Sunday, August 31, 2008

LSD: Dream Emulator Review

So I finally got to play LSD: Dream Emulator. It is extremely boring and extremely strange. As you start up the game you get an unnecessarily long intro that is trippy as hell. Once you actually play the game you hear the fun music and the annoying clicks of your footsteps. Walk into any object or wall and you'll be transported to another area. A couple times I was transported to a city area. The first time I was transported there I was shot by some guy and sent to another area. The second time I was there I saw some red car speed down the road and fly into a river. It was pretty funny to see something as random as that. As I wondered the city I saw planes fly by and soon spacecraft. Then I came upon some lady wearing a pink dress. She was simply standing there and I wanted to be transported to a new area so I casually strolled up to her and she disappeared only to reappear a few feet away. I walked up to her again and the same thing happened. So I ran up to her and this time she turned to me, bowed, and did something that I missed. This time I was transported to a new area. There was a building and a person standing in front of the building. The person was simply a giant head with arms and legs. After my dream lasted for a good long while I purposefully walked off a cliff to end the dream. At the end of every dream they grade you on how static/dynamic and how upper/downer the dream was. Overall I say get the game because it's a rare gem to have, but if you're looking for something to last a long time I would not recommend this.

I give LSD: Dream Emulator an 8... out of 10.

Saturday, August 30, 2008

Republic Commando Review

This review won't be my best, so deal with it you annoying so-and-so.

So I started playing Republic Commando because it came with Jedi Outcast. The game begins with the Kamino natives (whatever species they are) administrating your tests and what not, a bunch of in-game cinematics which is okay I guess, it was a little different. Then the first level you are dropped off in the Geonosian arena in the heat of the battle in the end of Episode 2. The combat is pretty simplistic like any run of the mill shooter, nothing to special about the combat except... ah, the blood. When you get blood or (in a droid's case) oil on your visor you have a visor wiper clean it off, it's pretty cool. You don't really meet up with ALL of your teammates until a couple levels into the game. You get to command your team to do a bunch of tasks such as planting explosives, breaching a door, taking cover and sniping, healing, etc. You can always preform these tasks... unless you're dead, in which you call over a teammate to revive you. Don't take advantage to this as your team will get annihilated in certain areas... along with you. Your team is not a group of idiotic AI, they are just as smart as you are. The levels are pretty cool and definitely help you get more acquainted with you the soldier. Another cool aspect is that there are healing posts that you can use and your teammates will use as well. Like I said they're not stupid so you don't have to command them to do so. Overall a really fun game, but the lasting appeal is the worst thing. I feel that once I'm finished with it I'm just going to uninstall it, put it back in the case, and let it collect dust.

I give Star Wars: Republic Commando a 9... out of 10.

Boots with the Fur


...
Did ya get it!?

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Triforce Origins

I haven't posted in awhile (like usual) so I figure I'd post this find that I discovered last year.

Most of us are familiar with the triforce seen in Legend of Zelda, but where does it come from? Well back in the 1500s there were a couple samurai named Hojo Ujiyasu and Hojo Tsunanari. I use both of their names because I am unclear as to who used it first. Anyways, both samurai had flags that displayed the triforce:


They also displayed this flag in their castles:

So that's where the triforce symbol originated. Whether Miyamoto knew about this or not is beyond me.
Happy?

[Pictures from johnstuart.biz]
You can find out more about the Hojo Clan by going here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C5%8Dj%C5%8D_clan

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Office Macguyver

Like the new look of the blog? I felt it needed a harsher look than the bland and soft white and red. I also got a new profile icon that I think Rob K. will recognize.
Anyways onto the post. I saw these videos on TV awhile ago on a show called "Attack of the Show." The skits are called McGunner and he's the office Macguyver. All three videos are provided by Game Trailers.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
N-Joi!

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Updates

So I haven't written a blog in awhile so I figure I should just post an update.
I just got a game called "LSD Dream Emulator" which I will be reviewing soon. A very crazy game. Now I have two games with funny titles, "Painkiller" and "LSD."
I'll also be reviewing Star Wars Republic Commando, which by the way is kicking some serious ass. Hopefully I can get off my ass and schedule some interviews with Robert Krzykowski, Aidan Hughes, and hopefully Sascha Konietzko.

Thursday, August 7, 2008

A True Jedi Outcast

The Dark Forces/Jedi Knight series is by far the best series of Star Wars games out there. Dark Forces was awesome, Jedi Knight was phenomenal because now you were a Jedi, and Jedi Outcast was... well... not up to par. From the start it was pretty difficult. You could be in a storage locker and they'd throw the entire Imperial army at you (mind you I was playing on Padawan difficulty). The Imperial army would run around like idiots like they tend to do, making it impossible to kill them. What makes the battles even harder is the fact that some stormtroopers are armed with missile launchers and... I guess it's a grenade launcher (the Flechette). The first boss battle you fight you are actually SUPPOSED to get your ass handed to you, which I had no idea. Another B.S. moment is that while the entire Imperial army is thrown at you in a storage locker, you come to a hangar filled with roughly ten Imperials and Kyle says something along the lines of, "I don't have enough fire power to take them all out. Stealth would be a wise choice." I'm sitting there in utter shock because you've been taking on a billion enemies in a room and now when there are hardly any enemies Kyle flips out and thinks it would be a better idea to use stealth. That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Another thing that really got to me was how they hid critical passages (i.e. ventilation shafts) and how the critical buttons you had to use were hidden in with the decoration buttons. I hated how they once again restocked your arsenal, that's right, say bye-bye to the Stouker Concussion Rifle and the Rail Launcher. They did make the levels long as hell, which I appreciate, however, there are very few levels which counteracts the long as hell thing.
Let's talk about the positives. The level design is pretty good despite the hidden passages/buttons. In one level you're in a hangar and you can press a button you open the hatches and if you do so you send stormtroopers flying out of the hangar screaming, great fun. In Mysteries of the Sith you can throw your lightsaber and now you still can, which is definitely a plus. The voice acting is great and so is the storyline. The places you go in the game are cool, you go to Nar Shadda (like usual) and you also hit up Cloud City, which is not only a hard level, but a fun one too.
Overall it's pretty decent, but I wouldn't really recommend it unless you were looking for a challenging game, you're a hardcore Star Wars fan, or you are very much into the Dark Forces/Jedi Knight series.

I give Jedi Outcast a 7 out of 10.