January 13, 2010

Lightning Round Reviews

In the "Lightning Round Review" section I will give a quick break-down of multiple games. In this first section I will quickly touch on the games I played over the break:

1.) Assassin's Creed 2 [Xbox 360] Rank: 9.5
Ubisoft hit a grandslam with this one; unlike its predecessor the game does not get repetitive. In fact, you are constantly moving. It's the same great action, fantastic story, and mind-blowing "The Truth". Well worth the money; only flaw is that the combat gets dull by the end, but the game makes up for it with the Assassin's Tombs missions which remind me a lot of Prince of Persia. This game is so good I've made Etzio, the hero, my new alter-ego

2.) Batman: Arkham Asylum [PS3] Rank: 9.5
I really wanted to give this game a 10, but the only flaw in the game is that while the boss fights are memorable, all but two are also meaningful. To be specific, I'm referring to the Joker and Killer Croc boss fights as the memorable but not meangingful battles (especially the final battle against the Joker, true to the name what a joke). They are fun and unique, but when you play through you'll see why the two fights let me down. Other than that Batman is a perfect game all around. A+ graphics, A+ flawless combat, A+ stealth and action mix, A+ everything. For you MGS fans, the Scarecrow fights will blow your mind and bring flashbacks to Psycho Mantis. A MUST BUY!!!

3.) Borderlands [Xbox 360] Rank: 9; Co-Op Rank: 9
This is how I imagined Fallout 3 was going to be! The game is a very fun RPG-shooter mix and the co-op is the best I've seen for any shooter since Halo (the original). In fact, it may be better. Towards the end the side-quests tend to be more like chores, but my favorite part of this game is traveling through Pandora raiding Bandit outposts and monster hovels.

4.) Halo 3 ODST [Xbox 360] Rank: 6.5
A lot of people disagree with me on this one but here's the deal: I beat the game in 1 night playing for 4 hours, clocking this game shorter than the original Riddick (Butcher Bay). The story is very creative/innovative, but the fighting is boring same old same old until the very last combat action sequence of the game. At the time, I entered the last battle thinking "Wow, the game is starting to get really amazing; it reminds me of the first Halo!" only to learn that was the last battle. That's right folks, the only good part of the game is at the end. If this game were $30 or $40, I'd say go for it; but at $60, I feel like Microsoft and the B-Crew committed armed robbery.

5.) New Super Mario Brothers Wii [Wii] Rank: 7; Co-Op Rank: 8
Well here's the problem: it's exactly like the NDS game. Sure, the co-op is awesome. I love seeing Yoshi and the Koopa Kids return, but the game is boring. I find myself getting through three or four levels with extreme ease and getting bored. Once I hit five levels I'm done. Oh, and did I mention the levels are very short? The game itself is fun for those three levels, and I appreciate Nintendo extending the classic side-scroller remake once more; however, I find the game a lot more fun and challenging when I play it with my five year old sister. If you love Mario, like I do, or have someone to play it, then buy it. At $50, you'll break just about even as a solo player in satisfaction terms.

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