Castle Crashers Review

Castle Crashers is an RPG beat-em-up for the Xbox 360 and PS3.  More specifically, the game was released for the XBLA and PSN.  The game was created by The Behemoth, the same guys who made Alien Hominid. Now, I have to say, it's one of the best games of its kind. It has some great humor, awesome hack and slash action, and, the icing on the cake, has up to four player co-op locally or over PSN/Xbox Live.

First up, gameplay. You play as one of four knights, a red, orange, blue, and green knight. What sets them apart is their magic powers, but we'll get to that in a sec. Gameplay is really accessible, since the attack buttons are X/Y, or Square and Triangle. Like in many different games, you alternate between button presses for different combos. The combinations are really satisfying to pull off, and gets really addicting. Like a lot of RPGs, you also have magic attacks, which differ from which knight you play as. You can also level up as you gain XP from killing enemies. When leveling up, after dying or completing a level, you gain skill points to add to your attributes, which are Strength, Magic, Defense, and Agility. There are a ton of bosses, and it will take you a good amount of time, and both the time and fun will vary depending on the number of players. It is possible to beat the game with one person, however, that takes away a lot of the enjoyment to be found in this game. To access the levels, you have this map where you can move around in, kinda like the Mario Bros. games do. Aside from the levels you battle in, you can also access stores to buy weapons or pets that can help you out. If you are playing with at least one other person, you can revive them if they are down. If you defeat a boss that captured a princess, you will have to fight for the princess's kiss in a multiplayer game. 

Next, graphics. Behemoth is used to making Flash games on the Internet, so, their games kind of have a simple texture. It's not that they're lazy, or that graphics are just bad, it's just the style of the graphics. Anyhoo, I like how the things look in this game, and the artwork is very humorous to experience. There are tons of different vistas to explore, and I, for one, really like the concepts. 

Story. It's basically a damsels-in-distress story. Your knight(s) are celebrating at your king's party. Suddenly, an evil wizard has taken a very powerful crystal and captured all four of the king's daughters. It is up to you to save the king's daughters and retrieve the crystal. Pretty simple story here, really. But, the story is not the main thing in this game. 

All in all, this game is exceptional. Problem is, once you beat the game, there really isn't much other modes to play as if your tired of the campaign. There is a mini-game called "All You Can Quaff" where you just tap the attack buttons to eat food, and then there is Arena, where you fight off hordes of enemies, or fight your partners in crime. However, some people can still find a lot of replay value, since it has an Insane Mode, basically a much harder run through the campaign. If your looking for either a good co-op game, or a hack and slash type game, this is the one for you.

The good: awesome hack and slash gameplay, funny antics, appreciable graphics, four player co-op, boss fights are fun(ny).

The bad: the only mode is Campaign (basically).

Score:

9.7

Street Fighter 4 Review

Street Fighter 4 review by Raquay A. Holland

Street Fighter 4 is the fourth game in the popular Street Fighter franchise. It was released for the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC. After playing it, I figured out why the Street Fighter series became so popular. Its fast and furious fighting, beautiful graphics, and stylish gameplay makes this an easy game to recommend.

First, we'll start off with gameplay. You have three types of punches and kicks; a high, medium, and low punch, and that's talking about damage, not position. I was originally a Tekken fan, so it took me a while to get used to having even the shoulder buttons as attacks. Some buttons work as all three punches and kicks. As the fight builds on, two meters will build up: the Super and Ultra Meter. The Super Meter builds up automatically, yet the Ultra Meter, also known as the Revenge Meter, builds up as you get hit, to turn the tide of battle, or end a round with an Ultra Combo Finish. Super and Ultra Combos are very stylish, and can take away nearly half of a full health meter. The Super Meter also helps with doing other special moves. Combining two specific buttons will let you do a throw move, and a new move called a Focus Attack. It's basically a charge up attack that lets you absorb one punch or kick, and then counter it. Each one has his or her own Focus Attack, which adds to the variety of modes you can do.

Next, the visuals. Street Fighter has it's own art style, with elements of ink in a lot of aspects. For the first time in Street Fighter history, it uses 3D grapics, but Street Fighter still remains a 2D fighter, either in homage to the arcade days, or that they know it just works well like that.

The modes are perfect for a fighting game. It has an arcade mode, which tells the story of each individual fighter, with an anime prologue and epilogue. I don't really like anime, mainly because of over-exaggerated facial expressions, and cutesy animals. But this wasn't so bad, since it doesn't have any of the things listed above. During arcade mode, just like the games of yesteryear, somebody else can join in locally or over Xbox Live/Playstation Network. Next, it has a Versus mode, which needs no explanation, and finally, it has Challenge Mode.

Flaws to this game, well, there aren't really much. It has a pretty cruel combo system. I would hit a guy 5 times, yet it would only say 2 or 3 hit combo, at the most. Street Fighter 4 demands your fastest button-pressing skills to the game. Some enemies are really cheap, especially the boss levels. For some reason, I decided to quit the game, but I kept coming back to it. But this game is perfect for beginners, like me. It has 7 or 8 difficulty levels, to put your skills to the ultimate test. The roster is pretty varied, and it has 16 characters already unlocked, and 9 more to unlock via Arcade mode. This game has been one of the greatest fighters I've ever played.

The good: fast and furious fighting, beautiful graphics, diverse roster, stylish combos, has all the modes a fighting game needs.

The bad: cheap enemies, cruel combo system, "bipolar" style.

Score:

9.0

Transformers: War For Cybertron Review

Transformers: War for Cybertron review by Raquay Holland

Transformers: War for Cybertron is a third person shooter game made by High Moon Studios released for the Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and PC. The game features a somewhat “prequel” story that happened before the movies, as this is probably the first game released for the franchise not based on a movie. As expected, you can play as Autobots, or Decepticons in all phases of the game.

The game has 3 features: a campaign mode in which you can play solo, or cooperatively over the Internet, a multiplayer mode which has modes like Team Deathmatch, Domination, or Free-for-all, and Escalation, which is like Zombies from World at War and Black Ops.

First, the campaign. It pretty much seems similar to a lot of shooters released in recent times. You kill a lot of enemies, and you move to an objective point. Oh, and you'll encounter tons of bosses along the way. Your arsenal of weapons include machine guns, snipers, shotguns, grenades, melee attacks including swords and hammers, rifles, and your vehicle weapons. Your robot can transform into a car, truck, tank, or plane. All this in 10 chapters, 5 for both factions. Once you beat the game, you might still be occupied, as the game offers 3 difficulty levels. Yet, it may seem a bit repititive, and bosses really daunting.

Next, multiplayer. You will get a variety of modes. All the modes include Team Deathmatch, Free-for-all, Domination, a somewhat unique mode called Countdown to Extinction, where you try to place a bomb into the enemy's base, King of the Hill, and Code of Power, where you fight for a giant melee weapon. You are offered 4 classes, each with their own weapons, perks, abilities, and even health amounts. The four classes are Leader, Scout, Soldier, and Scientist. You can level up, and get new weapons, just like Modern Warfare.

Finally, there's Escalation mode, or Zombies if you prefer. You can play as any official Autobot or Decepticon, depending on the map you're playing on. You can get more maps and characters with the DLC that has been released. No more explanation needed here, really. You get points for killing enemies, and can have up to 4 players cooperatively playing. Sound familiar? Also, you can spend your points on health, ammo, other guns, or more passageways. Once you've taken a lot of hits, you can be revived by other players.

All in all, Cybertron is definitely a great game if you're a Transformers fan. If your a shooter fan, though, don't shy away just because it's third person. It's actually a good shooter, and has some good multiplayer options. The campaign can deliver quite a challenge, but isn't that what it's supposed to do? Really, my regrets are that it doesn't have any local capabilities for multiplayer, which can bite in the butt for anyone that doesn't have an Xbox Live or PSN. Connection issues might be a problem, but it might just be my router. If you have a working network connection, like shooters in the third person, and like games that may have a lasting appeal, than this is the game for you.

The good: solid campaign, multiplayer is fun, especially Escalation, you blow stuff up, great story for transformers fans, good controls, great graphics, replay value.

The bad: no local capabilities, can be VERY hard.

Score:

8.5

Battlefield Bad Company

Battlefield: Bad Company is a first person shooter made by DICE Entertainment, or Digital Illusions CE. It was released for the Xbox 360 and PS3. The game features 24 player online play, a really good campaign, and the real reason why this isn't a Call of Duty ripoff is that locations are almost completely destructible.

I haven't really played a game like Bad Company. The gameplay really feels realistic, from commanding a tank, to just shooting an assault rifle. There are tons of different weapons to choose from, and they all have their own specific feel when firing. The main thing about BC is tactical destruction. Nearly everything you see is destructible somehow. You can use this to your advantage, as well as your enemies using it for their advantage. A quick example of how it works. A brick wall in your way? Use a grenade launcher. Sniper on the second floor? Use a grenade launcher. Don't have a grenade launcher? Shoot an explosive barrel to make your way in. Faced with a fence and can't jump over it? Knife through it! Anyone that's used to having indestructible cover will have to get ready in case it blows up. Instead of having a health system that refills over time, Battlefield Bad Company has a health meter ranging from 0 to 100. As you take damage, the number will drop. Once you lose health, don't go into cover and recover. Instead, you get to use a life injector that completely refills your health. All you have to do is wait a couple seconds between each health refill, and refilling is unlimited.

When you're not trying to gun down infantry and vehicles, you're most likely trying to look for collectables along the way. As you progress, you will find different guns from other infantry. Guns you never had before are collectables in the game. Another thing you should look for are crates full of gold, which applies to the storyline.

Online play is superb. Initially, you only get one game mode, and that is Gold Rush. It is played with two teams, Attackers, and Defenders. The goal for the Attackers is to look for two Gold Crates and destroy them. The Defenders try to hold off the Attackers until they run out of reinforcements. You get 25 ranks, which are all from the U.S. Army, and 5 classes to choose from before each life: Assault, Demolition, Recon, Specialist, and Support. The maps you'll play in are seen in the campaign of the game.

On to the story. You play as Private Preston Marlowe as he firsts lands on B company. You meet with the other three people, Privates Sweetwater, Haggard, and Sergeant Redford. At the end of the first level, you find out that a Legionnaire is trying to kill you, and that his army is paid in gold bars. Once you find the gold part out, you decide that you just want to get paid a lot of money when you get out of the situation.

The presentation is probably above average, at the most. The textures look really good, to be honest. However, there are some technical issues. For example, sometimes when you try to use your attack knife, objects and people will always react, but you don't see your knife in motion. That is the same with your auto injector. However, once you really get into the game, you probably won't care if that keeps you alive.

I'm still not done with the gameplay. There are also tons of vehicles you can commandeer or destroy. You can drive an armored van, a tank, or a helicopter. You can also drive a boat, but that doesn't play such a major part in the game. In Call of Duty you can command an AC130, but in Bad Company, you can just drive the helicopter yourself. Another reason why this is different from Call of Duty is that it has a different checkpoint system. In COD, once you die, all of your enemies and hostile vehicles are still there and alive. But in Bad Company, the damage you do to infantry and vehicles stay the same, but there are a lot less checkpoints than in COD. It really adds to the challenge with its checkpoint system.

So, what's the final verdict on this game? Well, the campaign does keep you entertained for a good amount of time. Multiplayer is also what keeps the appeal for a time. There are 3 difficulty levels, tons of collectables and gold crates, and, the icing on the cake: Tactical Destruction. This is the stuff that can make the Editor's Choice.

The good: tactical destruction, its realism, you get to drive vehicles, shooting feels really good, plays well with others, compelling campaign.

The bad: some technical issues, a slight lack of online modes, no co-op.

Score:

9.8

The Rise and Fall of: Crash Bandicoot

                         Article by Raquay A. Holland

Surely there are some people who remember that orange, crazy, spinning bandicoot who kicked Neo Cortex's hindquarters first with PlayStation One. Some say that Crash is dead, some say that Crash is just going slow, others say that production is maybe just going slow. But for people who just don't know, the information will all be here.

Crash Bandicoot was initially created by Naughty Dog. You may know Naughty Dog for creating games such as the Jak and Daxter original trilogy, Jak X, and the Uncharted series. Notice something here? All of these are exclusives for PlayStation 2 or PlayStation 3. My saying is, “exclusives are usually better,” and Crash Bandicoot was no exception. Naughty Dog had made Crash Bandicoot the first game and series for the original PlayStation. The first game sold over 6.8 million copies! And, with any great game, there's gonna be a sequel sometime released. Crash 2 received almost equal success, which lead on to Crash 3. Then, with making an amazing Crash Bandicoot trilogy, Naughty Dog decided to try a spin-off, with Crash Team Racing.

Yet, two programmers decided to try to make another game, which was, yet, Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy. It was the first game made by Naughty Dog for the PS2. Ever since it blew up, more Naughty Dog creators wanted to work on the sequel to Jak II, just to make the sequel much better than the original. So, Crash Bandicoot was left in the hands of Traveller's Tales, who made the game Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex. It was the first game in the series not to be released for PSOne, and it was the first game to be on the PS2, Xbox, and Gamecube. You know games that have more than one developer. They try to do their own thing and it completely messes up the game. Yet, Crash 4 actually tries to make this game like the originals, which is a surprise for somebody that took a game's rights. Of course, the game looks different, but that's because the graphics are better in a later generation of gaming. This game got mixed reviews, really the first time that that has ever happened.

Traveller's Tales tried to make something else happen, but this time, with a different take. Traveller's Tales made Crash Twinsanity. This is the first free-roaming 3D game in the series. This is also the first game where you play as Neo Cortex and his niece, Nina. (Well, in the main series.) For this game, it had more success than Wrath of Cortex, but not by much. The game was probably more successful because it was not released for any Nintendo console. Anyway, Naughty Dog is working on Jak 3 by then. After Twinsanity, Radical got a hold of the series and made Crash Tag Team Racing. That pretty much had the same amount of success as Wrath of Cortex.

After that, Crash took a non-fatal injury. Radical tried to make a game that was something like the original, with having specific tracks for you to follow, with something new, such as having huge monsters that you can control. To me, it didn't seem so bad, just a little different from what I'm used to seeing of Crash. It was better received than Tag Team Racing, yet most people just hated it.

Radical made yet another Mutant game, Crash: Mind Over Mutant. This time, it was a little bit more free-roaming, but just nailed a few more nails to Crash's coffin. Fans were disappointed that Crash Bandicoot didn't really come back.

So, to recap, Naughty Dog first made Crash. They made the first three games, which were a huge success. Then, they made Jak and Daxter, which was another success, and the Dog forgot about Crash and stuck with Jak. Crash was under the hands of Traveller's Tales, who made Wrath of Cortex and Twinsanity. Next, it was owned by Radical, who made Tag Team Racing, Titans, and Mind over Mutant. The last two games pretty much sucked eggs, according to the fans, so now, Crash has seen the light of day for the last time. Maybe. With the possibility of a new game called Crash: Unleashed Mutant, it may resurrect the series. Oh, who am I kidding, since it's another Mutant game! Something tells me that Crash is long gone.

The History of Sonic the Hedgehog

Over the years, Sonic has been through many different adventures, on many different consoles. Which games in history were good? Which were bad? Which were just plain ugly? This article will tell you just what the titles say.

In the 80's and 90's, Nintendo created the chubby plumber known as Mario for the NES and arcades. Sega basically wanted to combat Mario with a little idea with their own: Sonic. They started off simple with Sonic the Hedgehog, or Sonic 1, released for the Sega Genesis and arcades. It became a mega hit commercially and critically. Sonic had some similar features to the early Mario games, but with some differences as well. For example, Sonic is all about speed, and you can't just fall on an enemy. Two- dimensional platformers seemed to work for Sega.

How do I know? Well, take Sonic 2, for instance. This game has introduced Miles “Tails” Prower. Gameplay is even faster than in Sonic 1. That game sold 6.3 million copies. Do you think it did well?

Next, with Sonic CD, where it introduced Metal Sonic and Amy Rose. This is the first game not to be released for the Sega Genesis. Instead, it was released for the Sega CD and for Windows. Sonic CD did very well, at least for the Sega CD. It was dubbed the best Sonic game for the CD. However, the Windows version didn't do as well as the CD version, as it didn't have the same smooth gameplay on the CD.

The next release in the Hedgehog series was Sonic 3. This game introduced Knux as a character and an adversary. This game was also released for the Sega Genesis. This game did not sell as much as Sonic 2 did, critical reception was very positive.

Onto the next game, Sonic and Knuckles. This is the first game in the series since Sonic 1 to not feature Tails. Like the title suggests, players can play as Sonic or Knuckles. Again, for the Genesis. But, in this game, you can't save, unlike Sonic 3. This is the “first” game released that featured Knux as a playable character. However, by using the Sega Genesis's lock-on technology, you can play as Knuckles in Sonic 2 and 3. Once again, well-received by critics.

Then, Sega released the Sega Dreamcast, and the Dreamcast's best-selling game is Sonic Adventure. This was the first game to feature free-roaming 3D platforming. The first game for the Dreamcast wasn't so bad, as the better graphics, same gameplay, and speed was praised. This was a game that had a few glitches in it, but nonetheless not that bad. Voice acting was criticized, too.

It seemed good enough for Sega, so they released Sonic Adventure 2. This was the first game that featured Shadow and Rouge as playable characters. Review criticized Knux's and Rouge's levels, as they seemed confusing, as well as the camera issues. People liked the same things, so it wasn't that much different from the first Adventure.

Moving on to Sonic Heroes. This was the first game to be released for the PS2, Xbox, and initially for the GameCube. This is also the first game to not be released for any Sega console. Another first is that you get to play as more than one character at a time, with you being able to switch characters during gameplay. It introduces Team Chaotix, which have members Espio, Vector, and Charmy. This game received mixed to positive reception, with praises toward it being close to the series' 2D roots, sound design, graphics, and framerate. Although, people found the camera being uncooperative and the voice acting not being very good.

Ever since the transition to 3D, things have been going roughly for the hedgehog. Then, heck happened for the hedgehog with..........Sonic 06. Its original title is Sonic the Hedgehog, but to avoid confusion, it will be addressed as Sonic 06. This is the first game available for the Xbox 360 and PS3. It offers many playable characters in the game. This is the first game where it did not receive mostly positive attention. Critics hated the glitches, storyline, gameplay, and the fact that Sonic kisses a girl. (Believe me, you're better off with the spoiler than playing the game.)

Sega tried something different for their next generation hedgehog. So, they released Sonic Unleashed. This time they made Sonic much faster, they even made some sections 2D, in homage to the early games. This was the part that gamers loved. But there was a reason why it was called “Unleashed,” and that reason is that Sonic turns into a werewolf at night. People HATED this concept, as the werehog was much slower, and didn't feel like the real Sonic. Some reviews went like this: “If the entire game was based on the day levels, it would've been a much better game.” Also, a plane mission was widely disapproved.

Sega came up with two Wii only titles, Sonic and the Secret Rings and the Black Knight. Secret Rings did pretty well, as some praised Sonic being the only playable character, while others liked how it was much better than most 360/PS3 games for the franchise. Black Knight didn't do as well, as it received mostly mixed reviews. Probably because it was a hack and slash type of game.

Sega probably had a case of nostalgia, because then, they released the game Sonic 4: Episode 1. They relied on Sonic's 2D roots and made an old-time looking game, but keeping some new elements like the Homing Attack. This somewhat resurrected the series by going back to the basics instead of trying something radically different. It received mostly positive reviews, praising the game's speed, but criticizing some level design and dull bosses.

But, this was the game that wholly resurrected the franchise: Sonic Colors. Released for the Nintendo Wii and DS. The game featured 8 power-ups and 3D and 2D gameplay, plus the breakneck speeds Sonic can run at. People just didn't like the difficulty level later in the game, but nonetheless, the game was a commercial and critical success.

Sega probably had the biggest idea yet: Sonic Generations. I've played the demo and it is awesome. You can play as either Classic Sonic or Modern Sonic, and tons of people will probably go with Classic Sonic. But, either way, this is a surefire way to win the interest for anyone who will be new to the franchise.

So.... to recap,

The Sega Genesis games in the series were big hits. Almost every game that featured two-dimensional gameplay were the best games. The transition to 3D, things started to go downhill. Plus, ever since the transition to 7^th generation consoles, things went way downhill, with Sonic 06 being the worst game ever in the series. It was finally resurrected by Sonic 4 and Colors. Turns out Sega pretty much sucks with new game ideas, except with Colors. Generations will determine if Sonic has still got it.

Raquay Holland, PSN/Gamertag: AquaRock

Call of Duty 2

Call of Duty 2 is a WWII first-person shooter game by Infinity Ward. It is the sequel to the PC exclusive 2003 Game of the Year Call of Duty. This is one of the Xbox 360's first shooters. After just completing the single player campaign, I can see why the second game even got the Game of The Year award.

The single player campaign was one of the best ever campaigns I've ever played so far. Call of Duty 2 campaign is pretty straightforward, you have to advance to an objective until you complete a mission. It's not always like that, though. One mission you could be holding back a horde of enemies, the next you could be sniping mortar teams trying to destroy the silo you are on. Most of the time, though, you will be trying to capture an objective, such as a house or a barn. Even though it may seem repetitive, it's really not. And, of course, you will have a wide arsenal of weapons to choose from. Weapons range from rifles, machine guns, explosives (such as rocket launchers and grenades), and a few pistols. When you are not trying to take down infantry, you will be going against vehicles, such as tanks and planes. You will even have one tank mission to do. For some reason, I didn't like it all that much, but that's just me. They even stepped up the WWII feel with minefields and meleeing with the butt of your gun instead of a knife.

The graphics are good for the age of the game, since it was released in 2005. Nothing really to talk about much here.

The story, really isn't. Mostly what you have as a story is cutscenes telling what really happened during World War II. But the game is so action packed, that you probably won't even care about it.

So, what's the final verdict, you ask? Well, the campaign is something to be treasured about the game. Even when you beat the game, there are 4 difficulty levels to keep you busy. For the multiplayer, this has local and online play, local being up to 4 players, and online being only on 8. It has basic modes such as Team Deathmatch, Free-for-all, and Capture the Flag. So, it is pretty much a great game for anyone without online. The campaign and the multiplayer easily made the Editor's Choice list.

The good: epic single player, great multiplayer, tons of weapons, awesome challenge.

The bad: Really, it's just outdated.

Score:

9.5