Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Minecraft


 I visited Minecraft months ago, when it was in it's stages of Beta. Back then, this game was rated 9.0, in an unofficial state, since the game wasn't truly released. Now, with Minecraft released I'm revisiting it.(Well, I never stopped playing. This is an amazing game.)

 Minecraft is an indie game built from the ground up and it couldn't have done better. Over the course of several builds launched before release the public was allowed to play Minecraft. This let the devs add content and fix bugs with community input. Going into this review, I won't touch upon graphics, or this games engine much, as both are unique to this game. The graphics wouldn't live up to current standards, but they're not supposed too. The engine has bugs, but the devs have them fixed within weeks.

 When you normally jump into a game world, the first thing you see in front of you, is your end goal. Minecraft takes a different approach, dropping you into a world where you can build, destroy and do anything. There is no real end goal, unless you count defeating the final "Boss". With so much content added before release, Minecraft turned into a shining game. No longer can I compare another video game with Minecraft. It's on a planet of its own, in a great way.

 Minecraft works off a basic system, break blocks, which you can then place, with some exceptions. At first, this is all it offered, then it came out with Survival mode, adding tools and weapons to help survive against creatures which spawn every night. Not only did this add more play time to Minecraft, it made it a challenge, what every real gamer wants. With each update, there were bugs, but at the next update, they were always removed or at least hidden.

 With hundreds of items and blocks, Minecraft is in no way limited by content. Recently Notch, the main dev and creator of Minecraft, released The End. The End acts as a realm to combat the final boss, the Enderdragon (OMG. Yes. This game has a dragon in it!) Another realm, the Nether, a hellish zone with appropriate land forms and terrain was also added a while back. NPCs and their villages added a new spice to the game and of course... Multiplayer.

 Multiplayer for Minecraft is an experience totally it's own. Building castles and towns with friends is something that you can't beat in any other game. Though it contains more bugs than singleplayer, multiplayer is much for entertaining. Though setting up a server may be a hassle for some, it pays off. There are plenty of third-party mods which also boost your multiplayer experience, but do detract from the feeling of vanilla Minecraft. So if you're a gamer who can't live without his friends to play with, do not fear.

Overall, Minecraft is a game for almost everyone. The engine, graphics and gameplay lead it to be a game that can't be compared to another and make it stand out with a gleaming shine. Bugs don't mean much in this game, as the devs are great about repairing any problems. Minecraft does have one of the biggest, or THE biggest community for a single game. Just buy it.

 Overall Score: 9.75
Yes. It's almost the best game ever created.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Dead Space 2

Guest Reviewer: Luke T.



            Dead Space 2 is the sci fi, horror sequel to Dead Space. Dead Space 2 takes place on a space station where Isaac (the main character) is being held in a mental hospital after the events of Dead Space. You are awoken right around the time the shit hits the fan, necromorphs are overrunning the space station and once again Isaac is called to battle with these monsters. I don’t want to spoil the the story for you but trust me, it is awesome and from start to finish Dead Space 2 keeps you on the edge of your seat. Some people don’t think they can be scared by a video game but if any game can scare you this one will. The thing that scared me the most was the feeling of vulnerability as I walked down the dark halls, you never know when a necromorph is going to burst through the wall or ceiling, or when one of the mutilated bodies on the ground comes to life and attacks you.

            The graphics in Dead Space 2 are not amazing but very good. Whether it be the excessive gore or some of the epic views the game holds I was never disappointed when it came to the graphics. The graphics for character models are extremely well built. For example, the necromorphs disfigured bodies are very detailed, and the bloodied carcasses of the inhabitants of the city are quite realistic.

            The combat in Dead Space 2 is intense and satisfying. One thing I loved was that there was no HUD, your health display is a row of bars on your back and your ammo is displayed right above your weapon. When you bring up your inventory it doesnt pause your game instead it projects it directly in front of you and leaves you vulnerable to enemy attack, I think this adds a nice bit of realism to the game. Almost all of the weapons in the game have a primary and secondary use, for example the line gun can fire a wide powerful shot or it can place a mine on the ground, things like this make it so you have many different ways to approach a battle.

            Overall I think this game is definitely worth its price and it is as fun as it is scary. It has a deep and very interesting story, it has very fun game play, and last but not least the graphics are awesome. So if your looking for a great scare or some fun get this game, once you start to play you wont be able to stop until the game is finished then you’ll have to play it through again.

Overall Score: 8.5

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Killing Floor

 Now, before I start this review, I'd like to hint that I have something really, really, REALLY awesome coming up. Oh. How I love dragons. ;)



 Killing Floor, a Left 4 Dead rip off, you might say? Not really. Just because it's a horror, and has things that look like zombies, it's not based off Left 4 Dead. This game is an interesting build from the people (Tripwire interactive) who have now created the new Red Orchestra game.



 Killing Floor is, for one, a game that does not really include zombies... or, the normal kind. These are mostly referred to as Specimens. Though server Specimens seem to echo the Left 4 Dead zombies, like the Bloat, a huge, fat, and bile spewing Specimen, you can't really mark this game down. Take Dead Island for example, it ALSO had a fat, exploding guy of sorts. Moving on. The game also does not run the same. Killing Floor lets you select one map and then battle out against waves of Specimen which increase in number and difficulty. There is NO really storyline for this game, unless you want to look on the Main Data Base for all things Killing Floor. Killing Floor also allows you to go to a trader between waves, who will let you buy and sell weapons. You will not really find weapons around the map, but a few do spawn, though rarely.
(Yup. That's a Christmas themed event. They also have Halloween. :D)
 Killing Floor's graphics look great for a horror survival game. The tone seems gritty, which is totally awesome. While you are dead, your spectator cam looks as if it came from the early model of recorders, with old style effects everywhere. The models of guns and equipment look fine, but the character model's animation looks the same. Not a bad thing... but come on, maybe the guys with gas masks can move the mask around when the player stands still. There are numerous weapons, and seven classes to go with them including: Firebug (Pyro), Commando, Sharpshooter, and Field Medic. The classes gain boosts with their class weapons, and discounts from the trader. It really seems like a solid system and when you get bored of one class, you still have six more to play.

 Killing Floor is a great game to play with friends. Alone, it gets boring, but it's not called a co-op survival for nothing... The game has perfect atmosphere, and the totally British survivors calling for money, heals and spouting jokes is aways funny. The graphics are great for this sort of a game, not for a COD game of course. The engine I didn't talk much about, but it's quite solid also. The Specimen are coded nicely. Don't buy this game if you are easily scared. It's a horror after all.

Overall Score: 7.5