November 2011 - Video Game News, Reviews, and Art

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Review

Posted on November 30, 2011December 3, 2011 by GameNinjaX

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 the newest installment of the Call of Duty series is a decent sequel to its predecessors but doesn’t quite live up to all the hype.

Now, that doesn’t mean I think Modern Warfare 3 is a horrible game because it isn’t by any means. There are major improvements in the graphics, and the campaign will literally blow you away but the suspense and hype of the game didn’t live up to expectations for most. For one example, the multi-player doesn’t work on internet service providers that have a strict NAT which is frustrating but if you avoid that situation, the multi-player maps released right now are compact and hard to deal with. I personally played multi-player for a couple rounds and had to stop playing because of how shitty the current maps are.

MW3 Multi-Player

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Multiplayer

MW3’s multiplayer engine has been upgraded and downgraded in several different ways. The graphics are outstanding and probably has the best first-person shooter graphics besides Crysis 2 in my opinion. The Killstreak rewards system has been revamped and changed to a Pointstreak rewards system. There are multiple ways to accumulate points instead of just getting kills such as: capturing a flag, planting a bomb, or various game mode objectives.

The ranking system has also been changed in Modern Warfare 3’s multi-player system by no longer using currency to unlock weapons and attachments but rather unlocking weapons depending on your own rank. You can still prestige at a certain rank and the first time you choose to prestige you will unlock a new “prestige shop” that can be used to purchase exlcusive features such as double experience and extra custom classes.

The disadvantages of Modern Warfare 3 Multi-player is the small map sizes, and strict NAT internet issues that won’t allow default internet settings to play. The current maps on the multi-player mode are not as fun as Modern Warfare 2’s or Black Ops. I am assuming they are using that to leverage the downloadable maps and make players more interested in purchasing additional content. For me and my friends it was a huge disappointment and left a bad taste for this game.

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Campaign

The Modern Warfare 3 campaign was simply beautiful. The detailed graphics, engaging storyline, and voice acting all make you feel like you’re in the starting role of an action movie. The storyline picks up right where Modern Warfare 2 left off as Nikolai and Price escape with the injured Soap in their care. You play as various characters all with important roles in the war and intertwining stories. I won’t reveal anymore details about the storyline so there won’t be any spoilers in this review.

I was surprised how far Infinity Ward was able to push the graphics with this game on an Xbox 360 because it really looks like a blu-ray quality game. Just look at this picture of in game graphics of New York city, Wall Street.

The campaign does a great job taking you to a detailed environment in high profile geographic locations such as: New York City, Berlin, London, and Paris. The campaign also does a great job of utilizing vehicles during game play such as helicopters, submarines, remote control mini-guns, and escape boats.

The only thing that bothered me about he Modern Warfare 3 campaign is its length of about 5-7 hours. You can spend an evening going through the campaign and all of the sudden it’s over. Maybe they are saving the rest of the storyline for Modern Warfare 4-6. Even though the campaign is very short it is definitely worth a run through.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Rates:

Gameplay 8/10 The campaign is spectacular and brings a lot to the table but the multi-player needs a lot of updates to make it worth while. If the campaign had sucked I’m sure Modern Warfare 3 would have been a complete flop.

Graphics 9/10 The graphics are simply amazing. If you are an Xbox owner and want to compare games to PS3 graphics this would be the game to boast about.

Audio 7/10 Nothing to special here, normal Call of Duty sound effects and background music.

Replay Value 7/10 If the multi-player releases new maps that are actually fun to play then the replay value would be much higher. As of right now there is no incentive to be playing this game over Modern Warfare 2 or Black Ops.

Super Mario 3D Land

Posted on November 27, 2011 by GameNinjaX

Super Mario 3D Land was a very nice addition to the library of Nintendo 3DS games. I found that it very similar to the original Mario games which were primarily in 2D, except it is all in 3D and has many features in which you could run forward in certain areas and collect items off the pathway and also run behind walls and it would show only your shadow.

Obviously I enjoyed the original, but this one was MUCH better due to the 3D integration into the game. I really liked how they brought in power ups from different Mario games, such as the Super Mushroom, Fire Flower, and the Super Leaf. There are also a few others that were quite fun such as the Boomerang Flower, which allows him to throw boomerangs, and the Propeller Box, which allows him to reach high places. Throughout the game as you go through all of the levels, you can gather Star Medals (new version of Star Coins) and use them to unlock areas further in. I found that some of these are very difficult to find or to obtain for that matter, but it made it just as interesting to go back and find them all once I beat the game.

Another thing that I really enjoyed on this remake was the levels. There are 8 worlds with maybe 5-7 levels each, ranging from regular grass levels with different towers to go up and underwater levels. There is also a few haunted house levels that proved to be extremely entertaining. All in all, this game was definitely worth waiting for, and I can’t wait for them to make more Mario games for the 3DS. This is definitely a very good reason, if not the best, to have the console.

Super Mario 3D Land Rates:

Gameplay 9/10 : I literally could not put this game down. The way they made the different lands and the way they integrated the 3D aspect of it made it one of my favorite games that I currently own. I’m really excited to see what they do with the upcoming Mario games, such as Mario Kart 7 and Paper Mario – 3DS.

Graphics 10/10 : I have never been able to give a game 10/10 rating, but this game takes the cake. I usually like to speed through my games so that I can either sell them or replay them to see if I can beat my previous scores, but with this I spent a lot of time just looking around the levels and checking things out. They really did a great job.

Audio 8/10 : This has a lot of the old Mario songs in it but I kind of wish they would make some changes to the songs to kind of perk it up a bit.

Replay Value 9/10 : Not only is there a lot of different things you can go back and do throughout the levels but it is really fun to see how much faster you can go throughout the levels to see if you can beat your previous times.

Overall, this game was a great buy and I can’t wait for the other Mario games to come out.

Gears of War 3 Review

Posted on November 22, 2011January 16, 2012 by blooddash

Gears of War 3 is an amazing finally to the trilogy. Epic did a really good job on this game. If you want CoD you’re in the wrong place. This game is here to throw everything at you that Epic made great from the very start of the series.

First things first, campaign mode. Campaign is harder than it was in the previous games. Epic has made it their job to make the campaign harder and harder with each installment. The game is long enough and will keep you occupied for quite some time. It may be possible to beat it in one day but you’ll be there in front of the tube the entire day. Something that they did great about the campaign is the multiplayer. They’ve always had split-screen with a friend but this time they made it possible to play online with up to 4 people. Enjoy running and gunning with 3 other friends all the while chainsawing the enemy till none are left standing. They let you skip parts with talking by hitting the Back button so that’s a fun fix on your second run through. You don’t have to keep walking with your hand up to your ear for 5 minutes any longer. One thing I didn’t care for is how the ammo crates no longer give ammo to all of the guns you have. It gives ammo to only your basic primary guns that you find everywhere. It no longer gives grenades, sniper, boom-shot, or anything else that you may think of along those lines. They also make you bury through most of your ammo at every confrontation. So at times you’re switching for what ever gun you can find in the middle of the fight. It does help keep things interesting I guess. There’s still a lot of collectables for people that want to find them but there’s a ton of Easter Eggs as well for fun. I can’t even name all of them. There’s a Cluck-shot (Boom-shot that fires chickens), everyone with Dom’s beard, and a giant golden Lambent chicken to name a few. I personally enjoyed everyone with Dom’s beard because even Carmine had it on the outside of his helmet.

Before I go into multiplayer I want to talk about the weapons. There have been some changes as well as additions to the roster. The shotgun is no longer a rape everything gun. It’s been greatly balanced. Not saying nerfed because everyone knew it was over powered in the past. They have a sawed-off shotgun that has incredible power but extremely short range. There’s only one in the chamber so if you get in your opponents face and pull the trigger you’ll get the enjoyable splash and gore but if you miss you could be sitting on the exam table instead. The retro lancer is the new addition to the primary assault gun. It’s range is a bit shorter with a wider spray but a little more damage. So you should use it in close to medium range. The benefit of this gun is the lance at the end. Hold B and you’ll charge your opponent and gore them on the tip of it. Lots of enjoyment in this one. Haha. There’s a digger launcher that you shoot into the ground and it pops up next to the opponent. Nothing too special there. Aside from a couple new heavy guns similar to the Grinder that’s about it. Oh! You can now use the Cleaver that the Butchers used in GoW2. It’s fun but not worth it. Trust me.

So onto Multiplayer. There’s still the verses modes that we grew to enjoy in GoW2. Not much has changed here. Pit yourself against the enemy team and go at it. The levels are balanced and a ton of fun. You may not care for one particularly but everyone has those. Everything here has just been refined from previous games and beta testing. They did a great job with Beta testing this game because it let them fix anything before launch while giving the public what they wanted. Props to Epic for doing this. Not many companies do this any longer and it’s sad because it helps them out.

There’s Horde mode still as well as a new addition, Beast mode. Horde is the same thing that everyone has grown to enjoy in every single shooter since its release on GoW2 3 years back. With the difficulty of the game getting harder this mode as well has gotten a little more frustrating. Beast mode is awesome. You get to chose to be a Locast and attack the humans. It’s a nice little change but leads to some awesome things. The Wretch is a ton of fun and the Ticker has some incredible moments when you get there and blow up in the enemies face. They did something great here. I don’t see other games having this but once again they’re just pushing the envelope from last time.

Gears of War 3 has a lot to show for the work put in. The campaign is great and multiplayer just gives more and more for players to have fun with. The sheer among of Easter Eggs put into this game shows how much Epic wanted people to play this game and enjoy every little bit of it. I kid you not when I tell you that there’s more than 10 EE in this game. In the end they did a great job with the game and I recommend it to anyone that enjoys a 3rd person style shooter with fast gameplay.

Gears of War 3 Rating:

Graphics: 9.5

Gameplay: 9

Audio: 8.5

Replay Value: 9

Overall: 9/10

Halo Anniversary Collection

Posted on November 17, 2011November 17, 2011 by GameNinjaX

It has been 10 years since the first Halo game of the franchise was introduced on the original Xbox and paved the way for first person shooters on the newest generations of consoles.

Fortunately, the developers over at 343 Industries celebrated the 10th anniversary of Halo with a remastered version of the original Halo. Halo Anniversary Collection was built using the same software engine that was used for the original Halo so the look and feel of the original game are completely there. The graphics however have received a few steroid injections and look more up to date. One of my favorite features of Halo Anniversary Collection is that you can press the back button at any time during the campaign and revert back to the original graphics.

At any moment of the game you can notice a difference between the orignal Halo details and the details of Halo Anniversary Collection. 343 Industries did a really good job on staying true to the feel of the original Halo which not only brings a faint nostalgia but some moments make you feel like Deja Vu. If you played the original Halo 10 years ago and haven’t touched it for almost a decade then you will know what I’m talking about when picking this game up again.

Halo Anniversary Collection Multiplayer oddly enough uses Halo Reach’s multiplayer engine so your gear and rank from Halo Reach is carried over into this game as well. The multiplayer seems very balanced like how Halo 2 used to be, where it actually requires skill to go on killing sprees rather than just finding a hammer or rockets (newbs). The avaiable playlists right now are somewhat short but I assume more will be added on later. You can select from 4×4 team battle/objectives, Big team battles, FFA, and classic 4×4 team battle/objectives.

The current maps that are available are: Beaver Creek / Battle Canyon / Battle Creek, Damnation / Penance, Timberland / Ridgeline, Prisoner / Solitary, Hang ‘Em High / High Noon and Headlong / Breakneck. I’m assuming more classic maps such as Blood Gultch and Waterworks will be leveraged for DLC map packs in the future.

Halo Anniversary Collection Rates:

Gameplay 9/10 Haven’t had this much fun playing Halo multiplayer since Halo 2 which came out in 2004. The campaign is pretty decent as well, I’m just happy that I can play the Maw on legendary over Xbox Live now.

Graphics 8/10 343 Industries did a great job on keeping the original feel and experience of Halo while remastering the graphics and details of the game. Hopefully more classic games will follow suit (Original Smash, Star Wars battlefront) .

Audio 8/10 The classic Halo theme song is implemented throughout the game with the usual combat sound effects so I’m happy.

Replay Value 9/10 The original campaign on Co-op plus the multiplayer is going to take many hours of Americans free time.

Halo Anniversary Collection is not only reasonably priced at $40, it also comes with redeemable codes for a Halo Reach map pack, and a Spartan suite for your avatar. This game is a must buy for any Halo fans especially if you have been waiting for 4×4 Capture the Flag on Blood Gultch as long as I have.

Sonic Generations Review

Posted on November 8, 2011November 8, 2011 by GameNinjaX

Just in time to satisfy my cravings for some lightning fast action comes Sonic Generations, which celebrates the 20th Anniversary of the legendary hedgehog. To my surprise this game incorporated the classic Sega genesis games with the look and feel of the new Sonic games very well. Not only does it bring back nostalgia to all of those who played Sonic back in the 90’s but it starts you out at the revamped Green Hill Zone with the classic music and everything! I love how the developers kept the feel of the old Sonic games for the Sega Genesis, but added more detail and brought it up to speed. The game also incorporates the new versions of Sonic games which is the 3D platform style instead of the 2D side scrolling classics. Both are a fun way to play and keep you interested with the game because you are able to switch back and forth between each generation of Sonic at anytime.

The storyline (in-case you haven’t figured it out already) starts off with Sonic celebrating his 20th Birthday with his friends when suddenly a ghostly looking takes everyone besides sonic and warps the past and present dimensions together in some kind of limbo world where only Sonic’s super speed can save the land and his friends. Sonic eventually realizes that he has been to these places such as Green Hill Zone before and meets up with his former self (which for some reason can’t talk). Together both Sonic’s team up and play through the stages in both the past and present times. Along the way you free each of your friends in their current limbo state and they “help” you along the way to defeating each of the bosses.

The Game play is very fun for several reasons, First if you’re a fan of classic Sonic you will love this game because it brings to life the old stages and zones. Secondly, the game keeps you entertained longer because you can switch back and forth between the classic 2D side scrolling feel of Sonic as well as the 3D platform version. The third and most important thing is that there is FINALLY a new Sonic game that is worth buying.

Sonic Generations also makes you play mini challenges throughout the story mode to unlock the boss battles and points for more power up features. For instance as the picture on the left shows, you can control a go-kart and drive around at sonic speeds for the Seaside Hill zone challenge.

The stages you can play in Sonic Generations:

Green Hill Zone, Chemical Plant, Sky Sanctuary (slow down on this one!), Speed Highway, City Escape, Seaside Hill, Crisis City, Rooftop Run, and Planet Wisp.

Sonic Generations Rates:

Gameplay 9/10 This game is fun for everyone especially if you played sonic back in the day. Sonic Generations does a good job integrating the classic games with the new style and graphics of current Sonic games. This game will definitely give you your dose of just holding down the X button to speed up and blast away through ramps and rails.

Graphics 8/10 The graphics in this game a somewhat look like the Mario kart for the Wii graphics which fit the game. Although I do like the environments and the amount of detail that you see while you are speeding through the levels, even in the classic 2D side scrolling stages you can notice a big upgrade with the details for each zone.

Audio 9/10 The audio brings back nostalgia and memories of countless hours learning how to use a controller back when I was in diapers. The music in this game is for the fans of the classic genesis 8 bit audio feel. Although some of the newer songs are on the game I tend to not pay attention.

Replay Value 8/10 The replay value is quite good for this game because the detailed environments and amount of fun most people have speeding through the levels. I currently am renting this game from GameFly but I will probably buy it.

Sega finally put out a Sonic game that will be a hit for a long time, I suggest buying Sonic Generations if you’re a fan or at least renting if you are curious.