Killzone 2 Multiplayer Review

Killzone 2 has practically everything. Good gameplay, Excellent graphics, (i personally cannot comment on the story itself – as I have not finished the single player, or played Killzone 1) and just overall fun. But what about the included Online Multiplayer?
Well, it rocks to. I’ve gotten to the highest online rank available (General – 3 stars), so I’ve played a fair few amount of online matches.

Rather than just having one class and unlockable weapons, A total of 6 classes have been introduced. The Rifleman, with the machine gun. The Medic with the ability to heal comrades and bring them back to life. The engineer whom can build turrets and fix ammo and weapon placements around the many maps. The solider, who uses a rocket launcher/grenade launcher, and also has the most health and ability to sprint (Which is a bit unfair in my opinion.). The Tactician, who can set up spawn points and call in air support. The Saboteur, whom can disguise as an enemy team member and place C4. And finally, the Scout (my personal favourite) who is the only class that can use the sniper rifle, and can cloak to become invisible (the more you move, the more visible you become), and pinpoint enemies on the radar. (This is sounding a bit like Team Fortress 2!)

The thing that's really cool about the class system is the ability to combine classes. You unlock the second ablitiy of each class by fulfilling certain objectives (e.g. 10 kills with sniper rifle in 8 matches to unlock the ability to pinpoint enemies on radar) and then mix and match them with other classes. Want a medic that can plant C4 and call in air support? Then you can!

Now the maps, a staple of any good online multiplayer game. These can kill the game, or make it something special. Luckily, the maps in Killzone 2 are good overall, apart from a few dodgy ones. The maps themselves are pretty large. Now im sure you’ll be asking yourself – how can i spot people halfway across a huge map? Well Guerrilla thought of this, and its easy to see people (although not TOO easy), as Helghast players have red eye’s on their helmets, and ISA members have blue glowing patches on their head, and elbows.

The multiplayer modes are just like Call of Duty, with Bodycount (team deathmatch), Capture the Flag and Headquarter style matches. One thing that is really interesting is the on-the-fly matches. You can be in a match playing Headquarters, then suddenly the objective will change to assassination, in which you have to kill a particular member of the enemy team. These on-the-fly matches keep things new and fresh.

Closing comments:
Overall, the Killzone 2 multiplayer is a very entertaining game, which is well worth your money if you own a PS3 and a decent internet connection. One thing that really should have been (and hopefully will be) implemented is a lobby system. You and your buddies can't all join the same match at once. One person will have to join a game, then the other friends will have to join after he has. Meaning that you will most likely end up on different teams. Hopefully Guerrilla will patch this though.

Rating: A*
(Note: A review of Killzone 2’s Singleplayer shall be up soon, when I complete it!)

Pictures taken from: http://uk.media.ps3.ign.com/media/748/748475/imgs_3.html

Teh Gaming News Episode Issue 5

Hey Guys! I am so sorry this wasn't up sooner but I was kinda busy doing a project which I can't mention here on this blog (I'll just say its got something to do with the radio = P and its great fun!). Anyway your not here to read about my daily happenings but for the lowdown on Gaming News of this month and to start with there is.....

Gaming BAFTAS!

Yep such thing does exist and its pretty big aswell and here are the results!

• GRID - Best sports game
• Sid Meier's Civilzation Revolution - Best stratagy game
• Fable 2 - Best adventure game
• Little Big Planet - Artistic achievement award
• Boom Blox - Best casual game
• Call of Duty 4 - Best story and character awards
• Spore - Technical achievement award
• Professor Layton and the Curious Village - Best Handheld game
• Left 4 Dead - Best mutiplayer game
• Dead Space -Best use of music and best original score awards
• Super Mario Galaxy - Best game award

In my eyes I think Super Smash Bros Brawl should of got best orginal score and best game award. I am very surprised that the most hyped game of the year was not even mentioned! Oh Well Brawl you shall always be remembered in our hearts as the Wii's best hardcore game for yonks.

Mythic Map Pack

We finally have a date and its the 6th of April! So save those pennies if you only got the normal edition of Halo Wars (Such as myself) then this is your chance to make big maps on Sandbox FINALLY!

Banjo Kazooie Nuts and Bolts DLC

Yep its coming out 400 MP on the 9th and will have new achievements, new jiggies and new mutiplayer opitions! So for someone like me who have nearly got all the jiggies it will be brilliant! You can look forward to a review of it along with the game soon! If you can't wait that long for your Banjo fix Banjo - Tooie is coming on the 4th.... I think X D

Someone on the team has a PS3

Dave have a PS3 so finally you can look forward to some PS3 related stuff!

Thats all for now head on over same time next month (but a lil earliar) for Teh Gaming News!

My Sims

Yes thats right this weeks reveiw is My Sims. For starters the story, from what I can gather it's rather simple. You are a "special person" who can use essences (which are anything you can find around town, be it fruit or fish) to build furnature and houses. Your task is to rebuild the town from one or two houses to a successful village.
There are unlockable area's that you can get access to when you gain stars (which are basically your town rank of population) In these areas you can move new residents in, to get more stars.
The story and game play are quite simple but effective. The controls are ok but I wish they used the Wii's capabilities a bit more. Moving the analogue stick isn't very "interactive" like the Wii should be. The graphics are ok they are very Sim-ish. By that I mean it is typical of the Sims style of graphics although the actual Sims look different (Ed: Unlike Sims 2 the graphical design isn't different to chibi anime style. Big head, big eyes that kinda thing)
One problem I had with it was that it lagged like nothing I have ever seen before. I mean there is lagging but then there is what this was doing! It only tended to be the loading screen which was weird though . If you had a similar problem to this then please comment on this blog. I am interested to know more about it.

overall this game is pretty good although it does get quite repetitive and it is hard to know what to do at times so i give this game a respectable
C

Second Opinion

I have had My Sims kicking about my room for sometime now and after the day I got nearly to the end I sorta gave up. The game it self isn't bad. It can be so much fun customizing you and your village. Thats the best part of it really. making wacky chairs, giving you awesome hair styles. Dressing the local goth in a frilly dress with pink hair X D. Thats what I enjoyed. My Sims to me was like Lego. According to the box there's a story line but really its down to you. Which is in my eyes I think is pretty cool. The lag is a problem though I have to admit. Sometimes it got beyond forgivable and ruins the clean sharp graphics the game others. There is a sequel for this game called MySims Kingdom which I have yet to test out so I don't know if they fix the problems or not. All in all I have to agree with Callum on this one I give it a C.

Signing out, The Triforce Fighter.

pictures take from: accordingtoheather.wordpress.com

Mass Effect and a small rant

I know, I know this game has been out for a little while now, but as the saying goes better late then never! I picked this game up not so long ago and then I was ill for 3 weeks but thanks to this it helped while away the hours.

Mass Effect is a RPG/Third Person Shooter (TPS) which sounds like a weird mix of game genres but trust me it works wonders. Made by the same guys who brought Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic I knew I was in good hands story wise and game play. While playing KTOR I felt like I was playing a 3D TBS that you could strafe side to side in or run for your life instead of pressing a button. Mass Effect however the fights are just as open ended but as the battle system is more open as well you can go firing when it suits you (although your gun sometimes overheats so you have to wait for it to cool before you can carry on kicking robot butt). Its not ground breaking stuff. Just imagine a slower and more tactical Gears of War. But thats not to say you will not spend time running around shopping, getting lost and talking to repetitive NPC's 'cos you can do all that!

The NPC's to be honest are as repetitive as you want them to be seeing as you can decide what you say. There's usually a good, evil and natural option for most things although there are some which fall into neither blocks. It really good to see that what you say makes a mark with the people around you. It makes the game so much more immersive, which is one its highlights. Just how stuck into the game you can be! Once you start you can't stop. Well that was the case for me anyway.

The story line is basically there's evil robots (the geth) who are like your stereotypical all looking the same bad guys who are trying to kill everything and its up to you to stop them and the traitor who is helping them. Humans as the race are looked down on so you gotta make the aliens respect you and its a good progression seeing how the more universe changing deeds you do as your job as a intergalactic policeman (Also known as a Spectre) the more people treat you better. If you wizz threw the main story you could probably do it in a couple of days but there's so many side quests worth doing you'd be missing out a large chunk of the game.

Now before I finish I just want to mention the infamous sex scene. Basically its the most over rated sex scene in the history of videogame sex scenes. If you watched James Bond then its of that level. It really puzzles me how sex is in most films that aren't pixer and they do not get scolded at all but as soon as a game does it, suddenly the media decides that all gamers will play the game for is to see a 30 second clip of a naked alien chick (or who ever you decide to 'buddy up with') They totally forget that you can complete the game without even seeing it!

Sorry to rant = P but it really annoys me when the media acts like that.

Closing Comments

Mass Effect is what I would call the best original RPG made outside of Japan and you would be stupid not to at least try it. It can seem daunting at first (with the whole of the Milky Way to explore) but if you can navigate around Liberty City then this place will be a easy as pie. Even non RPG fans should try it out because I think they will be pleasantly surprised. The only negative I can think of is that sometimes its time for the textures to come into place which can make it look at little tacky until they appear. It should be only expected though because the graphics are stunning!

Rating A*

http://firsthour.net/screenshots/mass-effect/mass-effect-cover-thumb.jpg

Castlevania: Dawn Of Sorrow and Castlevania: Portrait Of Ruin Reviews

Hey guys! Spartan 120 here. I love castlevania games too much I think and I own both and so I wondered which is better on the DS.

I'll start with Dawn Of Sorrow, this was released before portrait of ruin and it is the sequel to Aria Of Sorrow, you play as Soma, the reincarnation of Dracula (but your good) and an evil cult are trying to release your inner demon to restore balance in the world. This is different from most Castlevania games because you don't play as a Belmont and you won't have the Vampire Killer whip.

The game has the classic 2-D gameplay and you must collect Magic seals (Which are used by drawing on the touch screen) and when you beat a boss you must draw it to seal it away. These seals start as simple shapes buy get harder and harder to draw. Many of the monsters in this game are also from Aria Of Sorrow like Balore if any of you guys know who he is XD

The game has a good way of telling the story, most cutscenes are triggered when certain bosses are beaten or if you enter rooms. The castle itself is very big and you will find yourself getting lost or not knowing where to go if your not careful and you may have to consult a walkthrough like I had to a few times.

After you beat the game you unlock Julius mode, a harder version of the game where you play as three characters, but you cannot use items and this makes it a lot harder the final boss is also different because the mode sticks with the bad ending where Soma turns evil.

Moving on to Portrait of ruin, this game is like dawn of sorrow in gameplay terms. In this game you play as Jonathon Belmont who is on a mission to investigate Castlevania, Dracula's castle which appears once every 100 years (or something like that). Jonathon is also partnered with Charlotte, a wizard who is helping Jonathon. You can keep switching between the two and you can give them both different powers.

This game has a big castle too. You'll find portals scattered around and each takes you to another world. These vary from a scary carnival to a desert palace. The one thing I didn't like was when you get near the end of the game you have to basically do a repeat of all the previous levels, but these are a lot harder and have harder bosses.

When you beat the game you unlock two more modes, which let you go through the game with the old Belmont from the SNES castlevania games and where you can play as the two vampire sisters, this mode uses the touch screen for attacks and is very well thought out.

Overall I think that both the games are very good and fun to play. However Portrait of ruin is better because I think it has more gameplay. However Dawn Of Sorrow is still good and I did have problems with Portrait Of Ruin's Quests because they are very difficult and not very well though out

Portrait Of Ruin- B

Dawn Of Sorrow- B

(I put them as the same because it's really what you prefer out of the two)

pictures from GameFaqs.com and nintendods.com and staticgamesradar.com

GTA IV: The Lost and Damned DLC Review

Say goodbye to Niko Bellic, that loveable rogue from Serbia that we know and love, and say hello to the new guy: Johnny Klebitz. This new DLC follow’s Johnny Klebitz, a hard-as-nails biker in the gang “The Lost”. Johnny is the vice-president of The Lost, and as the president of the biker returns from rehab, Billy Grey, Johnny’s ex-girlfriend is the least of his worries. Billy decides to go on an all out war with the rival gang, “The Angels of Death” – whom are currently having a ‘ceasefire’. Ill not delve into the story any longer, as not to ruin it for anyone whom has not yet purchased it.

The DLC, priced at 1600 Microsoft Points, and a hefty 1.7gb download is not short of content. Along with the 23 individual new mission’s included in the game (which, if you paid attention to the story of GTA, link in very well with it). There are 25 new gang wars, in which you and your fellow gang members take out rival gang members – much like the gang wars of GTA: San Andreas. These gang wars help you to boost your fellow gang member’s overall toughness, and how good a chance they stand in a fight. On top of that, there’s also new Road Rash style race’s, in which you can knock each other off your bike with a baseball bat! Also, the little extra’s from GTA IV carry over – like being able to take out your buddies to get drunk, or watch a comedy show. This DLC also includes something that I believe should have been in GTA IV in the first place, mid-level check points!

In addition to the new single player features listed above, there are also new multiplayer modes. These multiplayer modes are a great addition to an already great multiplayer game. New multiplayer modes include “Own the City” (In which you and a rival team capture territories, which when captured, friendly NPC’s appear in to protect the area from the rival team appear – a gun van can be found to upgrade the NPC’s weaponry), “Chopper vs Chopper” (a 1 vs 1 where one player drives a bike, and must try to survive the longest by going through checkpoints, and the other player fly’s a NOOSE helicopter, and must try and kill the biker as quickly as possible), and “Lone Wolf Biker”. (A version of ‘tag’ in which if you kill the Lone Wolf Biker, you become the LWB, and must try to survive the longest, whilst other players try to kill you and become the LWB.) My personal favourite is Lone Wolf Biker, as nothing beats being chased by a person in a car and nipping down into the subway to get away from them!

Closing Comments

If you own GTA IV, and enjoyed it, this DLC is a must have add-on that you should definitely buy. It contains at least 8 hours of gameplay, for the quickest gamer, and if like me, someone who likes to take it steady, at least 20 hours of gameplay! The story adds an interesting new layer to Liberty City (and by taking mostly place in Alderney, the last island, my least explored – and I’m sure other people’s least explored island as well, it feels like a completely different experience), and great new multiplayer mode’s that should not be missed out on. Highly recommended!

All pictures taken from: http://www.listal.com/game/the-lost-and-damned-xbox-360/pictures

A Challenger Approaches!

Yo dudes! Dave here making my introductory post! Im mainly a Xbox 360 gamer, but i also play my Wii from time to time. Ill be writing reviews on Xbox 360 games and perhaps some Wii games.

Hope you enjoy the reviews!

Teh Gaming News Issue 4

Hey readers, 

Its time for Teh Gaming News which is fashionably not done quite on time as per usual! Where kicking of with first......

Dead Space Wii

Well Dead Space Extinction to be exact. This is a on rails shooter (much like Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles) which is a prequel to the 360 game and its coming to the Wii. With this and many more games such as House of the Dead: Overkill and Mad World will people still call the Wii for Mums and little kids?

Halo Wars and more

Yeah, Halo Wars is officially in stores now although I do not own it yet because I maybe sorta owe my Mum and Dad money, then I need to fix the DS Lite...... But as soon as thats all done you can expect a review of the game! Other notable games which has came out this month....

Street Fighter 4 which I would like to get but seeing as I am not the best at Street Fighter 2 I may just wait until someone else gets and just borrow it of them. 

DLC GET!

Brand new DLC is now up for Grand Theft Auto 4 which goes under the name of 'The Lost and The Damned' which will be reviewed soon. So sit tight GTA fans!

New Dudes

We here at Triforce Games are always looking for new people to write with us and we have done just that. Enter Platinum aka Dave. He will be reviews this that and the other like the rest us. 

Thats about everything for this month! See you again next month for Teh Gaming News!

Wii Speak

Hey I was ment to get this up last week sorry it's a little late.

The long awaited Animal Crossing: Lets Go To The City, came with a nifty little addition to the Wii's collection of peripherals (add ons); In my opinion of course the worst one of all. Wii Speak. My experience with it is terrible. It echo's, it squeaks it makes noises it really shouldn't.

Yes it does the job and it does what nintendo wanted it to do but for me it could be better. I seem to get the feeling they were making it just to fill a gap in the market and did it as cheap as they could.

Now don't get me wrong it is a great peice of kit to have for your wii and so far i have only used it a couple of times for animal crossing and nothing else really. So if you have not yet bought Animal Crossing don't get Wii Speak Animal Crossing Bundle. AC is good on it's own and has an in game keyboard so who needs to talk. Plus you could always just ring the person your playing with anyway. Thats it for my rant if you have any other opinions on Wii Speak just leave us a comment.


Callum out.

F.E.A.R 2: Project Origin Preview

Hey guys Mark here, I'm previewing the F.E.A.R 2 demo which came out a couple of weeks ago.

F.E.A.R 1 was a scary game, I never got it myself but I played the demo and thought it was awesome. F.E.A.R 2 has carried those scares over. Almas back and she's even scarier in this demo, you star in the remains of a crashed helicopter and you see Alma. The demo takes you through a school, a subway, a freaky street, a cinema and it finishes with a level on a mech. It's quite long and fun to play. There are a lot of weapons to find and your character has the ability to slow time. This is very hand if you ever get trapped in the middle of a firefight. The game is still quite graphic and gory, the shotgun will shoot enemies limbs off.

The game has had a huge graphic update and the new look makes it even scarier. Your often walking down a corridor and something will happen to make you jump. These vary from simple things like doors flying open, to ghosts attacking. There are moments in the game where you'll be confused and wonder "What just happened?!". I remember once I heard freaky music and nothing happened so I laughed and said down the mic to my party "Ha I just dodged something scary =D" Then I got raped by ghost things and it was scary XD

Overall I would say its full of fun and scares. I would recommend it to anyone who likes scary games and shooters, or fans of the original F.E.A.R (Which stands for First Encounter Assault Recon before I forget to throw that in) =D

picture from gameupdates.com