Review: Duke Nukem Forever (Part 2)

With stellar graphics, smooth game-play, great dialogue, and challenging puzzles this game is spectacular. The game I'm talking about of course is not Duke Nukem Forever, but the game we hoped it would have been. Unfortunately it has none of these things. Duke Nukem Forever was a game that was announced in 1997 and feels like a game from that era. The game-play and movement is clunky and slow and Duke seems to get hung up on every pebble he walks over. It also abandoned all the exploration aspects of Duke Nukem 3D and is very linear. After a while you don't quite remember what your eventual goal is (Rescue earth's women? Something about the Hoover Dam?) and it feels like you move forward, kill aliens, move forward, kill aliens, until you reach the next level. The game also make a few jabs at modern games with the most obvious one being the jab at Halo , where Duke is offered Master Chief's armor and responds by saying how only a wuss would wear it. The issue with that is Halo came up with most of Duke Nukem's game-play mechanics such as: regenerating health and holding only two weapons. The weapons of Duke Nukem Forever are one of the...less bleak aspects of the game. I enjoyed the over the top weapon's such as the Devastator, but didn't enjoy the clunky aiming system. Where the game really dates itself is the graphics. For a game that was released in 2011, it would have a hard time competing with any game's graphics that had been released since 2003. While not every game can look like Crysis , it is nice when a game tries to differentiate the look of the scenery and enemies so I know what I'm supposed to be shooting. The game also has some sort of childish, immature addiction to boobs because they are thrown in everywhere. And while Duke does have some funny dialogue, most of what he spits out is uninspiring and forgettable. But I could almost forgive every one of those things I talked about if the friggin' loading times weren't so long! My tip if you're playing Duke Nukem Forever is don't die because you'll have to wait anywhere between 40 to 60 seconds. So my second tip is to have a book ready because you're going to have to keep yourself occupied every time a level loads or you die. What I don't understand is when you die in your monster truck you instantly re-spawn with no wait times what so ever. Why couldn't they add that to the rest of the game?! So if you're even considering playing this game I would only recommend it if you can get it cheap and are trying to find spare time to read a good book.

Score:
Graphics: 4/10
Gameplay: 4.5/10
Story: 3.5/10
Innovation: 3/10
Buying Appeal/Replay Value: 5/10

OVERALL: 4/10

www.dukenukemforever.com/

(Don't know why you would want to visit the site but just in case you do)

Review: Duke Nukem Forever (Part 1)

It sucks.

Part 2 coming shortly.

Preview: Dead Island

You kick off your vacation on the remote island of Banoi by heading to a club. You're having a good time but your a little tipsy and decide to head back to your hotel room. When you wake up, the whole hotel is deserted and there's an horde of the un-dead crawling around outside. Welcome to Dead Island. A game originally announced in 2006, Dead Island is a first-person zombie survival game based heavily around customizable melee combat. The game is said to be an "open world" game with RPG elements such as an experience system and a skill tree. The goal of the game is to protect any remaining survivors as well as trying to find a way off the island. To do this you can combine weapons and items, for example in the trailer below you can see an electrified machete. But well fighting you will have to watch your stamina as you can get tired and have to wait before resuming fighting. There have been special zombie types confirmed and you will be given a flashlight to help you see in very dark places, i.e Half Life series. I always felt a flashlight added another element to games and would be very beneficial to the atmosphere in a zombie game. This game hits shelves September 6 for the Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and PC.

Trailer


The origonal logo, on top, was deemed not suitable for release in North America by the ESRB so another on, on the bottom, was released instead.

Prediction:
Graphics: 6.5/10
Gameplay: 7/10
Story: 7/10
Innovation: 6/10
Buying Appeal/Replay Value: 6/10

OVERALL: 6.5/10

www.deadislandgame.com

Preview: Gears of War 3

It's been delayed several times since it's original April release but gears fans, rev up those Lancers because we are almost a month away until the highly anticipated release of Gears of War 3! The third and final installment in Epic's Gears of War series will features the adventures of Marcus Fenix and the rest of Delta squad as they try to exterminate the Locust and Lambent forces. During this third person shooter game, not only will you play as Marcus Fenix but many other characters as well. This third person shooter is the successor to the first two Gears of War games, which are said to be two of the best games for the Xbox console. This game also features many multi-player modes like the new and improved Horde 2.0. Essentially you pick a base in the map and use points from kills to upgrade defenses around your base while holding out as long as you can. "Beast" mode is a new mode similar to Horde 2.0 except from the other point of view. As the Locust you will have to kill survivors until you gain enough points to upgrade into a stronger Locust. For example you could go from a Ticker to a Wretch to a Drone and then a Kantus. This IS one of the most anticipated games of 2011 and what will probably be the best game on the Xbox 360 this year, Gears of War 3 is a must have for any Xbox owner. September 20th 2011, will be a day to remember because we will have been blessed with the graces of Gears 3.

Trailer



Prediction:
Graphics: 9.5/10
Gameplay: 9.5/10
Story: 9/10
Innovation: 9/10
Buying Appeal/Replay Value: 9.5/10

OVERALL: 9.5/10

http://gearsofwar.xbox.com/en/

Preview: Resistance 3

I thought I would start by saying I'm one of the rare breed of people who didn't like the first Resistance. I hated the health system with a passion, found the multi-player atrocious, and thought the characters from the campaign were about as dynamic as a cardboard box. However I did enjoy the campaign's story, which was good enough to support the sequel Resistance 2. And now the latest (and maybe not the last) installment of the Resistance series is on it's way, slated for a September release. The setting of Resistance 3 is Haven, Oklahoma, during the later half of the 1950's. The Chimeran race has almost completely taken over the earth and is no longer on the offensive, they're more occupied with finding the rest of the survivors and exterminating them. A mysterious spacial rift they have created also occupies their time and resources. You play as Joseph Capelli, a recently dishonorably discharged sentinel, who is among a small cell of survivors just doing what it takes to evade the Chimeran. But when Dr. Fyodor Malikov arrives with a desperate plan, the game really gets going and Joseph is going to have to come out of hiding and take the fight back to the Chimerans. The graphics look great and this only compliments an new "smarter" A.I. The game also features a new progression, objective based multi-player, which looks fantastic, and a two player co-op campaign mode as well as 3-D and sharpshooter features of the Playstation. And even though I found the first one lack luster, I believe that this game will be a standout in anyone's game collection. So for all you Playstation fanatics waiting for the next Killzone 3, I believe you should seriously consider another PS3 exclusive, Resistance 3.

Gameplay



Trailer




Prediction:
Graphics: 9/10
Gameplay: 8.5/10
Story: 9/10
Innovation: 8/10
Buying Appeal/Replay Value: 7.5/10

OVERALL: 8.5/10

http://www.insomniacgames.com/games/resistance-series/resistance-3/

Preview: Deus Ex - Human Revolution

Sorry I haven't posted in a long time but I've been extremely busy with work. But before I continue on this preview I just wanted to tell you to go watch the trailer at the bottom...was that not epic?! The story is fresh, the graphics look amazing and the game-play itself looks great, plus did you see the way he broke that guy's neck after punching through the wall? Wow. Dues Ex: Human Revolution is actually a prequel to the original Deus Ex and Deus Ex: Invisible Wars. The protagonist is Adam Jensen, an ex-SWAT specialist who is hired to protect a scientist working at a controversial biotechnology firm. But when that scientist is killed by a black ops team, Adam is badly wounded during the attack and the only way to keep him alive is to attach human augments to him. These augments give people super human capabilities and are causing great amounts of controversy in the year 2027. People are being slowly dividing themselves into those who can afford the enhancement and those who can't. Human Revolution is primarily a first person shooter with third person elements during the use of cover, certain augments and instant-kill melee moves. The game also has major role-play elements such as being able to expend experience into skills like social, stealth, combat and technology. This game allows you to play through it with many different choices: do you want to fight your way through? Sneak around? Steal information? Or interrogate people during the level? The choices you make can be made easier with the upgrading of the skills listed above. This game come out for the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC on the 23rd of August. Circle that date on your calendars because this could be one of the biggest games of 2011.





Prediction:
Graphics: 10/10
Gameplay: 9.5/10
Story: 10/10
Innovation: 9/10
Buying Appeal/Replay Value: 8/10

OVERALL: 9.5/10

http://www.deusex.com/

Preview: Legend of Zelda - Ocarina of Time 3D

I've received several requests to do a Nintendo DS game, so I decided to choose the Legend of Zelda - Ocarina of Time 3D, partially because I played the original when I was younger. The other reason was so I could take a look at the new Nintendo 3DS. For me, the 3D doesn't add much to the graphics or effects of the game, but where you will really notice it is in the game-play. For example: to line up a shot with your slingshot you might have to move you device around. This game will feature the same plot from the Master Quest version of Ocarina of Time, which features Link trying to rescue the Princess Zelda from Ganondorf. No surprises there. Essentially you must collect and upgrade your weapons as well as defeat enough dungeons before you can fight the final boss. (Essentially the same story of every other Legend Of Zelda game.) So for everyone who jumped on the 3DS boat, look for this game on June, 19th.

Movement Demo


Trailer


Prediction:
Graphics: 6.5/10
Gameplay: 8/10
Story:8/10
Innovation:7/10
Buying Appeal/Replay Value: 6/10

OVERALL:7/10

http://zelda.com/ocarina3d/