To start, I like RTS’s. Specifically, Base-Building Real-Time Strategy games, or, BBRTS’s.

And to rile a few of you up: 1/3rd of a game?

As most of you may know, I’m more of a Command & Conquer guy. There’s more of a raw and evolutionary feel to each match. StarCraft has always been much more methodical; time and math played a bigger part than actually micromanaging your different troops mid-battle, which was also done on symmetrical maps. That doesn’t mean I don’t like StarCraft, but I do like adding in variables to the BBRTS genre. StarCraft 2 doesn’t really add anything to it. But it sure as hell refines an aspect – and it isn’t the BBRTS-ing.

As I said, StarCraft 2 plays exactly like the first. To reminisce, my Dad and I bought the game on release at an Electronics Boutique (I guess technically he bought it since my $15 was allowance). We took it home, installed it, and I’d play until bed time – he’d stay up playing, slowly lulling me to sleep with the gurgling death of a zergling and the sweet sounds of the Terran’s theme music. It was a magical PC time. And while not meeting my demands as a C&C BBRTS-er, Battle.net really gave it the extra push to get games out of me – and by extra push I mean all day every day. Even with Brood Wars; Dad was out of town on business a lot, and I remember spending the Spring and on, on his computer, downloading Bruce Campbell sound files and watching the drop player screen on BNet. Ah. Ok, moving on.

It was BNet that got all the play out of me. So with StarCraft 2 you may wonder, what could they bring to the BBRTS genre? Dawn of War 2 limited BB and focused on individual units. C&C4 scrapped BB and required you to gain units through online matches. No, StarCraft 2 is pretty much the same, with as much new content as an expansion pack. But that’s not fair, really. The graphics here are great and run really well. But it doesn’t end there.

What is done here differently is in regards to the campaign both in terms of gameplay when on the battlefield, and gameplay when unfolding the plot. The Terran campaign, being the only one in this game, is quite large with included branching levels. You have a Commander’s Hub of sorts where you have access to an armory for unit upgrades and a lab for special ability unlocks. You also have access to recruiting mercenaries and can chat with different characters for story plot-points. It’s all very well done and does not feel like filler one bit. I would actually like to see this as a standard in future BB RTS’s. Even if I was the commander, an FPS view in my hub world would satisfy the feeling of being in command. I can see it now – the FMV of C&C games coupled with a point-and-click style adventure game between missions. The game also includes the infamous achievements system. And the tasks are pretty fun and will most likely have me going back through missions to earn them all. Pokemon.

Multiplayer is the real star here, even if not to me (hey, I’m an SP kinda guy), but there’s a ton going on here. Different game types, even more achievements to earn, but sadly, no co-op. After playing Red Alert 3, co-op in a BBRTS is something that can be done well in a campaign and works. Not sure why Blizzard left something like this out, but again – not much has changed since the original. What adds to the multiplayer component which again, same as the original, is the custom game types. Maps, mods, and game types, there’s so much that can be done and will be done. This will keep the longevity of the game going for sure. And I think what you’ve read here has pretty much cemented the notion that this game is not a 3rd of a game. It’s huge*. And an included Zerg and Protoss campaign would only overwhelm me (no, it wouldn’t). But don’t fret, those campaigns are on there way, but would they be worth the $60 asking price?

Because, Wings of Liberty is worth $60. While I personally prefer a different style of BBRTS-ing, SC2 is still fun and includes so much. If you can, grab the Collector’s Edition which includes a Jim Raynor dog tag USB drive with the original game and expansion, a giant art book, comic, DVD, and a few other things. There’s a lot of fun and gaming to be had, and I’m sure you’ll run into this game at LAN parties. It’s inevitable.

*That’s what she said.

My initial impressions of Singularity might have came off as if the game was a bit mediocre – that’s what I was going for. But getting deeper into the game and being able to make use of all the game-play elements offered, it certainly switches things up making enemy encounters and puzzles fresh and exciting. But even if it was a little lame, it still has something else going for it.

There’s a pretty big story with Singularity, and even though some may not find it ‘deep’, there’s a lot to it. It takes place on some fictional island off the coast of Russia that housed a community and research facilities working with a newly discovered element, E99, to compete against the United States in the Cold War. This means some pretty crazy technology to be featured, as well as time travel. Throw time travel into anything and you’ve got me there day one. The story does remind me a bit of BioShock but fortunately (to me) the game doesn’t contain any of its downfalls.

The game plays like a standard FPS, in line with Raven’s recent work, but adds enough game-play elements to keep it fresh. Part of the Soviet technology includes a time-travel wrist-band, or TMD. Throughout the game you can manipulate specific objects in time. You can slow things down, age enemies to death, and even send certain destroyed objects back in time to their untouched state. Within the realm of time-travel, this game-play element is a little odd, as you can only do this to certain objects, and I ask myself, how is it determined what age it’s being manipulated too? I assume it just ‘happens’ for the sake of the story.

Little nit-picks like that can get to me in a game, but luckily this game is fun enough that I can look over it. That said, there’s nothing really bad about this game I can point out. I feel the graphics could be better and that the enemy design could be much more interesting. But luckily that doesn’t stop me from enjoying the game. After playing through it on Normal, I’d recommend just starting on Hard. It can get challenging at points, but this is just if you still haven’t understood how to use specific elements of the game-play to your advantage.

I’ve also got to say the FPS combat in this is very satisfying with firearms, especially once you get a hang of the aiming and have upgraded weapons. Enemies will pop out from all over the place in an intense mess, and with proper aiming and upgraded weapons, you’ll feel like a badass. I think properly surviving these firearm battles also required upgraded health, armor, and healing abilities. There is a lot to this and is definitely exciting.

There are tons of upgrade abilities for weapons, health, and your TMD. You will also come across special weapons that are used in conjunction with time manipulation. It’s really your call on how you use what the game gives you; I think this could make the game play different for multiple playthroughs. I personally just upgraded the main assault rifle and my health. But I could have went down the path of making my TMD a beast. The game could have played out much differently.

In the end, I recommend Singularity. Nothing amazing, but it is a worthy FPS will all the game-play elements available. Not sure if it’s worth full price though. I personally rented it. I will also add that if you liked Wolfenstien you should be able to easily get into Singularity, though I think Wolfenstien is a better game.

WOW!!! When my little bro (Sean Blue) said this game was amazing, I thought…eh…it’s probably good…but really how awesome can it be. After being broke for a minute and not playing anything since Alan Wake (which is also awesome!), I finally broke down and got Red Dead. And to be honest it did start a little slow for me and seemed repetitious.

A little back story, if needed. Your a cowboy! I bet you didn’t see that one coming. Your a cowboy sent to find and capture or kill some one! Ooooh the plot thickens. You make friends and enemies on your way to help or hinder your journey. OK STOP Hold the phones this story is just too deep let’s get to the gameplay….ok.

Well after the first couple missions where you learn stuff, I started getting to the core of this game, and not just the barreling through of the story missions, but the challenges. The challenges are what really got me into this game. There is a Survivalist challenge (Yeah…picking flowers!), Hunter challenge (killing and skinning animals…one of my favs), Sharpshooter (skillful shooting tricks), Treasure Hunter challenge (find maps then find treasure), and I think there is another but I can’t remember. These challenges get harder and harder, but they also unlock little perks for your character. So far hunting and killing 2 cougars with only a knife was the toughest….they are fast and lethal. Also another hard one was a Sharpshooter challenge where you have to shoot the hats off enemy’s heads without killing them. Pretty hard.

Also getting the secret achievements are pretty fun. One of them I had to kidnap and hogtie a girl while making sure the law wasn’t after me. Then lay her on the train track just to get pummeled by a train to turn into red mist and chunks. Only 5 gamer points, but probably the funnest 5 I ever got.

Last I will finish with the GTA4 comparisons. There are lots. You can probably figure out what they are. But it takes them and makes them fresh again. All the mini games are great. Poker, Black Jack, Liar’s Dice, Horse Shoes, Arm Wrestling, breaking in horses, and a whole lot more. Well enough carrying on. I don’t want to spoil everything. I didn’t even get into the multi-player at all. This game has a lot of replay value. Get it. It’s the GTA Killer!!

*Note: This post is full of F-bombs. The word is perfect for expressing specific points of the game. You’ll understand.

GotY.

Fin.

Seriously though, Lost Planet 2 is the perfect sequel that could have been made for Lost Planet. And the ’2′ is really defined as squared, describing the size of the game. I guess ’4′ would have been too confusing. Though, I simply do not understand the complaints in most of the professional gaming publication’s reviews, but it sounds like they just do not understand fun. No – I get it. They’d prefer if the game held their hand the whole way. This goes for IGN, Eurogamer, and Giant Bomb, among others. Now, I know Mike from the Bluecast said he didn’t really dig it either. But I’m going to sit down and have a word with him. The next episode of the Bluecast will have some time devoted to Lost Planet 2 and to fix some of the lies told in some reviews. I will add there are reviews out there that get it. Game Informer in particular.

My initial fear of the game had to do with the co-op. I haven’t played a fun co-op game since Syphon Filter: Omega Strain, so a part of me was afraid the main campaign would be diluted with missions built around the co-op mechanic. This shouldn’t be a bad thing – but it usually is. I rarely come across an acceptable co-op gaming other than for just having your friend there. However, this is a rare occasion that the co-op makes the game better – a great successor to the campaign of the original. There is just so much shit going on. While it can be done with A.I. buddies, as the campaign draws out missions require so much to happen at once that getting human players may be much more helpful. Though, even then, human players are human. So they can be dumb. I can see this over-whelming feeling getting the best of these game reviewers – penning their frustration over used tissues. But man-up Nancy boy, this is a fucking video game.

As the game progresses, the bosses get bigger. That sounds normal, but once you see the first few bosses you’ll just be in awe. There are VS’s everywhere, and on top of that, there’s so much to them. They can have multiple special abilities such as flight, melee, fucking energy swords, repair from the inside, transformations, etc. Most of the abilities make more sense as the game goes on and it’s just simply too much to get into here. Along with the VS’s, you could choose to just use a VS weapon. Or, take a ride on a VS piloted by a partner. Or, man a gun turret. Maybe even stay back and snipe. Really, there’s just so much here. Capcom went all out with the weaponry and gameplay, but to top it all off, every type of environment known to man is a battlefield in this game. Winter, desert, urban, water, and fucking space.

And that’s just the campaign…which levels you up just like in competitive multiplayer – they other half of the game. The competitive multiplayer in this game also has a lot to it. There are many different modes to play, but as with the campaign, there’s also many different ways to achieve a goal. My favorite is based on your teams Battle Gauge. Battle gauge is the collective lives of your team displayed in a blue, numbered meter. This is reflected by capturing data posts and use of T-ENG – another example of the deep gameplay offered here, which easily scares away reviewers to their next deadline. I mentioned briefly that your character levels-up during the campaign. Along with that, boxes can be found from killing enemies that award you with credits, which then can be used to purchase random unlocks. By keeping it random, players tend to have unique load-outs which also forces item use that would normally be neglected. By doing this, you could stumble across a load out that unknowingly works well. I feel this is similar to Halo 2′s matchmaking system. People are forced to play maps they wouldn’t normally play, which then allows players to focus on skill or be able to enjoy any map. It’s a unique feature to Lost Planet 2, and works well. It differentiates it from Call of Duty’s grind-to-next-unlock.

I hope this explained some of the negative points you might have found in the lower-scored reviews. You know here I don’t score I game. I tell you at what capacity it is worth playing. And this game is certainly worth the purchase. Though, if you just really don’t like difficult games – you may want to try it out or just all together pass it. But don’t rate it as a bad game for everyone else. Leave the rating to gamers that enjoy a challenge.

Here it is. What should have been a launch title for the PS3 in some form is now upon us. Though, what made the first three so special besides the great combat, was the epic set pieces. Yes, the PSP still did a good job with that. Naturally, I wouldn’t review this and instead just post some quick impressions telling you to get it immediatley. But honestly, God of War 3 didn’t turn out like I thought it would.

I thought the E3 demo was garbage. It just looked like a pixelated mess. Considering PS3 games aren’t required to have some sort of Anti-Aliasing, I figured it just went that route. Uncharted 2 did a good job with the AA, Killzone 2, not so much. But fortunatley, the final, full-retail product, looked a smooth as can be. This, coupled with amazing graphical effects that give a sense of depth and scope, I will probably crown this as best looking console game (Crysis still owns them all). There is a neat focus effect depending on the foreground/background that help you get into the game, or just down-right make this feel like a movie.

And that goes hand-in-hand with the set pieces. The action sequence in this game is unbelievable. It pulls you in, gives you freedom of gameplay, but also varies that gameplay according to what actions are present. Again, it’s amazing. But then, the rest of the game happens. From here, it’s not as epic. Maybe a reel-in tactic? Whatever the case may be, the rest is a let-down. Now, there are a couple more sequences that are of epic proportions as well, but it being a small fraction of the game, doesn’t help the game be the ultimate experience. There is moreof an emphasis on many enemies and using your power to destroy them. The most powerful attacks are really all you need. I got to a point where all I did was press triangle to attack, because it was so powerful I didn’t need anything else. Though there still are a few instances where you’ll come across some down-right dirty enemies, requiring strategic dodging and countering. But there’s not enough. I even finished the game with all treasures found and all weapons upgraded. Because of this I really have no need to play again. Also, these epic set pieces seem to be a one-time thing. Once you know how it goes down and when you need to press a button, it’s just Heavy Rain set in Greek Mythology.

There were some control issues that were actually common knowledge, so it wasn’t just me. I vaguely remember this from GoW2, and other people on the net have confirmed this with the GoW Collection. When double-jumping, sometimes the game will register it wrong and you will be shot straight down to your death. I died more this way than from enemies. It’s pretty sick. With all the complaints I’m seeing, I’m surprised this is still a apart of the game. In short, GoW doesn’t do real double-jumping like every other game.

Conclusion: If you’re on the fence, just hold off. Even as a GoW fan you might not be happy with a $60 purchase. It’s just not as epic as the others, and when not awing you with epic sequences, the fighting is very basic. Even with new weapons and magic, everything can be maxed during the first play-through. For instance, I recognize how much more epic GoW is compared to Dante’s Inferno, yet, I had the drive to go through DI four times. Rent if you’re not working on a backlog, otherwise, save it for the summer drought…if that even occurs this year. But remember this: The game is not bad. It’s just that it feels like it could have been put out a few years ago, and the focus here became epic sequences rather than awesome combat.

As some of you may know from reading this blog, I am a huge Command & Conquer fan. Some of you may also be familiar with how pissed I got when things started slowly going south. EA purchased Westwood, rushing the release of Tiberian Sun and released C&C 3 which almost completely disregarded Tiberian Sun (although, the expansion made for the purpose of pleasing fans tried its best to piece everything together…but the damage was done). With C&C3, most of us knew it was done. One of the developers of Tiberian Sun who left with other Westwood vets to start Petroglyph, spoke out on what they planned to do with the C&C franchise. This world was awesome.

We had the mysterious Kane, tiberium crystals that started mysteriously appearing around the world, and the Tacitus artifact found in a crashed alien ship, along with the emerging of Cabal. All of these neat plot points started opening up, with fans eager to hear how it continues. It even goes deeper with Tiberium veins, blue crystals, mutants, visceroids, etc. Depth very much comparable to Bungie’s Halo universe. But all of these details were left out of C&C3. Why? My only guess is the people working on C&C at EA decided they wanted things done their way. I was able to stomach it though. The game was fun, but not exactly the evolution we were hoping for from Tiberian Sun. Again, we just accepted it. It was almost as bad as an Alien and Predator fan witnessing the Alien vs. Predator movie. It changed everything.

So now we get C&C 4: Tiberian Twilight. My thinking is that after the retribution of Kane’s Wrath, we’ll get a part of what Westwood intended to bestow upon the fans. We wanted to learn more about the Scrin, the tiberium, Cabal…all those above plot points. But unfortunately, none of that is found here. For one, the polish and production found in previous games is certainly very low-budget here. It was going down-hill anyway, but now it has come to a cliff. I hate to talk bad about the dev team on this, but everything looks bad. Even the FMV was full of stupid filler crap. I’m fine with using unknown actors, and the acting was fine for this medium, but there was no substance. No resolution. Nothing to tie previous plot points together. I didn’t care anymore.

As for music, a huge staple of the earlier releases, it’s also slightly disappointing. TD and TS set the mood. The music, written by Frank Klepacki, was amazing and would be something you could listen to outside of gaming. There is actually a cool score written for the game, but it would have been better off as cues within the gameplay. We’re missing the rocking music, the atmospheric doom sound – anything resembling the Tiberium Universe.

It seems though I was playing the game for the story and not the gameplay. Part of that is true. C&C3 was already a let down, but I was eager to follow the story and see Joe Kucan again as Kane. How was the gameplay? This time around it is not a base-builder, but an RTS similar to Dawn of War II…but not. I don’t know. EA said they were experimenting with different ways to play an RTS, and while it is different, it’s not necessarily what should be packaged. I mean, it works as a game, but it’s pointless. I guess it’s fun to try out, but ultimately has no real strategic point like DoW or Company of Heroes. And I really don’t know how to explain it. It has no point.

You have a mobile base called a Crawler which you build units from. You then build the right mix of units to take out the enemy. If they have air, get anti-air. Rock, Paper, Scissors. There are some points around the map you can grab colored tiberium crystals to help you out. But it just doesn’t seem to mean anything to me. I like the addition of tons of units to choose from which are unlocked by leveling up. Also from leveling up, you gain abilities and buffs to be used on units. That whole element is great for an RTS. But the actual gameplay is, again, pointless.

This is a sad time. The Tiberium universe was a fantastic and exciting storyline with much potential, but to the dismay of fans, we are left with nothing. It has been taken away. It’s like watching Alien vs. Predator, Quantum of Solace, or Blade: Trinity. It takes away what makes it great, and leaves us behind. But why has it been taken away form us? Originally, Westwood was purchased by EA because of the cash potential. Once secured, Tiberian Sun was rushed out to meet the demands of upper management/stock holders/whathaveyou, to secure maximum profit. But when C&C3 came around, it really looked like they tried. Like they had freedom. But who made these decisions that changed the Tiberium Universe? Did ex-Westwood employees leave on bad terms making the team at EA feel they need to do their own thing? The lore was right there, yet not even used.

R.I.P.

I’ll start this review by saying I’m playing this for the multiplayer and found the first’s SP boring. So, don’t expect too much out of this review. Even so, when I first get a multiplayer game, I check out the campaign to get a feel of the game. The first level in this game is completely awesome. It’s also set in WWII. Just the atmosphere, graphics, sound, and story really pulled me in. I demand a full campaign based off of this first level. I understand some people may be tired of WWII games, but if it’s good, you will play.

After that initial intro level, you get dropped into the squad of the first game. It all plays pretty much the same, though fortunately the campaign this time around is a bit stronger and plays at a faster pace. Dying is inevitable and luckily it doesn’t have the same ‘Battlefield-style’ respawn as the first game, rather, there are scattered checkpoints. This moves the game along at a faster pace, which is very much welcoming. There is also an interesting story here that flows great with the gameplay and kept me interested.

The graphics in this game are incredible. Sometimes they are used to great effect, but other times I wished to be awed as earlier points in the game provided. Still, this engine (Frostbite) is great and playing through the game made me long for an AvP game with these realistic looks (though the character models of the recent Alien vs. Predator are great). The sound here is also in-your-face and very realistic. So the strength of the visuals and audio is certainly an achievement.

The campaign is a good length with the potential urge to play through again, as there are side-objectives to obtain. Though, as a $60 game, if you didn’t plan on going online I’d wait a bit for a lower price. Though, if you can get your hands on it, do so. Multiplayer impressions to follow.

The galactic action packed soap opera is back! And whether you like it or not Bioware and Mass Effect are the Jay Z of gaming because they are laying the Blueprint. You cannot turn your head at the fact, even if you don’t like Mass Effect, that Bioware is simply showing the world how to make a complete interactive cinematic experience. And I would label Mass Effect 2 as an experience as much as it is a game. Ok, enough horn blowing.
What does Mass Effect 2 do better than 1?
Easy…Everything!!! And let me tell you that is nearly impossible to do no matter the medium. Movie, music, games, whatever….making a part 2 completely better than the 1st in every aspect is damn near impossible. I will name a few things. The 1st is something that my brothers claim not to like from the 1st. Shooting. I was skeptical that Bioware decided to add an ammo system to the 2nd installment. But they did, and it works. Yes you are shooting these baddies in real time, while telling your squad mates what to do ala Ghost Recon style. The battle pause is still here, which Bioware 1st introduced in the KOTOR series. For all the Haters it isn’t mandatory to use. You can even quick map moves to your LB, RB, and Y buttons if you want to feel more in charge of the free flow action. You can even map your team’s moves so you don’t have to pause battle. But as far as shooters go this game is very strategic. Enemies flank, rush cover, and shoot from a distance, and sometimes all at once. So sometimes planning is better than rushing head strong. 1 last point on the ammo is the ability to change to different types of ammos. Fire, ice, warp, whatever. And it all works well with the new ammo system.
On to more better. One big change is planet exploration. No more Mako. No more driving around. I, for one, loved driving around. Yes annoying sometimes, but I still loved it. ME2…no driving. Now some don’t like the idea but I’m a big advocate on the introduction of planet scanning. You can now scan the whole surface of a planet and send out probes to retrieve minerals. In ME1 the minerals were an almost “who cares” item. Now they are necessary to upgrade your weapons, shields, and yes even your new Normandy space shuttle. Sometimes you will find side missions while scanning a planet. And each side mission has been put on steroids and given its own unique level and feel. Going back to the upgrade system, there is no more selling un-needed equipment. You can buy upgrades or scan dead bodies/computers for research projects that allow your scientist to beef up your weapons and shields.
I can honestly write forever about this game, but I will just mention 1 more important thing. You can take your ME1 character into ME2! All your decisions from the 1st carry over. Depending on your level and money from the 1st you get bonuses upon starting part 2. I was rich in ME1 so obviously I started ME2 with a nice chunk of change. Once you beat ME2 you can even start a 2nd play through with that same character at the same level. And I hope you didn’t kill your main character by the end of ME2, if so, you will be unable to import them into ME3. Which means you can carry over every decision from ME1 and ME2 into part 3. Has this been done before? Maybe, but if so, definitely not on the same scale.
There is definitely a lot more to say on this game, but it is worth checking out on your own. Even if you didn’t like part 1, play part 2. You can even create your part 1 back story if you didn’t play it. This game is a must buy. Anyone who claims they are a gamer, should have this. IF you don’t, I’m sorry because I don’t respect you claiming to be a real gamer. And I stick by that 100%!!!! That goes for you too, Adam and Sean!!!

While God of War games have been around long before God of War, the gameplay was just so tight that it set the bar for 3rd-person brawlers. It set such a bar, in fact, that EA and Visceral Games decided to copy that and put in their own look and story. Is that good enough to make it an enjoyable experience? Wouldn’t it be stale by then?

God of War used Greek Mythology as the setting. This allows the fantasy within the gameplay to work, and also allows the player to be put into epic set-pieces during battle. Dante’s Inferno is a mythology itself too. Although in the current day and age some may disagree. The mythology here would be considered Christian Mythology. The story is based on the poem, The Divine Comedy, which made straight into a game may somewhat lack in gameplay. Visceral took that story and pulled the mythology out of it, turning the idea into an action-driven story. For me it works; it’s about hell, sins, etc – perfect recipe for a game.

So does ripping-off God of War work? Yes. And I kind of like this idea. Take the GoW engine and controls and make it a template. Then, have developers create games within it. It controls the same. Weapons, enemies, environments. It all moves and acts the same. So, to sort of spice it up, the upgrade system is a bit different. There aren’t multiple weapons to obtain, instead just powerful attacks and magic. The game is about strengthening aspects of your character and using them in battle. Your scythe is your primary weapon, along with a projectile cross as your secondary. You upgrade through XP gained from Absolving or Punishing certain enemies or the damned. This is actually pretty unique and can technically allow the game to be played multiple times for different play styles. The game can be a little difficult which can be a good or bad thing. You can change the difficulty anytime, or just sit there and challenge yourself. Also, there are some arenas to unlock as well as a New Game+.

The graphics are just alright. I think it really has to do with some of the design. It’s just kind of plain. But then there’s some design that’s just brutally awesome. Some levels have nothing to them – then all of a sudden you’ll come across a badass looking boss. I guess there’s only so much you can do with hell. Just plaster the rocks with bodies…? It’s brutal though. There’s blood, guts, and tits with graphic animations to exploit these fun attributes. It sure is still fun to watch no doubt – but just a little on the plain side.

So in the end, this game is definitely worth a play-through. It brings up a point that this God of War mold could be used for multiple games of this style in different settings. I would love to see some Norse Mythology…or even a Blade game (actually, I already have an awesome idea for a Blade game). It’s worth $60 if you have the money to spend, otherwise it’s worth the rental.

This may be short because it’s pretty simple: Darksiders is a gamer’s game. It takes elements of God of War, Zelda, Soul Reaver, Metroid, Panzer Dragoon, Portal, and gives you an enjoyable experience. If you don’t like the game and call yourself a gamer…I just don’t get it. Let me break it down a bit.

The game’s main game-play element is God of War style action. The game world is centered around a hub-like structure, similar to the recent Wolfenstien. What some call dungeons, I call ‘levels’. There’s not a real over-world, so you use various checkpoints to go from level to level. Or travel on your own if you wish. Like Metroid, you gain items that let you progress. Sometimes you can go back to a previous area and get a hidden item that was out of reach. Upgrades are insane, which are allowed for your weapons, your other weapons, your health and armor, and special abilities. Boss battles are big and epic, and you get to ride a flaming horse. This game has it all.

What helps make this game-play fun is the world. The design of the characters are just awesome. I’m not knowledgeable on comic book artists, but Joe Mad is creative director on the game…which shines through more than most games with original IP. I mean, I want some action figures of these badasses! Especially Samael. The story is rather enjoyable as well. It’s a take on Christian mythology, which from the medium, hasn’t really been done much if at all (that’s usually a touchy subject in this age…How do you think the Greeks might have thought of God of War?). Voice-work is awesome too, which helps drive the story. Mark Hamill is in it, so, that’s always a plus.

Now, it isn’t without its faults. The only issues I really had with the game are very minor. The controls feel like they could have been tighter, although this is a development process that may take a few games before being refined. The controls are easy and fluid, but there is something there that sets it apart from, say, the controls of God of War. I also got pissed at jumps. Now, this may be a wireless controller lag issue, but a lot of times jumps would delay and I’d fall to my death. Again, this could be the hardware as I feel Left 4 Dead 2 suffers bad from lag, yet everyone and their Mom writes this game home as the be-all-end-all multiplayer game – that I don’t agree with.

I guess that’s getting beyond the point…but to the point: Any little issues are so minor (and no game is perfect) that this game does deserve a perfect score because it needs to be played. Cool thing is that this is a first time game from Vigil studios. That says a lot and I hope it means more titles in the future. They’re working on an MMO right now, which I don’t play anyway, but I’m sure something else will crop up. I need to add that seeing review scores for this game make me laugh. It’s getting high scores…but this is just a game that, despite any flaws, is just so fun that it needs no less than a perfect score. I would never tell a gamer to avoid this game. Like I said before, this is a gamer’s game. It encompasses everything that makes gaming fun, sets it on fire, slaps your face, and gives you an enema.

Conclusion: Buy it. If strapped of funds, rent or borrow. Stealing might be accepted as long as you’re not stealing it from a gamer playing it.