After countless delays and computer problems, episode 4 is finally here. Thank you for your patience and enjoy the episode! Also, Episode 5 is ready and should be uploaded on schedule Friday night. And check back this weekend for a new series. It won't be a Let's Play, but it will involve the use of my capture card.
Zelda Update
Today is Tuesday. There was supposed to be a "Zelda" episode yesterday. There wasn't. Unfortunately, I have gone back to school, so it will be a few days before a Zelda video is uploaded. Simply put, they take up a lot of time that I don't have right now, especailly since im taking some of the hardest classes that my school offers. I'm sorry, but in the meantime I should have a few articles up throughout the week. Friday night, there will hopefully be a new Zelda episode out. Untill then, keep checking back everyday in case there's a surprise for you guys.
Let's Play: The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time Ep. 3
Episode 3 is finally here after countless computer problems! Enjoy, and be on the lookout for episode 4 which will be up later tonight or tomorrow.
So there are some missing posts...
The upload schedule of the Let's Play Zelda episodes is Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. There wasn't an episode yesterday because my computer was broken. I fixed it today, spent hours uploading the third episode, only to find that it wasn't editied, so there were 2 minutes in the beginning of me setting up the video. I just took it down. Now I have to re-edit the video and re-upload it. It takes 3 hours to upload an episode of Zelda. So, episode 3 and 4 will be posted tomorrow, barring any more unfortunate events. I am extremely sorry for the wait. As for the Top Ten Childhood Games List, those will be caught up tomorrow. Again, it's due to computer issues. Also again, I am very very sorry.
My Top 10 Childhood Games: #5- Super Mario World
When I was a kid, I played a lot of Mario games. Back then, the best was Super Mario World.
Super Mario World played a lot like the Mario games before it. You run to the right, jumping on enemies and collecting coins with the ultimate goal of rescuing Princess Peach from the evil Bowser. This game made some great changes though. One thing was the great overworld map. Like Super Mario Bros. 3, this game wasn't exactly linear. You had a map with a bunch of branching paths. You chose which level you went to next. If one level was too hard, you could try another and still end up at Bowser in the end. Of course, there were a bunch of secret paths that didn't lead to Bowser, but instead made led to areas that made the game easier by adding extra blocks to levels. With those blocks, a lot of gaps are bridged over so it's harder to die. The map was great. It let you make the game your own.
Another awesome addition to the game was the challenge of bosses and the Star World. The game was divided into 10 sections. 2 were optional, but the 8 that were needed each ended with a boss fight. The boss was one of Bowser's eight children, and they added a good challenge to the game that kept it fresh. The Star World were a set of 5 levels that, when completed, led straight to Bowser. The first entrance to the Star World is in the first section of the game, so it's possible to skip the entire game if you feel like doing a speed run or don't want a challenge. Granted, the Star World isn't easy, but it isn't too hard either. Another thing you can do after the Star World are the special challenge levels. These were a set of 10 levels that were harder than a Mega Man game, or Donkey Kong Country. If you wanted to 100% the game, you would need to beat these levels, which were just brutal.
My favorite aspect of Super Mario World is the graphics. It's entirely 2D, but the artwork is amazing. It really showed off the power of the Super Nintendo, and it looked better than some games that are being released today.
Super Mario World is an amzing game. It always will be. Go play it.
Top Ten Childhood Games: #6- Donkey Kong Country
Many of you know the wonderful world that is Donkey Kong Country since the reboot that Nintendo released earlier this year, but if you were fortunate to grow up in the 90's like myself, you experienced the original Donkey Kong Country.
We all remember the graphics and the beautiful rows of bananas that Donkey Kong Country had. The graphics were surprisingly some of the best for it's time in my opinion. The 90's was all about the blocky figures and terrible 3D graphics, but Donkey Kong Country seemed to pull it off without looking too terrible.
The main plot of DK Country was going from land to land collecting puzzle pieces, golden K-O-N-G letters, balloons and bananas in order to reach the final level and recover your banana hoard thats been stolen by the Kremlings. I think what was most captivating to me was the different types of tasks that you had to preform based on each level. My favorite was definitely when you were in mine shafts and DK and Ditty Kong would ride in this tiny cart and jump over broken railing or duck stalactites. Even though its old, this game will keep you playing for hours on end and thats why it's number 6 in my Top Ten Childhood Games.
My Top 10 Childhood Games: #6- Donkey Kong Country
Donkey Kong Country was one of the first video games that I ever played. My older brother played it with me on the Super Nintendo, and I will never forget it.
Donkey Kong Country was the first game to let you play as the iconic Donkey Kong, and his little buddy Diddy. Their mission is to regain the bananas that were stolen from them by King K. Rool and his Kremlins. The game plays a lot like the average Mario game. If you don't know what the average Mario game is like, then you are just dumb. I mean seriously dumb.
The graphics were unheard of when this game came out. It was the perfect mix of 2D and 3D. It was mindblowing.
One huge trademark of this game was its difficulty. To this day, I have yet to beat Donkey Kong Country. It's just that hard. Go play it and find out for yourself.
Donkey Kong Country is an iconic and historic game. It spawned numerous sequels. Recently, Donkey Kong Country Returns was released for the Wii. I played it, and loved it. It was nowhere near as hard as the original, so I beat that one. I definitely reccomend playing Donkey Kong Country if you ever get the chance.
Let's Play: The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time Ep. 2
Here's episode 2 of my Ocarina of Time Let's Play. Remember to come back every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for a new episode! Enjoy!
My Top 10 Childhood Games: #7-Pokemon Snap
When I was a kid, there was only one thing that I loved more than the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and that was Poke'mon. I watched the cartoon every day, bought all of the toys, and played all of the games. One game that holds a very special place in my heart is Poke'mon Snap for the Nintendo 64.
Basically, you play as Todd, a poke'mon photographer. Professor Oak has asked you to photograph every poke'mon, just like he asked Red to catch every poke'mon in the original Gameboy games. In each level, you ride around in the Zero-One, a pod-like vehicle that can travel on land, air and water. As the Zero-One takes you through the level, you can look all around you and take pictures of the pokemon around you. You're pictures are graded at the end of each level. Good grades get you more points, and as you gain points, you get more tools. You get apples, pester balls, and the famous poke' flute. These items can get you better pictures. For example, ther is a sleeping Snorlax in the first level. If you play the poke' flute, you will wake him up, and you can snag a great picture.
The amount of interaction in this game is amazing and really made me feel like I was in the poke'verse. It was just amazing to see all of the poke'mon I knew and loved in their natural environment. And I could even influence the poke'mon, like knocking a Magikarp into a waterfall, and then watching him evolve into the mighty and fearsome Gyarados.
Most of the original 151 poke'mon are in the game. They even put in the legendary bird trio. But you had to work hard to see them since they're only eggs. You have to work hard for a lot of the game, because there are so many secrets. There's a reason I'm still playing the game (I downloaded it on my Wii, just like every other N64 game on this list so far). My favorite secret is easily the secret space level. To get there, you have to beat the game by getting a huge amount of points, and then you have to photograph the secret poke'mon image in every level,like the rock formation on the beach level that looks a lot like a Kingler. Once you do all of that, you can go to space and have a chance to photograph the rarest poke'mon of all: Mew. I nearly had a heart attack when I first saw Mew flying around in space.
Like I said, this game is really memorable for me. It was a cool concept that hadn't been seen before this game came out. And it was as close to being with poke'mon that I'd ever gotten. I definitely reccomend playing it if you ever get the chance.
Top Ten Childhood Games: #7- Guitar Hero
Granted, guitar hero was pretty recent in game years, but this is still a big part of my childhood, recent or not. Released in 2005 by Activision, RedOctane and Harmonix, Guitar Hero took the world by storm with this new type of gaming. The guitar shaped controller with the green, red, yellow, blue, and orange buttons soon became a staple to anyone who truly claimed themselves to be Guitar Heros. In my opinion, I'm pretty freaking amazing at the game itself. I've beaten Riley quite a few times as well, but then again, I could never get the ultimate bragging rights of earning 100% on Dragon Force's "Through the Fire and Flames", but I was good.
The game itself is very simple, your character (mine was always Johnny) and their band try and become rock legends by mastering different songs at different venues. I remember playing "Bark At The Moon" with my best friend over and over on Expert when I was like ten or nine thinking I was the bomb. The Guitar Hero series continued till about February 2011 when Activision spread the word that the game we knew and loved was done, but recently clarified that they are on hiatus for 2011 which leads many hopefuls like myself that they'll continue to produce new games after the let down that was Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock (Sorry if you liked it, but personally, I hated it.)
Thats why Guitar Hero earned itself #7 on my spot of Top Ten Childhood Games.
Highway to Inferno: A Review of Shadows of the Damned
Written by: Riley Hooper
First shown off in late 2010, Shadows of the Damned was released last June. It was the first game to have gaming legends Goichi Suda (better known as Suda 51, creator of No More Heroes), and Shinji Mikami (creator of Resident Evil) working together as a team. Those two created a game that will definitely be remembered for a very long time.
In Shadows of the Damned, you play as Garcia Hotspur, a demon hunter who's on a quest to save his girlfriend! More specifically, Garcia's girlfriend Paulais taken to Hell by the lord of demons, Fleming. It's up to Garcia and his weapon/best friend/former demon, Johnson, to save her. So they go to Hell. Apparently, it's pretty easy. All he did was drive down a highway on a motorcycle. Anyway, in Hell, Garcia sees Fleming's castle and starts heading there. Throughout the game, Garcia passes through various distinct areas of the game. Sounds like Dante's Inferno...
There are 6 acts in the game. Each act has 5 scenes. At the midpoint and end of each act, you fight a boss, except for the 4th act, which is undoubtedly the worst act. Before each boss fight, you are given the option to read a funny story about the boss that explains what kind of person they were like when they were a human. The stories are read by Garcia or Johnson who always throw in some good jokes. Each act lasts around an hour and a half, so it's a good sized game, which is good because it's single player only with little to no replayability.
Let's talk about characters. Or rather one character. Johnson. He is a floating, on-fire skull that can talk. He is also Garcia's best friend. Johnson is a former demon who has the power to transform. He can become a torch, a pistol, a machinegun, a shotgun, or even a motorcycle. Johnson's weapon forms recieve upgrades after every boss fight. His pistol form is also the source of just about all of the innuendo in the game. The regular pistol is called the "Boner". When upgraded, it becomes the "Hot Boner", and can shoot a "Sticky Payload", which is just a bomb that sticks to enemies. For one scene, Johnson becomes the "Big Boner", which is a ridiculously strong pistol with a 6-foot barrel. Garcia holds the "Big Boner" right at hip level and yells things like "Have a taste of my big boner!" when he fires it. Good job Suda 51.
The game plays almost exactly like a Resident Evil game thanks to Shinji Mikami. It's a 3rd-person over-the-shoulder shooter where your aiming reticle is a laser pointer. It's very reminiscent of Resident Evil 4. In fact, a lot of the game is, especially in terms of environment. But none of that is a bad thing, since Resident Evil 4 was a great game, and some of it's biggest problems were fixed for Shadows of the Damned. Namely, you can move while aiming! That feature better be in the HD remake of RE4!
Graphically, the game is amazing. The gritty grindhouse look perfectly compliments the dark environments of Hell seen in the game. The music is astounding as well. Akira Yamaoka (composer of the Silent Hill games) composed the music for this game, and he did so amazingly. There are the creepy, sullen tracks for when the game delves into it's horror genre, but there are also up-beat rock tracks for when the game gets more light-hearted. The music always compliments the scene perfectly.
Earlier, I mentioned that Act 4 was the worst of the game. That's because it takes every gameplay element that you've been using and throws them away for all but one scene. The first scene has you in a 2-D side-scrolling environment wherethe screen is constantly panning to the left. Garcia is flying through the air and can only use Johnson's pistol form unless he gets a power up. It plays a lot like R-Type. The only nice thing is the graphical change. You go from gritty CGI to light, 2-D paper dolls. The second scene is where you get the "Big Boner". While using it, you can only look around. You can't move. Garcia is standing on a platform and has to defend against waves of large demons that take way too long to kill unless you can get a headshot. And their headshot area is as big as your laser reticle, so it's ridiculously hard. To make it even worse, if even one demon gets to the platform you start from the beginning of that set of waves. There are three sets of waves in the scene. The third scene is another side-scrolling shooter. The fourth scene plays like the rest of the game. The fifth and final scene is yet another side-scrolling shooter. At the end of this scene, you fight a boss who has been shown off the entire game. Every other scene or so, this boss shows up and makes things harder for you, so I was really looking forward to fighting her. Unfortunately, we met anti-climactically in the paper universe. Lame.
All in all, Shadows of the Damned was a really fun game. The achievements were really easy since 70% were story progression, and the rest were killing a certain amount of demons with a certain weapon. Despite its flaws (I'm looking at you Act 4), I really enjoyed the game. The gameplay, graphics, music and humor make up for the shortcomings (Act 4). I highly reccomend playing this game, and hopefully there will be a sequel to pick up from the cliffhanger ending.
Final Score: 4 out of 5
My Top 10 Childhood Games: #8- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Arcade Game
Back in 1989, there was a game released in arcades that holds a special place in my heart. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It was a classic beat em' up that I first got to play at a Chuck E' Cheese during the late 90's.
You and up to 3 friends play as the iconic ninja turtles as they try to stop all of their enemies, culminating in an epic final battle against Shredder. Each level puts you somewhere in the turtle-verse, ranging from April O'Neal's apartment to the Technodrome itself, all the while fighting the Foot clan and iconic supervillains such as Bebop, Rocksteady, and Krang.
Like I said, it's a beat em' up. Most arcade games are. If you don't know what that term means, it's basically a game where you move in a side-scrolling environment mashing on the attack button to kill whoever stands in your way. The gameplay will never stop being fun.
Each turtle is unique in their weapon choice. Obviously, each turtle uses the weapon they have in the cartoon and the comic book. Leonardo has his katana, Raphael has his sai, Michaelangelo has nunchuks, and Georgia O'Ke- I mean Donatello has a bo staff. Personally, my favorite was Leonardo, followed very closely by Michaelangelo.
As a huge fan of the Ninja Turtles tv show, I practically had a heart attack due to sheer joy when I got to control the turtles, practically becoming them. That's why it was one of the best gmes from my childhood. I love the ninja turtles. And to be clear, I am talking about the true, original arcade version of the game. It was eventually ported to the NES, but the graphics were severely downgraded. Thankfully, it was ported to the Xbox Live Arcade and the graphics got a great upgrade.It was the very first arcade game I bought, and I play it about once a month, simply for the nostalgic joy and fun that I still have for this game. I'm also still a huge turtle-nerd.
My Top 10 Childhood Games: #9- Star Fox 64
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That is Star Fox 64, another of my favorite games form my childhood. It is amazing.
You play as Fox McCloud, the leader of the Star Fox team of mercenaries. The rest of the team members are Peppy Hare, Slippy Toad, and my favorite, Falco Lombardi. The Star Fox team is hired by Colonel Pepper of Corneria to stop the evil scientist Andross from conquering the Lylat system. This is a personal mission for Fox as Andross was the one who killed Fox's dad James McCloud. On certain missions, friends of the Star Fox will show up to help. There are also times when the rivals of Star Fox, the Star Wolf team, show up to try to stop them.
In each level, you fly a space-jet known as the Arwing. You are constantly flying forward with a third-person view. As enemies fly around you, you can shoot them. At points in the level, the other members of your teammight be ganged up on by some enemies. If you don't save them, they will crash and not be able to help you in the next level, making the level harder. Each level ends in a boss fight where you are free to fly around in an arena-like area. These are the best parts of the game, since you are given total control over the Arwing. As a kid, it was mind blowing to be in command of a space jet. It was as close as actually piloting something as I'd ever gotten. There are also certain levels where you drive a tank known as the Landmaster. Unfortunately, when it comes time for the boss fight you are not given total control and must keep driving forward. One certain level puts you in charge of a submarine which works a lot more like an Arwing.
There are all kinds of possibilities as to how the story can go. In each level, there is a regular path and a secret path. Each path takes you to a different level. It is even possible to avoid the Landmaster levels, which I always try to do.
Speaking of levels, there is a lot of variety. Each one takes place on a different planet, or a nebula, or an asteroid belt, and even a star! Each planet is drastically different, from a desert planet, to a planet entirely covered in water!
Star Fox 64 also has a multiplayer mode where 2-4 people can fight in Arwings, in Landmasters, and even on foot with bazookas. It's always a lot of fun.
Like Yoshi's Story, Star Fox 64 has no save system so if you run out of lives or turn off the game, you have to start over, which can be really frustrating some times. Also like Yoshi's Story, Star Fox 64 is available as a downloadable game on the Wii. Yep, I have it. There is also a remake coming out for the 3DS this Fall that makes me want to go buy a 3DS right now.
My Top 10 Childhood Games: #10- Yoshi's Story
As a kid, the Nintendo 64 was easily my favorite console, and one of the best games on that console was Yoshi's Story. You play as 6 different Yoshi's (each a different color) as they try to get their Super Happy Tree back from Baby Bowser. Why does Baby Bowser have the Yoshi's Super Happy Tree? Because he's evil. Also, the game is called "Yoshi's Story" because it all takes place inside of a story book. The world wasn't always a story book, but Bowser used magic to make it that way. Again, evil.
The story book aspect of the story justifies the 2D side-scrolling gameplay. Most games for the N64 utilized an open 3D world. Yoshi's story went with a classic gameplay method, but still utilized 3D graphics that make the game look just the way it wants to. Cute.
The object of each level in Yoshi's Island is to eat 30 pieces of fruit while navigating the level. Enemies stand in Yoshi's way (mainly Shy Guys), so Yoshi is able to turn enemies into eggs, which he can throw at other enemies to kill them. Eating fruit or an enemy replenishes Yoshi's health. There is also a lucky fruit chosen by the player at the beginning of the game that will completely refill your health if eaten. And if a Yoshi does die, you continue the level as a different Yoshi. Essentially, you have 6 lives for the entire game. Unfortunately, if you run out of those lives, then you have to start over from the beginning. Yoshi's Story doesn't take death lightly. But, there are only 6 different levels, so it isn't that hard of a game. But there is a lot of replayability. To be accurate, there are actually 24 levels, but you only go to 6 in each playthrough.
The music in Yoshi's Story is some of the most memorable music I've ever heard. The main theme is the kind of song that will quickly get stuck in your head really fast, but you'll be glad it's there. Also, the music can change at any time in the game since it's tied to your health. If you have full health, it's fast-paced and happy. However, as your health drops, the music becomes slower and sadder, encouraging you even more to eat some fruit. It think Yoshi's Story might try to brainwash kids into eating helthy...
If you never got to experience Yoshi's Story, it is available as a downloadable virtual console game on the Wii. I rebought it and play it from time to time, and I highly suggest you do the same.
Top Ten Childhood Games: #8- Nights into Dreams...
I should've posted one of these yesterday, but like Riley, the intense storm knocked out my internet. So, to compensate for no posts yesterday, here's the 8th TTCG.
Nights Into Dreams had to be one of the most creative games I've ever played. The plot of the game revolves around Elliot and Claris, two children who have just gone through embarrassing and traumatizing events at such a young age. That night, they both have nightmares and relive the events that happened that day. While in their dream, they somehow escape to Nightopia, one of the two lands humans live their dreams in. Nightmare, ruled by Wizeman the Wicked, is the dark side to Nightopia because it steals the dream energy from visitors so that Wizeman can take control of Nightopia once and for all.
When Claris and Elliot escape to Nightopia, it's revealed that they harbor the Red Ideya of courage and release Nights who explains to them about the struggles they face with Wizeman and the Nightmaren.
I can remember playing this game over and over because it was so addictive. As a little girl, the colors and sparkles had me hooked from the beginning. I was really drawn to Nights because he could fly and glitter would follow behind him. And with all the flying, you just completely stop playing the plot to the game and float around doing tricks. Overall, Nights into Dreams deserves a spot on my Top Ten Childhood Games.
Top Ten Childhood Games: #9- Bubble Bobble 1&2
Many of you are probably familiar to the glory that is Bubble Bobble. The two characters; Bub &Bob, go through a series of stages blowing bubbles or even popping bubbles in order to collect items and avoid bad guys and to achieve the final goal of saving Bub and Bob's girlfriends who have been captured by enemies.
So overall, one of the best childhood games in my opinion.
Bubble Bobble 2 has a similar plot with two characters in the beginning (Cub & Judy) and Judy who get whisked away in a bubble by a floating skull, is dragged away. The two original Bubble Bobble characters come in to play as Cubby turns into a freaking bubble dragon of sorts and flies away to chase down Judy.
The platform of the games is mostly puzzle like with the blowing of bubbles and getting through levels. My all time favorite level had to be the ones with the rainbows in the castle in the sky setting.
Quick Update
I was supposed to post a review and two games from my top 10 childhood games list. Unfortunately, a bad storm knocked out my power today. It took all of my time and effort to post the first episode of my new series, but I promise to put all of that other stuff up tomorrow. But for now, enjoy the video below this post!
Let's Play: The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time Ep. 1
So I'm sure you remembered the videos that I posted last week where I played a cover of the theme song from the Legend of Zelda series. All of that hinted at this, the new series that I'm starting. Basically, you'll watch me play through one of the greatest games of all time; Ocarina of Time. Each episode will be 20-30 minutes long and will be released every now and then. Enjoy!
My Own Top 10 Childhood Games
Just like Cassidy, I'll be doing my own list of the top 10 games from my childhood. Tonight, I will populate that list and begin naming games tomorrow. I'll name 2 tomorrow so that Cassidy and I will be both be on the same number on our lists. I definitely think that this is a great idea that Cassidy came up with, and it'll be cool to remember all of my favorite games. Now I just have to remember what they are...
Top Ten Childhood Games: #10- Rugrats Search For Reptar
In SFR, the gang is searching for the missing peices of Tommy's beloved Reptar puzzle which are scattered throughout the game. To find the peices, you go on several different odd missions all based off different episodes from the tv show. One of my personal favorites was the geese chase through the garden to retrieve Grandpa's dentures. The tasks are all ver simplistic but always entertaining.
One of the most obvious issues with the game would be the graphics and camera angles. Obviously, the graphics aren't going to be Assassin's Creed level considering this comes from the original Play Station, so they're fairly blocky with attempts to give the 3D effect. The camera angles I also recalled making me woozy after they spun around several times. Regardless, Search For Reptar holds its place at #10 in my all time favorite childhood games.
One of the most obvious issues with the game would be the graphics and camera angles. Obviously, the graphics aren't going to be Assassin's Creed level considering this comes from the original Play Station, so they're fairly blocky with attempts to give the 3D effect. The camera angles I also recalled making me woozy after they spun around several times. Regardless, Search For Reptar holds its place at #10 in my all time favorite childhood games.
Super Meat Boy: Tin Boy & Iron Boy Achievements
In this video, I'll show you how to unlock the Tin Boy and Iron Boy achievements in Super Meat Boy. Enjoy!
The Best Possible Outfit in Dead Rising 2
This is easily one of the funniest things that I have ever seen. It's an outfit that I put together while playing Dead Rising 2. I brought along my friend Kamu to help with the commentary, and this video is simply amazing. Mild discretion is advised.
New Series To Come:
I thought up a new series that will only last for ten parts which is going to be called:
Top 10 Childhood Games
This is kind of like a stupid tag you see on Facebook only it isn't annoying or completely irrelevant to the website it's on.
Everyday I'll make a post (counting down from 10-1) about my absolute favorite childhood games that I could never put down. Who knows, maybe this will spark a light in your memory of your favorite games!
Life Is Good For People With PSN
As a proud PSN supporter, I now have amazing bragging rights with the news that Ubisoft will release a multiplayer beta for Assassin's Creed Revelations. It's been said that there are nine characters and they're:
- The Sentinel
- The Vanguard
- The Guardian
- The Vizier
- The Thespian
- The Deacon
- The Bombadier
- The Trickster
- Champion
PSN: 1 XBOX: 0
Legend of Zelda Theme Guitar Cover
This a shortened version of the video I posted yesterday. This is just the Legend of Zelda cover that I played on my guitar. Enjoy!
Kill-Screen Preview
This is a quick little video I did to hint at an awesome new series that will be out next week. Check out the new video player!
All Hail the King: A Review of Duke Nukem Forever
Written by: Riley Hooper
Duke Nukem Forever was released in June after one of the most tumultuous development cycles in video game history. Duke Nukem Forever took 13 years to be made after being passed from company to company untill finally landing in the hands of Gearbox (creators of Borderlands). Duke Nukem is one of the most iconic names in video games. Does Duke Nukem Forever live up to the fame? Short answer: Yes. Long answer:
Duke Nukem Forever is an action FPS with a classic style that is a huge refresher from the modern FPS's like Call of Duty and Battlefield. Yes, most of DNF is spent running and gunning through aliens, but there is the occasional break in the action in the form of a puzzle. Just about all of the puzzles are platforming whre Duke has to jump from one area to another. They may sound bad, but they're fun and keep the game from getting repetitive. The shooting controls work well, just like Halo or Call of Duty. My only problem is the zoom. You don't look down the sights, the camera just zooms in and you can only see the cursor. It's a lot like Fallout 3's zoom.
Duke Nukem Forever is an action FPS with a classic style that is a huge refresher from the modern FPS's like Call of Duty and Battlefield. Yes, most of DNF is spent running and gunning through aliens, but there is the occasional break in the action in the form of a puzzle. Just about all of the puzzles are platforming whre Duke has to jump from one area to another. They may sound bad, but they're fun and keep the game from getting repetitive. The shooting controls work well, just like Halo or Call of Duty. My only problem is the zoom. You don't look down the sights, the camera just zooms in and you can only see the cursor. It's a lot like Fallout 3's zoom.
Storywise, DNF's plot is fairly simple. Following the events of the previous game in the series, Duke Nukem 3D, Duke is a rich celebrity and aliens are attacking the Earth . Worst of all, the aliens are kidnapping Earth's women. It's up to Duke to save the world by going to the Hoover Dam to defeat the alien king. The game follows Duke traveling to the Hoover Dam from Las Vegas. There are essentially 3 segments of the game. The first is Las Vegas, then the road trip to the final segment, which is the Hoover Dam. The road trip segment is where you drive Duke's monster truck to the dam. During this segment, you run out of gas at predetermined spots and are tasked with finding more fuel and killing all aliens in your way.
Like I said earlier, Duke Nukem Forever has many classic gameplay elements. A lot of puzzles, and even boss battles. I've seen boss battles in a few FPS's, but the ones in Duke Nukem Forever worked extremely well and really fit the game. One problem is that not every weapon can damage a boss. Only explosives, such as pipe bombs or the RPG. The classic styles are a great throwback and make the game truly fun.
The graphics of Duke Nukem Forever are average at times, and bad at others. Most notable are the models for humans. They look... inhuman. That's definitely not good. Hair is particularly terrible. It looks like everyone is wearing a terrible cardboard wig.
Duke Nukem Forever does contain a multiplayer, which was fun, but not amazing. The only gameplay modes are deathmatch, king of the hill, and capture the flag so there really isn't that much variety. You are able to use all of the weapons from the campaign in multiplayer, which is a plus. You are also able to customize the look of your character by leveling up. But, I only played a few matches of multiplayer.
Two trademarks of Duke Nukem forever are its humor and interactivity. Regarding humor, it's a very funny game. Jokes and pop culture references are constantly being thrown at you. For example, after I killed one boss, Duke said "Duke wins. Fatality!". Admittedly, the jokes don't stay fresh, but they never get too old or annoying either. As for interactivity, Duke can mess with most of the objects in the game. See a slot machine? You can go play slots. See a urinal? You can go pee in it. The interactivity is a really cool concept that kept me checking everything in the game world to see if I could use it. Most of the times, I can.
The achievement list in Duke Nukem Forever was great. It really forced me to play the game in different ways. My favorite achievement was to carry Duke's golden pistol throughout the entiregame. You get this special gun in the very beginning of the game. Since Duke can only carry two weapons at a time, this made the game a real challenge. The pistol isn't that great a weapon, so I was essentially carrying one weapon at a time. I stuck with the assault rifle. Many other achievements involve killing a certain amount of enemies in different ways. This forces you to try out every weapon, which really shows off everything good in the game.
One disclaimer that I feel like I have to include is that this game is rated M and for good reason. There is a lot of female nudity. And I mean a lot. One level even takes place in a strip club. This isn't a game for young people.
In conclusion, I liked Duke Nukem Forever. This is a famous game that many people though would never exist, but it's here. What I don't understand is how much bad press it's getting. Most reviews that I have read of this game have said that it's a terrible game. It's really not. People have berated the jumping puzzles, but would you rather have the shooting be non-stop? It would get repetitive and boring. The mix-ups in gameplay are the reason that I was able to play this entire game in one sitting. I couldn't stop playing for the full 10 hours. Go play this game. You'll be glad you did, even with the bad-ish graphics and occasional staleness in jokes.
Final Score: 4 out of 5 stars
WOOOOO!!! SEQUEL!!!
I just want to say that Borderlands 2 was officially announced this morning by Gearbox Studios! I am extremely excited for this game. As you should know from the quick review of Borderlands I wrote yesterday, Borderlands is one of my favorite games ever. Unfortunately, Borderlands 2 won't be released untill late 2012, or early 2013. But it will be shown off at PAX later this month. I will definitely post any videos regarding this game that come out of PAX, and I can't wait for this awesome sequel.
My Addiction: A (Quick) Review of Borderlands
Alright, I want to talk about one of my addictions. Borderlands. This game was released almost two years ago, and I still play it just about every day. It's just that good. Plus there's hours of dlc that I always love to play. Go play it. And if you don't want to, read this, and then yo will.
Ok, so if you're not familiar with Borderlands, it's an FPS-RPG for PS3, PC, Mac, and X360. It take place on a post-apocalyptic planet, and you play as one of four characters. Each character is like a class. There's an all-around soldier, a super strong berserker, a sniper, and my favorite, the fast moving siren. Basically, you're on this world and you can do whatever. You can go get quests from NPC's or just ride around in a car and shoot people. Of course, there's also a great main quest involving a treasure hunt for a mysterious vault, rumored to have the greatest treasures of all time.
The entire game can be played in 4-player co-op. Ideally, each person would use each class, so you have a balanced team, but you aren't forced to do that. You could have 4 Soldiers if you wanted to. One of my favorite things to do is to get a few friends together and go on a rampage through the world. It's ridiculously fun.
Borderlands has an amazing amount of content, containing hundreds of guns, grendae mods, class mods, shields, locations, and enemies. It guarantees hours and hours of play-time, and never gets old.
As for graphics, Borderlands did something interesting and went with a cel-shaded look, like Sly Cooper. It looks good and matches the mood of the game.
Now when I say that cel-shading matches the mood, I mean that the game is light-hearted and funny. Don't get me wrong, Borderlands can get serious, but it has a side-splitting core. For example, there is one person who is brought back to life after being stabbed (I won't say who, how or when to avoid spoilers). As soon as this person is alive again they immediately say "Where am I and who put this whole here?!".
So in the first paragraph, I mentioned DLC. Borderlands had 4 releases of DLC. Each one lasts a few hours, adds a lot, and is amazing in it's own way. I bought the game of the year edition, which came with all four DLC's, and I highly reccommend saving money by getting it.
The best way that I can summarize Borderlands is that it's a lot like Fallout 3, only more light-hearted, and, in my opinion, better. Borderlands is also more fast-paced and action packed thatn Fallout 3, and the co-op only helps more. Even better, think of Borderlands as a cross between Call of Duty and Fallout 3. And like I said, it'll last a long time, and is wildly fun. In fact, this review was short because I want to go play more Borderlands. Go get this game. Now.
Final Score: 5 out of 5
I've Got Bad News, and Good News...
Ok, so Let's start with the bad news. "Game Time!" is done. Forever. No more Darksiders videos. I do have another 40 episodes that were filmed, but I'm going to delete them. I hated the way it turned out. My ipod just doesn't work for what I wanted to do. Now for the good news. I'm starting a new series of "Let's Plays". I don't know what I'll call them. I'll either stick with "Game Time" (removing the "!"), or use something new like "Press Start" or just the simple "Let's Play". This new series of videos will have a much higher quality since I will be using a capture card and a real microphone instead of my ipod. Also, the videos will be funnier since I've had practice. They might be longer as well. With my ipod, I was limited to 10 minutes, but now I can go to about an hour, maybe even longer. I'll experiment with video length, but expect 20-30 minutes, which I'm sure you'll enjoy. 10 minutes just doesn't seem long enough for something good to happen in an episode. This new series will begin either next week or the week after, depending on when my equipment arrives in the mail, and how long it takes for me to lean how to use it. If you were a fan of the Darksiders videos, please tell me. If there was a fanbase, then I'll probably restart it, using the much better equipment. For now, look forward to whatever game I choose to go after first.
More good news! With the capture card and microphone and everything else I'm getting, I'll be able to do a lot more than just "Let's Plays". I'm talking about video reviews, game spotlights, and maybe even machinima. That last one is least likely to happen because it would be the hardest to create. But, it is a possibility, and something I'd love to make. If you don't know what machinima is, look up "Red vs. Blue". It is easily my favorite machinima series of all time. And if you don't want to look it up, then machinima is when a film is created using a video game. Essentially, I would have footage of game characters talking to each other and doing stuff, except I would do the voices, write the dialogue, write the whole story, etc.
But yeah, that's a lot to look forward to. In the meantime, I'll be writing reviews. I'll definitely have one up every Friday, and try to put another one up on some other day. I might put up some news stuff or something funny too.
More good news! With the capture card and microphone and everything else I'm getting, I'll be able to do a lot more than just "Let's Plays". I'm talking about video reviews, game spotlights, and maybe even machinima. That last one is least likely to happen because it would be the hardest to create. But, it is a possibility, and something I'd love to make. If you don't know what machinima is, look up "Red vs. Blue". It is easily my favorite machinima series of all time. And if you don't want to look it up, then machinima is when a film is created using a video game. Essentially, I would have footage of game characters talking to each other and doing stuff, except I would do the voices, write the dialogue, write the whole story, etc.
But yeah, that's a lot to look forward to. In the meantime, I'll be writing reviews. I'll definitely have one up every Friday, and try to put another one up on some other day. I might put up some news stuff or something funny too.
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