Aliens crawl around and go in for melee kills and the Predator stays invisible and hunts, the Marine plays as you would in any other FPS.

But enough of my complaints. From what I did see and experience, it was a blast. It is a very intense FPS, and very fast paced. The Alien players are able to move extremely quickly, and can climb walls and hang from ceilings. Their main attack is melee based, and playing as the Marine I suffered several tails through the torso and eating of my face. The speed of the Aliens is what allows them to get up close for these devastating attacks. Oh, and in case I didnt make it clear, these are one-hit kills. So yeah, the Aliens are nasty.

I didnt see much of the Predator, and from what I did, he was just invisible. Well, not totally invisible, as you can faintly make out his outline. However, I killed quite a few Predators, and I didnt meet death from any, so I dont know how their attacks are. What I do know is that many of the Predators stronger weapons are scattered throughout the map, and you have to track them down to use them.

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PS3 First Impression: Dead Space

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Posted by Rob on January 27, 2010 – 5:56 pm
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I could have sworn I did a review of Dead Space, but I could not find it in my archives. What I do remember about it was that it was horrible. I was not a fan of the slow gameplay or the controls. However, many people online have said how awesome it was, and one friend in particular mentioned that the final game was better than the demo. Now, I needed to have a game in from Gamefly to last me until AVP comes out, and I decided to try Dead Space. So far, I have not been disappointed.

The game is a classic space-survival story. A crew is sent to work some routine maintenance on a large spaceship, and arrive to find that the crew of the ship are missing. It becomes a game of survival as you and your small crew must survive a creature manifestation aboard the large ship.

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PS3 Demo Review: Dark Void

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Posted by Rob on January 24, 2010 – 1:07 am
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On paper, the premise behind Dark Void sounds awesome. The game features the player donning a rocket pack and guns to defend Earth, and is advertised as being able to fight “anywhere”, from the ground to the air. However, the demo for the game did not do it justice, and I am in no rush to try out the completed version.

The game begins with your character hanging out outside. As he works on a vehicle he chucks his wrench behind him, which hits a jet pack that happens to be just hanging on a nearby wall. Then his friend enters, and this guy looks like the Iron Shiek, being topless and dancing around with a turban and whatnot. Neither character knows what the jet pack is, yet the player’s character pops it on. At the next scene, he has a gun in hand and is ready to fight some bad guys. Oh yeah, and all of a sudden the Iron Shiek is an expert on the jet pack and teaches you how to fly over the radio. And that is how you are introduced to the story behind Dark Void, or the lack of a story, as it seems.

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My Top 10 Blogs

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Posted by Rob on January 19, 2010 – 12:51 pm
Filed under Board Games, Books, Sacred 2, Site Updates, Video Games
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Ive had the site since April, and I was curious to see what my top ten blogs were. So I went into my Google Analytics records and checked it out. I love using Google Analytics, and its so much easier than trying to read the reports from Blue Host. I knew two of the posts would be up there, but others were quite a surprise.

1.Explanation of Combat Arts in Sacred 2

This came as no surprise. I knew from looking at other reports that this was my most popular post. I think I did a search to see why, and there is some combination you could put in about Sacred 2 and combat arts that landed me on page one on google.

2. Whale Wars Sucks

This also was not a big surprise, and was the post that had the most random comments. If you google the term whale wars sucks, I come up at number four, which is awesome. Man, I hate that show…

3. My Shadow Warrior Character Build Guide

Another post I knew was very popular. I had made a build guide for the Shadow Warrior in Sacred 2, who seems to be the most popular character to play as. Thus, this was a pretty big hit on my blog.

4. My Announcement of Future Character Builds in Sacred 2

For some reason, a post about what I intended to do in the future made it to my number four most popular post. It doesnt really do much but say “hey, pretty soon I will start making some character build guides.”

5. Axis & Allies 50th Anniversary Edition

This one was a surprise. I didnt even play the game…I just commented on how cool it looks and how much I would love to play it. Man, I need to get some nerd friends up here to play a game of A&A…

6. Resistance: Gathering Storm Book Review

This one was also a surprise. I dont know how it got on here, but my little review of a fairly unpopular book (as far as I can tell) made it to #6 on my blog. Bravo Resistance. Bravo.

7. My Guess At an NHL Announcement

This post makes me laugh. In July the NHL announced that it would make a major announcement at Fenway Park. Common sense told me that that would be the location of the 2010 Winter Classic, and I indeed was correct in my guess. The best part is that this post did not get popular until December, when the Winter Classic was approaching.

8. Batman: Arkham Asylum Demo Review

This only cracks me up because my review of the demo is more popular than my first impressions of the full game… Hmmm, I just realized that I never wrote up a full review of the game…

9.  Wolverine Game Review

This came as a complete surprise. I didnt notice that my review of the Wolverine game was this high up on my blog.

10. My High Elf Character Build Guide

I thought this one was going to be more popular. Its my build guide for the High Elf in Sacred 2.

So there you have it, my top 10 most popular posts. Thanks for looking, and I look forward to seeing how it changes in the coming months.

PS3 Demo Review: Matt Hazard: Bloodbath and Beyond

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Posted by Rob on January 9, 2010 – 9:16 am
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I have been enjoying Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard on the PS3, so when I saw that he had a game coming to PSN, I was pretty excited. I checked out the demo last night, and all I can say is that Im glad there was a demo, or I would have wasted $15!!!

Bloodbath and Beyond once again has Matt Hazard going through his previous video games, breaking the fourth wall as he goes. The humor from Eat Lead is definitely still present in the game, which is a good thing. However, rather than a third person shooter, this time its a side scrolling adventure. On the plus side, you can bring a friend along locally for some co-op goodness. But then again, if the person is your friend, you dont want to drag them into this mess of a game.

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Darksiders on the Way from Gamefly

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Posted by Rob on January 5, 2010 – 7:43 pm
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So I had a tough call this week. There were two releases out, and I had to decide which one I would be getting in from Gamefly. I had to choose between Bayonetta (which had an awesome demo) and Darksiders. In the end I chose Darksiders. I think I just liked the sound of the story better. I had to choose between a hot witch who uses her hair to eat enemies, and the first sign of the Apocalypse . I made my choice…

A Night of Gaming with Shell

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Posted by Rob on December 30, 2009 – 9:13 pm
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Well, it wasnt a full night of gaming, but there was over an hour of PS3 goodness going on in our house. I started nice and easy and let Shell check out the Peggle demo, which she enjoyed. I liked Peggle a lot also, so it looks like I’ll be snagging that in the near future.

After that, I popped in Buzz! Quiz World, and we played two online matches against four other players. It was my first time playing the game online, and I enjoyed it. However, we both did pretty badly. In the first round I managed to stay in fourth place, and after losing that, we decided to rematch. During this round, I ended up doing horrible, and was in last place for most of the game. That was sad. But I was glad to get some gaming in alongside Shell. Tomorrow we will be playing some Rock Band 2 and the Rock Band AC/DC Track Pack that I bought her for Christmas while we wait for the ball to drop and drink cheap wine.

PS3 Demo Review: Bayonetta

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Posted by Rob on December 16, 2009 – 8:12 am
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When I first saw and heard about Bayonetta, I wasnt interested. It looked like an unappealing God of War clone to me, and reminded me too much of Heavenly Sword, which was a game that looked cool but sucked when I played it. So I had no intentions of checking out Bayonetta. That is, until I played the demo. Then I changed my tune.

Without knowing too much about the game (from not reading up on it due to lack of interest), from the demo I can derive that you play as some hot chick who lives amongst a secret society. The game has her going off to fight a bunch of demons (some of which are HUGE). The main character is very interesting. As you control her, you fight with hand to hand combat and guns. As you defeat enemies, you can pick up their weapons…some of which are ridiculously huge. There is also some magic thrown in there to spicen things up.

One of the craziest things about the demo that snagged my attention was the combat itself. Aside from what I just mentioned, there were a few large enemies where, at the end, you had to finish the enemy off with some on-screen button prompts. By successfully doing this, her clothing comes off to reveal the fact that it is her hair. Then her hair turns into a monster’s mouth, and proceeds to bite the giant enemy in half. It was so unexpected, yet so cool to see a hair monster bite a huge chunk out of some other large monster.

In the end, the demo succeeded in blowing me away. I wish it was a little longer, but it was still enough to grab my interest and leave me wanting more. I will definitely be renting this game at some point when it comes out in January.

PS3 Demo Review: Dante’s Inferno

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Posted by Rob on December 11, 2009 – 8:28 pm
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Ive been interested in checking out this game for awhile, and after playing a demo, I am looking forward to it even more. Not because it is based on the epic poem/ode/whatever you want to call it, but because it was being compared to God of War. After playing the demo, I can say that this is a true comparison, and a good one at that.

From the controls to the gameplay to the story, it is all very reminiscent of God of War. In the demo, you play as a knight during the Crusades, and you go about killing the “heathens”. However, it turns out that God did not see it as being just (despite the fact that the Church claimed it was), and the hero finds himself murdered. You are then suddenly pitted in a boss battle with Death, and after defeating him you acquire your  signature weapon, which is his reaver. The remained of the demo has the hero attempting to go to Hell to save the soul of his murdered wife.

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PS3 Demo Review: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

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Posted by Rob on October 8, 2009 – 5:14 pm
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Uncharted 2 comes out next week, but last week they released the online multi-player demo. I loved the first Uncharted, and enjoyed playing the Uncharted 2 beta a few months back, and Im really looking forward to Uncharted 2. In fact, my Gamefly queue is currently empty so that Uncharted 2 will ship on release day. But enough about the full game…this is about the demo for the online modes. The demo showcases seven different online modes. From what I could tell, two of them were co-op, and the other five were competitive. Steve and I met up and decided to rock through the co-op ones and see how they were.

I was pleased to find that the controls remained the same, as did the basic style of gameplay. Uncharted is not a FPS where you run around with a machine gun and blow everyone away…you really have to do a lot of duck and cover firing, meaning you will constantly be hiding behind objects, then firing off a couple of rounds, then hiding again. The health system is how a lot of FPS are going these days…as you get hit, the screen begins to turn red, and as you are near death it will turn gray. You can regen health by hiding somewhere and avoiding damage for a set period of time. The game looks and sounds amazing, with great graphics and voice overs. I cant wait to get into the single player campaign. Its gonna rock! But on to the demo!

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PS3 Demo Review: Brutal Legend

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Posted by Rob on October 2, 2009 – 7:43 pm
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I was a bit on the fence with Brutal Legend as I was watching its progress. It had an interesting premise with Jack Black voicing a heavy-metal loving dude stuck in a fantasy-metal world. However, I didnt know how the combat or anything else would work. After playing the demo, this game is a must-play for me.

The demo reminded me of Bioshock’s. Not that the story or gameplay is similar, but the effort and content put into the demo was enough to blow me away and make me know this game is a must-play. The demo has a long intro video setting up the story. After the movie is complete, you can play through a few stages, checking out the combat system and vehicle driving.

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