Skeptical Gamer

Slam The Controller 10

Chris Stewart — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 23:36:54 +0000

After a long two weeks, we talk about what we’ve been playing and discuss some recent news in the gaming industry.

Check it out and let us know what you think! If you want to send us a letter or question, feel free to email us at slamthecontroller@gmail.com or send me a tweet @chrisstewart. Thanks!

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Slam The Controller 9

Chris Stewart — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 02:30:34 +0000

Trying to fight the sickness, we talk about Starcraft 2, some Xbox LIVE arcade titles, and a little Madden 11.

Check it out and let us know what you think! If you want to send us a letter or question, feel free to email us at slamthecontroller@gmail.com or send me a tweet @chrisstewart. Thanks!

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Slam The Controller 8

Chris Stewart — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 04:12:00 +0000

In this week’s episode we talk about Madden 11 and some Starcraft 2.

Check it out and let us know what you think! If you want to send us a letter or question, feel free to email us at slamthecontroller@gmail.com or send me a tweet @chrisstewart. Thanks!

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Slam The Controller 7

Chris Stewart — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 02:36:14 +0000

In this week’s episode we talk about winning in video games, specifically sports and racing titles.

Check it out and let us know what you think! If you want to send us a letter or question, feel free to email us at slamthecontroller@gmail.com or send me a tweet @chrisstewart. Thanks!

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Slam The Controller 6

Chris Stewart — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 02:38:52 +0000

In this week’s episode we talk about Mass Effect 2. Kevin finally got around to playing and finishing the game so we decided to spend some time talking about Mass Effect 2.

Check it out and let us know what you think! If you want to send us a letter or question, feel free to email us at slamthecontroller@gmail.com or send me a tweet @skeptical_gamer. Thanks!

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Slam The Controller 5

Chris Stewart — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 02:04:25 +0000

In this week’s episode we talk about achievements in video games.

Check it out and let us know what you think! If you want to send us a letter or question, feel free to email us at slamthecontroller@gmail.com or send me a tweet @skeptical_gamer. Thanks!

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Slam The Controller 4

Chris Stewart — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 03:43:41 +0000

In this week’s episode we talk about sandbox games, also known as open world games, and what our general impressions of them are. Specifically, we discuss Grand Theft Auto 4 and Red Dead Redemption.

Check it out and let us know what you think! If you want to send us a letter or question, feel free to email us at slamthecontroller@gmail.com or send me a tweet @skeptical_gamer. Thanks!

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Transformers: War for Cybertron Review

Chris Stewart — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 16:19:02 +0000

Transformers: War for Cybertron fell short on some of the expectations I had. While I really enjoyed the multiplayer beta and even the final multiplayer experience, the single player campaign wasn’t enough to keep me hooked to see it to the end.

Right at the beginning of the game I was slightly confused when presented with a screen to select the chapter I wanted to start with. You have the option to start at chapter 1 or a few chapters in, I think 5 or 6. I was more interested to play as an Autobot but that was a later chapter and I wasn’t sure if I could come back, if I’d miss any of the story, or what would really happen if I made that choice. So, I started off on the path of the Decepticons at chapter 1.

I really enjoyed the flow of the combat system in Transformers. It’s not something that’s going to blow you away but it’s enough to be enjoyable. The choice of weapons, the ability to transform to use those weapons, and the overall flow of enemies was good. One aspect that I think could have been a big help was some sense of danger, without feeling like you have to play on the hardest difficulty. I tend to play all of my games on the default difficulty setting. In Transformers, I never felt a sense of danger unless I was deliberately reckless. You can easily sit back in the safety of cover and space, and take out the enemies. The AI didn’t appear to be too involved in making the combat sequences a challenge.

I feel like the color and graphical impact of the game could use some attention. I understand that Transformers has three decades of story to respect and frankly aspire to. But the lack of defining color throughout the chapters I played was a big issue for me. The backgrounds and environments seemed to practically melt together and didn’t feel like they were used to create a fun environment. Perhaps I’m asking for too much deviation and maybe it wouldn’t have fit in the world of Cybertron, and I understand that point of view, but it hurt the game experience for me and I think that speaks more than some level of deviation.

There was some serious work put into the multiplayer experience and it shows. The game provides a number of multiplayer modes that you’ve seen in other titles and serves them well. For me, I’ll find many more hours in the multiplayer where I’ll have a hard time going back to the single player at this point. If you want some good, classic mode, multiplayer shooting with an homage to your favorite childhood cartoon, then you’ll get that with Transformers.

I can’t say that I loved Transformers, although it’s a good game. I think with everything that’s out right now it’s hard to compete for play time. Transformers falls a little short in it’s single player experience for me. If you’re a die-hard fan of the series and the lore, you’ll really enjoy this game I think. If you’re like me, and the idea of Transformers is something you hold in high regard but haven’t gone back to see if it holds up today, it might be a letdown. If that second statement sums you up, I think it’s certainly worth a rent to see if there’s enough there for you.

This review is based on an Xbox 360 retail version of the game which Skeptical Gamer received as a review copy.

Slam The Controller 3

Chris Stewart — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 03:34:07 +0000

In this week’s episode we talk about popular franchises from our childhood and why their gaming representation is traditionally underwhelming. With successes like Batman: AA and Transformers, will the trend finally turn around?

Check it out and let us know what you think! If you want to send us a letter or question, feel free to email us at slamthecontroller@gmail.com or send me a tweet @skeptical_gamer. Thanks!

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NCAA Football 11 Demo Impressions

Chris Stewart — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 20:37:54 +0000

This week delivered the demo for NCAA Football 11 from EA. Over the years these games have become mostly roster updates and painfully gradual improvements to gameplay mechanics. Given how realistic and fluid NCAA Football and Madden have become in recent years, it’s not hard to understand why each year doesn’t bring a slew of new features and overhauls.

It can be a daunting task to simply think up a few outstanding ideas for these titles that don’t already exist. For example, check out what ESPN has listed as nine enhancements to this year’s edition of NCAA Football. While some are welcome changes, a few are so minor and even relevant to a handful of teams, that to call them features is a little much. That said, I welcome each year’s installment of NCAA Football and Madden. As a guy yearning for football season these titles release when the anticipation is nearly unbearable. So much so that I buy NCAA Football each year to simply hold me over for a month until Madden releases.

NCAA Football 11 is more of what you want as a fan of the sport and college football specifically. There’s not a lot to say other than it’s a seemingly worthy entry into the series. One component to either football title that I key in on every year is the feel of the running game. The passing game and defensive control generally feel very similar to me year to year. The running game, however, tends to shift from year to year. Some years I’ll find the running game to be too stiff and not quite responsive enough to simulate the elusiveness of a great running back. This year’s installment really has done an exceptional job in the running department. Even down in the trenches I feel like I can find a small hole in the line, break free of an arm tackle, and bust off a large gain. In some versions running into a small hole at the line of scrimmage is effectively a 1 yard gain at best. This year, it feels like the realism of creating big plays from bleak situations is possible in the running game, and I’m really excited for that.

This year also feels like an emphasis was made on the wide variety of offensive styles seen in college football. The demo points them out clearly when making your game choice and the video above does a good job of breaking them down. I haven’t spent enough time evaluating the implementation of each in the demo but their emphasis in the demo is inspiring. Hopefully that becomes a real selling point in creating a more simulated experience.