I’m going to review this based off the second style.  Playing with friends.

I haven’t finished the game yet, but I’m fairly certain I can give an accurate review based off my time in the game.   There is something so simplistic about Borderlands that makes it so good.   At it’s core, Borderlands is a shooter,  however the RPG elements that were added along with the multiple ways to customize your character make it far more than just a shooter.   As I’ve stated earlier, this game is best enjoyed with your friends,  and while the voice support isn’t anything to write home about, it often does the job well enough.

This game isn’t about story,  and you’ll be hard pressed to find an interesting one.  In fact most of the story is told by a woman appearing on your screen to tell you things here and there, and while I’m a big fan of story telling I often found myself ignoring her.

Another big selling point with this game are the millions of guns available to you.  I simply cannot believe how many different weapons are available.   I think that is what pushes me to the next boss , and the next boss,  I want to see what will drop next.   The shield upgrades and artifacts are also a nice touch, and upgrading  the amounts of ammunition you can hold is equally satisfying.  It certainly does well with the MMO style of a  “Carrot on a stick” as you will always want to keep playing.

Now for the game play.   The Shooter aspect of the game is spot on,  the controls are tight and enemies animations when they die can be hilarious at times.   That said, the vehicles control like they are filled with helium.  They are very floaty and controlling them seems to be something to master as they tend to get stuck on just about anything.   Borderlands has grenades and it knows how to use them.  There are upgrades that change the way grenades act.  As in, you do not get different types of grenades, you just equip an item that changes what the grenades do, from bouncing around, to stealing health, there are plenty of varieties.  So grenades act more as ammo for the equipped item.  A very cool idea.

I’ve read other reviews and this game has been compared to Diablo in most of them.  I can defiantly see why.   The addictive game play matched with the random loot,  it certainly does take a lot of queues from Diablo,  and it’s all the better for it.

I could ramble on and on about how good this game is, but I feel I’ve rambled enough.   If you want to play a great shooter with your friends, that you can play through multiple times,  this is the game for you.  It’s just a nice change to play something so simple yet so fun.   Simply put, buy this game.   You will have fun.

8.9/10

But for the time being, the skags will continue to die.

-Remy

Graphics

The visuals are incredible.  Whether it be the snow swirling around Nathan, or lightning lighting up the sky, the game is just beautiful.   I could go on and on about every little beautiful thing, but I’ll control myself.

Gameplay

Uncharted 2′s predecessor, Drakes Fortune, didn’t give you many options when it came to dispatching an enemy.  The hand to hand in the original was very stiff and clunky and often felt tacked on.   This of course was resolved in Among Thieves with a nice solid system, the only flaw I came across was the “locked into fighting” mechanic when a fight started.  When this would happen you would often be killed by someone shooting you because you couldn’t roll out of the way.  A minor gripe to be sure, but a gripe none the less.

The grenade controls have seen the most improvement, where in the old game you would need to pray to the gods with every throw, Uncharted 2 brought the level of accuracy with grenades up to the standards it already had for aiming with guns.   And speaking of guns, the pinpoint precision is flawless.  If you want to play the game with the intent of hitting every one of your enemies with a headshot,  I don’t think that is an unobtainable goal.

The platforming is as good as the original, however I did find a level of frustration when trying to move from one handhold to another in some instances.   There were times I would fall to my death because of the game not responding properly to what I was trying to do.    It is to be expected though.

The enemy A.I. seems to be much improved as well.   I found myself being flanked by enemies and eventually shot in the back when I wasn’t paying attention.   Towards the end of the game I would have to keep spinning my camera around to make sure no one was coming up behind me to snap my neck.   This makes for a much more immersive  experience.

The ability to take down enemies while in stealth is another new addition, and while it works, I can’t say I really used it often.  There are times when it’s useful, in fact there are times when it’s so obvious that it is what you are suppose to do I would just start shooting instead to keep up the action.  It’s functional, but can be improved upon.   I defiantly don’t take marks away for trying, as it doesn’t remove anything from the core gameplay.

Multiplayer

Most companies would just throw together the multiplayer and be done with it.  Uncharted 2 however has a considerably deep multiplayer.  Want to play co-op through sectioned off portions of the single player campaign?  No problem.   Want to play a gears of war style horde mode?  Sure, we got that too.  Want to just kill?  Well go ahead.   Nice upgrades and options all around to keep the fans staying around waiting for the first DLC.

Final Thoughts

Uncharted 2 succeeds in so many ways that it’s minor flaws are almost entirely forgettable.   It defines the genre and goes so far that in most cases it becomes something more than a game, it becomes an experience.   It is such an accomplishment in story telling and sets the bar high for all newcomers.  I personally hope others will be up to the challenge, because this game is a shining example of what games should be.

9.7/10

With Call of duty modern warfare 2 on the horizon, not to mention Brutal Legend along with Demon’s Soul, I’ve got plenty of gaming ahead of me. 

See you in a few days

-Remy

Not likely though

-Remy

So to Batman: Arkham Asylum.   I recently joined Gamefly so I’ve been playing through quite a few new (and older) games the last few weeks.  Up until Batman came in the mail I was convinced the best game I have ever played was Uncharted: Drakes Fortune,  I found very little flaws in it and what little problems I had with the game, weren’t enough to tarnish the great story and game play.  That all being said,  Batman impressed me so much that I wanted to play through it immediately after completing it.  This rarely happens to me,  I usually just toss the game on the shelf and play whatever is next.

So I loved the game, I think you can guess that,  but it does have a few problems that I hope are fixed in whatever the sequel turns out to be.   The only major problem I ran across quite often,  and frustrated me to the point of yelling at my TV (which brought back memories from the old nintendo days), was the fact that the X button was over used.   Let me give an example.  X you hold down to run, used to roll or dodge while moving,  used to climb things,  and used to pick up things.    So you’re running towards a wall because the floor is about to get electrified and you have to jump on to the railing to get away?  Well you’d better use X to run, then stop completely because if you don’t then you roll instead of climbing.   Or I go to pick up an item,   no problem,  oh it’s on a ledge,  oops I was moving and i rolled off and fell and have to climb all the way up again.

The other complain I have is minor.   The Killer Croc level is just way to slow moving and because of that, too long.   There is really no other big explanation about it.  Just boring and tedious.

Recommendations are always based on taste, I believe, when it comes to games.  However I’m fairly certain most people will love this game as much as I did.  The story is wonderful (in that cheesy comic book way).  The Graphics are amazing, when you’re not in detective mode.  And the controls are very good, baring the X button problems.

9/10

-Remy

And i swear if they only cut it by 50 bucks, you won’t see me buying it.

-Remy

With each iteration of gaming system I find myself running out of space on my shelves.  Less and less room to display.   Less and less room in my closets and then finally less and less room in my storage unit.   I’ve even gone as far as looking on ebay to see how much the games go for and while I was very much surprised by a few of the “going rates”  I just didn’t feel right selling.

Maybe when I’m older I’ll be a little less geeky and will be able to box them up and ship them out.  But as of writing this I think I’ve decided to just buy another shelf.

Or two.

-Remy

Anyway I read the other day that the Xbox 360 Elite is going to be phased out.   Now I’ll be sad to see the black box go, but that leaves two xbox 360 systems now.  And we all know that the Live pack that was released converts the Xbox 360 Arcade system into the Xbox 360 Pro system.   Which leaves one system!  I’ve already ranted at the multiple versions of the same system, well it looks like Microsoft is moving away from the multi-system formula, finally.

Now I know that the second I get comfortable Microsoft is going to release the new Xbox 360 SUPERELITESTARZ system.  Probably named something different.  But after all is said and done, I’m still bored off my ass and need to get my stuff unpacked!

I need to get some Street Fighter 4 action!

-Remy

I understand wanting to protect your system to prevent cheaters and such,  but saying that the system isn’t  yours to control and then policing it, makes me feel as if I’m renting the hardware rather than purchasing it.   Maybe that’s the next step.  I rent my cable box, maybe eventually I’ll have to rent my consoles and when they break I just bring them back to my local dealer and get it replaced for no fee.  Lord knows that these consoles are becoming more and more complicated, and have had their histories of malfunctions.  Perhaps we are moving in that direction.

Would you pay 18 bucks a month to have the Xbox service?  A service that provides hardware and a live connection?  If if breaks you switch it out without any penalty?  These are ideas that are already in place when it comes to other vendors.  I know my Internet provider offers a rented modem and I’ve already mentioned the rented cable box.  I much rather own, but if i don’t have total control over my product then what do I really get out of the deal.  We all know how DRM locks down a game disk.   Sure we own the product but not the license, right?

I guess I’ll just start looking for parts to my small form factor pc that will attach directly to my TV and have a blue tooth connection to an Xbox 360 controller.   Of course, we’ll have to see some new releases for the PC that don’t suck.

-Remy