Prince of Persia (PS3)

I REALLY enjoyed the first release of this series for the Playstation 2, and though it was a sleeper hit, was glad they made others, even though the changes made in the second Playstation 2 game were quite radical, it was understandable in many ways, but those are other games entirely.

THIS Prince of Persia game is a very visually-pleasing, well written and overal one heck of an enjoyable game. In fact, some of its strengths are its very own flaws, but may not bother you depending on the other games you have played.

You play an entirely different "prince" this time around, and the game throws you into the action (and great humor) very quickly. You start off having the beautiful Elika falling from the sky to land on you as you call for Ferah, hoping to find her. I don't want to spoil some of the jokes, so I'll leave it at that, but the humor that is so well written and is very enjoyable seems to suffer from one flaw, the prince is voiced by (or someone that sounds JUST LIKE) the person that voiced the lead character from Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. While it isn't expected that each and every game has its own new leading voice actor, the actual drawback comes in that some of the dialogue has you thinking very much about Uncharted and its lead instead of the prince, since the jokes and other story that is said sounds like it could have been pulled straight from Uncharted. Now, Uncharted was a great game, and the sequel is looking to be a great game as well, but to try and get into a game where the main voice constantly pulls you toward a different genre of game altogether can be a bit of a put off, but still, it isn't a huge thing, just something I wish they'd have worked on with anything from a minor accent to slightly different scripts.

With that flaw out of the way the rest of the game is very fun, and sometimes very difficult. While you no longer have the ability to slow down, rewind, or manipulate time (a gameplay feature that made the first trilogy very well received) you do have the magickal powers that Elika has suddenly developed to save your bacon if you get into too much trouble or get into a fight you aren't ready for. The fighting has been made to be more set around combos, and this can be fun, but I recommend that you go online to a guide or two to look up some of the combo helping tips. If needed, I'll post them here. The bad part of the combat comes sometimes when a "mini-game" enters into the combat. Some of them are fun and visually adding to the combat, but others are so sudden that you are already failed because you have pressed a button. Thankfully, none of these cost me a fight, but it does get a bit annoying. If they'd have added a small flash, glint, or some fore-warning that the minigame would happen it would have likely been perfect, but still the fighting is fun.

Now, fighting is not what the PoP games are usually known for, it is instead the running along walls, leaping and sliding and figuring out where and how to get to places that require fast wits and fingers. This game has those, but my one complaint on the new "method" in which they are done is that it feels a bit "automatic". Instead of needing to hold a button to wall run, once you have begun a wall run you simply do it. It is hard to explain how and why this is less fun for me, but it is also less difficult, which can be good when you've spent almost two solid minutes running and jumping with no "save" point to fall back on should you make a mistake. Overall I don't think this new system is a bad idea. I think to have to keep track of everything would likely be very overwhelming and would require a difficulty setting that would make the very gameplay it already has available. It's just different, so if you're used to the other games like me, you may actually make mistakes because you're holding in buttons, etc... Just relax and think of yourself as helping the Prince do his thing instead of completely taking him through it.

There are other additions to the gameplay in the form of freedom to start at nearly any point and do the areas in almost any order you like, and you also can chat up with Elika to learn more about the area, its enemies and the like, as well as see and hear a very well written story.

I have not yet been able to buy and play the Epilogue available on the PSN, but I plan to. This game is a great buy if you liked the other PoP games and you can find it cheap, or buy a good-quality pre-owned game. If you ONLY buy new like I tend to do, just wait, the game's price has been dropping steadily, but you can also rent this game and finish it with a simple fun weekend set aside for it. This is a game where you don't likely want to shell out the 60+ dollars for the newest games (and I don't see it for that much anywhere anymore) but you will probably find it very worth 25 to 30 dollars, or a good weekend rental as I said.


Overall view: Solid and encompassing story, fun but a bit complex (at first anyway) new fighting combo system, great voice acting, but sounds too much like Drake heh.
Rent? If you liked the other PoP titles, you will HAVE to rent this one. It does the series very proud. If you aren't into the others but do like fast paced and fun games involving movement and keeping momentum, you may also want to try this one.
Own? For fans I recommend it. For anyone else, you may want to rent it first. I really think the changes they made were to try and open the series up to a wider audience.
Personal Rating (out of 10): 7.5

City of Heroes/City of Villains (PC)

I have enjoyed a few very good MMORPGs, (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games for any that don't know) and this is one I am continually glad I play, as well as is the only one I am keeping a current and up to date account with.

Some people get a bit apprehensive about MMOs because of the overwhelming information many of them require for you to know, but with City of Heroes and/or City of Villains (Commonly called City of or CoX by many of its gamers) you can actually relax and enjoy this game pretty well from the start! You also don't have to worry about having the time and ability to play this game for hours on end every day. I know and am one of many people that sets aside a couple hours a week, sometimes a few times a week to play, get away from it all, and have fun. This game is well made for both those wanting to have some simplistic gaming as well as those that want customization and in-depth role playing fun. You don't have to role play to enjoy this game, but if you do, you can easily find yourself becoming the next greatest hero to help save the day in Paragon City, or the newest diabolical villain to break out from jail and find safety and freedom among the Rogue Iles.

There is too much to really get into to discuss in just one posting, and I'd thought about having one post for the heroes and one for the villains, but in the end I decided to just make sure that anyone interested would get to see what the game holds for them should they decide to give it a try.

First, it is an NCSoft game, and that is pretty good for consumers. The updates are free, yes, FREE. Instead of paying another ten, twenty, or sometimes more to have more areas to explore, more powers, or even more content in general, you get almost everything for free! There are some expansions that they charge for, but those are usually quite affordable as well as very easy to decide if it's something you want or not.

Secondly, it gives you a great opportunity to play with some friendly gamers. I know that you aren't going to be guaranteed to run into the nice ones, but I play on the Virtue server and must say my run-ins with anyone that is causing trouble is rather rare.

Third, the game has a LOT to offer. Some think it is too simplified, but there are many ways to get past that, from the latest Architect Expansion that allows you to create your OWN story and heroic or villainous (or both) plot to let others play or look among what your friends have made or even what the most popular are and jump in to take a look, and with the just released 15th issue you can begin to walk the line between good and evil, though I haven't given those arcs and new add-ons a try yet, so I am just pointing out what I have read of them.

Fourth and finally, this game is very diverse. With the 16th issue update announcing that powers themselves will be customizable (something long awaited for) and other upcoming additions, this is a very well established game that has been getting the bugs out for a long time and adding the best possible things and taking away those that were causing people to not enjoy the game as much. On top of all of this, there are areas for PVP where heroes, villains, or everyone can pretty well go toe to toe to see who is the toughest, sneakiest, or just plain powerful one out there, as well as other zones that allow heroes and villains to work together to stop threats they both want to end. This really can be like playing a comic book instead of reading one!

For those that are thinking of Champions Online, I haven't looked too much into it, but did find out that it will require a bit of an update for even my computer, which I had thought was well prepared for the next year or so, as I will need a better graphics card to run it (though just barely, doh!). Still, if you aren't sure, or just want to choose one, I can say that since the same company is making both of them, you can pretty well be safe and happy playing CoX for a long time until you and your friends move on to Champions, or if you're like me, plan to move into it as WELL as having fun around Paragon City.


Overall view:
Rent? While I don't think you can actually rent this game, I have seen many offers to try it for free, and many people have codes that get them extra gaming time for someone to try the game and/or sign up, so you can likely give it a try first, and if that's what you want, I'd recommend it, but likely you'll want to get this one anyhow.
Own? Yes, it is a great MMO that doesn't require you to give it all of your time and allows for you to play more at your own liesure without the worry of everyone passing you by as much as other games can do.
Personal Rating (out of 10): 8.9

Afro Samurai (Playstation 3)

Now, I am a fan of animation and it's forms. From watching Tom and Jerry with my Daughter to watching the fully made red carpet anime movies I can find things I enjoy in the animated department. I do enjoy Afro Samurai in its shows very much, and while the game wasn't horrible, I find it a little hard to recommend too well unless a few things don't bother you.

The graphics were great for the cutscenes, and please know this is a MATURE game through and through, something I sometimes enjoy as well, so that I can lose myself in a visceral world or just watch realistic slicing and dicing. That said, the game looked good, and while cutscene graphics and voiceover work was done quite well (though I didn't play through the whole game, so I won't say it was great all the way through), the gameplay part has nice looking areas, and good animations for the VERY large variety of attacks, combos and ways to dispatch or humiliate your opponents but hearing the same dying words, and seeing the same general deaths that happened when I played was just too much after the couple hundredth or so guy I cut apart.

The game does seem to follow the show very well, so if you are into the show and love it then this may very well be something you'll like. Even the repetetive fighting doesn't have to be that way if you learn the abundant combo and attack systems. I could certainly see playing this game to see how well it sticks to the story and using it's nearly endless onslaught of enemies as a guilty pleasure, but aside from that, or perhaps having a weekend made of watching the show and playing along with the game could be fun, so I don't want to say this game is bad or unenjoyable, but I do think it is something that only a select group will want to own, even though its price drops on many sites I check, which could mean you may want it if you are a fan like I've said. On this game I still suggest a rent even if you are a fan...a couple bucks could save you a lot of sad dollars running out of your wallet. Also, I didn't like that there were no Trophies, but that really isn't a big thing.

Overall view:
Rent? Possibly, but not recommended.
Own? Only for the select few, sadly, so no.
Personal Rating (out of 10): 6.4

Ghostbusters (Playstation 3)

This game brought back some pretty great memories of the great first movie, and the okay (to me anyway) but not as good sequel, as well as the wonderful one liners, quotable quips and sayings that are still spouted to date.

Playing it puts you right into what looks to be some poor guy that was desperate enough to try and work for the Ghostbusters, and soon you realize why they don't want to know your name, as you realize if you had to do this for "real" you'd run, and fast...thankfully the game doesn't have that effect, it is in fact, quite addictive! The story is good and has a strong and fun start, though sadly the single player side of the game is a bit short, but great training for the best part yet, multiplayer! Also strong on this game are the visuals and voice acting. With the script straight from Dan Akroyd and Harold Ramis themselves, and original voices returning for all the Ghostbusters, it was great to look like I really was looking at Peter Venkman and the crew as I helped them do their thing. To avoid monotany, the proton pack you get becomes upgradable and equipped with new and interesing items, all of which allow you to both destroy the surroundings, take down manifested paper ghosts, book golems, and trap full roaming spectors in traps you place.

Once you've finished the game, or even before hand, you can dive into the multiplayer, though I recommend that you play a good bit of the game first, so that you know what you're doing and don't get some other players upset with you. I mean, you could read the instructions, but who does that anymore? Seriously though, if you do want to jump into the multiplayer, I highly recommend looking them over, you'll be glad you did, even if you did play through the whole game it can help to read up on what you need to do for each of the several cooperative games you can play and rank up in.

Once you've gotten the multiplayer going I do want to warn you that the ranked matches can introduce you to some rejection if you jump into just any game you look at, though for the most part I found people to be as they tend to be on the Playstation Network, nice and civil about things. See, if you are new to the game, you aren't as much help to a team of people that have ranked up to the maximum, but you don't have to worry about that much with the very handy ways to play by either joining a quick match, or even creating your own. This makes it a great way to play with a person or two here and there that are at the top of their game, so to speak, and get some pointers. I'm usually not that into multiplayer but since it's co-op, I'm there! From plain survival to a version of capturing the flag, this game's multiplayer is really where the fun is, and it is why I had to end up buying the game!

Overall view:
Rent? Sure, if you want to play through the single player, or are lucky enough to own a GameFly account or the like so that you can keep it to play the multiplayer part until you can't stand the thought of ghosts, but be warned...it could take a while!
Own? If you like playing with others, YES! This is one of the good games to beat the summer heat with.
Personal Rating (out of 10): 8.8

Summer Games in General

Summer is a good time to play games, usually. Schools let out, people take their vacations, and for the most part it may be either too hot, too frustrating, or maybe you're even too tired to even do some outdoor activities. I always recommend them, but as good as they can make you feel and help your body and health, sometimes you just need some action.

Sadly, summer is often not the time for too many video game releases. Usually we are given the releases that accompany movies or games that have been pushed back so long that now we're just not sure if they'll be good with all the time taken to delay them, though we always hope that time will polish the games and make them better, past results and let downs have shown that waiting sometimes gives us that "oh crap" sigh that escapes our lips while a bad purchase runs off with our hard-earned money.

There are a few games that I'm reviewing now, and while I still plan to put the whole reviews down and let you in on all I've found, good, bad and otherwise, I just thought that for now, I'd list some games and summize why they're worth the time, and as always, you can rent to try them first, since everyone has different tastes!

Ghostbusters (Playstation 3) While short, the multiplayer aspect of this game is great and fun with lots of variety for you to do, and a good way to enjoy time with friends. I have found, though, that it does help if you have seen the movies (or at least the first one, I didn't hate the second movie, but liked it less, though the game has some great tie-ins with both movies and makes them both enjoyable. Basically, if you have seen the movies and liked the great one-liners and overall funny/spooky cross it had, the game could be for you. The full review is coming very soon.

City of Heroes (PC and Mac too now I believe): I have been aching to review this game, as I play it a LOT when I can and am just about to dive into Paragon City again after this post. If you can simply try it without purchasing the game (I'm not sure if that is possible, but NCSoft tends to be very good at being consumer friendly) you can definately try it out for one month free, which should be plenty of time to fall in love with this MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game for the few of you that don't know, but hey, we all learn something new every day). It's simplistic yet oddly in-depth game mechanics and cross of fighting computer enemies or even other players gets very fun. If you like to role play, then it's even better for you, though if you don't, there are plenty of others that don't do it either and use it as a fun way to get through some time. I'll be fully talking about this one soon, since it is a very good game, and an established one at that.

Downloadable games in general! Anyone that reads my blog probably has figured out that I'm a Playstation 3 kind of person. I don't dislike the other systems, it's just my particular choice. If I had the money and time, I'd own em all! They all have something that makes me just cringe that I can't play this or that game on them, but I'm very happy with my choice. Also, downloadable add-ons and games are often great ways to find amazing fun that will keep you entertained for long periods of time and can be well worth getting through either your points or dollars depending on the system you use. The ones I recommend are currently through the Playstation Network (obviously), and are: Flower for it's relaxing and beautiful use of fun and simple controls to make a world come to life and bring me into it. Zen Pinball for really bringing back some good old style pinball with a very modern feel and great online setup to challenge others and see who is doing what while you play or between matches. Finally, Super Stardust HD (the complete pack) since it really provides an old "space shooter" feel with the graphics you'll hardly believe combined with a pretty good soundtrack that can be perfect...since you can make it yourself!

I hope these help ya beat the heat and/or just relax after that trip to the wild to camp for the 4th of July weekend and will be posting more and more games soon. I'm a Daddy first, Husband second, and somewhere not too terribly far down I try to be a gamer and someone that tries to pass on some good info to others. As usual, feel free to post games you think beat the heat and we can look into them. If I don't own the system I can always look them up and tell you what others think, or just rent it and try it out myself.

Not sure? Rent it first!

Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem (Nintendo GameCube)

Okay, I know most of the time when someone mentions older games most people want to groan and run, and when the Nintendo GameCube is in that phrase an even larger worry can fill you, as it wasn't the most prospering of the three former-generation systems and often took last place. Still, this is the sole reason I bought a GameCube, and with the fact that I STILL play and enjoy it, you may find yourself doing the same, especially if you have one and want a great game to enjoy that you may be able to find for very cheap, though this game could be harder to find than many of those in its age-range.

Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem is a wonderful game that introduces some very innovative and fun game play into a third-person shooter style genre that happens to: use magick, have the ability to go insane, and even takes place throughout a menagarie of time-lines that all coincide with you fighting one of three "Old Ones" (which are a common "Lovecraftian" way of saying, "very powerful old gods") while you try to survive, and keep your sanity to boot!

I won't spoil ALL the fun you can have when you start to go loony in this game, but let me say this, I have heard SO MANY of my friends start screaming at several of the more fun moments (that are not scripted, they happen when your sanity meter is low, and seem to be completely random for the most part, though location seems to obviously trigger some things, like a library having floating books, etc...). The only one I'll say that really scared me is a moment when it looks like, REALLY looks like, a spider is crawling on your television. Within moments your television is CRAWLING with spiders and you either realize it is because of the game, or like me you have a phobia of them and run for the bug spray! Don't worry though, the game has a great assortment of "insanity moments" and when you get more magickally inclined you can even try to instigate them. Still, I'm ahead of myself so I'll talk about basic gameplay first.

ED:SR plays pretty well, with controls that could have been a little better, but they're good enough for the game. There are many different spells you can "learn" by finding runes and figuring out what combinations can be used together until you actually cast the spell. The game even takes a neat leap in that, you may not find all of these runes and have a more difficult, though not impossible time, finishing the game while missing various spells, or even spell power sources.

When you first play the game, you essentially choose what Old God and the aspect, Strength, Space, or Insanity are how I view them, though you may find them a bit more representative of other things. When that has been chosen you find that each Old One and their magicks are superior to one as well as weaker than another of the Old Ones' magicks, so choosing what you use is important, though if you search hard enough, or look up where to find it online, which some do, I got lucky my first time through and stumbled across the fourth, and most powerful of the Old Ones, who used to keep all of the other three in line but is weakened and has somewhat been what has called you, your ancestors and even those you'll read about in the book you get throughout the game as you play as the varying characters, though the main character is a young woman intent on finding out what happened with the sudden and mysterious death of her beloved father figure.

This game is long, and has lots of fun moments and good side-"quests" that you can do with some of the characters, such as one that is a physician of sorts and begins to write a journal of the many odd and evil looking creatures you fight should you choose to have him study the remains of them after you've defeated them. It also has great replay value, since once you reach the end (SMALL SPOILER ALERT BUT SHOULDN'T RUIN ANY GAME SURPRISES) you summon the god you feel can stop the one that has been set free with the power of his minion. The result is basically three playings of a game that gives you a great finale each and every time, as you watch gods battle it out. Play through the game with all three and you are rewarded with, if you find it, a magickal sword that always has the upper hand on any magicks it battles. It's useful, but the game has guns, swords, and all sorts of things to help you fight, even offensive and defensive spells to help you, or drive you more insane as you use them.

It really is hard to simply describe this game, but if you have a means of playing it, DO! I think you'll find it is very well worth your money, and time, and considering that you may find it in some bargain bin, that is a very good deal you'll get from such a great game that is standing the test of time, and even next-gen competition!

Overall view:
Rent? If you don't own a GameCube and can find a place to rent the system, give it a try, but odds are if you like what I've said so far, buy it.
Own? YES! This game was the SOLE reason I bought my GameCube. I have bought other games since then, up until they stopped making them, but didn't get many. This game alone made me happy to own the GameCube. If you can't rent the system, find a friend to borrow one and get this game, rent, own, or well...don't sell your soul, this game shows that isn't the best way to go hehe.
Personal Rating (out of 10): 9.2

Prototype (Playstation 3)

This is another good game that stands on the concept of giving you control of a character with super powers. Many people try to or think that this game and Infamous are at odds with each other and wish to compare them or see which is the better game, but the truth is they are both very different games and have two VERY different styles of play, as well as what makes them fun.

For Prototype, I found it very engaging to watch the cut-scenes alone. They are beautiful and for a sandbox game they weren't bad to watch at all. Most games that let you do just about anything you please lose a little in the story, as it's hard to know what the player would want to know, do, or even get to in ways of having the story actually "fit" the players' styles. Prototype does this better than most by having you on a continuous sidequest (though you can skip much of this as well) to find your own memories, as you simply awaken on a morgue table, thought to be dead.

This game has a tremendous amount of powers and things you can use. It isn't always about going in using the same attacks over and over, as almost every enemy has weaknesses and you can find fun in just about any of the attacks given by each of the powers. You also can implement two different defensive powers, and each has its own drawbacks and uses. There are even vision powers to be used, though sadly I found that, aside from in a couple of missions and one or two of the ranked "trials" that the game has, that the vision powers don't have much use, but still, they are pretty cool to use here and there if you get tired of running, jumping, gliding, flying, driving and walking through a very beautiful and constantly changing New York City (good luck with that, the getting bored part I mean).

My biggest complaint in this game is that it sadly has some pop-up and fading issues. Don't misinterpret what I'm saying, the game does look incredible, but when looking for various items hidden throughout New York you'll sometimes see one, watch it fade out of veiw then see it again as you get closer. It's not a terrible problem, and if you're just playing the game it isn't really a problem at all, just something that bothers me as I do like to collect everything possible in games.

I very much enjoyed this game, and am still playing it to look for new things and try out it's very wide assortment of moves, combat moves, and overall things you can do. As for if this game is a "must own", well, that may be up to you. For those of you that like the Spider-Man and Hulk: Ultimate Destruction games, then this may very well be a game you can't do without owning. If you didn't like those two (more closely related to the Hulk: UD game). I will say this game is a MUST PLAY for anyone that likes the sandbox style of gaming or for those with a need for some Mature-rated super-heroics. Overall, if you're playing this game you are probably happy, but for those that are on the ropes, you won't waste money renting it first to find out for certain.

Overall view:
Rent? Yes, it's pretty doubtful you wont like this one even if just to wreak havoc with the powers/abilities.
Own? If you liked Hulk: Ultimate Destruction and it's play style, and enjoy even more added cutscenes, things to do, and diversity, with a mature rating, you may want to own this one, though a long enough rental of it could fill you as well.
Personal Rating (out of 10): 8.3