Sat 27 Aug 2011
Playstation
Fear 2 Review
You’re mission is essentially to bring this woman whose with you into protective custody, sounds easy enough right?.....I’m not going to finish this cliché, obviously it’s not or there would be no game. F.E.A.R 2 like most video games that were good enough to warrant a sequel had a lot of hype and steep expectations to live up to. So the question is does it? In some ways it does. Fear 2 manages to retain that creepy atmosphere which helped usher it to the top of the survival/horror category in terms of creepiness, the music is sufficiently creepy and really helps to reinforce the ominous tone the developers were going for. Visually the game still maintains its overthetop gore and yes, you can expect to still be jolted back by those random cut scenes with the girl who looks like the girl from the ring who just likes to appear randomly when all is quiet.
I have to tip my hat to the developer when it comes to the character modelling, again the soldiers and characters in this game appear very realistic, the textures and the edges of the characters are so smooth and refined, it’s just a well done job. Combine the character modelling with the brilliantly implemented AI, which is extremely realistic and you have a very convincing game. The soldiers in this game are among the most realistic and convincing soldiers I’ve ever seen, they are startlingly intelligent with a number of human qualities to them, they work together, they push over tables and use them for cover, they sneak up on you and even run away, I almost felt bad for killing them sometimes because I was truly convinced that they didn’t want to die. The game also boasts and impressive arsenal of weapons which make the game all the more interesting. The environments are outstanding and highly interactive.
I did have some problems with F.E.A.R 2 although I will state before I continue that these were rather minor problems, they’re worth acknowledging. One problem I had was with the abruptness with which the developers introduced and ended the music. The music is very slow building, the problem is by time it does actually build to a level where you can hear it, it ends almost immediately after a fire fight is finished and no I don’t mean to say it fades out because this would be ok. What I mean is it just, ends, stops dead its tracks, not to sound like a stoner/hippie but it really just “kills the vibe man”. It’s amazing what a small fault like this can do to what otherwise would be an amazing atmosphere. But whatever faults F.E.A.R 2 has are ultimately minor in comparison to all the things the game does right, this is a very solid and complete game that ultimately achieves what it set out to do. It’s unfortunate that the survivor horror aspect is undermined by the over placement of health packs, but overall the game is still well done.
Review: 91%
Pros:
Superb graphics
One of the scariest games out there
Some of the most realistic and human AI I’ve ever witnessed
Cons:
The music ends abruptly taking away from the atmosphere of the game
Kung Fu Panda 1 Review
Kung Fu Panda, if it was a game first it might actually be good, but unfortunately this game makes the same mistake that every other movie game makes, it follows to close to the story line, offers nothing new and is ultimately just a bore..
O god, another video game based on a popular movie. It’s always funny how these are released within a month or two after the movie itself, they know they only have a short window of time to capitalize on the hysteria of movie goers before the fact that it’s a game about a currently popular movie craze where’s off and all the developers are left with is a shitty game that no one in their right mind would purchase.
Kung Fu Panda makes all the mistakes that every other redundant movie game makes, it’s too linear, it’s too boring, it sticks way to close to the story and it’s visibly leaning on the fact that it’s based on a pretty enjoyable movie. This game is the definition of linear, if you’ve seen the movie you’ve played the game, in fact this game is the movie except you play the roll of Jack Black’s character as opposed to watch him, so this game doesn’t offer anything new, no new surprises, no nothing, it’s just like watch the movie all over again except instead of being entertained you actually have to partake in the redundant action sequences which consist of pushing one button over and over again, yes you can get through this with one button. Now while the game does include combos, the problem with the combos is you don’t need them! The enemies pose no real threat or challenge to the player, so you can easily overlook any complicated moves and just run through the game beating the crap out of enemies with your fist. Including combos in a game like this is like including a gun in a game in which there are no enemies to kill. It’s just pointless, which connects to my next point, this game is way too easy. Part of the fun of this game is the challenge of it, if you wanted to, on a good day you could beat this game with your eyes closed, it poses no real challenge, it doesn’t test you mentally, it doesn’t test you physically and ultimately is a waste of time.
These games have all been made a thousand times before and they’re all the exact same. It’s a movie game, most movie games are bad. This one is no exception. The game is linear, easy and consists of just walking around and beating up helpless enemies until you get to the last level. Movie games are already guaranteed a market because people will buy them if they liked the movie, that’s why people make movie games, sales are already guaranteed, but ultimately it’s just a piece of crap, don’t pay for this game.
Rating: 51% - If you’re over ten don’t bother.
Pros:
Actual voice action from Jack black
Cons:
Very linear level design
Combat system becomes repetitive and boring
Plays exactly like the movie.
I have to tip my hat to the developer when it comes to the character modelling, again the soldiers and characters in this game appear very realistic, the textures and the edges of the characters are so smooth and refined, it’s just a well done job. Combine the character modelling with the brilliantly implemented AI, which is extremely realistic and you have a very convincing game. The soldiers in this game are among the most realistic and convincing soldiers I’ve ever seen, they are startlingly intelligent with a number of human qualities to them, they work together, they push over tables and use them for cover, they sneak up on you and even run away, I almost felt bad for killing them sometimes because I was truly convinced that they didn’t want to die. The game also boasts and impressive arsenal of weapons which make the game all the more interesting. The environments are outstanding and highly interactive.
I did have some problems with F.E.A.R 2 although I will state before I continue that these were rather minor problems, they’re worth acknowledging. One problem I had was with the abruptness with which the developers introduced and ended the music. The music is very slow building, the problem is by time it does actually build to a level where you can hear it, it ends almost immediately after a fire fight is finished and no I don’t mean to say it fades out because this would be ok. What I mean is it just, ends, stops dead its tracks, not to sound like a stoner/hippie but it really just “kills the vibe man”. It’s amazing what a small fault like this can do to what otherwise would be an amazing atmosphere. But whatever faults F.E.A.R 2 has are ultimately minor in comparison to all the things the game does right, this is a very solid and complete game that ultimately achieves what it set out to do. It’s unfortunate that the survivor horror aspect is undermined by the over placement of health packs, but overall the game is still well done.
Review: 91%
Pros:
Superb graphics
One of the scariest games out there
Some of the most realistic and human AI I’ve ever witnessed
Cons:
The music ends abruptly taking away from the atmosphere of the game
Kung Fu Panda 1 Review
Kung Fu Panda, if it was a game first it might actually be good, but unfortunately this game makes the same mistake that every other movie game makes, it follows to close to the story line, offers nothing new and is ultimately just a bore..
O god, another video game based on a popular movie. It’s always funny how these are released within a month or two after the movie itself, they know they only have a short window of time to capitalize on the hysteria of movie goers before the fact that it’s a game about a currently popular movie craze where’s off and all the developers are left with is a shitty game that no one in their right mind would purchase.
Kung Fu Panda makes all the mistakes that every other redundant movie game makes, it’s too linear, it’s too boring, it sticks way to close to the story and it’s visibly leaning on the fact that it’s based on a pretty enjoyable movie. This game is the definition of linear, if you’ve seen the movie you’ve played the game, in fact this game is the movie except you play the roll of Jack Black’s character as opposed to watch him, so this game doesn’t offer anything new, no new surprises, no nothing, it’s just like watch the movie all over again except instead of being entertained you actually have to partake in the redundant action sequences which consist of pushing one button over and over again, yes you can get through this with one button. Now while the game does include combos, the problem with the combos is you don’t need them! The enemies pose no real threat or challenge to the player, so you can easily overlook any complicated moves and just run through the game beating the crap out of enemies with your fist. Including combos in a game like this is like including a gun in a game in which there are no enemies to kill. It’s just pointless, which connects to my next point, this game is way too easy. Part of the fun of this game is the challenge of it, if you wanted to, on a good day you could beat this game with your eyes closed, it poses no real challenge, it doesn’t test you mentally, it doesn’t test you physically and ultimately is a waste of time.
These games have all been made a thousand times before and they’re all the exact same. It’s a movie game, most movie games are bad. This one is no exception. The game is linear, easy and consists of just walking around and beating up helpless enemies until you get to the last level. Movie games are already guaranteed a market because people will buy them if they liked the movie, that’s why people make movie games, sales are already guaranteed, but ultimately it’s just a piece of crap, don’t pay for this game.
Rating: 51% - If you’re over ten don’t bother.
Pros:
Actual voice action from Jack black
Cons:
Very linear level design
Combat system becomes repetitive and boring
Plays exactly like the movie.
