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So finally I got LittleBigPlanet yesterday, it was probably in the mailbox on Monday but I was too busy to check. I wanted to play a bit more before writing this review and the game was just too damn fun to let go of the controller last night. And I’m still trying to figure out how on earth to get my Nariko costume since my game didn’t come with the a card with the promotion code. I’ve sent an email to Futureshop and haven’t received a reply yet.

[update]:Turns out the promo was between Oct 3rd and Oct 9th, I pre-ordered mine on 11th, sigh. There goes my Nariko costume.

  

Story and controls
There isn’t really a solid story for LittleBigPlanet, you will be exploring and venturing out in different places and planets. The controls are straight forward and easy to get used to. Basically you can jump (hold down to jump higher and further) and pull or push objects. There are also these new and interesting actions such as smile, frown, angry and scared, each with 3 levels, so you can smile lightly, bigger smile and a crazy smile all executed using the directional buttons. You can also make your sackboy or sackgirl’s head move based on your SIXAXIS controller as well as making their hands move using L2, R2, L3 and R3. Such innovative features really help bring emotion and expression to the sack people. And one more thing, you can drag your L3 or R3 real fast from left to right or right to left to perform slaps (at people obviously!), which I haven’t got bored of doing yet. Then again, when you are actually going through a level you most likely will be too occupied to even bother playing with the expressions.

  

Gameplay, Graphics and physics
FUN, that’s the word that came to my mind when I played it for the first time. I found it particularly fun because I’ve used to play shoot’em up games for far too long, Call of Duty 4 for example, not that I’m complaining, I will never get bored of that game just that its just nice to play something that’s completely different for a change. Most of the time, this game is relaxing, but, maybe I just suck and/or impatient, I had to play some of the levels a few times before I could pass them in order to unlock the next area(s). I guess I should be glad that the game offers some level of difficulties, I mean after all, it won’t be fun if its too easy right?

  

This game is point based, meaning you get points by obtaining blue orbs. But that’s not very rewarding isn’t it? You can also obtain outfits, decorations, stickers etc. You can place stickers and decorations pretty much anywhere and sometimes they are used to solve puzzles to unlock more items. I believe one of the biggest selling feature of this game is the amount of outfits you can obtain and customize your sackboys or girls. You have the options to edit each part of your sackboys or girls such as head, face, back, neck, eyes, upper outfit, lower outfit etc. You can even choose to have the system randomly generate a look as well and you can imagine the number of combinations there can be as you obtain more outfits! You can save your look for a quick change as well as deleting them.

  

Graphics are top notch as well, I think the word I would use is, surreal. Its dreamlike and cartoonish but at the same time realistic with great lighting effects, vibrant colors and detailed textures of the surroundings. As mentioned before, the facial expression of your sackboys and girls are eye candies. Although it only supports up to 720p which most of us can probably not tell the difference between 1080p and 720p anyway so its not really an issue.

Aside from the normal beat-the-level kind of game, there are also challenges that you can unlock by obtaining keys. One example of challange will be to continuously jump up and down and get as many blue orbs (for points) as you can while avoiding the fire.

As you can see, this game packs TONS of features and I have yet to discover them all. I’ve had a chance to play a bit online last night and the online feature just makes this game easily worth 10 times more than the $59.99. You can play levels online with others (by the way some areas require others’ help to unlock) or you can play on your own. You can also pick the Quick Play option and you will be joining someone random and play whatever they are playing. The number of levels in LittleBigPlanet is pretty much infinite as long as people keep creating levels and sharing them, there will be new levels to play for as long as this game remains popular, which I am confident it will. You can also “hearted” your favorite levels and your friends on PlayStation Network can see them.

Aside from the graphics, the physics, yes this is my first time having a section, or rather one third of a section, dedicated to game physics. There are many obstacles through out the game, sometimes you will have to push or pull blocks in order to proceed to the next area. On the other hand you can, for example, be pulling a string left and right to shake the blue orbs or items down for you to obtain.

  

Sound
So far I have heard many different types of music, some are up beat, some are spooky and some are down right classical. I also like the commentary that is spoken in English with British accent, just love that accent. There aren’t any other types of sound worth mentioning. Let me know if I’ve missed anything.

Final verdict
I’m pretty sure I have not tapped into everything about LittleBigPlanet, but as you can see, the amount of contents this game has is incredible. The amount of customization of your sack characters is one of the greatest feature this game has to offer, I think personalization is what makes a good game….a good game! With personalization you can have a unique presence instead of looking the same as other people. Unlike some of the games that mainly target specific groups of gamers, LittleBigPlanet suits all types of gamers, even non gamers in my opinion. Finally, the fact that you can create your own levels and share them with everyone else online makes this game even better. This is what I would call a Web 2.0 game, correct me if I’m wrong though.

Finally after Resistance, Heavenly Sword and Metal Gear Solid 4, the PlayStation 3 has another worthy exclusive game.

9.5/10

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After playing and review the demo for Mirror’s Edge. I immediately installed Tom Clancy’s EndWar soon after. And what do you know? This game is pretty good as well! This is my first strategy game that I’ve ever played on a console. And you can’t really go wrong with any Tom Clancy’s games, this game feels like Ghost Recon + Command and Conquer.

The demo has one single player mission which takes roughly 10-15 minutes to complete. You are given a few groups of units initially, you can then call for more support using the CP (command points), the single player mission only allows you to control 3 different groups, and that’s pretty much all you need for the short mission as this is more of a training / tutorial type of mission. In this mission you can select all your forces and attack. But you really have to learn that tanks beat transport vehicles beat helicopters, and helicopters in turn beat tanks (think of them linking together in a circle).

  

The skirmish is where the demo lasts longer which uses the same map as the single player mission and you have the option to play as single player or with someone online. I chose to play by myself simply because I haven’t mastered the controls yet. The skirmish is pretty much securing buildings and that in turn will allow you to upgrade different technologies like air strikes, force recon etc as well as calling for more forces. You can choose from infantries, rocket infantries, command vehicle, artilleries, tanks, transport vehicles and helicopters. You will want to have a few groups of either infantries or rocket infantries to secure buildings faster. Unfortunately I did not play this using voice command so I had some difficulties controlling every single group of forces because you have to basically micro manage your forces but fortunately I got a hang of it after a while. And I really like the fact that after finishing each mission, you will need to press continue before leaving the stage, this is the perfect time to fly around and appreciate the beautiful graphics.

  

  

I couldn’t find any flaw while playing the demo except the fact that you can only zoom in and out so much sometimes its hard to see the surrounding, and the only way to see further is to select a different group.

The graphics are stunning as well and capable of running in full HD 1080p. The buildings, infantries and vehicles are very detailed. And the intro movies are even more impressive. The level of detail on the space station is just jaw dropping and I am not exaggerating.

  

Again if you haven’t downloaded this demo, go give it a shot and see if you like it or not. And finally I would like to apologize for the shaky screenshots.

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First I got the news from EBGames that the Mirror’s Edge demo will be available on November 6th, I guess its been pushed forward by 1 week and is released today. Its always a good thing! Unlike Little Big Planet, I am still waiting for it to be shipped from Futureshop, it said “Shipped” but I have yet to see it in my mailbox.

Anyway onto the demo.

Oh-My-God, that was literally what I said to myself when I was playing this game, I have never had so much thrill for a long time! Even though the demo lasted 20-25 minutes max (unless you keep dying). The game is similar to The Bourne Conspiracy where you have to act quickly otherwise you will be captured/killed. Compare to Bourne, I think Mirror’s Edge is the better one.

  

Faith, your character tells you the story in comic style during loading which is plus, its always better to be looking at something moving rather than the old boring “loading” text. The first part of the demo starts you off with a few tutorials of how to move around, jump, slide underneath objects, climb up. Aside from the basics, you will learn to disarm from behind or from the front, shoot or throw away the weapon. That’s not all! You will also learn to do crazy acrobatics like running horizontally on a wall then spin around and jump onto the opposite side (sorry I tried my best to describe). Its basically pressing 3 buttons but you need to really time your presses. So you can chain your moves and perform something crazy. One thing I absolutely love about the controls is that most of the actions are performed using just the L1.

  

The second part is the real deal where you have to jump/move/climb around to deliver a package to the other runner Celeste. In between you have to run away from hostiles and/or fight your way through. Let me tell you, the second part was a THRILL to play!

  

  

Graphics are AMAZING and able to run in full HD 1080p. I particularly like the way the lighting is done. The whole city looks very realistic. I couldn’t stop taking pictures while playing the game and graphics are that good. Definitely eye candy.

Can’t really comment much on the music there’s only one track and a good one of course. Kind of feel like the Metal Gear Solid opening music.

If you haven’t downloaded the demo, please do so! You don’t know what you are missing!

  

I really appreciate game companies releasing game demos because they allow us gamers to try out the games before purchasing them, instead of doing all the guessing and then taking the risk of buying something we don’t enjoy playing. Reading reviews and watching trailers from Gamespot and Gametrailers help a bit but you can never be sure until you have played the games YOURSELF.

The game will be released on November 11th.

Stay tuned for yet another hyped up game demo review – Tom Clancy’s End War.

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Silent Hill: Homecoming was somewhat disappointing mainly because of its outdated graphics. I know it is not sufficient to judge a game solely based on game play. Although new elements were added to the game such as new combat system and new item/weapon navigations. And I was not happy with the new navigations by the way because you can waste your healing item, mainly the serum which heals you completely, by accidentally move your L3 button and have it selected without even knowing. The game play was kind of expected and I was really hoping for graphics that are next-gen. Ok, enough ranting and time to move on.

Dead Space generated a lot, and I mean A LOT of hype with all the animated trailers, comics and game trailers. Does this game live up to all the hype generated? I would, with no doubt say YES.

  

Story and controls
The story is about a repair ship which crash landed on a large mining ship called ISHIMURA. And as you can imagine, all the horror begins here and almost right away. Some of the controls are rather different from say, Call of Duty, like in order to run, you need to press L3 (move) and L2. The new controls might take a while to get used to but nothing major. If you have been keeping up with your first/third person shooting skills, the aiming should not be a problem either. Again make sure you aim the hands and legs and not the body unless you want to waste ammo. You can also treat your gun as a melee weapon at close range as well as pressing L2 for some foot stamping.

  

Game play and graphics
Dead Space uses a new and innovative user interface for accessing your items, weapons, map and missions etc. Its actually a holographic screen that is projected right in front of you in real time. So for example, you can have the map up and move around at the same time. So far I though, I can’t feel the “survival” part of this game because you get lots of ammo and healing items, I’ve picked up so many that I have to put them in the safe. (I’m playing on normal not easy by the way) Finally, safe points are in many places so I don’t really have to worry about having to restart from far back.

Speaking of which, there is also a store which you can buy healing items, upgrade your suit, called the Rig which increases the amount of items you can store as you go, new weapons, power nodes which are for upgrading your Rig’s max health(which is your health) and your weapons’ damage, ammo capacities etc. Weapon upgrades using the power nodes are performed by accessing another system called Upgrade Bench.

There is also something called Stasis, similar to the “Force” in Star Wars, in which you can manipulate objects by slowing them down or throwing them etc. Nothing new but you need them to solve some of the puzzles as you progerss through the game. And if you ever get stuck, simply press the R3 and a thin line will appear to show you which way you are suppose to go next based on your mission.

Even though both Silent Hill:Homecoming and Dead Space are survival horror, the former doesn’t really make you jump like Dead Space does. Being a survival horror fan for so many years, I’m pretty used to all the scare moments but I was constantly on my toes while playing Dead Space and got a few jumps actually. And finally this game supports the Trophy Collection.

First thing first, I’m sure everyone would want to know about this, YES the game supports 1080p high definition video output. Strangely it defaults to 720p similar to Call of Duty 4. It will only output to 720p unless you explicitly set your console, in my case PlayStation 3 to only output 1080p. And speaking of graphics, it is VERY graphical with tons of blood and body parts all over walls, floors, windows and anywhere you can imagine.

  

Also just to mention there’s no online multiplayer component, it would be even better if there was but with this game, it doesn’t really matter because the single player is just that exciting. And besides, I’m not sure how you can design the multiplayer side based on the story, hmm maybe there could be two races, the humans and those mutated humans? Just a thought.

  

  

Sound
Sound effects are top notch as well, you can hear random screams, objects banging onto other objects. One thing I dislike and makes this game a little bit less difficult and cuts some of the suspense is every time before monsters start coming at you, you will know because you will hear some “horror” noise. So whenever you hear it, you can pretty much expect to ready your limb cutting gun. But like I said before, I still managed to get a few scare from my 2 hours of play time.

  

Final Verdict
Is this game worth the $59.99? I would definitely think so, at least I didn’t regret buying this game like I did with Silent Hill: Homecoming. For those looking for a sci-fi + survival horror and those that are into limb cutting, then Dead Space will be the game.

There may be a part 2 if I find anything that’s worth mentioning

9/10

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IGN posted a very interesting article today regarding the possible release of Metal Gear Solid 4 for the XBox360. Quoted from Konami PR representative “We’re actively looking into a release for the Xbox 360.”. While I am not a fanboy for neither consoles, even if XBox360 supports Blu-Ray drive, therefore eliminating the need to swapping discs during different acts. How does Konami plan on removing all the PlayStation 3 and PSP references in the game? Are they going to keep them there which is rather a conflict of interest or replace with some other Microsoft devices? As far as I know microsoft doesn’t have a handheld to replace a PSP.

As you can see from the images below, Snake is controlling the MKII using a Playstation controller. And Sunny is holding a PSP while Hal “Otacon” Emmerich is talking about the PlayStation 3!

Only time will tell if the rumor is true or not.

thatvideogameblog

scrawlfx

pspsps

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While I’m still struggling through Silent Hill: Homecoming, I took a break and went to the PlayStation Network and found something quite interesting in the store – Linger in Shadows. Its not really a game, but rather a 6+ minutes long animation with 3 parts that run in full 1080p, the maker calls it the “demoscene”. At the end of the demoscene it also has a lengthy explanation of what it means. Simply put, it means a demonstration of interactive digital animations to demostrate the digital art and what the PlayStation 3 can do. You got that right, its not a game, but when you turn on the navigation option, you can look, to a limited degree, around with your SIXAXIS controller so its sort of like your in the movie yourself. Also, at the end of one of the parts, I unlocked a trophy from the PS3′s relatively new Trophy system (yes I know XBox has had it for a long time).

 
 

Graphics are amazing and very artsy and in full 1080p its pretty mind blowing. Its not about photo realism though but more of a oily/brush painting style, sorry not sure what the proper term is but you should get the idea from the images. There is also one scene where you can shake your controller and the demoscene will actually respond like its losing signal which is pretty cool and something never seen before. Audio is pretty classy too and I found it freaky and has sort of a scary feel to it.

 

 

While I’m not a big fan and don’t know how to appreciate this kind of demoscenes like a try artist, I still believe its a nice move for Sony to offer something totally different from traditional games on the PS3. So for those looking for something for a change or into art/graphics. This demoscene will please you for only $2.99. Hopefully there will be free downloadable add-ons in the future.

Enjoy the rest of the images!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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And I thought August doesn’t have any games that will amuse me. I was half right, nothing on the shelf can but there’s one game on Playstation Store can, and that’s Siren: Blood Curse. I love Japanese horror style games so much I don’t think its right to miss this game.

Say tuned for reviews on all 12 episodes. Not all at once! But as I progress on each episode.

And by the way, if you are planning to buy the series, I strongly recommand buying all 12 at once for $39.99 to save some money (each 4 chapter set is $14.99).

It might be too late for most of the gamers out there to read this, I bet everyone bought a copy of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots by now. But I still want to give my “two cent” after completing the game twice.

Notice I completed the game twice?

That’s an immediate PLUS for the game in terms of replay value. When you start a new game, after going through a few cut scenes you get your weapons and Drebin points that you collected from your previous game. For those who do not have the game yet, Drebin points are points for upgrading/buying weapons and Drebin is one of the characters in the game. Since you get to use whatever you have collected from before, the game play can be different the second time you play. I was using the silenced sniper rifle from the start instead of using the AK. That brought down the alert occurances by a lot and yes I am not good at being stealthy

Having the weapons also makes the game less challenging, at least on the normal difficulty level. I will soon try out the big boss difficulty, my friend told me he couldn’t even get past the scene where you have to meet up with your robot sidekick MK 2.

I played the first MGS on the original Playstation and did not find it too enjoyable and so I skipped MGS 2 and 3. It was a good game, but its just not my style at that time. Guess I have grown to appreciate MGS series finally, I’m pretty sure its not just the graphics that makes it so enjoyable. The story is amazing as well, the movie-like cut scenes are nicely done but some are too long which you will find yourself skipping 90% of them during replay. I think the length of all cut scenes combined (including the ending) is longer than the actual game play which is one of the biggest complains I got from my friends.

As for the actual game play, its mostly third person but you can quickly switch to first person during gun fights. It works pretty much just like any first/third person shooter, you can run, crouch and crawl on the floor. But, you can now hug onto walls, floors etc, and your suit will change textures and blend in with whatever you are hugging onto to increase your stealthiness. And that’s not all, most of the game is played as Snake (the character you control) alone, but there are stages where the game play is different. One example is near the end of the game, you get to control a metal gear, the game play is similar to Mech Warriors (ahh the old times ). Its another PLUS for offering different types of game play. Another new and FUN feature to the game is you can take photos (after obtaining the camera of course) of the 4 bosses called BNB (beauty and the beast) and you can save them to your hd.

This are from my personal collection:

I’m sure I have not covered all about this game but I hope you find this interesting helpful. I will definately play the game again for the third time but on a harder difficulty and try out the online game as well. There are games that you can wait until they are half the price, but I think this game is worth the $59.99(+tax). If you haven’t got a copy and you are into this type of game, please get a copy now!

Let me know what you think of the game too.