Review: Darksiders (360)

+'s

-good blend of Zelda and God of War gameplay

-interesting story

-deep and satisfying combat system without being overly complex (a bit more simple than the God of War series)

-'s

-some of the puzzles can be a bit cumbersome (although none of them are too difficult)

-bad voice-acting

Neutral

-graphics and sound are average at best

Overall, a decent game. Most will only want to rent this (it'll take between 15-20 hours). The ending is quite good, and appears to hint at a sequel.

Points Addict: 42,000

Tonight I passed 42K while playing Darksiders.

2009 Game(s) of the Year

2009 was better than 2008 from start to finish (except for the Wii), and if so many games weren't delayed until early 2010, it might have been one of the best years to date. I've extended my list to 15 games, because their were half again as many deserving games as last year.

15. Dragon Age: Origins-a great start for a new franchise.

14. Left 4 Dead 2-greatly improved from the original.

13. Resident Evil 5- I wish it was still scary, but it added campaign co-op

12. Street Fighter 4-EXACTLY what all of us SF2 fans wanted

11. Halo 3: ODST-best Halo campaign yet with Firefight and all Halo 3 multiplayer maps.

10. Shadow Complex-Super Metroid for the 21st Century, the best digital game I've played yet.

9. InFamous-best control yet for an open world game with platforming elements. I want the sequel yesterday.

8. Batman: Arkham Asylum-just what a Batman game should be, and greatly raised the bar for all comic-based games

7. Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time-best game I've played in the series. Non-stop fun from start to finish

6. Assassin's Creed 2-Improved on the original in nearly every way.

5. Borderlands-the pacing was probably a bit slow and the ending sucked, but this started the shooter/looter genre

4. Killzone 2-Fantastically intense campaign (wish it had co-op!) and great multiplayer. Controls are heavy, but they fit the game well

3. Brutal Legend-Tim Schafer+Heavy Metal+Action Adventure/RTS=Awesome

2. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves-Almost unfair that it shared the year with MW2. Possibly the best cinematic-based action/adventure yet and very good multiplayer.

1. Modern Warfare 2-Head and shoulders above anything else. Truly did the almost impossible: it made COD4 obsolete.

Notes: 2009 also saw my favorite DLC so far (Big Surf Island for Burnout Paradise). Also, Flower was outstanding, but is more of an interactive experience than an actual game.

Review: New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Wii)

+'s

-2-D Mario

-up to 4-player co-op (drop in-drop out) with the ability to play competitively or cooperatively

-some new abilities and gameplay mechanics

-'s

-2-D Mario (there's only so much room for Nintendo to expand on this genre)

-nothing incredibly new or exciting

Neutrals

-game can get crazy with multiple players (mix of frustrating and fun)

Overall, this is a tough game to review: it's a quality 2-D platformer, but most of it has been done before (and much of it is still available at a fraction of the cost) and little feels truly fresh. The main points are a 2-D Mario on the Wii and the multiplayer component.

Review: Bayonetta (360)

+'s

-very good graphics

-deep fighting system

-almost the perfect use of "New Game+"

-'s

-very button-mashy (I often had no idea why I died or which enemy hit me)

-non-sensical story (the demons are good and the angels are bad?)

-terribly cheesy music and voice acting (I wouldn't watch the cinematics again unless I was getting paid)

Neutral

-No co-op or multiplayer feature.

Overall, Bayonetta was a good game. It's obvious that the creators of Devil May Cry were behind it, as it has much of the same faults and strengths. I would recommend playing on Easy difficulty for the first playthrough (Normal is frustrating in spots, and it seems like the game was meant to be played on Easy first so you can unlock moves, items, weapons, etc. that are needed to play the game on Normal). I would only recommend this for fans of this style of game.

Points Addict: 41,000

Tonight I passed 41K while playing Bayonetta.

Non-Review: Demon's Souls (PS3)

+'s

-intriguing use of online multiplayer (ability to: summon 2 players to assist you, leave helpful messages for other players, and invade other player's worlds. Each has benefits.)

-compelling use of souls for all form of upgrades (stats, weapon upgrades, items, etc.)

-'s

-Poor gameplay (I could right a paragraph on this easily, but the biggest problem is the use of stamina in boss fights. Bosses in particular are able to break your shield block, bringing your stamina to zero, and then attack you mercilessly while you are unable to block or dodge. This can be extremely frustrating.)

-Even when I did defeat a boss (I think I defeated 4 of them in 25 hours or so) I felt a sense of relief rather than satisfaction or fun.

-No maps or true sense of location reference. It's not enough that you can die at literally any point in the game, but you must memorize every turn and staircase while you're also wondering what's around the corner waiting to kill you.

-Incredible amount of backtracking and monotony. The penalty for death is losing souls (and a bit of HP if you die and go from body form to soul form) and having to start and the beginning of a level, and the enemies respawn along with you.

-Almost complete lack of hints or a guide in any fashion. The only real in game guides are the notes by other players (even essential elements of the game are not obvious. For example, I spent over 15 hours wondering how to leave messages, rate them, summon Blue Phantoms, invade other worlds, etc.) or via online walkthroughs and FAQ's. This is an incredible amount of rigor to complete in order to enjoy the game at any level.

-Very little entertainment value, if any

Neutral

-Voice acting is decent in spots and almost hilariously bad in others.

- graphics and sound (fine for the most part, but there is some screen tearing in places)

Overall, I really wanted to enjoy Demon's Souls, but it really is a game only for the most rabid RPG fans wanting a ridiculous level of challenge and time investment. From what I've seen online, many gamers are really enjoying this game, but after 25 hours (that I can never get back) I just felt more and more frustrated. This is a perfect example of a game feeling more like work and less like a game.

Note: Non-Reviews mean that I did not complete the game, but I feel I played enough to make an appropriate judgement on a score/recommendation.

Review: Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time (PS3)

+'s

-it's R&C (3d platformer with comedy and badass weapons)

-much better pacing than previous games (Clank is almost as fun to play as than Ratchet)

-great production values (good graphics, great sound, incredibly smooth frame-rate)

-fun the entire way through

-good length (about 12 hours on the first playthrough)

-'s

-some might not like the style or humor (if Pixar made a video game, this would be it)

Neutral

-No multiplayer or Co-op mode

Overall, probably the best game in a very solid series (I haven't played all the games in the series). This is the best 3-D platformer I've played since Super Mario Galaxy.