5 posts tagged “gaming”
Walking through best buy the other day, I saw a game called My Spanish Coach. Amber's in the process of learning Spanish now (in preparation for her move to Miami), so I thought it'd be a good idea to support her in that endeavor. First, however, I needed to buy her a DS. And I did that. I bought Amber a DS for Valentine's Day. But it's not enough to buy just a DS and a Spanish game. I wanted some type of way to play together with her. What fun is it for a husband-and-wife-to-be in having two Nintendo DS' but no games in common? After a couple of hours of searching, I found two games I thought Amber might like: Animal Crossing World Wide and Nintendogs.
She watched two reviews and chose Nintendogs over Animal Crossing. We went to the store, bought the game and melted in the hands of our new little puppies. She's got a German Shepherd. I have a Siberian Husky. The level of detail in this game is truly amazing. If Video Game Generation didn't already have a review for this game, I'd ask my editor to allow me to do it. For a videogame, the Nintendogs puppies are incredibly lifelike. It's like I need to check my DS every five seconds to see how my little boy's doing.
It's a good thing I'm secure about my sexuality! :-)
Anywho, that's all to report. Just a first impression right now. More to come later. Also on the horizon is more detail on Animal Crossing Worldwide. It's an old game (circa 2005), but there seems to be an active community online. Think of it as a simpler Sims for the Nintendo DS. I have only heard good things and I hope all the fans are right because I'm about to make an investment!
[GO IMMEDIATELY TO THE FULL REVIEW]
World War II FPS games have become cliché over the last five years. That means if you’re going to make a WWII FPS, it better be spectacular in order to stand out. And that’s the definition of Medal of Honor: Heroes 2 (MOHH2) for the PSP – spectacular. I can’t get enough Nazi-killin’ action in this latest installment of EA’s popular franchise. As waves of Axis evil march on Europe, I take ‘em down like target practice at a carnival. Not to say combat is easy. The A.I. isn’t dumb, but you’re not fighting against Halo 3 Legendary Brutes or Houdini Splicers from BioShock. Most of MOHH2’s resistance comes in numbers. Enemies fire from cover and lob grenades, but careful players should be able to get through MOHH2’s normal campaign without dying too often. But that doesn’t mean single-player is dull. Levels, though linear, are diverse and have limited repetition. So be prepared to engage Nazis all over Europe across beaches, sewers, villages, factories and more.
My biggest surprise with MOHH2
is how EA handles the controls. I didn’t know what to expect with a
portable FPS. Some great control conversions have been implemented to
make up for the PSP’s lack of a second analog stick (Me and My Katamari) but I’ve also seen bad ones (Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops).
Thankfully, EA choose a customizable scheme. Default controls are left
analog for forward and back, strafe left strafe right movement. The
triangle, circle, X, square buttons look up, down, left and right.
Directional pad buttons map to crouch, reload, switch weapons and use
for in-game objects. It did take me about 10 or 15 minutes to learn the
controls, but after that I was back to Nazi bashing with ease in the
immersive single-player campaign. [READ FULL REVIEW HERE]
[GO IMMEDIATELY TO THE FULL REVIEW]
I’ve never played Empire Earth I or II, but it doesn’t take prior knowledge to know Empire Earth III is an unfinished game. The concept is great, a historical-based RTS with three unique civilizations, but the implementation stinks. Glitches and overall poor design make playing Empire Earth III a chore. Like a B movie, it entertains, but the end result is a feeling that you’ve wasted precious hours of your life.
Traditional
historical-based RTS games allow players to choose from multiple
civilizations. Some get bonuses in speed, others build faster or have
cheaper units. However, each of these civilizations plays similarly to
the next. Age of Empires and Rise of Nations are examples of games that
use this design. Mad Doc sought to break the mold with Empire Earth III.
Instead of creating multiple civilizations, they narrowed it to three
regions of the earth: the West, Middle East and Far East. Unlike other
history-based RTS games, each civilization has its own play style. The
West is your typical, balanced civilization. Units are strong and cost
a fair amount of resources. Builders create all necessary structures
and houses raise the population cap. Meanwhile, Middle Eastern units
are mobile. Their fast cavalry is better suited to raiding, and
buildings can collapse into a cart and redeploy somewhere else. Also,
all Middle Eastern buildings are produced at the City Center (your seat
of government in a province). Builders are not necessary with this race
and the population cap is raised through building fortresses. Finally,
the Far East dominates through numbers. Units are cheap to build but
weak, so large numbers are needed to make an effective fighting force.
All infantry units are capable of erecting buildings, which means labor
is never lacking. Every building constructed will contribute to the Far
East population cap. I liked this approach to the historical RTS, as
the idea of three unique civilizations is refreshing, but this feature
alone isn’t enough to redeem Empire Earth III’s inadequacies...[READ FULL REVIEW HERE]
Some might wonder why my character is pink on Bungie dot net. Others might be puzzled that a unicorn is my emblem. Well, let me say this...there is nothing more humiliating for a gamer than getting beat by a team of pink unicorns. That's Jumanji and associates in that picture. Sure, people laugh when they see us, but by game's end they're crying. :)
While old news to some, it's new to me. Eve online's got a version for Mac. For those unfamiliar, Eve Online is an MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game) that puts you in command of your own spaceship. It's business as much as combat and you meet real players, go on missions, make money, and participate in the in-game economy. Everything in the game, like most MMOs, is player-created. A really amazing feat when you look at it. Here's the link the the full article.
