So, this has been a pretty good gaming year i guess. A couple good sequels, a few bad.
Some new and exciting games, and a ton of crap.
I'm really looking forward to a new year of gaming, hating and loving.
What do you think the year of 2011 has to offer the gaming world?
What im really hoping for, is some groundbreaking material, like Ubisoft brought to the table when they presented their parkour-ish Altair. Not saying that Assasin's creed was groundbreaking, but the fluid gameplay was just the thing many players were looking for.
Im really looking forward to Dragon Age 2 to mention one.
Let's hope they don't send it down the same alley as Star Wars : The Force Unleashed 2.
With that said, i've read somewhere that the fat-cats of the gaming industry are cutting down in their meddling.
Meaning that you'll see fewer games brandished EA or Activision.
If this is a good thing or a bad thing, well i don't know. Let the small but ambitious do their own thing, but lose alot of competence, tradition and last but not least lose a shitload of sponsoring?
I'm really looking forward to see the development there..
Undecided
Ps. It turned out Xmas holidays didn't provide any time at all for neither gaming nor reading or writing. Too bad, but stay tuned, and keep sharing.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Temporary absence.
Undecided has been a bit busy lately, but now i've got some more time on my hands, so i'll publish some new stuff within not too long.
Currently playing Two Worlds 2. Unintentionally funny, but still quite awesome.
Keep sharing the blog!
Undecided
Currently playing Two Worlds 2. Unintentionally funny, but still quite awesome.
Keep sharing the blog!
Undecided
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Dragon Age - Origins - Review
Many of you might remember a totally awesome game series from 1998, called Baldurs Gate.
This is one of BioWares most succesful titels in my opinion. Baldurs Gate #1 was groundbreaking in it's genre, putting the D&D combat system to use in a masterful manner, and giving you way more freedom of choice than what we were used to. In Baldurs Gate 2 : Shadows of Amn, the game fulfills it's potential and it seemed as tho we were going to experience a new RPG-Golden Age.
It sort of came to a halt after that, in my opinion. They put the bar so high, that most other similar games didn't seem to be able to deliever.
You may argue that there has been several great rpg releases over the years since Baldurs gate.
This is partially true (in my opinion), we have diablo, elder scrolls : oblivion, neverwinter nights, but they didn't do for the genre what Baldurs Gate did for rpg.
However, after an undecided number of rat slashing, undead mashing and golem bashing rpg's, it seemed BioWare came to realize that the crowds weren't exactly pleased, something had to be done to rekindle the flame that was slowly burning away in the hearts of the genre's trusted gamers.
And from there, Dragon Age : Origins arose from the ashes of Baldurs Gate.
The game has many flaws, the storyline is quite the cliche, and it's no groundbreaking material.
But it's a turn in the right path for todays bleak selection of RPG's.
Dragon Age : Origins takes up the legacy of Baldurs Gate and brought fun and and enthusiasm back into the "long dead genre".
Graphics - The graphics are OK, like many other rpg's the graphics don't always match what driving simulators and FPS games can offer. But That's not really much of an issue here.
Game mechanics - The combat system is quite traditional turn based. It feels a bit slow and abilities/spell are often delayed, sometimes it can even feel like it's lagging. The game can't seem to decide if it's going be a fast paced, up and personal real-time type of game, or a strategic traditional rpg. The result is a combat system that's wanting. But there's room for improving, and as far as i've gathered, this is something BioWare is going to change in the upcoming Dragon Age 2.
The dialogue system was excellent, but now flawless. I found myself spending lots of time considering my choices when in a tricky situation, and the rewards for choosing "right" were always worth it.
The spell system is quite fun and offers variation. Blast your enemies with knockback spells, combine spell like "sleep" and "horror" and you are really getting the feel that what spells you cast really matters. The tactical aspect of combat change radically. The area of effect spells might be a little difficult to time properly if you're trying to avoid damaging your own group, but it's not really a MAJOR issue, if you play your cards right, or configure the game so that your AoE dont affect your allies.
The plot :
Every couple hundred years, a plague known as the Blight envelops the world in darkness.
The grey wardens, who are a group of elite warriors, mages, and rogues, are the only ones standing in the way of doom.
You get the picture, right? Great evil, a few elite <insert correct term> stand up against a great evil.
This isn't exactly new material, but still, there are so many twists and turns, so many choices to made, and so many ways to go, that the plot is empowered by all the possible outcomes.
The road to salvation may be paved in blood, or glory. Will you be the hero the realm of Ferelden needs? Or will you backstab, lie and manipulate your way to the top?
Either way, you're gonna have a great journey, from the darkest corners of Ferelden, to the Brightest moments in it's memory.
This is truly a great step in the right direction for the future RPG's, and other developers can absolutely learn a thing or two from BioWare.
All in all. 8.5/10.
I am aware that i do not really go in-depth with my reviews, and this simply because my goal is not to describe the entire game to you, it is because i want to bring forth YOUR point of view.
What did i leave out?
Why did i leave it out?
Can you tell me?
Send me your take on Dragon Age : Origins at undecidedrating@gmail.com and let your fellow gamers see what you think about the game.
Sincerely yours
Undecided
This is one of BioWares most succesful titels in my opinion. Baldurs Gate #1 was groundbreaking in it's genre, putting the D&D combat system to use in a masterful manner, and giving you way more freedom of choice than what we were used to. In Baldurs Gate 2 : Shadows of Amn, the game fulfills it's potential and it seemed as tho we were going to experience a new RPG-Golden Age.
It sort of came to a halt after that, in my opinion. They put the bar so high, that most other similar games didn't seem to be able to deliever.
You may argue that there has been several great rpg releases over the years since Baldurs gate.
This is partially true (in my opinion), we have diablo, elder scrolls : oblivion, neverwinter nights, but they didn't do for the genre what Baldurs Gate did for rpg.
However, after an undecided number of rat slashing, undead mashing and golem bashing rpg's, it seemed BioWare came to realize that the crowds weren't exactly pleased, something had to be done to rekindle the flame that was slowly burning away in the hearts of the genre's trusted gamers.
And from there, Dragon Age : Origins arose from the ashes of Baldurs Gate.
The game has many flaws, the storyline is quite the cliche, and it's no groundbreaking material.
But it's a turn in the right path for todays bleak selection of RPG's.
Dragon Age : Origins takes up the legacy of Baldurs Gate and brought fun and and enthusiasm back into the "long dead genre".
Graphics - The graphics are OK, like many other rpg's the graphics don't always match what driving simulators and FPS games can offer. But That's not really much of an issue here.
Game mechanics - The combat system is quite traditional turn based. It feels a bit slow and abilities/spell are often delayed, sometimes it can even feel like it's lagging. The game can't seem to decide if it's going be a fast paced, up and personal real-time type of game, or a strategic traditional rpg. The result is a combat system that's wanting. But there's room for improving, and as far as i've gathered, this is something BioWare is going to change in the upcoming Dragon Age 2.
The dialogue system was excellent, but now flawless. I found myself spending lots of time considering my choices when in a tricky situation, and the rewards for choosing "right" were always worth it.
The spell system is quite fun and offers variation. Blast your enemies with knockback spells, combine spell like "sleep" and "horror" and you are really getting the feel that what spells you cast really matters. The tactical aspect of combat change radically. The area of effect spells might be a little difficult to time properly if you're trying to avoid damaging your own group, but it's not really a MAJOR issue, if you play your cards right, or configure the game so that your AoE dont affect your allies.
The plot :
Every couple hundred years, a plague known as the Blight envelops the world in darkness.
The grey wardens, who are a group of elite warriors, mages, and rogues, are the only ones standing in the way of doom.
You get the picture, right? Great evil, a few elite <insert correct term> stand up against a great evil.
This isn't exactly new material, but still, there are so many twists and turns, so many choices to made, and so many ways to go, that the plot is empowered by all the possible outcomes.
The road to salvation may be paved in blood, or glory. Will you be the hero the realm of Ferelden needs? Or will you backstab, lie and manipulate your way to the top?
Either way, you're gonna have a great journey, from the darkest corners of Ferelden, to the Brightest moments in it's memory.
This is truly a great step in the right direction for the future RPG's, and other developers can absolutely learn a thing or two from BioWare.
All in all. 8.5/10.
I am aware that i do not really go in-depth with my reviews, and this simply because my goal is not to describe the entire game to you, it is because i want to bring forth YOUR point of view.
What did i leave out?
Why did i leave it out?
Can you tell me?
Send me your take on Dragon Age : Origins at undecidedrating@gmail.com and let your fellow gamers see what you think about the game.
Sincerely yours
Undecided
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Wasted calories
I have to admit i am starting to get a little paranoid.
Twice in a timeperiod of 36 hours someone from montreal has tried to access my facebook, blog and gmail/google account.
Being a slightly paranoid and over-analyzing by nature, this makes my brain gå mumbo jumbo.
Why would someone suddenly want to access different social medias i use.
Who's in montreal?
Does it have anything to do with me speaking my mind on the game industry?
Can this be a sign of a serious wave of aids coming in my direction?
Who knows, but one things for sure, i don't like it.
Does anyone have any idea whats down (or up) in montreal?
I can't guess anything but Ubisoft trying to steal my blog and tell you how awesome the next Assasin's creed : Brotherhood is going to be. A 8/10 at IGN.com i can see. Average reader rated 9.3. Press rated 9.0
And here we have pac-man championship edition DX rated 10/10 by ign's own reviewer.
Yes, that was ment as a self explanatory sentence, with limited success i understand, seeing as you're still reading.
All in all, Pac-man or Assasin's creed, it doesn't really matter, because the gaming industry isn't going to change unless the gamers decide to change it.
When the ads are bringing in more than the games, well, that sort of takes away the point now doesn't it?
Undecided
Twice in a timeperiod of 36 hours someone from montreal has tried to access my facebook, blog and gmail/google account.
Being a slightly paranoid and over-analyzing by nature, this makes my brain gå mumbo jumbo.
Why would someone suddenly want to access different social medias i use.
Who's in montreal?
Does it have anything to do with me speaking my mind on the game industry?
Can this be a sign of a serious wave of aids coming in my direction?
Who knows, but one things for sure, i don't like it.
Does anyone have any idea whats down (or up) in montreal?
I can't guess anything but Ubisoft trying to steal my blog and tell you how awesome the next Assasin's creed : Brotherhood is going to be. A 8/10 at IGN.com i can see. Average reader rated 9.3. Press rated 9.0
And here we have pac-man championship edition DX rated 10/10 by ign's own reviewer.
Yes, that was ment as a self explanatory sentence, with limited success i understand, seeing as you're still reading.
All in all, Pac-man or Assasin's creed, it doesn't really matter, because the gaming industry isn't going to change unless the gamers decide to change it.
When the ads are bringing in more than the games, well, that sort of takes away the point now doesn't it?
Undecided
Star Wars : The force unleashed 2 - Review
Well, star wars : the force unleashed 1 was basicly a pretty awesome game.
It provided us with all the whoop ass jedi/sith canoodling we've always been craving.
All in all a great game imo.
So the anticipation before the sequel was realeased was pretty high.
They had been advertising the game with "over the top" force powers, combat system and of course a pretty awesome trailer.
I can't complain much about the game graphics, well not THAT much anyway, the graphics are ok.
But what really bugged me was the game mechanics. Geez, you might as well make the game in 2D with the awesome display of movement, combat and force powers demonstrated in this joke of a sequel. Yawn..
For an example, you're gonna do a jump attack, so you jump, and you attack, and suddenly starkiller himself freezes mid-air and star pummeling away, and then land straight on the spot below.
Another example, you're gonna do an allout force push, and you start charging in a direction, and your enemy is suddenly running in another direction, "no problem, ill just adjust the direction of the blow a little".
Wrong. Once you start charging, the direction of the force push is locked, you cant even change it slightly.
Awesome.
The combat system gets repetetive quite fast, in an interview, the developer said they were really gonna make your lightsabers count unlike the predecessor. Well good job on that. After 20minutes it gets boring using the lightsabers, you could replace the melee sytem with the World of warcrafts rogue ability "sinister strike" and even that would be more giving.
It provided us with all the whoop ass jedi/sith canoodling we've always been craving.
All in all a great game imo.
So the anticipation before the sequel was realeased was pretty high.
They had been advertising the game with "over the top" force powers, combat system and of course a pretty awesome trailer.
I can't complain much about the game graphics, well not THAT much anyway, the graphics are ok.
But what really bugged me was the game mechanics. Geez, you might as well make the game in 2D with the awesome display of movement, combat and force powers demonstrated in this joke of a sequel. Yawn..
For an example, you're gonna do a jump attack, so you jump, and you attack, and suddenly starkiller himself freezes mid-air and star pummeling away, and then land straight on the spot below.
Another example, you're gonna do an allout force push, and you start charging in a direction, and your enemy is suddenly running in another direction, "no problem, ill just adjust the direction of the blow a little".
Wrong. Once you start charging, the direction of the force push is locked, you cant even change it slightly.
Awesome.
The combat system gets repetetive quite fast, in an interview, the developer said they were really gonna make your lightsabers count unlike the predecessor. Well good job on that. After 20minutes it gets boring using the lightsabers, you could replace the melee sytem with the World of warcrafts rogue ability "sinister strike" and even that would be more giving.
On positive side, you can combine your melee combos with your force powers to some degree, adding a lightning powered lightsaber sweep to crush a bunch of stormtroopers is fun for a while, but it also wears off because of the lack of new combos.
For a game that pretends to offer many possibilities regarding combining enviroment and skill with forcepowers, the game offers little when it comes to variation.
Elite units such as big sheild robots are EASILY taken down from awar with your saber throw combined with the "cutscene finishers" where you press one button to enter the "finishing mode" where you have to push one or two buttons in the right moment to automaticly finish the elite mob. This takes away the whole point of elite mobs, because they really arent much harder to kill than the average joe stormtrooper.
The game is also quite short, and the only "real boss" you fight is the you know who of Star wars.
And the fight is more mindless clone ravaging button mashing with pauses to climb some cloning facility.
For a game that pretends to offer many possibilities regarding combining enviroment and skill with forcepowers, the game offers little when it comes to variation.
Elite units such as big sheild robots are EASILY taken down from awar with your saber throw combined with the "cutscene finishers" where you press one button to enter the "finishing mode" where you have to push one or two buttons in the right moment to automaticly finish the elite mob. This takes away the whole point of elite mobs, because they really arent much harder to kill than the average joe stormtrooper.
The game is also quite short, and the only "real boss" you fight is the you know who of Star wars.
And the fight is more mindless clone ravaging button mashing with pauses to climb some cloning facility.
The story is acceptable. But not convincing.
You're basicly a clone of starkiller, Vader is trying to make a new "perfect soldier" or whatever, and you seem to be another failed offspring involuntarily brought into his evil plot. So you escape, and want to find starkillers sweetheart, Juno.
One of the major disappointments was the part where you meet Yoda, before you enter some sort of spiritual place. All this is concluded with a 10 second cutscene and you never see yoda again. I mean, wth were these guys thinking? It's Yoda!
Obviously, the force wasn't with Lucasarts on this one.
That's my 10 cents
All in all the game gets a well deserved 4/10.
The game feels incomplete and rushed.
One of the major disappointments was the part where you meet Yoda, before you enter some sort of spiritual place. All this is concluded with a 10 second cutscene and you never see yoda again. I mean, wth were these guys thinking? It's Yoda!
Obviously, the force wasn't with Lucasarts on this one.
That's my 10 cents
All in all the game gets a well deserved 4/10.
The game feels incomplete and rushed.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
pac-man reaches for the sky.. or not.
Well, i just found myself lolling about on the internet, and thought i'd read some recent game reviews from various sources, and i just happened to find a nice little review about a game called..
Pac-Man Championship Edition DX
http://xbox360.ign.com/objects/077/077723.html
The review i read was for the xbox 360.
It gave the forementioned game the rating 10/10 ('masterful'). Also marking it "Editor's choice".
Now this all seems jolly good to me, it's pac-man, om nom nom.
But then again, the sceptic that i am, i look a little closer, and notice that 68 other individuals have also reviewed or atleast rated the game. And those 68 other ratings equalled an average rating of 6.9/10.
Now i might just be an idiot, and the ratings aren't necessarily trustworthy, but doesn't this mean that 68 other people not working for the webpage in question have actually rated the game 3.1 points lower?
What does this say people?
Is this just because we aren't competent enough to decide which games we REALLY enjoy, and which we don't?
Well, tell me what your take on this whole "situation" is.. i'd like to hear your opinions
Kind regards
Undecided
Pac-Man Championship Edition DX
http://xbox360.ign.com/objects/077/077723.html
The review i read was for the xbox 360.
It gave the forementioned game the rating 10/10 ('masterful'). Also marking it "Editor's choice".
Now this all seems jolly good to me, it's pac-man, om nom nom.
But then again, the sceptic that i am, i look a little closer, and notice that 68 other individuals have also reviewed or atleast rated the game. And those 68 other ratings equalled an average rating of 6.9/10.
Now i might just be an idiot, and the ratings aren't necessarily trustworthy, but doesn't this mean that 68 other people not working for the webpage in question have actually rated the game 3.1 points lower?
What does this say people?
Is this just because we aren't competent enough to decide which games we REALLY enjoy, and which we don't?
Well, tell me what your take on this whole "situation" is.. i'd like to hear your opinions
Kind regards
Undecided
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