Halo Wars Hands On Preview

I'm no stranger to the RTS (Real Time Strategy) genre and if anything I am more familiar to that then FPS (First Person Shooter) games such as Halo. So to me I couldn't wait to get started with Halo Wars.

First thing I did after downloading the demo (which by the way for all you who haven't yet, takes some time) was go campaign. Two levels controlling the UNSC fighting the Covenant. It is based 20 years before Halo Combat Evolved and you can tell. In the campaign unlike in the FPS which you see a few marines and ODST's every now and then here there's loads (as you can expect).

 There are also plenty of Spartans at your control which is pretty neat, which all act like Master Chief. They can take enemy vehicles and use friendly ones to there full potential. Most units all have a special move which can be activated with the Y button (X is used to command your units to move and attack). For instance Warthogs drive at full speed into enemies knocking them flying much like what you do on Halo, but if try to ram a turret or building the unit will lose health (which should be noted because many a time I sent my Warthogs charging at building only to have them explode in my face a few minutes later). Marines can chuck grenades which can be later upgraded with flash bang technology. 

The story line as far as I can tell is the usual Halo affair. Covenant find Forerunner relic and try to use it to defeat the flood (which have been confirmed to be in the game).

Anyway back to the campaign. Your first mission involves re-taking your base from the Covenant. You start of with only a Warthog under you control with a hero unit inside (Not much is known about hero units, as there mainly seen in campaign), but slowly you rally the surviving soldiers and take the base back. This can be seen as a non guided tutorial to controlling units because it goes through vaguely how to play (Don't worry there is a detailed tutorial at the ready if you need it)

The next mission involves remaking the base and taking out the Covenant. Base making is standard RTS stuff, although you only have a certain amount of squares. So if you run out of squares you need to find another spot to make a base. Its all simple stuff.  Like Halo its pick up and play and just good fun. 

The game it self is made just for the 360 so for those thinking 'Oh noes! I can't play a RTS without a mouse and keyboard!' need not worry because it plays fine. Like I said before you could pick up the controller and make a wild stab at the controls and likely get 70% of it right. The only problem I find is when you just want to select one type of unit say your ground ones and you quite often end up selecting your air units and vehicles as well. 

After I had completed the two levels I then headed over to skirmish mode. On the demo, you can only play one level but you can look at the levels you could play with the full game (including a map called Blood Gulch!). You can also choose to play as the UNSC or The Covenant. Also it looks like there are different team leaders who get special advantages and units. For instance the UNSC leader you could play as on the demo could make Elephants, while the The Covenant leader could have a Prophet unit as well as special Elites with twin energy swords.

 So there seems to be many ways to play. With co-op and online confirmed it looks like Halo Wars could be one of the best RTS games for the 360!

picture from https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie76oEPf6_tX23xYMbAlu2dwYYODIQl_824xHPBLqB5k6NhDBP4-3nQM4f4i3m8wjY9LSq0RMA295J8Mq4Rbgc1LqPCGOQG-ElI0_PBrxMu-fhJTHutCsZ4i2wayQFo-8PPN6w8jzKEs4/s400/DGN_Halo_Wars_Box_Art.jpg

Animal Crossing Lets Go To The City / City Folk

 

Animal Crossing has at last come to Wii. This long awaited game has been on every Animal Crossing lovers christmas list, and to be honest it is a good game but it is just like wild world only with a city but there are a few new features to the Wii version.

1. Improved graphics thanks to the Wii's higher capability.
2. A city. This place has all your much loved shops like Shampoodle and Crazy Redds.
3. They have brought back the different levels like in Animal Crossing for Game Cube.
4. Nooks shop, instead of having to have someone vist your shop to get the higher upgrade all you have to do is spend spend spend.
5. The wii's interactive wii remote allows you to shake the wii remote to use tools and to get out of those ever anoying pit falls.
6. You can chose out of four different houses which is a nice little bonus.

There is also a lot in the game that is like the previous games. We have Nooks shop the local money hungry racoon, the museum, able sisters, and villagers. (well it wouldn't be Animal Crossing without them) We also have the rolling world like in wide world when the screen rolls as if your village is the world. We have all the fruit to sell to money grabbing Nook.
Animal Crossing also brings with us wii speak..... it's a microphone.
The Wii version also has an updated wi-fi mode where you can use wii speak to talk to the person your playing with. ( I don't know why you can't just ring them up but wii speak is free.)
But overall this is a good game a few new features a few old ones add them all togeth it makes a great game but for me it is too like Animal Crossing wide world. i give this game overall an....


 A for the great gameplay that never gets boring. (unless you never come off it)



pictures from: http://www.animalcrossingwii.nl/blog/uploaded_images/boxart-744010.jpg

Second Opinion

I got Animal Crossing City Folk for Christmas knowing that it was the same game as Wild World and the Game Cube version because I needed a reason to go on my Wii again and to me I thought it was okay. Only okay that is because really unless you are an Animal Crossing fanboy or need a reason to play the Wii then there isn't much real point buying it if you already have it on DS or Game Cube. The things it does add such as the city, extra shops, more items, new villagers and events are pretty cool but really when push comes to shove it is a port of the DS version with cleaner graphics and a few extras. If you really want to get the most out this game see it as AC WW 1.5. Its the same game with added extras.

Second Opinion Rating: C

Teh Gaming News Issue 3

Hey Readers!

Sorry about a lack of an update during the Christmas months. I hope you won't bite my head to much it was Christmas! X D Anyway I also owe you guys an apology. I wanted to get this article up on Wednesday but I have been ill a lot the past two weeks. Anyway enough of my excuses and lets get on with the news!

1Up has changed hands

1Up and all its associated sites (gamevideos.com,mycheats.com and gametab.com) are now owned by UGO Entertainment and the company has fired many good 1Up staff . It was a sad day on the 6th of January with most of the 1Up podcasts discontinued (including The 1Up Show), but even though there not working a 1Up now there still doing there thing! For instance the guys who brought you 1Up FM can be found at www.eat-sleep-game.com and then the three guys behind The 1Up Show can be found now www.area51.tv which can be watched on Youtube at the moment.

Resident Evil 5 Demo, now complete with token white zombies!

I downloaded the RE5 demo as soon as I got home from school and spent all night playing online co-op with my friends over and over on the same two levels. Now for those with just a PS3 and have to wait a little while longer for the demo I can safely say (on the 360) it is brilliant if you like RE4. To be honest, the best way to see RE5 is RE4.5 which to be honest is not a bad thing! Resident Evil 4 was great fun and I have completed it at least three times and spent who knows how many hours on 'The Mercenaries' mini game. Now RE5 is so good for a demo the mistakes I noticed were really small, but the biggest of the small problems were the fact that the game's gone 'politically correctness' mad! For instance the game got moaned at because apparently killing Africans is racist, but killing Americans in Raccoon City isn't. So to stop being 'racist' Capcom have put token white zombies everywhere in the demo. To me that took me out of the mood of being in a shanty town full of zombies. Other than that the demo was awesome. The graphics are beautiful and nothing beats hiding in house with a friend when you know outside there is a mad man with bag on his head carrying a chainsaw.

Final Fantasy XIII - New Trailer!

Square Enix put out a new trailer for FF XIII and includes something which for me is brilliant.... gameplay! Now, I love CGI as much as the other guy but gameplay talks to me more. So in this paragraph I will not be talking about the story because I trust Square Enix to do a good job with that. The gameplay interests me more. From the small part of the trailer which was gameplay I could tell it is a step up from FF XII. As in its RT and you queue up commands. It also looks slightly Kingdom Hearts like with all the jumping up in the air thing. If they can combine KH and FF together battle wise then this game could be amazing! Oh, and heres a link if your interested: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GC1-_hnxwa4&annotation_id=annotation_942682&feature=iv

Thats all for now from me,

Signing out Josh aka The Triforce Fighter

Dead Space

Hey guys, Mark here, been a bit late this week but I've been busy, so here's my review on Dead Space for the 360 (and its also on the PS3).

Dead space takes place in the future, you play as engineer Isaac Clarke and you are sent to the Ishimura, a mining ship with your team to investigate a sudden stop of transmissions. You are separated from your team and discover monsters called Necromorphs are on the ship and they are mutated crew members. There are 12 long chapters and a variety of weapons, the weapons are mainly makeshift weapons like a mineral cutter, a blowtorch turned into a flamethrower.

The game focuses on dismemberment to kill the Necromorphs. You can have to strategically shoot off your foe's limbs you save ammo and kill them. Your ememies won't die straigt away though, for example shoot a Necromorph's leg off, it will crawl after you.

This game has beautiful graphics, I know that might sound strange for a horror game but the real beauty is in the Zero Gravity areas or in space, you can jump around, fight and solve puzzles in the Zero G areas. This is really fun because you can just bounce off the walls and it's really enjoyable. The Vacuums are cool aswell, your in an area of Space, you have a air timer on Isaac's back that says how much oxygen you have left.

The game has a brilliant story, however you have to really get into the game before it starts to unveil but it's really good, much better than I originally thought and nothing like I've ever seen. The game looks and plays very similar to a lot of other horror games- Resident evil 4, bioshock, Far cry and it really works =D

It really fits the role of horror game aswell and will keep you jumping throught it's action packed storyline aswell.

Overall I think this is really good and has brilliant gameplay, story and ideas. It's inresting and has thought of everything. Theres even a Zero G basketball court in chapter 10 :D. I really haven't seen anything else like it. At some times it seems you have too much ammo and too many health kits then theres like a boss or you get attacked by loads of Necromorphs and suddenly you have very low ammo and not many health kits =S.

My Rating: A*

Screenshots from 360hq.com

gamepro.com

shacknews.com

Fable 2 DLC Review

When I first heard about Fable 2 downloadable content I can defiantly say I was happy. After completing the game twice and finishing all the quests I was upset how quick it took me to complete the game but thanks to this DLC it has given me a reason to boot the game up again, but unfortunately this is also short. It took me about 2 hours (if that) to blast through the three new quests and further 40 minutes to collect all the books that tell the story of Knothole (these books are like the sliver keys of the island but don't really unlock anything other than lore and a achievement). I have yet to achieve the last achievement which includes unlocking everything in the mystery gift shop. Which leads me neatly onto one of my favorite things about the DLC. 

The shops on the island. You see Knothole Island is very much isolated from the rest of Albion so there is a lot of Knothole only goodies waiting for you. For instance there's a big shop selling rare augments and something which can take augments out of your weapons, a cosmetics shop which sells unique dyes and potions which make you fat,thin,scar-less and make your skin as soft as a babies backside. Not only that there's the mystery gift shop. By far the best shop in the game. Basically you bring mundane items which can be swapped for clothes and weapons but as the name implies you don't know what you will get. I suppose this could be counted as a side quest (and one which is likely be more rewarding then the main three). 

Closing Comments 

The best way to look at this DLC is a load of new items with some missions and a island to explore round thrown in. If you've been looking for an excuse to venture back into the world of Albion and have money spare then go ahead and buy it, otherwise get the free patch so you can visit your friends who are in the world of Knothole so you can at least experience some of the weather changing magic.

pictures from ign.com

Gruntilda = The hardest boss on any platformer game

For Christmas I got a copy of Banjo Kazooie Nuts and Bolts and I have just recently finished it (Well I have beaten Grunty... Just haven't got round to getting all those Jiggies) and the final boss is hard as nails. You have to make vehicle that can literally DO everything, but enough about that. This review is about Banjo Kazooie for the N64 which thanks to Rare has found it's self on XBLA (Xbox Live Arcade).

I missed Banjo Kazooie on there first outing back on the Nintendo 64 because when I had a choice I picked the Playstation over the N64 (How naive I was when I was six), but when I booted up this for the first time it reminded me of so many other platformer's of its era. It was very much like a best of all platformers thrown together. For instance controls of Super Mario 64, alot of collectables and a hub world which are very similar to Spyro, character design which is very similar to Croc and add the charm and charisma that Rare injects into all its games and you have a winner. To me thats what BK is in a nutshell, an all round platformer that everyone will enjoy.

Now for the few out there who are wondering 'Okay then.... Who IS Banjo Kazooie and what's the point of the game?'

Question 1: Banjo is the honey bear and Kazooie is a bird. There are NOT the same person as many people I seem to talk to think.

Question 2: The plot as with all platformers isn't deep or serious but unlike most, Rare does try its best to add humor whenever possible. Basically Gruntilda (Or Grunty for short) has kidnapped Banjo's sister Tootie, and has placed her in a big machine which will take her beauty and give it to herself. It is up to Banjo and Kazooie (and with a little help from Mumbo Jumbo and Bottles the mole)  to rescue Tootie and defeat Grunty. All simple stuff. To do this you must collect Jiggies (jigsaw pieces) to use to unlock levels and musical notes to unlock doors. In other words, its the biggest collect em up game in existance (only beaten by Spyro:Year of the Dragon which makes you collect so many little gems its unbelievable!) 

Now you may be sitting there and thinking ' This sounds like a game aimed for my 8 year old sister' then you not far wrong but I doubt she could complete the game fully without tearing out all her hair and throwing the controller at the TV. Banjo Kazooie, much like most Rare games look cute and cuddly but the deeper you go the harder it gets. 

This leads back nicely to the beginning of this post..... Gruntilda. Today I have spent I don't know how long trying to defeat her. Just when you think its all over she some how survives and as I always seem to have my guard down at these times she just pwns me into the next millennium.... Very much like the Nuts and Bolts version, but with that you could blame it all on your vehicle and go back to the drawing board, but with THIS you know its all your fault and that you suck and now you have to start the boss fight all over again. 

Forget Bowser, Grunty is the hardest end of game boss on a platformer!

Rating: A

Closing Comments 

All I can say is that if you were younger than ten in the 1990's this game will be like walking down memory lane EVEN if you haven't played it on the N64. If your any older than that and enjoyed Super Mario 64 or any other good platformer (bar Mirriors Edge.... Thats a different kind of platformer) then you should pick this game up and realize what you're missing! 

picture from www.pressthebuttons.typepad.com

Yes it is that time again for another Pokemon post!! This time it is Pokemon Battle Revolution in the spotlight. Now this game is great fun and so addicting. The graphics are great and the control's work well with the Wii. There are also a few added extras to the game. You are given the ability to transfer your Pokemon from Diamond and Pearl over to Battle Revolution which is a nice bonus if you have all the ubers. There is also a little nifty mode where you connect two DS's with Pokemon Diamond and Pearl and you can connect to the Wii and battle over the TV with your prized Pokemon in 3D.

When you start off the game you get given a battle pass which has 6 Pokemon on it so you have a choice of either the blue pass or the red pass. Then you have the chance to make your own battle pass with your copied Pokemon from the DS. Then you start playing. You go through different area's of Poketopia trying to beat the area leader but each different area has it's own rules some you have a lucky dip of Pokemon some you get to choose random Pokemon this is a nice extra which makes the game less boring.

The Wi-Fi is good but really hard because all of the people on Wi-Fi use legendarys and lots of them so if you are going to go Wi-Fi then I recommend you get a good team of strong Pokemon on your DS then transfer them.

I have also heard that if you finish the game you can get a pikachu that knows Surf and Volt tackle and some other moves and you can get this via mystery gift I don't know if this is true it is just a rumor as far as I am concerned, but this pikachu would make a good member of your party on the DS. (Ed: Yes this rumor is true once you have finished all of the Colosseum)

Now don't get me wrong it is a good game but it gets repetitive and it is all exactly the same as Pokemon Stadium 1 and 2. There is nothing really new about this game and the Pokemon company could have done so much better!

I give this game a C because it has good gameplay but gets boring very quickly.

Signing out, Callum

pictures from www.wiisworld.com

MORTAL KOMBAT! (Armageddon =D)

Hey! Spartan 120 here. I'm reviewing Mortal Kombat armageddon because I got it as an early christmas present =D

This new mortal kombat game features the hugest roster ever. Every character from every mortal kombat game has got into this and each with his or her own moves and awesomeness!

You can even play as some of the bosses from the games. The game plays well, the D pad on the Wii remote does attacks and the nunchuk moves. To do special moves you hold B and wave the Wii remote in a direction or shape. When you've won the Words "Finish Him/Her" appear and you can wave the wii remote in a direction or shape to "Kreate a fatality" this involves ripping heads off, arms off and finishing your defeated opponent however I do kindof miss each character having their own special finishers. There are also deathtraps on the stages which mean you automatically win the round if you knock your opponent into them, they vary from acid pools, giant rollers and spike pits.

There is also a "Kreate a fighter" mode, which lets you make your own character and fight with them. There is also "Konquest" mode which is the closest thing to a story mode in the game which is the closest thing to a storymode in any mortal kombat game. You play as Taven, one of the king's sons who must compete in a mortal kombat tournament, this is good but it gets very linear and basic after a while and it is quite difficult.

In addition there is also "Motor Kombat" a fun racing minigame where you pick a cartoony version of some of the characters and race around tracks. Hitting obsticles and dying will count as a "Fatality" and you will respawn. Each character can pick up powerups on the tracks, however each character only has 1 weapon available so don't expect any surprises.

Overall the game is very enjoyable and is not like your average beat em up game. I'd recommend it to any Mortal Kombat fan or fighting game fan who wants a different game. The large roster will keep you playing and there is a lot of customisation involved.

Rating: A

Boxart Image from Megamers.com

Screenshot from IGN.com

Geometry Wars Evolved 2

I can't say I am a big side scrolling shooter fan. I don't really enjoy Space Invaders, or Galaga or many other famous side scrolling shooter games for that matter. This game however..... was a completely different story altogether. I found myself spending ages trying to beat my friends high scores on  Geometry Wars Evolved 2 (GWE2 for short). You see, while playing your score at that point in time is shown on the left, then on your right it shows you your friends high-score. Its a brilliant motivator.

The game comes in six different modes: Deadline where you  have unlimited lives but a timer, Pacifism where you can not shoot and can only kill the enemies by flying through gateways which explode (which take out the enemy ships in the progress), King where you can only fire in special circles which disappear after a few seconds, Waves where you have one live and endless waves of enemies flying at you, Evolved which is like the opposite of the deadline where you have three lives and unlimited time and finally sequence which involves defeating a certain amount of enemies then moving on to the next challenge. My favorite would have to be Evolved  just because you can rack up such a high score if you don't lose any lives!

The controls for the game are simple yet innovative. You shoot by tilting the right analogue stick which I have never seen before in a arcade shooter before. You then move with the left analogue stick and fire your bombs with the right trigger (Bombs basically destroy everything on the screen and are useful to get out of tight spots).

Now on to the graphics. They are simple neon shapes which explode into neon pixels which look amazing. You can keep your fire works 'cos GWE2 is one better. 

All in all Geometry Wars Evolved 2 is a brilliant arcade shooter which will appeal to hardcore arcade fans as well as the more casual ones and a must buy if your 360 is connected online!

Grade: B

Portal:Still Alive

Now, before I start this review I just would like to point out that I missed Portal on the first time round thats why I brought this. If you aren't a Portal loving fanboy (Or you have yet to jump into the world of Portal) I can say straight away this is not for you. This is because Portal: Still Alive is just the original Portal with 15 extra non story line related levels which are pretty cool, but if you have already own Portal I wouldn't recommend it. Well now thats out of the way lets move on!

Portal is a first person physics based puzzle game which is tied together with quirky characters and an interesting story line. You are Chell. Its never explained why you are a test subject, all you know is to do the puzzles and finally escape..... All on you own. Well thats not 100% true. You see GLaDOS will help you out now and then (she is an A.I. who is your guide in the world of the Aperture Science Enrichment Center). Along your way to freedom you meet other unique characters such as a lovable cube with a heart on it and turrets with the voices of little children which murderously kill you at any possibility. As you can tell the world of Portal pretty mucked up and this is a good thing. The game is busting with charisma and get ready for it to charm you into playing it again.... again and again. You could probably do this is less than a week! Yes, the game is very short. Which is its biggest downfall. Once I got to the end of the game I was upset it was already over. The extra challenges do help to make the game longer but it lacks the charm the story mode holds. It never seems quite right without GLaDOS commenting about this that and the other.

The game itself has amazing physics. You can spend ages just throwing yourself threw portals and then when your bored of that grab something else and throw them in portals! It must of took Valve ages to get physics how they are and I really give them a pat on the back for it.

Closing Comments

Portal:Still Alive is in my eyes one of the best way to spend 1,200 Microsoft Points and even though its a bit short you can't call yourself a real gamer until you have finished it. With the best physics engine I've seen and fun (if not that challenging) puzzles, finished of with simple yet effective graphics it all makes a good little package.

Rating: B

Signing out, Josh

picture from:

Gamerbyte.com