Needs:

1. 1TB HDD: I predict that when the PS4 launches we will see nearly every game to include a simultaneous launch day digital download possibility. Unfortunately when the PS4 launches having massive amounts of download space will still be too expensive, so to combat this, a huge HDD is almost necessary.

2. Integrated motion controls: I hated having to buy more peripherals when the Move launched. I want this next generation of motion controls to be as easy as opening the box and that is all.

3. 2GB of memory each for the processor and the graphics card.: This comes from a simple thing, cross game chat. The execs at Sony finally came out last year and said that cross game chat would never happen because of one simple thing, memory. The PS3 shared 512MB of memory between the GPU and CPU. each developer has it’s own responsibility to allocate the memory available leaving nearly none left over for anything significant. While this allowed for PS3 games to generally out perform 360 games(the 360 has 256MB for each) it made it so nothing else could be done.

4. More control over the operating system: Outside of Apple, Sony has become one of the biggest lame asses when it comes to it’s operating system. While this makes things like cheaters non exsistant, it can make life miserable at times for the rest of us. Things like getting a message while playing a game, it can take a minute for the message to load by the time every app loads, then you have to go to their name and then load the message. How about letting us change a setting that if someone messages us and we press the PS button within 10 seconds, said message loads. Or how about a setting where we can choose which apps are displayed during an in game PS button push so we don’t have to wait till everything loads. Waiting for crap like photos and videos to load when you can’t even use them is the biggest waste of time.

5. A $399 price at launch: besides the lack of a good lineup of launch titles, the biggest thing that hurt the PS3 at the beginning was the fact that it cost $600, and that’s if you only bought the console and nothing else. I bought 2 games, an hdmi cable, an extra controller, and an extended warranty all for the low price of $850.  Sony had a lot in the first PS3: A blue ray drive when you couldn’t buy one for less than $1000.  A cell processor that Sony co-developed with IBM and Toshiba at the low cost of  1 Billion Dollars. The emotion chip from the PS2 to play old games. Wifi out of the box. controllers that needed neither battery packs or batteries to work, just plug them in to charge. All in all, even at $600 it was a bargain, but now that the costs of bluray and the cell processor are WAY down, we should see the new console launch at $399 or less (fingers crossed for $299).

Wants:

1. Access to PSN through my iPhone: I have a lot of overseas friends and gaming partners that I don’t want to necessarily give my personal info so we can talk. How about an app so I can message them ?

2. PSN upgrades: I would love to be able to change my screen name, even if it is once a year for a price. Also, let us watch movies together with Netflix, and while I’m thinking about it, how a bout cross game chat?

3. PS2 Library: In 2010 a transcript was released about a meeting between SEGA and Sony, during the meeting it was revealed that Sony is planning to release PS2 games onto the PSN. Well how about we get it already? I know a thing loike this can take a while, but imagine if we could get the vast amount of PS2 titles on PSN for $5-$10?

4. DVR: I dream about being able to access my DirecTV DVR form my Playstation. I hate when I am waiting for a friend to get online and I have to keep checking back and forth, just give me either a native app, or allow me to use my PS4 as a DVR.

5. A controller for the future: I love the Dualshock, but it needs a little more. A few indicator lights like if you have a message, a camera maybe.

If any or all of these things are implemented ($299) then the PS4 will completely destroy the competition!

So! Let’s get started…

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11. Dead Space 2 – A huge improvement over the previous title, Dead Space 2 was faster, more visceral and much, much deeper than the original. You reprise your role as Isaac Clarke and this time he talks! Aboard a space station orbiting Saturn, it was once a research center and slowly adapted into a sprawling city once its original use had run its course… oh and the Necromorphs are back in full force. One thing I’ve always loved about the original Dead Space, and holds true for its sequel, is its a very believable sci-fi universe. The type of believability that makes you think we may one day do the things being done in these games… minus the alien viruses reanimating corpses that devour the living, of course.

10. Bulletstorm – Bulletstorm is another one of those FPS titles that’s worth playing and very far and few in between, this generation. It incorporates a number of things that work really well in first person and make for some very interesting ways to dish out the pain from decapitating enemies with ceiling fans to lodging their bodies into spiked walls – dubbed “Kill With Skill.”  – and featuring more than 150 different skillshots. What’s more is you could team up with a buddy to do the very same thing. Epic made me a fan with this game.

9. Crysis 2 – Beautiful. That’s the first thing that comes to mind when I think of this game… from its presentation to just how the game looks, its a beautiful game. Along with great action, a pretty decent story, fun multiplayer and a lot of variety in gameplay, its one of the few FPS games worth playing this generation. The Crytek suit is one nasty toy to play with, as well. At hand are multiple ways to take down foes from taking the stealthy approach, to walking in with armored skin and raising hell all utilizing the suits many tools and options. On top of all that, everything looks gorgeous as your suit’s HUD animates according to your actions, enemies put up opposition and explosions fill your screen – and oh, they will. Crytek did a great job with bringing this level of detail to consoles and quickly made me grab the first Crysis, off PSN, for $20 bucks.

8. inFAMOUS 2 – Sucker Punch’s follow-up to their electric super-hero adventure, inFAMOUS, was great. It built upon everything that was so well done in the original game and introduced a lot more. I had a few nitpicks with the pacing of the story and a few characters, but overall the game was a joy to play and finishes up the series nicely. Also, new to the series, is the LBP-esque creation tool that allows players to essentially create their own DLC and upload it for all to enjoy. From entire adventures featuring cutscenes to simple pick up n’ play missions, players are allowed to create an assortment of new content that adds a lot of life to an already fun game.

7. Portal 2 – I never got the chance to play the original Portal game, having only heard good things, so going into Portal 2 I was expecting great things… and got them. Never has such a small cast of characters had such a great impact upon a gameplay experience. Wheatley was hilarious, GLaDOS was every bit as antagonizing as I had heard and the turrets… oh the turrets. Its an incredibly simple game in concept and execution, but also very well done.

6. LittleBigPlanet 2 – Another game to improve upon its predecessor in every way imaginable, I think LBP2 also did every way unimaginable by players, to boot. LBP debuted as a platform game where one could create a variety of games reminiscent of the 2D platform games of olde, but Media Molecule took that a step further making LBP2 a platform FOR games where players can create tons of different games, not just levels, in a variety of genres including shooters, action and puzzle games. Along with an actual storyline that plays out with voice acting and cutscenes, all working with the creation engine available to all players, LBP2 quickly became one of my favorite games of 2011.

5. Mass Effect 2 – The one game I’d ever buy a 360 for finally came to the PS3 this year. While I missed out on the first game in the series, as a PS3 owner, BioWare more than made up for that by including every piece of DLC, up to the final expansion, on one bluray disc. The game had amazing art direction and style, making for a very believable and diverse sci-fi universe – the likes of which I only saw in Firefly before it. There were no stereotypical alien designs, boring scenarios or been there, done that escapades through space, here.

4. RAGE – The first id game I’ve ever played and I loved it. Halfway through this one I was already wanting a sequel. The vast open world was as beautiful as it was desolate in this interesting take on the apocalypse. Along with a diverse, and crazy, cast of characters that littered the wasteland, this game had a pretty damn good storyline and great gameplay, as well as a few fun online modes that strayed from the standard cookie cutter deathmatches of other FPS titles. I had very few complaints about this game and while other critics were all over the place with this game, it came very close to being my top pick of 2011.

3. Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception – It’s more Uncharted, what can I say? Drake returns for more running, jumping, shooting of unsavory types and near death scenarios. It builds upon Uncharted 2 in a variety of ways and is just as much an action paced thrill ride as it is an emotional thriller as it explores relationships that have been building since the very first adventure. I can’t quite say it had as much of an impact on me as U2 did, but the game was great nevertheless, for the character development alone. An Uncharted game is always extraordinary and U3 doesn’t sway from that trend.

2. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – A huge improvement over Oblivion, Skyrim makes its predecessor look absolutely archaic. With streamlined menus, beautiful graphics and gameplay that works in both first AND third person (the latter of which being a train wreck in Oblivion), the fifth entry in the series ranks up there with the likes of Morrowind. Yet another game with a very well realized world, taking place in the titular region of Skyrim, you’ll find yourself traipsing across snowy peaks, green plains and lush forests while fighting off trolls, bandits and the occasional dragon or three. Speaking of, the dragons are awesome… only a few fights are scripted into the main storyline, but you’ll face them randomly while traveling – hell, you might even be in town stocking up on goods when one swoops down from the skies to terrorize the streets. Here, there be dragons… AND awesomeness.

1. Deus Ex: Human Revolution – This is the only one that isn’t in no particular order… Deus Ex: Human Revolution is my Game of the Year 2011. Its a rarity that I play a game back to back, and even rarer is when I do that five times in a row. DX:HR was an incredible game with a strong, well paced story,excellent script, intriguing characters all taking place in a realized and very believable vision of the future. With fun gameplay that changes dynamically to your playstyle you could go through this game killing everyone in your way or simply sneaking by every single hostile you come across, or a mixture of the two. The game is about choice, the consequences of your choices and watching all those consequences play out.

There were plenty more great games this year, but these are the ones that I felt were above n’ beyond the rest. With 2011 coming to a close, I’m increasingly hyped for 2012 with the likes of Jak and Daxter, Zone of the Enders and Devil May Cry HD Collections, the long awaited sequel Sly 4: Thieves in Time, Gearbox’s million gun shooter follow-up Borderlands 2, and breath of fresh air to the series and Platinum Games developed Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance as well as much, much more.

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Pros:

+Stunning visuals are among the very best in the business
+Action sequences keep you in the game and play out with cinematic quality
+Excellent musical score
+Wonderfully written script and great voice acting set a new standard, yet again
+Motion capture does more than add realism, but also believability and personality
+Brilliantly done introduction
+Very emotional, and well paced, storyline
+While it’s the same Uncharted gameplay, it still keeps you on your toes
+Relationships and character development span the trilogy
+Multiplayer and co-op extend length beyond single player
+Sand dunes animate beautifully, as does water and other elements
+Great foreshadowing and other nuances within the story
+The game never takes you out of the action, always incorporates you into sequences

Cons:

-At first, aiming controls might take some getting used to
-Some firefights, late in the game, are more frustrating than fun
-Button mapping for grabbing can be troublesome
-New melee combat is fun, but stiff at times
-The antagonists don’t get too much backstory or exposition

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The Uncharted series comes to a close with Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception. This game series is nothing short of epic. With its first iteration in 2007, it pushed the PS3 console to its limits and set a new standard for storytelling, action and graphical detail, only to be followed by Uncharted 2 which shattered those limitations. Two years after its second entry, Uncharted 3 comes about to bring a close to Nathan Drake’s adventures and while it doesn’t go beyond that of U2, it continues down the path its predecessor set before it.

If its one thing that takes center stage with the Uncharted series, it’s the characters and storyline. While the games aren’t connected in terms of a branching storyline, as each adventure is self contained, it’s the characters, their development and relationships that span the series. Drake returns in search of Iram of the Pillars, also known as the Atlantis of the Sands. I won’t go into detail beyond that, as I, myself, love to be kept in the dark when it comes to the Uncharted games, learning about different places in the world and key figures in history.

The primary antagonist is Marlowe, a woman that is fairly close to Victor and has ties to him in the past. I was a bit disappointed with the fact that Marlowe’s cult didn’t receive much backstory and/or exposition. They were largely left a mystery to the player. Beyond that, its your typical adventure with Drake destroying a vehicle or three, taking down mercenaries and searching for treasure. The story, itself, has very well done pacing and isn’t too drawn out, at all. It also delves deeper into the relationship dynamics between Elena and Drake, as well as more between Drake and Sully which I greatly enjoyed. It really brings these characters to life beyond the motion capture and great voice acting.

When it comes to gameplay, its your standard fare, as far as the Uncharted series goes. You run, you jump, you take cover and leaps of blind faith across various dilapidated ruins. The fact that its done so beautifully, the controls are so tight, and the experiences are entirely unique is what keeps it from being stale. And, while U3 doesn’t have the same impact as U2 did, its mainly due to the huge step up Drake’s Fortune took to get to U2.

U3 looks as gorgeous as each game before it. This time around, Naughty Dog went and mastered the animation of sand, where Drake’s Fortune crafted water beautifully and U2 animated snow realistically. Beyond that, enemies, along with Drake and company, respond to the environment around them, as well as stimuli placed upon their character from opposing forces.

You’ll also explore a broad range of environments from a jungle in France to the shifting sands of Yemen. Again, I won’t reveal the other locations to avoid the thrill of discovery, but each location is brought to life beautifully as is each action sequence that takes place among them. In Uncharted 2, I still remember being inside of a building and leaping out of it as it fell to the ground – it was at that moment that I realized how involved I was in this game. U3 is no different. There were multiple times where I would get lost in watching the action sequences play out, only to realize I was still in control of Drake and I had better start haulin’ ass to get where I needed to be, outrun what I needed to, or simply survive. Its that kind of involvement that I love in this series and U3, in particular. Many sequences could have simply played out in a cutscene where I sit back and merely observe, or with quick time button presses occasionally appearing at important do or die parts. But no, Naughty Dog kept me gripping my controller, white knuckled at times, with anticipation of what was happening next. They kept me in the role of a player, not merely an observer.

Upon completing the entire single player campaign, on Normal, I clocked in at roughly 9 hours. It’s a hair shorter than previous adventures, but still very well paced and isn’t long winded. Multiplayer is largely the same, but every bit as fun as it was in U2. And, co-operative returns unchanged. The former will provide several hours of enjoyment, as there are many levels to gain, items to unlock and medals to earn. The latter is a great mode to enjoy with friends that recaptures what the single player feels like. All in all, the game has a lot of content and is well worth the asking price.

Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception is a thrill ride, every bit as much as its predecessor. Naughty Dog put out yet another high quality title that surpasses 90% of what’s out there in terms of audio with its compelling soundtrack and phenomenal voice acting, when it comes to cinematics in regards to its beautiful animation, action sequences that keep you playing while refraining you from observing, and its storyline with its memorable cast of characters that are so believable, so deep, so well realized that you can’t help but become attached to each and every one. Uncharted 3 isn’t just a game you play, but one you experience.

RATING: 9.5/10

This review is based upon completing the single player campaign and clocking in at 9 hours, 19 minutes with a few rounds of multiplayer and co-operative finished.

Developer: Naughty Dog, Inc.

Release Date: November 1, 2011

Platform: PS3

# of Players: 1 Offline, 2-10 Online

Online: Yes

Trophies: 53 Offline/2 Online

Install: Yes; 22MB

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Pros:

+Absolutely stunning visual design and graphics
+Vistas and locations are serene, recognizable, yet completely destitute and foreign
+Controls are superb for both FPS and vehicular combat
+Great soundtrack sets the mood
+Enemy reactions to environment, your performance and actions are very well realized
+Runs at a full 60fps without a single hitch
+NPCs and enemies animate smoothly and lifelike, animation is simply amazing
+A.I. isn’t just smart, but aware of you, the environment and how situations play out
+Guns are very satisfying both during gameplay and aesthetically
+Fully realized and believable world
+Great audio and voicework ranging from Tara Strong to John Goodman and Steve Blum
+Menu system is organized
+Unique approach to the apocalypse where so many games before rely on war

Cons:

-Texture pop-in plagues the game
-Latter part of the game, when action begins to pick up, is over fairly quickly
-8GB install eats up space
-Joystiq was given a free copy

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I have never played a game by id Software. Now, that half of you have stopped reading, while the other half continue to do so while shaking your collective heads in disgust, let me say that I have a lot of respect for the developer’s track record. Again, while I haven’t played DOOM, QUAKE and other titles by them, I can see that id is a very talented team. And, I see that shine with RAGE. I’m a sucker for the post-apocalyptic, and id has taken a very cool approach to it in premise and design. An approach that honestly makes me wish that Bethesda would hand over all development duties of Fallout 4 and beyond to them. Right from the start, RAGE had me hooked with its opening cinematic, haunting score and while there isn’t a lot of freedom in choice, there is in exploration, experience and excitement.

In the near future, the human race faces extinction in RAGE, when an asteroid is set for a collision course with Earth. To combat this event, mankind creates arks, capable of housing up to 6 human beings, that are put into cryogenic stasis in hopes that man will emerge and begin again following the catastrophe caused by the asteroid. As with all plans, things don’t go accordingly and your ark is damaged, leaving you the only survivor and emerging into a desolate, yet serene, wasteland over 106 years later. Bandit gangs rule the wastes, good folk huddle together to eek out a living in small to moderate sized settlements and the Authority keeps it all in check, or so they say. As John Goodman’s character, Dan Hagar, puts it upon your awakening… “Welcome to the future.”

You take up the role of a nameless, silent protagonist that is an ark survivor from the old world. These people are hunted down by the Authority and redeem quite a bounty for those that turn them in, as Dan points out, the first of many NPCs you meet. The game itself is full of a very vibrant and robust cast of characters ranging from the crazy to bizarre, and most are memorable.

Character development is a bit limited, but again, the wide range of personalities among the characters more than makes up for it. The protagonist, in particular, has limited backstory, but a lot can be left up to the imagination of the player to fill that role. As for the story, it takes a few twists here and there, as you learn more about the current state of the world and its origins within the old world.

Whether you’re racing around the wasteland or gunning down bandits, in the aforementioned world, the controls work very well. Mere moments after getting my buggy, everything felt like second nature, while running and gunning, in such detailed environments at 60FPS, is an absolute joy. And, there are plenty of tools to aid you in your fight. RAGE offers the standard gun types like an automatic rifle, pistol and shotgun, but whereas in other FPS titles you’d use a certain gun for a given situation, this game goes one step further. Each weapon has 2-4 unique ammo types. For example, the shotgun has its standard slugs, but also explosive slugs to turn it into a grenade launcher and EMP slugs to short out technologically dominant enemies and do damage. With this, a weapon is useful not only in certain situations, but also against certain enemies, so there really is no useless gun in the game.

When paired up with the likes of various gadgets, killin’ goes one step further. There are a few different grenade types, but also gadgets like the remote controlled car bomb, which has a mounted camera to scout out the area, but also blow enemies sky high. Besides that, there are sentry turrets to hold down a position, and sentry bots that stay at your side amidst a gunfight. Among many others, my particular favorite is the wingstick. A boomerang with a homing sensor that seeks out enemies, with a bit of aiming. Its very satisfying to lodge one of those bad boys into an enemy’s skull while reloading or even pulling the trigger.

RAGE is absolutely gorgeous. The new id tech-5 engine, which makes this possible, is stunning in practice. Not one crevice, mountain peak or valley looks the same in RAGE, and draw distance for all of this has as much depth as the world has detail. There is, however, a bit of texture pop-in, but its very easily overlooked when you take into account the amount of detail the open world has and the fact that it all runs at 60FPS – something you almost have to get used to.

Character models and the like, NPCs, vehicles, robots – you name it – it animates fluidly and realistically. NPCs have very lifelike and natural animations that are superb, while getting behind the wheel of car and leaving a dusty trail, in its simplicity, looks dazzling. Getting back to NPCs, while some are simply fixing or idling about, plenty can be seen bumbling around town and they also recognize your efforts throughout the game, as well as your status within the settlement. My first visit to a large settlement, many people scoffed at me, some didn’t even acknowledge me walking passed. But after winning a race, a few people complimented my driving skills, and following a favor, for the mayor, that helped the town, a few more began to open up to my presence in their community. This gave the world another layer of depth not found with just good textures and a heap of polygons.

Enemies also have great animation, as they not only react to the stimuli you place upon them, whether you shoot them in the leg causing them to limp away or their arm forcing them to grab it in pain, but also their surroundings. Some enemies will wall run at you, leap off barriers or simply take cover behind them. Meanwhile, depending on player performance, enemies will have different chatter amongst themselves as they’re either forcing you to retreat or getting massacred. Enemy A.I. is not only intelligent, but aware of not just you, but its surroundings and current state of being. That isn’t to say its like taking on a human opponent, but enemies don’t file in, take cover and wait to get slaughtered.

And, the overall design of the world in RAGE strikes a beautiful balance between the familiarity of our world and the estrangement following a disaster of apocalyptic proportions.

RAGE has a lot of lasting appeal to it. There’s always something different to do that breaks up what dominates most shooters… shooting. Around the wasteland are things to find and collect, arenas, races and deathmatches to participate in and, when you’ve had your fill of side missions and whatnot, continuing on with the main campaign is always an option. Various NPCs go on with their daily lives and will have new dialogue and quests at certain points in the game, as well. And, there are an assortment of mini-games to take part in, all of which are unique and fun. There are also multiple difficulty levels for the single player experience, while co-op missions and competitive races to take part in online.

RAGE is, again, a beautiful game. From its rich world, that finds serene beauty in desolation, its estranged familiarity with an incredible amount of depth to its bizarre and memorable NPCs that populate it the game was quite an experience to be had. I had few complaints as I explored the world and navigated its dungeons and before even making it to the halfway mark in this, my first id Software title, I knew I wanted a sequel… I wanted more RAGE. This game stands as a brilliant example of how big and beautiful a game can be, as well as why Bethesda needs to hand over all development duties of the Fallout series to id Software. In the end, RAGE did not make me want to quit.

RATING: 9.5/10

This review is based upon having over an 80% completion rating, in the status screen, and finishing the single player campaign and some online, clocking in at roughly 15 hours.

Developer: id Software

Release Date: October 4, 2011

Platform: PS3

# of Players: 1-4

Online: Yes; Co-op, Competitive

Trophies: 49 Offline/2 Online

Install: Yes; 7.7GB

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Pros:

+Gorgeous graphics from environments to character models
+Animation is superb both in combat and cutscenes with great effects
+WKC2 comes with a completely remastered edition of its predecessor
+New combat system is a lot of fun and fixes many issues in WKC
+Filled to the brim with content, prepare for hundreds of hours of gameplay
+Decent story wraps up the series nicely
+Minor things added that make menu navigation much more user friendly
+Harder difficulty is great and demands more than just hit n’ heal tactics
+Online is addicting and fun with a great set-up
+Hundreds of quests to partake in on your own or with up to 5 friends
+Tons of customizable options for you and your knight
+Thousands of items, weapons and gear to craft and collect

Cons:

-Huge time investment required, but that goes without saying to be honest
-Harder difficulty may drive some away, but its rewarding
-At times dialogue feels forced, but voice acting isn’t horrible
-Some areas are recycled, but the game was meant to be, and is, one huge title

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When the first White Knight Chronicles came out, it caught my eye because it was a Level-5 RPG that incorporated features from many of their previous, and very well done, titles. Aside from that, I’m a huge fan of their work. That said, little did I realize I would invest over a thousand hours into the original game, in which only around 80 of those hours were spent in the single player portion of it. With the latest, and last, entry in the series, White Knight Chronicles 2 brings it into its own and builds upon the foundations laid in the original title. While it addresses many issues found in the first game, Level-5 also took into consideration many things the fans were concerned with or just not happy about and becomes a very solid RPG for anyone that likes the series or RPGs in general.

The story of WKC2 continues a few years after the first left off. And, never fear, if you haven’t experienced the original game, a remastered version of it is included on the same disc (I‘ll be selling this point a lot throughout the review). The plot follows Leonard, and his friends, some of which who are able to transform into powerful knights, weapons of war from a time long passed that the story is generally centered upon. An ancient civilization, led by a resurrected emperor seeks to gain the knights’ power once more and conquer the world. Overall the story is fairly cliché, a bit predictable at times and only has a few twists and turns, but its still a fun ride and far from being bad. However, some dialogue was both written and delivered very well, but at times felt forced. By the end there were characters I cared about, hated and loved.

Many of these characters return in the sequel, both in my party and in relation to, which was great after playing the first game and getting so close to many different characters. Overall, for it being a two game series, it ties up many loose ends nicely and left me content with the how events transpired.

In relation to its predecessor, this is where WKC2 really comes into its own. WKC already had a really fun battle system, but many fans felt it was just too slow, at times. WKC2 speeds things up while keeping a great balance between player classes and enemy conflicts as not to make most boss battles last mere minutes. Battles become tests of will, skill and endurance, while introducing many new abilities for the 8 classes. That being said, there are no new classes, however, as mentioned, there are many new abilities that change the dynamics of each class. And, there are new weapons in each class, like hammers in the overall axe class, for instance, that change how abilities work entirely.

Each class is a lot of fun. Some are still slightly less than useful, or don’t pump out the damage like other classes, but each have their own feel to them and at least a couple will appeal to each player. Furthermore, for better or worse, depending on your outlook, individual stats don’t fuel the attack of each class anymore. No longer does the Vitality stat bolster both Defense and the Attack of a spear user, for instance. Strength now is the main determinant in damage output for all melee classes, while Intelligence is tied to magic users. I see this as an improvement, since people will no longer wear the exact same thing, just for stats, near endgame.

Also new to WKC2, players are able to get their very own Incorruptus, or knight, and customize it how they wish from paint jobs to armor, skills to weapons. Guilds are also in the works, and will hopefully be released soon, which can hold hundreds of members, and will allow players to visit a pre-made town with an assortment of services. And, in online quests, you’re now able to bring NPCs from your party, so you’ll never have to quest alone or rely upon finding others to quest with online.

As for new things in the single player experience, there are bounties and errands. The former has you hunt down a particular boss enemy and rewards you for your efforts with experience, money, guild points and equipment. Meanwhile, the latter involves talking to various NPCs strewn throughout the game’s many areas, completing tasks for them that may involve talking to other NPCs or giving them items and, in return, you’re rewarded guild points or equipment. I found this new feature particularly rewarding, as it got you talking to and learning about many NPCs you’d otherwise run right passed and not give a second thought. Many characters begin to form relationships and personalities, no longer being mere background scenery in a given area.

The online Geonet interface remains largely the same, which was well organized to begin with. Players who import their WKC avatar will be able to continue developing their player skills and georama, among other things. Meanwhile all adventure logs and the friends list will remain intact during the transfer. For those that import from the International Edition, however, many bonuses will be revealed going into WKC2.

The game’s presentation is by and large like its predecessor with the same menus and interfaces. This comes as no surprise, however, as WKC was meant to be one large game, to begin with, but Level-5 split it in two, due to time constraints. So, in a way, WKC2 is like a very, very big expansion to the first game, while still including its predecessor in its entirety. The predecessor has been remastered, however, so the first game gets all the upgrades of the second. This includes the updated battle system, but also the complete graphical overhaul the second title saw. Character models are a bit less anime in style, and a bit more realistic, while environments look absolutely gorgeous (I’m lookin’ at you, Lost Forest). Many are rehashed from WKC:IE, of course, but they still look beautiful.

Cutscenes also look gorgeous, whether FMV or the in-game engine is utilized, and are much more action packed. When knights are involved, for example, the climax of the action doesn’t peak at merely crossing swords and much more happens in terms of fights. Some action sequences are just plain epic in scope, while other evoke a lot more emotion. And, I think this is something many people – namely critics – will overlook.

There are, however, many palette swaps for enemies, but this is a minor gripe. Especially considering you approach most of the larger enemy palette swaps in different ways where strategy is concerned. Many dungeons are recycled, as well, but again, this is a minor gripe when you consider WKC:IE is included and, alongside WKC2 on the same disc, makes it feel like one huge game.

If you love leveling, grinding and the like, you’ll get a lot out of WKC2, however if you’re just a fan of RPGs, you’ll still enjoy this game. Not only are you getting one 50+ hour RPG in the form of WKC2, you’re also getting a completely remastered version of the original game with all of WKC2’s bells n’ whistles, which will net you another 50+ hours. That alone makes this game more than worth it, as the single player alone will last 100+ hours. Online is an entirely different story, as you’ll be able to team up with 2-5 friends and take on hundreds of quests of ranging difficulty, in an effort to collect materials and forge armor, weapons and items numbering in the thousands. Not to mention the impending release of DLC in the form of even more equipment, weapons and quests.

Overall, I found WKC2 to be a vast improvement over the original, while retaining all that made it good. I got over 1500 hours out of WKC:IE before I burnt out on it, and continuing on in WKC2 has relit my fire. The improved difficulty calls for more strategy among classes, rather than relying on mindless hit n’ heal tactics, while knights add a whole new dynamic to some fights. And, between the side quests and online quests, which number in the hundreds, equipment and items, which number in the thousands and playtime this game offers, which is… let‘s just say a lot, you’re bound to get your money’s worth out of this RPG series.

RATING: 8.5/10

This review is based upon completing the single player campaign, in its entirety, in roughly 70 hours, while playing 15 hours online. And, I haven’t even scratched the surface…

Developer: Level-5

Release Date: September 13, 2011

Platform: PS3

# of Players: 1-6

Online: Yes

Trophies: 25 Offline/0 Online

Install: Yes; 4.2GB

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Pros:

+Good graphics and environments have depth
+Decent audio with a good soundtrack
+Co-op adds a bit of replay value
+Well done lighting effects
+Upgrades visibly show up on weapons

Cons:

-Special effects are more distracting than pleasing to the eye
-Presentation of cutscenes and menus are annoying
-Camera rotation is stiff and shaking detracts from gameplay/atmosphere
-No visible gauge for sprinting
-Clunky animation
-Framerate drops at times
-Odd control and design choices
-Enemies move a bit too quick to avoid successfully
-Mini-map is useless
-Hit detection is unbalanced
-Missions get repetitive quickly
-HUD is hard to see in some environments

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Team17’s series has come a long way from where it started, but not very far from its roots. It still retains a lot of what the old shooter was built upon and, at the same time, borrowed a lot from the likes of Dead Space.

Enter Conrad, the engineer that knows his way around the alien infested ship, lined with corpses, and can fix a number of things, as he fights off swarms of human dismembering hostiles in an attempt to save the day. I can’t say it had a very strong plot or story elements. Not once did I ever care about those I was saving or give a second thought about those I did.

You’re constantly in contact with Mia, however, who will be your guide and help you on your way mission to mission. And, outside of Conrad, she’s the only one that really has more than five lines of dialogue throughout the game.

At its core, Alien Breed: Impact is an arcade shooter, with a top-down camera view, that gives you generic weaponry and tosses tons of aliens at you with many different abilities. However, its plagued with many issues ranging from unintentional to just odd. To touch upon a few, enemy hit detection is unbalanced. Half your bullets will go to waste flying by enemies, while enemies themselves will hit you without any sort of attack animation. Melee strikes you input come off as clunky and getting caught on the scenery, debris and otherwise, is commonplace. You can also get stuck on enemies and, if they surround you, will keep you from moving and quickly cause your death.

Another annoyance is how you interact with objects. You’re tasked with holding down the X button until a gauge completely fills. It’s a braindead action that demands no skill or thought whatsoever and simply wastes time. If there was some sort of mini-game involved it would get you involved with the game’s tasks and events. Furthermore you have to do it with every single interactable item in the game including activating computers, searching lockers/dead bodies and even activating the store/save point. I still can’t figure out why I have to hold down the X button for 3 or 4 seconds to activate the store.

Missions are also a chore and a bore, almost exclusively following a formulaic trend. You have a primary objective, but usually when you go to do said objective, one or two things stand in your way. So you do those one or two things, then your primary object. Lather, rinse, repeat. And, almost every mission, save one escort mission, is a fetch quest of sorts.

Other than those gripes, the game controls well, but the lack of custom controls is a bit of a letdown.

For a downloadable title, the environments have a great amount of detail and, more importantly, depth. However character models are lazy and enemies uninspired. Its environments draw a lot from this to be very atmospheric, but again, there are issues with this. The game constantly has explosions triggering around the ship that are simply for effect, but they’re a major distraction when coupled with constant screen jerking. I found it hard to aim, at times, read a situation, or even look around for items. I even missed out on dialogue a few times due to the explosions and screen shaking.

Menus seem to suffer from this same dilemma. They utilize a stylish static effect to make it look like a computer that’s on the fritz, but its, again, more distracting than aesthetic. I found it hard to follow the action, navigate menus and sometimes even see the HUD in some environments.

Alien Breed also has co-op, both online and local, that allows two players to make their way through three levels featuring areas from the single player campaign. Its not much, but its fun. Besides this, there’s also leaderboards and plenty of trophies to unlock, including a platinum. But outside of those things, the game is still pretty short, clocking in at around 4 hours and spanning five stages with quite a bit of wandering about.

All in all, it’s a decent game, but a game I wouldn’t spend any more than $10 bucks to own. What it does, it does right, even if it’s a bit rough around the edges and you can almost swear Team17 was playing Dead Space while making the game. But if you’re lookin’ for a decent pick up and play shooter, you can’t go wrong with Alien Breed: Impact… you can, however, do better.

This review was based upon playing the entire single player campaign, with some light dilly dallying, obtaining nearly all trophies and playing a few co-op levels, clocking in at about 4 hours.

RATING: 6/10

Developer: Team17

Release Date: September 1, 2010

Platform: PS3

# of Players: 1-2

Online: Yes

Trophies: 27 Offline/0 Online

Install: 1.2GB

On September 20th, seek answers as you walk the Lonesome Road.
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Spoiler alerts ahead! There are more about the previous games. I’ll do my best to not give too much away.
The single player story starts on Joseph Capelli. You may remember him as the guy who killed Nathan Hale at the end of the last film. Capelli has been dishonorably discharged from the Army 4 years earlier and he now resides in Oklahoma with his wife and child. His meager existence is interrupted by terraforming machines. During the ensuing melee, Dr. Malakov shows up with a plan to turn the tide. This is where things start to go terribly wrong for this story.

It moves from location to location at a fairly break neck speed, from a boat ride, to a train ride, to going underground. All of which are completely beautiful, but do nothing to really move the Resistance story forward. It is mostly because 90% of the game is the trip from Oklahoma to New York City. Along the way he meets people that help him with his journey. But once again the story fails the game. A main character unceremoniously dies, and you are sidetracked to a prison that holds gladiator type games. For reasons to show that humanity has become terrible to each other when times are the worst.

During the trip we find out that there are 2 types of Chimera; feral ones and military ones. They are hostile towards one another for reasons unknown, and the game goes no further. No trying to find out why, no exploring the relationship between them. Nothing! In a series when the story has, by far, been the best part of the game, it feels like Insomniac just wanted to get the game over with so they can move on to their next project.

A lot comes from the fact that they took out one of the best parts of Resistance 2, and that was the co-op mode. They got rid of it and brought back split screen co-op like they had in Resistance: Fall of Man. One of the best parts of the co-op mode featured in R2, was that is vastly extended the lore of the alternate universe. All the info had people wondering what the Chimera were, and why they were there. In grand fashion, they revealed what the Chimera are in the first 20 Seconds of the opening movie. I felt like they sat around and said, “I’m bored of this game, lets end it here.”

The ending was the biggest disappointment to me. It featured an incredibly easy battle, and a not so death defying escape. And (SOILER ALERT) for a game that has focused on how bleak the situation for humanity is, all was well after the trip to New York City. Like the fact that 6 Billion people dead or turned into Chimera are going to fold because one tower in NYC went down. In my opinion, Insomniac dropped the ball on this one. Let us all hope that they don’t start calling it in on the Ratchet and Clank series.

In this installment, the multiplayer aspect has been toned down. In R2 the game featured 60 man games. They have toned it down to 16 man games with some new game modes. There are the usual, team death match, death match, and capture the flag. There are also some new modes like Breach and a few others. None are very extraordinary and as I’ve felt before, the multiplayer is the weak link when it comes to the Resistance series. The one thing they have done is too add a ton of perks. There are perks to the guns and every player gets 4 perk slots to fill up from a list of 10 in each category. In a cool little surprise, every gun and perk is upgradeable. Each level gained gives you between 1 and 10 unlock points to work with.

All in all, I’d say this the worst game to come out of Insomniac studios. It is beautiful and the controls are as smooth as any FPS I’ve ever played, but with the story being so terrible, and the multiplayer experience being mediocre at best, I can’t give this game any higher than a D.

Rating: 6.5/10

Developer: Insomniac

Release Date: September, 6th 2011

# of players 2 offline, 16 online

Online: Yes

Trophies: 59 total. 58 offline, 1 co-op

Install: Yes 2.189 GB

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Pros:

+Strong strategic elements that don’t require too many, if any, tutorials
+Can appeal to casual and hardcore tower defense fans
+HD sprites are very well animated, if not simple
+Very creative plants and zombies with various abilities, strengths and weaknesses
+Plenty to do beyond the 50 stage adventure mode to do
+Rewards multiple playthroughs and gets increasingly difficult
+New modes that aren’t present in the PC version include offline co-op and versus
+Bizarre premise with great art design and animation
+Streamlined controls translate well to a Dual Shock 3

Cons:

-Some mini-games aren’t explained thoroughly
-No online co-op or versus
-Online leaderboards are limiting, somewhat pointless
-Lack of Thriller zombies

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I’m not a huge fan of the tower defense genre. Only played a few titles here and there, but could never truly get into them enough to beat high scores, let alone complete them entirely. Then Plants vs. Zombies struck a chord with me. I found myself addicted to its gritty, yet endearing, design and the ease in learning the basics, yet enough depth to bring strong strategic elements. PvZ is an excellent tower defense title that can draw fans, hardcore and casual, alike.

There isn’t too much story to the 50 stage adventure mode outside of you defending your house from a horde of zombies… using plants. Yes, plants. You’ll run into Crazy Dave, who will help you along and sell you items, meanwhile there’s 49 different plants to use in killing 25 different zombies. The character, plant and zombie designs are comical and very well done.

Of those 49 plants, many combinations are possible. You have to collect solar power, which appears in the form of small sun icons, and each plant has a specific cost to be planted. Furthermore, each plant is divided into a certain category including offensive, defensive and sun producing. You’ll soon get acquainted with Peashooters which, you guessed it, shoot peas and are the most basic offensive plant. Then, there’s Wallnuts, which are large walnuts that stall zombies and protect plants. Finally, there’s the Sunflower, which is used on nearly every stage, that produces additional solar power. These 3, along with 46 others, are all used in various ways to bring down hordes of zombies.

Aside from the basic game, there’s plenty of puzzles and challenging mini-games to complete, as well as offline co-op and versus modes.

Lastly, the mouse controls translate very well to the Dual Shock 3 controller. This was something I was very skeptical about, but I ended up loving the streamlined control scheme on the PS3 more so than the PC.

The game itself animates beautifully. The HD sprites, whether it’s a plant, zombie or environment, all look great and animate smoothly. The entire game may look cutesy, but its this art style that makes it so endearing and fun to play. Menus are easily navigated and animated, the controls are very easy to use and the interface is neatly organized. I can’t really find fault with this game’s design choices as far as presentation goes.

The game will last you quite a while, whether you’re into collecting everything or simply completing its 50 stage adventure mode. There’s plenty of puzzles and mini-games to both unlock and complete, you don’t end up with all 49 plants by the end of the game, the multiplayer modes are fun if you have a friend alongside you and then there’s the Zen Garden. This is where you can raise plants that, in turn, earn you extra money. There’s also leaderboards, which are fairly limited. The lack of online for the multiplayer modes is a letdown, but easily overlooked.

In closing, this is a great tower defense game for those of us that are casuals and would still like to experience the best the genre has to offer, but at the same time, it can appeal to hardcore fans of tower defense games as it possesses a very strong strategic element belying its cutesy, ease of use, exterior.

RATING: 8.5/10

Developer: PopCap Games

Release Date: February 8, 2011

Platform: PS3

# of Players: 1-2

Online: No

Trophies: 12 Offline/0 Online

Install: 92MB