“For he did not know, that beyond the lake he called home, There lied a deeper, and darker ocean green. Where waves are both wilder and serene. To its ports I’ve been, To its ports Ive Been.” -Thomas Zane

You are Alan Wake, a famous horror writer obsessed with Stephen King. After writing a successful novel you take a vacation to Bright Falls. It is then there your trip takes a turn for the worse. You end up becoming dangerously close to Night Springs!

You are equipped with a flashlight and various firearms to stop what is known as the darkness, and its henchmen the taken. Formula for this is quite simple, shine light on the baddie, wait til the Darkness force field is broken, shoot til dead. Gameplay is very easy to adapt and is not complicated by any means. A much needed change from most games now a days where it takes the four shoulder buttons and the D-pad to walk forward.

This game shines when it comes to story, delivery, environment, ambiance and the overall feel of the story and its star Alan. I can without a doubt say that I have never been this into a game’s story since Final Fantasy 7. It is brilliant. The tension comes at the right times, as well as the calm moments, the dialogue is great, apart from Alan narrating that he just opened a door, but even that just adds to the brilliance that is Alan Wake.

I cannot tell you in a simple blog post how awesome this game is, do yourself some good, go out and buy two copies of this game. If you do not have an Xbox 360, go out and buy an Arcade unit at the very least and then buy two copies of this game. The return is there immediately after you watch the first cutscene.

Pros:

• Amazing story
• Brilliant setting
• Not complicated to play
• Did I mention the story?

Cons:

• Controls lag ever so slightly during big fights
• They are not pumping out the DLC fast enough
• Camera can be annoying at times when navigating small areas, or vastly large spaces. However this happened only twice for me in the whole game.

Rated: 6/5 (My personal pick for GOTY at this point) GO BUY IT!

So the question that needs to be answered… is Red Dead Redemption a good game? The short answer is, YES, but not so much. This game SUFFERS from a terribly slow story, and even more so a turtles speed crawl through it.  It takes several hours of mundane ranch work, and learning of the controls to even scratch the REAL story of this game.  This game is great, I loved its good parts but they were few and far between.

From this point on I am no longer giving kudos to a game just because it looks and sounds good, and this game those two areas it shines. The controls are an issue, you sometimes need to navigate 3 buttons to shoot a target, the duel system is pathetic and the horse controls are maddening. Rockstar took GTA 4 and applied a wild west theme to it. The missions/tasks are quite repetitive, go kill the baddies, save the person, go investigate some far off point on the map. Wash, Rinse, Repeat. Yet Rockstar filled the game with so much side-questing that at times I get lost in the amount of things to do in the game. Its like they knew the story was utter trash so they threw in some Poker, Dueling, and Night Watch quests to distract you from the main story.

The game has one amazing part and that is the horse ride as you enter Mexico, thats about it. I bought into the hype of this game, thinking something completely different. I thought I was going to be playing through a story like Tombstone or 3:10 to Yuma but nope, I was playing through outfit changes and leveling up my “marksman” abilities. At least with GTA they put in just enough side notes and quests to provide a well needed time out from the story, with RDR Rockstar loaded up the Side “Stuff” and went lean on the the story.

Did I have fun when there was action? Hell yes, I loved the Dead Eye multi-targeting system of killing multiple enemies, albeit could have been simpler to control. I loved just riding on my horse through some of the best looking landscaping I have seen in a game. I loved the dialogue at times and going out to a small corner of the map and putting a bullet into a guy for no reason other than to collect some cash. However, these simple enjoyments cannot cancel out the wrong with this game.

I have no problem recommending this as a great rental, but I am hard pressed to recommend it as a purchase. I purchased this title, and in all honesty I am regretting it a bit.

AOS Rated: ★★★☆☆ 

Disclamer: I did not try multiplayer as my PS3 has been going through internet/connection issues.

The gameplay is basic for a turn based RPG that is 15 years old. But its beauty is in this simplicity. There is no eon systems, no materia systems, no costume garbage to deal with. Its straight forward, each of the characters have an element they command: Lightning, Water, Fire, and Shadow. They can use single attacks, double attacks and if available triple attacks. These abilities are called “Techs.” They are easy to manage, understand and execute through the game. Battles are entered by running into enemies on-screen or tripping a battle “switch” by walking on a certain piece of the map. In this game its fun to enter battles because paired with this beautiful battle system and the epic battle soundtrack, you do not want to skip a battle. It does not feel like a chore to go and kill some Naga-ettes or some Mutants.

The Soundtrack is one of the best in video game history! Some of the greatest pieces of VGM has come from this game, Schala’s Theme, Corridors of Time, Singing Mountain, etc. All Superb. The music meshes so well with this story, it is a perfect game. Even after 15 years this game outclasses some if not most modern-day RPGs. You actually play this game, you are not playing an interactive cut scene with a confusing system of play and a tacky story. With Chrono Trigger you get involved in it, you read every piece of text, you go out of your way to complete all the side-quests, because that is how good this game is. This game only gets better with time. Which is why truly I among many consider it the greatest RPG ever made. It’s the total package of Story, ambience, and gameplay mechanics.

I have no hesitation in giving this a

AOS Rated: 5 out of 5  

If you own a DS, go out and buy this game, if you have not already. Track down a copy of the SNES version for the true experience. Even if you dislike RPGs, you should play it, because it’s a true RPG. Not some watered down, linear, lack of depth attempt at an RPG that is forced to you today.

If you have a DS phat I would look into upgrading to this, IF you don’t do as much gaming on the go, I mean the XL can be taken on the road in a somewhat deep pocket or backpack. But, if you just sit on your couch playing Ace Attorney most of the time, do a favor and save your eyes and go for the bigger XL model. Outside of that there is not much more to say, it has the same specs as a DSi, there is no difference between the two outside pricing. (DSi $169.99 DSi XL $189.99) are bigger screens worth the added 20 bucks? In my opinion: Yes.

Final Verdict: Bigger does prove to be better, if you love the DS system, yet find that it does not leave home often. Potential eBook reader, same functionality as the DSi makes it a harder yet still understandable sell for just bigger screens with no improvements in resolution if you have a newer DS Lite or DSi system.

Nintendo’s DSi XL gets a 4/5

“WHA? NO MENTION OF THE UPCOMING 3DS?” Nope, not even going there. First lets get some more information and wait for what E3 has to say before I discredit the DSi XL. All we have is a press release that there is a new handheld glasses-less 3D system in the works, nothing more…

If you do not already know the back story behind God of War I suggest you go HERE first.

If you have not already played the first two God of War titles I suggest you do! (Go Gamefly them!)

After you have done the above proceed to play God of War 3!

If in the first ten minutes your eyes have not exploded because of the god like graphics, I suggest you find yourself a doctor to sit down and discuss your status as a human being. Visually this game is THE BEST LOOKING GAME OUT TO DATE, BAR NONE, NO OTHER GAME EVEN COMES CLOSE TO THIS GAME. The water effects alone are of tear jerking beauty.  Even on my ancient flat panel this game looked superb. I cannot stress to you on the aesthetics of the game, its a “you must see it for yourself..” kind of thing. Now that discussing the graphics is out of the way lets look at the rest of the game.

The length of this game is laughable, I completed this game in a little over 8 hours. In these 8 hours I proceeded down “linear tunnels” killing enemies and opening chests. Repetition is this games calling card. The game diverts very little from this equation of Kill > Collect > Solve > Repeat > Boss. However due to this games awesome way of presenting itself, I never truly felt bored with the repetition and linear gameplay.

The voice acting is superb (Rip Torn is in it!) and the story pans out really well in this action packed conclusion of Kratos’ journey.  The people at Santa Monica did a great job with this one. There is nothing that I need to go in depth with in this review, as I do not want to give away to much or ramble on small issues that plague any game.  There is one little glitch I noticed though, the R1 action was random or at times non-existent at save points.

tl;dr – The best looking game out at the moment, great story, extremely short and repetitive, minor glitches that are tolerable.

I give this one a 4.5/5

You are Dante, a crusader who has a self mutilation complex. Your goal is to get home to your love Beatrice. Both of you had not partaken in the “joys of the flesh.” Beatrice then makes a deal with the devil himself that Dante would remain faithful. The wager, her soul if she is wrong. Dante then fights his way through a castle, and ultimately gets stabbed in the back. You then battle the Grim Reaper and take his scythe as a weapon. You also obtain Beatrice’s Cross as a weapon, this is your “ranged” weapon. You get no other weapons other than these two, bummer right? After some rather lackluster cut scenes later you enter Hell!

“Abandon all hope, ye whom enter here.”

You then begin your epic journey through the many circles of hell. You meet Virgil who is you guide through hell itself. You collect souls to then cash in on abilities and upgrades on either the Holy or Unholy paths. Each have their pros and cons. I find Holy to edge out Unholy slightly because the cross weapon is far more effective than the scythe. You have access to relics which provide stat increases and misc goodies like auto opening of heath, mana and soul wells. These relics are both Holy and Unholy and they have requirements you must meet in order to equip them. There are also 3 Beatrice stones to collect to unlock Auto-Absolve when you meet a shade like Pontius Pilate. However playing the Guitar Hero like Absolve mini game nets you more Holy experience and souls than auto absolving them. Then there are 30 pieces of silver to collect, which give you a soul boost through the game, these offer no stat increases or modifiers at all.

Lets talk about the bad parts before the good, this game suffers from 2 big issues…

First and foremost, the repetitiveness. You meet a small family of enemies and that is all through the game. You then fight hundreds of the same enemies, and by the time you get far in the tree of your choice they are a push over even on the higher difficulties. Pull switch, jump on platform to reach another landing, fight 5 of the same enemies, open a door, turn a switch, fight, jump, door, well, save, repeat. That is the layout of the game. Throw in some rappelling, and some annoying camera angles at times and you have it.

The second issue with this game is its length. I rented this game on the 15th and had it beat by the late afternoon of the 16th, and that was a very casual play through, if you push yourself and dedicated a good 6-8 hours you can have this game beat in an afternoon. Plus past the halfway mark the game and its story just seems to drop off, I felt that the developers got lazy at times and purposely let this scene, puzzle, fight get sloppy and random. The boss battle was more of a joke than anything. I encountered swarm battles more challenging than the boss fight. So, enough of the bad talk, you are asking what about the good right? Well lets talk about the good.

The graphics are amazing in this game, the design team really put in 110%. The various levels of Hell have their own personality and flair. I really enjoyed the visuals of this game, and the soundtrack too was a fantastic compliment to the game. The details of walls, and statues was quite a scene to behold. I cannot praise the design and aesthetics of the game enough. Although I keep reading that most did not like the 2d anime style cut scenes, I can say I enjoyed them. It added a nice change to the gameplay, and provided a nice separation between gameplay and cutscene.

This game did a great job of providing the gamer with an interpretation of one of history’s greatest works of literature. The base story of Dante’s Inferno was a great backdrop to a game which I wish they spend a few moments more on. Going through the circles of hell and meeting famous shades and listening to Virgil was a great experience. Just to stop and listen to the cries of the damned and them trying to explain their actions was very entertaining. Good job on this, its just upsetting that the gameplay did not reach the same level that the surroundings and experiences we got simply walking though the realm of the damned.

This is a good rental, I feel buying it at full retail would be a big letdown. The game is far to short and as much as I enjoyed the ambience and the graphics, I could not justify paying 60+ dollars for it. This is 1000% an A++ rental. Its a hard sell as a buy.

Dante’s Inferno gets a very well earned 3.5/5. Great graphics, awesome ambience. However, far too short and very repetitive. Since this is a game and not a movie I cannot give this one a higher score than that…

Wolfenstein (PS3): 2/5 – Not a great game, the camera work can get you motion sick at times.  The Occult and Nazi mix just does not work. I got half way through the game and sent it back.  Keep this at the bottom of your queue as a filler title when you main titles are finished with…

Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood (PS3): 3.5/5 – OK game,  The gameplay and controls were great to work with, however there is just something about this game that fails at keeping the player hooked and in turn makes it a chore to progress through the game. Again a decent filler game for some decent western shoot ‘em up action.

UFC Undisputed 2009 (PS3): 4/5 – Fun game, who doesn’t want to control some of the worlds best fighters and beat some people to a pulp? Can get repetitive though.  Might be worth a buy, it’s worth renting for sure!  Controls could use some work, the ground game is a bit tough to get down.  Most of the time the fight ends in a KO (Great animation though)!

WWE Smackdown Vs. Raw 2010 (PS3) 4/5 – Same as UFC but in the WWE world.  If you are a fan of wrestling, rent or buy this title.  Story mode keeps you occupied and there is much more beyond that.  Always something to do in the game for sure.  Refined feel, good control scheme. I have no issues with it, other than it might get a tad boring after a long session.

Expect more game reviews in the future!

In other news…

SyFy is hosting it’s annual New Years Twilight Zone marathon.  It’s always good to enjoy some quality TV and nothing beats the Twilight Zone.  What is/are your favorite episode(s)? Mine are Perchance to a Dream, Obsolete Man and A Game of Pool.

Google is launching its Nexus One which will cost $530 without a plan and $180 with a TMobile plan.  Good move, however I think Google is risking saturating the market and, isn’t this just a Google branded HTC handset?!? Good to see the Goog’ trying though! iPhone Killer?! Thoughts?!

The NFL season is drawing to a close and the Post season starting in a couple of weeks!  With the Saints slipping the NFC could be anyone’s game. I would not mind seeing the Eagles and the Vikings as a potential NFC Championship game. The AFC in typical fashion has the Colts and the Patriots. Choosing one of these teams is always a safe bet for the Super Bowl.  Do not rule out the Chargers though! What teams do you see in the Super Bowl? Go Eagles!!

January 3rd, 2010: Mark this date down in your calendars folks.  History is made as Super Chef Emeril Lagasse makes his Kitchen Stadium debut and tags with Iron Chef Mario Batali to do battle with Iron Chef Bobby Flay and White House Executive Chef Cristeta Comerford!  The secret ingredient is of national importance!  For all you Iron Chef fans both old and new this is a battle you cannot miss!  I’m going with Lagasse/Batali to win.  Agree or Disagree??

Much more to discuss but, it will have to wait for another day..So STAY TUNED!!!

What better way to crack a smile than to pump some zombies full of lead! This game is simple survive the zombie outbreak. You are one of four people (Ellis, Coach, Rochelle and Nick) using all available weaponry to get through 5 campaigns. There are pistols, shotguns, rifles and the occasional grenade launcher to pick as your primary weapon. Then you have anything from a frying pan to a chain saw to use and a melee weapon. Your goal is: slaughter zombies.

This game was done by valve, so if you have played ANY Half Life game you know just what’s in store for you. The controls are rather easy to learn, and the gameplay is rather linear. Go from safe house to safe house, amassing an artillery and some medical supplies. After a while the game gets repetitive and it becomes a chore to keep fighting the hordes of zombies. The chit chat from character to character is amusing. There are points in the game where it gets frustrating, but nothing is to difficult to handle.

A great rental indeed!  If you are looking for a decent shoot em up with a zombie twist, that does not require hiding behind a wall from 4 hours and calling out commands to your team. Then this one is for you!

I give this one: 4/5

Forgive me as I know this game came out some time ago, but it was one of the games I felt compelled to play at one point or another. So, I rented it from GameFly (AWESOME SERVICE! Highly recommended!)  For those who have not played this game yet…let me spare you 6 hours and tell you that to stay away from this game. Sure the rabid Buster fan will love the visit back to New York 1991 and to see the old gang again, however I a huge fan of the movies can say that the nostalgia wears off rather quickly.

The game is horrid to play at times and feels like a chore.  There are times where you sail through a whole chunk of the game only to reach a point where it takes you quite a while to accomplish a simple task of opening a gate.  The plot is tossed out the window in the latter parts of the game, as if there was such a detailed plot to begin with.  You will find yourself using the proton stream and boson darts for the majority of the game.

All in all it was fun to be a Buster, but the story and nostalgic feeling just couldn’t compensate for the terrible gameplay.  If you do want to give this game a go, rent it.  Even at a low price of 20-30 dollars its not worth the purchase. After the story there is absolutely NOTHING to do in the game aside from collecting items/scans you might have missed or a terrible multiplayer feature.

I give it a very generous: 2.5/5

P.S. Pete Venkman was written as an absolute prick…

Your name is Ezio Auditore da Firenze.  You are an assassin in Renaissance Italy.  Your mission: Revenge!