I was really so excited to get into bioshock again. I loved the other two and the worlds were always stunning. This world was no different. The first time I got to see Columbia going down in an elevator, my breath literally caught and the sheer stunning beauty of it.


The colors are vibrant and everything is so artfully put together. The world is absolutely gorgeous. When you are first roaming around Columbia once you come out from underground, the whole world just sings with life. It was really fun to just stop and listen to some of the weird conversations that took place. Once everyone turns on you (naturally). Everything feels dead, where it once felt beautifully alive. While there are still some things going on in the world around you, it manages to feel empty and lonely even after you have Elizabeth.

The Gameplay

The gameplay is typical of a Bioshock game. You have all your crazy weapons and your vigors (plasmids). I felt like the vigors were really boring actually. The two I liked was the murder of crows and undertow. Murder of crows sends out this murder of crows lol, that attack your enemies. My other favorite was undertow. This allowed you to knock enemies off of Columbia using a shot of water. Once you upgraded it you could actually grab people with tentacles of water. One of things unique to this game is you are escorting a person. This person being Elizabeth. Rather she is escorting you it seems. At some point you get the ability to create tears where you can bring in objects from other dimensions. This allows you to get cover, weapons, and supplies. Elizabeth also throws you health, salt, and ammo. It is super useful when you need it.

All in all this game really left something to be desired. I felt like the game was supposed to have some huge message that just completely flew over my head. While the game was beautiful and the story elaborate, I just felt like it wasn't enough. It felt dull and without heart. I know a lot of people believe the sun rises on this bioshock installment, but it just wasn't that great for me.

Labels: 3 star game, bioshock infinite, game review, xbox 360

Oi. Where do I start? This was the biggest emotional roller coaster ever. This is the first time I EVER cried playing a game. You play as Lee, a convict on his way to prison when all hell breaks loose. I can't even go into the details of the story because it is so twisty. Soon after you start playing you meet a little girl named Clementine. She is your moral compass in the game. She is the reason for pretty much every move you make in the game. The basis of the game is pretty much survive and protect Clementine.

Game play

The game play is your basic point and click kind of adventure. You usually have a movable reticle that let's your hover over people or items of interest. It's take a minute to get used to, but once you do it's like an easy to maneuver extension on game play. Shooting is a bitch. In episode 2 or 3 I had to actually stop playing at one point because I was so angry. The gun has a tendency to fly really fast from left to right. Towards the end of the game I saw a screentip that said hold RT to control your gun, but I don't know if that would have helped at all. This is a game where your choices affect the outcome of the game and characters who stay with you. Some choices you make are a direct result of your actions, and some are set in stone. The game makes you feel like you are making the choices though. I don't know if every choice plays out the same in the end, but some choices dictate what characters you have with you.

Characters

Never have I  played a game where I was emotionally involved with the characters. You find yourself becoming attached. It's a weird thing. The story is told so beautifully and artfully that you are pulled in. You start making choices that you would make for someone you really cared about. In your mind you know it's a game, but the writing is done so well that you get lost in the world while you are playing it. I won't give anything away, but the ending was so hard on me that was just sitting there like.. "I need a hug or something.." Don't expect happy endings with this. You will love and lose. You will defend and sacrifice. This game is so emotionally charged. You want things to work out, and like in real life-- the loss is hard when they don't.

Graphics

I love the graphics in this. The cel shaded style is really awesome. I did find that it was too dark sometimes. I turned the brightness up all the way and it would still be dark.

Last Thoughts

Just know going in to this that it's going to be quite a ride. The game is wonderfully written and it's worth every penny you pay for it. I would recommend it to anyone.

Labels: 5 star game, game review, the walking dead, the walking dead game, the walking dead xbox 360, xbox 360

Jason Brody is on vacation with a group of friends on a tropical island in the Pacific when they decide to take a skydiving trip. But they all land in different parts of a pirate-infested island, and are taken prisoner by a pirate lord named Vaas.
Played On: Xbox 360
Rating: M for MATURE AUDIENCES
Published by Ubisoft

Tatau Image from gamingnation.nl

So I had to be talked into playing Farcry 3. I spent 3 hours playing Farcry 2 and I said: “Never again”. My husband began playing it and the first thing that caught my attention was the acting of the character named Vaas. I was absolutely blown away at the caliber and believably of the character. I mean he was one crazy fool! I was so drawn in by that character that I decided to give it a try.  We have the copy for the xbox 360, the graphics aren't that great, but some things about the graphics are beautiful. The water is specifically beautiful. In this game you are a rich kid whose sky diving goes awry when you and your friends land on an island full of crazy rebels. You play as a kid named Jason who is thrust into becoming a savage to save his brothers and friends.  The acting of this guy is less than memorable, but you meet many colorful characters. You gain xp and in turn fill in a tattoo on your arm called a Tatau, I thought that was kind of cool. You get new abilities as you fill in your tatau. Some things that I find irritating are as follows: Sometimes while you keep holding the (Y) button to heal, the animation won’t start and you die. This happens quite frequently even when you try to anticipate your death. Another thing that instantly infuriates me, is when you go to the map to fast travel, you can’t. It won’t highlight the fast travel location. This happens so much. I have had to go in and out of the map several times until it works.

Image from rockpapershotgun.com

In this game you have to hunt to craft items for yourself. I absolute hate this aspect of the game. I am an animal lover and I know it’s just a game, but I just hate have to take out animals. In some camps the bad guys have pit bulls with collars on, they attack you. I think it sucks that they have to vilify pit bulls more, but when they put collars on them, it makes it so much more personal to me. I literally cringe every time.  It’s different when you are walking along the banks of the game and get attacked by a crocodile or are swimming and get attacked by a shark. It’s just sad every time to kill the other animals in the game, at least for me.


An unbelievable part of this game is that the main character becomes this blood thirsty vigilante pretty fast. But nothing I mentioned above distracts from this amazing game. The missions are fun and I can spend hours just exploring the caves and finding collectibles. When they say this game is like Skyrim with guns, that is a fair comparison. You begin to lose hours of time just exploring; it’s fantastic. Sometimes you will be walking around and hear gunfire. Once you look around you realize there is a tiger attacking a group of people. There are so many unplanned, unexpected things happening in the world.

Vaas. Image from egmnow.com

I just want to get back to this Vaas character. Wow. I was so impressed by the guy who did the voice for this that I had to look him up. His name is Michael Mando.  He is so fantastic. He just breathes life into that crazy character. I can’t wait to hear more from this guy.




I have to say, I recommend this game to anyone. It’s a great departure from the boring, tedious Far Cry 2.  From the hang gliders to breaking a tiger cage to let it attack a group of rebels, this game is not one to pass.

Labels: 5 star game, game review, xbox 360