Another Star Wars game? Our culture has become totally obsessed with Star Wars
If you ever need any more proof of that, just check out the endless line of merchandise, memorabilia, action figures, book series, lightsabers, and whatever random miscellanea you can find out there.
And now, Lucasarts brings us The Force Unleashed. Far from the first Star Wars game to hit the market. Is it the best?
Story/Characters
The story takes place between Episode 3 and 4 of the original Star Wars film series and is meant to fill in some of the gaps in the timeline. Darth Vader has launched a quest to hunt down and destroy the remaining Jedi, and you play as his apprentice, Starkiller. Trained in the dark side of the force, his mission is to hunt down the big bad Jedi. Oh, and somewhere along the way he’s supposed to help Vader in his plot to overthrow the emperor.
That’s right, Vader plans to take the reigns himself apparently, though his motivations for doing so aren’t clearly explained. Maybe he’s had enough of the emperor’s shit and thinks he can do it better. Now Darth, being emperor of the universe must be cool and all, but what if the job isn’t all it’s cracked up to be? It’s not all Star Destroyers and blowing up planets. What are you going to do when you have to listen to Jawa federation complain about high taxes on Tatooine for the nineteen billionth time, or deal with another droid strike on Courscant. I’d rather go play space golf with a Wookie.
But all joking aside, the story does paint an enjoyable tale of a young Sith who has to make a major decision that will affect the course of the galaxy. Starkiller is an archetypal good guy who struggles with the forces of good and evil. However, the character himself is also somewhat bland, a little generic, and you get virtually no backstory on him. I wasn’t totally sold. The supporting cast is a little better. You’ve got your love stricken co-pilot Juno Eclipse, a washed up former Jedi general whose name escapes me at the moment, and your loveable navigator/battle partner droid Proxy, who is intent on trying to kill you. Leia and Bail Organa from the film series also make appearances.
Gameplay
Gameplay wise, it presents itself as your general action game. You use force powers to fight your enemies, and keying in different button combinations lets you utilize different powers to vanquish foes. You can blast them with lightning, blow them away with a blast of force, and pick them up and sling them around. You can even punt smaller enemies through the air. Sounds cool? Well, it is, but outside that gameplay can prove to be a somewhat irritating experience.
You can get hit by a gust of force power, knocked down, and then knocked down again before you can even get back up. There are also some issues with the targeting system. When you approach an enemy, you target him but there’s no way to actually lock on. If he wanders too far away or if another enemy approaches you the target will switch to that enemy. And it may not even target who you want it to. I wanted to blast a stormtrooper with a lighting bolt, but the bolt ended up striking a stormtrooper all the way on the other side of the level instead of the trooper standing right in front of me. It’d be nice if you could lock on.
And some of the boss battles are just irritating. Case in point: Darth Vader. If you try to attack him directly he lifts you in the air, and you have to rapidly press O to break free. If you escape you better get away quick or you’ll get picked up again. I once had it happen to me six times in a row. Annoying as hell.
A good series to compare this to is God of War. You gain force points to unlock different moves and punch in different button combos, there are different costumes, most fights with major enemies end with a quick time event where you have to key in a certain button sequence just like in God of War. You can even do that L1 dash and attack move just like Kratos.
But we know it’s not just like God of War because it takes place in the Star Wars universe. And that brings us to the worlds you explore. Now, pretty much everything has been made up from scratch and I do give the developers some credit for that because you need somewhere new to explore – some fresh faces and places.
You have Felucia, an mushroom filled exotic jungle type of world teeming with creatures large, small, and ginormous. And then there’s Raxus Prime, which is garbage. No, I mean literally – it’s the galaxy’s garbage disposal planet. You’ll spend most of your time here fighting the locals, dodging lava pits, and holding your nose.
My only complaint is that later in these two worlds get recycled. The layouts are different but the design is the same. There’s only 9 levels, why can’t you think of 9 different places for us to go to? I was really hoping there would be some levels featuring planets from the films. Mix a little bit of the old with the new, y’know? There’s no Hoth, no Tatooine, no Endor; you don’t get to visit any of the planets from any of the films. Most of the level layouts were pretty well designed and I was looking forward to see how these developers would interpret some of those worlds.
There actually are missions that take you to Hoth and Tattoine available as DLC. You get to fight Boba Fett, Obi-Wan, and Luke Skywalker. It makes me wonder why the hell these were DLC. It sounds more interesting than most of what you do in the main game!
Graphics/Sound/Replay Value
The graphics are pretty solid; it isn’t the best looking game on PS3 but it’s passable. You get to hear the whooshing of the lightsabers and whirring of droids – pretty standard Star Wars fare. A standard runthrough should take about 9 hours if you run straight through.
However, there is quite an assortment of hidden items – costumes and lightsaber crystals that let you change the color of your lightsaber. Each level also has its own side objectives, such as destroying all the tie fighters or freeing the wookie slaves.
If you want to get a decent amount of play time from the game, the potential is there to do so, but more likely you’ll probably finish it once or twice and set it aside. Overall, if you’re a big Star Wars fan you might want to buy this, or if you really like games that allow you to wander around and blast people with superpowers, like InFamous or Prototype this might also be up your alley. In the end, it seems more profitable to give this a rental at most.
Score: 6/10
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Welcome to My Blog
I wanted to take a few moments to welcome everyone to my blog and explain a little about what I’m doing.
You’re probably wondering why I'm putting a welcome to my blog post right in the middle of your blog?
The posts before this (with the exception of the R&C review and the Obscura album review) were done for an editing class I took in college. It was a newspaper editing class with a political focus, so many of the posts have a political nature. There are a few music reviews too. Feel free to browse them if you want.
I considered creating a new blog, but I failed to see the point in that.
Anyways, I have a passion for music and video gaming. This blog will focus on my reviews for said mediums. When I was younger I listened to all kinds of metal music, and I will always have an affinity for that type of music. But lately I have expanded my tastes by listening to as many different types of music and essential recordings as possible. My Ipod has everything from Daydream Nation to Songs in the Key of Life to A Love Supreme.
As far as video games go, I’m not big on first person shooters. Anything else is peachy in my book.
I try to review stuff I like and enjoy, as well as things I think are relevant. I also take requests.
I have a degree from Middle Tennessee State University in Journalism. There I worked as a DJ for the radio station playing a metal show. My DJ name was The Author, which is why is says The Author under my about me. I don’t go by that anymore though.
Feel free to ask me anything.
You’re probably wondering why I'm putting a welcome to my blog post right in the middle of your blog?
The posts before this (with the exception of the R&C review and the Obscura album review) were done for an editing class I took in college. It was a newspaper editing class with a political focus, so many of the posts have a political nature. There are a few music reviews too. Feel free to browse them if you want.
I considered creating a new blog, but I failed to see the point in that.
Anyways, I have a passion for music and video gaming. This blog will focus on my reviews for said mediums. When I was younger I listened to all kinds of metal music, and I will always have an affinity for that type of music. But lately I have expanded my tastes by listening to as many different types of music and essential recordings as possible. My Ipod has everything from Daydream Nation to Songs in the Key of Life to A Love Supreme.
As far as video games go, I’m not big on first person shooters. Anything else is peachy in my book.
I try to review stuff I like and enjoy, as well as things I think are relevant. I also take requests.
I have a degree from Middle Tennessee State University in Journalism. There I worked as a DJ for the radio station playing a metal show. My DJ name was The Author, which is why is says The Author under my about me. I don’t go by that anymore though.
Feel free to ask me anything.
Friday, August 6, 2010
Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction: A wacky, silly, and ultimately worthwhile experience
When reviewing a game, I commonly feel it’s important to describe to the reader what type of game it is. That is, what’s it’s genre? Usually it’s a pretty simple task, but recently I came across a game called Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction and I got a little confused. My first instinct was to call it a shooter, since a main component of the gameplay involves shooting stuff. Y’know, with guns. But I realized that didn’t work, because to call it a shooter brings to mind games like Modern Warfare, Gears, and Halo - pretty much the polar opposite of R&C. So next I thought maybe I could call it a platformer – since you jump around from one platform to another. But that isn’t really right either, because that makes you think of Mario, and all that old school stuff. So that’s out.
Next I said, “Hey, maybe I can call it an adventure game!” It then dawned on me I’m not exactly sure what an adventure game is. I guess it’s a game where you explore places? Well, there are places to explore in R&C and items you can find, but that’s not really the driving point of the game. Finally I thought maybe I’d just call it a kiddie game, but that has more to do with the art direction and overall visual style rather than how the game actually plays. So finally I said forget it. I guess it’s kind of a mixture of all of those. But in game like this, none of that matters. You’ll soon find yourself wrapped up in an experience like none other on the PS3.
Anyone with passing interest in the Ratchet & Clank series probably knows of its wacky and cartoonish nature, which colors everything from the graphical style, music, and voice acting down to the very gameplay mechanics. Ratchet is the last known surviving member of the Lombax race, who possessed great technological prowess but mysteriously disappeared centuries ago. Tachyon is the emperor of the universe and hails from the Cragmite race.
He bears a deep-seated grudge against Ratchet and believes the cosmos isn’t big enough for both of them. Ratchet tries to unearth the truth about what happened to his race while trying to keep one step ahead of Tachyon. And all the while, Ratchet’s robot buddy Clank is being visited by strange creatures only he can see. The story is funny, cute, and entertaining, but isn’t the main draw of the game.
R&C’s shining point is its wacky weaponry and gameplay. You blast high powered beehives at your foes, freeze them with your shard blaster, or fly a radio controlled helicopter to rain destruction upon the opposition. You also have the Groovitron, a giant disco ball that causes enemies to start dancing so you can sneak in and get an easy kill. You can even dress up as a pirate and dance a jig. As you travel around from planet to planet, you’ll encounter icy locales, lush jungles, molten surfaces, and even take part in a few Star Fox style flying missions.
But the gameplay’s brightest spot is the weapon upgrade system. When your weapon reaches maximum level, it gains a new property that takes things to a whole new level. For example, a fully upgraded missile launcher can blast a corrosive liquid that deals major damage to any enemy that walks through it. I found myself wanting to max out as many weapons as I could to find out what new property it would gain, and it never felt like a grind. You can also buy upgrades to your weapons at the store, giving them more ammo, faster shooting rate, etc.
Tools of Destruction generally takes a lighthearted and humorous approach to its main story, characters, graphics, and music. The graphics and art style is cartoony but still looks great and the voice acting is done well.
But how’s the replay value? Going in, I wasn’t expecting much. But I found there’s an emphasis on trying to find all the gold bolts and hidden items in each world. Plus, there is a challenge mode which allows you to keep all your current weapons and stats but gain access to even more powerful upgrades which are super expensive. It’s like a new game plus. There’s even an arena where the player can take on certain challenges. The main game itself isn’t terribly long but it has more replay value than you might think if you’ve never played a Ratchet & Clank game.
The difficulty is lacking but given that the game is marketed toward a younger audience it’s understandable. Though I still think the game would have benefited from having a little more challenge. The story and characters are well done but have room for improvement. The story itself isn’t bad; there’s not a lot of depth but the developers didn’t completely shaft it.
The characters are endearing but static: they tend to only display one particular character trait. Captain Quark is a humorous parody on superheroes and Clank is docile and inquisitive. Ratchet is the only character who shows more than a shade or two to his personality. If you’re buying a Ratchet & Clank game it probably isn't because of the story and characters, but a little more depth would certainly be welcome.
All in all, Tools of Destruction is a triumph in gameplay and wacky cartoony imagery, and it doesn’t really matter what genre it fits into. If you’re a fan of platformers and 3rd person adventure games, you’ve just found one of the best on the PS3.
Next I said, “Hey, maybe I can call it an adventure game!” It then dawned on me I’m not exactly sure what an adventure game is. I guess it’s a game where you explore places? Well, there are places to explore in R&C and items you can find, but that’s not really the driving point of the game. Finally I thought maybe I’d just call it a kiddie game, but that has more to do with the art direction and overall visual style rather than how the game actually plays. So finally I said forget it. I guess it’s kind of a mixture of all of those. But in game like this, none of that matters. You’ll soon find yourself wrapped up in an experience like none other on the PS3.
Anyone with passing interest in the Ratchet & Clank series probably knows of its wacky and cartoonish nature, which colors everything from the graphical style, music, and voice acting down to the very gameplay mechanics. Ratchet is the last known surviving member of the Lombax race, who possessed great technological prowess but mysteriously disappeared centuries ago. Tachyon is the emperor of the universe and hails from the Cragmite race.
He bears a deep-seated grudge against Ratchet and believes the cosmos isn’t big enough for both of them. Ratchet tries to unearth the truth about what happened to his race while trying to keep one step ahead of Tachyon. And all the while, Ratchet’s robot buddy Clank is being visited by strange creatures only he can see. The story is funny, cute, and entertaining, but isn’t the main draw of the game.
R&C’s shining point is its wacky weaponry and gameplay. You blast high powered beehives at your foes, freeze them with your shard blaster, or fly a radio controlled helicopter to rain destruction upon the opposition. You also have the Groovitron, a giant disco ball that causes enemies to start dancing so you can sneak in and get an easy kill. You can even dress up as a pirate and dance a jig. As you travel around from planet to planet, you’ll encounter icy locales, lush jungles, molten surfaces, and even take part in a few Star Fox style flying missions.
But the gameplay’s brightest spot is the weapon upgrade system. When your weapon reaches maximum level, it gains a new property that takes things to a whole new level. For example, a fully upgraded missile launcher can blast a corrosive liquid that deals major damage to any enemy that walks through it. I found myself wanting to max out as many weapons as I could to find out what new property it would gain, and it never felt like a grind. You can also buy upgrades to your weapons at the store, giving them more ammo, faster shooting rate, etc.
Tools of Destruction generally takes a lighthearted and humorous approach to its main story, characters, graphics, and music. The graphics and art style is cartoony but still looks great and the voice acting is done well.
But how’s the replay value? Going in, I wasn’t expecting much. But I found there’s an emphasis on trying to find all the gold bolts and hidden items in each world. Plus, there is a challenge mode which allows you to keep all your current weapons and stats but gain access to even more powerful upgrades which are super expensive. It’s like a new game plus. There’s even an arena where the player can take on certain challenges. The main game itself isn’t terribly long but it has more replay value than you might think if you’ve never played a Ratchet & Clank game.
The difficulty is lacking but given that the game is marketed toward a younger audience it’s understandable. Though I still think the game would have benefited from having a little more challenge. The story and characters are well done but have room for improvement. The story itself isn’t bad; there’s not a lot of depth but the developers didn’t completely shaft it.
The characters are endearing but static: they tend to only display one particular character trait. Captain Quark is a humorous parody on superheroes and Clank is docile and inquisitive. Ratchet is the only character who shows more than a shade or two to his personality. If you’re buying a Ratchet & Clank game it probably isn't because of the story and characters, but a little more depth would certainly be welcome.
All in all, Tools of Destruction is a triumph in gameplay and wacky cartoony imagery, and it doesn’t really matter what genre it fits into. If you’re a fan of platformers and 3rd person adventure games, you’ve just found one of the best on the PS3.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Review of Obscura - Cosmogenesis
I finally got my laptop fixed, so that means I can get back to reviewing things. Hooray!
Okay, so for my first review of 2009, I turn to German metal band Obscura, whose debut “Cosmogeneis” just came out on Feb. 17.
What you get is highly technical death metal with a focus on instrumentation. These guys can play pretty well. Almost every song has a sweet solo, and there are even some nice acoustic pieces thrown in there every now and then which remind me of Opeth.
The lyrics are pretty well written; they possess a real poetic quality that sometimes seem to harken to a higher power or supernatural being. I thought they might have been a Christian band when I first read through the lyrics. Not that you’ll really be able to understand much of what is being said through Steffen Kummerer’s death metal growl. Kummerer does a solid job but doesn’t really do anything I haven’t heard before and doesn't deviate much from his standard routine.
If you're a fan of technical death metal, "Cosmogenesis" is the album for you. There’s no question that the band members have talent, but sometimes it feels as if there's a lack of truly catchy or memorable riffs. There are some good riffs here and there, but this album shows that Obscura might be a little less obscure if they could inject a little more creativity into their songwriting. However, they do succeed in this at times. The instrumental track "Orbital Elements" is five minutes of metal goodness with lots of progression and variation.
The production quality of "Cosmogenesis" really shines. It also just has a certain charm that sets it apart from many death metal releases. In the end, "Cosmogenesis" provides a solid technical metal experience that should satisfy many fans of the genre, but if you're looking for complexity or creativity in songwriting, this album may not be for you.
Okay, so for my first review of 2009, I turn to German metal band Obscura, whose debut “Cosmogeneis” just came out on Feb. 17.
What you get is highly technical death metal with a focus on instrumentation. These guys can play pretty well. Almost every song has a sweet solo, and there are even some nice acoustic pieces thrown in there every now and then which remind me of Opeth.
The lyrics are pretty well written; they possess a real poetic quality that sometimes seem to harken to a higher power or supernatural being. I thought they might have been a Christian band when I first read through the lyrics. Not that you’ll really be able to understand much of what is being said through Steffen Kummerer’s death metal growl. Kummerer does a solid job but doesn’t really do anything I haven’t heard before and doesn't deviate much from his standard routine.
If you're a fan of technical death metal, "Cosmogenesis" is the album for you. There’s no question that the band members have talent, but sometimes it feels as if there's a lack of truly catchy or memorable riffs. There are some good riffs here and there, but this album shows that Obscura might be a little less obscure if they could inject a little more creativity into their songwriting. However, they do succeed in this at times. The instrumental track "Orbital Elements" is five minutes of metal goodness with lots of progression and variation.
The production quality of "Cosmogenesis" really shines. It also just has a certain charm that sets it apart from many death metal releases. In the end, "Cosmogenesis" provides a solid technical metal experience that should satisfy many fans of the genre, but if you're looking for complexity or creativity in songwriting, this album may not be for you.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Blue Raider football wins Dashie "awards"
While browsing ESPN.com, I also happened to stumble upon a couple of mentions of the MTSU football team. There was an article in which the website gave mentions to the top performers in each conference and nationally in a segment it called "The Dashie Awards." They have categories for some obvious things, like Coach of the Year and Freshman of the Year, but there are some more silly ones too. MTSU received the Dashie Sun Belt Moment of the Year for heaving two hail mary passes in the same season against Kentucky and Florida Atlantic. Here it is, in the words ESPN's Pat Forde himself:
"Middle Tennessee completed last-play Hail Marys twice in 17 days -- but only one of them worked. The Blue Raiders threw one against Kentucky on Sept. 13 that was caught on the carom, but the receiver was tackled at the 1-yard line as time expired. Against Florida Atlantic on Sept. 30, MTSU got the ball into the end zone on the final pass for the game-winning touchdown."
The Blue Raiders also received a shout out under the conference bragging points for their win over Maryland.
Plus, each conference had their own "Dashie presenter." Melissa Haro represented the Sun Belt. Quite a looker, dontcha think?
"Middle Tennessee completed last-play Hail Marys twice in 17 days -- but only one of them worked. The Blue Raiders threw one against Kentucky on Sept. 13 that was caught on the carom, but the receiver was tackled at the 1-yard line as time expired. Against Florida Atlantic on Sept. 30, MTSU got the ball into the end zone on the final pass for the game-winning touchdown."
The Blue Raiders also received a shout out under the conference bragging points for their win over Maryland.
Plus, each conference had their own "Dashie presenter." Melissa Haro represented the Sun Belt. Quite a looker, dontcha think?
Former student trainer gets shout out on EPSN.com
It's not everyday that you scan through the pages of EPSN.com and acutally read about someone that you know, but it happened to me today. Andrew Haag was a trainer for the football team I played for in high school at Hendersonville High. When he was eight years old, Haag and his family were in a car crash that claimed the lives of his father and older brother, and his other brother was injured. He sustained abdominal injuries and a broken back that forces him to use forearm crutches and leg braces to get around, even to this day. He was always a really well respected guy at HHS, and I'd often see him around the locker room helping out with equipment and handling other various duties. I haven't seen him since I graduated, and I honestly didn't even know he was associated with the UT football program. But it was good to see him get a mention. I always thought he was a good guy who was always willing to work hard and was very down to earth. If I remember correctly, he should have one more year as a UT Vol. I wish him the best of luck there and to whatever he does down the road.
Monday, November 24, 2008
At a glance reviews: Miseration, Architect, and Science Faxtion
So I've basically recently really gotten into reviewing CDs for my radio station, WMTS. I basically listen to them, break them down so the average DJ will be able to see what the album is all about on the fly, and then decide if they want to play it or not. It's pretty important stuff cause it gets new music out there into our playing rotation. Here's what I've been reviewing lately:
Miseration - Your Demons, Their Angels: it's pretty much just straight ahead death metal with the typical growling vocals and the loud, heavy as hell guitars in the background. But there is a twist though: the singer actually throws clean vocals into the mix too, and does a pretty decent job of it. I compare them loosely to Opeth or maybe an extremely heavy death metal version of Iced Earth. Possibly what IE might have been like if they had gone totally over the edge on Burnt Offerings.
Rating 6 out of 10
Architect - Ghost of the Saltwater Machine: Gotta be honest, I didn't like this album very much, but I've heard that these guys have a pretty loyal underground following. It's metalcore, which basically means that you can expect extremely loud, intense, and in your face metal. The guitars blaze at decible levels of a jet engine plane, and the singer pretty much just screams the whole time. It personally isn't my cup of tea, but if you like metalcore then this may be for you.
Rating: 3 out of 10
Science Faxtion - Living on Another Frequency: Funk bassist Bootsy Collins teams up with guitar superstar Buckethead to make a strange but original funk/metal/space type of record. Brain, drummer from Primus, also joins the mix to form something of a supergroup. For those, who don't know, Buckethead is a masked virtusoso guitarist who always goes around wearing his signature KFC bucket on his head, and is known for highly creative riffs, mind-shredding solos, and adding odd quirks to his music. Collins, meanwhile, is well respected in the funk circles for his contributions to . Primus's drummer brain also joins the mix to fo
The album certainly is creative and has it's high points, but overall it just sounds like the group is trying to do too much. Tracks like Lookin for Eden stand out, as does What It is on which Chuck D guest stars. I see rockets is another great track where Buckethead actaully has a rare chance to sound like Buckethead, but overall it would be better just to grab a few singles off this record, cause that's probably all you'll be listening to.
Rating: 5 out of 10
Miseration - Your Demons, Their Angels: it's pretty much just straight ahead death metal with the typical growling vocals and the loud, heavy as hell guitars in the background. But there is a twist though: the singer actually throws clean vocals into the mix too, and does a pretty decent job of it. I compare them loosely to Opeth or maybe an extremely heavy death metal version of Iced Earth. Possibly what IE might have been like if they had gone totally over the edge on Burnt Offerings.
Rating 6 out of 10
Architect - Ghost of the Saltwater Machine: Gotta be honest, I didn't like this album very much, but I've heard that these guys have a pretty loyal underground following. It's metalcore, which basically means that you can expect extremely loud, intense, and in your face metal. The guitars blaze at decible levels of a jet engine plane, and the singer pretty much just screams the whole time. It personally isn't my cup of tea, but if you like metalcore then this may be for you.
Rating: 3 out of 10
Science Faxtion - Living on Another Frequency: Funk bassist Bootsy Collins teams up with guitar superstar Buckethead to make a strange but original funk/metal/space type of record. Brain, drummer from Primus, also joins the mix to form something of a supergroup. For those, who don't know, Buckethead is a masked virtusoso guitarist who always goes around wearing his signature KFC bucket on his head, and is known for highly creative riffs, mind-shredding solos, and adding odd quirks to his music. Collins, meanwhile, is well respected in the funk circles for his contributions to . Primus's drummer brain also joins the mix to fo
The album certainly is creative and has it's high points, but overall it just sounds like the group is trying to do too much. Tracks like Lookin for Eden stand out, as does What It is on which Chuck D guest stars. I see rockets is another great track where Buckethead actaully has a rare chance to sound like Buckethead, but overall it would be better just to grab a few singles off this record, cause that's probably all you'll be listening to.
Rating: 5 out of 10
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