 Now before I get to my review, I want to say that I bought this game at a bargain bin price a month or so ago because my instincts told me it wasn’t a full price kind of game. Although late to the party in terms of writing a review (4 1/2 months after release) I can honestly say I’ve beaten it and have experienced all four player classes. This game has gotten a bit of a bad rap by the gaming press and much of it undeservedly so.
Now as many of you know, I’m a sucker for WRPGs (Western RPGs). That’s a bit of a stereotype I’m afraid but it has since taken root and is generally used on a wide scale to describe these type of games. A WRPG is basically a sword & sorcery type role playing game, usually developed by a European or North American company, and has plenty of Dungeons & Dragons or Tolkien inspired elements to it.
This game is a port of the 2006 PC Dark Messiah title and is more simplified and altered to better match the console experience. You have four player classes (Fighter, Archer, Mage & Assassin) and have no real customization of your character other than the equipment you choose to use. Leveling up is linear and since there is no respawn of enemies, it’s carefully spread out throughout the game.
Gameplay if I was to formulate an analogy, would be something like a cross between Thief, Tomb Raider and Oblivion. The combat is pretty straight forward, the controls work well and the platforming aspect of it using the rope bow can be very challenging and rewarding. It let’s you explore and challenge yourself on a scale I wish more games would offer. This exploration is a combination of acrobatics, skill and puzzle solving and is one of the best virtues of this game.
This would be what I’d call a “Lite” RPG, where one could argue this to be a “action RPG” or an “unsophisticated dungeon crawler”. There’s even a bit of humor in the game from time to time to keep the dark story in check. The story itself is pretty simple and really unimportant, and there are two different endings to the game for you to explore as well as a few in-game story paths you can follow.
The sounds & voice acting is generally well done, the graphics look a bit dated but still work well for the type of game and considering it’s a 2 year old port. There are a couple minor bugs but nothing game breaking or overly aggravating. You can expect a solid 20 hour game give or take a few hours depending on how you play it and the multiplayer is simple, mindless fun.
If you can find this game for $20 or less and would enjoy a “Lite” RPG, or a simple game with a fun laid back single player, I recommend this game wholeheartedley. Few instances in gaming does a “Jack of all trades, Master of none” type of title work out so well. Just don’t spend a lot of money on it hoping to get your WRPG fix until Fallout 3 or the Two Worlds sequel comes out.
8.0/10
Yes, late to the party but better late than never no? The one thing about being a game collector is the enormous backlog of games you have on your shopping list. When you have 35+ game systems (a small but proud number in collecting circles), you have to split priority between new games and old. Right now with the Xbox/Gamecube/PS2 slowly disappearing from shelves, those have been my priority at the moment.
I initially wanted to buy GHIII for the PS2. One of the many perks of collecting, is that we can indulge ourselves in a little obsessive compulsive behavior and make matching sets. I already have GH and GHII both in the guitar/game bundle form and I also have the 80's Encore version as well. So having the GHIII guitar/game would have been a nice completion to a music set that would have included Rock Band in the future as well. Unfortunately I was unable to find a PS2 version without resorting to online purchasing. Oh well. Since part of the reason was also because I have two guitars from the previous games, buying the Xbox 360 version screwed that up. So I bought the Guitar Hero II bundle as well since it's now only $30-40 more for the bundle than a second guitar by itself.
I'm not a journalist, nor a member of the gaming industry. I won't pretend I'm a hardcore reviewer or an industry analyst. I'm just going to throw a few observations and criticisms out there based on my own experiences, as much for my future self to read over as entertainment for you, the reader who has stopped by to check out our humble site. I'm going to compare GHII with GHIII, as I see them as not only separate games, but a turning point in the evolution of the series both game-wise and hardware-wise.
One of the first things I noticed is how it's packaged. GHIII doesn't have the same kind of semi-case that II has and probably can't take the same beating. It has a thin sleeve over a plain white box, which without digging out my PS2 GH boxes, is similar to the comparison between I and II. That isn't so much a concern for the average gamer as it is for collectors who like to keep everything intact.
Once un-boxed, I really like the look of the Les Paul guitar controller more so than the X-plorer that comes with GHII. Though I have to admit that the X-plorer feels more solid and better built than the Les Paul and a bit heavier as well. I like the fact that it's wireless, but I don't like the fact it comes in two pieces. It never feels quite solid when the two are locked up. Not that I think it could come undone while playing, but it has too large of a tolerance when you wiggle the neck while connected to the body for my tastes.
The game itself plays great. The wheel wasn't re-invented here, but for their first time out Neversoft who took over from Harmonix, played it safe and kept it familiar while adding a bit of personal flair which worked out well. I was split as to which game had a better song list RB or GHIII. I like Rock Bands soundtrack equally for a couple reasons. The Guitar Hero III soundtrack in my opinion is better than Rock Band, but Rock band has way more master tracks which by itself is an impressive boast.
The tempo of the game is pretty much the same as before. Hardcores may tell you otherwise but for those of us who play the game without over-analyzing it, we won't find too many differences in that respect. I admit I skip the "caveman band"¯ cutscenes where your band apparently can't speak in anything but a series of grunts, I think it just slows down getting to the gameplay.
I'm also not a fan of the boss battles, which luckily are few and far between. The whole "attack and whatnot"¯ thing just distracts from the game. No worries though, the boss battles are spread out and there's only three of them.
My only other negative critique is the "Star Power". Maybe it's just me but it seems to activate whenever it wants to, and sometimes not at all. That can be a major issue if you were playing multiplayer or trying to complete achievements. I figure that it's either the angle that I hold the guitar which isn't completely vertical, or the guitar itself doesn't have all that great of a tilt sensor. Sure I could hit the back button when I wanted it, but what about the 75% of the time when it activates on it's own? Also the crowd noise drowns out the song when in star power mode, I just like to hear the music while I play so it's a bit distracting.
All in all GHIII is a good addition to the series. It may not revolutionize the genre, but it doesn't suffer from Madden syndrome either or seem like a half-baked sequel with nothing new. Those who haven't played the previous games shouldn't feel like they couldn't jump into it. Each game is user friendly for first time shredders and offers different songs for different tastes.
I give it a 9.0/10. I would have given it a 8.5 just to put it slightly under GHII, but "Knights of Cydonia"¯ kicks so much ass and it was a major incentive for me to buy it.
 Yesterday afternoon Chris Priestly, Community Coordinator and active forum mod from BioWare, posted a thread in the official Mass Effect forum with the message "If I were you, I'd be around here at 10am tomorrow" without revealing exactly why.
In the 15 pages worth of speculation and impatient time checking that followed before the thread was locked just prior to the announcement, everything from a big prank, PC version, DLC content to a certified gold expansion had been suggested.
Then at approximately 10:00am Mountain time, It was announced that new DLC will be released in March. Here's the official announcement quoted for your reading pleasure:
Chris Writes:
To date, over 1.6 million gamers have explored the engaging sci-fi universe of Mass Effect. Beginning on March 10, fans everywhere will be able to expand the "Mass Effect"¯ experience with the release of the first ever downloadable content for the award-winning saga.
The Bring Down the Sky downloadable content pack will be released to Xbox LIVE Marketplace on Monday, March 10 at 2 a.m. PST, and will be available for 400 MS points. This is the first in a series of planned downloadable content that further expands the Mass Effect universe and continues the adventures of Commander Shepard and the Normandy crew.
Bring Down the Sky includes a new uncharted world that introduces the notorious and feared alien race of the Batarians. A Batarian extremist group has hijacked a mobile asteroid station in the Asgard system, setting it on a collision course with the nearby colony world of Terra Nova. Only Commander Shepard can save the millions of innocent civilians before the asteroid completes its deadly descent.
Bring Down the Sky contains approximately 90 minutes of heart-pounding action and a new Achievement worth 50 Gamerscore points.
Mass Effect is exclusively available on Xbox 360 and is rated M for Mature by the ESRB
This is both welcome news and reasonably priced. As one not particularly fond of disposable downloadable content, 400 MS isn't too bad. Cheap enough to splurge on, big enough to be worth it. XBL marketplace could use more content at that price as far as I'm concerned. It should hopefully help tide us addicted BioWare RPG lovers over until the next dose of crack fun piece of Albertan gaming comes along.
Official announcement:
http://masseffect.bioware...ml?topic=616574&forum=104
For the crazy folks who haven't bought this game yet  and those of you sitting on the fence, let me share my initial impression of this game with you. Furthermore, Let me convince you that tracking down a Limited Collector's Edition online is well worth it. This game certainly deserves a review but that will wait until I've beaten it a couple different ways first and that make take a while so hopefully this blog entry will suffice for now.
First off, I'll tell you that I'm among other things, both a huge BioWare fan and a staunt supporter of western RPG's. I've played BioWare games since Shattered Steel and they've always managed to impress me. I'm also not a particularly huge fan of Star Wars yet KOTOR ranks very highly on my top list of games. I say that because this game reminds me a lot of it, but IMO Mass Effect is a better universe to play in.
Ok, enough with the "HTMbiography". Let me be frank: This game f*cking rocks. Becoming Keith once more here's what I call the "you've seen it" formula: Ths game reminds me of Babylon 5 mixed with KOTOR, Stargate, GRAW, Jade Empire and some dark humor reminiscent of Firefly. Maybe throw in a few likenesses to games like Elite and Freelancer as well.
Having read the novel I was already familiar with the Mass Effect universe, it's factions, races, technology etc. I've also read the author's work before in other series like Forgotten Realms. The same author is the lead writer for this series so it's nice to be spoiled by a game that matches the mind's eye of things written in the novel.
Jumping into the game felt both familiar because of BioWare's style of presentation as well as the familiarity I mentioned earlier. The game presents itself like an epic movie and gives you that big screen cinema feeling even in your living room. Gameplay consisting of various mini-games, exploration, squad combat, vehicles and dialogue sequences both keep the game fresh and interesting. The combat can be either strategic and complex or simple and efficient, the controls well thought out and easy to use with minimal effort. The leveling system and equipment customization is all they said it'd be and the morale choice thing provides humor, intrigue and a deeper connection with the main character that you play.
Graphics and sound so far are outstanding and although it has some minor pop-in and slowdown, it doesn't hinder the experience nor it is as bad as I keep reading on the 'net. The amount of instantly recognizable voice actors adds more of that big screen appeal as well.
One other major thing I personally found impressive is the character creation. Should you choose to make a custom character, the options are well laid out, easy to use and you can finally make a perfect moustache-less goatee!!!!! This truly is a next gen age we live in.
Should you buy the LCE version versus the regular? Is it worth the extra $10? You bet your space-faring ass it is! Besides the awesome tin case with artwork etched into it's surface, there are two mini books, one artwork and the other a Codex which is a guide to the various races you encounter. Also a second disc with loads of goodies like gamerpics, themes, videos, soundtrack etc. Those of you with a pre-order disc or have heard of it, imagine that content x3.
This game feels like a GOTY to me. It's also shaping up to be every bit the reason to buy a X360 I thought it would. BioWare is one of those few developers that I'd follow to any platform needed to play their games. Hell for a great game like this, I'd even go to Arby's the Wii. Yes I said it, thankfully however they spared me that indignity.
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