» demo review

Another great teaser from Gametrailers.com. This 3 minute long trailer features more CG cutscenes as well as some game play. The trailer also offers actual game play footage of shooting from a vehicle mounted machine gun in first person view, again something I hate, you cannot move while you are shooting. Near the end of the trailer, there is this mysterious person accompanying Wesker. Who might that be? I don’t know why but my gut feeling tells me the person is Jill. If someone knows please enlighten me.

March 13th people, just 1 more month! In the mean time keep playing the demo and suppress your thirst. Definitely have to try out the online co-op mode!

Enjoy!

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Resident Evil……..5… That familiar opening quickly reminded me the very first Resident Evil or Bio Hazard. After waiting for a week after the Xbox 360 users got their hands on the demo, we PS3 users finally got to try out this long awaited and hyped up survival horror game which is scheduled to be released on March 13th for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

I got a chance to play one of the two levels included in the demo, Shanty Town (the other one is Public Assembly) and I’m sure we have seen a lot of trailers from these two levels from GameTrailers.com. This level is pretty simple, you explore buildings along the way and you don’t have to wait long before you encounter your very first zombie from RE5, or rather a group of zombies. Just like Resident Evil 4, you play this game through a locked third person view, meaning you cannot rotate and see your face. One thing I really need to get used to and I really dislike is the fact that you cannot move while you are in the middle of a gun fight. I know the developers have made the zombies move really slow to compensate for that but this really makes the game unrealistic. If the style is more towards the Dead Space style then I think this game is perfect, even if that means they have to reprogram the AIs to move in a more realistic way.

That is pretty much my only rant for this game. The characters, the zombies, the buildings (both inside and out) and the lighting are very detailed. The game runs on 720p max for those wondering if it will run on full 1080p HD.

Now for the game play, again beside the controls, I really love the online/offline co-op features. Even the demo offers the Shanty Town online co-op or split screen on a single PS3. After dying from the infamous chainsaw dude’s bloody chainsaw I decided to try out the online co-op. The experience was simply different, in a VERY positive way. Although my human partner could have been a little smarter when I kept on requesting for the rifle ammo which he doesn’t need at all and he kept on giving me handgun ammo. The fact that you can give your inventory to your co-op partner as well as using healing item on each other makes the game even more enjoyable because now the two are really playing as a team. So finally he figured out I needed RIFLE ammo and we proceeded to fight the chainsaw dude, I knew without the rifle ammos we pretty much wouldn’t stand a chance. In the end, the rifle ammo saved the day and chainsaw dude was no more.

Resident Evil 5 is definitely a must-buy for those hardcore survival horror fans, the online and offline co-op features make this game worth the 59.99 we will be paying for. But given Killzone 2 is coming out 2 weeks before Resident Evil 5, I think I might have to pass for now, at least until the end of this year or unless Killzone 2 turns out to be a disaster which I highly doubt. This shouldn’t be a problem for Xbox 360 users though unless they happen to have the PS3 as well!

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So last night I got some time to try out GTI Club + while downloading the demo for Skate 2.

So today, I talked about this game at work with my co-worker and he said the first game was pretty good so I was even more excited to give this a try after work. The demo offers single player game as well as a party demo which allows you go party together with up to 3 other players (offline not online) which I didn’t get a chance to try since I only have one controller (still!) and I couldn’t call any of my friends right at that moment. But after playing the single player and was impressed, I thought to myself this MIGHT just be the first skateboard game I will purchase!

 

I also want to point out that the demo is time based, you can extend the time by performing tricks to earn more points. Before you actually go out there and start boarding you get to customize your character. You can customize from a wide range of features like gender, hair type/color, eye color, facial hair etc. The customization can easily drain 30 minutes of your game time if you go crazy with your character. You also start off with $300 which is used to purchase different clothes or skateboards, which I didn’t. Finally you get to choose your stance, goofy means your right foot in front and regular means left foot in front. I’m a regular, just like in snowboarding.

Once you are done with your character, you will start off in the neighborhood. Similar to the popular GTA 4, Skate 2 has a “sand box” style world and you can skateboard/move freely within the neighborhood. Then again you can’t really do that in this demo since you only have a few minutes, unless you start performing tricks and earn points in order to extend the timer.

Honestly as a first time Skate player, I had some trouble trying to memorize all the controls because there are quite a few to remember. But in time you will get used to the controls. Since the demo is time based, you don’t really have too much time to test out the controls and each “trick”. During the game, you have to jump across a gap which you have to first pick up speed, then pull the right analog stick back and then forward to make your character jump. The whole process was harder than I thought. If you fail, the tips screen will play and explain to you how to do execute jump properly. The tips screen is great, for the first time because the explanation is very clear combined with demonstration. But every time you miss the jump, you are forced to see the same screen over and over again until you make it across. Very annoying!

If you don’t feel like boarding, you can pick up the board and walk instead.

Graphics wise, I’m very impressed with the environment and the structures but quite disappointed with the character designs. Particularly character facial textures and lip-synching is poorly done in my opinion. But I guess the focus of this game isn’t the characters but executing tricks. By the way, the game supports 1080p full HD.

So my final words for this game, GET IT. If you are unsure, get the demo and find out. This game is coming out at the end of this month. Skateboarders, this game is a must, I’m pretty sure I don’t have to tell you guys about that!

Image Source: GameSpot

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So I downloaded the demo for The Lord of the Rings: Conquest while playing LittleBigPlanet Metal Gear Style. After going through the rather short demo, I am pretty sure I won’t be getting this game, yet another failed EA game.

  

The Lord of the Rings: Conquest to me is basically Dynasty Warrior where you hack and slash your way through numerous enemies with swords, arrows, axes and you get to cast magic as well. The demo allows you to play through the tutorial of the game and you start off with the Warrior class and you will get to actually capture a flag which I haven’t seen before in a single player game (this game supports multiplayer co-op by the way). You have to hold off the enemies during the capturing and once its captured you can change your class. The second class unlocked is the Archer, you can zoom in/out while shooting and you have three different arrow types – ice, fire and poison and you can also shoot multiple arrows at more than one enemy. Third class that you get to experience is the scout where you can cloak and perform backstab, its fun to watch for the first few stabs but it gets repetitive afterward.

  

Last but not least you will yet unlock another class – Mage. With mage, you can chain lightning multiple enemies, cast fire or shock or just perform the plain old hack and slash with the staff. Finally once all 4 classes are unlocked you will get to face dark lord Sauron himself. He is pretty strong and tend to come at you all the time, now you get to fight using a Hero class character, which is basically a stronger version of the warrior class I assume. The demo ends when you defeat Sauron.

  

I also want to mention each class has its own special attack as well and you can use it when the special attack gauge is full. But the effects are nothing compare to Dynasty Warrior though.

The background of this game is poorly done in my opinion with the two sides’ soldiers fighting each other and they all look exactly the same. Almost feels like its just a simple copy and paste job. The game play range from small scale to large scale battles with more than 20 AIs all fighting each other, but just like Dynasty Warrior, the AIs are pretty dumb. The game’s music is pretty nice though since its basically from the movies. Overall I don’t think this game is worth buying, even if you are really into hack and slash and you are a LOTR fan like me.

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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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First impression the sci-fi third person shooter Fracture gives me is that it is very Mass Effect-ish. The first half of the demo allows you to get used to the controls, the environment and lets you test out the different weapons of the game.

The controls are pretty somewhat straight forward but slightly different. R1, R2, L1, L2 are all for weapons. Triangle button is for sprinting which shows a very nice blur effect to simulate running. As usual, the square is for reload and cross is jump. L3 is crouch and R3 is zoom. I was expecting some close range one hit kill like the knife in Call of Duty but there isn’t any, at least in the demo.

 

The environment looks amazing with detailed textures. As the first half of the demo, you get to try out the weapons. Two features that are pretty important in this game and are actually very innovative – raise and lower terrains with your weapon and two types of grenades. You will know where to raise or lower the terrains by looking for the corresponding symbol around the area you need to manipulate. Unfortunately there’s a limit to how high or how low you can manipulate. The effects of terrain manipulation are impressive, even more so if you use grenades to do the job! Aside from moving from place to place, raising or lowering terrains also help you during battles. For example, if you lower an area, you have yourself a trench and if you raise an area, you will have yourself a shield for a while from all the gun fire.

 

The standard rifle that starts you off in the demo is pretty “standard” and doesn’t give a powerful impression. The Black Widow on the other hand, can enable you to shoot up to 6 grenades that you can detonate all at once. Then there is the pulse sniper rifle which is pretty common (Unreal Tournament comes to mind).

 

There aren’t too many sci fi third person shooters in the next gen consoles yet, well at least not for PlayStation 3 unlike XBox 360 which has Gears of War 1 (2 coming out soon) and Mass Effect to name a few. I’m not sure if its worth buying, more of rental to me. I rather wait for Dead Space even though it doesn’t have online mode. But then again, if you have a PS3, do give the demo a try, maybe you might just like it! Just not quite my cup of tea.

 

Score: 7/10
Release date: Oct 7 2008