Evolution and creativity

SPORE is a game from Maxis and distributed by electronic arts. It retails for about $30-$50 depending on where you shop.

Presentation: The overall look and feel of the game is kept constant and overall and generally enjoyable. I thought that some of the different stages could have used a little more visual flair and better sound effects. The game is basically like five miniature games built into one. Control scheme is accessible to just about any kind of player with just about any kind of limitations. This is not a game for hard-core players but it is more for players that just want to mess around and create things while having some fun. (7of9 Tails. it gets its point across but could have been done a little better in my opinion.)

Graphics: The graphics are decent but nothing spectacular or revolutionary. they seem to fit the overall feel of the game but may come off as a little bit too cute for some gamers. I do not think that the animations were that vary for such a game that emphasizes customizability. The customizability options are varied enough to create most of what you want but I think it was somewhat lacking in the texture department. (7of9. It has good graphics but nowhere near spectacular.)

Sound: the sounds are pretty generic in my opinion and seemed to have had the least amount of effort poured into them. Nothing really caught my ear or was even particularly that interesting. The music is nothing to write home about and seems to be not that greatly thought out. (5of9. They just did not put that much effort into the score and thus deserve a low score for this category.)

Replayability: if you enjoy making countless creations of different species, buildings and ships this game will keep you occupied for quite a while. The more hard-core gamers might get bored with this game quickly and look elsewhere for entertainment. This game is not worth more casual relaxation and killing some time while having fun. I just don't think this game has enough to keep the majority of gamers actually busy with high interest but it is still a good game. (7of9. Unless you like to create this game will not be played that often or enjoyed as much.)

Controls: the controls are extremely simplified and can be effectively used with only the mouse to do just about everything. It's a very enjoyable control scheme and is extremely accessible to people with limited mobility and the need for switch interface controls. As simple as the controls are I think they fit the game and are an actual strength of the game. (9of9 tails.)

Closing comments: for many many years this game was overhyped and supposed to be one of the greatest games ever created. With all the DRM and asinine activation restrictions it really hurt the sales of this game. although it sold decently would have sold a lot better if these asinine restrictions had not existed to begin with. Overall it's a good game for casual gamers that will not keep most hard-core gamers interest more than a few days. if you want something that's good for killing time and creating objects you should definitely check this out. (6of9 Tails. It could have been much better in a lot of ways but still an average game worth checking out.)

New content

Three new reviews next week.

I HATE MY ISP

Internet was down a few days...ugh time warner.

A slightly late review and a bonus!

Tales of Vesperia is a role-playing game and was developed by Namco Tales Studios. It was published by Namco Bandai games and retails for $59.99-$49.99 depending on the retailer you choose to shop at.

Presentation: Everything looks coherent 90% of the time except for a few bland areas and scenes. The characters have good personalities as well as interaction with each other. The voices sound the way they should in my opinion. It's fairly easy to navigate the city's and towns to find work to go to next. It conveys the anime style very well. (8of9 Tails. A good presentation of this series in my opinion and enjoyable.)


Graphics: I found this style of graphics to be quite enjoyable and they look absolutely beautiful most of the time . Sometimes they look a little bland in a few places but generally it looks like a comic book/manga. The character designs are excellent and look marvelous in my opinion. There are usually a lot of special effects going on on the screen and generally looks good to the eyes. They could have maybe put a little more effort into the overworld map in my opinion to make the game look even better. (8of9 Tails. Although not perfect in some areas this is a beautiful game to enjoy and if you are an anime lover you will enjoy this even more.)

Sound: The opening music is very well done by a singer known as Bonnie Pink/Kaori Asada and tries to set the tone for the game. The music is quite enjoyable and the sound effects are generally decent enough. The voices are excellent for the most part and do not hurt your ears like I have found most English voice acting does to me as of late. Only complaint I have is a little bit of the text is not voice acted when you're running around towns. This is no big deal at all just slightly nitpicking. (9of9 Tails. Excellent sound and enjoyable music.)

Replayability: There are a few secret missions to do, extra costumes to give her the characters and other bonuses for you to unlock. After you beat the game for the first time you unlock a special mode to replay again. You will get your money's worth just flying through it once but if you want to see everything and get every little item there is a lot of replayability to the game. (7of9 Tails. Could use a little more incentive for playing through it once.)

Controls: The controls are good but can get a little bit repetitive in the battles. The attacks look nice and are decently varied but maybe come repetitive to any newcomers to the role-playing game genre. (7of9 Tails. Very good and fluid controls but slightly repetitive. Don't get me wrong it is a great control scheme but a little monotonous sometimes.)

Closing comments: This is probably the best game in the series and any fan of role-playing games would be doing a great disservice not to play this game. Everything about it is wonderful and enjoyable with a great presentation. You definitely should not miss this gem of a game if you own an Xbox 360. (8of9 Tails. This is a great role-playing game and definitely worth checking out.)


BONUS IMPRESSION

Resident evil 5 JP Demo was released December 5th in japan and is downloadable to EU,USA on the net. The graphics have improved ten fold and look amazing on my 1080p television. Great lighting and enviroment.

There are four control schemes A,B,C and D. A is identical to re4 controls. B&C mix new &old.
D is the new setup. I found D to be HORRIBLE, strafe=left analog turn=right. I'll stick with old A style.

New Review Date.

12/8/08

Resistance 2!

First-person shooter with really big enemies!

Resistance 2 is a PlayStation three exclusive and is developed by insomniac games. This is a sequel to the original best-selling game resistance: fall of Man which was a launch title for the PlayStation three. Resistance two retails for around $49.99-$59. 99 depending on the retailer and current specials. Although I never played the original title I was still excited to give this title a try out.

Presentation: The very opening fmv has a decent explanation for exactly what is going on in my eyes. I have not played the first one so I could only go with what the video said. Overall I think it gives a decent explanation to people who have not played the first one and makes it easy for newcomers to enjoy the game. They really enforce the point of an epic invasion that also adds to the enjoyment of the overall feel of the game. I really think they give a good presentation .. although it could probably use some more explanation from newcomers. (8of9 Tails. Overall a good presentation from what I've played.)

Graphics: I found the graphics to be very nice and pleasing to the eyes. I heard a lot of people say that it actually had terrible graphics on the various different message boards. I really don't know what they're talking about as the graphics are pretty good. The water looks really nice and so do some of the environmental effects. This was evident in one of the levels where a convoy is ambushed by the Chimera and everything fills up with smoke from the exploding vehicles. It looks really nice and transitions into a very nice looking forest filled with predator like enemies.
(9of9 Tails. Despite being flat in some areas the graphics look very well done and are quite enjoyable to the eyes. I also like the massive backgrounds.)

Sound: I thought the sound was exceptional and it and constantly had my surround system shaking my walls. There is a lot going on which also makes good use of my system. I thought everything sounded like it should and was a very enjoyable experience. (9of9 everything sounds like it should. )

Replayability: it has a good story mode which I think has a decent length of time. After you beat the single player campaign there is online corporate missions. I played a few of these missions and it was a lot of fun talking to other people while we were doing the mission with a USB microphone. The multiplayer adds considerable replayability to the game. There is also a competitive mode which is like most first person shooter games with capture the flag etc. it has a decent amount of replayability with levels to earn better weapons like in COD4/5. (9of9 Tails. it has very good replayability and gives you your money's worth in my opinion.)

Controls: Has a similar control scheme to the game gears of war minus the cover button. Switching weapons is very easy and all the other functions are nicely spread out on a regular controller. For my controller I had to make use of all 17 switches to play. It's a very nice control schematic but I wish I didn't have to use both joysticks and the digital pad together. This doesn't apply to the regular gamer and is just a complaint I have. (9of9 Tails. To me this is a nearly perfect control scheme and most people will really enjoy it. )

Closing comments: this is a wonderful game to play and is definitely worth renting if not actually purchasing it to enjoy for many months. It's also a good reason to own a PlayStation 3. I will definitely check out the first one and express my opinions on it at a later date. You definitely must check this game out if you have a PlayStation three gaming console. The boss fights are quite enjoyable and interesting to say the least.(9of9 it's an incredibly enjoyable game and anybody who is a fan of video games should definitely check it out. I love this game a considerable amount.)