A Few New Games

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Posted by Chris Stewart on 04-14-2010

Posted in Editorials

I’m back to some console games after a 2 month love affair with World of Warcraft. The one big problem with WoW, for me at least, is that it’s an all or nothing thing. When I have my WoW phases I pretty much only have enough gaming time and interest to play it, and nothing more. As it often happens, I get bored or burnt out of it after a few months and go back to console games.

Yesterday I visited my local Gamestop with a bunch of older games I have no interest in playing again. I walked out with Splinter Cell: Conviction, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, and a pre-order for Red Dead Redemption. I wasn’t able to spent a lot of time in these just yet, but I’m really digging Splinter Cell so far. There are a bunch of seriously innovative aspects to the game and the stealth mechanic is just awesome. Only 2 missions in, but enjoying it so far. With Battlefield, I had even less time, only a single multiplayer match, but I think I’m going to dig it.

I’m still due for a Mass Effect 2 review and I will get back to finishing that game up. I had put in a good ~27 hours before WoW sucked me back in, and I absolutely plan to finish it. I also picked up Forza 3 the other night for some quick and fun racing action.

Stay tuned, I’ll have reviews coming soon!

Dirt 2 Review

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Posted by Chris Stewart on 02-04-2010

Posted in Reviews

Colin McRae: Dirt was an unexpected thrill ride for me. From the beautiful menu system to the exceptional feel of rally racing on the edge, I couldn’t get enough of Dirt. I had not experienced a rally game prior to Dirt and I really just soaked everything up about that game. When I heard a sequel was on the way, I was very excited, and I was extremely surprised by the result.

Dirt 2 has been one of my most cherished experiences for as long as I’ve been playing video games. I absolutely love this game. It’s not perfect but as a fan of racing, in any style or capacity, you’ll be hard pressed to find another title that exceeds the racing experience you get in Dirt 2.

Career Mode employs a progression experience through the single player campaign that takes you to various locations across the globe to compete. As you complete events, you gain experience points that unlock more events and locations as you level up. There are a variety of event modes to compete in along the way, from traditional rally racing to buggies and trophy trucks to lap-based races around short circuits. Unfortunately, there’s not as much traditional rally racing as I would have liked. I certainly appreciate the variety, and a game of only rally racing events would not have had the replay value Dirt 2 does, but giving it a more prominent focus would have been more interesting to me.

Throughout the campaign you’ll travel from location to location in your RV, which is where the navigation takes place. In one corner you’ll find the events you can participate in, in another you’ll find access to multiplayer. Step outside of your RV and you’ll see the sights of the country you happen to be in at the moment. Codemasters provided another innovative menu system with Dirt 2 and this one really gives you a sense of traveling the world while racing for the win.

As you progress through the ranks, you’ll be constantly rewarded with bonus money and liveries. Dirt 2 does a good job of rewarding you early and often. I didn’t feel the rewards were all that interesting. Sure, the bonus money was great as it afforded me the opportunity to buy new cars and outfit them with the required upgrades to compete in higher level events. The rest felt like novelty items that were there just to be there, not really to effect the racing or give you purpose to work to collect them.

The visual appeal of this title is nearly perfect. The environments are as detailed as anything you’ve seen. It’s hard to appreciate the detail put into the game as you fly by it, but if you take a moment to look at the stadiums and towns you race through you’ll see the stunning detail put into each one. The lighting and shadows in the game really add a nice touch of realism, as does the motion of the puddles of water along the trails.

Dirt 2 provides a progression system for the multiplayer experience as well. What you do in each the single player and multiplayer modes are exclusive. That feeling of starting over in terms of experience points really put me off. I’ve put in some significant time in single player where I’m currently a level 46. I’ve raced a few times in multiplayer, but only enough to be in the single digits for my level. While the multiplayer mode offers a great experience, practically seamless from the single player experience, I’ll probably reserve putting any real time into it unless a friend or CRR reader wants to jump into a game.

Dirt 2 is a great racing experience, regardless of the style of racing you’re primarily interested in. I was never much of a rally fan until Dirt, and Dirt 2 only further strengthened that stance. The Career Mode will provide many hours of fast paced, wheel to wheel, racing excitement and is easily worth the purchase. Couple that with a deep and finely tuned multiplayer experience and you’ve got a racing title sure to provide countless hours of fun.

Rating: 9.2

This review is based on the Xbox 360 retail version of the game purchased by Skeptical Gamer.

Mass Effect 2 “Epicness” Confirmed

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Posted by Chris Stewart on 02-01-2010

Posted in Editorials

Electronic Arts issued a press release on Friday that starts with, “40 perfect scores. 2 million units. One pop culture phenomenon. BioWare™, a division of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS), announced today that Mass Effect™ 2 has sold-in over two million units worldwide in its first week of release.”

Believe the hype, Mass Effect 2 is a stunning experience more typically associated with a major motion picture than a video game. I’ve been playing Mass Effect 2 quite a bit over the last week and have put in 15 hours so far. As everyone should, I’m definitely taking my time with this title. I’m visiting every system, scanning every planet, talking to every NPC, and exploring every open-world environment available.

I’m not ready to review the title just yet, but it’s safe to say it’s the best game I’ve played in a very long time. I’m actually looking forward to a second play-through with a different background, class, and a purposeful selection of dialogue choices. Stay tuned as my review will be available in the coming weeks.

Forza 3 Review

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Posted by Chris Stewart on 01-27-2010

Posted in Reviews

Forza 3 was one of my most anticipated games of 2009. I’ve always been a fan of simulation racing experiences, such as the previous titles and the Gran Turismo series. I was looking forward to a refresh of the Forza series and this game didn’t disappoint.

Forza 3 is what you expect it to be. It comes with over 400 cars, all recreated in stunning detail. It is packed with over 100 track variations of all styles. It offers an exceptional career mode of progression and a multiplayer experience matched by few others.

Stepping into career mode will offer you dozens of hours of gameplay. Each season is measured by the length of a weekend series that is associated with the current season. Between each weekend race, which is often every other weekend, you choose shorter series to compete in. As you progress through these races you earn experience points as a driver and in each specific car, which entitles you to discounted upgrades in the upgrade shop. Along with the experience points, you earn credits which allow you to purchase and upgrade your cars for competition.

I’ve enjoyed my experience through the career mode to this point. There is a lot of variety in the cars you acquire and race with. At each driver level, you are given a car by a manufacturer. Unlike past titles to incorporate a similar feature, you’re not being given something from the mid ‘70s. For example, as you progress through the mid to upper 20s, you’ll receive a Ferrari or two and a very nice Lamborghini. I was pleasantly surprised that you’re often given cars that you can immediately jump into and use in your next race. Again, unlike other titles that have had a similar mechanic.

A complaint I have with the career mode is that sometimes it feels tedious. The weekend series are where the action is, without question. Sometimes the races in-between those events feels like an unnecessary filler. I’m not sure what you do to combat this and Forza 3 is certainly not the first racing title to have this problem, but it’s worth mentioning.

At face value, Forza 3 is what you would expect from a triple-A racing title on a modern console. Where the game truly shines is in the details. Turn 10 Studios has done an exceptional job in creating a true driving experience. Too often, racing titles lack variety in the way the various cars feel while driving them to their limits. You’ll really feel the difference between driving the Audi R8 and Corvette Z06. Forza 3 brings that experience to life.

Another major advancement Forza 3 brings to the table is the accessibility of playing with the standard controller. While I have used the Microsoft Wheel, I more often opt for the controller. I was really impressed by the default settings for how the controller input translates to how your car acts on the track. I’ve played a lot of racers and sometimes the default settings for the standard controller just simply don’t work (I’m looking at you Need for Speed: SHIFT). It feels like Turn 10 Studios put some serious effort into making the standard controller a viable input device for enjoying the game.

Accessibility seems to have been a focal point with Forza 3. There are a number of features available that will give even the most novice of racers an enjoyable experience. You have the standard assists, such as braking, traction control, and so forth. The racing line, colored specifically to whether you should be accelerating, maintaining speed, or braking, makes an appearance. All of these options can be disabled if you’d like.

The biggest assist that aides in accessibility would be the rewind feature. The feature itself has been in other games, with a similar implementation in DiRT 2. However, in Forza 3 the feature is prominently available throughout your driving experience, not just when you’ve completely destroyed your car. Hit a car in front of you? Rewind. Took a ride in the grass coming out of a turn? Rewind. I think you get the picture. While I agree the feature is useful, as I’ve used it a number of times myself, I think there should be some form of penalty or limitation with using it. I do think it can help a driver learn the track and become effective in that case. However, I can easily see it becoming a crutch for many novice drivers out there. I’d like to see the feature disappear as your progression moves forward.

The multiplayer experience in Forza 3 is solid. It’s not game changing, which is something I want to see in a racing title, but it does provide extended enjoyment once you’ve mastered the single player experience. A gripe I have with Forza 3’s multiplayer, among many other titles, is that the game caters to those who want to run time trials in order to find themselves on a leaderboard. I want to reward racing times, wins, and other metrics that involve more than one car on the track. That’s an absolute need in my opinion, and Forza 3 doesn’t deliver in that regard.

Overall, I’m really enjoying this game. I’ve already put in dozens of hours and will likely put in hundreds over time. I’m roughly half way through the single player career, with only a few hundred XP until driver level 30. With some minor quirks I hope get addressed in a future title, Forza 3 is easily the best racing experience available today. If you enjoy simulation racing, you’ve already got this game. Even if you’re not a huge fan of simulation racing, you owe it to yourself to give it a spin.

Rating: 9.5

This review is based on the Xbox 360 retail version of the game purchased by Skeptical Gamer.

Mass Effect 2 Available

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Posted by Chris Stewart on 01-26-2010

Posted in Editorials

Today is a big day for Xbox 360 owners in North America. The second installment of the Mass Effect trilogy from BioWare is available. Admittedly, I only began playing the original a month or so ago, and haven’t gotten very far into it with all of the more recent games available. I’ve loved what I’ve seen and having played it has only made me that much more interested in Mass Effect 2.

Seeing as I don’t get review copies of games and tonight will be my first chance to play the game, it will likely be awhile before I’m able to post a full review of the game. I’ll certainly put up some thoughts as I go along. I’d love to hear your thoughts and opinions in the comments.

Bayonetta Review

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Posted by Chris Stewart on 01-22-2010

Posted in Reviews

Bayonetta has been getting some amazing reviews throughout the gaming industry. I spent some time playing the demo and really enjoyed the combat sequences. I ended up getting Bayonetta through Gamefly about a day or so after release. I was pretty excited to get started as the reviews were glowing, the combat from the demo was fun, and it was essentially one of the first big releases since Modern Warfare 2 or Assassin’s Creed 2.

The first thirty minutes of the game was complete confusion for me. You’ll sit through long and uninspiring cut-scenes only to be confused about what the purpose of your adventure is. I didn’t measure it, but I would guess that of the first hour and a half, you’re watching a cut-scene half of the time. That wouldn’t bother me if there was a purposeful story being told.

Once you get past the introduction of the game and into the combat, you’ll find a gem of a game. I really enjoyed the combat mechanics. Everything was smooth and just flowed exceptionally well. The combat felt like less of a button masher and more like a game that required strategic combinations. In combat, there’s a mode called witch time where everything around you slows down and gives you an opportunity to do some serious damage. You can active this mode by dodging incoming attacks at just the last moment. That mechanic adds a nice little extra something and can really come in handy during some of the tougher fights.

The game looks amazing graphically and runs very fluid even in intense combat sequences. I didn’t notice any screen tearing or graphical issues to note. They really got the framerate nailed down and that’s important in an action game where timing is key.

What ruins the game for me personally is the over the top presentation. Some of the sequences can be aptly referred to as soft-core pornography. It’s such an unnecessary step to take in an otherwise interesting game. For example, instead of wearing clothing, Bayonetta’s “outfit” is her hair. During finishing moves she’ll summon a demon to destroy your enemy by using her hair. During which time, she’s partially exposed. It’s unnecessary decisions like this that take the game to a mature level and out of the hands of younger gamers who may appreciate and enjoy the real meat of the game.

You’ll also find that Bayonetta is very Japanese inspired, which isn’t something I’m a fan of personally. I was never someone interested in games targeted towards the Japanese market, such as Final Fantasy. Those games just never interested me. The music, the action cut-scenes, and even the humor will remind you of a stereotypical Japanese video game. Some reviewers out there love this about the game because they either enjoy JRPGs or don’t feel like Bayonetta is taking itself too seriously. I can appreciate those points but for me it just doesn’t work.

I put in a handful of hours with Bayonetta and was enjoying it when I was destroying enemies. The rest of the experience just was not interesting to me. Once I had an issue with a save, where I lost an hour of gameplay, it was time to go back to Gamefly. I think the game is worth a rent and most likely a buy if you’re a fan of Devil May Cry. For me, I’m glad it was a rental.

This review is based on the Xbox 360 retail version of the game delivered by GameFly as a rental for Skeptical Gamer.

Borderlands Review

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Posted by Chris Stewart on 01-19-2010

Posted in Reviews

When Borderlands came out this past fall, I was still heavily into World of Warcraft. In the various chat channels there were dozens of people talking about and singing the praises of Borderlands. They cited the RPG elements they enjoy with World of Warcraft being coupled a modern first-person shooter. My interest was peaked as I enjoy those aspects of gameplay. Later in the fall, once I had dropped World of Warcraft, I picked up Borderlands and was pretty excited to get into the game.

The first thing you’ll notice about Borderlands is the art style. It’s a very unique presentation and I appreciated it for that. It’s not a realistic looking game such as Modern Warfare 2, and for that reason, I didn’t find myself being as critical on the graphics as I would have had it looked realistic. I’m a fan of the art style for various reasons. I appreciate that the developer went away from the norm and tried something new. It felt more like a comic book than your modern RPG or shooter. I suspect some gamers did not like the art style and will criticize the game for it. I can understand that point of view but I think it worked in this case. That’s not to say I want to see every game turn into a comic book, because I certainly don’t, but seeing a developer take a chance and make it work is refreshing.

I guess what I want to really focus on are the two main genres Borderlands pulls from; role-playing games and first-person shooters.

I’m more familiar and comfortable with the FPS genre, so I feel more confident in speaking to that. As a first-person shooter, Borderlands really falls short. With the saturation of superb shooters on the market today, it’s hard to look at a game like Borderlands and applaud the work done there. It’s a mediocre shooter at best and considering how much of the game you’ll spend firing your weapon, that’s not enough. Many of the enemies you’ll face will not be armed, or human (or even analogous to humans), and so they’ll fight you in close combat. With a gun and the camera angle, I found it difficult to adjust the camera quickly to perform a melee attack or fire on the enemy. There’s a lot of this early in the game and it’s just not that entertaining. It can get frustrating and it definitely was for me.

As a alluded to above, I’m not a huge role-playing game aficionado as a few of my friends are. I don’t really look at Borderlands and think of it being an RPG. It has a few RPG elements such as leveling, weapon upgrades, and a talent tree. However, it’s missing what many feel are core aspects to an RPG title such as story progression through choices, full gear progression (armor, weapons, abilities, etc), and a crafting system among other things. To me, Borderlands is an FPS with some very minor RPG elements. If you’re looking for an RPG and thought Borderlands might be that game, it’s definitely not. I don’t necessarily think the developer wanted Borderlands thought of as an RPG but it’s gotten that notion post-release by gamers in the community.

One thing that I really have disliked about Borderlands is the pace in which you receive weapon upgrades. The game prides itself on having a bajillion, or some such figure, of weapons. I can safely say it does, but I don’t think that it’s a good thing. The game is like a loot pinata. Every time you turn around there’s a new and improved weapon sitting on the ground. It’s to the point that I felt no significance when I received a weapon. Now, lets compare that to the experience of obtaining a new weapon in World of Warcraft. You could literally spend months working on getting that 2% upgrade in World of Warcraft, and when you finally get it, it’s a great sense of accomplishment. I appreciate that experience and the extremely oppose found in Borderlands really put me off.

Borderlands has gotten most of its critical acclaim for it’s co-op experience. You can seamlessly hop into a 4 player co-op and progress through the single player experience. Granted, I haven’t done a lot of this as I’m not interested in playing co-op with people I don’t know and none of my friends were playing Borderlands when I was. I have tried it just to experience it and it’s definitely the most seamless co-op experience I’ve ever seen. The game is tougher and the loot is better as you have more people playing together to accomplish the objectives. Even with the flaws I’ve seen, if you have a group of friends who you can play Borderlands with I can definitely see a lot of fun being had with this game.

Borderlands is a title I put down after the first 15 levels or so. From a single player perspective, I found the game repetitive and lacking in the core gameplay areas it is trying to represent. As a multiplayer title, I think Borderlands has a much higher upside. I would pick it up again to play through with other people just because of the co-op experience. If you’re on the fence about this game, I would say look to those on your Xbox LIVE friends list. If you have some people who are still playing it, I would say give it a rent and see what you think. If you’re only anticipating on playing this solo, I would say there are far better titles out there that deliver a more interesting experience.

This review is based on the Xbox 360 retail version of the game purchased by Skeptical Gamer.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Review

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Posted by Chris Stewart on 01-18-2010

Posted in Reviews

Probably the most anticipated title in a long time, Modern Warfare 2 was released to much fan-fare.  The original, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, was a game very special to me.  It had a stunning single player campaign with an innovative multiplayer experience that was unmatched at the time.  Modern Warfare 2 kept the recipe the same and even added a little something with Spec Ops.

Plenty of gamers, myself included, would have bought Modern Warfare 2 even without the inclusion of a single player campaign.  The reviews of the single player campaign are all over the place.  Personally, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and will likely play through it again in the future.  I’ll sum up the gripes for you; it’s short, it’s as linear as you’ll find, it’s not the best or most innovative story ever told, and the end will leave you a little confused if not downright mad.  All of the above are true.  Regardless, it’s a 6-10 hour thrill ride in every way.  You’ll find yourself forgetting to breathe through sequences of the game.  You’ll get a little overwhelmed by the powerful message being delivered through the gameplay, and more specifically, where the gameplay takes place.  Modern Warfare 2 is an absolutely gorgeous game graphically and just the eye-candy alone is worthy of a play through.  While a lot of reviewers may not think the single player contributes very well, I highly disagree and would recommend you get it even if you play the single player.

Assuming you’re not insane, and you decide you give the multiplayer mode a go, you’ll be pleasantly greeted by the best multiplayer experience available on a console.  Yes, it’s that good.  I haven’t put in a ridiculous number of hours to this point.  You’ll find many players out there that have literally put in days.  Like the original Modern Warfare, I’m sure I will over the course of a year, but currently there’s just so many things to play.  Modern Warfare 2 doesn’t penalize you for this.  I can hop in a game with any number of high level players and still be competitive.  Modern Warfare 2 gives you capable weapons from the start and that goes a long way to providing an enjoyable experience.  The leveling progress is fun and rewarding.  You’ll fly through the ranks, completing weapon-specific challenges along the way, enjoying every second.

I haven’t spent enough time in Spec Ops yet, but I’ve done enough to see how much fun it is to play with a friend in a co-op setting.  Spec Ops lets you and a friend team up to complete objectives.  As you work together and complete these objectives, you’ll really uncover the fun of this new mode of play.  A lot of reviewers and industry gamers are predicting that 2010 is the year of co-op, where in previous years open-world games have been “it”.  I completely agree with them and think Spec Ops is an excellent way to begin that trend in the new year.  It’s a blast to get into a session of Spec Ops with a friend and knock out these objectives.

Modern Warfare 2 is an excellent game in every regard.  It wasn’t as groundbreaking and innovative as it’s predecessor but that’s not exactly a feat easily obtained.  I think a lot of people were disappointed that it wasn’t such a huge step over the original.  I don’t really understand how that’s even an expectation really.  Lets be honest though, you already own this game.  There’s no way there’s someone reading this right now debating whether to buy Modern Warfare 2.  So, I guess I’ll just say congratulations on your purchase.

This review is based on the Xbox 360 retail version of the game purchased by Skeptical Gamer.

Assassin’s Creed 2 Review

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Posted by Chris Stewart on 01-15-2010

Posted in Reviews

Assassin’s Creed 2 was a title I was eagerly anticipating.  The original was something of a new experience for me.  I don’t believe I had the sort of free-roaming experience in a game before, especially with the climbing mechanic in an open world.  The original just felt great.  Unfortunately, the original Assassin’s Creed left a lot to be desired and really felt like a half-baked experience.  Assassin’s Creed 2 took what was innovative from the original and improved on every single aspect.

I’ll say it up front; Assassin’s Creed 2 is my game of the year for 2009.  I soaked up roughly 14 hours of fun and cannot wait for the upcoming DLC.  The story, and delivery of it, was exceptional and really captured my attention.  Like a good movie, I actually cared about Ezio and his well-being.  The story will take you from city to city, exploring what feel like perfectly reconstructed cities from the Italian Renaissance.  I tend to hit points in every game where I’m just ready for the next thing.  Whether that be the next mission, the next level, or the next city.  With Assassin’s Creed 2, I never felt that way.

You are given a lot of options for how you experience the game.  You can decide to spend your time progressing only through the core of the story, or you can find hours of entertainment doing the various side-quests available and unlocking every bit of the experience.  This was a welcome change from the style of progression from the original title.

I don’t have anything negative to say about Assassin’s Creed 2.  It was an exceptional experience and the third can’t come quickly enough for me.  If you haven’t spent some time in Ezio’s boots, roaming seamlessly in the crowd through these beautiful cities and punishing, in spectacular fashion, those who have insulted your family, you owe it to yourself to pick up Assassin’s Creed 2.

This review is based on the Xbox 360 retail version of the game purchased by Skeptical Gamer.

Skeptical Gamer

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Posted by Chris Stewart on 01-15-2010

Posted in Editorials

Welcome to Skeptical Gamer!  My goal with Skeptical Gamer is to bring you a viewpoint of modern and popular video games from the perspective of someone who doesn’t love everything they play.  From the Atari 2600 to the modern consoles of today, I’ve been playing video games for roughly 20 years.  Over that time I’ve played classics, good titles, decent titles, and many that were absolutely awful.  I want to share my thoughts with you about the games I’m playing and see where our opinions go.

My style of discussing games with Skeptical Gamer will be different than what you may be accustomed to.  I won’t hit on every little aspect of the game in question, and would defer to more traditional review sites for that style of review.  I want to create an entry that discusses what I think about each title, and it will likely come from more of a conversational and informal tone.

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