I have been a Diner Dash fan since the days when Flo took over her first restaurant. When she became a Hometown Hero, I was on the sidelines cheering. I have played all of her games, so when Flo got her own Avenue and was taken in a somewhat new direction, I was there waiting to play the game to see what she had in store for me. Sadly, I have to admit I am majorly disappointed in what is offered in Avenue Flo.

Avenue Flo uses many of the Dash characters (Flo’s friend, Quinn is a major player here), to create an adventure. Gone are the days of the pressured, frenzied dash to get the restaurant fixed and filled with paying customers. Now it’s more about a friend helping out another friend. You travel the neighborhood (Flo’s neighborhood) in search of items. Your adventure is not timed, though playing leisurely still only equals about three hours of game play on the main adventure. When your main adventure is done you can play in activity mode, but if you’ve beaten the game you’ve already played through these activities before and you may find (like I did) that it was pointless to replay these sections.

The only benefit to activity mode is that each activity, which is taken directly from activities you have to do in the main game (dough rolling, bead patterning, boxing up pet supplies, organizing clothing displays, etc.), is timed. The goal is to get the activity done in expert time. You can redo these activities if you don’t get them done in expert time the first time you play, but the second time around, doing them seems so easy it is pointless. Each activity has ten levels of play. They are supposed to get progressively harder as you move up through the levels, but if you do the activity for each level once, redoing it makes the task simple.

The idea behind the story is that Flo and Grandma are running a diner together. Quinn, who is Flo’s roommate, calls in a frenzy because she is working on a wedding and everything is going wrong. The cake isn’t working out, the bride’s dog is missing, the butterflies all flew away, the dress has problems, and the rings are missing! Quinn can’t leave the ship where the wedding is being held and the bride doesn’t know that there are any problems, so it’s up to Flo to save the day.

Part of the depressing part comes in the over-casualness of the game. There are no time limits. You are given specific duties (find dye-remover, get dog treats, find the butterflies, etc.) and you have as much time as you need to get these things done. Along the way, you collect bottles to recycle them. When you do, you can cash them in for tokens to use on the subway. The subway advances you to new areas once you’ve completed all the tasks in a specific neighborhood. There are three neighborhoods where you go and once you’ve finished up you get on the boat to deliver the final items for the wedding to Quinn.

As you play, the story develops to give you clues as to who the wedding ruiner is. If you’re using any thought process at all then you should figure it out within the first 30 minutes. It doesn’t take long. The daughter of Mr. Big, a big time executive, is marrying a pizza maker, so a lot of people could be seemingly unhappy with this match. Not only is dad a suspect, so are some of the ex-boyfriends. Like I mentioned though, it’s not hard at all to spot the culprit.

The graphics are on par with the other Diner Dash/Playfirst games that have been recently made. The voice overs are competent enough and the music is as annoying as ever (never fear, it can be turned down or off). It’s not the game production that fails, it’s the length and the storyline that I wasn’t fond of. When you only get 2-3 hours of game play (when taking your time no less), $19.95 seems like a big price to pay for any game.

If you are a Flo addict and feel the need to play this game, I would highly recommend downloading it and playing the free trial. Sure, you only get an hour’s worth of play, but in that time you could be on the second or even the third and final level. There is no point in paying for something that was thrown together as quickly as thus was. I am all for an adventure Flo storyline, but they needed to put more work into this and until they do I just cannot recommend purchasing it.

To check out the game for yourself, visit the Playfirst Avenue Flo website.

Holiday Recommendation Rating: .5

Technorati Tags: Playfirst, Flo, Diner Dash, Dinertown, Casual Games, Game Review, Avenue Flo, Skip It, Holiday Recommendation Rating, PC Game, Storyline, Quinn, Wedding Dash, Mr. Big

Game Rating: E (Everyone)
Game Publisher: Electronic Arts
Platform: Xbox 360 (Also available for PS3, Wii, PSP, PS2)
Release Date: August 14, 2009
Buy this at: Amazon for $59.99

Madden-mania has become a global phenomenon. I have finally succumbed to it. I played Madden back in the early 90s and felt very frustrated by gameplay. It was hard. It was too frustrating to attempt to play, so I pushed my love of football to the side and dismissed the series. Other fans of football, fans from around the world, didn’t dismiss the game. In fact, they celebrated it long and hard enough to make it into one of the most popular, most successful, and most profitable game franchises in video game history.

I admit I should have given Madden a second chance a few years ago. The last few releases have looked amazing. I decided this would be the year I’d reintroduce myself to Madden. I’m a huge sports nerd. I love me some football. If I could actually play the sport from my living room, why not? Well, I’m definitely glad that I’ve taken the chance and stepped back into the Madden arena. What a fun game Madden NFL 10 is! It’s so crazy. I never thought Madden would be fun. I never felt so into a football game. I never felt like I was on the field, actually making the plays until now!

This game is not without its faults. Sometimes pressing A doesn’t always happen immediately when you are trying to get the ball snapped. In the event you hit A over and over like I do, you’ll be looking at an incomplete pass. You need to be patient to make the throw, and if you aren’t you lose out. The online league options should be ironed out more for future releases. This is a great idea, but needs to be expanded upon. Occasionally, the games offer a bit of lag. This wasn’t a huge problem, but every once in a blue moon I noticed this.

Madden NFL 10 is beautiful. The visual quality for Madden NFL 10 is standout. You have a lot of detail. You can choose from a plethora of options to configure each and every game you play down to the look of your players’ uniforms. The amount of control you have over your team and your players is what makes the game. Of course, getting down all the functionality to make the game work is the hardest part. Still, it’s not that hard if you have some idea what you’re doing and you play around with the features, as I did.

There really isn’t a story to Madden NFL 10. Essentially, the game is about football. You can play as any team in the NFL in a variety of football game situations. The whole idea behind Madden is to give football fans the chance to play as their favorite teams and their favorite players.

Enjoyment/Fun Factor: 5 out of 5 stars

Step into the NFL with Madden NFL 10. You have the opportunity to be immediately thrust into the game when you first turn it on. You can choose your team, your opponent (play 1 or 2 player games), and then face a selection of menu options. You can choose every element of the uniform your team wears, mix and match retro uniforms with modern ones, choose the stadium where you want to play, a game level, which dictates the level of play (Beginner, Intermediate, Pro, etc.), the weather (cloudy, clear, heavy snow, etc.), your stats level (Rookie, Pro, etc.), whether you want the accelerated clock, how long you want each quarter to last, and a selection of other, individualized game options.

From there, you’ll be hearing the commentators discuss the game, and in no time you’ll be involved in the kick off. It’s smooth sailing as you take on whatever team you like. You choose the plays in every mode, but Beginner. If you are a Beginner, color coding allows you to follow a path for success in each individual play. In Intermediate mode, you can choose a play based on the kind of offense you or your opponent plans to use. You can choose from the Run Offense, Pass Offense, Run Defense, Pass Defense and Special Teams. The Pro levels of play lets you choose your plays with much more options. You can even select plays Madden recommends. There is even the inclusion of plays such as the Hail Mary and the Wildcat offense.

On the offense, you have to fight to connect with receivers or find an open hole to run through. Sometimes this is easy, but sometimes its brutal and you are up against a defense that makes you fight your way down the field. One of the coolest aspects of defense is the turn over. I had games where I received multiple turnovers, as I tried to block receivers. This is better than the fumble. I never did manage to win a single fumble. The fumble option has you pressing a series of buttons that flash on the screen quickly. The combination is so fast it’s hard to punch in the buttons. I am told you can turn this off, but I haven’t attempted to, at this point.

The gameplay runs smoothly with realistic movement on the offense and defense. The QB functionality has improved from other versions, especially with the inclusion of QB ratings and signature throwing styles. WRs have more options for running specific routes and DBs are improved in the level of in field coverage. Each player has a lot more functionality, as they follow the ball. There are also enhancements to the kicking. You can kick from Middle, Right, and Left. When you kick, you automatically move down field in a defensive position after completing the kick. You can, of course, switch players mid-play, if you prefer, but if you don’t the AI puts you into the action on its own.

One of the more interesting additions is the Pro-Tak technology option. This is the ability to gang tackle. You can tackle with up to 9 different men. You can use this to improve the QB pocket in order to evade blitzing, enhance the rush, and you can also steer tackles all with this new technology.

To keep with the authenticity of the NFL game, midway through the game, you’ll be treated to a halftime show with Alex Flanagan. You can skip through it, but I prefer to watch it as it highlights all of the exceptional plays you made during the first half of gameplay. A smaller version of this is available post game. A few plays are shown, but aren’t as detailed or highlighted as during the halftime show. There is also an instant replay option after every game you play.

Speaking of highlights, Madden NFL 10 features something I believe is new to this edition of the game called The Extra Point Show. This is Madden’s post game show, which mimics the post game shows you expect to see after watching your favorite game on Sunday. You can view the show to relive the action during your weekly games and to check out the other happenings going on with your online Madden franchise. The NFL Network’s Fran Charles and Alex Flanagan provide the commentary for The Extra Point Show, making it about as realistic to a post game show as you’re going to get.

Speaking of Online Franchise options, this is one of the most touted new features that EA added to Madden NFL 10. I feel this is still a work in progress. It’s an ingenious idea for this type of game, but there is definitely room for improvement in future releases of Madden. Online Franchise options allow for up to 32 teams in a real-time run NFL scheduling league situation. This features live drafting, and you can also participate on the league message board. Better still, you have the ability to gain access to your franchise not only though your console, but also online and through an iPhone.

This isn’t the only online option. There is the online co-op mode. Madden NFL 10 allows for a lot of connectivity amongst players and their friends. In online co-op mode, you can control a player in an online game and your friend can control another player on the same team. You will play against the CPU while communicating with your friends, with the option to play any position on the team you want. You can switch players prior to the snap. I played as QB while my friend played wide receiver on offense, and then we switched positions. This teamwork option is pretty cool if you have friends who play Madden. The on screen camera also takes on a different angle during play to accommodate the positions you choose to play.

While I can only talk about how authentically realistic this game is from my experience with the older Madden titles, and as a fan of football, I’ve read discussions by gamers online who feel that this is one of the most authentic Madden titles, to date. I would have to say that I agree with the authenticity from a football fan’s standpoint. I honestly felt like I was in a football game. I didn’t feel like I was on the sidelines looking in. From every snap of the ball, I felt the pressure of the QB or RB to perform. I was coherently aware of the defense closing in and I had to make quick and efficient decisions or face consequences. The same can be said about the defense. I felt the pressure to close in on the offense and thwart their ability to get a first down. When they did, it was frustrating!

This authenticity extends even into the injuries that players sustain. You have players getting injured on field. You have to wait for them to be removed from the field to play. You get updates mid-game about the players and are told when they are taken out indefinitely. This may be a relatively small addition, but it is the little things that make the game so authentic.

There are a few other authenticating features I’d like to mention, but they weren’t really all that thrilling or necessary. Madden brings out the chain gang on close plays, just like in real games. The Superbowl Presentation show is about as realistic as it gets. Coaches are visible pacing or shaking their heads on the sidelines mid-game. The announcers make reference to them throughout the game. There are new player accessories to make gameplay more authentic. On close touchdowns, the referees even attempt to make a logical judgment on whether it is a TD or not.

Madden NFL 10 has a plethora of options and modes to keep you involved in the game. I like the online single player options. You can run drills. There are some mini-games (the weight lifting competition) that mix it up with actual game play. You can partake in a scrimmage or even play against another player. I don’t have a lot of friends who have Madden, so I wasn’t able to explore the franchise options as much as I would have liked. However, this gives those who may not have any friends with Madden the chance to actually compete. The only mode of play I’m not fond of is Superstar mode. I feel this is under developed and not much attention went into making Superstar mode spectacular.

I should note that some players have reported glitches in the game, that have frozen their players or put them on loop. I cannot comment on this. I haven’t experienced this problem personally, so there really is no judgment I can make on this.

Replayability: 5 out of 5 stars

The controls for Madden NFL are extremely easy to use. When playing offense, you have to figure out how to snap the ball on your own (or you can read the manual), but it’s the A button, so it isn’t rocket science. From there, you are given buttons you can press to find the receiver of your choice. The buttons also are used to choose a play. It’s really rather elementary. Once you have the ball in your possession, you can experiment by pressing the colored buttons to dive, spin, and improve your movement through defensive traffic.

On defense, you really only need to know how to switch amongst players and how to attempt to deflect or intercept the ball by jumping. The rest of the team works for you to try and sack the QB, though I recommend doing that on your own if you can. Most of the time, I prefer to hang back and take on the WRs because they aren’t always covered. If you can put the pressure on the QB by blocking their WRs, you can give your teammates time to sack them, or you can switch players to sack them yourself.

Ease of Use: 4.5 out of 5 stars

I remember what the early Madden titles used to look like. They were good for their time, but as graphics have continually improved with better gaming systems, Madden has continued to evolve, graphically. I’m going to be honest. The visuals for Madden are stunning. It could only get clearer if the actual players would be morphed into live action players.

The intricate details show on everything from the design on the helmets and uniforms all the way to the line markings on the field. There are minor instances of pixelation, though that is definitely kept to a minimum. Other visual errors such as blur or noise are not present. There is occasional moments of over sharpness, but nothing to write home about and there really are no visible edge enhancements that stick out beyond what is available through the animation.

Visual: 4.5 out of 5 stars

The audio for Madden NFL 10 comes through loudly and clearly. This is a sound effects dependent title. You have the crowd cheering, whistles blowing and various other football themed sounds. This adds to the realistic feel of the game. The announcing dialogue is perfect. It comes through exactly the way I expect my announcing to be done. Listening to the announcers is an identical experience to what you hear on Sunday/Monday football. I didn’t need to toggle my volume to hear, either, which is always a plus.

Of course, the audio truly shines when it comes to the game’s score. This score is fly. It’s rockin. This just shows off how great the audio is for this game. The musical interludes are primarily in the Rock and Hip Hop genres. Expect to be treated to a plethora of high energy songs by 2 Pac, the Beastie Boys, Judas Priest, Nas ft. Puff Daddy, Rage Against the Machine, System of a Down, Korn, Nirvana and more.

Audio: 5 out of 5 stars

As a gamer with a disability, I cannot be more thrilled by how accessibility friendly this game is. If you can play Xbox then you can play Madden. That’s really all you need to know. It isn’t hard to press any of the buttons. There are no weird combination button plays. The fumble fight, I’m told, is just as hard for those with no physical issues. Overall, everything is as you’d expect for an Xbox 360 game. I played several games in different modes and did not struggle in any of them.

The downside to Madden is the lack of subtitles. I don’t know if there is anything a hearing impaired person can do to add subtitles to their game, but on a standard television that allows for subtitles there isn’t anything that adds what is being said to the screen. Luckily, you mainly miss out on just the announcers and the score. You should be able to figure out what is going on game wise and are able to make game play decisions without needing to hear sound. So, even if it sucks you cannot hear everything on the game, if you have a hearing impairment, you should still have little trouble playing Madden NFL 10.

Madden NFL 10 is awesome. I don’t have the luxury of referring to the last four or five Madden titles for comparison. Coming into this game, I can tell you that it is awesome. I really enjoy playing Madden and partaking in the football experience. I love football. It is my favorite sport, so getting the chance to actually be a part of the action is really cool. If you are a football fan or you like the Madden franchise, I recommend you check Madden NFL out. With better graphics, more gameplay options, and the ability to be any team you want, there isn’t much to complain about in this latest Madden release.

Overall Rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars

Technorati Tags: Madden, Madden NFL 10, Madden 10, Xbox 360, Video Game, Review, Electronic Arts, Sports, Football, NFL

Game Rating: Everyone 10+
Game Publisher: Electronic Arts
Platform: Xbox 360 (Also available for PS3, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS, PSP, and PC)
Release Date: June 30, 2009
Buy this at: Amazon for $38.79

I know I’m a little late on the ball when it comes to reviewing “Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince” video game, but that’s mainly because I didn’t get my copy of the game until recently. I made it through the entire game in less than two days, which could say something about what is offered, but I didn’t really spend much time exploring Hogwarts, the way I should have, between the loosely based on the movie/book storyline that runs as the primary focus of the game. Now that I’ve finished the main game, I’ve been able to go back, win crests, and explore Hogwarts at my own pace. That is the most enjoyable part of playing this.

Since I have a son who has been old enough to enjoy all the Potter movies and games, I’ve seen the evolution from “Sorcerer’s Stone” through “Half Blood Prince.” The game play is a lot more realistic. The graphics have improved drastically. Simple gameplay functions have become far more complex. I especially love the evolution of flight. Flying is exhilarating in “Half Blood Prince.” I could almost feel the wind whistling through my hair. When the first Potter video game came out several years back, you didn’t really have the chance to experience Hogwarts, but now you do.

I don’t know what people expect of Harry Potter video games, because I believe this followed the story enough as not to completely spoil it for those who have not seen the film or read the book. I read the book prior to playing the game, but that was when it first came out. I recognized enough of the elements of the book to recall what happened in it. Save for the ending, which stays true to the book, there isn’t too much to spoil this for fans who just haven’t had the time to read the book or catch the movie in the theater. Since I imagine most people who want to play this game have knowledge of the events in “Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince,” and I’m assuming most have seen the movie, there is very little to be surprised about concerning the game.

At the same time, as cool as flying, making potions and dueling is, the gameplay does have the potential to get repetitious. There is only so much you can do to make the story enjoyable in a game setting like this. Without drastically changing the story, EA had to do something to liven up the game. I believe that is why Hogwarts features an open, easily explored, free movement environment. There are thousands of NPCs, many of whom you can easily interact with. The grounds seem massive and expect to take as long exploring all of the various Hogwarts locations, as you did completing the story mode for the game.

You have the opportunity to play as one of three characters in the main storyline. Mainly, you play as Harry, but you’ll stumble around as the love struck Ron, and fly in the Quidditch match as Ginny. Other than that, it’s all Harry (though you can duel as Hermione when you head away from the main story).

The story is similar (though more bare bones) than the one told in the book and movie. Harry goes to visit the Weasleys and Bellatrix LaStrange shows up with a werewolf-like male who tries to kidnap Ginny. Harry stops them. While school shopping later on, Harry, Ron and Hermione notice that Draco Malfoy is acting suspicious. Harry tries to spy on him with his invisibility cloak on the train to Hogwarts, but Draco knows he’s there and knocks him out. He is found by Luna Lovegood who accompanies him from the train up to Hogwarts school.

Dumbledore is preparing Harry for something. It is a fight to prevent Voldemort from regaining his hold on the world. In school, Harry becomes the favorite of the new potions teacher much to Hermione’s displeasure. Harry is using notes written in his book by someone calling himself the Half Blood Prince. Draco continues to act weird, and at times, disappears off of Harry’s secret map. He realizes he must be in the room of requirements.

As Dumbledore prepares Harry, he must learn the potion teacher’s true memory of Tom Riddle, a memory he altered and hid from everyone. He also learns about horcruxes, learns how to make a variety of potions, leads the Gryffindor Quidditch team to victory as its captain, holds Quiddich tryouts, suspects Snape is up to no good, and he must put up with the constant bickering between Hermione and Ron all while having a crush on Ginny.

Enjoyment/Fun Factor: 3 out of 5 stars

The coolest feature is the ability to explore Hogwarts, on your own. During the story, you have specific missions and places to be, but you can go off on your own. There is no time limit to the next mission, even if it seems pressing, so you can go off and do what you want. The only exception is when you are Ron. He’s too “love potioned” up to move at a fast enough pace to explore anything and once you get to your mission location, you’ll have to complete said mission before you are free to roam at your leisure again.

While you are exploring, you have the opportunity to gather crests and mini-crests. You get mini-crests by pressing a button to release them as you pass lights or bushes hiding them. Crests can be found on walls, sitting around in corners and behind grated/gated doors. As you learn spells you learn how to get them. For gated up crests, break them and then take the pieces out through the gate openings. From there, the “Reparo” spell puts it back together. Throw objects at crests on walls to knock them off, with your wand. Of course, these help you gain achievements. I ran through the entire story first, then I went back to explore Howarts grounds and collect quests. You can do it this way or find them between story missions.

If you get lost during your story mode, you can call upon Nearly Headless Nick. He will lead you to the next place you need to go. Hogwarts is so big and so many staircases move, it is necessary to call on Nick at least once. You can call on Nick an unlimited amount of times. Nick can lead you to the Quidditch field and pretty much everywhere else on Hogwarts grounds.

In potions class, you learn the fundamentals of making potions. You must line up ingredients, put them in, stir it up, shake it around, shake the bottles to make them smoke, drop ingredients in and all within a time limit. The hardest part besides stirring, which you must do with your right thumb, is shaking the bottles. In the demo, the bottles don’t spill liquid all over, but when actually making a potion, they do. That could have been a much smoother action had the stirring followed the way it was done demo.

On the Quidditch field, you play as Harry (or Ginny once in Harry’s place when Snape gives him detention), who is the seeker. You must capture the snitch. To do that, you must navigate around obstacles and fly through colored stars. You want to keep the stars green, because if they become red from inaccurate flying, you must restart the Quidditch game. Flying through stars turns them back from red to green, so long as you get through them in time. Don’t worry if you miss one or two. The stars turn yellow and then orange before they turn red.

There is also an option to play multiplayer games, change the time of day, duel with other wizards, and partake in classes at Hogwarts. You can duel in dueling club, take in side missions to duel or make potions, and there are duels that are a part of the story. You will duel Draco. You will duel Bellatrix more than once. You will also duel Crabbe and Goyle more than once. The more you duel, the harder the duels become and even then, they aren’t all that hard. Frankly, I found dueling in duel club harder than dueling in the actual game!

Replayability: 2 out of 5 stars

The controls for “Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince” are fairly easy to use. Before you do any action, you are told what button to press. Potion making is the most complex, as it uses a series of buttons, and you are timed. It isn’t hard though. It takes you a minute to get the hang of it.

One thing I do recommend is playing your own game without splitting play time, with a friend. Ash and I split our screen time just to be able to play together. I started out flying, so when it came time for her to fly, she wasn’t sure how to do it. In the end, she felt more comfortable letting me fly. She did the first duel, so when I had to duel, I had to guess what buttons to press, at first. I did get the hang of it eventually, but I would have caught on faster had I played the game on my own.

In all, the hardest button to use is the right stick. When stirring potions, you have to hit it just right and hope you don’t over stir. Otherwise, the button configuration is decent. If you’ve played previous Potter games on Xbox 360, not much has changed with the controller setup.

Ease of Use: 4 out of 5 stars

For the most part, the visual quality for “Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince” is good. The visual quality has improved quite a bit throughout the years and various Potter games that have been developed. The greatest improvement is in the environmental designs. Hogwarts is stunning. As you explore the grounds you will notice how EA and the game developers paid close attention to every minute detail.

The likeness of the characters is fairly good. These renderings look remarkably similar to the actors who play them in the movie. The most realistic rendering is Harry himself. I am the least fond of Hermione, but even she sort of resembles Emma Watson. As fair as visual errors, they are kept to a minimum though the occasional edge enhancement and pixelation are visible, especially during flying sequences.

Visual: 4 out of 5 stars

While the audio options for “Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince” are good, I did have some problems with the audio. When I play a game based on the movie, I expect to hear the cast of the movie in the game. The absence of Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Maggie Smith, amongst others, was massively disappointing. While the man who voiced Harry did sound remarkably like Radcliffe, the voice of Hermione was absolutely terrible. Rachel Sternberg sounds nothing like Emma Watson. It was very distracting and disappointing. I’m not exactly sure why Rupert Grint signed on and the others didn’t, but I hope they’ll all return for the last game(s).

Other than the obvious audio disappointment in the voice casting, everything else comes through clearly. The sound effects are pretty cool and the musical score is pleasant. I couldn’t give the audio a totally bad rating because there don’t appear to be any real audio errors in terms of quality.

Audio: 3 out of 5 stars

I always like to post how disability friendly the video games I play are. I am in a wheelchair due to a physical disability (progressive muscle disease). Disabled gamers are an unrepresented group. I know that I like to know how accessible a game is before I spend money purchasing it. For those who are hearing impaired, you are obviously going to miss out on some of the spoken story. There aren’t any subtitles (to my knowledge). However, for making potions, and doing other tasks there are some clear, on screen instructions that allow you to complete said tasks.

As for those who have weakness in their hands and fingers, playing this game is relatively easy. The only problem I had was stirring during potion making. I was able to compensate by holding the Xbox controller sideways, and I did have to do a few of the potions over, but for the most part, I didn’t struggle at all.

I was actually quite surprised by how much “Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince” had improved from the last Harry Potter video game release. If you are a hardcore gamer, don’t like Harry Potter, or both you probably won’t like this title. I like to consider myself hardcore, but I’m also a dad. I attempt to play the kid-friendlier titles, just as much as I do the shooters and action-packed blood fests. Fans of the books/movies are going to enjoy this game. EA has finally done the series justice when it comes to aspects of wizardry. From standout graphics to gameplay that allows you to experience life as a wizard, at Hogwarts, first hand, there isn’t much to complain about with this release. If you can get over the Radcliffe/Watson/Smith exclusion, then this game is enjoyable. Otherwise, you might prefer to leave this title behind.

Overall Rating: 3.2 out of 5 stars

Technorati Tags: Harry Potter, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, Xbox 360, Video Game, Review, Electronic Arts, Movie, Book Series, Wizards, Hogwarts

Game Rating: E
Game Publisher: Nintendo
Platform: Nintendo Wii
Release Date: July 26, 2009
Buy this at: Amazon for $44.99

When the Wii was first released, I was hesitant. It’s not that I didn’t think all the cool motion features were nifty, but let’s be honest. I’m in a wheelchair and it looked like way too much motion for me to handle. One of the reasons I play video games is because I can go snowboarding, drive a race car, and do a lot of physical things I can’t physically do, due to my limitations. I ended up contacting Nintendo about my concerns. I wanted to know that if I invested in purchasing a Wii that I would get my monies worth. Nintendo assured me that the Wiimote was sensitive enough that I’d have no problem, even with limited mobility in my hands and arms.

Well, come to find out, games with the Wiimote were either hit or miss. On some games, Ashtyn (my able-bodied girlfriend) could barely get the Wiimote to do what she wanted it to do. Others required smooth enough, small motions, and I could handle them. Still, others required massive, grandiose movements that just weren’t happening for me (not from my chair or my bed). Most of the time, I stuck to playing Xbox 360 and my PS3. That’s depressing for someone who grew up with Nintendo, but I figured, maybe Wii just wasn’t right for me.

Enter Wii Motion Plus…

Apparently, I wasn’t the only one having problems with the Wiimote. Nintendo devised the much more sensitive Wii Motion Plus, and it’s major release comes with the “Wii Sports Resort” video game. I have the original “Wii Sports” game. I can handle most of the “Wii Sports” games, but I’m not that coordinated when I play them. I did, however, beat Ashtyn at cow racing (a small victory). The Wii Motion Plus has restored my hope in Nintendo. It’s sensitive enough to use, and even those with very weak arms (yet minimal amounts of movement), like myself, can actually enjoy playing a Nintendo system again.

The controls were a breeze to use. I admit I faltered at a few of the motions (don’t attempt to bowl while in bed, if you can’t really roll your arm in an under arm bowling motion), but on the whole, I found “Wii Sports Resort” to be a much better executed, more fun, easier to play sequel to “Wii Sports.” It is definitely a workout, which I think is an added bonus to Wii. I can gain strength a little bit, despite having a progressive muscle disease, and I can definitely maintain strength, slowing down progression. When playing Wii fit, I actually feel the burn I feel when doing Physical Therapy exercises like hand cycling. If this game can do this for me, imagine what playing it regularly could do for most of you out there who are able bodied.

The benefit of Wii is that it gets you moving, and if you are anything like me, you feel a strong desire to compete. When Ashtyn beat my basketball three-shot score, the competitor in me came out, and I steadily shot baskets until I tied with her. Considering she got 15 baskets, and then I came back with 15 baskets of my own, I was pleased. Of course, the more I tried to beat our tie, the more tired my arm was, but I didn’t give up trying until I could barely score a basket anymore! I still haven’t beaten her though I am certain I will beat her score eventually, because that’s just how much fun it is to play “Wii Sports Resort.”

You get to play as your Mii in a series of sports-like competitions. The story is this. You and various other Miis have been dropped off on a secluded island paradise, the Sports Resort aka Wuhu Island. Here you can partake in a series of sporting events. The competitions range from light and casual to hardcore with everything from sky diving to sword fighting. Along the way, you accrue points in each activity, as you attempt to compete against up to three other people.

On a side note, though I don’t have first hand knowledge, I’ve been told Wuhu Island is also featured in the Wii Fit Video Game.

Enjoyment/Fun Factor: 4.5 out of 5 stars

The best part of buying “Wii Sports Resort” is the fact that you receive one WiiMotion Plus controller device with Wiimote Jacket cover. You only get one, so if you plan to play against others in your house without having to take turns, you are going to have to buy additional WiiMotion Plus devices. Luckily, you can pick them up for about $10 a pop. Getting the WiiMotion Plus is not only necessary to play Wii Sports Resort, I highly recommend it merely because it makes the Wiimote much more sensitive and easier to use.

Like every other game, navigating the Wii Menu to play “Wii Sports Resort” is fairly simple. You’ll need to calibrate you Wiimote(s) before playing, after hooking the WiiMotion Plus up to it. If, at any time during your gameplay, you feel that the Wiimote isn’t sensitive enough, you can pause your game and re-calibrate your Wiimote/Wii Motion Plus. I really didn’t find this necessary. The Wiimote re-calibrated itself before I played a few different games, and since it only takes a minute or so, I don’t really mind this. With as easy as the Wiimote with WiiMotion Plus movies, I feel the minute spent re-calibrating is well worth it.

Once your Wiimote has been calibrated, you can hop right into playing. Once you head to the game list menu, you can choose from a total of twelve different sports games to play.

The list of games includes:

-Air Sports
-Archery
-Basketball
-Bowling
-Canoeing
-Cycling
-Frisbee
-Golf
-Power Cruising
-Swordplay
-Table Tennis/Ping Pong
-Wakeboarding

Some of the games have multiple playing options. For example, in basketball, you can play a timed three-point shootout game or a 3 on 3 game. The Air Sports includes sky diving, flying a plane to sight see and collect locations, and so forth.

How you play the sport is based on whether you use the Wiimote and the Nunchuk or not. The motion of the Wiimote mimics the motion you’d use if you were really playing the sport. While I recommend going all in on each individual sport, if you, like me, have limited mobility in your arms, you will find that most of the games allow for similar yet smaller movements. For example, instead of flicking my arm/wrist above my head to make three-point free throws, I was just able to flick my wrist in a certain manner and hit the basket well enough to compete with Ashtyn. The Wiimote is that sensitive. Of course, games like golfing and bowling took a little more creativity to come up with a way to mimic the sport without having the ability to extend my arms and emulate the motion of using a golf club or throwing a bowling ball.

Most of you will have absolutely no problem using the Wiimote with WiiMotion Plus. The level of accuracy is amazing. The control you have when playing the games in “Wii Sports Resort” are so vastly superior to those from “Wii Sports,” it’s like a drastically different game. It’s better, of course, but still different. I found this game to be less frustrating and the game options have a better selection the second time around.

It’s good to have the nunchuk handy. While most sports allow you to play with just the Wiimote with WiiMotion Plus, you cannot do archery or cycling, for example, without the nunchuk. Also, nearly all of the games allow you to share one Wiimote and take turns, with up to four players. However, in order to compete at canoeing, you must have multiple controllers or you cannot compete.

Other than having fun, “Wii Sports Resort” has one other, very important primary purpose. The game gets you moving. Your heart starts pumping. Your adrenaline is coursing through your veins. The whole family gets off the couch for some real exercise and some healthy competition. Exercise made fun…What more could you want?

Replayability: 5 out of 5 stars

I feel like I keep repeating myself, because the biggest improvement between “Wii Sports” and “Wii Sports Resort” is the ease of use when it comes to using the Wiimote and WiiMotion Plus. The sensitivity makes using the Wiimote much easier than ever before. Every time you play a game there are clear instructions on how to play, what buttons to press, and in some of the games (such as canoeing) you can even practice before you play, to get the hang of how to use the Wiimote.

The majority of games have you swinging, flicking or moving the Wiimote in some way while releasing a button. It’s not hard at all to get the hang of playing these games. Once you run through the basic instructions, you shouldn’t need to a second time. It doesn’t get any easier than this.

Ease of Use: 5 out of 5 stars

If you’ve seen the Miis then you know exactly what to expect when it comes to visual quality for “Wii Sports Resort.” The animations are sharp. They run smoothly. I can’t point out any particular moment that is filled with visual errors. The bright colors and cartoon-y animations just add to the fun factor when playing this game.

Visual: 4 out of 5 stars

The audio quality for “Wii Sports Resort” is pretty good. The primary sounds are effects and a musical score. Everything is decidedly cheerful, which is what I expect of this type of game. On the whole, everything comes through loud and clear. The score is pretty good, but hardly taxing. It isn’t like the score you’d hear for a much heavier game. For what the game is, the music fit perfectly. As for sound effects, everything from the swish of the basketball as it flies through the net to the slapping of the paddle as you canoe through the water can be heard with relative ease. Also, each sound is quite realistic.

Audio: 3.5 out of 5 stars

While I don’t allow Accessibility to factor into the overall vote for the games I review, I do like to mention how accessible the game is for those with physical disabilities and those who are hearing impaired. The instructions for how to play each game are clearly labeled on the screen, so those with hearing problems can easily read them and play the game.

As far as physical disabilities go, you probably do not own a Wii if you have no mobility in your arms or hands. I have limited mobility in both, due to muscle weakness. I found that, overall, “Wii Sports Resort” was relatively easy for me to play. I had to run through a few of the games more than once until I got the hang of them, but there were very few games I simply could not play.

No matter whether you have a disability or not, playing “Wii Sports Resort” is excellent for your muscles. The more you can move the more you will get from this game. If you are looking to lose the pounds or maintain your weight, this is a fun alternative to traditional exercise.

I am impressed by how much the WiiMotion Plus improves usage of the Wiimote. This makes “Wii Sports Resort” a lot more fun that its predecessor. Unless you are completely incapable of using your wrists, hands and arms, I highly recommend “Wii Sports Resort.” It’s a safe, family friendly game that gamers of all ages can enjoy and appreciate. There isn’t really anything bad to say about this game other than I wish there were more hours in the day, so I could spend more time gaming! With games like this I have hope for Nintendo’s future and continued success in the gaming industry.

Overall Rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars

Technorati Tags: Nintendo Wii, Wii Sports Resort, Video Game, Wii Motion Plus, Fun, Family, Gaming, Video Game Review, Nintendo

Game Rating: E
Game Publisher: Graffiti Entertainment
Platform: Nintendo DS
Release Date: June 9, 2009
Buy this at: Amazon for $27.49

When I think of hardcore gaming, I generally exclude games on the Nintendo DS. In all actuality, I exclude most of the games that Nintendo has to offer. Many of the games are casual and family-oriented. Even the more popular game series offered, such as Mario, are hard to take seriously in a hardcore gaming arena. Sure, back in the day, Mario was it, and I still love the Mario games released regularly, but I don’t see them in the hardcore gaming arena.

Some of the games I do consider more hardcore involve the Final Fantasy series and the Legend of Zelda series. These games are more roleplay based, involve fighting, but even these games appeal to the casual crowd. I figured “Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled” would fall in amongst these types of games. I assumed there would be fighting, some swordplay especially, and plenty of action. Sadly, “Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled” let me down in all of these areas.

The biggest problem with “Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled” is the pace. It seems like the introductory story goes on forever. It takes a while to get into the battle. The story isn’t overly original, and it really didn’t get me that excited for what was to come once gameplay began. The other big problem is how frustrating it can be to play the game. Most games have some type of guide to point you in the direction of where to go and what to do. Not so with “Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled”.

The graphics for “Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled” leave much to be desired. Honestly, I thought that I was playing a game I would have found on the Gameboy Advance. While there is technically nothing wrong with these types of games (I admit to still replaying some of my favorite Gameboy Advance SP games), especially if the story is compelling, with 2D style graphics and a less than engaging storyline, “Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled” doesn’t have that much going for it.

The story for “Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled” isn’t anything new, especially for the roleplay genre. The story takes place in the kingdom of Bel Lenora. In this world, it is the norm to use magic. Anyone who is not capable of using magic is looked down upon. History tells the tale of a man, Vai, who couldn’t use magic and he brought destruction and devastation to Bel Lenora. One of the generals of Bel Lenora banished Vai from the kingdom bringing an end to the war he brought with him.

The game begins sometime after these events. Fifteen years after Vai’s banishment, Kairu (the main character you play) shows up in Bel Lenora. The young man is not capable of using magic, so the people of Bel Lenora are very suspicious of him and his intentions. Kairu is a orphan and he is adopted by the same general who banished Vai. The people of Bel Lenora do not trust Kairu, and they want to banish him because of this, fearing he will bring tragedy to the village as Vai did so many years ago.

Kairu has a sister who is capable of using Fire Magic. Her name is Aurora. Throughout the game, there are a series of playable characters. These characters include Vai (the man originally banished from Bel Lenora), Isa (a woman who uses two scimitars as weapons), Rogurd (a treasure hunter who uses a large pole axe and has one eye), and Nym (who can use summons during battles). In all, you can play up to eight different characters, with the option of playing up to three of them at a time.

Kairu’s adoptive father wants to believe Kairu is good and can use magic. He sets him up to go through a series of tests/quests. His hope is that this will bring out the magic in Kairu. When it becomes clear that Kairu is incapable of using magic, his father has no choice but to banish him or face an uprising from the people who believe he is the second coming of Vai.

When Kairu is exiled, he heads to Artania with Aurora. Once there, they must find their way back to Bel Lenora to tell the people about the powerful forces being built up in Artania. Both Kairu and Aurora must spend time in Artania first, getting to know the people and trying to figure out what is going on with these powerful and potentially dangerous forces, with the intent of stopping them.

Enjoyment/Fun Factor: 2 out of 5 stars

This game has features that you’d typically see in an RPG style game. The primary exploration happens in Artania. As you explore, you head through a variety of dungeons. You must solve a puzzle to get through each dungeon, which is the most interesting part of the game. These designs are somewhat clever so I do have to give Studio Archcraft props for that.

Once you get through quite a bit of the game, you will be able to take on a variety of alternative quests (on the side). The game spends an excessive amount of time developing the plot. You’ll spend a lot of time just waiting around for the action to start happening. From there, you get to explore the world and are exposed to an insane amount of battles. You literally go from one battle to the next, once the actual battle sequences happen, making the entire battle part of the game frustrating as you try to keep up with the action.

This makes the pace of the game very erratic. You go from slow, barely moving, to frenetic battles, back to slow, plodding plot unfolding and storytelling and then insane battles again. Really, by the time you get to battles at all, you will most likely be too bored to want to continue. Within the battles, you’ll also be able to make a series of tactical moves based on the skills of the players you have in your party and the location/movements of your enemy.

You can play up to eight different characters. Up to three of these eight characters can be in your party. Most of the characters have their own distinct skill and/or weapon style. You will want to keep your party balanced with a wide variety of skills. There is also one character that has no specific skills. You can customize this character as you see fit. Characters travel across a large number of locations. Travel occurs by foot or using one of the many vehicles located throughout the world.

During battles, you’ll have a variety of options. You can roam around the field. Battles are done in turns. Your team takes turns inflicting damage with attacks (spells, skills and physical infliction of damage), using items, and combining moves with other party members to inflict more damage. As mentioned, you will battle over and over, barely able to move from one battlefield to the next before you’re in another. What is even worse, is you’ll need to have characters who can use magic, because physical attacks just won’t cut it. Considering your main character can’t use magic, this just plain sucks. In the end, the excessive amount of battles and long periods of “supposition” between battles both become way to repetitious to be truly enjoyable.

Features

-Multiple puzzle-based dungeons to explore and conquer
-Wide variety of locations to explore/play
-Series of side quests
-Travel by foot or by vehicle
-Up to eight different playable characters
-2D Retro Look
-Select save locations and quick save option
-Multiple endings depending on how you complete your quests
-Tactical gameplay options involved in combat
-Up to seven different endings
-Battles are random and excessive
-Battles occur in turns with the player and enemy selecting between spells, skills, items, and physical attacks
-Combined attacks increase damage to enemies
-Earn gold to upgrade weapons and stats
-Offers a few, interesting Boss battles

Replayability: 2.5 out of 5 stars

While the controls for “Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled” aren’t that hard, getting to where you can actually do something is confusing. I figure most casual gamers will give up during the first, very long “explanatory” plot section. From there, you are supposed to explore the world, but since the directions aren’t exactly clear and you really want to get started in the battles (thinking that’s the next logical step, right?), the entire beginning sequence is very confusing.

Reading the manual that accompanies the game doesn’t help much. It tells you the basic button set up, which isn’t hard, but it doesn’t really explain you won’t be getting into playing for a while. I threw the manual in frustration. I also had trouble getting it to save initially. At first, there are save points, but there is also a quick save option, that didn’t work for me right away. I tried pressing every button on the DS to get it to save, and also tried to browse the manual, but it didn’t give me any help until I got to a save point, on my own.

The most important screen is going to be the battle menu system. This is pretty easy to use. You can press through the menu using the D-pad. It will allow you to pick between items, physical attacks, skills and magic spells. You can also accomplish flipping through this screen with the stylus. I tended to prefer using the stylus, but I can see where the D-pad comes in handy.

Other than that, I used the touch screen/stylus to play the game. I recommend this, as it is the easiest way to play, in my opinion.

Ease of Use: 4 out of 5 stars

It makes sense that I felt like “Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled” was something that should have been on the Gameboy Advance system. Studio Archcraft, the studio behind the development of “Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled” originally designed the game with the Gameboy Advance in mind. With the game nearly completed, the decision was made to switch it to the emerging Nintendo DS system since Gameboy Advance sales were pretty much stalled.

This is the biggest mistake “Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled” makes, because the 2D world stands out painfully on the high tech, Nintendo DS system. Every pixelated frame is overemphasized in this 2D design and it gives the game a less than appealing, overly retro yet substandard feel. For a newer title, you’d expect the smooth, 3D or beyond style of graphic development. I believe the 2D limits the appeal of “Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled,” shying away casual gamers who don’t understand its retro appeal.

Despite looking old, the world is rather colorful, each environment is unique, so you don’t look like you are playing in a new location with the same design. If you like the 2D style of gaming, this game is one of the better designs. Still, for a DS game, it isn’t quite up to snuff.

Visual: 2 out of 5 stars

The music for “Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled” is catchy. It sounds like the majority of other roleplay games. It’s what you’d expect for this type of game. For a RPG style game, I wasn’t as annoyed with this game’s music as I thought I would be. Don’t expect booming effects or great speaker control, because the DS is limited in what it can offer sound wise. With that in mind, the audio section is where “Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled” succeeds the most.

Audio: 4.5 out of 5 stars

While “Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled” tries to be so much more than it is, the game fails in so many ways I find it hard to recommend it to any audience. The hardcore gamers will find this game too boring to partake in extended game play. The casual gamers will be too intimidated by how long it takes to get into battle, how many battles there actually are once things get started, and the overall, messy pace of the game. While “Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled” tries to be retro and appeal to fans of the Gameboy Advance on a DS system, it just isn’t up to par with other games in the RPG format, that came before it and obviously inspired it’s design.

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Technorati Tags: Black Sigil, Blade of the Exiled, Graffiti Entertainment, Nintendo DS, Video Game, Video Game Review

Game Rating: E for Everyone
Game Publisher: Alawar
Platform: PC
Release Date: 2009
Buy this at: Alawar, Amazon

One of the best things about my job is that I get to review things. Anything is a potential topic for me, but one thing that I love to review is computer programs. I love casual games especially. It’s not that they are my favorite type of game, because they aren’t. It’s more that they allow me plenty of goof off time that I can still technically call work. When I get tired of writing other reviews and need a few minutes to myself, I just load up a casual game. I’m not loafing or being distracted. No way! I am working! Life doesn’t get much better than that.

The most recent game that has kept me sane from work madness is Amelie’s Café. Filled with many positive and a few negative aspects, this game from Alawar is sure to be one of their new hits as the year rolls on. The game offers above average graphics, a cute storyline, and plenty of fun to be had all around. There are a few things I would have changed, especially what happens the deeper into the game you go, but we will save that for later in the review.

Story:
Amelie is a nice young girl that is trying to do everything to keep her grandfather’s café alive and running. Short of cooking, Amelie is in charge of management, serving, cleaning, and even decorating! While grandpa is away travelling the world, the task of fixing up this rundown shack of a café is all up to Amelie. In order to make the café a success she will need to balance managing duties with waitressing and just about everything else, otherwise the café will be sure to fail!

Enjoyment/Fun Factor: 4 out of 5 stars

Features:

Amelie’s Café is pretty basic when it comes to one of the food genre games out there. You’re running a restaurant and you’ve got to do it well to move on. The only big problem I see here is that they add quite a bit of tasks and some of them do not feel like they go together. For instance, it is your job to task your chef with making a certain food. At any given time you have about five chef stations.

Depending on how messy your chefs are (they have their own personalities and can be upgraded to be less messy) you will need to clean their station by clicking on a brush before they will continue cooking for you. This is fine, but no matter how many brushes you need, you can only carry one at a time. If this was the rule for all items, I wouldn’t be complaining, but since you can carry two food items I don’t see why you cannot carry two brushes. If that had been the case the game may not have been so frustrating at times.

Don’t get me wrong I love a good challenge. I just don’t like inconsistency very much. One other thing I am having a hard time grasping is the bonus system. There is a matching aspect to this game that allows you to have special additions that are meant to make your game easier. These things include the ability to freeze the customer’s patience level, to clean the grills, and to add extra money to your total. When you complete chains you receive these icons and need to match them up three in a row to get any of the bonus options. In most cases they end up being a pain though. Freezing people and extra money are nice, but in cases like the grill cleaning, I noticed that the grills (which are all cleaned at once) are never clean enough to make a difference.

There are three cafes to play and anywhere from 15 to 24 days to play in each café, so there is quite a bit of game play here. This doesn’t include the endless play option, which allows you to play without moving levels.

I had plenty of fun playing Amelie’s Café. I think I would have liked it more if it wasn’t so hectic and there were a few more options that allowed you to do more at one time. Still, I had no problem moving up on most levels and I did have a good time. In the diner game space, this is a pretty good addition.

Replayability: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Controls:
In this situation it seems unnecessary to even write about control usage. Your mouse serves as your controller in this fast paced, point and click game. Other than your mouse, no controller (not even the keyboard) is necessary.

Ease of Use: 5 out of 5 stars

Visual Quality:
I didn’t have any problems with the visual aspects of Amelie’s Café. The graphics are cute and they manage to compliment the story quite nicely. For a casual game the graphics are top notch with good colors and a nice level of detail. Granted, this isn’t something you would see from the likes of a Playstation3 game, but for a casual game this works just fine. Overall things look pretty darn good.

Visual: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Audio Quality:
Amelie’s Café offers your average happy go lucky, casual gaming experience music. I try to block all of the casual game music out, but when I am reviewing I will leave it on long enough to know how good or bad it is. Amelie’s Café wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t standing out either. I was actually able to ignore it being on without much of a problem. While that works perfectly for me, if you like game music it might not be for you.

Audio: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Bottom Line:
Alwar offers the try before you buy download that lets you test out a game for an hour before you buy it. I highly recommend downloading Amelie’s Café and playing it for an hour. You can get pretty far in the first hour and it will give you a nice glimpse into what to expect from this game. If you like the fast paced, food service games you should like Amelie’s Café. Overall this is a fun and challenging game with nice graphics. Alawar continues to do a great job of making entertaining games in the casual gaming space.

Overall Rating: 4.3 out of 5 stars

Technorati Tags: Alawar, Games, Casual Games, Try Before You Buy, Download, Food Service, Diner, Point and Click, Amelie’s Cafe

Game Rating: M
Game Publisher: Activision/Blizzard
Platform: Xbox 360 (also available for PS3 and PC)
Release Date: June 9. 2009
Buy this at: Amazon for $49.99

Before having read a single review by other gamers on “Prototype” I have to tell you about my own experience with the game. Typically, I’ll read other reviews to compare my thoughts to those of other reviewers, but I have such strong opinions about this game. I loved playing “Prototype.” It combines a Sci-Fi style of storyline with elements of superhero. The game is wicked and playing as Alex Mercer is the shit. There really is no way to put it other than that.

I’ve been pretty excited about “Prototype” for a while. Seeing previews of the game at E3 just helped to emphasize my excitement. Luckily, gamers didn’t have to wait too long for this to be released proceeding the E3 conference. I tend to get games for review a little after the game has been released, but ultimately that depends on when the reviewer shipments are sent out. I like to play the games I receive as far through as I can, to the end, before writing the review. Since “Prototype” has been out nearly a month, you’re bound to find a plethora of reviews out there from a wide range of gamers.

I really haven’t found a game exactly like “Prototype.” It obviously takes elements of gaming from a selection of genres. Alex Mercer is a fun, powerful character to play. You learn to fly, can climb walls and scale buildings like Spiderman, morph into NPCs to blend in, take over military vehicles (including tanks) and some other pretty cool things. That’s what makes “Prototype” fun. I enjoyed being a one man army taking on a slew of freakish, lab-created aberrations and military men.

You’ll be exploring New York City in this sandbox style, first person title. More specifically, your playground is Manhattan. You travel the city by foot (you have the ability to use super speed) or by flight once you learn how to fly and glide. You can also hop from building to building, and steal copters and tanks from the military. You also have these wicked claws that remind me of Wolverine’s claws. Alex has the ability to shapeshift into a clawed (later bladed), evolved form, which is just wicked when you are taking on a selection of enemies. The best part of the game is playing Alex Mercer and all the things you can do with the character.

“Prototype’s” story revolves around your character, Alex Mercer. In the beginning, all you know is that you’ve woke up in the morgue, believed to be dead. Of course, you’re not, but your miraculous resurrection is unexplained. Alex is in the basement morgue for the genetic engineering company, GENTEK, and it soon becomes clear this is where Alex once worked. As you (Alex) try to escape you are detained by members of the military who seem intent on hunting Alex down and killing him. Alex’s only benefit is that he’s developed mutated powers that allow him to escape.

After Alex escapes, the story is slowly revealed in flashback, as Alex heads back 20 or so days prior to his impending death. He soon discovers that Manhattan has been hit by a virus. The island has been quarantined and the military are out in full force to control the masses of affected citizens. Those inflicted with the virus are ‘changing’ though Alex has mutated far beyond the average citizen, able to use his mutations in a controlled environment, as a weapon.

Alex is, essentially, the strongest, most savvy person on Manhattan island. This gives you free run of Manhattan, which is pretty cool, especially since this goes between a mission-based and a sandbox-style game. Alex’s goal is to get his memory back, discover the truth about the virus, and what the connection is between his new abilities, GENTEK, and the spreading virus.

One of the things that helps Alex the most is his ability to consume the memories of GENTEK employees and military higher ups, which he later can shapeshift into to gain access into highly restricted areas. Alex is able to put together the pieces of the puzzle through the people he encounters, the memories he consumes and his own, fuzzily returning thought processes.

The two main forces you fight against as Alex are Blackwatch and the infected citizens with what appear to be virus created monsters, the Hunters. Blackwatch may seem, at first, to be the most dangerous. It is a high-level, covert, black ops, Marines based, military unit. The purpose of the unit is to combat biological threats. With Alex’s new abilities, you have become a major, biological threat. Their leader, Captain Cross, has one mission: take out Alex Mercer. While the military is a consistently annoying threat, the true threat is the Hunters.

The Hunters are hard to kill, revive themselves, and flock to Alex like white on rice. These ruthless, disgusting beings lead back to GENTEK and Elizabeth Greene, a woman trapped in a containment area of the GENTEK building. It isn’t hard to realize that Greene isn’t a friend of Alex Mercers. It’s hard to even consider her a woman, at this point.

Along the way, Alex has help from a variety of people including his estranged sister, Dana, his ex-girlfriend, Karen, and Dr. Ragland, whom he meets through Dana. The ensuing story, conspiracy and cover up provide for an engaging, unfolding plot line. This plot is enough to keep you going and interested throughout the proceeding missions.

Enjoyment/Fun Factor: 4.5 out of 5 stars

The features of the game are what make “Prototype” worth playing. The most apparent features deal with Alex Mercer and his newly acquired abilities. Alex has the ability to fall from massively tall buildings without getting hurt. He can shapeshift into a variety of forms and he can consume humans, taking in their memories and their essence. This allows him to shapeshift into these humans, which is incredibly helpful when attempting to blend in on an average street.

Alex has super speed and strength. He can run whole city blocks like nothing, stomp the ground and dent cars with his steps. He can scale buildings a la Spidey-style, and eventually learns how to leap and fly. This is more like gliding, allowing him to travel from high spots across the city in little time. Alex has heightened senses. His greatest gift though is his evolved form.

Alex can shapeshift into an evolved ‘monster’ of sorts. He grows in height, width, and has blade/claws on his hands that can rip apart humans and monsters alike. These blades can eventually be upgraded into a variety of lethal weapons. The more you play as Alex, the stronger you get. Moving with super speed and doing things like jumping at the same time from high buildings creates quite the effect, with the ground being dented by the force of your descent. Just running allows Alex to knock over passerbys with his shoulders and arms, creating quite the uproar with the crowd.

From there, Alex can confiscate and use weapons, take over helicopters, tanks and other military vehicles, and there are a variety of combination moves. I don’t want to list them all here, because I like there to be at least a little element of surprise for gamers when they pop this game into their Xbox 360. Just know the combos ARE awesome.

Alex’s upgrades occur naturally as you complete missions, but also you can purchase select upgrades by earning Evolve Points (EP). It doesn’t take a lot to earn EPs. You mainly earn EPs through side missions, though completing main missions also helps you to upgrade Alex. This is what keeps “Prototype” interesting. It seems like you’re constantly upgrading Alex with wicked moves.

Features
-Ability to regain health overtime or by consuming biomass from monsters or other dead enemies
-Shapeshifting abilities (shapeshift into evolved forms or consumed individuals)
-Ability to consume humans and take on their memories
-Evolved shapeshifted form includes wicked claws, a defensive shield, extensive defensive outer core, more power, blades, ground spiking abilities, the whipfist, hammerfists, body armor etc.
-Super speed
-Super strength
-Learn to Fly/Glide
-Jump hundreds of yards at a time
-Scale buildings by walking up the side of them
-Purchase and earn upgrades making your evolved form more powerful
-Multiple vision modes including Thermal and Infected
-Devastators attacks including the Groundspike Graveyard, Tnedril Barrage, and Critical Pain.
-Morph into innocent civilians to blend into the crowd or consume them to gain health
-Over 30 linear style missions
-Ability to explore Manhattan on your own (sandbox style)
-A selection of side missions to earn EP (Evolve Points)
-Excessive blood and gore
-Find up to 250 orbs scattered across the city
-Ability to throw humans hundreds of feet just for fun or better yet, throw cars at tanks or helicopters!
-In mission/in game consume targets to help reveal the history of the virus

Replayability: [rating:]

The controls, for the most part, are relatively easy to use, on the Xbox 360. You really shouldn’t have any problems playing this game. It is easy to figure out how to do certain moves, and there are also on the screen prompts that tell exactly what buttons to press to complete certain combat missions or perform certain movements.

As you upgrade, you’ll begin to run into problems. Combination moves can be tricky to master as you attempt to press multiple buttons at the same time or consecutively. Hitting any of the buttons on the main Xbox 360 pad at the same time is not the easiest thing to do, so while “Prototype” shines in its ease of use of basic controls, it struggles, falters, and sometimes fails the more intensive gameplay becomes.

Ease of Use: 3.5 out of 5 stars

The visual quality for “Prototype” goes one of two ways. Some of the graphics are stunningly detailed, high tech looking, and pretty much all around awesome. Other animations are messy, blurry and contrast with the spot on animation. Try gliding/flying over Central Park, for example. The blur of trees starts to show some pixelation. The colors blend in to one another. Then stop yourself and the detailed environment appears again.

Visually, this game is filled with so much blood and gore its not hard to establish why it received a Mature rating. The blood and guts look somewhat realistic, too. The nasty virus ooze is bright and disgusting. You’ll know when you’re coming to an infected area just by its orange gooey, nastiness. Alex looks pretty sweet when he’s leaping through buildings, morphing into other people, and evolving into the various upgrades you’ll purchase from him. His blade hand shines, and the blood spurts from his victims with every single slash.

While some aspects of the game, visually, are magnificent, others leave much to be desired. The environment, the endless barrage of brownstone style buildings, is tedious, with very few identifiable aspects of New York City. Other than Central Park, you are limited to a bland, indistinguishable city. Your inability to do anything to restructure New York, is a downside to the game both aesthetically and from an entertainment standpoint.

Visual: 2.5 out of 5 stars

The best part of the sound for “Prototype” is to the credit of the voice actors who help to bring the game alive. There are many familiar voices from both film and television. The most notable is Barry Pepper who voices Alex Mercer, himself. Other notable voices are that of Lake Bell (Dana Mercer), Vanessa Marshall (Karen Parker), David Andriole, Gordon Clapp, Paul Guilfoyle, Yuri Lowenthal, and Troy Baker. Pepper owns it as Alex, enhancing this character to something awesome, even more than he already is.

Explosions, gunfire, slashing, and even the screams of Alex’s victims sound decent, but aren’t standout. The same is true with the somewhat repetitious soundtrack that accompanies the game. As you approach an enemy situation, menacing music appears, and as you leave the location, you can hear nothing but simple street noises. The menacing music has faded. While not exceptional, the soundtrack is fitting for this game. Just don’t expect it to win any awards.

Audio: 3.5 out of 5 stars

While hardcore gamers can really get into “Prototype,” casual gamers might want to pass this up. There is way too much action, too much gore, and too many missions for the casual gamer. The entire game experience would be rather frustrating for those who aren’t used to playing a fast paced game. For those who are really into the superhero, sci-fi, first person action style game, “Prototype” is sick! Sure, there are some issues that could have (should have) been worked out before Activision released this game. However, the sheer awesomeness of Alex Mercer as a gaming character pushes all the negatives to the side, making this one game worth owning.

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Technorati Tags: Prototype, Video Game, Activision, Blizzard, Xbox 360, Alex Mercer, superhero powers, superhuman, virus, Gentek, video game review

ESRB Game Rating: T
Game Publisher: Atari
Developer: Terminal Reality.
Platform: Xbox 360 (also available for PS3, Nintendo Wii & DS, PC, PS2)
Release Date: June 16, 2009
Buy this at: Amazon for $55.99

“Who ya gonna call?”

I am a child of the 80s. I know who the Ghostbusters are and I remember watching all of the movies fondly. News of Ghostbusters III abounds, especially since “Ghostbusters: The Video Game” seemed to ignite an interest in a series that was immortalized in the 80s. While the movie (still uncertain whether it will happen) is slated for release in 2012, and even Rick Moranis is being rumored as coming out of retirement to reprise the role of Louis Tully, in this new segment of the franchise, Ghostbusters fans can pick up a copy of this new video game, which includes all the original actors sans Moranis.

I enjoyed playing Ghostbusters: The Video Game quite a bit. The biggest thrill was in the nostalgic aspects to the game. Dr. Peter Venkman is a sarcastic ass throughout much of the game. Dr. Egon Spengler is helpful and understanding and Dr. Raymond Stantz is somewhere in between funny and helpful. The fact that the original cast returns to voice each character really helps to add something to this game. If new voice actors had been chosen, I wouldn’t have wanted to play “Ghostbusters: The Video Game” and I’m sure that I’m not alone on this.

You play as a new recruit, who gets saddled with doing all the dirty work for the other Ghostbusters. As the new guy, you get to take on the dirtiest ghosts, and once you learn the initial procedure (Ray walks you through exactly how to snag a ghost in the basement of the fire station, when Slimer escapes), you’re pretty much expected to figure it out ‘on your own.’ Of course, this is fairly easy to do, and occasionally you’ll receive warnings if you are doing something wrong like, “Don’t ever let the streams cross!”

Initially, it’s pretty cool to be a Ghostbuster. How many times did you dream, as a kid, of strapping on a proton pack and letting lose your vengeance on some nasty spirits? The action begins almost immediately, when Slimer escapes from his containment unit. That pesky, plump, neon green monstrosity wreaks havoc, eventually escaping from the fire house and returning to the site of his first manifestation, the Sedgewick Hotel. Of course, it takes time to zap a ghost of its powers and then hold on enough to lasso it in. This can become tedious, though you do get to explore different locations and experience different levels of intensity when it comes to the haunting presence of each entity.

If you can get past the tedious moments of the game, the story is a lot of fun. The names behind the Ghosbusters put a lot of time and effort into this project, and it shows. If you are a fan of the franchise you should dig the video game. I could only play it in spurts, because my hands would get too tired of constantly having to shoot my energy stream at the ghosts. You use one of the triggers for this, and it can make it difficult for those with hand weakness or strength problems to consistently play this game on the Xbox 360 or PS3. I’m imagining the PC version might be a bit easier to use since there is no trigger to hold, but that’s just a guess on my part.

The best part of the game is in the fact that your character doesn’t speak, at all. You are just a made up guy in the franchise, so you don’t have to worry about pointless, non-canon style banter that would distract from the game. You just listen and learn from the real cast of Ghostbusters characters, then do your thing as you take on a plethora of disgusting, naughty and downright stubborn ghosts, ghouls and other paranormal manifestations.

Story:
“Ghostbusters: The Video Game” begins two years after the end of what happened in Ghostbusters 2. This means it is around Thanksgiving of 1991. The game starts with an advertisement (aired a la TV set) for the services of the Ghostbusters. Also, the Ghostbusters are surging in their popularity thanks to their obvious ability to rid the world of those nasty, pesky, paranormal apparitions. This makes it necessary for them to hire a new recruit, which is the person you play.

As the new recruit, you are known only as Rookie. The gang doesn’t want to get too attached to you anyway, since you’ll be testing out the dangerous new proton pack. Egon jokes (or is he joking?) that you might not be sticking around long enough, so they don’t want to know anything personal about you. The team doesn’t want to form any unnecessary attachments, after all.

After you arrive, the entire city of New York experiences a massive PKE shockwave. This is coming from a museum that is displaying a Gozer exhibit. The wave is bad news for the Ghostbusters, because this frees the pesky, annoyance known as Slimer from his containment unit. Before you can head off to the museum to figure out where that shockwave came from, you must first capture Slimer and another spirit in the basement. Of course, Slimer escapes, and it is off to the Sedgewick Hotel. The staff is not pleased to see you, but it becomes clear, Slimer isn’t the only spirit haunting the hotel.

After cleaning up the hotel, Rookie and the rest of the Ghostbusters must head to Time Square. There they find Stay Puft, that gigantic Marshmallow Man from the films, wreaking havoc! Within the battle, it is revealed that Big Fatty Marshmallow has been following Dr. Ilyssa Selwyn. She is not only a potential love interest for Peter, she’s also the curator who is in charge of the museum’s Gozer exhibit. It doesn’t take much for Ray and Egon to deduce that Ilyssa, the Gozer exhibit and the release of all these paranormal entities are related.

The Ghostbusters must discover that connection and avoid pissing off Mayor Jaques Mulligan as well as Walter Peck. Peck is now head of the P-COC (Paranormal Contract Oversight Committee). They can’t mess up the city, any more than they have. It isn’t the time to worry about destruction though because an array of ghosts, from Eleanor Twitty (the “Gray Lady”) to Ivo Shandor, are displayed.

When there’s something strange in the neighborhood? Who ya gonna call? Ghostbusters!

Enjoyment/Fun Factor: 5 out of 5 stars

Features:
“Ghostbusters: The Video Game” is a third-person shooter. It’s told from the perspective of you, the rookie, looking in and being guided by the other Ghostbusters. The screen is relatively clean as far as meter readings go. You play with your proton pack, which will overheat if you use it too much (there is a manual release button you can press, to go right back to using it without having to let it cool down on its own). This vent method works fairly well. You can find out how much you are overheating and which weapon mode you are in by looking at your proton pack. This comes in handy, since you have to go find a corner to duck behind to vent unless you want to get slimed.

This new proton pack will eventually have up to four different proton streams. The initial Proton Pack is the one we all know and love from the movies. Spengler has modified this to include a massive ball of energy called a Boson Dart. This explodes when it hits your target and is a pretty sweet addition to the pack. You can also use additional ‘attachments’ which include shock type blasts (Statsis Blasts), slime blasts (with the Slime Blower), the Meson Collider (electric streams at their best) and additional streams to pretty much annihilate the energy of the ghosts. This variety of weapons makes game play a bit more interesting. The slime blasts can also tether objects together, which is especially useful on those quick to move ghosts. With the money you raise (every ghost you catch equals $$), you can buy even more weapons. You have up to 20 different weapon upgrades you can purchase.

When using the proton pack with its primary weapon, you shoot your proton stream at a ghost until it is weak enough to be captured. The proton stream turns into a capture beam (you can also press a button to put the ghost in your capture beam prior to this) and you can lasso the ghost into a trap, which you’ll have to throw down at some point prior to capturing the ghost. The capture beam allows for some pretty cool slam attacks. This ensures the ghost remains weak and can’t escape prior to capture. It takes a minute to get the hang of lassoing the ghost into the trap, but once you do it’s a piece of cake! Just a note, the capture beam can also be used to move objects around if they are in your way.

While play is somewhat repetitious (there is only so many ways you can nab a ghost) new enemies join the old crew from the movie, including Slimer and Stay Puft. This adds a little bit of variety to the game and branches off from the same events that are present in the film. There are a total of 55 paranormal apparitions. With every one you come in contact with, using your PKE meter, you will log them into a spirit guide book for later reference. This guide offers insight into each spirit and provides weapon ideas to combat them quickly and efficiently. This definitely comes in handy during later battles.

Want to finish reading this review? Go to Page Two…

Game Rating: M
Game Publisher: Atari
Platform: Xbox 360 — Also made for PS3 & Windows Vista/XP
Release Date: April 7, 2009
Buy this at: Amazon for $44.99

“An otherwise fun, but one trick pony type of game, Pitch Black makes ‘Assault on Dark Athena’ all worthwhile…”

One of the biggest titles I’d been looking forward to playing since I’d heard about its release was “The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena.” I’d been checking out the videos, screenshots, and reading up on the impending Atari title for months. Well, the time has come for the release of the game and I just happened to get a copy of it to review!

What a fun game! I’m not a huge online, multiplayer kind of guy, but if one game could sway me in that direction it is this one! While “The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena” shines when it comes to online gameplay, the single player, offline game isn’t half bad either. Okay, it’s pretty awesome. I’m very happy with the entire game, as there is much to do, ensuring I won’t get tired playing this game for a while.

I love the online games the best. Have I said that already? There are a series of different online games you can play with others who own ‘Dark Athena.’ This is the most fun I’ve had in an online game playing environment. The entire online experience is fast paced as you take on other players. They come virtually out of nowhere, and next thing you know, in a split second, you are dead until the next round begins (well, in most of the online games).

I don’t think I’ll get tired of the online portion of “The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena” for quite some time. It’s exhilarating to play these games and it makes the entire purchase of ‘Dark Athena’ worthwhile.

Of course, in single player mode, you either play the title game, ‘Assault on Dark Athena’ or a completely remastered version of the original The Chronicles of Riddick video game, ‘Escape from Butcher Bay.’ The only downside is that the ‘Dark Athena’ game is a lot shorter than your average first person shooter game. This lack of gameplay time is made up for in the time you have to play ‘Butcher Bay’. Still, it was slightly cheap to recycle this game, even if it is ten times better than the 2004 release, allowing for skimping on the play time of the original game. This is a minor complaint, but a complaint nonetheless.

Story:
In ‘Butcher Bay’, you have to escape from Butcher Bay, a highly guarded prison. In both this campaign and ‘Dark Athena,’ you play as Richard B. Riddick. Riddick is a dangerous, intergalactic criminal who uses special goggles/glasses, which allow him to see in the dark. The plot for ‘Assault on Dark Athena’ starts up where ‘Butcher Bay’ has ended. You have escaped the prison with the help of the man who originally took you there, Johns. Leaving by ship, the two of you are captured by the mercenary ship, the Dark Athena.

The Dark Athena is run by Gale Revas, who captures Johns, though you (as Riddick) are able to hide and escape. It is the goal of Riddick to escape the ship, killing both guards (mostly drones) and mercenaries as you travel throughout the ship. Along the way, you (Riddick) meet Lynn. This little girl is hiding in the air vents and is trying to get help for her captured parents. Of course, she turns to you for help.

When you (Riddick) head to the prison cells, you discover that the original captain of the Dark Athena has been captured and is being held there. You also find Lynn’s mother, Alicia Silverman. She plans to help you (Riddick) escape. She can make the parts you need if you get them to her, and if you find Lynn, who she worries will be captured and/or killed if the drone guards or mercenaries find her. Dacher, another prisoner, also plans to help you escape.

With you (Riddick) determined to free the prisoners, escape the ship yourself and give Revas a heck of a fight, this all out action flick will take you (Riddick) to the planet of Aguerra and back to the Dark Athena in an attempt to stop Revas and return the peace on the ship once and for all.

Enjoyment/Fun Factor: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Features:
There are two single player campaigns that are features of “The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena.” In both, you play as Riddick in first-person shooter style. The first campaign, as I mentioned previously, is the remastered ‘Escape from Butcher Bay’ game. The second is ‘Assault on Dark Athena.’ Both games are similar in their styles. The second game is almost an extension of the first.

The real gem is in the multiplayer game options with the crown jewel being Pitch Black. In Pitch Black, one of the players is Riddick. He can see in the dark, obviously, and is in underground, Pitch Black tunnels. The rest of the players are guards. You start out with a standard gun, but before you hop down the hole to go underground, you can choose from submachine guns, assault rifles and shotguns.

Each gun has a light on the end, and this allows you to see right in front of you. The biggest light is on the submachine gun and the smallest is on the shotgun, but the shotgun is also more powerful, so there is good and bad with each choice. Once you jump into the hole you have to find and kill Riddick. Riddick is quick though and the Ulaks he has are dangerous. Just one swipe of these knuckle blades and you are a goner, but if you kill Riddick, in the next round you become him!

While Pitch Black is certainly the creme de la creme of the entire game, some of the other multiplayer games are fun, too. In particular, I greatly enjoyed Butcher Bay Riot, Deathmatch and Team Death Match. In Butcher Bay Riot three groups of players, prisoners, guards and mercs, take on one another to capture a power cell. You have to kill the other groups’ members and get the power cell before they do in order to win UDs which help buy better weapons for the next round of play.

Deathmatch is just that. Your goal is to eliminate your opponent. The longer you last, the more powerful your weapons are. If you get killed, you start over with your mediocre, beginner gun. The Team Deathmatch is similar only it features prisoners versus guards. Other, mediocre, online multiplayer games include Capture the Flag and Arena. Capture the Flag is self explanatory and the Arena game features 3 on 1 or 2 on 2 duels with the winner staying for the next match. These two games are okay, but not as cool as the other online offerings.

The thing I like about the multiplayer for ‘Dark Athena’ is the options you have. You can choose a random game mode or decide to play the specific online game of your choice. You can find games already in progress or create your own. You also have the option to play a quick player match, custom player matches, quick ranked matches and custom player matches.

Note: The one downside to the online, multiplayer game play is the ability to use microphones. Seriously, while I’m killing Riddick (or hunting him down) I don’t want to hear a bunch of teenagers goofing off and acting dumb. This is the only place where the mute button, on the television, comes in handy.

Replayability: 4 out of 5 stars

Controls:
If you can operate an Xbox 360 controller, you shouldn’t have any problem using the controls for this game. The guns aren’t in a weird spot so shooting is easy. Movement is smooth. While the AI isn’t spectacular, your movement both online and in single player campaign mode isn’t hard to control.

The only problem I had was in online player mode. Other players, especially in Pitch Black, can be quite fast. You have to have great reflexes to constantly be at the top of your game. Still, even if I wasn’t the best at this part of the gaming experience, it still was a lot of fun!

Ease of Use: 4 out of 5 stars

Visual Quality:
I didn’t have a problem with the visual quality. The graphics are high tech. The screen depends mostly on dark and black levels. This is primarily because Riddick operates in stealth mode. The advanced stealth mode is pretty cool, when it works.

Be prepared to encounter a few problems with the guards, who seem to sense you, even if they cannot see you. This kind of defeats the purpose of stealth mode, in my opinion. This also gets you into trouble in a few different scenes where guards are swarming and you don’t have much time or ability to kill them all!

Visual: 4 out of 5 stars

Audio Quality:
“The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena” shines when it comes to the audio. The voice cast, led by Vin Diesel, the only man who could/should ever voice/play Riddick, is outstanding. There isn’t an excessive amount of dialogue in the game once you get going, but what is here is brilliant. I can’t imagine Riddick speaking without that gruff, rough, Vin Diesel voice. By having him voice Riddick, it just adds to the authenticity of the gameplay. Despite the awesome quality, some of the dialogue does have the ability to be a bit cheesy, but it doesn’t deflect from the game.

Audio: 5 out of 5 stars

Replayability:
Due to the variety of games that are available on the “The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena” game disc, I believe the replayability level is high. This game has a lot to do and players won’t get bored too easily while playing. The multiplayer options, alone, make it worth having the game. Sure, you aren’t going out on any major game play campaign. I liken these to the small, arcade style type of games only deadlier and much more fun.

While some of the multiplayer games, such as Capture the Flag, incite the yawn factor, others, like Butcher Bay Riot and Pitch Black, can be played over and over again. These are the types of multiplayer games you want to play. They are fun, violent, and get your heart racing and blood flowing. I haven’t had this much fun playing a game online in a long time.

The two main titles, ‘Assault on Dark Athena’ and the remastered ‘Escape from Butcher Bay’ are fun games, but they aren’t anything I will be wanting to play over and over again. Once you finish the campaigns I don’t really see the point in going through them and doing it all over again. Seriously, the games are fun, but the longevity of this disc depends mostly on the multiplayer offerings. Thankfully, there are some great games you can enjoy online.

Replayability: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Disability/Accessibility Friendliness:
The controls you use to play “The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena” are fairly standard for the Xbox 360. If you have mobility in your hands enough to handle the Xbox 360 controller then you shouldn’t have too much trouble playing this game. Of course, if you have arm/hand mobility issues, this might be one of those games you’ll have to miss out on playing, at least on the Xbox 360.

The hardest part of the game, for me, was the online player games. Sure, they are a lot of fun, but they require some extra quick shooting and I don’t always have the best reflexes. Still, it was amazingly fun trying to keep up with all the other players. Your mobility problems shouldn’t cause too much trouble when it comes to playing this game. On the whole, this game gets the standard rating when it comes to disability friendliness.

For those with mobility impairments that prevent console play, you’ll want to purchase this game for Windows XP/Vista.

Disability/Accessibility Friendliness: 3 out of 5 stars

Bottom Line:
“The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena” is a pretty sweet game. While I feel that there could have been more gameplay in the title game ‘Assault on Dark Athena’, the edition of the remastered ‘Butcher Bay’ and the variety of multiplayer games, especially the outstanding Pitch Black (which has to be the coolest online mini-style, multiplayer game I’ve played on the Xbox 360) make this game worth your while. Go ahead and pick this up for the Xbox 360 (or one of the other platforms). If you do, there’s a great chance you’ll see see me online!

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Technorati Tags: The Chronicles of Riddick, Assault on Dark Athena, Escape from Butcher Bay, Atari, Video Game, Vin Diesel, Multiplayer, Pitch Black, Mature Game

Game Rating: T for Teen
Game Publisher: Sony Entertainment
Platform: PS2
Release Date: October 28, 2008
Buy this at: Amazon for $29.99

I am probably the biggest Country Music fan in my house and on most days that isn’t saying a whole lot. Some of my favorite Country artists include Garth Brooks, the Dixie Chicks, Mindy McCreedy, Colin Raye, The Charlie Daniels Band, Dolly Parton, Kenny Rogers, Carrie Underwood, and Trisha Yearwood among others. These people all have one thing in common. None of them are present on the SingStar Country game!

The fact that Garth Brooks was not on here just floored me. The fact that the Dixie Chicks made one of the mainstream discs, but not the Country was also quite a surprise. Still, the thing that surprised me the most was not some of the missing artists that have defined Country music. It was the artists that did make the cut. In my opinion there were three categories here.

-Good Artist/Good Song (this one was pretty rare)
-Good Artist/Unknown or Less Important Song (we knew who they were but were surprised by the song choice)
-Why are they on here in the first place?!? (a few of the singers felt kind of unnecessary)

Part of the first and second group included artists like Johnny Cash, Alan Jackson, Taylor Swift, Kellie Pickler, and Rascal Flatts. The third group included names like Jewel (I like her, but don’t know if I would classify her as Country), Jessica Simpson, and Miranda Lambert. Likewise, while I like people like Alan Jackson and Trace Adkins I don’t see how they made the cut more than once when other big names were not represented, at all. I had high hopes for Country, but felt slightly let down by the selection. Of course, I realize that true blue Country fans may be more comfortable with this selection that has been offered.

Like the other SingStar titles, Country is fun. It was not as fun for us as the other titles because it’s missing some vital Country performers and we weren’t as familiar with the genre. If you’re a big Country fan this is going to be highly recommended. If not, you’re going to want to tread lightly and read the track list before making the final decision on whether or not to purchase this.

Enjoyment/Fun Factor: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Features:
As with all SingStar, titles you have the same basic features. You are able to play the game using online or offline components. If you own a Playstation Eye you can make music videos of yourself. If you don’t own an Eye, but want to see other videos that people have made, you can go online and rate the videos that others have created.

Other than that, the main feature is going to be the music. In the case of the SingStar Country game, I have to say I was excited about some songs and not about others. When I think Country, I immediately think certain names. While some of these names are here, many of them are not. Granted, I am not a huge Country music fan, so this disc may be better suited for fans of the genre, but there is plenty of Country songs and artists that I like that just weren’t here.

Nevertheless, I still had fun playing though and wouldn’t hesitate to look up the second volume for Country when/if it comes out. Hopefully, if it does it includes some of the Country music staples that fans and non-fans of the genre can both enjoy.

The titles included in SingStar Country are:

Alan Jackson: Chattahoochee
Alan Jackson: Good Time
Big & Rich: Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)
Blake Shelton: Home
Brad Paisley: Online
Brooks & Dunn: Boot Scootin’ Boogie
Brooks & Dunn w/ Reba McEntire: If You See Him/If You See Her
Bucky Covington: It’s Good to be Us
Faith Hill: Red Umbrella
Gretchen Wilson: Redneck Woman
Jessica Simpson: Come On Over
Jewel: Stronger Woman
Johnny Cash: A Boy Named Sue
Johnny Cash: I Walk the Line
Josh Turner: Another Try
Keith Urban: Days Go By
Kellie Pickler: Red High Heels
Kenny Chesney: Big Star
Lady Antebellum: Love Don’t Live Here
Martina: McBride: A Broken Wing
Miranda Lambert: Kerosene
Montgomery Gentry: My Town
Montgomery Gentry: What Do Ya Think About That?
Rascal Flatts: Bless the Broken Road
Sara Evans: Born To Fly
Taylor Swift: Our Song
Terri Clark: Girls Lie Too
Trace Adkins: Honky Tonk Badonkadonk
Trace Adkins: You’re Gonna Miss This
Willie Nelson: Pancho and Lefty

The great thing about SingStar is the compatibility of all of the discs. If you own a PS3 these should still play in your player, assuming you bought one with the backwards capability intact. Another nice thing is that you can interchange the discs during your game. Just hit the switch disc button and you can put in a new disc and continue to play the same game. This helps to make sure that everyone gets to play with the disc that they like the most (assuming you have more than one). SingStar is one of those rather addicting titles that offers at least a few good songs, if not more, per disc. That being said, if you buy one game you will end up buying more. That’s just how SingStar works.

There are a few mainstream Country songs here, but not enough to satiate the person that isn’t a big fan of Country. In the next release, Sony might want to consider adding more Country that all people will enjoy and be able to recognize, as that can only lead to a more successful title for them and for SingStar.

Replayability: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Controls:
The controller is used sparingly here, so people that have a problem playing games because of all the various options and buttons will feel right at home. The only time you even use the controller is to select a song, choose how you are playing (battle, solo, or duet), or to switch a disc. You can also use the controller to deal with online functions of the game, but those are completely optional based on your own interest in them. This is going to be one of those rare games that just about anyone will be able to handle in terms of using the controller.

Ease of Use: 5 out of 5 stars

Visual Quality:
I have yet to encounter a SingStar with flat out bad quality and you won’t hear me say anything different here. The quality is excellent. The videos are on the new end for many and the old ones still aren’t that old, so the quality remains good. The important part is the lyrical karaoke text, as well as the music bars that show you where the golden notes are and how long you need to hold the notes. Even when the video is of a lesser quality the text and bars are easily able to be seen and read. It’s never a problem when it comes to that.

Visual: 5 out of 5 stars

Audio Quality:
SingStar Country may not have my favorite music, but what is here sounds good. I would have loved to hear a better mix of music, but all of the music was static free and sounding as good as it could under the circumstances. The sound made everything sound new as it was free of any distortion or audio problems that occasionally plague video games and movies. All in all, it’s a good set for the Country loving SingStar crowd.

Audio: 5 out of 5 stars

Replayability:
This is the one SingStar title that we play sparingly. I have considered going online and purchasing extra tracks to make this more enjoyable, but haven’t checked to see what is available and don’t know how much I want to shell out to make this game more enjoyable for me. At present, I play it enough to make it worth paying for, but not enough to be considered one of my favorite games.

Replayability: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Bottom Line:
SingStar Country is probably one of my least favorite SingStar titles. The logic here is simple. If you do not like Country, this game is not going to change your mind about the genre. Unfortunately, some bad music choices made sure that a mainstream audience wouldn’t have much love for this particular title. On the other hand, huge Country fans should really enjoy this.

If you’re a fan of Country this is definitely the SingStar for you and I highly recommend that you pick it up. However, if you’re not a raging fan, you might want to stay cool and wait for the second volume to come out in hopes that it has some better songs for a wider range of people.

Overall Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars

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