This month’s GameInformer magazine has a great article on the game. Follow the link to check it out.

And of course, here’s the Teaser Trailer.  Dinobots, roll out!

My first reaction?  It ain’t the Street Fighter I grew up on.  No more 3 punch button/3 kick button pad anymore.  That’s the hardest thing to overcome, having to remap your idea of combat.  Once you start to learn the characters though, the fun really begins.  I was initially disappointed to hear that the roster had been significantly reduced compared to the previous incarnations of this game.  Playing it, I can see why.  The characters are fairly well-balanced with each other with very few duplicate move, style, or character mapping.  There are more than enough characters to choose from to fit your style of play.

I played for about 30-40 minutes yesterday and one match today.  It only took about 20 minutes to get used to the game and get some combo flow going.  Here are some of my early favorites so far:

Arthur from Ghouls & Ghosts:  He’s not much in close combat, but he’s got ranged attacks coming out his boxer-shorts clad buttocks.  With small variations to 2 or 3 different patterns, you can fling just about every weapon from Ghouls & Ghosts and take out most of your opponents with ease.

Deadpool:  He’s extremely quick with a great balance of ranged attacks and close combat moves.  He doesn’t pack as much of a punch as others, but he really doesn’t have to as he hits about 4 times faster than anyone else I used.  He also taunts the player almost as much as the opponents, yelling out “Dude, you suck” at inopportune moments, or “this is my taunt” when you hit the select button to taunt your opponent.  His scream of defeat as he slowly drops to the ground?  “You hit the wrong button!”  

She Hulk:  She plays like a wrestler, but she doesn’t have all the throws Zangief had.  Still, she’s fun to use, she’s green, and she’s clothed so I don’t feel like a loser using her while the kids are around(some of the female characters in this game may as well not be dressed at all considering how little they’re wearing).  Whoever provided her voice fits her perfectly.

Zero:  Hands-down my favorite character, and not just because Nick dressed like him for 1/3 of his childhood.  He’s quick, by far the easiest character to use and get the hang of, and his moves have some decent range thanks to that energy sword of his.  I’d read on another review that he was the worst character in the game.  I disagree and strongly recommend adding him to your roster. 

Here are some of the other characters I used briefly and would like to play with some more.  Wolverine is just fun to slash around with, but I’d hoped his standard attack button moves were a bit …. slashier?  I guess I just expected more from a guy who’s the best at what he does. 

Amaterasu from Okami is a fun and quirky niche character.  She’s a bit difficult to use, but has some decent special attacks. 

Storm is great in a pinch, but her special attacks are very reliant on her opponent’s position on the screen.  She’s hard to use but her attacks pack a punch. 

The Hulk is by far the heaviest hitter in the game, but his range sucks.  He’s got some ranged attacks, but they seem much easier for the computer opponents to avoid.  Fighting against him, I seem to be too slow to evade, even when he telegraphs the move ahead of time.  Maybe I’m just rusty.

I’d really like to play through with Captain America and Thor.  Not sure if it’s just the movie hype or not, but I’ll write up a review later this month. 

Check out the video below.  If this doesn’t make you want to grab a copy for yourself, I don’t know what will. 

According to the official website, the roster as of today is:  (click to enlarge)

I decided to play the game on the intermediate level, (called “experienced” in the game) and for the most part it’s been a fairly fun and relatively easy game.  Then last night I got to the boss in the secret basement of the New York Public Library. 

Stupid Librarian Ghost

My wife got home from class as I was in mid-fight and started watching my progress, or lack thereof.  She stared in amazement and kept uttering “holy crap” as flames and exploding ghost parts filled the screen.  I think I was knocked down about 20 or 30 times during the fight.  My compatriots fared about as well as I racked up quite a few assists giving the other boys a helping hand.  Thanks to Egon’s constant prompting about hitting the ghostly levitating book stands flying around the room, I decided that’s what I needed to aim at first.  As they are flying around faster than you can maneuver your trusty blast beam and they change direction on a dime, I got a few more “holy crap”s from my wife. 

I likened my current situation to “trying to piss on a hornet”, which got her laughing hard enough to snarf her coffee.  Mission accomplished.   (if you’ve ever played this game, that is exactly what 90 percent of the battles look like from your point of view, especially with the ecto-blaster.  Thanks for that piece of crap weapon, Ghostbusters 2).

I did beat the level finally and now I’m in the Gozer dimensional version of the library for even more busting fun.  When I do finish the game (if I do) I’ll post up my review.   

Alternate Library, Courtesy of Gozer

As an added benefit, the manufacturer seems to have finally posted the patch to fix the glitches everyone was complaining about when the game was first released.  Thank you Atari.

Click Here for God of War III trailer

Objective:  10  The objective of these games has always been simple enough:  kill everything that moves, and if it fights back all bets are off.   The God of War series takes the term “hack and slash” to a different level as Kratos can “finish” some of his opponents off with a series of  button and thumbstick combinations.  The best part of this game is the cast of characters Kratos walks through to get to his goal.  With everyone from Poseidon, Mercury, Helios (yes, he even kicks the sun’s ass), to his half brother Hercules, you never run out of someone famous to beat to a pulp.  The fight with Hercules is particularly brutal as there seems to be no love lost between these two boys (each seems to think the other was Zeus’s favorite).

Theme:  10  How can I not love the theme of this game?  The writers took the best parts of written mythology, threw in some Clash of the Titans (the original, the new one just seemed to be a ripoff of this game….which ironically seemed to be based heavily on the original Clash of the Titans), a little bit the anachronistic humor of Sam Raimi’s Hercules, the bloody violence and against-all-odds battles from 300, and a few Mortal Komat style finishers for good measure.  There’s nothing like beating down a centaur who’s been kicking you in the head for the last 5 minutes, then gutting him from nut to nipple while he’s still kicking. 

 Gameplay:  10  The gameplay aspect really hasn’t changed since the original, albiet with a few improvements here or there to keep things interesting.  The creators have added or changed weapons to better fit with the style and flow of the game, or added skills that Kratos could earn to mix things up a bit (like using Helios’s head to blind your opponent).  I did like the fact that they added more puzzles to this installment and kept the fighting of endless hordes to a minimum.  In my opinion it improved the gameplay drastically.  As simple as the controls and gameplay is, it is well constructed and keeps things from getting too stale as the game progresses. 

Sound:  10  The sound effects in this game are sold in the details.  There are quite a few scenes where you’re looking down on a battlefield and the distant sounds of swords clashing, people screaming, etc… really sells the effect.   The voice acting was well cast and included the return of Terrence Carson as Kratos.  The cast also featured surprise turns from Adrienne Barbeau as a bitter alcoholic Hera, Malcolm McDowell as the tragic Daedalus (Kratos had killed his son Icarus in the first game, and Dad finds that out as soon as he sees the wings on Kratos’s back), Clancy Brown as a particularly menacing Hades (but Mr. Brown goes all out on just about every voice over he does.  Gotta love the guy), Rip Torn as Hephaestus the one I felt the worst about cutting down, and Kevin Sorbo as Hercules (which I didn’t know until just now, well after I referenced the Sam Raimi Hercules as an influence).

Replay Value:  8 I do have to finish Resistance:  Fall of Man, and Assassin’s Creed II, both of which I’m currently playing, but I do plan on playing this game at least one more time.  Replay unlocks further items, however the usefulness of said items remains to be seen (hence the comment about “at least one more time” for replay).

Total Score:   9.6

I really enjoyed this game, I think moreso than its predecessors.  I attribute that to the addition of all the puzzles and the extent of scale used in this game.  The battle with the Titan Chronos exemplifies everything this series of games has been all about.  There’s something to be said for scaling your opponent to get a few shots in… and when you do take down the boss that stands hundreds of feet tall.

Thanks for tuning in.  I guess the next time you hear from the DerosbyBrothers review desk, it will be to report on either Transformers:  War for Cybertron or Assassin’s Creed II. 

 -CWD

http://www.batmanarkhamcity.com/us/index.html

bioshock_trl_081210.html

I have to start out by saying I absolutely loved this game.  I am not one for games that resemble Grand Theft Auto but this is one of the most engaging games I have played for the PS3.  Unlike games like GOW3, the old west is yours to roam.  I actually received this game from my wife for Father’s Day, actually getting it a week early, and I have been playing it ever since.  When I first mentioned I wanted this game, it was due to all the hype surrounding it.  To be honest, the first few missions, I found myself a bit bored and confused as to what my objective was.  But once I did figure it all out, the world was my oyster.  There is so much to do here, I could spend the next month or so just finishing side missions.

I will use Craig’s grading system so we can be uniform on it.

Objective: 10  This game takes place in the late 1800′s and brings you right into the old west, as the US is expanding into unchartered and untamed areas of this country.  You are John Marston, an outlaw left for dead by your old cowboy gang (now cowboys were actually the bad guys, so lets not confuse it with the cowboys and indians of the 1950s).  The government kidnaps your lovely wife and child, making you work for them.  Your goal?  Why hunting down your old gang.  The great thing about this game is you have the opportunity to choose the path you want.  Let’s say you go into a saloon and you feel someone disrespected you by bumping your shoulder.  You have two choices, move on or make him pay for his behavior.  You are judged on your actions.  If you become a killer you are treated as such, where bounties will be put on your head.  You can pay those off but the people will still treat you differently.  Become a hero to people and they will love you.  It has taken me a few weeks to help John Marston finish his quest, I would say about 18 or so hours, but I did quite a few side missions.  And if you do choose to take the righteous path, this does not mean you do not shed blood, so no worries.  If a prostitute is being slapped around by a disrepectful drunk, you just set your sights and take him down.  I can say there were times I wanted to change my direction as many people in the game play you for a fool and hold your family over your head.  Sometimes it comes down to dueling, where you stand man-to-man, and stare down the barrel of a gun.  There are so many side missions that you could be playing for months.  You can collect new outfits, save people who are in need of some justice, and collect both animal skins and specific plants.

Theme:  10   This was an amazing game, and what made it amazing, was the theme of the game itself.  The story was excellent but the research and development of the Old West made it so.  All the weapons you used were around at that specific time.  The missions you performed were creating using historical research into the quests itself, including hunting down animals and skinning them.  The background and animation were just beautiful.  There were times, as I rode my horse in the early morning hours, that I could pull up besides a raging river and watch the sun rise.  And it legitimately feels as though it is all so real.  Again, what really appealed to me was the attention to detail, not only of the visuals but also of the dedication to really making it feel like you were roaming the west, and Mexico, during that specific time period.

Gameplay:  9  For me, as one who had a hard time getting into Grand Theft Auto, I thought I would hate the gameplay since it so closely resembled GTA.  However, I actually thought it was fairly easy to use.  As you fought, you could change your weapons, even chosing between the types of revolvers, shotguns, etc…  This, to me was not always easy, as it could sometimes change back.  Also I thought some of the things you bought, like the maps and medicine, took too long to get to, as you had to pause it, then find them.  In the middle of a shoot-out, it seems out of place to pause it just to take medicine.  There must be an easier way.

Soundtrack:  8  The music was great.  My only issue would be that the voice and the volume level would stay the same.  There were times I had to turn it up to hear them speak and then turn it down a bit because the shooting was too loud (for my wife sitting next to me.  She just doesn’t understand vigilante justice).

Replay value:  10  This is one of the few games where I might go back and play through the whole thing.  It is not only fun to play the side missions, but you can also choose to take a different path.  I was not one to waste my bullets on civilians but the next time around, those sons of bitches might not be so lucky.

Total Score:  10  I dont’ generally tell people to spend $60.00 unless it is imperative, and it is necessary my friends.  This is one of the best games I have ever played as you are not put in a set form and walked through, like God of War. You pick your path and it follows you throughout.  There are games such as Star Wars Unleashed, where you decide whether you wish to be good or evil, but it leads you directly where they want you to go.  There is no individualism.  The only thing I would tell parents is that there is a lot of language in this game that could be considered “less-than-savory” for younger ears.  There is no real sex like in GTA or GOW, and you cannot pay a prostitute for a little love.  You are a devoted husband and father.

So pick up this game, roam the wild west, and enjoy yourself.  Make sure you always carry your gun close to your side, because my gunslinging friend, you are going to need it.