Merry Christmas!

No reviews this week.  Next week I'll look at three games I think were the best of 2009, one of which will be my choice of Game of the Year.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, and if I missed a holiday in there, may it be happy and good for you.

Christmas Shopping Quick Hits

So this week I'll take a quick look at a bunch of games and give you a quick reaction on them.  Full reviews will be coming forth, but we're getting closer to Christmas.  Those Xmas shopping days are counting down.  I'll break it down into some groups here.  Kids, Family, Teen +, Mature, Music, and Flashback.

Kids, as in kids.


Littlest Pet Shop Friends

So Littlest Pet Shop Friends.  Suffice to say, I'm not a little girl, this game was in no shape or form made for me.  The game based on the popular toys has all the cuteness you can stand.  The story is the Pets are putting on a party for a new pet that is arriving.  This means searching the town for things for the party, getting all "dressed up" and mini-games.The gameplay is simple enough and easy to understand.  The mini-games run the gauntlet of "skee-ball" to a version of the "magic 8 ball."  (I asked the ball if I'd win the lottery this week, it said "Purr-obably not.")  The only thing that really bothered me about the game was the animals "talking."  They just made the same noises over and over.  The dog, "ruff-ruffing," the bird "tweet-tweeting," the bear...um "inhale whezzing?"  The bear did sound a little weird, but overall I think this would be a good game for any little girl.  Even better if she's into Littlest Pet Shop already, because the game comes with codes you can use in their online game.  The game can be played with two players, so mom or dad can play along too.

Nerf N-Strike Elite

OK I never had toys this cool as a kid.  Nerf N-Strike Elite is pretty cool in a couple ways.  One, it comes with a Nerf gun. Two, the Nerf shooting mechanism can be swapped out for the Wii remote so you can shoot Nerf darts in the game!!!  The story is a group of kids are infiltrating....storming?  Well they are going into a base filled with Nerf shooting robots that are bad.  As light as the story is the game is very fun.  It's an on rails shooter like the light gun games you've played at the arcades.  The game has a bunch of things to unlock, such as in game real and fictional Nerf guns.  The game also uses "Red Reveal Tech" which is the old red filter to reveal hidden clues trick.  It works well and here it not only helps reveal clues, but weaknesses in the robots also.  Pretty much an young boy is gonna want this game.  You can buy a second Nerf gun if you want for two-player action, but it's not absolutely needed, you can just aim a plain Wii remote.

My Sims Agents

My Sims Agents is a bit like The Sims, but with adventure.  You are an up and coming "spy," more like a detective that gets gadgets.  You solve cases while your best friend (and narrator of the story) creates comic book based on your adventures.  The game is well done and reminds me of the old point and click adventure games a bit.  You have to look for clues, interview people to find out the truth and solve the case.  This one can be for boys or girls as your agent can be either.

Family, everyone join in the fun.

Hasbro Family Game Night 2

Hasbro Family Game Night 2 raids Hasbro's closet of board games and adapts them to video games again.  Each game gets a remix twist that makes the old classics feel new again.  While the games are easy to play I highly recommend that you play through them individually first to learn how to play them before jumping in with the family and playing the big party game that mixes them all together.   Especially for Bop-It!  In fact I'd have to say Bop-It! was the one game my party did not like as a video game.  Overall though, get out the 4 Wii remotes and have fun.

Buzz Quiz World

Buzz Quiz World was lot of fun.  You are on a quiz show, complete with studio audience.  Players are given a choice of categories and then a series of questions from that category.  Each round plays a little differently, such as Point Builder, where everyone that answers correctly gets points or Boiling Point, first one to answer six questions correctly wins or Over the Edge, where every wrong answer pushes you closer and closer to getting dunked in green slime.  Throw in a smart-alec host and you have Buzz.  There are tons of questions, though I did manage to see one repeat.  Highly recommended.

Forza Motorsport 3

Yes, a racing game for the family.  Forza Motorsport 3 is for the family because they have made the controls so anyone can race a Ferrari at a 150 mph on the Le Mans track.  This is THE racing game to get if you own a Xbox 360.  If you need more reasons, read my full review.

Teen +, almost old enough.

Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time

Somehow I've managed to not have played through a Ratchet and Clank title and I'm not sure why.  Humor reminiscent of The Simpsons, gameplay falling somewhere between platformer and shooter Ratchet & Clank Future is a good game.  Thankfully they summarized some of the back story at the beginning of the game.  The game is also one of those that you loose track of time easily with.  Just one more level, just one more planet, just a little bit further.  And I wonder why I'm so tired the next day.

Uncharted 2; Among Thieves

Lovable rouge, Nathan Drake is back.  This time he's looking for the lost fleet of Marco Polo.  Which means Nathan is in over his head again.  In some ways that commercial Sony has been airing about Uncharted 2 is right.  Uncharted 2 is so well written it does play out almost like an action movie.  This game is on a lot of short lists for game of the year and for good reason, it's that good.  If you haven't played either Uncharted games yet, think of them like this, they are the Indiana Jones of video games. (If there were never any Indiana Jones games ever made.)  Developer, Naughty Dog also added an online multiplayer to this for up to 3 player co-op play and 5 on 5 battles.

Mature, there will be blood.

God of War Collection

Sony had a hit with God of War.  God of War II cemented it's status as PS2 classics.  Now with God of War III looming on the horizon Sony has decided to get everyone psyched up for it by rereleasing the first two.  Not just rereleasing, but giving them a full upgrade for release on the PS3.  Improved graphics, remastered for full HD.  It looks beautiful.  Kratos, a brutal warrior wants nothing more than to kill Ares the God of War.  The game play is the same and the game is still epic in nature.  A very clever interpretation of the Greek mythos.  If that wasn't enough, there is a voucher for the God of War III E3 Demo, so you can get a taste of what is being called the final chapter on this great series.

Halo 3 ODST

Halo 3 ODST is not your dad's Halo.  Sure there are some similarities, but to me it was different enough to blow some fresh air into the series.  Master Chief is not in this title at all.  This story follows a team of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers on a mission that goes wrong form the start.  Separated, you follow "The Rookie" for most of the time, but you end up in the boots of all of them at some point.  This was another one I really liked this year.  You can read my full review here.

Dragon Age: Origins

When I said there will be blood, I could have been talking about the God of War Collection, but I wasn't.  Because while God of War does have it share of blood, it disappears after that first burst.  Not in Dragon Age.  Your character will be splattered with it and it will take time to fade away.  But there has to be more than just blood for a game to be good.  Developers, BioWare always bring their A-Game.  Creators of some of the greatest role-playing games such as Balder's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Star Wars; Knights of the Old Republic, and Mass Effect.  Their last four games while great RPGs, all have been away from the swords and sorcery fantasy worlds.  With Dragon Age: Origins they return to the fantasy setting with a vengeance, and a bit of self-deprecating humor.  After you defeat some giant rats in your first encounter, one of the non-player characters with you remarks that fighting the giant rats was, "like every bad tale I heard growing up."  Which is a wink and nod to the fact that practically every fantasy based RPG has you killing giant rats as one your first monsters.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Really, do I need to say anything?  It's only sold over a bazillion gillion copies.  Developers, Inifinity Ward are having fur sinks and gold toilets installed at their offices.  This will get voted as game of the year by numerous game news outlets and it's worth every bit of it's praise.  This one I have also already given a full review and you can read about it here.

Music, time to 'rock the casaba'.

DJ Hero

Different, but the same DJ Hero is the newest in Activision's music Hero games.  Instead of mimicking a guitar, bass, drums or trying to sing on key, players mimic DJ'ing.  I myself was very surprised at how fun this really is.  Recently I had a friend play it.  She was lovin' it so much she would start dancing to the music and mess up in the game.  I also fully reviewed this one earlier.

The Beatles Rock Band

There were a good number of music games released this year.  The one I felt that stood above them all was The Beatles Rock Band....and I'm not a Beatles fan, I am more of a Rolling Stones fan.  That said the visuals and the music of this game won me over, so much so I have considered going out and buying some Beatles albums.  The thing is developers, Harmonix really didn't add much to the basic gameplay of Rock Band.  They added three part harmony vocals and that was it really.  Everything else about the gameplay is strictly Rock Band.  Visually they took cues from all the styles the Beatles used over the years, especially the years they no longer toured.  This could also fall into the the family category, as I could easily see baby boomers getting into this game.

Flashback, didn't these come out last year?

These last two games did indeed come out last year.  But because they were such huge sellers they both got rereleased as Game of the Year Editions this year.

LittleBIGPlanet Game of the Year Edition

Sackboy.  So cute, so fun, so beat to hell and back.  If you own a Playstaion 3 and have not gotten this game I highly highly suggest you shut your computer off and go out now and buy it.  The lovable, highly customizable Sackboy of LittleBIGPlanet lives in a pod that overlooks LittleBIGPlanet.  A planet "made of dreams"......ok in really it is made of millions of levels made by people like you and me.  LittleBIGPlanet is a platformer game at it's heart, but it's the fact that developers Media Module have given the players the tools to create their own levels that makes it more than that.  Yes a majority of the levels that people have made will be platformers.  But I have played though a level that a guy managed to make into a 2D space shooter.  I've played through a level that was a giant pinball game.  Heck I even played one that was just a giant calculator, really I'm not kidding.  That is the amount of freedom and power you have in the creation of a levels.  The Game of the Year Edition comes with some of the DLC that was available for purchase, such as the Metal Gear Solid levels, costumes, and art pack, as well as 18 levels buy top community level creators and interviews with those creators.....P.S.  Please play my level Metal Gear Solid Temple, just do a search for it.  ;)

Fallout 3 Game of the Year Edition

Fallout 3 was done by the same developers that have done the Elder Scrolls series of games.  Fallout 3 is set in Washington D.C. after the cold war of the '50s turned hot, nuclear bomb hot.  You are born in a fallout shelter.  You father is a doctor and your mother dies giving birth to you.  The fallout shelter or Vault as it's called, is your home until you become a young adult.  All this time you are told that nobody can leave the vault because the radiation is so bad outside.  Shortly after you reach young adulthood, your father breaks out of the vault.  Thinking you had some thing to do with it, the overseer of the vault comes after you.  You have no choice but to flee the vault yourself.  And that's where the game really starts.  From there you can do anything you want in this first person shooter.  Try to find your father, wander the wasteland formally know as Washington D.C., do evil or good.  It's all up to you.  I know a friend of mine just decided to wander and discover the whole map.  Myself I decided to chase down my father, something I'm still in progress of doing.  There is so much to discover and do you can easily loose track of time playing this game.  The Game of the Year Edition adds all five DLC packs that were released for the game.

Lips Number One Hits

This week it's Lips Number One Hits.  Microsoft's karaoke game with the cool wireless microphones.  I think somewhere someone wants to punish me, with Top 40 music.  Well let's get down to it.

Story:

No story to this game, it's a pure party game.  Pick up the mic, find a song and sing.  No need for a story.

Gameplay:

If you have ever gone to a bar and gotten talked into getting up in front of everyone and sang a karaoke song then you know how to play this game.  The only difference this one keeps score.  OK it's a little more than that, but that is the basics.  You do have to try to sing in key, but you can sin in an octave range that works for you.  So no worries about hitting those ultra high notes.  Because the microphones have motion sensors you also have to mimic the movements of your Avatar on-screen and shake it for noise makers.  Well actually you can shake the mic anytime for noise makers (ie tamborine, hand claps, etc.), but they give on-screen cues for when you have to shake it.

Multiplayer has some different modes to it.  There is the "Battle," "The Lovers," and "Bomb."  These are pretty simple.  "Battle" has you battling on stage.  "The Lovers" has you trying to get a boy and a girl together for a kiss.  "Bomb" has you trying to keep your bomb from blowing up by singing better than the other player.  There is also a duet mode.

Also you can plug in a MP3 player or USB drive with MP3s on it and you can sing along with those songs if the included songs are not enough, which they probably aren't.  If you own the original Lips game you can sing those songs too by swapping discs.  I don't so I don't know how smooth that is, I've read it's kind of cumbersome.

Controls:

Pretty simple.  Use the controller to navigate the  menus, use the microphone to sing and mimic the onscreen action (Avatar movement or noise maker).  Simple enough anyone of any age can get into it.

Graphics and Sound:

Sound is great as it should be for a music game.  Graphics are bright and colorful in the menus.  Each song comes with it's corresponding music video, if one was ever made for it.  If the song never had a music video there will either be some visual thrown in or a slide show.

 

Overall:

If you like singing this game is fun.  I think of myself as a singer, of sorts, so this was fun.  Although I did learn sadly that I can't rap to save my life.  Lips shines more as a party game though, and that's what it was made for.  The multiplayer is as easy as shaking the second mic to turn it on and you are playing with friends.

The one drawback that I see is the number of songs, only 40 songs.  In this day when Guitar Hero and Rock Band are packing over 80 songs in the game, Lips seem lacking.  It does come with a voucher for your choice of one of three 5-song packs that cover 3 genres (Hip-Hop, Rock, or Pop) which stretches it out to 45.  There are songs that you can buy off Xbox Live that will expand the library out to a total of 211 songs.  The music is kind of scattered across the genres, but in karaoke that's part of the fun, getting up and embarrassing yourself by singing Vanilla Ice's "Ice Ice Baby."

As a party game this gets a 4.5 out of 5, single player gets 3.5 our of 5. 

Lips Number One Hits is rated T for Teen for Lyrics, Mild Cartoon Violence, Sexual Themes, and Use of Tobacco.

Songs included on Lips Number One Hits;

• "Viva la Vida" - Coldplay
• "Don't Matter" - Akon
• "The Tide is High (Get the Feeling)" - Atomic Kitten
• "Loser" - Beck
• "Don't Phunk With My Heart" - Black Eyed Peas
• "Heart of Glass" - Blondie
• "Big Girls Don't Cry" - Fergie
• "Broken Strings" - James Morrison feat. Nelly Furtado
• "She Drives Me Crazy" - Fine Young Cannibals
• "Around The Way Girl" - LL Cool J
• "How You Remind Me" - Nickelback
• "Love Generation" - Bob Sinclar
• "Don't Worry Be Happy" - Bobby McFerrin
• "Bubbly" - Colbie Caillat
• "(I Just) Died In Your Arms" - Cutting Crew
• "Disturbia" - Rihanna
• "U Can't Touch This" - MC Hammer
• "More Than Words" - Extreme
• "Apologize" - OneRepublic feat. Timbaland
• "Karma Chameleon" - Culture Club
• "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" - Marvin Gaye
• "Oh, Pretty Woman" - Roy Orbison
• "Ready, Set, Go!" - Tokio Hotel
• "The Look" - Roxette
• "Millennium" - Robbie Williams
• "California Love" - 2Pac feat. Dr. Dre and Roger Troutman
• "Barbie Girl" - Aqua
• "Just Dance" - Lady Gaga feat. Colby O'Donis
• "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" - Tears for Fears
• "The Fear" - Lily Allen
• "Hey Baby" - DJ Ötzi
• "I Don't Feel Like Dancin'" - Scissor Sisters
• "Heartless" - Kanye West
• "Touch My Body" - Mariah Carey
• "Hey There Delilah" - The Plain White T's
• "Always On My Mind" - Pet Shop Boys
• "I'm Yours" - Jason Mraz
• "I Get Around" - The Beach Boys
• "Lovefool" - The Cardigans
• "Push the Button" - Sugababes

The 3 song packs to choose from;

Lips House Party Tour

• "Going Back To Cali" - LL Cool J
• "My Prerogative" - Bobby Brown
• "Nasty" Janet Jackson
• "Straight Up" - Paula Abdul
• "This Is How We Do It" - Montell Jordan

Lips Hearts and Heartbreaker Tour

• "1973" - James Blunt
• "Bad Day" - Daniel Powter
• "Eternity" - Robbie Williams
• "If You're Not the One" - Daniel Bedingfield
• "You Were Meant For Me" Jewel

Lips Turn It Up To 11 Tour

• "From Yesterday" - 30 Seconds to Mars
• "Lost!" - Coldplay
• "Photograph" - Nickelback
• "The Reason" - Hoobastank
• "Welcometo the Black..." My Chemical Romance

 

Band Hero vs LEGO Rock Band

Well it's a battle of the kid friendly versions of Guitar Hero (Band Hero) and Rock Band (LEGO Rock Band).  Both are aimed at younger kids with a more Top 40, family friendly hits vibe.  Which is better?  Are they any good?  Will I survive the saccharine sweet songs?  Will I get to rock out?

Story:

Well they both have a little bit of story to their career modes and both follow a similar tale.  Band Hero's tale starts when a new band gets their big break when the latest pop star cancels their mall tour.  From there as you play shows you gain stars unlocking bigger and bigger venues.  LEGO Rock Band's tale starts as a band is sitting at home get inspired by watching LEGO Queen perform "We Will Rock You" on TV.  From there you get a van and start playing shows.  As you gain stars and LEGO "Studs" (LEGO's equivalent of money) you unlock vehicles that take you to bigger and bigger venues.  By the end of both games you will have become big stars.

Gameplay:

The tried and true gameplay of Guitar Hero & Rock Band continues on in both titles.  Press or hit matching colored buttons or drums to the notes on screen, or in the case of vocals, sing with the same pitch as that on screen.  Both games bring an easier mode to the game for the younger players.  LEGO Rock Band also includes an "auto bass kick" for those that have problems using the kick pedal on the drums.

Band Hero includes all the new mode it brought into Guitar Hero 5, drop-in/drop-out, any combination of four players (ie you could have four drummers or two drummers, two singers etc.).

LEGO Rock Band brings in a no fail mechanic in that if you play poorly you will lose LEGO studs, but later in the song you will get a chance to win them back by completing a "recovery phase."

Controls:

As with all Guitar Hero/Rock Band games these you need to have the guitar, drum, and microphone controllers to perform.  More than likely at this point you have them.  If not they aren't hard to find.

Graphics and Sound:

Sound is great on both, as it should be when you have a music based game.  Both have their good and bad moments in their setlists, depending on your taste in music. 

Graphically things are very different.  Band Hero is pretty much that same as Guitar Hero 5 but more brightly colored.  Lots of pink and neon and pastels.  Almost like it was gear more towards tween/teen girls.  Even all the characters from the Guitar Hero series have been given a pop makeover (punk rocker Johnny Napalm trades in his spiked mohawk for a full head of hair).  The art style overall is still generally the same as Guitar Hero 5.  In addition to the usual Guitar Hero characters, stars Taylor Swift, Adam Levine (of Maroon 5) and the band No Doubt are unlockable characters.

LEGO Rock Band on the other hand is completely different than it's predecessors.  The art style follows Traveler's Tales (who co-developed the game with Harmonix) other LEGO games and brings along LEGO versions of Queen, Blur, Spinal Tap, David Bowie, and Iggy Pop.

I'll place full setlists for each game at the end of the blog post.

 

Overall:

Both games hit the mark for being family friendly.  Both games songs have been selected to be suitable for younger players, though some have had lyrics removed to be more friendly.  That said some song edits are....curious.  For example Don McLean's "American Pie" in Band Hero has had the word whiskey removed from the song yet leaving rye which is also a type of hard alcohol.

Band Hero to me feels like Guitar Hero 5 "reskined." This is not necessarily a bad thing since Guitar Hero 5 is one of the better versions of the series.  So the only thing new here is the music.  So if you were turned off by Guitar Hero 5's hard rock or felt it was a bit too adult for your kids, then Band Hero's Top 40 focus may be for you.  Additionally Band Hero will import songs from Guitar Hero World Tour and Guitar Hero 5 as well as certain DLC songs as long as they meet the family friendly criteria.

LEGO Rock Band feels like a new game on the other hand.  While the basics are the same, the LEGO style makes it feel new.  Additionally the LEGO graphics make it feel more kid friendly than Band Hero.  LEGO Rock Band songs can also be exported to Rock Band 1 or 2 (for a fee) and it is compatible with DLC songs that again meet the family friendly criteria.   One curious thing is that LEGO Rock Band does not have an online multiplayer mode.

In the end both games are fun, but I have to go with LEGO Rock Band for being more fun.  I mean really how can you not like LEGOs?  Band Hero gets a 4 out of 5, LEGO Rock Band gets a 5 out of 5.

LEGO Rock Band is rated E 10+ for Everyone 10 and up for Comic Mischief, Mild Cartoon Violence and Mild Lyrics.  Band Hero is rated E 10+ for Everyone 10 and up for Lyrics and Mild Suggestive Themes.

Band Hero's Setlist;

• 3 Doors Down - "When I'm Gone"
• The Airborne Toxic Event - "Gasoline"
• The All American Rejects - "Dirty Little Secret"
• Alphabeat - "Fascination"
• Aly and AJ - "Like Whoa"
• Angels & Airwaves - "The Adventure"
• Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals - "Steal My Kisses"
• Big Country - "In a Big Country"
• The Bravery - "Believe"
• Carl Douglas - "Kung Fu Fighting"
• Cheap Trick - "I Want You To Want Me (live)"
• Cold War Kids - "Hang Me Up To Dry"
• Corinne Bailey Rae - "Put Your Records On"
• Counting Crows - "Angels of the Silences"
• Culture Club - "Do You Really Want To Hurt Me"
• Dashboard Confessional - "Hands Down"
• David Bowie - "Let's Dance"
• Devo - "Whip It"
• Don McLean - "American Pie"
• Duffy - "Warwick Avenue"
• Duran Duran - "Rio"
• Evanescence - "Bring Me To Life"
• Everclear - "Santa Monica (Watch The World Die)"
• Fall Out Boy - "Sugar, We're Goin' Down"
• Filter - "Take A Picture"
• Finger Eleven - "Paralyzer"
• The Go-Go's - "Our Lips Are Sealed"
• Hilary Duff - "So Yesterday"
• Hinder - "Lips Of An Angel"
• Jackson 5 - "ABC"
• Janet Jackson - "Black Cat"
• Jesse McCartney - "Beautiful Soul"
• Joan Jett - "Bad Reputation"
• Joss Stone - "You Had Me"
• Katrina and The Waves - "Walking On Sunshine"
• The Kooks - "Naive"
• KT Tunstall - "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree"
• The Last Goodnight - "Pictures Of You"
• Lily Allen - "Take What You Take"
• Maroon 5 - "She Will Be Loved"
• Marvin Gaye - "I Heard It Through The Grapevine"
• Mighty Mighty Bosstones - "The Impression That I Get"
• Nelly Furtado - "Turn Off The Light"
• N.E.R.D. - "Rockstar"
• No Doubt - "Just A Girl"
• No Doubt - "Don't Speak"
• OK Go - "A Million Ways"
• Papa Roach - "Lifeline"
• Parachute - "Back Again"
• Pat Benatar - "Love Is A Battlefield"
• Poison - "Every Rose Has Its Thorn"
• Robbie Williams and Kylie Minogue - "Kids"
• The Rolling Stones - "Honky Tonk Women"
• Roy Orbison - "Oh Pretty Woman"
• Santigold - "L.E.S. Artistes"
• Snow Patrol - "Take Back the City"
• Spice Girls - "Wannabe"
• Styx - "Mr. Roboto"
• Taylor Swift - "Love Story"
• Taylor Swift - "Picture To Burn"
• Taylor Swift - "You Belong With Me"
• Tonic - "If You Could Only See"
• The Turtles - "Happy Together"
• Village People - "YMCA"
• Yellowcard - "Ocean Avenue" 

LEGO Rock Band's Setlist;

• All American Rejects, "Swing, Swing"
• The Kooks, "Naïve"
• The Automatic, "Monster"
• KoRn, "Word Up!"
• Blink-182, "Aliens Exist"
• KT Tunstall, "Suddenly I See"
• Blur, "Song 2"
• Lostprophets, "Rooftops"
• Bon Jovi, "You Give Love a Bad Name"
• P!NK, "So What"
• Boys like Girls, "Thunder"
• The Police,"Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic"
• Bryan Adams, "Summer of 69"
• The Primitives, "Crash"
• Carl Douglas, "Kung Fu Fighting"
• Queen, "We Are The Champions"
• The Coral, "Dreaming of You"
• Queen, "We Will Rock You"
• Counting Crows, "Accidentally in Love"
• Rascal Flatts, "Life is a Highway"
• David Bowie, "Let's Dance"
• Ray Parker Jr., "Ghostbusters"
• Elton John, "Crocodile Rock"
• Razorlight, "Stumble and Fall"
• Europe, "The Final Countdown"
• Spin Doctors, "Two Princes"
• Everlife, "Real Wild Child"
• Spinal Tap, "Short & Sweet"
• Foo Fighters, "Breakout"
• Steve Harly, "Make Me Smile"
• Good Charlotte, "Girls & Boys"
• Sum 41, "In Too Deep"
• The Hives, "Tick Tick Boom!"
• Supergrass, "Grace"
• Iggy Pop, "The Passenger"
• Tom Petty, "Free Fallin"
• Incubus, "Dig"
• T-Rex, "Ride a White Swan"
• Jackson 5, "I Want You Back"
• Vampire Weekend, "A-Punk"
• Jimi Hendrix, "Fire"
• We the Kings, "Check Yes Juliet"
• Kaiser Chiefs, "Ruby"
• The Zutons, "Valerie"
• Katrina & The Waves, "Walking on Sunshine"

DJ Hero

This week were getting into the groove. It's time to get down and get funky.  Activision has release it's latest in it's "Hero" games, DJ Hero.  Allowing you get up on the ones and twos (well ones) and spin some wax.  So let's get scratchin'.  YEAAAAAAAA BOY!

Story:

Activision must have decided that stories were no longer needed.  Because continuing the trend from the latest Guitar Hero games there is no story.  Which really for these rhythm games really isn't needed.  They are played for the fun and connection to the music.

Gameplay:

If you are familiar with the Guitar Hero or Rock Band games, then you have a good idea of what the gameplay will be like.

If not the basics are you will be hitting the buttons in time with onscreen "notes" as they pass the "hitzone."  The difference here is that you have a crossfader and turntable for scratching.  Some notes that come down will have arrows in them.  If they are arrow that go both ways then you have to scratch the turntable back and forth while holding down that button(s) when they pass the "hitzone."  If the arrow goes in only one direction then you move the turntable in that direction while holding down that button(s).  If the track that note is coming down slides to the left or right then you move the crossfader to the direction the track is going.

Starpower from Guitar Hero gets renamed "Euphoria," but it's still the same thing.  Glowing notes will come down every so often, play them all without missing and you gain Euphoria.  You can use Euphoria to temporarily increase your multiplier.  Another way to increase your multiplier it to do "rewinds."  After you play enough notes perfectly the rewind indicator will light up.  At that point when ever you want you can spin the record backwards (at least one complete rotation) and you can replay the same section you just played with a double multiplier.  (Note, don't do this while you have Euphoria active, it will instantly shut that off.)

And that's the basics, there is more, but that's starting to get into the more advanced things.  The game provides tutorials for everything you can do.  As an added bonus, unlike Guitar Hero, you can't fail a song.  That said though you don't get points or stars either for playing poorly or not at all.  Stars are important as getting stars allows you to unlock things such as other DJs, turntables, headphones, clothes, venues, but most important other setlists and songs.

Controls:

DJ Hero can only be played with the turntable controller.  It won't even let you get past the welcome screen with a regular controller.  You can play co-op and the guitar only setlist with a guitar controller, but you need the turntable controller.

I'll be honest, when I first saw pictures of it I thought it was a bit two simple and sparse.  I mean the guitar controller had 5 colored buttons, the strum bar, whammy bar, etc.  There is actually more than enough here to keep you busy, if not a little flummoxed.  The controller is pretty solidly built, a bit more heft than the guitar controller.  One nice thing is they thought of all the left handed people out there.  It can come apart to swap the crossfade section to the opposite side for them. The turntable moves very smooth, and it's easy to get a some fast spin action on it.  Just be careful when performing a rewind that it doesn't get a way from you.

Graphics and Sound:

The graphical style is more cartoon urban than it's cartoon rock brethren, which is to be expected.  Fun and colorful, the environments are very much like the clubs they should be set in.  Sound is great as is expected when it's a music game.  Musicly it's a bit all over the map, but it all fits together well.  I found myself head boppin' as I played some of the songs.  Kind of hope they put out a soundtrack CD.

The full set list is at the end of this blog post.

Overall:

Unlike it's Guitar Hero and Rock Band predecessors,  DJ Hero is poised for a more niche market.  Guitar Hero and Rock Band can both encompass a wide variety of music styles, rock, country, pop, metal, funk, techno, even hip hop and more.  Plus more people can wrap their head around the basics of playing a guitar, drumming or just plain singing, than playing a turntable.  DJ Hero is kind of limited in it's variety,  hiphop, techno, mash-ups, etc.  That's not to say there is a limit, but I don't see this being as popular Guitar Hero and Rock Band. It's also an investment in a controller that at the moment is only good for one game (currently the regular version retails around $120.00).  It's kind of like when Guitar Hero first came out, limited with a lot of potential, but a bit of a investment of time and money.

That said I encourage people to try it out if you get a chance or buy it if you can.  It was fun to play, especially if you enjoy song mash-ups.  Developer FreeStyleGames did a great job on putting it together.  Granted I didn't get much higher than medium playing through, but then again I wasn't that great at Guitar Hero or Rock Band at first either.  Time and practice and I'm pretty sure I can look like Grandmaster Flash or DJ ZTrip (both are unlockable characters too).  The no failing a song and the co-op with a guitar or two player with a second turntable controller can make for just as much fun as Guitar Hero or Rock Band.

I give it a 4.5.  Lots of fun, but limited for now.  Thinking about it though I could easily see this become part of Guitar Hero if Activision wanted to get some more out of it.  Lots of nu-metal/rap-metal bands have a DJ.

DJ Hero is rated T for Teen for Lyrics, Mild Suggestive Themes.

The DJ Hero Setlist;

• 2Pac - "All Eyez On Me" vs. The Aranbee Pop Orchestra - "Bittersweet Symphony (Instrumental)"
• 50 Cent - "Disco Inferno" vs. David Bowie - "Let's Dance"
• 50 Cent - "Disco Inferno" vs. InDeep - "Last Night A DJ Saved My Life"
• Afrika Bambaataa - "Zulu Nation Throwdown" vs. Freedom Express - "Get Down"
• Beastie Boys - "Here's A Little Somethin' For Ya" vs. DJ Shadow - "The Number Song (2009 Version)" (Produced and mixed by DJ Shadow)
• Beastie Boys - "Intergalactic" vs. Blondie - "Rapture"
• Beastie Boys - "Lee Majors Come Again" vs. Daft Punk - "Da Funk" (Produced and mixed by Cut Chemist)
• Beck - "Where It's At" vs. DJ Shadow - "Six Days (Remix ft. Mos Def)"
• Bell Biv DeVoe - "Poison" Beat Juggle
• Bell Biv DeVoe - "Poison" vs. Beastie Boys - "Intergalactic" (Produced and mixed by DJ AM)
• Bell Biv DeVoe - "Poison" vs. Cameo - "Word Up!"
• Benny Benassi - "Satisfaction" vs. Tiësto - "Elements Of Life"
• Billy Squier - "The Big Beat" vs. N.E.R.D. - "Lapdance" (DJ-Guitar mix)
• Black Eyed Peas - "Boom Boom Pow" vs. Benny Benassi - "Satisfaction"
• Bobby "Blue" Bland - "Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City" vs. 2Pac - "How Do You Want It"
• Bobby "Blue" Bland - "Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City" vs. Connie Price & The Keystones - "Fuzz And Them"
• Boogie Down Productions - "Jack Of Spades" vs. David Bowie - "Let's Dance" (Produced and mixed by DJ Shadow)
• Chuck Brown & The Soul Searchers - "Bustin' Loose" vs. The Zombies - "Time Of The Season" (Produced and mixed by DJ Shadow)
• Chuck Brown & The Soul Searchers - "Bustin' Loose" vs. Young MC - "Bust A Move"
• Common - "Universal Mind Control (U.M.C.)" vs. Masta Ace - "Jeep A** Gutter (Aaron LaCrate & Debonair Samir RMX)" (Produced and mixed by The Scratch Perverts)
• Cypress Hill - "Insane In The Brain" vs. Classics IV - "Spooky"
• Cypress Hill - "Insane In The Brain" vs. David Axelrod - "The Edge"
• Daft Punk - "Around The World" vs. Young MC - "Bust A Move"
• Daft Punk - "Da Funk" vs. N.A.S.A. - "Strange Enough ft. Karen O, ODB & Fatlip"
• Daft Punk - "Megamix 1"
• Daft Punk - "Megamix 2"
• Daft Punk - "Robot Rock" vs. Hashim - "Al Naafyish (The Soul)" (Produced and mixed by The Scratch Perverts)
• Daft Punk - "Robot Rock" vs. Queen - "We Will Rock You"
• Daft Punk - "Short Circuit" vs. Boogie Down Productions - "Jack Of Spades"
• Daft Punk - "Technologic" vs. Gary Numan - "Cars"
• Daft Punk - "Television Rules the Nation" vs. No Doubt - "Hella Good"
• David Axelrod - "The Edge" vs. Eric B. & Rakim - "Eric B. Is President"
• Dizzee Rascal - "Fix Up, Look Sharp" vs. DJ Shadow - "Organ Donor (Extended Overhaul)"
• Dizzee Rascal - "Fix Up, Look Sharp" vs. Justice - "Genesis"
• DJ Shadow - "Six Days (Remix ft. Mos Def)" vs. D-Code - "Annie's Horn"
• Eminem - "My Name Is" vs. Beck - "Loser"
• Fedde Le Grand - "Put Your Hands Up For Detroit" vs. Sandy Rivera and David Penn - "I Can't Stop (David Penn Remix)"
• Foo Fighters - "Monkey Wrench" vs. Beastie Boys - "Sabotage" (DJ-Guitar mix)
• Foreigner - "Juke Box Hero" vs. DJ Z-Trip ft. Murs - "DJ Hero" (Produced and mixed by DJ Z-Trip)
• Foreigner - "Juke Box Hero" vs. DJ Z-Trip ft. Murs - "DJ Hero" (DJ-Guitar mix, produced and mixed by DJ Z-Trip)
• Gang Starr - "Just To Get A Rep" vs. Mobb Deep - "Shook Ones, Pt 2" (Produced and mixed by J. Period)
• Gorillaz - "Feel Good Inc." vs. Blondie - "Atomic"
• Grandmaster Flash's - "Boom" vs. "Tap" (Produced and mixed by Grandmaster Flash)
• Grandmaster Flash, DJ Kool, DJ Demo - "Here Comes My DJ" vs. Gary Numan - "Cars" (Produced and mixed by Grandmaster Flash)
• Gwen Stefani - "Hollaback Girl" vs. Gorillaz - "Feel Good Inc."
• Gwen Stefani - "Hollaback Girl" vs. InDeep "Last Night A DJ Saved My Life" (Produced and mixed by DJ AM)
• Gwen Stefani - "Hollaback Girl" vs. Rick James - "Give It To Me"
• Herbie Hancock - "Rockit" Beat Juggle
• Herbie Hancock - "Rockit" vs. N.E.R.D. - "Lapdance" (Produced and mixed by Grandmaster Flash)
• InDeep - "Last Night A DJ Saved My Life" vs. Cameo - "Word Up!"
• Jackson 5 - "I Want You Back" vs. Gang Starr - "Just To Get A Rep" (Produced and mixed by DJ Yoda)
• Jackson 5 - "I Want You Back" vs. Third Eye Blind - "Semi-Charmed Life" (DJ-Guitar mix)
• Jackson 5 - "I Want You Back" vs. Third Eye Blind - "Semi-Charmed Life"
• JAY-Z feat. Pharrell - "Change Clothes" vs. 2Pac - "All Eyez on Me"
• JAY-Z - "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" vs. Eminem - "My Name Is"
• JAY-Z - "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" vs. Jackson 5 - "I Want You Back"
• JAY-Z - "Excuse Me Miss" vs. Rick James - "Give It To Me"
• Jean Knight - "Mr. Big Stuff" vs. Masta Ace - "Born To Roll"
• Jurassic 5 - "Jayou" vs. Billy Squier - "The Big Beat"
• Jurassic 5 - "Jayou" vs. Herbie Hancock - "Rockit"
• Kid Cudi - "Day 'N' Nite" vs. Black Eyed Peas - "Boom Boom Pow"
• Kool Moe Dee - "How Ya Like Me Now" vs. Reel 2 Real featuring The Mad Stuntman - "I Like To Move It"
• Little Richard - "Tutti Frutti" vs. Shlomo - "Beats" (Produced and mixed by DJ Yoda)
• M.I.A. - "Paper Planes" vs. Eric B. & Rakim - "Eric B. Is President" (Produced and mixed by The Scratch Perverts)
• M.I.A. - "Paper Planes" vs. Wale - "Lookin' At Me"
• Marvin Gaye - "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" vs. David Bowie - "Let's Dance"
• Marvin Gaye - "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" vs. Gorillaz - "Feel Good Inc."
• Motorhead - "Ace Of Spades" vs. Noisia - "Groundhog" (DJ-Guitar mix)
• N.A.S.A. - "Strange Enough ft. Karen O, ODB & Fatlip" vs. Isaac Hayes - "Theme From Shaft"
• Noisia - "Groundhog" Beat Juggle (Produced and mixed by The Scratch Perverts)
• Paul van Dyk - "Nothing But You" vs. Sandy Rivera and David Penn - "I Can't Stop (David Penn Remix)"
• Public Enemy - "Shut 'Em Down" vs. Beck - "Where It's At"
• Public Enemy ft. Zakk Wylde - "Bring The Noise 20XX" vs. Justice - "Genesis" (Produced and mixed by DJ Z-Trip)
• Public Enemy featuring Zakk Wylde - "Bring The Noise 20XX" (DJ-Guitar mix)
• Q-Tip - "Good Thang" vs. Billy Squier - "The Big Beat" (Produced and mixed by J. Period)
• Queen - "Another One Bites The Dust" vs. Beastie Boys - "Brass Monkey" (Produced and mixed by DJ Z-Trip)
• Queen - "Another One Bites The Dust" vs. Daft Punk - "Da Funk"
• Rihanna - "Disturbia" vs. Kid Sister - "Control"
• Rihanna - "Disturbia" vs. The Killers - "Somebody Told Me" (DJ-Guitar mix)
• Rihanna - "Disturbia" vs. The Trammps - "Disco Inferno"
• Shlomo - "Beats" vs. Billy Squier - "The Big Beat"
• Street Sweeper Social Club - "Fight! Smash! Win!" vs. Beastie Boys - "Intergalactic" (DJ-Guitar mix)
• Tears For Fears - "Shout" vs. DJ Shadow - "Six Days (Remix ft. Mos Def)"
• Tears For Fears - "Shout" vs. Eric B. & Rakim - "Eric B. Is President" (Produced and mixed by DJ Jazzy Jeff)
• Tears For Fears - "Shout" vs. Eric Prydz - "Pjanoo"
• The Aranbee Pop Orchestra - "Bittersweet Symphony (Instrumental)" vs. LL Cool J - "Rock The Bells" (Produced and mixed by DJ Jazzy Jeff)
• The Scratch Perverts Beats and Pieces (Produced and mixed by The Scratch Perverts)
• The Killers - "Somebody Told Me" vs. Eric Prydz - "Pjanoo"
• Vanilla Ice - "Ice Ice Baby" vs. MC Hammer - "U Can't Touch This"
• Vanilla Ice - "Ice Ice Baby" vs. Paula Abdul - "Straight Up"
• Wale - "Lookin' At Me" vs. Black Eyed Peas ft. Tippa Irie - "Hey Mama"
• Weezer - "Beverly Hills" vs. Evidence, The Alchemist, Aceyalone, Rakaa & 88 Keys - "Fresh Rhymes And Videotape" (DJ-Guitar mix)
• Wild Cherry - "Play That Funky Music" vs. Gang Starr - "Just To Get A Rep" (DJ-Guitar mix)

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

I'm about to make a shocking confession.  I have never played through a Call of Duty game at all.  In fact, prior to this game I owned only one, Call of Duty 2, but have yet to get around to playing it.  Too many games, never enough time.  Well that all changed recently when I got COD: Modern Warfare 2.  Does the game live up to it's hype?  Can Infinity Ward improve on what they started?

NOTE:  This is a mature rated title. How mature?  When you start the game it tells you there are scenes that graphic and disturbing and asks if you wish to play on with the game as is or skip the disturbing part.  If you click to continue as is it asks you a second time, "Are you sure?"  If you select to continue it will never ask you again, but if you have second thoughts you can change the setting in options.  Also if you selected to not play through the disturbing parts at the start, when you reach the a chapter in question it will ask if you wish play it or skip it.  Again it will ask "Are you sure?" if you click to play it.  This game is rated M for Mature for a reason. 

Story:

Basically, you could say it's World War III unfolding.  The game picks up 5 years after the events of COD: MW.  You start out as U.S. Army Ranger Private Joseph Allen in Afghanistan where you help retake a city.  General Sheppard, impressed by you, recruits you into his special ops.  And that's as much story as I'm gonna give you.  I don't want to spoil anything for anyone.  Suffice to say the story is well told through cut scenes and in-game acting.  You will play several characters in this game, since the story unfolds very movie like.  Moving from one part of the world to another.  I like the story enough that I have gone out and purchased "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare" so I can learn the whole story.

I will say the story is short.  I finished it off around 10-11 hours, but I died a lot too (Rambo tactics don't always work).  I'm hearing a good player can do it around 5-7 hours.  This does not take away from the game though.  A game like this doesn't need an epic 30 hour story.  To me it felt to be just the right length.

Besides, a majority of the game will be played in multiplayer battles online. More on that later.

Gameplay:

COD: MW2 is planted firmly in one of my favorite genres, the first-person shooter.  It's very well done.  While I sort of miss the days of the "pack-mule" hero that could carry 20 weapons and 1000's of rounds, they are long past and the rule of the day is realism.  Well realism to a point.  I mean where else are you gonna get shot up multiple times and just "walk it off" by hiding behind some cover for a few moments.

Still everything else does play well and realistic.You have a limit of two weapons, a rifle and a pistol, plus some hand grenades and flash/bang grenades.  Infinity Ward keeps things things simple and supplies you with everything you need to finish each chapter.  They start you in each chapter with a set up that you can use through the whole chapter.  But they also litter the battlefields with various weapons, so you can pick and choose as you go along.  If one weapon doesn't seem to work well for you, pick up a different one.  Eventually you'll find a set to your liking.

Online multiplayer is kind of limiting at first.  You have to work your way up to unlock various loadouts, gametypes, and other perks such as custom loads, various looks for your character, titles, ranks, etc.  All this come from just spending time in multiplayer.  As you play you earn experience points depending on how well you do in the battles. The better you do the more points you get.  Be prepared to die a lot, it all just takes time and practice.

Controls:

Controls on the console were very smooth and very easy to pick up.  Your first couple missions are basically tutorials.  Anything new thrown in along the way is taught quickly.  Over all you can kind of think of the whole storyline as a tutorial for the online multiplayer.  Left stick for movement, right stick for camera.  Left trigger aim, right for firing your weapon in hand.  Left and right bumpers were for flash/bang and frag grenades respectively. A jump, B crouch, Y switch weapons, and X reload/use.  Similar layout for the PS3.

Graphics and Sound: 

Graphics were smooth, at no time online of off, did I have any slowdown.  They were crisp and clean.  The only complaint is looking at some of the M1A1 tanks they are missing details, but then again I spent 8 years on tanks in the Army, they probably got a day on them and a stack of Army approved pictures.

Sound was top notch also.  At no point did any sound effect sound odd.  Voice acting talent was very A-class.

Overall:

To me this game lives up to the hype around it and then some.  I enjoyed the game and will be playing through first Call of Duty: Modern Warfare to compare the progress Infinity Ward made.  I could not find any fault.  The game gets a 5 out of 5.  If you like good war movies or good FPS games then this is one for you.  Considering it sold a bazillion copies on it's launch, you should have not problem finding people to play online.  We might even cross paths.....just give me a few moments before you shoot me.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is rated M for Mature for Blood, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Language

 

FIFA Soccer 10

This week with the Seattle Sounders making a good run into the MLS Cup, I thought we'd take a look at FIFA Soccer 10.  Granted I don't know soccer well, but then again I don't know many sports well.  The basics, put the ball in the goal, I know.  So let's hit the pitch.

Story:

No story, but you can create a pro.  In create a pro you simply create a player and try to take him up through the ranks to become a world wide superstar.  You do this by winning, unlocking accomplishments and achieving goals set for you in each match by your team manager.  Creating your pro can be pretty in depth.  Hair style, eyes, nose, ears, chin, height, and weight are some of the things you can adjust.

Almost every country that has a Football/Soccer league is represented and you have your choice which you wish to play in and which team you want to play on.  I, of course, chose Seattle Sounders.

Gameplay:

The game play of FIFA 10 depends on what mode you are playing.  If you are playing Pro Season then the game centers on the pro you created and is played in a unique view to the position that pro plays.  If you play in a regular game then the view is that of the game from the side.  Regardless the controls are the same.  If you are unfamiliar with soccer, EA has included tutorials for each aspect of offense and defense.  They came in very handy for me to learn some of the game.  I ended up playing the Pro Season a lot because I liked the view better.

Controls:

While the controls are fairly simple, the tutorials are there for a reason, there is a lot more to soccer than just kicking the ball around.  I would highly advise watching each tutorial and then practicing the moves a bit before jumping into the game proper.  Even the beginner levels can be a bit of challenge if you don't know what you are doing.

Gameplay:

After the title screen the game drops you right into it.  You start out on a 1 on 1 practice field, just you and the goalie.  Pressing start takes you to the main menu.  Once in an actual game, the gameplay itself was pretty fluid.  The game was pretty good about telling me when I was starting to get offsides, and in general were I should be or should be going in relation to the action and my players position.  This was done by arrows at the players feet or a flag above the players head.  As the game went along I started getting a feel for things.  I still have some problems dribbling the ball, but passing I'm getting pretty good at.  Scoring in games I still have yet to do, but one on one I up to about 50% of the time.  While some asspects are still a bit fuzzy to me, I'm slowly getting it.

The tutorials while helpful are just videos.  I would have like something more like "this is how you do it" and then the game has you try to do it.  As it stands now I have to watch the tutorial, remember how something was done as I back out through the menus to the practice field to try it.

Graphics and Sound:

Graphically it looks pretty good.  I'd say right up there with Madden.  Players look pretty realistic and move pretty realistically too.  Sound was very good too. Sounds of the ball being kicked, other players on the field and the crowds cheering are all there.  The commentary even sounded fairly timely during play.

Overall:

Like I said earlier some aspects of the game are still fuzzy to me, but I was having fun.  I actually want to finish the season I started and really work on scoring goals.  For my first football/soccer game I'm going to have to give it a 3.5 out 5.  I'm intrigued enough to want to keep playing, but the learning the game is not easy.  Demos are available if you want to save some money to see if you like it, or rent it if you want try some of the deeper aspects or have played an older version of FIFA.  True football/soccer fans I think might really like this though.

FIFA Soccer 10 is rated E for everyone.

Torchlight

Well this week we jump back to the PC and boot up a new dungeon crawler called Torchlight, by Runic Games. Runic has some grand plans for Torchlight and this is it's first step.  Grab your sword and let's go cut up monsters.

Story;

Runic has built a good story for Torchlight.  From their web site;

The adventure is set in the mining settlement of Torchlight, a boomtown founded on the discovery of rich veins of Ember – a rare and mysterious ore with the power to enchant or corrupt all that it contacts. This corruptive power may have dire consequences however, and players set out into the nearby mountains and depths below to discover the full extent of Ember’s influence on the civilizations that have come before.

As players will learn as they they adventure forth, Ember is the root of many things in the world of Torchlight.  You learn more about Torchlight and the mines as you complete quests.

You start out as one of three classes.  You can choose from Destroyer, Alchemist, or Vanquisher.  Each have their own reasons for being in Torchlight.  The Destroyer is a fighter class.  He is drawn to Torchlight after "hearing of the evils that have befallen it."  Great with melee weapons, he will hack and slash his way through the mines.  The Alchemist is a mage class.  Because Ember plays heavily into his power he is in Torchlight for his own ends.  Spell casting is his forte.  Lastly is the Vanquisher, a ranger/archer class. She (yes she) is there "to investigate the mysterious slayings and missing town folks." Bows and traps are her specialties.  Each character can be improved over the course of the game.  As you level up, you will be able to assign points to your stats.  Learn new skills in your skill tree, and learn new spells that you find or purchase.  While each character is the basically the same at start for everyone, as you play you will tailor the character more and more to your own tastes.  Making the character more unique.

Gameplay;

As per usual with an action RPG game I always take the fighter.  They are always pretty straight to the point, plus there is something about hacking and slashing your way through this type of game that is always satisfying.  The gameplay is very Diablo-esque, which a lot of people seem to be saying.  That is not a bad thing either.  Diablo is a great game to be compared to, especially when compared favorably.  But there are other things to the game, parts of it seem inspired by World of Warcraft and some seem to be from Baldur's Gate; Dark Alliance.

After choosing your starting class you choose your pet, a cat or a dog.  While they can help in a fight they are there for more than just that.  The have their own inventory pack.  So when you get over loaded with loot you can store stuff on them.  Fill their pack up too?  Well you can send them back to town to sell everything they are carrying.  I loved that option.  I've always hated either stopping to go back to town to and sell all the stuff you picked up or trashing the least valuable items so I could explore more.  Now just load up the pet and send them on their way.  Usually they are gone for about a minute.  No more interruption in the game.

Speaking of no interruption, that has a nasty drawback.  You'll be playing the game and look up and suddenly realize hours have gone by.  I'll be honest to make my deadline for this review I did not get to play as much as I really wanted, because I was having too much fun to keep track of time.

Another nice element is that each level is randomly build as the game goes along.  So this also keeps each persons play through unique

Control;

Mouse and keyboard controls, pretty intuitive for anyone familiar with most PC RPG games.  Runic wanted to keep it fairly simple and it is.  For the most part I did pretty much everything with the mouse.

Graphics and Sound;

Sound are very good.  The voice acting was also pretty good, no groan inducing lines or overacted parts that I heard.  Graphically the art style reminded me a bit of cartoons or manga, which I found to be a nice change of pace from what most action RPGs look like.

Overall;

I really liked Torchlight.  Like I said it was a time sucker and I really just scratched the surface.  I never got around to the level editor to create my own levels, which could be shared.  I never got around to the fishing mini-game and so much more.  Sadly though the game does not have any online co-op, but really it's not missed.  Runic has some grand plans for Torchlight.  Which includes plans for a MMO based on the world of Torchlight.  If made as well as this, I'd say they would give World of Warcraft a good run for it's money.

For all the fun I had I give it a 4 out 5, only because it was such a time sucker.  There is lots of fun to be had, hours of fun if you are not careful.  This is an awesome game from Runic and I look forward to see what they do next.

Right now the only way to get the game is through digital distribution.  So you can got to your favorite digital download game site (Steam, Direct2Drive, Wildtangent, Perfect World, Encore, GamersGate, or Gameware.at) or go to Runic Games' web site and buy it from them directly.  And really for $20, you can't go wrong with this game, it's worth every dime.  If you are more thrifty, they do have a demo version so you can try it out first, but I really think you'll end up buying it.

         

Forza Motorsport 3

Microsoft and Turn 10 Studios brings their latest car racing sim, Forza Motorsport 3 to the Xbox 360.  A game that many have been looking forward to, but also a game some are worried about.  Turn 10 has stated that the biggest problem with racing sims are that they are usually complicated and appeal to a niche group.  Their goal for Forza Motorsport 3 was to make a game that the core fans as well as the casual gamer could both enjoy.  Is it worth the wait, does it satisfy both core and casual gamers?  Let's kick the tires and take it for spin around the track.

Story:

No story per se, there is a career mode.  Career mode is broken down to multi-month seasons.  In those seasons Forza will give you three selections for racing series, one for your current car, one for more track variety, and one for a different car class.  Additionally every two weeks game time you race one race in a championship series.  I actually like the season mode, it gives some good choices.  But don't feel you have to stick to it.  This is one of the elements for the causual gamer, though as a core gamer I like this touch in that it make career mode seem more like an actual career.  While you can follow the season mode if you want, you can go your own way if you don't like the choices given.  Just go into event select and all the events you have unlocked are available for you to choose from right there.

Control:

This is where Turn 10 put in a good amount of thought and effort.  Control can be as easy as gas an steering or as difficult as gas, clutch, brake, gear shifting and steering.  And that's before we get into damage, wear & tear, AI levels, and other driving assists.  Those people that had a specific control scheme in Forza 2 can setup the same control scheme in Forza 3.  I myself normally have all assists except anti-lock brakes off, automatic transmission, and braking lines only on.  The choices all can be either be tailored to your style or simply select easy, medium, or hard and Forza 3 will make the choices for you.

I tried the "one-button" style for one race.  As someone that drives closer to realistic in the game it took a little getting used to.  The auto-brake was a little unexpected at first, but worked pretty flawlessly.

In the end whatever your choice for control, Forza has added an item that makes the game, well, easier for everyone.  The unlimited rewind button.  Usable only in the single player game the rewind button is usable at any time in the race to fix a "mistake."  Took a turn wrong and ended up off the track, rewind.  Crashed into another car or wall, rewind.  Another car crashed into you, rewind.  It's very helpful and as you get better at the game you'll find yourself using it less and less.

Gameplay:

For those that have played Forza 2 in the past you will notice some slight change to the cars in the way they drive.  This is the improvements Turn 10 made to the the handling, making it more realistic.  I was used to it within a few races.  The game AI is as aggressive/non-aggressive as Forza 2 and it also can be adjusted.  In fact almost anything can be adjusted if it too hard or too easy.

Speaking of adjusting the more advanced players will find all of their favorite upgrading and tuning is still there.  Again here Turn 10 has made it easy for casual players with suggested upgrades.  With Forza 2 I kind of guessed and built my cars well hit or miss.  I have pretty much completely used the suggested upgrades.  I did do one car on my own.  Interestingly after upgrading the car I tried to use the suggested upgrades option for it in the same class, it wouldn't let me.

The tuning brings me to another element they have added, the Storefront.  The Storefront expands the Auction House for Tuners and Artists.   Tuners can now sell their tuning setups and Artists can sell their paint jobs or vinyl groups for in game money.  Looking for a little more performance, check the storefront.  Looking for a wild paintjob, check the storefront.

Graphics and Sound:

Graphic you'd be hard pressed to find better.  Boasting at least 10 times the polygons if not more, Forza 3 is just drop dead beautiful.  Easily blowing away Forza 2.  Audio each car was sampled so each one sounds like it should.  I am a little so-so on the music chosen for menus, it's very different from what Forza 2 had.

Overall:

Forza Motorsport has since it's introduction been compared to the granddaddy of racing sims, Polyphony Digital's Gran Turismo.  Truth be told I am a Gran Turismo fan.  Turn 10 has really come a long way from it's first Forza on the original Xbox.  While I thought Forza 2 was somewhat comparable to Gran Turismo, now Forza 3 is pretty much on par, and in some ways surpassed Gran Turismo.  If Turn 10 keeps the quality up like this I suspect the racing sim fans will be the biggest winners no matter what system they choose.  Turn 10 has pushed Gran Turismo developer, Polyphony Digital, to include damage, and Polyphony Digital has pushed Turn 10 to create a quality, beautiful game.  Clocking in with over 400 fully customizable cars from 50 manufacturers and over 100 race tracks from around the world, Forza Motorsport gets a perfect 5 out of 5 from me.  It's a must buy if you like any kind of racing game.  It was totally worth the wait.

Forza Motorsport 3 is rated E for Everyone