Bad Boys Review

Title: Bad Boys
Release Date: April 7th, 1995
Genre: Action, Comedy, Drama
Plot: [as per imdb.com] Marcus Burnett is a hen-pecked family man. Mike Lowry is a foot-loose and fancy free ladies' man. Both are Miami policemen, and both have 72 hours to reclaim a consignment of drugs stolen from under their station's nose. To complicate matters, in order to get the assistance of the sole witness to a murder, they have to pretend to be each other.
Rating: 8/10
Reasoning: This movie is without a doubt, one of Will Smith's finest. The on-screen relationship between Martin Lawrence and Will Smith is spectacular, with both actors basically playing off the other. The premise is rather well done, and keeps you on your toes as to what might happen to the guys next. Though I might've preferred more of a cop movie, rather than T.N.T, this fits just as well. Especially with Lawrence's character actually getting queasy with the sight of a dead body.

The main problem with the movie, which is why it got an 8 instead of a 9 or a 10 is Tea Leoni's acting. Though she has been in previously rather good movies (Fun with Dick and Jane), her character was extremely shrill, annoying, and basically an idiot. If she hadn't been the witness who could lead them to Fouchet, I would've smacked her in the face a bunch of times. I understand the predicament the character was in: she just witnessed her best friend get shot at an ex-cop's house, but she didn't have to get as carried away as she did in the movie. There's a fine line between scared and shrill, and she definitely went way past it.

But despite Tea Leoni's acting, this movie is still worth the watch, and you definitely get a feel for best friend relationship between Smith's and Lawrence's characters. A must see if you're also either a Will Smith fan or a Martin Lawrence fan.

Flower review

Ever since it first popped up at an E3 a few years ago, Flower has been garnerning an insane amount of buzz around it. Captivating audiences with its tranquil, zen-like experience coupled with some of the prettiest and most vibrant visuals you might come across in this console generation. Unfortunately, towards the end of the game, there were some decisions made to remind you that this is still a game, but its core concept is one that's well worth checking out along with the story it’s trying to present as a whole, making this an experience I feel every gamer should have at least once. Read on for a more in depth look!

Gameplay - 8/10

Flower does a great job of giving you the feel of just simply being the wind. The use of the sixaxis is flawlessly implemented, and any single maneuver you want to pull off, using your brain (and your hands), you'll quickly find yourself performing a myriad of aerial maneuvers from sharp turns to dives all with the flick of a your wrist. While the game was original touted as being a completely zen like experience, the final product does have a bit of a story to tell, especially in the last 3 stages which completely change up the gameplay. Each level is actually so well done that even after you finish one, you still will find yourself returning to your favorites and just replaying them or maybe even flying around the environment just for fun. The negative side of this is that while the last three stages do change up the gameplay, the 5th in particular is almost completely different and reminds you that you’re actually playing a game by introducing a few gaming trademarks that might bring it down for some. To make up for this though, the credits are probably the most creative ones I’ve ever seen in a game and almost feels like its very own stage! Using ANY button on the controller is a definite plus and leaves you to focus just on the aerial tricks you’ll need to perform, and the overall presentation of the story it’s trying to give the player is remarkably well done.

Graphics - 10/10

The moment you finally turn on Flower, you’re greeted with a simplistic looking level select screen that is actually show as a budding flower in a flowerpot on a desk with a city behind it. Once you select your stage however, you’re instantly transported into one of the most serene, majestic landscapes ever to grace a video game. While you’re not going to be marveling at how lifelike the character models are, the lighting, wind, and grass is simply beautiful. It’s easy for someone to walk into the room and think you’re watching a video or some sort of tech demo, but knowing that each blade of grass looks to be modeled in real time, along with the awesome effects the grass creates when you fly in close is just one of those things that has to be experienced to be appreciated. On top of this, each level actually looks completely different from the last, and as you fly from flower to flower making things prettier, it’s easy to understand why people were so impressed every time Flower was shown at conferences. Not only is this title one of the most beautiful games to grace a next-gen console, it’s also only 10$, meaning that you’re getting great eye candy for a budget price with a stellar game attached to it!


Sound - 8/10

There’s nothing quite like that distinctive “woosh” sound as swoop in from the sky to collect that one petal that eluded you for so long. The music is subtle enough to further immerse you into the world without being any sort of a distraction to the overall experience. On the other hand however, there really isn’t that much sound here but that might be the games biggest strength. Unfortunately, I can’t comment on how this game sounds with 5.1 or anything, but I’m sure you’ll just have a more powerful sounding wind coming from all around you instead of just in front.



Overall - 8/10

Flower is one of those things that definitely deserves at least a shot from anyone who’s even remotely intrigued by the concept or the buzz that’s been surrounding it. For people who are hoping to have a game that’s just about flying around a world and making thing’s pretty, at least 80% of the game is for you but the 5th level really might put a damper on your spirits. For about 10$, it really won’t break the bank and it will definitely put a smile on your face a few times if you’re into experimental, indie, or just relaxing games. There’s a bit of talk about gamers that are looking for something different really loving this, but if you’re trying to convert someone into gaming, even though it’s simplistic, it might not have enough of a defined goal to turn anyone into an overnight gamer so be careful of that. In short, if you’ve ever been curious about the game or just want to unwind, Flower is the game for you but, If you’ve though the concept of the game was pointless or whatever, then you’re definitely going to want to pass on it. For anyone that does manage to pick this up and sink some time into it, you’ll find that this might be one of the better titles on PSN even if it is a bit short with the 6 levels probably taking anyone out there no longer than 2-3 hours to finish.

Bobhead's Top 10 Fighting Games.

Over the years, there’s been an insane number of fighting games released. Throughout the last 4-5 however, they’ve slowly started to dwindle down to just the major franchise. Gone are the days where people would crowd around whatever the newest arcade machine is, placing a quarter on the corner, then saying “I got next.” While those particular moments have almost completely faded out of existence with the dwindling arcade scene, “the soul still burns!” To celebrate the release of Street Fighter IV, I’ve compiled a list of my top ten fighting games of all time. I realize not everyone is going to agree with me, but that’s what comments are for, right?! Leave a comment to let me know what you liked/hated! With that said “Fight!”


#10 - Powerstone 2

I know! What an amazing way to start off a list, right? The first Powerstone was one of the shining gems in the American Dreamcast launch, giving a completely new look into one on one fighting games. Instead of being confined to two dimensions or just being able to dodge into the foreground or background, Powerstone's gimmick was allowing full, three dimensional carnage with tons of items that were there for you to use along with special moves. There were several characters, with about 3 different weight classes that gave you different perks (lighter characters can jump higher, while bigger characters were harder to knock away and could rip off gigantic stone pillars to smack you with). The second one managed to improve on the formula by allowing up to 4 players to square off against each other, then you had the ability to play through the entire fighting game co-op, more characters, incredible level designs, etc. You could knock the game for having simplistic hand to hand combat controls, but learning how to use each item and character, along with using the terrain to your advantage AS that character, all while 3 of your best friends are flying around the arena safely secure this game a spot on this list.


#09 - Real Bout Fatal Fury 2

The original Fatal Fury games were really well done for the time, sporting a small change from the SF2 and Mortal Kombat gameplay styles since you were able to dodge into the background. At the end of the day though, it was another 2d fighting game that had combos and special moves. The Real Bout series, while 2d fighting was it's core gameplay element, you were also rated on how well you did in each round, which greatly helped players in improving their game. The number of characters was increased, especially with the second game. Instead of stopping with a creative rating system though, the game added in different arena restrictions. In the regular Fatal Fury games, you were able to dodge into the background and fight back there or fly in towards your opponent in the different plane. Real Bout had boxing rings with ropes that actually was a visual indication to the end of a level and best of all, barricades on others that if you slammed your enemy against enough times throughout the match, you would eventually be able to score a ring out on them, which gave turtler's something to be wary of.


#08 - Samurai Shodown 2

After playing all of the games in the Samurai Shodown series, I still consider the second to be the definitive release. The first game was the first fighter that actually stood out in the arcade to me alongside Street Fighter II since it actually had a new gimmick: weapons. The first wasn’t a bad game and is still fine to play, but the second took everything that one offered, refined it, threw in a few tricks of its own, and managed to actually keep people away from other fighting games from the time. There was nothing quite like having someone shoot a fireball then using the new crouching maneuver to avoid it, rushing in, and delivering that final blow. When playing against a human, few games have come close to having gripping, battle changing moments like this game offered (clashing weapon battles = awesome). This game also seemed like it was the last of the more lighthearted games in the series, with the 3rd being somewhat forgettable and the 4th being a great fighting game, but lacking that sense of humor this game and its background judge presented. Samurai Shodown 5 would easily be my second favorite in this series.


#07 - Guilty Gear X2

The first time I saw a Guilty Gear game, I immediately fell in love with the art style. Every aspect of it looked like it was well thought out, from the level design to the amazing character artwork. Instead of stopping with just having a gorgeous looking game though, Guilty Gear X2 can quickly become one of the fastest paced, over the top games you've ever played. The Guilty Gear is mainly remembered for it's instant kills moves, that sound cheap on first hearing, but most of them take a ridiculously long time to pull off, and missing one means you're missing your special meter until the match is over. You also had roman cancels, which let you cancel out most moves into other ones, but X2 took all of that and still managed to push the insanity. There were new characters added, rebalancing, the addition of the false roman cancel, all while keeping up the high bar set in the original game, making some consider this to be the most balanced 2d fighter ever, along with the craziest.


#06 - King of Fighters 2002

It's another old game, but in my opinion, King of Fighters 2002 is the highlight of the series, with ‘98 being a close second. KoF 2002 wasn’t the most innovative in the series, but it did manage to refine the mechanics, incorporate a bigger number of characters that were all pretty well balanced, then give you plenty of versatility in your fighting style, whether you be a fan of rushing in with furious combos or staying back and waiting for that hole in your enemies offense. The graphics hold up incredibly well today, capitalizing on SNK’s trademark hand drawn art style.
While many people never even gave the series a shot besides one or two games, if you’re looking for a quality fighting game that’s NOT by Capcom, look no further than here.


#05 - Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo HD Remix

I was honestly debating between putting this and the original on the list. HD Remix made the cut thanks to new tweaks to the moves, more balancing corrections, online play (especially quarter mode) and the amazing art style. It’s subtle differences in the two games, such as Akuma not being all powerful, E. Honda’s jab flying headbutt being able to fly through fireballs, and easier to perform specials (people can actually do the infamous spinning piledriver without having to jump!) that really makes this stand out and seem like it’s now the definitive release for Street Fighter II. While the art style isn’t for everyone, it does grow on you over time and really looks nice once you have it on an HDTV. All that’s missing from this release of the game is an official arcade machine for it!


#04 - Marvel Vs. Capcom 2

The chaos. The insanity. Don’t blink, or you’ll probably be dead in Marvel Vs Capcom 2. Many look at the game and instantly assume it’s a button masher. That’s fine if you want to think that or even play it like that with friends, but the first moment you try button mashing against a person that’s invested a large amount of time in this title and you’ll quickly see that there’s a lot more strategy to the game. It’s most notable for its flashy combos and ridiculously large character selection which clocks in at a whopping 56. While MVC2 may not be the most balanced fighting game ever, trying to figure out what team you’re going to use against what characters, which version of their support attack you want, and exactly how you’re going to use them is only the beginning of the depth present in this title. It’s easy to watch a Magneto player and call them cheap or say they’re button mashing, but learning exactly how much work goes into doing his air dash, canceling out, starting a combo, calling a support character, then tagging out is a lot more complicated than you can ever imagine.


#03 - Virtua Fighter 5

Finally, we’ve made it to the top 3. Virtua Fighter 5 is the pinnacle of true 3d fighting. Many 3d fighting games are basically played out on a 2d plane with 3 dimensional graphics, but in order to succeed in VF5, you’re going to have to learn how to dodge, when to parry, how to use cancels to mess with your opponents mind, and even what attacks give you an advantage by dodging slightly into the foreground while you perform them. On the downside, there were only a few characters added to this game, but each one of them plays completely different from any of the current existing ones and none of them are actually bad. If you pick up the 360 version, there’s also online play, meaning you can finally test your skills against fighters from around the world. If you don’t have Xbox Live or just pick up the ps3 version, there’s at least a really in depth arcade career mode that has you traveling to various arcades and fighting against AI representations of various real players while accumulating different items to customize your characters appearance and the nice ranking system. In addition to having a very rewarding fighting system and that career mode, the graphics are very pleasing to the eyes. While they might not rival something like Crysis or Killzone 2 or whatever, for realism, there’s nothing that comes close in fighting games so far. Virtua Fighter isn’t for people that aren’t willing to invest time into it, but for those that do, this game is pure gold and definitely belongs in your collection.


#02 - Marvel Vs. Capcom 1

Gasp! BOTH Marvel vs Capcom games made the list? Well, it’s my list and I can do things like that! While the second game pushed the bar on what could be considered over the top (3 character supers, forcing your opponent to tag out, etc) Marvel Vs Capcom 1’s style was more emphasized on the actual combat in my opinion and not so much what characters you had on your team. Since you had a separate, non-player-controlled character for your assist, this allowed players to pick two characters that they actually enjoyed fighting as, such as a team with Gambit and Chun Li. This was also the game that I actually started to understand the mechanics of the classic Capcom chaining method (lp, lk, mp, mk, hp, hk) and learned that even in a fast paced game like this, everyone had their uses. The music also felt more in tune with the gameplay in comparison to that light jazz stuff offered in MVC2. The fact that this game could actually be played in 4 player mode secures this the number 2 spot on this list.


#01 - Capcom Vs. Snk 2

Capcom Vs Snk 2 is a game I’ve lost countless hours to over the years. When it first came out, I was a bit put off by how different it was from the first game. I really liked the art style and everything, but the fact that there weren’t any real tiers in place made me think the balance was going to be a bit lopsided. Instead of just offering two grooves, CvS2 upped the ante with a 6 grooves and 2 extra’s for the console versions. When anyone first tries out the game, they almost always just navigate to the C groove, which is similar to the charging system from SFA3 (3 levels, dashes, rolls, super jumps, etc), but after you start playing more, you quickly learn that almost all of them are useful in their own way. You’ve got A Groove, which gives you the option to use custom combo’s ala SFA2, P groove, which was similar to the parry system from SF3. That right there would probably have been enough for most players, but Capcom refused to stop there! There’s also S groove (old school KoF with dodging and charging, then infinite level 1 specials when you’re near death), N (Advanced system from the later KoF titles. The highlights are running, rolling, 3 gauges, only two gauges needed for what would be a level 3 super otherwise), and K groove (a mix between Garou’s Just Defend system and the rage system in Samurai Shodown). On top of all of the versatility with the grooves, there’s a ridiculously large character select screen highlighting characters from each of the two universes that everyone’s grown to know and love (or hate *coughRaidencough*). If you ever come across an arcade, it’s amazing how many people still stick to this game after all of these years and consider it to be one of, if not the finest fighting game of all time.

*Honorable Mentions*

Project Justice (2nd rival schools game) – Best idea ever, meshing the styles of the SF games with MVC and starring a cast from rival high schools! 10/10!

Street Fighter Alpha 2 – Introduction of Custom Combos, awesome levels, best of the alpha games in my opinion.

Vampire Savior (3rd darkstalkers game) – All of the games in the series were leading up to this point. It plays similar to the 1st two, but felt a bit more complete and had more characters, which is always a plus (jedah/b.b. hood ftw!)

King of Fighters 98 – my second favorite in the series. The art style is a bit dated nowadays, but the gameplay is just as tight as it was the first time I played it.

DJ Max Fever Review

Fans of music games have probably been following this franchise for a long time now. It started out with a PC beta that essentially a very well done Beatmania clone that had a few changes in place that favored playing on a keyboard instead of with the traditional turntable controller. Instead of just having a list of ridiculously difficult songs, you still had multiple difficulties and a large song selection to scroll through, along with online play that slowly ranked you with a DJ level that was essentially representative of how many wins you had. As time passed by, the PC version became more difficult to access, eventually leading to the announcement that the game was in fact being ported over to PSP. There have already been about 4 games released in other countries, but this if the first one to actually hit American shores. While it's always a good thing to see music games get released over here, even though the fundamental gameplay aspects are the same, the soundtracks almost always suffer with licensed American pop hits that just don't fit the nature of gameplay (*coughTaikoDrumMastercough*). Does DJ Max Fever actually manage to overcome that hurdle while still offering the same addictive gameplay? Read on to find out!

Gameplay - 9/10

First impressions would leave you to think that this is just a simple, dumbed down port of Beatmania to a handheld and in some respects, you would right. There are plenty of changes to the formula that actually work to make the game a lot more accessible, while still having loads of options in terms of difficulty as you get better. The first thing of note is the fact that this game includes a pretty straightforward difficulty setting in the options menu, multiple modes (4 button, 5 button, 6 button, 8 button, and a mission mode) that have different difficulties for the songs, along with making it easy to know what the difficulty rating of the song is. For many players, Beatmania is insanely hard to actually play since you're normally playing random background samples in the music which makes it hard to figure out what the pattern is you're supposed to be banging out. DJ Max Fever does a much better job of letting you play the lead instruments and bringing out the sound, meaning you can actually tell what part of the song you're playing and almost feel it. The controls are fully customizable, but the default settings tend to work out incredibly well, with the only downside being the inability to completely turn off the auto feature (more on that later). In addition to the charts for the songs being a lot more relevant to what you're actually hearing, there are unlockable characters that you get from completing different in game objectives, each with their own abilities from earning you extra experience to increasing the auto feature that hits some of the notes you miss. All of this coupled with the large song list (especially considering that it's a handheld!) makes DJ Max Fever a must own title for any music game fan.


Graphics - 7/10

One of the first things that stood out to me about DJ Max Fever was how nice the interface was. Instead of trying to go with some elaborate system, you have a press start screen, and then you've got the option to load up the OST, portable game, network battle, etc by tapping left or right. If you sit there for a while, the game eventually goes to an anime cutscene that's very reminiscent of the stuff that plays in the background as you play. Once you're in game, everything fits well enough, with the combo meter popping up towards the upper half of the note chart, keeping it from obstructing your view too much, yet there's still just enough visual indication to let you know what's going on without having to stare at it too much. For the analog stick spinning sequences, you'll see a spinning stick pop up on screen ahead of time, and the actual section glows pretty bright, again helping you more than distracting your attention. The notes themselves come in a variety of colors that represent what beat they're falling on for those of you who will be playing on higher difficulties. The actual artwork for the characters is pretty well done, even though you only see them in the menu, and there are loads of extra skins that you can get for the note charts themselves, each looking just as neat as the character design. The last major feature that's worth mentioning with the graphics is how well the anime cutscenes for each level are done. While you're loading the game, you tend to see an image that turns into some sort of animation sequence relevant to what you'll see if you're somehow able to pry your attention from the notes frantically flying down screen. The cutscenes themselves almost remind me of professionally done anime music videos, since all of the action seems to be synced just right with the music if you're playing everything right. On the downside, you're mostly just going to be looking at the keys streaming down the screen, which are well done, yet extremely minimalistic and really haven't changed a bit since the stuff from Beatmania. If you really want to just check out the cutscenes and the music, there's still the OST mode that just plays the songs and video along with unlockable images.

Sound - 9/10

It's so rare that a music game comes out over here that originated in another country that gets to keep a majority of their song selection without being "Americanized". DJ Max Fever somehow managed to overcome that major hurdle to the joy of fans everywhere, using some of the classic songs from the games along with a few new ones, and thanks to the diversity of genres, there's something here from everyone that's willing to try out stuff they've never heard of before. Since you're essentially playing the music, the only times any of the sounds are out of place are if you're playing them wrong. If that's not really your bag, there's always the previously mentioned OST mode for just listening to the songs themselves. One of the really nice touches with the game is that aside from the game over screen, there really isn't an announcer to yell out distracting stuff like "100 Combo", allowing you to just focus on the beat and what you need to do to actually play it right. Unfortunately, the amazing soundtrack has one dark side that might be an artistic choice, but I'm pretty sure it's more loading related: While playing through any song, the background track sometimes goes out, leaving you to just hear what you're playing. Had you always been playing lead or rhythm, this probably wouldn't be a problem, but if you're playing some sample that sounds like a rocket launching that fits in context with the song, it just feels wrong playing it without anything behind it. It's one of those things that rarely happens and seriously feels like more of a hardware limitation, but it can break combos sometimes.


Overall - 8/10

For the music gamer on the go, especially if you're an American, you absolutely need DJ Max Fever in your collection. Not only are you getting a great game, but you're getting one that has a soundtrack that rivals the number of songs in most console titles, loads of unlockables and missions for the completionist, and with its nifty tutorial mode, it's a lot more accessible than some other games out there. While the audio glitching out sometimes is a bit distracting and the way the difficulty works (some 6's seem a lot harder than some 7's or 8's as an example), the whole experience and quality of the title seriously makes up for all of that. The sheer fact that they have a soundtrack that is on par with that of the previous releases if not better, is one of those things that truly shows how much the developer acknowledges their fan base and wanted to live up to their high standard.

Diane

Diane,

I’m sorry for contacting you this way. I know I should have talked to you after we had our falling out. I’m sorry I hounded you when we lived together. I did want the best for you, but I think I ended up sounding like a troll. I should have called you when I found out he died. I wanted to, but I was scared of what you would say to me. I didn’t really know what to think when I heard the news myself. We should have gone out for a drink when I got the call from his lawyer saying our father, Clarence Willis, had passed away.

It was a few weeks ago, when I got the call and flew out to the old farm house we grew up in. I wish I hadn’t taken the lawyer’s advice to collect any of his personal affects for “memories”. I didn’t want of them. However, I thought I could get some closure and maybe get a few bucks out of his junk laying around the house.

I was in the attic. It hadn’t seen attention in years, which made me wonder how long the lawyer waited to inform everyone of dad’s passing. Made me think he picked the place clean of anything of value. Everything in the room was hidden away in cardboard boxes or covered in a thick layer of dust. So, I spent the majority of my day splitting open boxes to find old sketchbooks, notebooks, and dozens of glass jars and vials. It was like something out of Frankenstein’s laboratory. He had jars of organs tucked away in different boxes. Others contained small vials filled amber liquid with tendrils of red or black pieces of flesh in them. I shudder to think the contents of these containers were attached something that was once alive.

Half of my day was spent looking through this stuff. I wasn’t sure what to make of it. It felt like looking through a stranger’s life. I had no idea whose life I’d been digging through for the past day but it didn’t look like the neglectful alcoholic we’d grown up with together… Like it was a final “fuck you” from Dad. I still can’t fathom how we didn’t notice any of this. Was this after we left? Or was he drinking away some kind of insane obsession?

It wasn’t until late at night that I made it toward the back of the attic. It was the white powder on the ground forming a circle around the mirror what caught my attention. It was so odd that this was still here after who knows how long. This section of the attic had dozens of books in a language I didn’t understand or recognize. After closer inspection of the books, the covers just felt… strange. Like the book covers were made out of old leathered flesh stitched together. Seeing how old and how strange the books appeared, I thought they might be worth something… same with the mirror. I pulled the sheet off of the mirror to get a better look at the frame and the quality of the glass. The frame was painted a golden colored with runes or something etched into the wood. It barely looked like it was touched at all, but what bothered me was my own reflection staring back. It ebbed like it was made of water, like I could touch it and wet my fingertips. I felt so uneasy looking at myself, but I felt like I was cemented into place. That’s where I saw him, Diane. I saw Dad.

It felt like he was right beside me, but I after a quick glance to the side I still found myself alone. The image of Clarence Willis wasn’t the picture of life. It was a skeletal perversion of him. His smooth skin melted away to sickly ecru bone. His hair stayed the same bristled and thick with grime. There’s a whiskey bottle in his hand, but I doubt he can taste the burn of liquor down his throat. Even without his baby blues resting comfortably in his sockets, I know he could see me. I stare at the reflection of myself beside him. I can see the horror in my face. I can hear his voice calling out my name from a mouth with no tongue. The more I gape into the mirror the more I see myself becoming like him. In the mirror, my skin was fading away like his and I swear I could taste the dust of the attic through the open slits of my cheek.

I don’t remember screaming, but I’m sure I was. He kept repeating my name with a voice that shouldn’t exist through bone alone. His free hand reached out to me in the mirror image. I shoved the mirror back against the wall and ran. I heard a shriek of a man’s voice and the loud clatter of the antique crashing to the floor as I ran to the front door. I peeled out from the house and didn’t look back. The image still haunts me and has since gnawed at the back of my mind.

I’m so sorry, Diane. I’m so sorry. I don’t want you to go there. If the lawyer calls you, hang up. He’s been calling me daily since I left the house, asking why I didn’t take anything or stay in the house. He keeps calling and leaving messages and calling again. He won’t leave me be. Do me a favor. Just one last favor. Change your phone number; shred your mail from this lawyer; move if you have to. There was something very wrong about that house and everything connected to it. There was something wrong with our father and it’s safe to say we probably knew nothing about him. I pray that I’m just crazy and I’m imaging all this nonsense. Imagining it in my head as I dream, I can’t shake the image I saw in the mirror. I don’t want this to be real. I hope it’s not real.

Megan

Skate 2 Review

Who would have thought that all it would take to dethrone the Tony Hawk franchise from the the skateboarding throne was a little realism and a new control scheme? When you look back at every game that went against it one way or another (Thrasher, Grind Sessions, MTV Sports Skateboarding, etc) and you see all of them were completely destroyed, when buzz first started about some crazy new skateboarding game from EA was in the works, almost everyone dismissed it as them trying to cash in on the Pro Skater style of gameplay finally and started to ignore it. When the day finally came, not only did the original Skate destroy Proving Grounds in sales, it also forced Activision to pull the franchise back to restructure it. Skate 1 was a breakthrough success that shows how one solid idea can completely reinvigorate what everyone had slowly accepted as being a stale genre. Not only was it a breath of fresh air, but there was a strong community built around the game that never faded away, and when EA announced that there was going to be a Skate 2, it was probably the first time that a sequel from them had more excitement in the air for all the potential to change things from the first game, but no one was sure exactly what could be done to change the actual gameplay itself without convoluting the stellar control scheme. Did they actually manage to beat the high standards set in the previous game while throwing in enough stuff to keep things fresh?

Gameplay - 10/10

With the original, not only did they manage to completely alter how people percieved skateboarding games, there was plenty of content, and entire city with 5 very different areas in between, loads of events to participate in, an excellent multiplayer component, and one of the most in depth replay editors anyone had ever seen in a console game. Who would have thought that not only would they completely obliterate that ridiculously high standard set in Skate, but expand on everything everyone loved, mix in old and new environments, and throw some solid co-op in for good measure? Skate 2 is the perfect example of how to make a sequel. Instead of trying to change everything up, they kept the flawless controls intact, threw in loads of new tricks for those that want more to sink their teeth into using some of the extra buttons, altered the event progression, and upped the framerate from 30 fps to 60, making everything buttery smooth. If you missed the original skate or tried it and thought it was fun but never invested time into it, you might do yourself a tremendous favor by starting here. Since it's a skateboarding game, there really wasn't much of a story to speak of other than trying to become a pro by doing various things to get featured on the Skateboard Mag and Thrasher, ultimately striving to earn a cover shot and a chance to show what you learned at the x-games. If you're looking for the crazy destructive antics of the Tony Hawk games, then stay far away, but the sheer number, diversity, and freedom in the events is impressive, not to mention that you no longer have to do events you don't want to unless you're trying to get all of the achievements. The size of the city is just as impressive as before, and it's a nice touch when you're skating through the New San Van's downtown area for the first time, setting up for a massive 360 flip across a familiar stair set only to realize at the last minute that the old landing area has been altered just enough to make everything feel fresh yet still staying away from the arcade-like nature of other skateboarding games. Just in case you get tired of hitting the same old 10 stair or ledges repeatedly, you're now able to freely walk around the city (no grabbing onto ledges here!) and while the controls aren't spectacular for this aspect, it's designed to let you run up different stairs or possibly set up some dumpsters to jump across so you can reach that ledge you've been dying to drop off since you first spotted it. The fact that you actually can move many of the objects in the city and there are ramps stashed in various places that you can move and set up anywhere is an amazing addition that means the diversity of terrain is limited only by your own imagination. If you set up a particularly nice location, you can go into the new spot editor, save it and set a score, then upload it for anyone to try out. Taking a cue from Burnout Paradise, by hitting the back button anywhere in the city, you have access to a map, options, your friends list, and the ability to create an online freeskate session in that location without ever having to return to the main menu. On top of all of this is an enhanced replay editor that lets you control the camera, meaning you can finally make videos that are on par or better than those shown in the intro and trailers for the first skate finally. The only downside to all of the freedom here is that they removed the filter effects that might be added as dlc later, but it's still an amazing package and I can guarantee that you're getting much more than your moneys worth with Skate 2.


Graphics - 10/10

Skate sported one of the sleekest art styles to be seen in a skateboarding game. With the vivid, yet realistic colors of the city and the realistic design of the city (what was with Project 8 and stores that happened to be shaped like halfpipes anyway?) along with some nice work done on models and textures, it seems there were lofty heights to reach if Skate 2 was ever going to improve. Thankfully, EA has some of the deepest pockets in the gaming industry along with some incredible talent, meaning that the framerate was upped, the city's design is similar, yet almost feels completely different, and the small tweaks that you'll have to see to believe. With the ability to freely move the camera around in the replay feature, the models look just as good up close as they do at a distance. While one of the features a lot of people enjoyed were the bails, you always had some people complaining about how your skater never looked like they'd been physically hurt or anything. To anyone that's thinking of making a skater with short shorts and no shirt, after a few bails, you'll see blood dripping down your body, or if you're wearing clothes, you'll notice dirt accumulating the more you hit the ground. Not even the wheels are immune to the realism, with them getting oil all over and the deck showing scratches as time goes by. There's the addition of female models as well, which received just as much attention as the males. That same effect of the world looking more vibrant is back as you get a higher multiplier, which is almost encouragement for trying to make sure you're doing good. Car models look a lot less blocky and overall, everything looks like it had a few extra months to get the extra attention it needed to make this worthy of being a sequel instead of just Skate 1.5

Sound - 9/10

After playing Skate It on DS and having to deal with the same 4 songs over and over, it was nice to see that they put just as much work into the soundtrack here as they did with the original title.There's a nice mix here, meaning that there's something for everyone and the songs all sound like their full versions. The city is full of all of the sounds that made it feel so alive, from the honking of horns as you try to skate across the street to the pedestrians yelling praise or complaints as you skate by them after pulling off a massive trick. The one downside for some people is that supposedly, the sound effects of the board snapping when you pop an ollie has been turned down some, along with the sound of your trucks grinding against different obstacles, which I never really noticed but feel it is worth mentioning for any audiophiles out there. I've got a 5.1 system that I used to test the mixing on and it sounds like everything was done better, such as being able to tell when that security guard is getting dangerously close to my rear right, but I'm not sure anyone was actually saying anything about that in the first game. On the downside, part of me wishes the soundtrack had been a little bigger, but I'm not sure that would have been possible without some aspect of the gameplay having to be sacrificed. There's always custom soundtracks for when you get tired though of what is offered!

Overall - 10/10

I'm simply amazed with the fact that not only does skate 2 stand up well to skate 1, it makes it hard to go back after experiencing it! It's very rare that a sequel manage to simply be a better game than the first but somehow, they pulled it off. Whether you're a hardcore skater or someone that tried out Tony Hawk 2 and thought it was alright, skate 2 is one of the must have games on 360. The sheer size of the environment is impressive, since no area feels like it was neglected. There's plenty of hidden spots to be found, an excellent multiplayer, a trick guide for if you're having trouble with the controls, and one of the strongest communities that's popped up in a long time. If you're picky about graphics, while skate 2 doesn't look as well as Killzone 2 supposedly does, it's surprisingly well done. The entire package is so much more than just a rehash in a new city, meaning that anyone who loved the first game should already have this and it's well worth the 60$ admission tag. Just in case the controls and depth aren't your bag, there's always the hall of meat that's dedicated to wracking up as much damage on your skater as possible. If you don't have the cash to buy it at full price, at least do yourself a favor and rent it, this is the perfect example of how not only to make an excellent sequel, but sets the new standard for action sports games.

Ketsui Death Label review

Ketsui Death Label isn't exactly the most recognized title around. For those who are willing to try out import titles, what you'll find in the cart is one of the best shmups on current gen handhelds. With tight, responsive controls, loads of unlockables, multiple difficulties, and even tutorials that are unlocked as you play, not only is KDL a great title to start getting into the genre with, it's also got enough challenge and depth to test even the most hardcore gamers' skills.

Gameplay - 9/10

Most Shmups throw you in, beat the crap out of you a few hundred times, and never let up until you learn how to defend yourself and ultimately come to grips with the mechanics. Instead of being overwhelmingly difficult from the outset, this game gives you a few different modes to mess around with, a few tutorial lessons, and one of the hardest modes already unlocked. Most of the game essentially plays like a boss rush, meaning that you go from level to level just fighting the boss from taht stage before moving on to the next. As you play, the unique thing is that you start to earn more lives based on how many times you die along with different tutorials that appear from time to time, showing you things that you might have otherwise missed. Unfortunately, all of the tutorials are in japanese, but many of them feature video clips or images with certain things highlighted that gives you a good idea of what it is they're trying to teach you. As you finish the modes that are present, you slowly unlock more and more difficult modes, each with different bosses or at least a reorganization of them, which keeps the experience fresh and gives you plenty to come back for. Instead of limiting the unlocks to new modes and extra lives, there's a gallery consists of mostly concept art of the bosses and the only way to unlock them is to break off different puzzle pieces. I can already hear you groaning, but don't worry, this isn't some sort of a puzzle minigame! Instead, each piece has it's own objective, which means that some may be simple as finishing the Hard A course while others will want you to get a certain combo on a specific level, finishing a boss without dying, etc, which gives you more and more to try to accomplish. As far as mechanics, there are two different ships that have their own strengths and weaknesses that become apparent as soon as you start getting to the harder stages along with several weapons and a chaining system for each level. The best part of all is that the last unlockable mode is one incredibly difficult level that tests all of the skills that you've been gaining as you play. Beyond that, the game tracks your stats, from highest score to number of playthroughs and finishes of each level, to how many hours you've clocked in.

Graphics - 10/10

It seems that I've failed to mention this is more of a bullet-hell shooter, which literally means that you're constantly dodging neverending streams of tiny balls of death. For most games, it's easy to get confused and mistake bullet for a power-up, resulting in death. Somehow, the graphics in the game are so well done that once you adjust to what's dangerous and what isn't, it's fairly easy to make out why it is that you died, so you'll never feel like you were cheated out of a life somehow. Beyond that, the enemy and boss designs are well done, giving each boss it's own personality and letting the player get an idea of what kind of attack pattern you're going to be facing. Instead of the bosses just having one pattern, if you don't eliminate them quickly, you'll find yourself going through different stages, most completely different from the previous and each making sense structurally in relation to the boss. The environments themselves are all varied, even though you tend to be flying by so fast that the scenery quickly becomes a blur as you focus on trying to weave between bullets. As you start to get better at the game, you'll almost be able to see the tiny spaces in between all of the fire, meaning that it's not just one lazy beam but each wave of bullets is comprised of indivual pixels. As a bonus, the artwork in the tutorials is done in graphic novel style, with someone that I'm assuming is a developer's face popping up in a business suit with various looks on his face that are all hilarious. The score counter, combo meter, lives, and everything else on the HUD is in the perfect position to keep it from obstructing your field of view, which is always a bonus. Lastly, once you unlock the concept art, you can see how much detail the artists put in to the enemy designs.


Sound - 8/10

Pewpewpew! Ketsui doesn't really change the classic sounds, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. There's always been something satisfying to anyone playing or watching a shmup when you deliver that last shot to a particularly difficult boss and you hear that epic explosion and points counting up. Since the sound effects and music work so well together, they never become grating or distracting to the gameplay experience, but you're not really going to find any memorable songs that you'll be humming after you turn the game off. Stage specific songs are present, meaning you're not going to be forced to endure any one song, and each feels appropriate for the encounter.


Overall - 9/10

If you've ever wanted to play a shmup or you're a hardened vet, there's almost no excuse to not having KDL in your library. Out of everything I've played, it's the best shmup on the handheld, even if most of the game is a boss rush mode. With tons of unlockables, various objectives to complete, a leaderboard, and so much more, there's a lot of content to be found here and it's got a tutorial mode for new players or people looking to brush up on there skills! While there are tons of shmups that have been out before it, this might actually be the best entry point, and the fact that you can play this anywhere as long as you have your ds is always a plus. The one major downside to the game is that if you're reading this review, you're most likely going to have to import it since there's no word of an american release, but it's possibly one of the best investments you can make on the ds.

Skate It (DS) review

Time and time again, a portable system comes out and software developers immediately start to think: “Wow, it’s a handheld with better graphics! Let’s port our console blockbuster titles over to it! No one will notice the difference!” Sorry to burst your bubble, but you guys aren’t slick, and people always notice. While Skate It isn’t necessarily a bad game, it could be a lot better, or maybe it would be best if it didn’t exist so we could just imagine what it would have been like. There's a lot of content here, and you really won't know what you're missing if you've never played the ps3 or 360 original games, but after having invested a lot of time with them, there's a serious lack of quality that you'll notice, and for people that can only play this title on the ds, while the controls, mechanics, and physics are mostly there, the fun part of the gameplay isn't, which may make you wonder why it generated so much buzz and positive reviews on the next gen consoles.

Graphics – 6\10

Remember back when Lara Croft in Tomb Raider 1 was considered the most attractive video game female ever? Without a doubt, she was known for her massive mammaries. My theory has always been that it wasn't a design decision, it's because of the triangular polygons they were working with, meaning she was forced into having pyramids attached to her body. Skate It on DS suffers from this same bug. For unknown reasons, whenever you try to create a skater, they're going to look horrendous and there's nothing you can really do about it. While the game does offer a lot of licensed merchandise from real skateboarding brands, everything is so blurry that you can't really tell what it is that you're looking at. As a result, you could simply be wearing a t-shirt with a picture of a ds on it, but they could call it an Element shirt and you wouldn't be able to tell the difference. The character models themselves are incredibly stiff, and I understand it's a ds, but...I had no clue corpses could skate. Speaking of corpses, when you do bail, which will happen a lot, gone are the ragdoll animations, which is understandable. In their place is a flying concrete brick that they call your skater, which moves in an incredibly disjointed, jerky manner. The trick animations really aren't that great to look at either, but at least the environments are all fairly decent. There's not too much of an issue with pop-in, which is mainly a result of being in closed areas (the community center level is just the community center. gone are the days of skating in the streets.) The major downside here is just the fact that they're trying to do a lot with the graphics, which I do appreciate, but it didn't pay off as much as you could have hoped for, and the worst part is that it's sometimes hard to tell where the street ends and a ledge begins since there aren't too many shadows or shading effects, meaning that the grey block you just flew into is going to cause your brick to fly through the air, and then grab their knee, even though they flew headfirst into a wall. Maybe next time, EA!


Sound – 4\10

First thing's first: 4 songs as a soundtrack is NOT a soundtrack. While I realize that this is a DS game with fully 3d graphics, it feels like the soundtrack was kind of an afterthought. The few songs that are present eventually become overwhelmingly grating as you hear them over and over and over again in a single sitting, meaning that I eventually just turned off the sound completely and played my own music instead. As far as sound effects are concerned, they're alright, but they just don't feel as satisfying as I'd like. Of course the sound of the wheels rolling is great, but the actual pop of the board when you're doing a flip trick just isn't what you'd want it to be. There aren't really any voices in the game aside from random grunts here and there, so I can't really complain about the voice acting or anything. The sound department as a whole is incredibly disappointing, which is sad since the quality of sound in some of their other handhelds, such as FIFA is incredibly well done, meaning that they know they can do a lot better than this.

Gameplay – 7/10

Skate It actually manages to use the same basic control scheme as the console versions, and for many of the tricks, it translates fine. Manualing is done by placing your finger/stylus in the bottom of the skateboard shown on the touch screen and pulling down slightly until you find it. Ollies and Nollies are done by starting from the top or bottom of the board and sliding up or down, respectively. Kickflips and heelflips are done by starting at the bottom and flicking off towards the edge of the board. All of the basic tricks are well done, even extending to the grinds. On the downside, the grabs never really clicked with me, since you had to use the trigger and moving the board on the bottom screen in various directions, and while you can tell they put thought into it, it just doesn't work all that well. Worst of all is the advanced flip tricks, which you have to witness firsthand to see how butchered they are. For unknown reasons, when you want to do a 360 flip, you drag your stylus from the right of the screen towards the middle of the board, then you draw a semicircle, which no matter how hard I try, I just don't see any correlation to how you actually perform the trick in real life or in the console versions. At least they gave it a try and did something unique though, and the gameplay isn't that bad as a result, just don't expect this to be the same as the original console titles. You should also know that instead of being a free roam experience, you have different levels that you can visit, each representing major locations from the first game and a few extra real cities thrown in, which makes up for the lack of being able to cruise all over San Van.


Overall – 6/10

It's a shame that at it's base, it's not a bad game if you just consider the gameplay, but the graphics and sound really do drag it down significantly. Sometimes they grey textures aren't shaded that well, making it hard for you to see that thing you're about to roll into. The lack of a free roam is probably the most jarring thing of all the first time you play the game, since the original had that heavily integrated into the game, but thanks to the number of areas that you actually can unlock and visit, along with the real life locations, it's not that bad for a portable game. The best part about the sounds is that you can turn them off, meaning that you don't have to listen to that horrid soundtrack or "OOMPH!" a billion times if you wish. There's also a character creation system in place, which isn't exactly expansive, but I'm sure some people out there will be able to sink their teeth into that until they realize that you can't actually make a skater that looks like you because of the graphics engine, but it's always nice to have in game. For people that are more into just completing objectives instead of freeskating, there's plenty in each area, which means that you'll end up traveling between them to complete some, then finding a new area with even more challenges until you exhaust them all. Skate It really isn't that terrible when you look at the game itself along with the decent skate park editor and creation aspects. Anyone out there that really wants something different might actually enjoy it, but if you weren't impressed by the console games or were completely into them, the changes are incredibly jarring without altering the realistic gameplay and you might do yourself a favor by saving up for Skate 2 or another game instead.