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Posted by Iyouboushi on September - 22 - 2013 Comments Off on GTA V: First Impressions

With so much gaming focus being dedicated to the new consoles coming out later this year – the PS4 and the Xbox One – the focus this week is on what may well amount to the last hurrah for current consoles: Grand Theft Auto V. The latest release in the popular Rockstar franchise is finally here, and already it’s looking like one of the biggest events in gaming in several years. Here are some of our early impressions.

First things first: the setup for this game is positively delectable. The fictional city of Los Santos (blatantly modeled after Los Angeles) and the surrounding areas are beyond massive, and would seem to give a whole new meaning to “open world” gaming. And, as in previous editions of the game, it’s not just empty space – one truly gets the feeling venturing around Los Santos that it’s a real live community, filled with a culture that does its own thing whether or not you’re interacting with it. And enjoying this experience as 3 different main characters (players control 3 protagonists, rather than just one) simply adds another new layer to the experience.

ConsoleGamer2Within this large experience, the attention to detail in this new game is outstanding. Players can enjoy an incredible range of leisure activities. For the adventurous, there’s jet skiing and bungee jumping. For sports enthusiasts, there’s enjoyable tennis, and golf play so good it’ll make you rethink purchasing an EA Sports Tiger Woods game! There’s even a hint of a gambling environment, as the game’s casino claims to be “coming soon” (which probably means downloadable content in the near future). This would seem to be a good idea in drawing in gamers that have drifted to dynamic online gambling sites. At BetFair, for example, users can put money on the line in any game from bingo or Texas Hold’em, to slots and original arcade games. The online gambling market is enormous, and if this casino “opens” it will add another dimension to GTA V!

Moving beyond the massive quality and impressive detail of the world of GTA V, it’s the brand new features that make an impression. Driving is improved, crashes and explosions are bigger and more entertaining than ever before, and players can enjoy incredible new experiences like flying fighter jets and diving deep into an ocean alive with marine creatures.

Of course, a whole separate review could delve into specific gameplay, and the missions you’ll actually undertake in playing your way through the game. But in terms of initial impressions, it’s the sheer size and detail, and the quality of the new features, that make GTA V a winner the second you turn it on.

Categories: Game Reviews, Reviews
Posted by Iyouboushi on January - 18 - 2013 Comments Off on DmC Game Thoughts

DmC: Devil May Cry.  I think this is the first time I got a new game when it was released and beat it within a reasonable time in years.  I swear it normally seems like I’m the last person on the planet to get a game and it usually takes me forever to beat them. I guess this goes to show that I actually enjoyed the game quite a bit.

Most of the points in the demo review I did still stand.  I would like to add that I did see quite a few textural issues during the cutscenes while playing on the PS3.  It seems like the game glitched a lot on shadows and occasionally things would just pop up and out randomly (like grass and trees).  I don’t know if it’s just my PS3, the fact it’s running 30fps, or what.  It was noticeable though and that’s probably the biggest complaint I have with the game at the moment.  It was only during the cutscenes that this occurred as well; the in-game graphics ran fine and smooth.  I never experienced any slow-downs, clipping issues, or anything else with the actual in-game graphics.

So with that said, I actually had a lot of fun with this game.  I’m really anxious for the Bloody Palace DLC now (always enjoy going through those except for DMC 2’s lol).  And I still have a lot of stuff to go back and collect that I missed the first time around (mainly due to trying to finish the game’s story).

I’ve had a few people ask me if I’d recommend this game and my answer is this:  are you an expert DMC player? Can you Royal Guard everything to perfection? Do you know how to jump cancel and basically can beat the games backwards and forwards in your sleep?  If so, you will more than likely find DmC  too easy even on the harder difficulties (and may find it boring due to it being too easy).  If you’re like me and you’re just an average Joe player at DMC, you will probably have fun with it.  It’s not overly difficult to the point where you want to ragequit but I found myself dying at least a few times in the game (so it’s not a total pushover as well).  The story is cheesy but it’s partly based on They Live, a cheesy B-movie cult classic, so it’s expected.  Besides, who really plays a DMC game for a deep story?  I do think the ending of the story is a bit rushed though.

I got it for half off thanks to an X-mas gift card and I’d honestly say $30 is probably about the right price for this game.  Unless you just really want to have it now, I’d say wait and get it at half off or so.  But yeah, I’d recommend it.  It’s fun and I didn’t feel bad about wasting those 10 or so hours playing it.  With the Vergil story add-on DLC, the Bloody Palace DLC, and a new costume pack  (including a Classic Dante look) all coming around the corner, it doesn’t seem like I’ll be putting DmC on a shelf and out of the way any time soon.

Just for fun, here’s a few of my favorites (some spoilers below the cut, don’t read these unless you’ve beaten the game or don’t mind some spoilers):

 

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Categories: Game Reviews, Reviews
Posted by Iyouboushi on November - 21 - 2012 Comments Off on DmC Demo Review

I had a chance to sit down and play the DmC demo that was released yesterday.  I’ve been watching DmC since they announced it. Initially I thought it was going to be terrible but as time has progressed, they’ve improved it quite a bit. Still, I wanted to try it for myself.  Thankfully they’ve given us that opportunity…so here I go.

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Categories: Game Reviews, Reviews
Posted by Iyouboushi on February - 25 - 2011 1 COMMENT

What do you get when you take some of the more popular characters from two different franchises and pit them against each other? A successful series of games! This topic is about the second one, Marvel vs Capcom 2 as it’s the only version I can play (since MvC3 isn’t for PS2).
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Categories: Game Reviews, Reviews
Posted by Iyouboushi on November - 16 - 2009 Comments Off on Frets on Fire Review

Like rhythm games that are played using plastic instruments? Then you might like this. This is Frets on Fire, a free, open-source rhythm game where you can play pretty much any song ever made (if you can find it/make it). Did I mention it’s FREE? It’s basically a Rock Band/Guitar Hero clone. But how does it REALLY hold up to the masters of plastic instrument rhythm games?

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Categories: Game Reviews, Reviews
Posted by Iyouboushi on October - 20 - 2009 Comments Off on Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines Review

This game is amazing. So much, in fact, that I thought I should post my own little review here.

For those who don’t know, Vampire the Masquerade was a vampire paper-and-pen RPG by Whitewolf. It was recently replaced with a new system called Vampire: the Requiem. Anyway, VtM was around for ages (probably not as long as D&D, but close). It’s set in modern day and basically there’s 7 vampire clans who have to adhere to certain rules. This game takes that and makes an RPG that might rival Knights of the Old Republic in size and quality.

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Categories: Game Reviews, Reviews
Posted by Iyouboushi on July - 22 - 2009 Comments Off on Dragon Quest VIII

This review is an old one from a long time ago but I was playing through DQ8 again(for the first time in a very long time) and was just reminded of how great it was. So I felt it necessary to paste it here again with a few new tidbits of info.

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Categories: Game Reviews, Reviews
Posted by Iyouboushi on July - 19 - 2009 Comments Off on Punch Out [Wii]

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Mike Tyson’s Punch Out, later renamed to just Punch Out, and Super Punch out were some of the most memorable games on the NES and SNES respectively. They had quirky characters and were quite challenging, with each fighter having their own strategy to take them down. But how does the newly released Punch Out for the Wii hold up? Let’s take a look.

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Categories: Game Reviews, Reviews
Posted by Iyouboushi on July - 18 - 2009 Comments Off on Bleach the 3rd Phantom

Like painfully slow turn-based strategy games with tons of story like Final Fantasy Tactics? Like Bleach? Then you might enjoy Bleach, the Third Phantom for the Nintendo DS.
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Categories: Game Reviews, Reviews
Posted by Iyouboushi on July - 17 - 2009 Comments Off on Bleach Blade Battlers 2nd

Zomg another BBB game??? Yes, folks, it’s true. There is a second one. Naturally I got it when it first came out and now I present the review of it. 

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Categories: Game Reviews, Reviews

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