I'm about to finish up the review for Demon's Souls from two posts ago. So there has been a new video up for Dark Souls and it shows the many deaths within the game:
Okay, Youtube's share button is being stupid right now, so click here to watch the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqaysjKcw-g
Anyways, the game looks brutal and significantly more difficult than than Demon's Souls. The game is announced to have its release on October of this year. Till then, I'll be playing some more Demon's Souls.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Monday, May 9, 2011
NewNews - PSN Fully back up by May 31st
So according some blog posts and announcements from Sony, they're going to try to get everything operation by May 31st. It seems they will be offering players 4-5 free games while being able to only to choose 2 out of them. No solid confirmation on that for North America has been made yet, but it seems rather reliable news for Europe since it's been posted on their official forums. I do kind of miss playing some games online for the PS3, but perhaps this break from online games will help me finish up some of my offline ones. With the reviews I had last week, I did pretty well in completing some. I understand that I haven't finished my review for Demon's Souls yet, but it's been pretty hectic on time and work for me the past few days. I'll try to finish it tomorrow. I need to get some rest for the rest of the night to prepare for tomorrow.
Source: Gamasutra - Sony: PSN Fully Online By May 31
Source: Gamasutra - Sony: PSN Fully Online By May 31
Friday, May 6, 2011
GameLight Review - Demon's Souls
Official Site: http://www.demons-souls.com/home.html
Source: Youtube Channel NamcoBandaiGamesEU
Developer: From Software
Publisher: Atlus
Platforms: Playstation 3
Release Date: October 6, 2009
Genre: Action RPG
I took interest in Demon’s Souls when I heard it was one of the hardest games to come out for the Playstation 3. I love a challenge and I enjoy a good Action RPG. So in the summer of 2010, I saw a brand new copy of Demon’s Souls for only $20 and had to get it. Right off the bat, I was disappointed that it wasn’t hack ‘n slash orientated since the stamina bar limited my actions, there wasn’t music playing throughout the game, and the levels never changed. Luckily, I played on and came to realize everything that was so great about the game after beating my first real boss. All those things I was disappointed in at the start became key elements of what made the game so great. The game itself isn’t an impossible mission to get through, but rather a legitimate challenge that tests the player’s resolve. Demon’s Souls unforgiving nature only becomes that much more satisfying when the player is able to push through and overcome the challenges that they face. It is possibly one of the best Action RPGs I have played in a long time.
Graphics
Source: Youtube Channel NamcoBandaiGamesEU
Developer: From Software
Publisher: Atlus
Platforms: Playstation 3
Release Date: October 6, 2009
Genre: Action RPG
I took interest in Demon’s Souls when I heard it was one of the hardest games to come out for the Playstation 3. I love a challenge and I enjoy a good Action RPG. So in the summer of 2010, I saw a brand new copy of Demon’s Souls for only $20 and had to get it. Right off the bat, I was disappointed that it wasn’t hack ‘n slash orientated since the stamina bar limited my actions, there wasn’t music playing throughout the game, and the levels never changed. Luckily, I played on and came to realize everything that was so great about the game after beating my first real boss. All those things I was disappointed in at the start became key elements of what made the game so great. The game itself isn’t an impossible mission to get through, but rather a legitimate challenge that tests the player’s resolve. Demon’s Souls unforgiving nature only becomes that much more satisfying when the player is able to push through and overcome the challenges that they face. It is possibly one of the best Action RPGs I have played in a long time.
Graphics
Demon’s Souls has a European Medieval style art to it that sets it apart from a lot (and I mean A LOT) of Japanese RPGs that have released in the past. The environment is simply magnificent and really sets the atmosphere of the game. Details to a level, such as distant mountains and an entire city below the towering castle, are notable in the game. They bring the breath taking castles and harrowing caves the designers imagined to life. There are a lot of dark areas in the game which is used to create the paranoia of not knowing what is coming. There are times when objects and pillars get in the way of the player’s view and it’s becomes a real problem when fighting enemies or near high cliffs. I also noticed that there were many times in the game where the frame rate drops and the graphics starts to skip or lag. This might be due to poor optimization and the processor not being able to keep up with the heavy information. This isn’t the first game From Software had this problem, and it can affect the gameplay at crucial moments within the game (especially during multiplayer). Some of the effects are rather poor too such as the lighting and shadows reflecting off textures in the environment and characters. Although the voice acting is top notch, it would have been nice for the animators to go the extra length to animate the NPCs and player’s character’s face so that everyone isn’t a wide-eyed puppet. For the most part, Demon’s Souls has what it needs to create an immersive world with good level designs, excellent art directions in character concepts and monster creation, deliberate choices to darken levels, but could have gone a bit farther to make the game even more polished in its graphics (bringing life to the faces, fixing the graphics lag, etc.). Graphics: 8/10
Audio
As I mentioned before, I was disappointed with the lack of music playing in the levels. What I realized later was that there were many enemies that jumped out of unexpected places. Using the audio as one of the key factors to creating the atmosphere and gameplay is something I wasn’t expecting out of the game. The sound effects and voices of the enemies are very distinct and require the player to really focus on their surrounding to survive the environment. When music does play, such as in boss battles and in the Nexus (the central stage for the game), the music is very subtle and ambient as sound is still important when fighting a boss or those in the Nexus. The soundtracks are alright, but they’re not ones I would listen to often outside of the game other than the Title theme and the Maiden in Black theme. Both the music and the sound effects do a great job of creating the atmosphere in the environment and creating the paranoia and directional cues of enemies for the gameplay. The voice acting is a bit awkward sometimes as there are eccentric characters that the player encounters; however, the intonations and connotations of the voice acting is a rare treat with incredible personality to them. If only more games could have such professional voice acting in them (though I do enjoy the terrible voice acting in Dynasty Warriors games, it makes it more light hearted and humorous). Aside from that, I would’ve liked more compositions such as the title theme and the Maiden in Black theme as those were the most memorable and enjoyable to listen to. Audio: 9/10
Gameplay
If you’re looking for a deep story and intimate character relationships, then you might be disappointed as the game focuses all its energy on the gameplay. I would still suggest trying the game out as it might surprise anyone since it’s full of surprises. The first notable aspect to the gameplay was the stamina bar. The stamina bar allowed me to do about 3-5 regular attacks at a time when I first started the game. This meant that I had to choose my attacks and approaches carefully as any actions such as a block, a parry, a dodge and such will eat a portion of my stamina which may leave me open to attacks if I run out. This wasn’t too new as I’ve played games with similar game mechanics before (Monster Hunter, Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia). With the limitation on how many attacks I could chain, how I approached enemies and what equipment I wore and how I attacked changed consistently throughout the game as new monsters and obscure situations adjusted the way I played. For one thing, you learn how to play the game mostly by failing. You will die, a LOT. It is part of the gameplay and you actually get used to it after a while. You become more cautious, you learn from past mistakes, and you receive a satisfaction that other games rarely give after completing a difficult task. Something that I was a bit upset with in the beginning was that the levels near changed. Enemies will be in the same locations and their actions are generally the same, but situations change and so the gameplay does. When critics and players were exclaiming that “Demon’s Souls is the hardest game in our modern age of gaming”, they mean to say that it’s challenging and not impossible. In many parts of the game, it’s not so much difficult as it is challenging in that you have to play smart throughout the game. Multiplayer is unique in that it happens without notice. Players can offer to help other players in co-op while they’re playing their own game as well as being able to invade other players in their games and kill them. I can continue forever with the description of the gameplay, but there are key elements that make this game so entertaining. The game’s difficulty provides a challenge, multiplayer adds unexpected events, and various events make for a unique and enjoyable experience each time the player decides to log on and play. Gameplay: 10/10
Replay Value
This can be debatable, but Demon’s Souls has a high replay value in many ways. A player can choose to go through the game many times over and unlock every secret, ability, event, weapon, and everything else with one character. A player could create the strongest build and constantly fight other players (PvP) by invading them. A player can try out different classes and experiment with different builds to play through the game (PvE). There truly are numerous things to do in Demon’s Souls and the player can reach a Soul Level of 712. Demon’s Souls reminds me a lot of Phantasy Star Online Ep. 1 & 2 on how it has a similar structure of having only 4-5 main areas to go, but an extended amount of ways to play them. My desire to continually play the game is similar to that of PSO as if there always seems to be something new to explore, find, and play in the game. On the other hand, some players may find it pointless to play the game again a second time as the levels do not change, the enemy AI does not change, and the main goal does not change. What I find special about replaying the game is that a different class or build made me play in an entirely different way (first play through: hunter, second play through: magician), I found things that I didn’t notice before, and the challenges differ on the types of weapons and spells I use. This isn’t even mentioning multiplayer which can drastically change the way the game is played. I’m almost done with the game on my play through as a magician and I already plan to try out a priest and a thief. I’m already up to 100 hours of game play which hasn’t happened in a while for any game I’ve played recently (last two games I achieved such long hours are Team Fortress 2 and League of Legends). If you want a game that will last you a while, I would go get a copy of Demon’s Souls right now. Replay Value: 10/10
Overall
I am very happy with my purchase of Demon’s Souls. You could get the game for about $20 now. I have not had this strong of a desire to consistently play a game night after night for a while, and I do not regret putting in the hours to play it. It’s truly an amazing experience and a breath of fresh entertainment to have a game so difficult but not broken (it will feel like it sometimes when you get killed in one hit). Demon’s Souls is a solid Action RPG that has the player teetering on the side of their seats throughout the game with brutal consequences but unforgettable victories (especially against other players). Demon’s Souls is quickly becoming one of the greatest games I have played and should not be missed by any hardcore gamers.
Overall: 9.25/10
Thursday, May 5, 2011
GameLight Review - Cladun: This is an RPG!
Official Site: http://nisamerica.com/games/cladun/ (Check it out, it's interactive!)
Source: Youtube Channel MachinimaTrailer
Japanese Name:
-クラシックダンジョン 〜扶翼の魔装陣〜 Kurasshiku Danjon ~Fuyoku no Masōjin~
-Classic Dungeon ~Assistance of the Devil Formation~
Developer: System Prisma
Publisher: Nippon Ichi Software America (NIS America)
Platforms: Playstation Portable (PSP)
Release Date: September 21, 2010.
Genre: Action RPG
At first glance, Cladun: This is an RPG! looks like a gimmicky retro wannabe presented in its pixel art form and optional 8-bit music. After a few hours into the game, I quickly learned that the game had a deep and intuitive system for powering up the characters to unleash all sorts of crazy builds. What I imagined to be 3-7 hours of killing enemies and moving on to new games because a 30+ hour quest in collecting various items, building a powerful grid to maximize my attack power, and having an obsession collecting all the gold that flies out of monsters upon killing them. Cladun takes the traditional Rogue-like dungeon crawling with modern action games and RPG elements to create an entertaining, portable game that is sure to last hours and hours of gameplay. With the ability to create your own characters, customize stats and abilities, and run through a randomly generated dungeon, there always seems to be something new to do each you pick it up.
Graphics
The graphics were rather unauthentic to the retro style pixel art when I first started the game, and it was mainly due to the fact that I started this game right after I beat Half-Minute Hero which was more closer to what pixel art looked like for character sprites. Well I quickly adjusted to the graphics as it turned out to be a comfortable style for the type of gameplay where everything is in a tile format. Also, having the graphics be pixelated made it much easier to customized, create, and fine-tune characters for those existing and original ones. The sprites for the enemies are distinctive and unique. Their elements were according to the color they embodied which made it easier for the player to counter them with the right weapon or spell. I do have a problem with monsters and environments such as bushes covering up traps since those are the main causes of the deaths of my characters rather than the monsters themselves. It could be part of the game design to remind the players to be more careful, but it is rather bothersome. Graphics: 8/10
Audio
I love 8-bit music and I've listened to them since the early Nintendo days, but the 8-bit versions of the music in Cladun is really annoying and monotonous. With that aside, the composition, recording, and performances of the real musical score is amazing. It's catchy, gets the player in the mood of the game, and it's memorable. For a PSP game, I'm surprised they went as far as having a live recording of all the instruments. The composition is a simple structure, but the performance is lively and simply addictive. I particularly love the ones with Violin leading the song.
Source: Youtube Channel asukacrystalrose
Source: Youtube Channel asukacrystalrose
I didn't like the music in the beginning (I didn't get to these two songs yet) but I grew a liking to them more and more as I played on and it really brought out the RPG out of this game for me (I like RPGs with good music). I didn't know actual musicians went to the studio to do the recordings for the game until I got to the end credits of the game. The sound effects are alright with a bit of cartoonish "whoosh" sound rather than realistic "blade through air" humming sound. Some of the most important sound effects that made the game satisfying is the sound of collecting gold and the tone you hear when a character levels up in the result screen. Audio: 9/10
Gameplay
This entire game was full of "meh" in the beginning (as in music, graphics, story, and gameplay) but kept getting better. In the beginning, it felt like any other dungeon crawler like Izuna: The Unemployed Ninja and Pokémon Mystery Dungeon except it was live time rather than turn-based. The fun started when I understood how to use the Devil Ring system and made my characters significantly stronger. I would spend a lot of time just experimenting and planning before I went on a few more dungeon runs. How the game works is that a linear story is told along the way. Set dungeons are given to the player to go through before moving onto the next which reveals the next part of the story. The story is basic and not necessarily important, but it moves the game along and I felt that it made me appreciate the characters more. Besides going through the main dungeons, there's the option of going through "Ran-geon" which is randomly generated dungeons that the player can go through to find items, gain experience points, and collect gold to get their characters stronger to face the main dungeons. The player can try to get to the 99th floor of "Ran-geon" as the main challenge, but I don't know what you would get since I never could get past floors 30-40. The main game is pretty basic. I didn't like getting slowed or losing all the items I found after dying, but I think it was the Devil Ring system, loot collecting, leveling, and rewards that made the game fun since there's so much to experiment with and to explore. I think frustration was part of what made succeeding so satisfying. Gameplay: 8/10
Replay Value
Part of the gameplay is the replay value, and I was writing all this under gameplay but had to separate it right here in order to have something for Replay Value. After beating the main part of the game, you can access "New-geon" which is similar to "Ran-geon" but with a lot of twists in it. The starting level of the enemies will be your character's Attack+Defense power / 4. Players can also jump floor levels depending on the gates they go through. So as you can tell, there's a lot to do in the game. Some floors can be unforgiving and have traps littered everywhere which can kill your sub-characters fairly quickly; however, times when you've defeated numerous high leveled enemies and escaping back to the main area "Arcanus Cella" and seeing your characters raise 5-10 levels in one run through is so satisfying that you'd go back in the dungeons once more. There are 5 classes to choose from (Warrior, Dragoon, Merchant, Guardian, Mage), but I found Dragoons (High HP) and Mages (High Mana) to be most useful ones and often ignored all the other ones. I didn't get to try out Multiplayer since I don't know anyone with this game (or a PSP for that matter), but allows competitive and cooperative play. The game can get frustrating with overwhelming monsters, excessive traps, and losing all the items you collected through the run because of a small mistake, but the rewards with taking chances make the experience well worth the risk and feels very satisfying. After beating the main part of the game, more content is unlocked for the player to play through. Cladun is one of those games that starts off simple and constantly gets better throughout the game. The game can feel a bit repetitive or somewhat of a grind when you can't get through certain areas in the main dungeons and it's also frustrating running into traps, getting slowed, or getting raided by 30 enemies in one map in "Ran-geon" and "New-geon". For the most part, the game has been a very entertaining game whenever I had some free time. The hardest part for me now is trying to quit the game and moving onto new ones, because I know I'll miss playing it. Replay Value: 9/10
Overall
Cladun: This is an RPG! was an unexpected gem for me and I didn't imagine that I'd like it that much. Looking back at my review for Half-Minute Hero, I probably should have given the audio a 9/10 instead of a 10/10 since I realized that there were only a few songs I really liked despite the sheer amount of tracks the game had. In some respects, I enjoyed Cladun a little more than Half-Minute Hero. Cladun is not for everyone as some gamers like strong storylines, epic adventures, and a feeling of a journey. Cladun is more like a ton mini-quests for the player to par-take. It focuses a lot on its gameplay and systems that allows for infinite replay value. Cladun is not as main stream and so many gamers may have missed it. If you can find it for less than $20 and want an entertaining Action RPG to play on the PSP, then I highly recommend picking it and giving it a go. Overall: 8.5/10
As a side note, Cladun 2 came out in Japan in March. If there's a chance that it comes out in English, I'll be sure to check it out.
Source: Youtube Channel MachinimaTrailer
Japanese Name:
-クラシックダンジョン 〜扶翼の魔装陣〜 Kurasshiku Danjon ~Fuyoku no Masōjin~
-Classic Dungeon ~Assistance of the Devil Formation~
Developer: System Prisma
Publisher: Nippon Ichi Software America (NIS America)
Platforms: Playstation Portable (PSP)
Release Date: September 21, 2010.
Genre: Action RPG
At first glance, Cladun: This is an RPG! looks like a gimmicky retro wannabe presented in its pixel art form and optional 8-bit music. After a few hours into the game, I quickly learned that the game had a deep and intuitive system for powering up the characters to unleash all sorts of crazy builds. What I imagined to be 3-7 hours of killing enemies and moving on to new games because a 30+ hour quest in collecting various items, building a powerful grid to maximize my attack power, and having an obsession collecting all the gold that flies out of monsters upon killing them. Cladun takes the traditional Rogue-like dungeon crawling with modern action games and RPG elements to create an entertaining, portable game that is sure to last hours and hours of gameplay. With the ability to create your own characters, customize stats and abilities, and run through a randomly generated dungeon, there always seems to be something new to do each you pick it up.
Graphics
The graphics were rather unauthentic to the retro style pixel art when I first started the game, and it was mainly due to the fact that I started this game right after I beat Half-Minute Hero which was more closer to what pixel art looked like for character sprites. Well I quickly adjusted to the graphics as it turned out to be a comfortable style for the type of gameplay where everything is in a tile format. Also, having the graphics be pixelated made it much easier to customized, create, and fine-tune characters for those existing and original ones. The sprites for the enemies are distinctive and unique. Their elements were according to the color they embodied which made it easier for the player to counter them with the right weapon or spell. I do have a problem with monsters and environments such as bushes covering up traps since those are the main causes of the deaths of my characters rather than the monsters themselves. It could be part of the game design to remind the players to be more careful, but it is rather bothersome. Graphics: 8/10
Audio
I love 8-bit music and I've listened to them since the early Nintendo days, but the 8-bit versions of the music in Cladun is really annoying and monotonous. With that aside, the composition, recording, and performances of the real musical score is amazing. It's catchy, gets the player in the mood of the game, and it's memorable. For a PSP game, I'm surprised they went as far as having a live recording of all the instruments. The composition is a simple structure, but the performance is lively and simply addictive. I particularly love the ones with Violin leading the song.
Source: Youtube Channel asukacrystalrose
Source: Youtube Channel asukacrystalrose
I didn't like the music in the beginning (I didn't get to these two songs yet) but I grew a liking to them more and more as I played on and it really brought out the RPG out of this game for me (I like RPGs with good music). I didn't know actual musicians went to the studio to do the recordings for the game until I got to the end credits of the game. The sound effects are alright with a bit of cartoonish "whoosh" sound rather than realistic "blade through air" humming sound. Some of the most important sound effects that made the game satisfying is the sound of collecting gold and the tone you hear when a character levels up in the result screen. Audio: 9/10
Gameplay
This entire game was full of "meh" in the beginning (as in music, graphics, story, and gameplay) but kept getting better. In the beginning, it felt like any other dungeon crawler like Izuna: The Unemployed Ninja and Pokémon Mystery Dungeon except it was live time rather than turn-based. The fun started when I understood how to use the Devil Ring system and made my characters significantly stronger. I would spend a lot of time just experimenting and planning before I went on a few more dungeon runs. How the game works is that a linear story is told along the way. Set dungeons are given to the player to go through before moving onto the next which reveals the next part of the story. The story is basic and not necessarily important, but it moves the game along and I felt that it made me appreciate the characters more. Besides going through the main dungeons, there's the option of going through "Ran-geon" which is randomly generated dungeons that the player can go through to find items, gain experience points, and collect gold to get their characters stronger to face the main dungeons. The player can try to get to the 99th floor of "Ran-geon" as the main challenge, but I don't know what you would get since I never could get past floors 30-40. The main game is pretty basic. I didn't like getting slowed or losing all the items I found after dying, but I think it was the Devil Ring system, loot collecting, leveling, and rewards that made the game fun since there's so much to experiment with and to explore. I think frustration was part of what made succeeding so satisfying. Gameplay: 8/10
Replay Value
Part of the gameplay is the replay value, and I was writing all this under gameplay but had to separate it right here in order to have something for Replay Value. After beating the main part of the game, you can access "New-geon" which is similar to "Ran-geon" but with a lot of twists in it. The starting level of the enemies will be your character's Attack+Defense power / 4. Players can also jump floor levels depending on the gates they go through. So as you can tell, there's a lot to do in the game. Some floors can be unforgiving and have traps littered everywhere which can kill your sub-characters fairly quickly; however, times when you've defeated numerous high leveled enemies and escaping back to the main area "Arcanus Cella" and seeing your characters raise 5-10 levels in one run through is so satisfying that you'd go back in the dungeons once more. There are 5 classes to choose from (Warrior, Dragoon, Merchant, Guardian, Mage), but I found Dragoons (High HP) and Mages (High Mana) to be most useful ones and often ignored all the other ones. I didn't get to try out Multiplayer since I don't know anyone with this game (or a PSP for that matter), but allows competitive and cooperative play. The game can get frustrating with overwhelming monsters, excessive traps, and losing all the items you collected through the run because of a small mistake, but the rewards with taking chances make the experience well worth the risk and feels very satisfying. After beating the main part of the game, more content is unlocked for the player to play through. Cladun is one of those games that starts off simple and constantly gets better throughout the game. The game can feel a bit repetitive or somewhat of a grind when you can't get through certain areas in the main dungeons and it's also frustrating running into traps, getting slowed, or getting raided by 30 enemies in one map in "Ran-geon" and "New-geon". For the most part, the game has been a very entertaining game whenever I had some free time. The hardest part for me now is trying to quit the game and moving onto new ones, because I know I'll miss playing it. Replay Value: 9/10
Overall
Cladun: This is an RPG! was an unexpected gem for me and I didn't imagine that I'd like it that much. Looking back at my review for Half-Minute Hero, I probably should have given the audio a 9/10 instead of a 10/10 since I realized that there were only a few songs I really liked despite the sheer amount of tracks the game had. In some respects, I enjoyed Cladun a little more than Half-Minute Hero. Cladun is not for everyone as some gamers like strong storylines, epic adventures, and a feeling of a journey. Cladun is more like a ton mini-quests for the player to par-take. It focuses a lot on its gameplay and systems that allows for infinite replay value. Cladun is not as main stream and so many gamers may have missed it. If you can find it for less than $20 and want an entertaining Action RPG to play on the PSP, then I highly recommend picking it and giving it a go. Overall: 8.5/10
As a side note, Cladun 2 came out in Japan in March. If there's a chance that it comes out in English, I'll be sure to check it out.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
GameLight Review - Call of Duty: Black Ops
Official Site: http://www.callofduty.com/blackops
Source: Youtube Channel CALLOFDUTY
Developer: Treyarch
Publisher: Activision
Platforms: Playstation 3, Xbox 360, PC & Wii
Release Date: November 9, 2010.
Genre: First-Person Shooter
Pros:
-An intriguing story told in a different manner than most within the Call of Duty series
-Lots of customization in multiplayer that offers a lot to experiment with
-The ability to play 2-player cooperatively for zombies and for online play
-Item acquisition and levels are much easier to obtain
Cons:
-Lots of problems in both single player and multiplayer
-Single player lacked polish and were filled with flow breaking events
-Multiplayer suffers from lag, a limited number of maps, and numerous bugs
-Extra DLC cost $15 each adding up to $30 total (enough to buy another game)
The game is filled with bugs, questionable design choices, and frustrating gameplay in both single-player and multiplayer which eventually brings me back to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Despite these setbacks, Black Ops is still able to deliver a daring story and an exciting competitive multiplayer that has me coming back for more. The addition of allowing a second player to join multiplayer online and co-op in zombies along with a currency system which simplified item acquisition made it much easier to overlook the tarnish in graphics and notable lag. For those deciding whether to get Modern Warfare 2 or Black Ops in its current time, I'd say it's okay to buy and play both as there's enough difference to enjoy each one in its own right.
Graphics
Many people complained about the graphics, and I honestly don't think it's the most important aspect in a game. I do think that certain design choices in graphics is incredibly important if it affects the gameplay though. I noticed some of the problems players had with the graphics such as extremely pixelated shadows, some textures were blurred and archaic, and a lot of the models weren't as smooth as previous installments in the series. My problem with the graphics were all the colors, shadowing, textures, and models were mostly dark, muddled and ambiguous. This was something I didn't like about a lot of the older Medal of Honor games and some of the early Call of Duty games since it impeded on the ability to find your way around the environment, look for cover, or spotting enemies. Thankfully, the entire game doesn't suffer from this problem (especially in multiplayer when it really matters). The game is also horribly optimized as it can barely run at all on my computer at the lowest settings (which is why I got the PS3 version now) The graphics are decent enough to make for an enjoyable experience though. It's neither incredible nor is it horrendous. I only hope that future Call of Duty games will have distinguishable models, cleaner textures, dynamics in contrast and color, and make it easier on the eyes when playing. Graphics: 7/10
Audio
I know I have been spoiled by Medal of Honor's (2010) spectacular audio, but I will do my best to judge with unbiased views as possible. The musical score wasn't too bad and they're recognizable, but they're not memorable. I don't really expect First-Person Shooters to have music that I'd hum to anyways, so I don't judge too harshly on music for audio. The voice acting was pretty incredible as it really brought the characters to life. I was happy to see the return of Viktor Reznov from Call of Duty: World at War in which Gary Oldman returned to do the voice for once again. The voice talents really brought the story together as the story is told through various flashbacks between the main character and the people he interacted with. The guns weren't very impressive in sound and my friends and I joked a lot about getting shot by something that sound like pellet guns or party poppers; however, the recordings for each gun is distinctive. Like many other FPS games, such as counter-strike, it can be used to a players advantage on how to counter the uses of each gun. In fact, one of my favorite sounds is the "click" of a suppressed shotgun since it's something enemies can't hear! Like the graphics, the audio was decent and was enough for the game to be enjoyable. Audio: 7/10
Gameplay
I actually didn't like the story of the campaign at first since it was jarring and the flow of it was broken many times. But near the end of the game, the story pulled through and made everything previous more important and have some sort of significance to the conclusion. Part of the disconnected transitions in the story was due to the gameplay. There were many events in the campaign that felt unnecessary and halted the flow of the game as the player would have to stop to play some sort of gimmicky side game. The triggers in the game were pretty obvious too which often caused glitches, a break in the flow of the game, or just made the player feel out of place in the game. There were times when the player couldn't continue unless they were at a certain spot, killed a certain enemy, or perform a certain task and was not told to. Medal of Honor (2010) also had this problem and really affected the experience. Multiplayer is much like many other FPS games and struggle through similar problems such as lag, spawning in front of enemies or having enemies spawn camp, and broken team balance where all the high points are on one side while all the low points are on the other. There are of course some positive points to the multiplayer. There a lots of combinations and customizations to work with, a 2nd player can join in, challenges can be taken like quests and give players a special objective to fulfill while playing each time, the currency system makes getting the weapons you want easier, and leveling isn't such a grind anymore (not that it really matters other than unlocking the ability to buy an item). The maps feel very limited, and there doesn't seem to be any particular map I really liked. Getting more maps means paying $15 for each map pack. The decision to do such a thing was most likely the publisher and not the developers. The modes are like the ones from previous games. Deathmatch can be fun, but it can also be very frustrating. Team-based modes such as capture points are usually one sided, but it can get pretty exciting when both teams do very well. Players take a bit more hits than Modern Warfare 2 before dying, but it doesn't seem like it if you're going against players who know what they're doing and get single-shot kills off you. As anger inducing as multiplayer is, I still go back to play it (especially with a friend over). Gameplay: 8/10
Replay Value
The graphics in Black Ops isn't as nice as Medal of Honor, the team play isn't as encouraged as in MAG or Battlefield: Bad Company 2, and the gameplay isn't as unique as say Halo 3 (I can't say "Reach" since I haven't tried that one yet) or Crysis 2, but it has the aspects that keep players coming back for more. The game is still much easier to pick up, learn and play than most FPS games which is more welcoming to players of all skill levels (and it shouldn't be of all ages since there's so many parents complaining about their kids playing these games). The Prestige concept rewards players by taking a big risk of resetting to level 1 and working their way back up again. It really tests the player's persistence, skill, and ability to progress. The ability for a 2nd player to join in for online multiplayer is one of the big ones for me and for many others since friends who usually come over don't have to idly sit and watch or take turns handing the controller over and can instead join in and enjoy (or suffer) the game together. There are times where I do have to take a break for the game since it's just too much playing constantly and wanting satisfaction because it's hard to get. Call of Duty: Black Ops, despite many problems and tarnish from its predecessor, is still a ton of fun and can be played for a very long time. Replay Value: 10/10
Overall
Even though I'm giving Black Ops a slightly lower score than Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and Medal of Honor (2010), it's still the game that's more often played than the other two due to the fact that it's the only game I can play mutiplayer with when friends come over. I do think that Black Ops is fun, but I think it could've been better (without charging players $30 for the extra content). Singleplayer isn't something I'd like to play over again, but I really enjoyed the story. Zombie mode is a fun distraction from multiplayer once in a while, but it's not something I'd play for long durations. Multiplayer is still infuriating on many levels, but it can be very enjoyable at times (especially with a buddy). Black Ops could have been better, but it's a solid game for any FPS gamer to play. Overall: 8/10
Source: Youtube Channel CALLOFDUTY
Developer: Treyarch
Publisher: Activision
Platforms: Playstation 3, Xbox 360, PC & Wii
Release Date: November 9, 2010.
Genre: First-Person Shooter
Pros:
-An intriguing story told in a different manner than most within the Call of Duty series
-Lots of customization in multiplayer that offers a lot to experiment with
-The ability to play 2-player cooperatively for zombies and for online play
-Item acquisition and levels are much easier to obtain
Cons:
-Lots of problems in both single player and multiplayer
-Single player lacked polish and were filled with flow breaking events
-Multiplayer suffers from lag, a limited number of maps, and numerous bugs
-Extra DLC cost $15 each adding up to $30 total (enough to buy another game)
The game is filled with bugs, questionable design choices, and frustrating gameplay in both single-player and multiplayer which eventually brings me back to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Despite these setbacks, Black Ops is still able to deliver a daring story and an exciting competitive multiplayer that has me coming back for more. The addition of allowing a second player to join multiplayer online and co-op in zombies along with a currency system which simplified item acquisition made it much easier to overlook the tarnish in graphics and notable lag. For those deciding whether to get Modern Warfare 2 or Black Ops in its current time, I'd say it's okay to buy and play both as there's enough difference to enjoy each one in its own right.
Graphics
Many people complained about the graphics, and I honestly don't think it's the most important aspect in a game. I do think that certain design choices in graphics is incredibly important if it affects the gameplay though. I noticed some of the problems players had with the graphics such as extremely pixelated shadows, some textures were blurred and archaic, and a lot of the models weren't as smooth as previous installments in the series. My problem with the graphics were all the colors, shadowing, textures, and models were mostly dark, muddled and ambiguous. This was something I didn't like about a lot of the older Medal of Honor games and some of the early Call of Duty games since it impeded on the ability to find your way around the environment, look for cover, or spotting enemies. Thankfully, the entire game doesn't suffer from this problem (especially in multiplayer when it really matters). The game is also horribly optimized as it can barely run at all on my computer at the lowest settings (which is why I got the PS3 version now) The graphics are decent enough to make for an enjoyable experience though. It's neither incredible nor is it horrendous. I only hope that future Call of Duty games will have distinguishable models, cleaner textures, dynamics in contrast and color, and make it easier on the eyes when playing. Graphics: 7/10
Audio
I know I have been spoiled by Medal of Honor's (2010) spectacular audio, but I will do my best to judge with unbiased views as possible. The musical score wasn't too bad and they're recognizable, but they're not memorable. I don't really expect First-Person Shooters to have music that I'd hum to anyways, so I don't judge too harshly on music for audio. The voice acting was pretty incredible as it really brought the characters to life. I was happy to see the return of Viktor Reznov from Call of Duty: World at War in which Gary Oldman returned to do the voice for once again. The voice talents really brought the story together as the story is told through various flashbacks between the main character and the people he interacted with. The guns weren't very impressive in sound and my friends and I joked a lot about getting shot by something that sound like pellet guns or party poppers; however, the recordings for each gun is distinctive. Like many other FPS games, such as counter-strike, it can be used to a players advantage on how to counter the uses of each gun. In fact, one of my favorite sounds is the "click" of a suppressed shotgun since it's something enemies can't hear! Like the graphics, the audio was decent and was enough for the game to be enjoyable. Audio: 7/10
Gameplay
I actually didn't like the story of the campaign at first since it was jarring and the flow of it was broken many times. But near the end of the game, the story pulled through and made everything previous more important and have some sort of significance to the conclusion. Part of the disconnected transitions in the story was due to the gameplay. There were many events in the campaign that felt unnecessary and halted the flow of the game as the player would have to stop to play some sort of gimmicky side game. The triggers in the game were pretty obvious too which often caused glitches, a break in the flow of the game, or just made the player feel out of place in the game. There were times when the player couldn't continue unless they were at a certain spot, killed a certain enemy, or perform a certain task and was not told to. Medal of Honor (2010) also had this problem and really affected the experience. Multiplayer is much like many other FPS games and struggle through similar problems such as lag, spawning in front of enemies or having enemies spawn camp, and broken team balance where all the high points are on one side while all the low points are on the other. There are of course some positive points to the multiplayer. There a lots of combinations and customizations to work with, a 2nd player can join in, challenges can be taken like quests and give players a special objective to fulfill while playing each time, the currency system makes getting the weapons you want easier, and leveling isn't such a grind anymore (not that it really matters other than unlocking the ability to buy an item). The maps feel very limited, and there doesn't seem to be any particular map I really liked. Getting more maps means paying $15 for each map pack. The decision to do such a thing was most likely the publisher and not the developers. The modes are like the ones from previous games. Deathmatch can be fun, but it can also be very frustrating. Team-based modes such as capture points are usually one sided, but it can get pretty exciting when both teams do very well. Players take a bit more hits than Modern Warfare 2 before dying, but it doesn't seem like it if you're going against players who know what they're doing and get single-shot kills off you. As anger inducing as multiplayer is, I still go back to play it (especially with a friend over). Gameplay: 8/10
Replay Value
The graphics in Black Ops isn't as nice as Medal of Honor, the team play isn't as encouraged as in MAG or Battlefield: Bad Company 2, and the gameplay isn't as unique as say Halo 3 (I can't say "Reach" since I haven't tried that one yet) or Crysis 2, but it has the aspects that keep players coming back for more. The game is still much easier to pick up, learn and play than most FPS games which is more welcoming to players of all skill levels (and it shouldn't be of all ages since there's so many parents complaining about their kids playing these games). The Prestige concept rewards players by taking a big risk of resetting to level 1 and working their way back up again. It really tests the player's persistence, skill, and ability to progress. The ability for a 2nd player to join in for online multiplayer is one of the big ones for me and for many others since friends who usually come over don't have to idly sit and watch or take turns handing the controller over and can instead join in and enjoy (or suffer) the game together. There are times where I do have to take a break for the game since it's just too much playing constantly and wanting satisfaction because it's hard to get. Call of Duty: Black Ops, despite many problems and tarnish from its predecessor, is still a ton of fun and can be played for a very long time. Replay Value: 10/10
Overall
Even though I'm giving Black Ops a slightly lower score than Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and Medal of Honor (2010), it's still the game that's more often played than the other two due to the fact that it's the only game I can play mutiplayer with when friends come over. I do think that Black Ops is fun, but I think it could've been better (without charging players $30 for the extra content). Singleplayer isn't something I'd like to play over again, but I really enjoyed the story. Zombie mode is a fun distraction from multiplayer once in a while, but it's not something I'd play for long durations. Multiplayer is still infuriating on many levels, but it can be very enjoyable at times (especially with a buddy). Black Ops could have been better, but it's a solid game for any FPS gamer to play. Overall: 8/10
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
GameLight Review - Medal of Honor (2010)
After yesterday's post, I played some Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and was reminded of why I took a break from it. As I mentioned in the review, the game's experience is dependent on your team mates. I lost most all my matches last night because of those team mates. Those who only care about killing goes up and does get the most kills, but also died the most and used up most of the team's tickets while not fulfilling the objectives. Squad mates complaining players to stop playing sniper and rush forward just bugged me because I was a sniper and was the one getting the most capture points, defuses, and squad assists. Afterwards, I logged onto Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and played a few good games with the last one with me getting the winning shot. Today's game review will be a sort of mix between Battlefield and Call of Duty.
Official Site: http://www.medalofhonor.com/
Source: Youtube Channel medalofhonor
Developer: Danger Close (Single-Player) DICE (Multiplayer)
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Platforms: Playstation 3, Xbox 360 & PC
Release Date: October 12, 2010.
Genre: First-Person Shooter
Pros:
-Beautifully presented graphics that is both dynamic and easy on the eyes
-Incredible sound engineering with the best recordings and output of audio in any FPS
-Encourages players to work together with specific designs to the maps
-Immersive gameplay with a moving storyline
Cons:
-Program specific triggers and events in Single-player breaks the flow of the game
-Weapons and maps are unbalanced and/or bugged/exploited
-Game's experience for team-specific maps are dependent on team mates
-Limited number of weapon customization, modes, and maps to play on
Medal of Honor (2010) surpassed all expectations out of me as I've never really had any interest in the series due to its dark muddled color schemes, trigger-specific gameplay, and clunky controls for competitive multiplayer. Medal of Honor has been out for 7 months now and has sold approximately 5 million copies which does not beat the sales of Call of Duty: Black Ops, Halo: Reach, or its own game Battlefield: Bad Company 2. Despite quickly ignored after the release of Black Ops, the game is a fun shooter that truly had me on edge through the campaigns and kept me excited during multiplayer matches. There are many aspects that make the game great but is hindered by problems that eventually discourages its players to leave. Despite minor set-backs, I was happy with my purchase of the game and hope that the series sees as much quality as this one did with resolution to the problems it had before.
Graphics
The graphics for Medal of Honor is simply magnificent and a huge difference from previous installments within the series. This was the video that got me interested in trying out the game:
Source: Youtube Channel medalofhonor
The models are clean, the colors are dynamic and is easier on the eyes, the textures are sharp and beautiful and the effects are amazing. Something as simple as explosions from grenades were a spectacle to see during multiplayer with every detail to environment debris, smoke, the lighting from the fire, and the audio tops it off making it as realistic and immersive as possible. There were parts of the game where textures went haywire and glitched out of the models in mountains, the sky, or trees. The found the HUD to be pretty unique with a nice futuristic feeling color and lighting effect similar to Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter series. The points display is similar to Call of Duty and presents itself in a clean semi-neon text. The HUD is really nice in that its information is straight forward and also doesn't take too much of the screen making for efficient use without being a hindrance. Graphics: 10/10
Audio
Possibly the first thing I immediately noticed when I tried the game on PC during open beta was the sound of the guns. They sounded so powerful (I have headphones on when playing) and close rather than just being a recording of a gunshot. I'm not exactly sure what the sound engineers did for the audio, but the reverb from explosions, gunshots, taking hits, and voice acting were all incredible and possibly the best I've ever heard out of a FPS game. It might be just me, but I think the programming and recordings for the sound effects in multiplayer is different from singleplayer. Single-player doesn't have that bombastic effect in the gunshots as it does in Multiplayer. I loved it so much that I went out of my way to buy an audio processor so that I could use headphones with simulated surround sound on my Playstation 3. The sound of a shotgun, machine gun, and especially sniper rifle never sounded so good in a videogame before. Audio: 10/10 (By the way, if you play with headphones on and have a strong bass, getting shot is pretty scary which I felt added the effect to multiplayer. An incentive not to get shot = sudden loud thump noise of bullets hitting the body).
Gameplay
The singleplayer and multiplayer were developed separately by two different teams and will be judged as such starting with the singleplayer. I really liked the singleplayer, but not without some complaints. Some of the events are cinematic-style scenes which tends to drag on sometimes, especially if it's not the first player through. The firefights can get pretty exciting, but it comes to a complete halt when a programmed trigger is not activated. This can be frustrating when the player doesn't know what would be causing the game not to continue with the story. An example is when one of the scenes mission was to get to the building inside, the allies AI crowds around the door, but no one can get in. Luckily, I've faced weird bugs such as these before in videogames and looked around the rest of the area and found one lone enemy hiding in cover facing the direction I came in from. The game continued after I killed him. This isn't a matter of realism, but a basis for game design and the flow of gameplay the player experiences. I ran into these sort of problems several times during the game and it really killed the suspense when the game was building up tension. There were many events throughout the campaign that were really pushing the player to be more alert and constantly participating in the action. The story is told through several perspectives and really brings the player back around to the main characters. I think there's a possibility that I liked the campaign of Medal of Honor a little more than Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and Call of Duty: Black Ops as MoH truly kept me on edge and holding my breath throughout the entire game. The campaign can also be played on Tier 1 mode which I guess is a super hard difficulty challenge. The game was hard enough on normal, I'm not sure if I can get through the whole game on Tier 1 mode.
Source: Youtube Channel medalofhonor
Multiplayer is a different experience from the singleplayer (of course) but has its own entertainment values. Multiplayer is typical two sides versus matches with 4 game modes. I've only played the capture point and death match modes as those are the most populated. Players can choose from three different classes, each with their own loadouts and equipment choices: Assault, Special Ops, Sniper. The capture points mode and other modes are dependent on team play and are such reliant on the type of players you get matched up with. When you get on a good team, the experience can be quite exhilarating and satisfying with you and your team mates rushing the front, watching each other's backs, and deploying team specific perks. The game can be a horrible experience too though with more reasons than one. Having bad team mates can make for a one-sided fight since players will rush to their deaths on their own thinking they'll just respawn and kill some more like in Call of Duty (which is fine for deathmatch actually). There's also the problem of how players spawn. In capture points, enemy players that have played enough will know exactly where you and your team mates spawn and can literally camp in an area where they can kill you the second you spawn. This can be behind your own base or in the fronts where they shoot in the general vicinity of where you will spawn. Some of the maps also causes players to funnel through the same area which makes it easy to spray and pray on anyone through through that path. If it's not a gunshot, players who were already spawn camping would have enough kills to call on mortar strikes on your team's spawn point and get a few good kills. The weapons have to be unlocked by leveling the class you played through a match by earning the points. So if you continually suffer and not play well, leveling will be a problem (wasn't too bad for me). Even with items unlocked, weapons are limited and few. The good thing is that there's not such thing as a useless weapon as all weapons are powerful (even pistols). Problem with that is some of the weapons are overpowering, and sometimes I like it because of it. Besides playing sniper (my favorite class), I would play special ops with a shotgun that can instantly kill anyone close OR mid-ranged. The shotgun's reach is so ridiculous that I've gotten kills across the map with about 3-5 shots before. I've gotten scores such as 32 Kills and 9 Deaths using a shotgun before because of how amazing the reach and power is (keep in mind that I play casually and am not very good at First-Person Shooters compared to most players online). The game really can get exciting and fun when everyone is playing fairly. But there are just too many design flaws, bugs, and exploits to deem it fair, consistently enjoyable, or even bearable when you're getting killed repeatedly from your spawn point. Gameplay: 8/10 (it would've been a 7/10, but the incredible audio, awesome sniper class and overpowering shotgun convinced me to give an extra point).
Replay Value
This portion is debatable and can vary from player to player. The game doesn't have that many modes, maps, or weapons, so the main experience is dependent on the people you play with (which usually turns out to be bad). Some players might get bored after unlocking everything as their incentive to play was to unlock items. Others might get turned off by the problems the game suffers from as described above. Most players I see online range from about 2000-4000 points of experience with a select few at 1000 or 8000. Those who have high experience points are often more than not ones who spawn camp racking up to 30-50 kills with 1-2 deaths. And what happens when one person does it? Their whole team joins in, making it difficult to near impossible to flank. With the Playstation Network still down, it's very uncertain what the future of Medal of Honor's online play is going to be like. The last few times I logged on, there was a max player count of about 1000-5000. The singleplayer was fun, but I would mainly replay it through tier 1 mode to test my skills. Even if I felt like playing multiplayer, it would be once in a while. I usually play deathmatch now if I want to play since the team-based ones can be infuriating with bad team mates. It's pretty difficult to recommend the game now for its multiplayer as its population is dwindling. I'll probably still play the game once in a while, but it's difficult to make a decision to do so each time I get free time since I have a large backlog of games. Replay Value: 7/10
Overall
If you can find the game for less than $20 and you enjoy military-themed FPS games, then I recommend playing through it for the experience. No other FPS has such detail and quality in its audio and realism as Medal of Honor (2010) (thus far). And if you're like me not liking previous Medal of Honor games as much, don't worry and give this game a chance as it's a huge difference from its older installments. With an exciting single player campaign and a broken yet entertaining multiplayer, the game should be tried out by all FPS players at least once. Overall: 8.75/10
Official Site: http://www.medalofhonor.com/
Source: Youtube Channel medalofhonor
Developer: Danger Close (Single-Player) DICE (Multiplayer)
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Platforms: Playstation 3, Xbox 360 & PC
Release Date: October 12, 2010.
Genre: First-Person Shooter
Pros:
-Beautifully presented graphics that is both dynamic and easy on the eyes
-Incredible sound engineering with the best recordings and output of audio in any FPS
-Encourages players to work together with specific designs to the maps
-Immersive gameplay with a moving storyline
Cons:
-Program specific triggers and events in Single-player breaks the flow of the game
-Weapons and maps are unbalanced and/or bugged/exploited
-Game's experience for team-specific maps are dependent on team mates
-Limited number of weapon customization, modes, and maps to play on
Medal of Honor (2010) surpassed all expectations out of me as I've never really had any interest in the series due to its dark muddled color schemes, trigger-specific gameplay, and clunky controls for competitive multiplayer. Medal of Honor has been out for 7 months now and has sold approximately 5 million copies which does not beat the sales of Call of Duty: Black Ops, Halo: Reach, or its own game Battlefield: Bad Company 2. Despite quickly ignored after the release of Black Ops, the game is a fun shooter that truly had me on edge through the campaigns and kept me excited during multiplayer matches. There are many aspects that make the game great but is hindered by problems that eventually discourages its players to leave. Despite minor set-backs, I was happy with my purchase of the game and hope that the series sees as much quality as this one did with resolution to the problems it had before.
Graphics
The graphics for Medal of Honor is simply magnificent and a huge difference from previous installments within the series. This was the video that got me interested in trying out the game:
Source: Youtube Channel medalofhonor
The models are clean, the colors are dynamic and is easier on the eyes, the textures are sharp and beautiful and the effects are amazing. Something as simple as explosions from grenades were a spectacle to see during multiplayer with every detail to environment debris, smoke, the lighting from the fire, and the audio tops it off making it as realistic and immersive as possible. There were parts of the game where textures went haywire and glitched out of the models in mountains, the sky, or trees. The found the HUD to be pretty unique with a nice futuristic feeling color and lighting effect similar to Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter series. The points display is similar to Call of Duty and presents itself in a clean semi-neon text. The HUD is really nice in that its information is straight forward and also doesn't take too much of the screen making for efficient use without being a hindrance. Graphics: 10/10
Audio
Possibly the first thing I immediately noticed when I tried the game on PC during open beta was the sound of the guns. They sounded so powerful (I have headphones on when playing) and close rather than just being a recording of a gunshot. I'm not exactly sure what the sound engineers did for the audio, but the reverb from explosions, gunshots, taking hits, and voice acting were all incredible and possibly the best I've ever heard out of a FPS game. It might be just me, but I think the programming and recordings for the sound effects in multiplayer is different from singleplayer. Single-player doesn't have that bombastic effect in the gunshots as it does in Multiplayer. I loved it so much that I went out of my way to buy an audio processor so that I could use headphones with simulated surround sound on my Playstation 3. The sound of a shotgun, machine gun, and especially sniper rifle never sounded so good in a videogame before. Audio: 10/10 (By the way, if you play with headphones on and have a strong bass, getting shot is pretty scary which I felt added the effect to multiplayer. An incentive not to get shot = sudden loud thump noise of bullets hitting the body).
Gameplay
The singleplayer and multiplayer were developed separately by two different teams and will be judged as such starting with the singleplayer. I really liked the singleplayer, but not without some complaints. Some of the events are cinematic-style scenes which tends to drag on sometimes, especially if it's not the first player through. The firefights can get pretty exciting, but it comes to a complete halt when a programmed trigger is not activated. This can be frustrating when the player doesn't know what would be causing the game not to continue with the story. An example is when one of the scenes mission was to get to the building inside, the allies AI crowds around the door, but no one can get in. Luckily, I've faced weird bugs such as these before in videogames and looked around the rest of the area and found one lone enemy hiding in cover facing the direction I came in from. The game continued after I killed him. This isn't a matter of realism, but a basis for game design and the flow of gameplay the player experiences. I ran into these sort of problems several times during the game and it really killed the suspense when the game was building up tension. There were many events throughout the campaign that were really pushing the player to be more alert and constantly participating in the action. The story is told through several perspectives and really brings the player back around to the main characters. I think there's a possibility that I liked the campaign of Medal of Honor a little more than Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and Call of Duty: Black Ops as MoH truly kept me on edge and holding my breath throughout the entire game. The campaign can also be played on Tier 1 mode which I guess is a super hard difficulty challenge. The game was hard enough on normal, I'm not sure if I can get through the whole game on Tier 1 mode.
Source: Youtube Channel medalofhonor
Multiplayer is a different experience from the singleplayer (of course) but has its own entertainment values. Multiplayer is typical two sides versus matches with 4 game modes. I've only played the capture point and death match modes as those are the most populated. Players can choose from three different classes, each with their own loadouts and equipment choices: Assault, Special Ops, Sniper. The capture points mode and other modes are dependent on team play and are such reliant on the type of players you get matched up with. When you get on a good team, the experience can be quite exhilarating and satisfying with you and your team mates rushing the front, watching each other's backs, and deploying team specific perks. The game can be a horrible experience too though with more reasons than one. Having bad team mates can make for a one-sided fight since players will rush to their deaths on their own thinking they'll just respawn and kill some more like in Call of Duty (which is fine for deathmatch actually). There's also the problem of how players spawn. In capture points, enemy players that have played enough will know exactly where you and your team mates spawn and can literally camp in an area where they can kill you the second you spawn. This can be behind your own base or in the fronts where they shoot in the general vicinity of where you will spawn. Some of the maps also causes players to funnel through the same area which makes it easy to spray and pray on anyone through through that path. If it's not a gunshot, players who were already spawn camping would have enough kills to call on mortar strikes on your team's spawn point and get a few good kills. The weapons have to be unlocked by leveling the class you played through a match by earning the points. So if you continually suffer and not play well, leveling will be a problem (wasn't too bad for me). Even with items unlocked, weapons are limited and few. The good thing is that there's not such thing as a useless weapon as all weapons are powerful (even pistols). Problem with that is some of the weapons are overpowering, and sometimes I like it because of it. Besides playing sniper (my favorite class), I would play special ops with a shotgun that can instantly kill anyone close OR mid-ranged. The shotgun's reach is so ridiculous that I've gotten kills across the map with about 3-5 shots before. I've gotten scores such as 32 Kills and 9 Deaths using a shotgun before because of how amazing the reach and power is (keep in mind that I play casually and am not very good at First-Person Shooters compared to most players online). The game really can get exciting and fun when everyone is playing fairly. But there are just too many design flaws, bugs, and exploits to deem it fair, consistently enjoyable, or even bearable when you're getting killed repeatedly from your spawn point. Gameplay: 8/10 (it would've been a 7/10, but the incredible audio, awesome sniper class and overpowering shotgun convinced me to give an extra point).
Replay Value
This portion is debatable and can vary from player to player. The game doesn't have that many modes, maps, or weapons, so the main experience is dependent on the people you play with (which usually turns out to be bad). Some players might get bored after unlocking everything as their incentive to play was to unlock items. Others might get turned off by the problems the game suffers from as described above. Most players I see online range from about 2000-4000 points of experience with a select few at 1000 or 8000. Those who have high experience points are often more than not ones who spawn camp racking up to 30-50 kills with 1-2 deaths. And what happens when one person does it? Their whole team joins in, making it difficult to near impossible to flank. With the Playstation Network still down, it's very uncertain what the future of Medal of Honor's online play is going to be like. The last few times I logged on, there was a max player count of about 1000-5000. The singleplayer was fun, but I would mainly replay it through tier 1 mode to test my skills. Even if I felt like playing multiplayer, it would be once in a while. I usually play deathmatch now if I want to play since the team-based ones can be infuriating with bad team mates. It's pretty difficult to recommend the game now for its multiplayer as its population is dwindling. I'll probably still play the game once in a while, but it's difficult to make a decision to do so each time I get free time since I have a large backlog of games. Replay Value: 7/10
Overall
If you can find the game for less than $20 and you enjoy military-themed FPS games, then I recommend playing through it for the experience. No other FPS has such detail and quality in its audio and realism as Medal of Honor (2010) (thus far). And if you're like me not liking previous Medal of Honor games as much, don't worry and give this game a chance as it's a huge difference from its older installments. With an exciting single player campaign and a broken yet entertaining multiplayer, the game should be tried out by all FPS players at least once. Overall: 8.75/10
Monday, May 2, 2011
GameLight Review - Battlefield: Bad Company 2
This week is going to be kind of like a GameOn event in that I'm going to be doing game reviews all week. I finished through three games last week and wanted to review two others I finished a short while ago. They are somewhat old, but still relevant now (meaning it's still worth picking up these games and playing them). I have three First-Person Shooters (FPS) and two Action Role-Playing Games (ARPG) lined up for this week's game reviews. Today, I'll be reviewing Battlefield: Bad Company 2 for PC.
Official Site: http://www.battlefieldbadcompany2.com/
Source: Youtube Channel Games
Developer: DICE
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Platforms: Playstation 3, Xbox 360 & PC
Release Date: March 2, 2010.
Genre: First-Person Shooter
Pros:
-Interesting Storyline with an entertaining Single-player Campaign
-Squad-based multiplayer distinguishes itself from other First-Person Shooters
-Class-based loadouts adds a special dynamic in team-play
-The game offers a lot in content, gameplay, and replay value
Cons:
-The experience in multiplayer relies heavily on the team you're on and playing against
-Lots of off-putting moments such as object contact lag, spawn killed, and dumb team mates
-The many things that you can't kill but can kill you (vehicles, rockets, grenadiers, snipers, etc.)
This review is long overdue with it being out for over a year and two months exactly now; however, it doesn't change the fact that Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is still an exciting game for anyone who like team-based action games to enjoy now with the Vietnam expansion and weapons DLC still offering gamers something new. The first Bad Company may have gone under my radar when it was released, but I'm glad I had the chance to get the sequel during the Christmas holidays when I did. With a full fledged Single-player campaign, an extensive multiplayer mode with four classes to choose from, various maps, and tons of unlockable items, the game is still worth picking up as we wait for the release of Battlefield 3.
Graphics
First and foremost, I have to say that the developers did an incredible job optimizing the graphics for the PC. I have to put the graphics down in order to have a smooth gameplay experience, but not so much that it hindered on the beautiful landscapes and effects of the game's graphics. The environment within the game is simply breath taking from the large background terrain to the tiny debris that flies off a door when breaking it down. Though the developers go for a more realistic look to the art style, they kept the design for the game in mind and worked around the colors of the units, objects, and terrain. The dynamics in color, lighting, and contrast worked really well and was comfortable to the eyes as well as distinguishing objects around the player from melding in together too much into a messy amalgamation. The animation is nice for the most part, and the destructible environments worked really well with the graphics for the debris. Smoke and debris does slow the game down for me once in a while, but I'm hoping to still be playing the game when I get a nicer computer (I play on a laptop currently). My main complaint on the graphics would be more due to the network in how there is quite a bit of lag in bullet contact, distance, and hit-box sync with the models in multiplayer. Graphics: 10/10
Audio
I found the music to be unfitting and awkward in many parts of the singleplayer as well as loading screens for multiplayer. They're distinct, but not incredibly memorable. For the most part, it was okay and kept scenes from being silent. The sound effects were decent, but nothing that stood-out and blew me away. I do have to make an exception to the reverb sound from an explosion. It causes your character to go deaf for a few seconds before sound normalizes. The programming is pretty good and very important when you're trying to flank on an opponent who's firing at your team mates. The most satisfying sound to hear is the beeping of points whenever my med packs heal a group of my team mates. Audio: 8/10
Gameplay
I didn't know that the game had a Single player mode. Perhaps the first one had it, but I never heard of Bad Company in the Battlefield series until the sequel came out. The single-player campaign feels very different from Call of Duty's gritty environment of war and chaos and takes the story a bit more lightly with humor, movie-like action scenes, and a cast of eccentric characters you team up with. The single-player is pretty action packed, bringing the player from one spot to the next with fire fights, tank battles, and vehicle raids. The single-player last much longer than I expected and delivered an entertaining experience, but there were a few missions that felt more like a chore when traversing from one place to another in long distances. Multiplayer is a bit harder to describe as the experience can differ from time to time. My first experience with multiplayer was really good. I teamed up with a friend and worked as a small squad in capturing objective points. I've mainly played medic and have unlocked all there is for that class. I noticed that there's a great deal of lag in processing bullet contact, kills and such. I've knifed players and had them stand there frozen for 3-5 seconds before showing that they have been killed. I would shoot a whole clip of bullets into an opponent and they would sometimes survive with not a single hit landed on them. Aside from that bit of annoyance (which doesn't happen all the time) is the team you play with. Since I played with a friend, we were able to carry out objectives a lot more effectively and watch out for each other; however, I have play many times on my own with random players and they would kill the experience for me. Medics run past my dead body while trying to kill someone with their Machine guns, assaults run off on their own to kill enemies while the team's bases gets armed and blown up, snipers just sit there waiting for an opponent to come by instead of throwing radar to keep an eye out for enemies, etc. This video would be very useful to watch before playing for anyone on Battlefield: Bad Company 2
Souce: Youtube Channel GamerSpawn
It also explains a lot of the game mechanics in those short 9 minutes. There can also be the infuriating events of constantly getting killed the second you spawn ANYwhere on the map, but I believe a lot of the problems I've mentioned is applicable to many other FPS games. So there are, of course, good points about the game. The squad-based gameplay forces players to cooperate with their team mates as trying to go at it on your own will likely result in a failure or excessive deaths. The problem is that many players go into Bad Company 2 thinking that it's similar to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. By having players die a lot, it encourages them to stick with the squad. The distinct classes adds a nice dynamic to the game since it does something similar with the squad-based teamwork by having players focus on what their classes excel at to fulfill the mission rather than rushing up the front lines to try to get some kills. There is a lot to unlock for each class and thus a lot of items to mix and match which changes the type of position your character plays for the team. I personally loved playing the medic, mainly due to the blaring fact that most people don't do their jobs as medics in most games let alone this one. Being able to tag enemies was also a welcome function since maps were huge and players looked small from afar. I'm constantly mashing on the "Q" key when I'm up against a huge group. Put everything together, and the game can get pretty exciting when both teams work really well pushing the lines and working together. The feeling of "belonging in a team" is similar to MAG on the PS3 in how it creates a special atmosphere for working with your team rather than running off on your own like in Call of Duty. The game can be just as bad though when you have bad team mates and you're up against a solid team who are working cohesively together to get the job done. I really like playing Battlefield: Bad Company 2, but sometimes I get turned off by uncooperative mates and bad matches. Gameplay: 8/10
Replay Value
This is subjective since people all treat multiplayer differently in this game. My friend started to play the game a lot less after unlocking most all of the items in the game. I offered the idea of getting the expansion for extra unlockables and content, but even I questioned whether I wanted it or not at the moment. I'm not quite sure how strong the replay value is, but I still have the urge to play more since I've unlocked all of the items for medic, but haven't touched the other three much yet. I'm up to 22 hours of gameplay so far, and I think I might play later today since I haven't touched it in a while (been playing a lot of offline games). While the maps do sort of get too familiar after a while, I feel there is a lot to offer players with the dynamics of the classes, items, people you get matched up with, etc. After a while though, I do take a break from it as I can't stand the reliance on team work when I've lost 7 matches in a row due to team mates who don't want to stick together. But for the price the game is selling for now (generally $20, I got it for $7), it's well worth the purchase and will last long enough for those waiting for Battlefield 3. Replay Value: 9/10
Overall
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is a unique experience that most FPS games don't offer and is well worth the purchase for those who are looking for a more team-based experience in their FPS games. The game offers hours of gameplay experience with lot of items to work with, large maps with vehicles at your disposal, and a class-based system that is sure to change the way you play each time you log on. Though the set-backs from lag, random explosion deaths, and infuriating team mates who don't know what they're doing can be frustrating, the addition of single-player mode, the joy of getting multiple kills in one spawn, and the major victory from a team effort of well coordinated players can be a satisfaction that no other FPS game can offer. Overall: 8.75
Official Site: http://www.battlefieldbadcompany2.com/
Source: Youtube Channel Games
Developer: DICE
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Platforms: Playstation 3, Xbox 360 & PC
Release Date: March 2, 2010.
Genre: First-Person Shooter
Pros:
-Interesting Storyline with an entertaining Single-player Campaign
-Squad-based multiplayer distinguishes itself from other First-Person Shooters
-Class-based loadouts adds a special dynamic in team-play
-The game offers a lot in content, gameplay, and replay value
Cons:
-The experience in multiplayer relies heavily on the team you're on and playing against
-Lots of off-putting moments such as object contact lag, spawn killed, and dumb team mates
-The many things that you can't kill but can kill you (vehicles, rockets, grenadiers, snipers, etc.)
This review is long overdue with it being out for over a year and two months exactly now; however, it doesn't change the fact that Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is still an exciting game for anyone who like team-based action games to enjoy now with the Vietnam expansion and weapons DLC still offering gamers something new. The first Bad Company may have gone under my radar when it was released, but I'm glad I had the chance to get the sequel during the Christmas holidays when I did. With a full fledged Single-player campaign, an extensive multiplayer mode with four classes to choose from, various maps, and tons of unlockable items, the game is still worth picking up as we wait for the release of Battlefield 3.
Graphics
First and foremost, I have to say that the developers did an incredible job optimizing the graphics for the PC. I have to put the graphics down in order to have a smooth gameplay experience, but not so much that it hindered on the beautiful landscapes and effects of the game's graphics. The environment within the game is simply breath taking from the large background terrain to the tiny debris that flies off a door when breaking it down. Though the developers go for a more realistic look to the art style, they kept the design for the game in mind and worked around the colors of the units, objects, and terrain. The dynamics in color, lighting, and contrast worked really well and was comfortable to the eyes as well as distinguishing objects around the player from melding in together too much into a messy amalgamation. The animation is nice for the most part, and the destructible environments worked really well with the graphics for the debris. Smoke and debris does slow the game down for me once in a while, but I'm hoping to still be playing the game when I get a nicer computer (I play on a laptop currently). My main complaint on the graphics would be more due to the network in how there is quite a bit of lag in bullet contact, distance, and hit-box sync with the models in multiplayer. Graphics: 10/10
Audio
I found the music to be unfitting and awkward in many parts of the singleplayer as well as loading screens for multiplayer. They're distinct, but not incredibly memorable. For the most part, it was okay and kept scenes from being silent. The sound effects were decent, but nothing that stood-out and blew me away. I do have to make an exception to the reverb sound from an explosion. It causes your character to go deaf for a few seconds before sound normalizes. The programming is pretty good and very important when you're trying to flank on an opponent who's firing at your team mates. The most satisfying sound to hear is the beeping of points whenever my med packs heal a group of my team mates. Audio: 8/10
Gameplay
I didn't know that the game had a Single player mode. Perhaps the first one had it, but I never heard of Bad Company in the Battlefield series until the sequel came out. The single-player campaign feels very different from Call of Duty's gritty environment of war and chaos and takes the story a bit more lightly with humor, movie-like action scenes, and a cast of eccentric characters you team up with. The single-player is pretty action packed, bringing the player from one spot to the next with fire fights, tank battles, and vehicle raids. The single-player last much longer than I expected and delivered an entertaining experience, but there were a few missions that felt more like a chore when traversing from one place to another in long distances. Multiplayer is a bit harder to describe as the experience can differ from time to time. My first experience with multiplayer was really good. I teamed up with a friend and worked as a small squad in capturing objective points. I've mainly played medic and have unlocked all there is for that class. I noticed that there's a great deal of lag in processing bullet contact, kills and such. I've knifed players and had them stand there frozen for 3-5 seconds before showing that they have been killed. I would shoot a whole clip of bullets into an opponent and they would sometimes survive with not a single hit landed on them. Aside from that bit of annoyance (which doesn't happen all the time) is the team you play with. Since I played with a friend, we were able to carry out objectives a lot more effectively and watch out for each other; however, I have play many times on my own with random players and they would kill the experience for me. Medics run past my dead body while trying to kill someone with their Machine guns, assaults run off on their own to kill enemies while the team's bases gets armed and blown up, snipers just sit there waiting for an opponent to come by instead of throwing radar to keep an eye out for enemies, etc. This video would be very useful to watch before playing for anyone on Battlefield: Bad Company 2
Souce: Youtube Channel GamerSpawn
It also explains a lot of the game mechanics in those short 9 minutes. There can also be the infuriating events of constantly getting killed the second you spawn ANYwhere on the map, but I believe a lot of the problems I've mentioned is applicable to many other FPS games. So there are, of course, good points about the game. The squad-based gameplay forces players to cooperate with their team mates as trying to go at it on your own will likely result in a failure or excessive deaths. The problem is that many players go into Bad Company 2 thinking that it's similar to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. By having players die a lot, it encourages them to stick with the squad. The distinct classes adds a nice dynamic to the game since it does something similar with the squad-based teamwork by having players focus on what their classes excel at to fulfill the mission rather than rushing up the front lines to try to get some kills. There is a lot to unlock for each class and thus a lot of items to mix and match which changes the type of position your character plays for the team. I personally loved playing the medic, mainly due to the blaring fact that most people don't do their jobs as medics in most games let alone this one. Being able to tag enemies was also a welcome function since maps were huge and players looked small from afar. I'm constantly mashing on the "Q" key when I'm up against a huge group. Put everything together, and the game can get pretty exciting when both teams work really well pushing the lines and working together. The feeling of "belonging in a team" is similar to MAG on the PS3 in how it creates a special atmosphere for working with your team rather than running off on your own like in Call of Duty. The game can be just as bad though when you have bad team mates and you're up against a solid team who are working cohesively together to get the job done. I really like playing Battlefield: Bad Company 2, but sometimes I get turned off by uncooperative mates and bad matches. Gameplay: 8/10
Replay Value
This is subjective since people all treat multiplayer differently in this game. My friend started to play the game a lot less after unlocking most all of the items in the game. I offered the idea of getting the expansion for extra unlockables and content, but even I questioned whether I wanted it or not at the moment. I'm not quite sure how strong the replay value is, but I still have the urge to play more since I've unlocked all of the items for medic, but haven't touched the other three much yet. I'm up to 22 hours of gameplay so far, and I think I might play later today since I haven't touched it in a while (been playing a lot of offline games). While the maps do sort of get too familiar after a while, I feel there is a lot to offer players with the dynamics of the classes, items, people you get matched up with, etc. After a while though, I do take a break from it as I can't stand the reliance on team work when I've lost 7 matches in a row due to team mates who don't want to stick together. But for the price the game is selling for now (generally $20, I got it for $7), it's well worth the purchase and will last long enough for those waiting for Battlefield 3. Replay Value: 9/10
Overall
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is a unique experience that most FPS games don't offer and is well worth the purchase for those who are looking for a more team-based experience in their FPS games. The game offers hours of gameplay experience with lot of items to work with, large maps with vehicles at your disposal, and a class-based system that is sure to change the way you play each time you log on. Though the set-backs from lag, random explosion deaths, and infuriating team mates who don't know what they're doing can be frustrating, the addition of single-player mode, the joy of getting multiple kills in one spawn, and the major victory from a team effort of well coordinated players can be a satisfaction that no other FPS game can offer. Overall: 8.75
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