Aion is another fantasy based MMORPG. You may be thinking, “oh gee another fantasy themed MMO, whoop dee do.” There are numerous other MMOs out on the market, so what is so special about this one? Flying with wings, which can lead to aerial combat at later levels, PvPvE environments, gorgeous graphics, and the one thing MMOs could only wish for at launch, polish.
Developer: Shaba Games/Treyarch
Publisher: Activision
Genre: Third-Person Action
Platform: Xbox 360 (reviewed), PC, PS3, PS2, Wii, DS, PSP
ESRB Rating: T (Teen)
Players: 1
Hours Played: 12
Game Progress: Finished single player
Spider-Man has always been my favorite super hero. The costume Peter Parker made is pretty cool, he is intelligent and has incredible strength. Spider-Man even gets to climb up walls and web-swing from buildings! Who doesn’t want to do that? Since no one actually can, video games are as close as we can get to becoming the friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man. There have been numerous games starring my favorite hero, and we all know they are not always the greatest games ever made. The thing that makes this game stand out from the rest is the mainly a unique story, the ability to change between the black and red suits, good web-swinging mechanics and a giant open world that is your playground. I’m sure you are thinking, “Boy, that sounds great Jack, is there actually anything wrong with this game, because it sounds fantastic?” Well yeah, there is usually something wrong with every game. Read on, dear reader, to find out if Spider-Man’s legacy lives or dies through this game.
Developer: High Impact Games
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Genre: Third-Person Action
Platform: PS2, PSP (Reviewed on PSP)
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone 10+)
Players: 1 (1-4 Online)
Hours Played: 15 hours
Game Progress: Finished single player twice
Before I bought a PSP I was checking out reviews of games online to see which were the best titles. I wanted to make sure my starting library was top notch. I ended up getting Killzone, God of War and Resistance along with the Ratchet and Clank PSP bundle. Least to say I was stoked to get home and start playing some of those games, I didn’t really care much for Ratchet at the time. I figured I’d play Ratchet first just to get the game out of the way, I mean it came with the bundle and was at least worth a try, right? That was about two weeks ago and I have barely touched any of the games I had purchased separately. Fifteen hours into the game, I have finished the single player game twice, played online matches against other people and still have items to collect and weapons to upgrade. Size has always mattered, you just won’t realize it until you play Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters.
As many of you may or may not know the Game Developers Conference had taken place March 23-27, which means you should be expecting a ton of news about games.
The future of gaming may have been revealed at GDC with the announcement of OnLive. OnLive will let practically anyone with a PC or Mac no matter how powerful the machine is play games, even games that need a powerful rig to play such as Crysis. The reason you will be able to play such powerful games on a low end machine is because your computer will connect to an extremely powerful server which relays everything to you, so the only thing you will need is a good internet connection. Not only will this work on PC and Mac but also your TV via OnLive MicroConsole. That $500 laptop you bought for school can now play the same games as your buddies $1500 computer with the same graphic settings. This very well could change the way we play games and open up many opportunities to play games for those who don’t have powerful computers or the cash to purchase a console. Isn’t the internet great? Are you curious and want to check it out? Click here to head to the OnLive website. If OnLive catches on it could mean trouble for hardware companies such as Microsoft, Sony, Nvidia, Intel etc… The need for powerful hardware would decrease as gamers wouldn’t need the $500 console or video card anymore. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
Here is a video from IGN displaying Crysis running on a laptop using OnLive, click here to be see the video.
Lots of Nintendo news this time around, the “i” in DSi is finally explained, yay! The Commodore 64 is being released for the Wii Virtual Console, and word has it Nintendo is releasing a new Wii controller. Bioware recommends you hold on to your old Mass Effect save files. Valve releases the price for the upcoming DLC for Left 4 Dead. And some good old Quake 3 Arena on your web browser.
According to an article on 1UP Nintendo has officially explained what the “i” in DSi means. The “I” adds a personal aspect to the handheld system. The DSi has two cameras on it which gives the system its own ‘eye’ on things. So there you have it, take it or leave it. The DSi sure likes having double of everything, two card slots, two screens and now two cameras, what’s next?
Developer: Lionhead Studios
Publisher: Microsoft
Genre: Action RPG
Players: 1-2
Platform: Xbox 360
ESRB Rating: M (Mature)
Hours Played: 25
Once again we are thrown into the fantasy world of Albion that Peter Molyneux has created. This time around the game is larger, prettier and supposedly better than before. With the other big titles out there, can Fable 2 hold its own and live up to the hype? That’s what we are going to find out.
Developer: Valve (Turtle Rock Studios)
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Players: 1 (1-8 online)
Console: PC/Xbox 360
ESRB Rating: M (Mature)
Hours Played: 16 hours
Are you ready for the zombie apocalypse? Have you ever seen George A. Romero?s Day of the Dead, made way back in the 80?s? How about the latest remake? You know the movie where the zombies actually run at the people instead of sleep walking and groaning about back pains? Well, Left 4 Dead is a lot like the new Day of the Dead, it has zombies, blood, guns, and a lot more zombies! The zombies charge at you at full speed, none of that sleep walking business. You and your three other teammates (either humans or bots) will have work together and learn how to coordinate extremely well on the higher difficulties if you plan to survive.