GameNinjaX, Author at Video Game News, Reviews, and Art

Dead or Alive Dimensions Review

Posted on August 29, 2011September 27, 2011 by GameNinjaX

DOA Dimensions Gameplay

Dead or Alive Dimensions, hands down has the best graphics on the Nintendo 3DS system. The first game I played for the Nintendo 3DS was Super Street Fighter IV and I thought those graphics would be hard to beat but as usual, the developers of the Dead or Alive series, Team Ninja, out did themselves again.

Possible Xbox future consoles

The Graphics for Dead or Alive Dimensions make you feel like you entered a new age of technology, where hand held devices are becoming as powerful as consoles. This could mean that the new generation of consoles is going to come out soon. Look at the signs normally the “Slim” versions of a console come out a year or two (at most) before the new generation of consoles are released.

Anyways back to the Dead or Alive Dimensions Review, the game play is very smooth and much easier to play with the Nintendo 3DS analog stick. I actually have an easier time playing Dead or Alive on the 3DS rather than the Xbox, which I never thought would happen. The fighting style is very smooth and doesn’t frustrate me as much as the previous Dead or Alive video games, I don’t know if its just easier on the Nintendo 3DS or the developers worked on the overall game flow.

Another area that Dead or Alive on the 3DS surpasses the console video games, is the amount of playable characters in the game. There are a total of 26 playable characters for Dead or Alive Dimensions and 2 alternate costumes for each character, which is more than any previous DOA video game. The amount of unlock-able characters really adds to the game and keeps it interesting.

The chronicles “story” mode in Dead or Alive Dimensions covers the story mode for all the previous titles of DOA, and is a nice catch up on the history of Dead or Alive. The chronicles mode is a nice remake of all the original story lines, but there are two faults to its implementation. The first con is that the characters mouths don’t move during the cut scenes, it makes you feel like your game is possibly defective or frozen. The second fault of the chronicles story mode is that if you know the entire DOA series story, then this probably will be a breeze and just a rehash for you. However, if you haven’t played or missed out on a Dead or Alive game then this mode will be more intriguing.

The Arcade mode is another feature in Dead or Alive Dimensions that allows you to quickly unlock characters and alternate costumes. This mode is a time attack against a series of opponents that you only need to defeat them in one round to progress to the next stage. The Arcade mode is fun for a few hours, but it does get a little dull. I recommend playing through the arcade mode to quickly unlock characters and costumes before playing the Chronicles mode. You can also unlock figurines of characters in the Arcade and Chronicles mode to view and take HD pictures of the characters.

Dead or Alive Dimensions rates

Gameplay 8/10 The game play is very smooth and easy to control especially for a hand held fighting game. I still haven’t decided if I like DOA or Super Street Fighter 4 as the best Nintendo 3DS game yet.

Graphics 9/10 The Dead or Alive games have always been known for their very detailed environments and stages, Dimensions for the Nintendo 3DS is no exception.

Audio 7/10 No great theme song or anything, just your standard fighting game sound effects and music.

Replay Value 7/10 After you play the Arcade mode a few times and run through the Chronicles mode, I don’t think there is much left to do in this game.

Dead or Alive Dimensions is a must play for Nintendo 3DS owners, especially because of the short selection of games available for the 3DS currently. Here is a clip of actual cut scenes for Dead or Alive Dimensions

Super Street Fighter IV Nintendo 3DS Review

Posted on August 23, 2011 by GameNinjaX

Super Street Fighter IV is a must own for fighting game fans. I have played Super Street Fighter IV on the Xbox 360 and Nintendo 3DS and I must admit that it is much more fun on the 3DS. The graphics are actually comparable to the Xbox 360 and yet the Nintendo 3DS is in 3-D!

I know what you’re thinking, how can the Nintendo 3DS be better than an Xbox 360? The controls must be more difficult right? Wrong. The controls are actually very similar with the new analog stick for the 3DS and they make it even easier to do combos with the touch pad (kinda cheap really). What about being able to challenge people online? You can do that too on your Nintendo 3DS version of Super Street Fighter IV as well.

The only thing that Xbox 360 has over the Nintendo 3DS version is the ability to play with someone if you don’t want to go online.

Now lets get to the Gameplay, Super Street Fighter IV adds 10 new characters to the original Street Fighter IV set of characters making it a total of 35. The developers added more levels and achievements as well. You can also notice that this game flows a little smoother than the original Street Figher IV. The punches and kicks seem to be dead on with the timing of the visuals. One thing that they should have implemented was a new boss because Seth gets a little boring after the 20th time. If you play arcade mode with the default settings you can battle Gouken after the last match against Seth. You can do this if you did not lose a single round, have at least two perfect rounds, executed ten first hits, and performed five Ultra Combo or Super Combo finishes. That’s not hard right newbs!

Super Street Fighter IV rates:

Gameplay 8/10 A very fluid fighting game for the Nintendo 3DS, and it’s currently the top rated one. Not to mention the amount of characters available and it’s the first 3-D Street Fighter!

Graphics 8.5/10 I was literally amazed how well the developers implemented the 3-D graphics into a 2-D fighting game. It’s comparable to the Xbox 360 graphis except in the palm of your hand.

Auido 7/10 Just your normal Street Fighter sound tracks with the ever lasting “Hadouken” sound effects when utilizing special moves

Replay Value 8/10 Lets face it, Street Fighter has been around for over a decade (almost 2) this game can always be picked up and played.

Have Super Street Fighter IV for the Nintedo 3DS send me your friend code and we can play against each other! If you have it on Xbox 360 add my gamertag, ASG Bilbo. If you’re really into fighting games check out my review for Marvel vs Capcom 3

Check out this video of Super Street Fighter IV game play for the Nintendo 3DS!

Super Street Fighter IV Nintendo 3DS trailer

League of Legends Wukong Review

Posted on August 18, 2011September 29, 2011 by GameNinjaX

League of Legends Wukong

League of Legends new champion, Wukong, represents the legendary monkey king from Japanese folk tales. Wukong is the embodiment of the character from the Dragon Ball Z series as well.

See the Resemblance?

Wukong, the new League of Legends champion, is a beast and very fun to play. Wukong’s primary role is to inflict dps while decoying the enemy champions. Wukong’s abilities allow him to strike from afar (nimbus strike) and then create an image of himself to distract enemy champions (decoy) and run away if need be. Not to mention he comes equipped with the legendary monkey king staff and has a move that will inflict extra damage on your next hit.

League of Legends Wukong Nimbus Strike

How to play Wukong– Wukong is to be played as a hit and run champion. In the beginning of the game it is recommended to purchase Dorans Blade to increase dps and health, which is a very useful starting weapon. I upgrade my first ability in Nimbus strike, then once I hit level 2 get decoy and start targeting enemy champions with Nimbus strike, and then use decoy to leave with no damage.

If you can work this effectively, you can push the enemy back to his tower and now they are on the defensive. The next item to go for are Berserkers Greaves, which increase Wukong’s movement speed and attack speed. Wukong’s main disadvantage is his speed, so its best to acquire these boots early in game and perhaps pick up the Ghost spell to chase enemy champions or run back to base. Be careful not to start an all out brawl with Wukong because if he is targeted by the enemy team then you will not last long. Wukong has decent health but he is not a tank which means you will get targeted. Just look for ways to help your teammates gank enemy champions or keep using the nimbus strike/decoy combo to push lanes. I normally go for Trinitiy Force (even though its very costly) after the Berserkers Greaves and by that time you should be a DPSing machine.

Wukong’s Volcanic Skin

If you follow those basics you will definitely know how to play Wukong as a well rounded champion. However, here are the advantages and disadvantages of playing as Wukong.

Pros- Decent character all around as far as staying alive and inflicting damage. I have seen other League of Legends players carry a team with Wukong if you utilize his nimbus strike and decoy attacks properly.

Cons- He is a slow character, which makes it hard to play catch up if you normally have to run back and forth to the base. For some reason, Wukong cannot get a majority of the killing blows which means your teammates will usually get the kill. I have experienced this using Wukong myself and other Wukong players have as well.

Overall– Though Wukong is a fun character to play as and isn’t to difficult to learn, I recommend trying him out at least once, especially if you enjoyed the Dragon Ball Z series. I mean nimbus cloud, magic staff, and a monkey tail what more could you ask for lol!

Finally, Riot Games has heard League of Legends fans complaints and added new maps to play! Dominion maps are set to come out soon and you can count that I will have posted a review with tips, tricks, and advice when Dominion is live.

Check out my full review of League of Legends

Nintendo 3DS Review

Posted on August 14, 2011September 29, 2011 by GameNinjaX

Nintendo 3DS Review

I went ahead and took advantage of my Powerup Rewards card offer and bought the Nintendo 3DS for $99. Let me tell you that I am not disappointed! Nintendo Consoles/games have been a huge let down as of late, but start purchasing stock in Nintendo again ladies and gentlemen, because the Nintendo 3DS is spectacular.

Nintendo 3DS HD Pictures

The Nintendo 3DS is like having a portable Xbox/PS2/Gamecube in your hand. Not only are the graphics in 3D, but the 3DS can also go online, take HD pictures, download Gameboy games directly to a SD card, and be used as a mp3 player.

Nintendo 3DS HD pictures are high quality and can be stored on the SD that it comes with. I was planning on buying a new camera, but after seeing that my 3DS takes HD quality pictures and my cell phone does as well, why bother?

The controls on the 3DS are a big upgrade from the normal directional pad because it comes with a mini joystick pad that makes games like Super Street Fighter 4 and Dead or Alive a lot easier to play on hand helds. I also really like the sleek metallic design that the 3DS has because it feels very modern.

Graphics– The graphics are quite amazing, I turned my Nintendo 3DS on when I got home and was staring at the screen wondering how Nintendo created a hand held device that had Xbox like graphics. I remember playing on those big fat gray Gameboys like it was yesterday and now cell phones have free apps that have better graphics. Technology has come a long way in such a short amount of time.

Here is an example of how good the graphics are for this hand held device. Doesn’t that remind you of the Gamecube graphics that was out just 5 years ago?

Not only are the graphics very detailed but the 3D images do work and without those annoying glasses! (When will the movies learn)

There is, however, a few cons to having such detailed 3D images on a hand held. The first is that sometimes the images blur for poorer quality games, which can get very annoying. The second con is that after staring into the device for about 20 minutes you will develop a slight headache. One solution to the headaches are to just pause the game and take a break (eat a sandwich you lazy bums) or you can turn down the 3D graphics. Even when the 3D graphics are turned off the images are more detailed than a regular DS which is nice.

Nintendo 3DS Rates: (Can you tell that I like the aqua color?)

Graphics 9/10, For a hand held device what more can you ask for? The images are in 3D, require no glasses and not to mention look like your playing the previous generation of consoles.

Controls 8/10 The controls are similar to the Nintendo DS except the addition of the mini joystick which I like, and a new home button.

Audio 7/10 The only reason I rated the audio is because of the issue I have with the volume. It doesn’t seem to get as loud as previous Gameboys, which is kind of disappointing. They are loud enough to hear, but if you have the TV on or loud neighbors good luck trying to block out distractions.

Features 9/10 When I read that the Nintendo 3DS can take HD pictures I was impressed but the features don’t stop there. The 3DS has WiFi capabilities to download older games, a sound management section for listening to music, a Mii character, and much more.

Overall, I am pretty impressed with the Nintendo 3DS and recommend purchasing one with the recent price cut from $249 to $169. You will definitely be seeing more Nintendo 3DS game reviews coming, especially for Star Fox :).

What do you guys think about the 3DS? Has anyone tried to download a Gameboy game from the online store yet? Leave some comments and some luv!

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 Review

Posted on August 12, 2011September 29, 2011 by GameNinjaX


Marvel Ultimate Alliance

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 is Ravens latest video game that utilizes their tried and true action rpg formula. This is the 4th installment to their marvel action rpg’s after X-men Legends and the first Marvel Ultimate Alliance. If you’re a fan of super heroes and comics, than this game was made for you. This game does implement some new features that make the game play a bit more dynamic than just mashing the A button, such as the Fusion special powers. Not to mention the host of 24 payable characters to keep it interesting.


Marvel Ultimate Alliance Playable Characters

Fusion powers are combining 2 of your heroes abilities together, such as Hulk and Thor smashing the ground with Hulk smash and Thors Hammer. You get an achievement for doing all 24 character fusions which is kinda easy points. Actually, almost every achievement in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 is a freebie (utilize this game if you care about gamer points).

If only Dead Pool had Mjolnir

The games storyline is based off of the Civil War series where during the middle of the game you have to choose anti or pro registration for revealing super hero identities. This decision will change the path you take during game play and will also change a few of the available characters (which pissed me off cuz I had to go back and redo it on legendary). The storyline could have been a bit more engaging, but it was sufficient enough to keep me entertained. This game is basically a Marvel dungeon crawler because you go through levels just obliterating hordes of enemies while collecting fun items/artifacts to unlock 3 powerful characters (Thor shows his godly powers in this one).

I am hoping that X-Men Destiny will have similar fighting style features to this game. I also searched for any rumors about Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3, but couldn’t find any relevant information about it coming out. Hurry up Raven and make us Marvel comic fans another sequel!

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 Rates

Graphics 7/10 Not horrible graphics for the 360, but definitely not the best either. The cut scenes look almost as if you’re watch an Iron Man movie drunk or something, but we can all expect the low edge graphics from the previous titles.

Gameplay 7/10 This game is loads of fun if your a fan of Marvel or comics in general, but if you don’t care for super heroes then I would stray away from this title.

Audio 8/10 All the characters sound like their normal selves and come with a few funny jokes here and there. Especially Dead pool’s and Hulk’s, make sure you ask a few questions with them.

Replay Value 7/10 It was a hard decision because I think it deserves more than a 7, but at the same time the game does get repetitive. It is fun though to replay and do both pro-registration and anti-registration on different difficulties.

Overall, this game is a 7 and a rent would suffice for super hero fans. If you can’t wait like me for Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3, there is Marvel vs Capcom 3 to hold us off for a while.

Has anyone heard any rumors of Marvel Ultimate alliance 3 yet?

Here is a cool game trailer in case you are wondering what the game play looks like.

GameFly Review

Posted on August 9, 2011September 29, 2011 by GameNinjaX

Click here for your free month of GameFly

This special review on GameFly is not about video games but about a company that I believe is going to see profits close to Netflix. GameFly is a mail based video game company that allows you to rent video games directly to your house (Netflix for Gamers!). Part of the reason I started writing this blog was to inform gamers about which games not to waste their money on (or even time in some cases).

If you want to save even more money and receive a buy one month get one free, click my referral link GameFly Referral Link. This will allow you to receive a free month if you sign up through my referral, so enjoy!

GameFly is a great resource for gamers who love to play a vast amount of games, but don’t want to pay the full price (usually $60) for every single one of them. Gamefly allows you to rent up to 2 games per month for $22 or 1 game for $15. I honestly think the 1 game for $15 isn’t saving you money and not worth it. The reason being is that the only con to using Gamefly is the slow… slow… slow shipping time compared to Netflix. Gamefly, in some cases, can take up to a full week to receive and ship a game to me when Netflix will do it in 3 days. However, movies only cost $20-$40 depending if you went for Blu-ray while video games are $60 and therefore worth the extra wait.

The picture to my right is how I feel now when I get that email on my phone saying your game has been shipped. Well, maybe not that excited : )

Not only do I try to quickly run through games and try to score all the achievement points, all day but I often find myself stuck on my GameFly app on my phone, adding games to the que.

GameFly Rates:

Convenience 8/10 GameFly probably saves me an average of $80 per month because I normally would have bought at least 2 games.

Fun Factor 8/10 For $22 a month I can’t think of anything that would provide more entertainment at that cost.

Overall Value 8.5/10 I would normally give this a 9/10 value, but I don’t like the seemingly long waiting for games to be received. If GameFly shortens the wait time to at least 3-4 days instead of 5, I will be a life long customer (that is if they don’t raise the prices like Netflix just did).

Child of Eden Review

Posted on August 4, 2011September 29, 2011 by GameNinjaX


Child of Eden Review

Child of Eden is every rave lovers video game dream.
This game is based on visually stunning effects and details, as well as one epic techno play list. I spent a few hours myself searching and downloading the music in Child of Eden. This game was designed for techno loving rave fans that have nothing better to do than trip out on drugs and play these kinds of games. The missiles are called Euphoria bombs, like as if that was original.
Don’t get me wrong, this game does have its perks, such as the graphics are done very well and will give anyone who can’t handle fast flying and flashing images a seizure. I mean just look at the details of this in game screen shot;

How you implement game play into a game based on visually beautiful pictures, a great soundtrack and not copy Dance Dance Revolution is the tricky part.

The game play is quite simple (almost to simple). For kinect users, you use your hand to aim at the target viruses and shoot. With the controller, which is easier but not as fun, you aim with the joystick and button mash A. The enemy, which is a “virus” (orange and pink discolored images), has started to corrupt a data file, known as Eden, which you are sent out to eradicate. The storyline doesn’t really get much more involved than that.

I have to admit, I find myself quite enthralled by the images and music while playing this game, but I was just expecting more in the actual game play.

Child of Eden Rates:

Gameplay 6/10 This game can get old pretty quick once you have seen the detailed graphics a few times and downloaded the sound track.

Graphics 9/10 The graphics are very sharp and make you feel as if you are traveling through a Ravers mind while in Ectasy.

Audio 8/10 The soundtrack is pretty impressive in this game.

Replay Value 5/10 After a quick run through of this game, I doubt you will want to pick it back up again. At least until you forget what the graphics look like, this game is definitely a rent.

What do you ravers out there think about Child of Eden? I’m also wondering what people think about this game if they don’t like listening to techno music (must be unbearable). I however do enjoy techno music and enjoy this video :)

Star Wars the Old Republic Preview

Posted on July 27, 2011September 29, 2011 by GameNinjaX


SWOTR Darth Malgus

Yes, its finally here! (well almost). I just pre-ordered my copy of Star Wars the Old Republic last week and all I have to say is.. about damn time! I have been waiting for this game to come out for over 2 years now and I was beginning to think it was going to be another Star Craft 2 launch fail (took over a decade).
Don’t forget to pre-order this game asap because not only do you get some cool in game items, such as a color stone (for your lightsaber), but early in game access as well. This is your chance to save your favorite character name before you have to be xShadowkillerx32. Trust me, this game is going to be big and has the highest probability of being a Wow killer. (Did I mention it broke pre-order records already?)

Star Wars the Old Republic is a mmorpg based in the Star Wars era, thousands of years before Darth Vaders’ story, when the Galactic Republic and Sith Empire waged war. Your character can be anything, from a smuggler to a Sith Warrior. This game is going to seriously going to add 10 pounds to nerds everywhere, get a couple people fired, and destroy a few relationships.
I, for one, hope this game follows through and releases in January, just a couple weeks after I graduate where I’m in that weird “just graduated but can’t find a good job phase.” My job til March will be kicking some Sith Lords ass and saving the digital world one planet at a time ;)
Do you guys think this game will be better than Wow? How badly do you think Blizzard is biting their nails right now hoping that this game doesn’t take away from their 7 million (formerly 12 million) subscribers and dropping?
And with that, I will leave you all with this video from this years Comic Con