New Digs, Same Reviews

So those of you who read this blog may be wondering, "What happend?  It's been 2 weeks and no review."

Well some new developments have happened.  I am now writing my reviews for Northwest Cable News. 

So you can head over to their site and check me out.  Here's the link to the latest review:

Reviews of Blur, Split Second, and ModNation Racers

Lost Planet 2

This week I've been invited to "KILL BIG" in Lost Planet 2.  Bigger Akrids, Civil War, and Vital Suits, Oh My!  Let's go harvest some T-ENG.

Story

Set 10 years after the events of the first game, E.D.N. III has undergone some changes.  It's no longer a huge frozen planet.  Sections of the planet have become lush jungles and huge deserts.  One thing that remains constant though is the need for T-ENG, the substance that powers practically everything and helps keep players alive.  Also some of the akrid have grown substantially larger.  The planet is undergoing a civil war of sorts as different factions vie for control.  As you play through the main campain you will switch between characters in these factions. 

You start off as a member of the Snow Pirates invading a Jungle Pirates mining base.  You'll also play as members of NEVEC, Waysiders, Vagabundo, and some ex-NEVEC commandos. The overall story is told through their eyes which makes the story a bit disjointed and hard to follow.  At points you wonder what the heck is going on? Towards the end it finally comes together in a we-have-to-tie-it-all-together kind of way, but by then you've just given up on the story and are along for the ride, and what a ride.  You'll battle other factions and akrid, some of which are so huge you have to be swallowed by it to defeat it from the inside by shooting up it's internal organs.

Controls

While not bad they weren't great.  Some buttons had multiple uses which made a little confusion at times.  The B button (Circle for PS3 owners) became sort of a catch-all button with running, melee, and data point/vital suit activation all being mapped to it.  Overall the control was fine, it just took some getting used to it.

Gameplay

The gameplay is your basic third person shooter, shoot everything that moves.  Lost Planet 2 though really weighs heavily towards 4 player co-op.  So much so that by default if you want to play the campaign it will try to drop you into an game online, if you are not connected online it will try system link.  If you want to play by yourself you have to go into the settings and set it to offline.  Even then you still get 3 AI players that follow you around.  They're not exactly the brightest AI, but they aren't the worst.  They do sometimes fight smart enough not to get killed.  You do have the option to play with a friend split screen also. 

One problem with the co-op, no jump-in.  If you have a friend that wants to join you they have to wait for you to finish your mission (missions are several chapters long).  Also your friend has to have played as far into the game as you have, no joining missions they haven't played through yet.

Even so if you have 3 friends that have the game also, the co-op campaign is solid and works best when all slots are filled with humans.

The one thing this game did pretty well is the online multiplayer.  Capcom took the civil war from the storyline and applied it to this.  Each faction is battling for control of the planet. When you jump into the multiplayer you can choose which faction you are fighting for.  As the factions win battles stats are kept to show who's the winning-est faction.

Graphics and Sound

The graphics are really beautiful.  In some cases if enemies weren't trying to kill you or akrid trying to bite your head off you might even enjoy the view.  The art style for the various factions really reminded me of the the artwork of Moebius, because while their outfits didn't look functional, the did look cool.  The soundtrack was very good and so was the voice acting.

Overall

While my basic rule of "did I have fun" applies here, the game did have it's annoyances.  The biggest is the game leaning hard on the co-op play.  The game does not scale to whether you are playing by yourself or not.  I have nothing against playing co-op, but it would be nice if the game scaled itself to the number of players.  There was a boss battle I played by myself that I would get killed over and over.  I finally got some serious luck to get past, but damn it was hard. 

Borderlands and Crackdown are both game I feel show how a game can scale well.  Replacing human players with AI does not cut it.  I have yet to play a game where they do. Yet neither of those game try to fill out a party with useless AI players and they play and scale well, whatever the party size.  I have to give a big thanks and shout to BBboy20, Da Slayer45, lazyboy71, wanderingsolder, and RaspyClock for helping me play though the campaign.

One other problem, and this might be more to other people than me is a possibly offensive ethnic stereotype.  Remember the old western movies that had the Mexican bandits that were not quite the brightest, half-drunk on tequila and where played for comedic relief?  Well they are the Vagabundo faction here.  In fact you play a whole mission as them.  Now I did enjoy the comedy this brought to the story, but I know someone somewhere is going to get a politically correct and seriously offended.  I say this because it wasn't just a couple of them that were stereotypical, the whole group was.  To the point of at one point I wondered how they all survived long enough to get this far.

I did though overall have fun.  I mean really, how many games do you get to play where you have to be swallowed by a giant monster to defeat it?  Lost Planet 2 gets a 4 out of 5.

Lost Planet 2 is rated T for Teen for Animated Blood, Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence

Also they have some really cool unlockable skins.

Alan Wake

This week I go looking for things that go bump in the night with Alan Wake.  The game was in development for what seemed like forever, almost becoming the next Duke Nukem Forever.  Well I have it and I've played it, it is real.  So grab a spot around the campfire, it's spooky story time.

Story

Alan Wake is a best selling author, but for the last few years he's had writers block.  His wife, Alice, thinking a change of scenery may snap him out of it, suggests a vacation.  So they leave the big city for a vacation in the Pacific Northwest town of Bright Falls, Washington.  Once there Alan gets the keys to the rental cabin from a mysterious lady dressed in a black funeral dress.

Once at the cabin Alice reveals the real reason she chose Bright Falls was because a doctor there specializes in helping artists with creative blocks.  Furious Alan storms out of the cabin.  Moments later Alice screams and Alan races back to the cabin.  Unable to find her he sees the back porch railing broken.  Thinking she may have fallen into the lake he dives in...

...only to wake up behind the wheel of a crashed car.  Making his way out of the wreck he spots the lights of a distant gas station.  He starts making his way though the dark night-time forest to the gas station to call for help when something makes a noise.

I will not reveal any more.  Suffice to say Alan finds himself in a nightmare that literally is of his own making.  All the while making the hairs stand up on the back of your neck.

Controls

The controls were pretty tight and good for this third person game.  The only questionable control was the dodge and run on the same button, but really that wasn't a problem.  Trust me when I say if you want to dodge in this game you want to run right after.  Targeting was kind of loose in that you can't precisely aim, but are generally in the right spot when shooting.  Meaning where the flashlight is pointed is the direction you are going to shoot, still it's not terrible enough to hurt the game.

Gameplay

The game is basically a third person action game with a horror overtone.  The general driving element is to find your wife.  Along the way you either fight, or if out of ammo, run from possessed people or objects.  Thing is you never know when or where they are coming from and they will sneak up on you.

Graphics and Sound

Graphics are really good.  The only fault I can give them is that the facial animation is a bit out of sync when characters talk, so they are a bit like ventriloquist dummies.  Still though it's really good.  Developers Remedy Entertainment really wanted to get the feel of the Pacific Northwest and took thousands of photos of Diablo Dam in Washington, Crater Lake National Park in Oregon and many other places in Washington and Oregon.  When the game is set during the day you really notice this touch.

The voice acting is really good too.  Each person fits their character like a glove.  The music also sets the mood too, like a combination of Twilight Zone and Twin Peaks.  And while I have been asked not to reveal the songs in the soundtrack, I have to say whoever picked out these songs, thumbs up.  They are great songs and fit the mood and theme of the game.

Overall

To be honest this wasn't a game I had any real interest in.  Now that I've played it I really can't wait to see what Remedy Entertainment have up their sleeves next.  I like a good suspenseful horror tale and this game did not disappoint.  Chills up my spine, hair standing on end, pick a cliche and I felt it.  One of the things you find throughout the game is pages of manuscript that Alan wrote, but does not remember writing.  What is significant is that these pages are coming true as you play the game.  So in some cases even though you have been told what's coming it's still a surprise or scare when it happens.

Some of the storytelling touches I really liked.  Such as each chapter after the first starting like it was the next episode in a TV show.  "Previously on Alan Wake," and they would give you a summary of events in the previous chapter.

I'm glad Microsoft let Remedy take their time to put this game together and not rushed them to get it out.  It may have been delayed, but the game, the story, everything shows that they really worked hard at making a phenomenal experience.  This game really raises the bar on almost all fronts, much like Heavy Rain.  I think between the two games Remedy and Quantic Dream have both shown that there is a lot more that can be done with games.

So Alan Wake gets the 5 out of 5.  If you really like a good solid game and  Stephen King-esque horror then pick up Alan Wake.  Simply put, one of the best games I've played.

Really the only thing I can really say bad about this game besides the facial animation is the product placement. Ford, Microsoft Sync, and Energizer batteries get some pretty obvious plugs.  On the other hand I'm a bit surprised Energizer went with it.  As quickly as the batteries die in game you'd think they were the worst batteries to get.  Still if I have to have some product placement to get a game of this level of quality then bring it.

Alan Wake is rated T for Teen for Blood, Language, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco, Violence

Stitch Jam

This week I'm reviewing something for the kids, Disney's Stitch Jam for the Nintendo DS.  So how does a space alien experimental critter play music?  Carefully.

Story

The storyline is Stitch is going to take his girlfriend, Angel, on a date.  Trouble starts though when Dr. Hamsterviel kidnaps her.  Seems Angel's singing voice has the power to turn good people into evil people.

So Stitch quests across the globe and galaxy to save her and stop Dr. Hamsterivel's plot to control the universe.

Controls

There are two control methods and both are very simple.  One is using the stylus to tap or slide in the proper direction on the notes as Stitch passes them.  The other is using the buttons and D-pad.  Press the proper button or direction on the D-pad when Stitch passes the notes.  Easy to learn, hard to master.

Gameplay

The gameplay is all about timing and rhythm.  The music that plays in the game is almost like a "call and response."  As Stitch moves across the screen the music will play.  When he gets close to a note you do the proper move (tap, slide, etc.) and a complementary piece will play.  The more correct notes you play the bigger your combo will be and better score.  Do the wrong move, hit it too early or late and "error" sound plays and Stitch takes a hit.  Too many hits and the game is over.  Again pretty simple, but hard to master.  As you play though the game you can unlock costumes for Stitch and costume parts for your avatar at D Gamer, Disney's online social community for Disney Gamers.

Graphics and Sound

The graphics are very colorful and cartoon which they should be for this game.  The music is catchy and fun.  Pretty much what you would expect from Disney.

Overall

You may have picked up some of my hints, the game is easy to learn, but hard to master.  I'd like to think I have some rhythm, I sang in high school choir and I'm decent at Guitar Hero/Rock Band.  This game though put me in my place.  I tried playing through at first with the stylus.  It really didn't work for me.  Holding the stylus over the screen in anticipation of whatever the move may be kind of blocked my view of the action.  I did much better with the button controls.  Then it became much easier for me, but even then my timing wasn't always right.

Really though I could have mastered the buttons or the stylus it would not have mattered.  The biggest drawback of the game was repetition.  The gameplay was very repetitive.  Each level you did the same thing, did the right move as Stitch got to it.  I was bored by level 3 and the levels are short.  Granted now I'm not the target age group, but given the attention level most kids have and I don't see them interested long either.

I asked a friend to play through the game also.  She felt the same about it overall and was concerned that Dr. Hamsterivel is using words that might be over the heads of most children, when the rest of the cast spoke in fairly simple terms.  To me that just makes Dr. Hamsterivel more "evil."

There is a co-op mode where 2 people can play through the missions together.  There is also access to Disney's D Gamer via WiFi.  This is basically a social chat room of sorts for Disney fans to communicate back and forth.  As I mentioned before you can unlock things such as shirts, hats, etc for your D Gamer avatar. 

Overall this game is really for Disney or Lilo and Stitch fans, maybe even kids that really like music games.  It's cute and fun at first, but fades quickly.  I give it a 3 out of 5.

Disney's Stitch Jam is Rated E for Everyone with Comic Mischief cited as the only content concern.

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction

Sam Fisher is back, and he's pissed off.  This week I jump into Splinter Cell: Conviction from Ubisoft.  Been a long time since the last Splinter Cell, will the new one live up to the legacy?

 Story

 Sam has left Third Echelon, the covert-ops agency he had worked for and has become a rogue agent.  He's gone to investigate a rumor that his daughter's death in the third installment, Chaos Theory, was no accident.  The rumor brings him to Malta.  While confronting the man responsible for his daughters death he is captured by Third Echelon.  His former handler, Anna "Grim" Grimsdottir, informs him that a conspiracy involving him, his daughter, Third Echelon, and a threat to Washington D.C. involving stolen EMP weapons. She sets him free to act as an independent agent with her providing support.  In a way she is forcing him back into his old job.
As the story moves along it wobbles a bit back and forth through time.  All of these flesh out Sam more and give him some humanity.  In one Sam helps his very young daughter overcome her fear of the dark.  In another the basis of his relationship with Victor Coste is explained. The story twists and turns and keeps you guessing. 
Certain plot points I'm avoiding so as not to spoil them.

Additionally there is a co-op mission.  Set up as prologue to Sam's story, it tells how the EMP weapons come into the possession of the enemies.  It follows two agents, Archer, an American agent of the Third Echelon, and Kestrel, a Russian agent of Voron, the Russian version of Third Echelon.

Controls

The controls were pretty easy to pick up for anyone familiar with third-person shooters and very tight. I didn't encounter any problems.  The really nice addition to the control scheme is the "mark and execute" system.  The "mark and execute" system allows you to quickly take out multiple foes.  You simply mark each enemy within range (the number of marks depends on the weapon) and then hit "Y" and Sam takes them out quickly and effectively with a single cinematic shot to each one.  While it would be tempting to use it for every encounter Ubisoft wisely balanced it with the fact you have to take down an enemy hand to hand first to make it active. Even so I found myself rarely using it until late in the game.  Most of the time I tried to take out enemies quietly one at a time, hand to hand.  This is a stealth action game after all.

Gameplay

In addition to the "mark and execute" system a couple other gameplay elements are added to the game.  Instead of a shadow meter now the whole screen lets you know when Sam is hidden in the shadows.  When Sam is completely hidden the game goes black and white, and when he's not it's in color.  I really like this because it let you know while you kept your eyes on the action on screen.  The other useful added gameplay element was the "last know location."  If you were spotted, but then were able to hide again, your last know position would be displayed as sort of a shadowy outline of Sam.  This could be used to your advantage as enemies would focus on that location and you could sneak past or take out the enemies.  Otherwise the game was pretty much your standard stealth action game and very well executed.

The co-op mission features drop in/drop out over Xbox Live or same system split-screen.  The multiplayer also features different types of missions; Hunter (clear the level of everyone), Infiltration (automatic failure if you are detected), Last Stand (protect an EMP weapon from waves of enemies), and Face Off (take on another player head to head). 

Graphics and Sound

Voice acting was top notch all around.  Michael Ironside as the voice of Sam Fisher always rocks.  Music did not interfere with the gameplay and helped set the mood.
Graphically the game looked good.  Cut scenes moved well and in some cases blended seamlessly with the game, giving an almost film quality.

Overall

I have a slight bias here. I love stealth action games.  The Splinter Cell and Metal Gear series' have both been the bar setting games that all other stealth action games seem to reach for.  After realizing the slight stumble with Double Agent (and an almost disastrous change in style and possible story direction of the series for Conviction) Ubisoft has come back strong.  The developers wanted to give Sam Fisher more action and less studying of patrol routes, give the game more of a James Bond/Jason Bourne action.  Both of those characters could be stealthy and quickly take out multiple people.  The "mark and execute" system and "last know position" went a long ways in moving the game to that style.  In my opinion it falls more into the Jason Bourne style.
I also really liked the in-game projection of story telling elements.  The mission goals and Sam's inner thoughts would be projected on walls in a way that didn't interfere that helped tell the story and move the action along without stopping everything.
Splinter Cell: Conviction brings a new life back to the series and really does it well.  I'd say it's the best of the series.  I really enjoyed playing through it.  It gets a 5 out of 5.

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction is rated M for Mature for Blood, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language.

Sony's MLB 10 The Show and 2KSports' Major League Baseball 2K10

So we're back after some extended time off and were jumping into spring.  The crack of the bat, the smell of garlic fries (well at Safeco Field at least).  It's opening week of baseball and what better time to talk about baseball games.  This week we look at 2 games.  The PS3 exclusive MLB 10 The Show and the multi-system Major League Baseball 2K10 (MLB 2K10) from 2KSports.

PLAAAAYYY BALL!




Story

No real story to either game, it's a sports game after all, but they both do have a sort of story mode.  Both games allow you to make your own player and bring them up through the ranks to fame fortune and maybe even the Hall of Fame.  That's about it.  You still have to make up your own story about him in your head as to what he does off the field.

MLB 10 The Show

MLB 2K10

Controls

While neither game has particularly hard controls, but they are a bit more complex than your average game.  Pitching and hitting is where each differed the most.  

MLB 10 The Show's pitching has you select the style of pitch, then a power bar comes up.  Hit the "X" button and a meter goes up the bar, when it gets to the power you want hit the "X" button again and it starts to come down.  Now you want to hit the "X" button again when the meter get to the "sweet spot," a mark in highlighted area of the bar.  The closer you are to the mark the more perfect the pitch is.  This doesn't even go into how to place the pitch.

MLB 2K10 on the other hand has you chose the pitch and then move the left thumbstick in a specific pattern to pitch the ball.  As you start the pattern a black circle comes up with a small yellow circle growing inside of it.  When both circles match size you want to finish the pattern.  The closer you have the circles match size when you finish the pattern the more perfect your pitch is.  Again this doesn't even go into pitch placement.

Overall in pitching I was better with MLB 2K10.  In MLB 10 The Show I gave up 6 runs in the first inning, whereas in MLB 2K10 I held them to 0 runs, up to the 10th inning.  That last statement also kind of reflects the batting.

In MLB 10 The Show it's basically push the "X" at the right time to hit the ball.  You can improve your chances by guessing what the pitch is going to be and where in the "batting zone" it will be.

In MLB 2K10 you use the right thumbstick to swing the bat. Up for a connecting hit, down then up for a power hit, and left or right for left or right defensive hit.  Again it's timing the swing for the right moment.

In this I was better at batting in MLB 10 The Show, I got quite a few base hits and even managed a home run.  In MLB 2K10 not so much.  Got a few base hits here and there, but mostly struck out.

Combine the pitching of MLB 2K10 and the batting of MLB 10 The Show and you have a perfect game for me.

MLB 10 The Show

MLB 2K10

Gameplay

It's baseball.  To explain the gameplay would pretty much mean I'd have to drag out the rule book.  Basics, hit ball, score runs, try to keep the other team from scoring.  Any more explanation needed and I'm gonna have to take you to a game.

Graphics and Sound

Over all I'd say that both games have pretty good graphics.  Most players sort of looked like their photos, though in MLB 10 The Show some players had creepy eyes.  Speaking of photos MLB 2K10 did have a slight problem here, no up to date player photos.  Ken Griffey Jr. has been back with the Mariners for almost 2 years, but they show him in his Cincinnati Reds uniform in his photo.  Sloppy guys very sloppy.  I understand the Marniers made a lot of trades in the off-season, but MLB 10 The Show was able to show all player pictures in proper uniforms, so no excuse.

Both games did have minor quirks.  MLB 10 The Show players looked like they were walking about an inch off the ground at times.  I know they wear spiked shoes, but those spikes do dig into the dirt.  The pitcher's hand in MLB 2K10 would sometimes look like it was holding a ball, even though there was no ball.

Sound-wise both games sounded good, like I was watching the game on TV.  MLB 2K10 even went the extra mile to fade to and up from black during side changes, like when they go to commercial on a real televised game.

MLB 10 The Show

MLB 2K10

Overall

Both games were fun and both games have their faults.  Like I said, take the parts of both that worked for me and put them together and it will be a perfect game.  The one biggest faults I think is a lack of a tutorial for either game.  Sure there is practice in both, but neither walks you through how to play and practice, frankly, is boring. I wanna play the game.  Causal gamers may want to think hard about getting these games as they are a little much and will you need to practice to be any good at winning against the computer, much less online.  You may want to look into renting first, see if you can get into it.  Both get 4 out of 5 because in the end I did have fun playing them and I do love baseball.  Go Mariners!

*Note, when I first posted this review I mistakingly posted the wrong score of 4 out of 10.  It is now been corrected to reflect my score method of out of 5*

Both games are rated E for Everyone.

MLB 10 The Show

MLB 2K10

God of War III

After a week off we're back.  Up for review this week is the epic final chapter of the God of War trilogy, God of War III.  How epic is it?  Pretty epic.

God of War III is rated M of Mature.  There is lots of blood, guts and some nudity.

 Story

The story picks up right where God of War II left off.  Kratos, wanting vengeance, is leading the titans to war with the gods.  Riding on the back of Gaia.  His personal quest is to defeat and destroy Zeus for ruining everything in his life. That is simply it.  Along the way he will encounter other gods and titans.

A simple story, but the telling of it in the game is well done in an epic scale.

Controls

God of War III's controls were easy to pick up and use.  They are pretty much the same as the rest of the series.  Reminders will pop up at certain points.

The one thing I hate is here though, fixed camera.  Even so there were very few cheap deaths because of it.  Everything is on the screen, nothing hidden off screen.  No bad angles either.   One initial death I blamed on the camera was actually more of problem of lighting.  I had not properly adjusted the brightness at the beginning of the game, and they provide a handy meter to adjust it too.

The only control problem I really can complain about is the double-jump glide move.  The controller didn't always recognize me holding the button at the end of the move, so I would end up falling to my death. 

Gameplay

The gameplay is the same as it's been for the series.  Third-person beat 'em up.  Beat up the monsters, defeat the bosses, and throw in some quick time events.  Not long ago I played through Dante's Inferno which had the same formula.  The difference here is you don't get waves of similar beasts, broken up by the occasional puzzle.  Here you get monsters that evolve and get tougher as you become more powerful.  God of War III has a bit more of a challenge, more puzzles, and frankly a bigger scale.  Epic scale.  It never feels like you are slogging through the same thing over and over.

Graphics and Sound

Santa Monica Studios pulled out all the stops on this game.  They really show with this game the PS3's potential.

The graphics are just phenomenal.  There are no CGI cinematics per se.  All cinematics were done with the game engine, with the games art assets and are either real-time or were pre-rendered.  Which makes everything seamless.  At no time did I notice any loading, there were no loading screens.  This game was made for HD, it needs HD, it's a reason to get HD.

Sound is right on par with the graphics.  Excellent voice acting from everyone.  They even brought in some big names, Rip Torn, Malcom McDowell, even Kevin Sorbo, who played Hercules on TV.  Naturally the have him voice Hercules.  The soundtrack sounds like is was taken right from a movie with full orchestra.

Overall

From the opening credits you know this game was going to big and epic.  They played almost like a James Bond opening.  And then dropped you right into the action.  Fighting creatures on the back of Gaia as she climbs Mount Olympus.  Eventually you end up fighting all around and inside of her.  Your first boss battle is during this also with Poseidon and his leviathans.

There is something going on almost all the time.  If you aren't fighting, you are solving puzzles, sometimes both at the same time.  With no load screens the only time you really got a break was when you paused the game.  Problem is the story and action is so good you don't want to stop.

I may have used the word "epic" way to much in this review, but that is what best describes this game.  It's epic.

Santa Monica Studios knocked this one out of the park.  The showed all those God of War wannabes how it's done and done EPICALLY well.  For the end of a trilogy, God of War II is very satisfying and a perfect ending.

God of War III gets a 5 out of 5.

God of War III is rated M for Mature for Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Nudity, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content.

Deca Sports 2 and Mario & Sonic at the Winter Olympic Games

The Winter Olympics might be over, but you can still play the games.  This week I'll be trying out Deca Sports 2 and Mario & Sonic at the Winter Olympics, both for the Nintendo Wii.  Which one will take the gold?

Story

Neither game has a story.  So we're done here....well if you want you make up your own story you can since both games allow for using your own characters.  Mario and Sonic allows you to use your Mii, while Deca allows you to create your own team with their character builder.

Controls

While both games use different control schemes for each sport, Deca seemed to try to keep is controls closer to something you actually might be doing while doing the sport in real life.  For example, since both games have speed skating I'll use that.  In Mario & Sonic you use just the Wii-mote.  Shaking it at the start of the race and then moving it side to side in time with a light flashing from your character's hands. In Deca you use the Wii-mote and the nunchuk.  Moving both in time with meters on either side of your skater, mimicking their arm movements.

Both were easy to pick up, but I like Deca's closer to realism approach.

Gameplay

Both are basically mini-game collections.  Mario & Sonic let you play each sport individually, all from opening to closing ceremonies, or within a party game setting.  Deca also lets you play each sport individually, a League competition that includes all 10 sports, a Tournament where you knock out teams, or Challenge which is basically the party game setting also.

Both have Nintendo WiFi Connection, but Mario and Sonic only have it for leaderboards, no online play. On the other hand Deca has leaderboards too, but only 3 of it's games (tennis, hockey, and dodgeball) are playable online. 

Both games had a reward system.  In Deca you earn skill points.  The skill points are a bit like a leveling system in that the more you have the harder your computer opponents will be. Mario & Sonic rewards you with Star Points which can be used to unlock music, outfits for your Miis, stickers for your equipment, and Winter Olympic history and trivia.

 

  

Graphics and Sound

Graphically overall both were fine, but Mario & Sonic looked better to me.  It looked a bit crisper and cleaner.  Deca looked a bit last gen art style-wise.  While it's still a bit odd to hear Mario and Sonic sound coming from the same game it was all good.  Deca's audio was good too.

Overall

Both games were very fun, and really you can't go wrong with either if you are looking for a good mini-game collection.  Mario and Sonic is all about the winter games and includes 27 different games.  Deca on the other hand has 10 games, but only 3 of them are winter games.  I'd give both a 4 out of 5.  Which you want really depends on what you're looking for.  Mario & Sonic give you more games, but Deca has some games not found in any other collection.  Both were simple to control and easy to pick up, but to me Deca was more realistic.  Mario and Sonic has characters you know in love, Deca lets you create your own team.

Maybe you just get both.

Both games are rated E for Everyone.  Mario & Sonic also noted Mild Cartoon Violence.

 

 

Dante's Inferno

This week we are going to hell, and not in a handbasket. Dante's Inferno takes us to hell and back.  Will hell be fun?  Will we be able to do our literature report on the Divine Comedy? Well let's see.

Dante's Inferno is rated M for Mature, and for this game I can not stress that enough.  This game pushes the mature factor in depicting hell.

Story 

Dante's Inferno is loosely based on the first part of the Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri. In the original version the poet Dante is in a dark wood chased by beasts and he is unable to find the right path.  He finds the poet Virgil who helps him find his way, but the journey goes straight through the nine levels of hell.

This version is a bit different.  In this one Dante is a knight from the Third Crusade, during which he faces and kills Death (that's how he gets the scythe).  Weary from the war he returns home to find his father, Alighiero, and fiance, Beatrice, both killed.  While morning over Beatrice's body her soul appears to Dante, only to be taken by Lucifer.  This starts the quest for Dante to save Beatrice from hell.  Along the way we learn as Dante passes through sections the sins he committed that have brought about this situation.  You will also meet the ghost of Virgil, he will describe each level during your journey.

Controls

Well lets get the bad part out of the way.  Controls for the most part are ok, but there are problems.  Not only is Dante going into hell, but the player is going into gaming hell.  Part of the problem is they went with a fixed camera, which understandably was done to help tell the story.  Problem is it tends to ruin game play.  I don't know how many times I died making blind jumps, bad angle jumps, or misjudged distance jumps, but it was a lot.  Then there is enemies that are off screen, which wouldn't be bad if it was just them.  When you're knee deep in a bunch of them on the other hand, well they can be down right deadly.

Not helping matters is the fact that the right thumbstick normally used for camera controls is now the "evade" stick.  Now once you get used to the fact it's for evading it's fine.  You move quickly in the direction you tilt the stick.  The problem is getting used to it.  I jumped to my death quite often trying to "spin the camera" so I can get a look at my surroundings.

Another problem with the controls is animation lag.  You fire off a combo to beat on the enemy in front of you, which is great, until he decides to move.  You then try to start a new move to counter what he's doing.  Not always gonna happen.  Some times it works, sometimes you're stuck watching Dante finish off his combo as a nasty demon moves round to the side to turn his face into goo.

The last problem is the controls sometimes don't realize you are doing something different.  For example in one instance I'm climbing a crumbling tower.  At one point I have to jump from one tower to another.  First time worked fine.  A little further up though I have to jump back.  I make the jump, but now I want to continue climbing up, problem is the game seems to not realize I have the thumbstick pointed up.  I'm moving side to side but not up and the tower falls taking me with it.  The second try it seemed to figure everything out this time, but then again I paused after every jump, letting the thumbstick center itself before moving on.

Controls were not fun.

Gameplay

Dante's Inferno is a third person beat 'em up.  If you've played God of War, then you'll be right at home here.  Beat up bad guys, quick time event, rinse, repeat.  While that might sound a bit repetitive, and really it is, it's not completely boring.  They have a decent amount of bad guys, each with a different style of fighting them.  The problem is after a while they don't really offer any new bad guys, just more of them.  Wave after wave, just when you think you finished them, more pop up.  The quick time event, if you aren't expecting them they will throw you off.  Thankfully in most cases the ones while fighting a bad guy don't always kill you. 

As you journey through hell take the time to see the sights.  There are condemned souls to absolve or punish, depending on how you want to level up Dante.  If you decide to punish it's quick and brutal.  You get a set amount of souls and Unholy points.  If you decide to absolve them you get a set amount of Holy points and it opens a mini-game where you "absolve each sin."  With each successful sin absolved giving you bonus souls.  The souls are used to buy various upgrades to Dante's combat repertoire.  The Holy and Unholy skill trees have different abilities that can be unlock with X amount of souls that you get not only from condemned souls but from defeating bad guys, various pools, and occasionally from destroying parts of hell itself.

There are also relics to be found (some are Holy or Unholy), 30 pieces of silver, and 3 Beatrice stones for her cross that you carry and use for absolving.  Find all three stones and you can bypass the mini-game, but you don't get any bonus souls either.

One curious thing about level layout was the Malebolge.  Each Bolgia was a challenge level.  It just seemed an odd placement to group together challenge levels all on one circle of hell.  You'd think they would have laid it out with each circle of hell having it's own challenge level tailored to it's theme.

Graphics and Sound

Visually the game is a treat.  Each level is tailored to it's theme.  Lust has various....um....personal body parts subtlety used in it's construction.......OK some aren't so subtle.  My inner 13 year old did sound off at a couple points.  Not to mention the bad...girls of this level.  Gluttony used a lot of guts and mouths for it's layout.  The final boss was big fat thing with mouths.  Greed used a lot of gold.

Sound was very good.  The music never overpowered, and just right.  The most present sound was the constant suffering for the damned.  Mostly is was screaming and wailing, but if you stopped and listened you could hear people talking.  Sometimes the talking was more noticeable, and sometime kind of humorous.  For example while climbing down a wall of souls I suddenly heard, "Ow, you clawed out my eye, why, why?"

The voice acting was very good too.  I wonder if they were going for a certain style.  While Dante, Beatrice, Virgil especially, and others spoke almost prose-like, Lucifer spoke in a very modern style.  I kind of liked it, giving Lucifer an interesting character.  Almost smart-alecky in some parts.

Overall

I think this game could use a sub-title, Dante's Inferno: Cheap Death Hell.  I lost track of the number of times I died from cheap deaths.  The game went from fun to frustrating quickly.  I like that EA took a huge chance, basing a game on a poem written over 700 years ago.  Controls and cheap deaths aside I see a good story that's been well acted and placed in some great set pieces, but then it all falls apart when a jump gets misjudged multiple times.  And having the game tell me I could set the difficulty lower after I've died dozens of times in the same spot, while a nice reminder, it does not do my ego any good.

Some things they can fix with an update if the choose to, such as the various control lags.  Other things like the camera, the player is going to have to get used to.  That was a creative choice that they made.  I personally don't like it, as it hinders game play and exploration.  Which is something this game tries to encourage with it's hidden relics, condemned souls, pieces of silver, etc.  Thing is after blind jumps, areas that you think you can get to, but finding invisible walls, and just plain not being able to look around, fixed camera becomes a deterrent to exploration.

I think the only reason I finished it was I got so far into it I was like, well I've come this far, might as well see it through to the end. 

Considering the amount of money EA put behind the promoting of this game (Super Bowl commercial time is not cheap) I was really looking forward to a great game.  Sadly the bad out weighs the good.  Dante's Inferno gets a 3 out of 5 from me.  I say rent it first.  If you get into it, then by all means go buy it. 

Dante's Inferno is rated M for Mature for Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Nudity, Sexual Content.