1up review Bioshock 2
"Our second trip to BioShock's underwater city is good but doesn't quite live up to the original"
1up.com impressions
gamingeek
Major Aussie gam EB Games, GAME, and Gametraders say they are prepared to accept restrictions on how to display and merchandise adult content. gamespot.com news Foolz
Ubisoft German Hotel event
Splinter Cell Conviction and Red Steel 2 - in english
gamereport.de
gamingeek
Shattered Memories wouldn't exist without Wii
Says Climax - More insights inside
videogamesdaily.com
gamingeek
Nintendo digitally distributing games
To Wii's with hardrives. Endless Ocean 2 was the first
aeropause.com
gamingeek
NIS to Release Less Games, Focus on PS3
Disgaea maker just hoping to survive.
andriasang.com news
aspro
EA offers free Command and Conquer downloads
Tiberian Sun, Firestorm, Tiberian Dawn, and Red Alert
commandandconquer.com media news
Ellyoda
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travo (10m)
While at the same time the number and harshness of prosecutions are increasing...Hmmm.
Twist! So is he super rich?
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Now Playing: Golden Sun Dark Dawn, God of War Ghost of Sparta, and DKC Returns
"This is what could happen if you mess with the Big N!" --Iwata
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Now Playing: Golden Sun Dark Dawn, God of War Ghost of Sparta, and DKC Returns
I totally agree with the article about there being too many good games these days. Really, there's no possible way to keep up anymore.
Even in the early PS2 era I was able to keep up fairly easily, but late last gen and into this one its just overload man.
It used to suck going long periods with no killer games coming out back in the PS1/N64 days, but then you appreciated the great games more because of it, AND it gave you a chance to go back and replay games more. Hell I played through Final Fantasy 7 probably 10 times. No way in hell I could do that with a game of that scope these days.
Oh, and Mirror's Edge is not a Ubisoft title!
Got: Star Ocean: Last Hope International
Got: Dante's Inferno
Got: BioShock 2
Got: Shiren
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Played Dante's Inferno for quite a while last night. Made it through Limbo, Passed Charon, The Judge, The Circle of Lust and started Gluttony...
Favorite moment of the game so far: Climbing the ABSOLUTELY Phallic Tower of Lust, a tremendous Egyptian Queen in pursuit; One of the battles involving her has her throwing un-baptized babies that crawl out of her nipples at me... These babies have Scythes for arms, btw, so I don't feel too bad killing them... then again, I haven't killed all that many of them; If you are quick, you can grab them and Absolve them before any damage is done. Good clean fun! Didn't Nintendo pass on publishing this one?
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Gonna play Shiren a little today too. I'm snowed in (well, not really. I just don't feel like going out in the snow/rain/sleet), so I'm looking to just snuggle up in a comforter and game the day away!
Impressions to come!
I played the demo. The controls are all over the place, they want the top screen to have the action so you can't really use the touch screen without it feeling a little clumsy. And yet when you want to do some real examining, you have to use the touch screen to make things more intuitive.
Strange seeing characters from the side rather than face on, it makes things less personal.
It has some rejigged gameplay mechanics that are the same old gameplay mechanics masquerading as new.
It's basically Phoenix Wright 5 played from the side, with Edgeworth as the main character. It'll be good if the script is good.
Those RE5 pics of Barry are hilarious! All the other characters look totally different, yet Barry still looks exactly like he did in 1996. Funny, considering he's the oldest of the group. Pretty soon Chris is gonna look older than him.
I think that article was brilliant and 100% true, devs need to slow down, this is ridiculous.
I completed the story mode of Endless Ocean 2.
This is an in game pic I took using the in game camera.
The sequel has this amazing looking diffused lighting and depth of field effect now, when you look up to the surface. In some areas its breathtaking.
The story is about 10 hrs long.
Once that's done you can get down to the real game and play it like EO1.
You unlock the jukebox so you can pick your tune.
There is a f***ton of stuff to do, side quests, treasure to hunt out, an actual incentive to keep gathering, species to find, stories to hear, a coral reef to build, an aquarium to populate, an island to decorate. This game has so much stuff.
The last area of the game is aweeeesome. It's almost like a dungeon, it locks you in some rooms with enemies, you have to find some treasure and ways to unlock doors.
It has an Indiana Jones like moment at the end.
The music and end sequence
Oh yeah, we are a team damnit!
Now I understand what they mean when they say the game is a completionists dream, everything is logged, there are even achievements if you want to do that.
For those of you who played the first game and think you don't need more, note that this game is very different to the first. It is NOT the same experience.
The subtitle for the first game is Dive, Discover, Dream.
The subtitle for the second is Adventures of the Deep.
The first you dived, discovered new areas, had a dream like atmosphere as you stared in awe at some wonderful sites. The second only kicks into that mode once you've completed the story mode (which is only like a 3rd or even a quarter of the availible gameplay here).
In EO2 you have adventures, its very rare to be without an objective. You have to negotiate light underwater temples, get locked in chambers and fight off sea monsters, manage your air supply, upgrade your equipment, you salvage for treasure too which is almost as addictive as the drug dealing mini-game in Chinatown wars.
You are always being pushed on by the story and characters.
But then you can also do all the stuff from the first game at your leisure.
Objectively you can say that in every areas EO2 is improved over the first. The graphics engine is so much better, the on screen character model count has quadrupled for instance. There is far more meat to the game. The limited boat is now an island, you can now sell salvaged items etc.
If I go on emotion and instinct, I couldn't say one is better than the other because they offer different experiences. EO1 doesn't have the distractions, it has better access to music i.e being able to listen to the music you want (when) you want.
It's simplicity is part of its elegance and beauty. In the second game, rather than just floating about in a dreamy state, you are often compelled by addiction to break out the sonar and start digging for treasure.
This game is awesome and will give you not days, but weeks of gameplay. I think I will easily put in more playtime than the first game.
More of my pics here:
http://thevgpress.com/forumtopics/endless-ocean-2-ign-uk-review-page-15-videos-and-impressions-page-13_318_18.html&perPage=20#comment56644
This is why you see good games going by the wayside. Now people have to have priority lists.
In the old days we were pretty much playing the same games because there were fewer big games, which were an event. Now there are so many 8/10 games - that are wholly worth playing - that just fall by the wayside.
Or they could just perform surgery to give you some balls
Yeah like I always say, the number of totally revolutionary games has dropped, but the number of good games of high-quality (or as you say, 8/10 games) has increased DRAMATICALLY in the past 10 years.
Its like once the titans of 3D gaming laid the groundwork (Half-Life, Mario 64, Zelda OOT, MGS etc) all these other guys figured it out and have been copying the formula as best they can since. And that's exactly what they're doing; following established formulas.
Plus, there are so many more developers capable of making a great game nowadays....and on top of that you get certain companies needlessly pumping out sequels year after year to 1 or 2 franchises (Insomniac?) that I'm amazed so many games find an audience at all, especially with the way the economy has been for awhile now.
And now you have the downloadable game market reviving old-school styles like Shadow Complex, or more arcade-ish fare. Mindboggling.
I forgot who it was, but some guy from Microsoft talked about this getting out of control back in the day, maybe Ed Fries? He said 'Do we really need 100 games a year? What if we cut that in half and focused on making those fewer games that much better?' and I totally agree.
And I've almost completely stopped buying games and gone back to renting them mostly. There's just too much.
I said it years ago, we need cheaper, shorter games.
If someone buys for instance a Mass Effect 2 and wants to bleed it out for 60 hrs, then that doesn't leave much time, let alone money to play many other titles.
I would rather see shorter games with the same high production values at cheaper prices.
I kind of feel opposite.
I like the cheaper idea, but I'd rather have 10 Mass Effect's than 30 Silent Hill's. Or 10 Ocarina Of Time's over 30 short games.