Greetings ladies and gentlemen, my hasn't it been a while, holy smokes!! February of last year?!?!?! Wow it's been a long time, so much has happened in that time, I moved to my own apartment, plenty of game releases and 2 book releases for Guild Wars 2 to bridge the story between them, but you aint here to read about my life, no! you are here for my review of Deus Ex: Human Revolution, which I for one was very excited for its release, having played and loved the first two, i still play them now, anywho, lets get down to the review shall we?
Deus Ex: Human Revolution is based in the year 2027, 25 years before the original. You play the role of Adam Jenson, an ex SWAT member now gone private security who works for Sarif Industries, a company who is the worlds leading human augmentation specialist, basically if you lose a leg or an arm or something, they can give you an augment that works just like an actual limb. You go to several places during your time as Adam including Shanghai, which might I add, doesn't look like Shanghai as I thought it would in 16 years time but oh well.
Now, the thing about DEHR is that as you progress through the game you can upgrade your augments to better yourself , like increasing your time to be able to sprint, your hacking abilities, your ability to jump high and all that Jazz, I will admit that I was a bit put off about the whole augmented system at first because if you have ever played the previous Deus Ex titles you would know that its all based on biological modifications or biomod's for short, they didn't make your character look like you had just came out of a machine that's turned you into an android of some sorts (if you have ever seen superman 3 you would understand that part). On the plus side some of the augments you can get like the Tornado augment are good, but I wont tell you about them, you will have to find them out for yourself.
The hacking is pretty good and for a lot of it you have a screen for which you capture the nodes in order to complete the hack, to assist you with this you can get nuke and stopworm viruses which can help in the hacking, the stopworm can stop the server from detecting you for a certain amount of time before it resumes tracing you and the nuke virus can instantly capture a node for you, there will be times where you can capture all nodes in a hack without being detected by the server once, other times it could detect you after the first node has been captured so you will have to do some planning, if you are not the hacking type then look around for pocket secretaries as they normally contain pass-codes so that you don't have to do any hacking, me I like to do the hacking though, adds a bit more fun to it, just be careful not to be caught by the server though as it will disable the system for 30 seconds and sound any alarms it may be linked too, still though it is quite fun to do. One problem with the hacking though? YOU CANT HACK THE ATM'S!!!! that used to make the previous games quite entertaining, hacking the ATM's and vending machines and then watching the people run because it starts sparking lol.
A good thing they placed into DEHR is that every choice you make can affect the storyline, if you kill one person in one quest, you might not be able to do another quest later so make your choices carefully.
The story line, well it could be better to be honest, it starts getting predictable about a third of the way through so if you are looking for a game for the story I wouldn't suggest this one, now, if you are looking for a game where you could go all terminator style on people then this is a recommendation for you, the augments will come in very handy, some of the Steam Achievements are to try and play through the story without killing a single person except in the boss fights which can be very hard but luckily you can always knock people out which is also entertaining as there are several different cut-scenes for doing things like knocking people out or stealth killing people, just make sure you don't kill someone linked to a quest lol.
One of the quests that you can do in the story is to break into a police station, trust me when I say this, it was highly amusing to watch all them police officers running around trying to find me but couldn't see me because of stealth mode even when i was stood in front of them.
The weapons are pretty good, crossbows, rocket launchers, grenade launchers, stun guns, there is a decent arsenal in DEHR for how you might want to proceed through the story, if you decide to tackle the hard difficulty I will suggest that you get your inventory upgraded as quick as possible as even the ammo will take up space and you will be limited to just how many weapons you can carry.
All in all it was a good game to play, kind of short, in game play time it took me about 29 hours to beat if I remember correctly although I liked to take my time and explore everywhere, there is a good amount of replay value to be had, as stated above, the choices that affect the story can make it worth several replays to see what it is like if you made a different choice and with the addition of the DLC which is to be released in October of 2011, its worth a run through to see where the DLC may come into it.
I would give Deus Ex Human Revolution 8/10 if I was to rate it.
You have been a lovely audience now if you dont mind, get the hell out of my livingroom! you're getting mud all over my clean floor, hahahaha, keep an eye out for my next review, Dead Island, due within the next couple of weeks :)
Adios amigos/amigas and keep counting!
FPS: First Person Simzy
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Mass Effect 2
"Commander Shephard?"
Yes that's right, he's back and he's causing even more trouble than before, with a new team, bigger crew, and a galaxy to explore, the trouble is just waiting to find you.
This time around you can explore the galaxy a lot more then before, each Solar system you enter, you can explore the different planets, scan them for minerals which are needed for weapon, armor and other upgrades. Some planets can also be landed on for side missions which involve doing small things like killing a few mercenaries, rescues or even sabotage.
As you go through each major mission you will come across upgrades for weapons and even prototype weapons such as the "mini-nuke" which is a cannon that when shot, obliterates anything and anyone within its blast radius. Your armor can be upgraded with things like shield upgrades to make it stronger, biotic enhancers and more. You can also get upgrades for your ship, extra fuel capacity, better shields, better weapons and more.
The problem is I cant really go into details about it because of the fact that there is so many spoilers for those who haven't played it yet but there is stuff I will say, like in the previous game when you you went into cover, you wasn't able to jump over obstacles, now you can, makes doing the missions and going between cover easier and more fun.
Some familiar faces return to join you in your campaign and you can pick up new companions to join you, this time you have the option to do side quests which make your companions more loyal and also unlock special abilities which are unique to each one and also let you unlock them for yourself although you can only use 1 power but once you unlock them you can switch between them at any time. As you unlock the loyalty for each companion you can also unlock a new costume per person too.
What I can say is that you should play Mass Effect 2, you can also load your save from Mass Effect 1 to add a couple of levels to you at the start, some extra credits and even powers. I would also keep the saves for Mass Effect 3 because you never know what could be unlocked.
If this review isn't exactly like my previous ones, then I apologise, I have had some personal issues arrise in my life at the moment but my next review should be as expected.
Until next time, have fun and good luck.
Simzy out!
Yes that's right, he's back and he's causing even more trouble than before, with a new team, bigger crew, and a galaxy to explore, the trouble is just waiting to find you.
This time around you can explore the galaxy a lot more then before, each Solar system you enter, you can explore the different planets, scan them for minerals which are needed for weapon, armor and other upgrades. Some planets can also be landed on for side missions which involve doing small things like killing a few mercenaries, rescues or even sabotage.
As you go through each major mission you will come across upgrades for weapons and even prototype weapons such as the "mini-nuke" which is a cannon that when shot, obliterates anything and anyone within its blast radius. Your armor can be upgraded with things like shield upgrades to make it stronger, biotic enhancers and more. You can also get upgrades for your ship, extra fuel capacity, better shields, better weapons and more.
The problem is I cant really go into details about it because of the fact that there is so many spoilers for those who haven't played it yet but there is stuff I will say, like in the previous game when you you went into cover, you wasn't able to jump over obstacles, now you can, makes doing the missions and going between cover easier and more fun.
Some familiar faces return to join you in your campaign and you can pick up new companions to join you, this time you have the option to do side quests which make your companions more loyal and also unlock special abilities which are unique to each one and also let you unlock them for yourself although you can only use 1 power but once you unlock them you can switch between them at any time. As you unlock the loyalty for each companion you can also unlock a new costume per person too.
What I can say is that you should play Mass Effect 2, you can also load your save from Mass Effect 1 to add a couple of levels to you at the start, some extra credits and even powers. I would also keep the saves for Mass Effect 3 because you never know what could be unlocked.
If this review isn't exactly like my previous ones, then I apologise, I have had some personal issues arrise in my life at the moment but my next review should be as expected.
Until next time, have fun and good luck.
Simzy out!
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Left 4 Dead 2
Although my previous post was a few days ago I decided to also write a review about Left 4 Dead 2 so here it is.
Left 4 Dead 2 is based around 4 survivors just like the pervious game, only this time it is 4 different survivors, Nick, Rochelle, Coach and Ellis. The gameplay is pretty much the same as Left 4 Dead.
Weapons:
The basic weapons like pistols, machine guns, shotguns and sniper rifles all make a return, again you can dual weild but now theres more selection of weapons including melee weapons. The Machine Guns now include Uzi's and Silenced Uzi's aswell as the previous selection. Shotguns now include a Tactical Shotgun. Pistols now include Magnums and you can duel wield the standard pistols like in the previous game. You can now use special weapon upgrades like laser sights which increase accuracy, incendiary packs which give your bullets an added fire damage and frag rounds which are like using a shotgun. Pipe Bombs and Molotov's also make a return because lets face it, who doesnt like burning and blowing things up, you do? thats great cause that means you will love the grenade launcher, yes I said it, a grenade launcher, you can use it to make a path between a horde and such, basically just use your imagination and you will be fine, downside is that you have to find another grenade launcher to get more ammo. The melee weapons, which take over the pistol slot, include things like Chainsaws, Fire Axes, Katana's, Machete's, Baseball Bats, Cricket Bats, Crowbars, Frying Pans, Tonfa's and Electric Guitars.
Health:
Health now has more options like a defibrillator which allows you to revive a dead team mate and adrenaline which gives you a slight strength and speed boost aswell as the standard health packs and pain pills.
Director Mode/AI/Infected:
The Director mode as mentioned in my Left 4 Dead review has been improved, you now get more item spawns and better spots for them, the spawns are also improved, now they dont just seem to appear out of walls. The AI has slightly been improved, now they dont just run off to kill everything they will actually stay near you and wont aggro a witch untill they actually get close to one. The infected have been updated to include new special infected in each campaign and the old ones make an appearance like the Tank and Witch but the new ones are Spitters and Chargers plus some others.
Overall Left 4 Dead 2 is similiar to Left 4 Dead in a lot of ways including the multiplayer options and such. I would recommend playing this.
Until next time, peace
Simzy
Left 4 Dead 2 is based around 4 survivors just like the pervious game, only this time it is 4 different survivors, Nick, Rochelle, Coach and Ellis. The gameplay is pretty much the same as Left 4 Dead.
Weapons:
The basic weapons like pistols, machine guns, shotguns and sniper rifles all make a return, again you can dual weild but now theres more selection of weapons including melee weapons. The Machine Guns now include Uzi's and Silenced Uzi's aswell as the previous selection. Shotguns now include a Tactical Shotgun. Pistols now include Magnums and you can duel wield the standard pistols like in the previous game. You can now use special weapon upgrades like laser sights which increase accuracy, incendiary packs which give your bullets an added fire damage and frag rounds which are like using a shotgun. Pipe Bombs and Molotov's also make a return because lets face it, who doesnt like burning and blowing things up, you do? thats great cause that means you will love the grenade launcher, yes I said it, a grenade launcher, you can use it to make a path between a horde and such, basically just use your imagination and you will be fine, downside is that you have to find another grenade launcher to get more ammo. The melee weapons, which take over the pistol slot, include things like Chainsaws, Fire Axes, Katana's, Machete's, Baseball Bats, Cricket Bats, Crowbars, Frying Pans, Tonfa's and Electric Guitars.
Health:
Health now has more options like a defibrillator which allows you to revive a dead team mate and adrenaline which gives you a slight strength and speed boost aswell as the standard health packs and pain pills.
Director Mode/AI/Infected:
The Director mode as mentioned in my Left 4 Dead review has been improved, you now get more item spawns and better spots for them, the spawns are also improved, now they dont just seem to appear out of walls. The AI has slightly been improved, now they dont just run off to kill everything they will actually stay near you and wont aggro a witch untill they actually get close to one. The infected have been updated to include new special infected in each campaign and the old ones make an appearance like the Tank and Witch but the new ones are Spitters and Chargers plus some others.
Overall Left 4 Dead 2 is similiar to Left 4 Dead in a lot of ways including the multiplayer options and such. I would recommend playing this.
Until next time, peace
Simzy
Monday, January 18, 2010
Left 4 Dead
Ok so its been a while a while since I made a review and this one should have been done a while ago but I didnt get it untill Christmas (I decided to buy it as a Christmas present for myself).
So where to begin.... I know, how about the begining. So you play as 1 of 4 survivors of a zombie outbreak and you are trying to make your way to extraction points where you will be rescued by other survivors. The 4 main survivors are, Louis, Bill, Zoe and Francis. During the first cutscene (before the main menu) you catch a glimpse of several of the special infected (zombie’s with special abilities, i.e a tank which knocks everything in its path out of the way) and you see the 4 survivors “crossing the street” as Bill would say.
All the different campaigns are open at the begining so you dont have to worry about sitting there unlocking each one because believe me, when you actually get into it, you will see that they are fun enough as it is.
Game Play:
The gameplay is decent enough to keep you entertained for several hours on your own or if you like you can go public and play with friends or even just random people. The way the game is designed is so that all 4 survivors can be played by either the AI or by a real person and you can drop in and out of games whenever you like, you can even use a special IDLE mode which allows the bot to control your character if you have to go to the bathroom so that it doesnt hinder the progress of the game for the other players.
The AI though can be slightly stupid at times like not picking up medkits or causing a witch to be alerted to your pressence. This is where having real players comes in usefull especially in the harder modes.
The Director AI which is always running in-game will always supply you with weapons, ammo and health depending on your situation, sometimes it can be usefull spawns and sometimes it can be annoying (when something spawns that you dont need), the spawn points are never actually the same so can vary each time you play through the same level.
Weapons:
The selection of weapons can be decent enough to keep you going although could be better. You will always be given a pistol which has unlimited ammo and if you find another one on your travels you can pick it up to be able to dual-wield. You also have weapons like a Sniper Rifle, Machine guns and even shotguns in the matches which you can trade whenever you find a certain weapon that you like. One other type of weapon is the throwable types which are pipe bombs and molotov’s, the pipe bombs are usefull if you have a horde charging at you as they always go running after it and swarm round untill it explodes and kills them (what else would you expect zombies to do when they see a flashing, beeping thing, they are brain-dead afterall). Molotov’s are usefull for setting up a barrier between you and the undead as it creates a fire that zombies would run through and burn to death from.
Bad points:
Not really any bad points about Left 4 Dead except that the AI is stupid at times and that if you are overrun by a horde then you have to start back at the safe room (which is the begining and the end of each level in the campaigns).
You can use a controller to play like an Xbox 360 controller (which has all the major buttons mapped for) but it doesnt have buttons for the push to talk which can also be bad if you are playing with a controller.
Final Note:
Left 4 Dead is a game i would recommend to anyone who likes shooting mindless creatures and who also like First Person Shooters. I do advise that you play with friends as it makes the game more enjoyable, especially in the versus mode which 1 team is infected and 1 team is survivor, which you can guess what the objectives are for that.
My next review will be about Left 4 Dead 2 (which my friend Dan and his mum so kindly bought as a birthday present) and that will be either later today or tomorrow (depending on my mood and how busy i am with Team Fortress 2 (another game ill review)), so untill then, this is Simzy, signing off.
Peace!
So where to begin.... I know, how about the begining. So you play as 1 of 4 survivors of a zombie outbreak and you are trying to make your way to extraction points where you will be rescued by other survivors. The 4 main survivors are, Louis, Bill, Zoe and Francis. During the first cutscene (before the main menu) you catch a glimpse of several of the special infected (zombie’s with special abilities, i.e a tank which knocks everything in its path out of the way) and you see the 4 survivors “crossing the street” as Bill would say.
All the different campaigns are open at the begining so you dont have to worry about sitting there unlocking each one because believe me, when you actually get into it, you will see that they are fun enough as it is.
Game Play:
The gameplay is decent enough to keep you entertained for several hours on your own or if you like you can go public and play with friends or even just random people. The way the game is designed is so that all 4 survivors can be played by either the AI or by a real person and you can drop in and out of games whenever you like, you can even use a special IDLE mode which allows the bot to control your character if you have to go to the bathroom so that it doesnt hinder the progress of the game for the other players.
The AI though can be slightly stupid at times like not picking up medkits or causing a witch to be alerted to your pressence. This is where having real players comes in usefull especially in the harder modes.
The Director AI which is always running in-game will always supply you with weapons, ammo and health depending on your situation, sometimes it can be usefull spawns and sometimes it can be annoying (when something spawns that you dont need), the spawn points are never actually the same so can vary each time you play through the same level.
Weapons:
The selection of weapons can be decent enough to keep you going although could be better. You will always be given a pistol which has unlimited ammo and if you find another one on your travels you can pick it up to be able to dual-wield. You also have weapons like a Sniper Rifle, Machine guns and even shotguns in the matches which you can trade whenever you find a certain weapon that you like. One other type of weapon is the throwable types which are pipe bombs and molotov’s, the pipe bombs are usefull if you have a horde charging at you as they always go running after it and swarm round untill it explodes and kills them (what else would you expect zombies to do when they see a flashing, beeping thing, they are brain-dead afterall). Molotov’s are usefull for setting up a barrier between you and the undead as it creates a fire that zombies would run through and burn to death from.
Bad points:
Not really any bad points about Left 4 Dead except that the AI is stupid at times and that if you are overrun by a horde then you have to start back at the safe room (which is the begining and the end of each level in the campaigns).
You can use a controller to play like an Xbox 360 controller (which has all the major buttons mapped for) but it doesnt have buttons for the push to talk which can also be bad if you are playing with a controller.
Final Note:
Left 4 Dead is a game i would recommend to anyone who likes shooting mindless creatures and who also like First Person Shooters. I do advise that you play with friends as it makes the game more enjoyable, especially in the versus mode which 1 team is infected and 1 team is survivor, which you can guess what the objectives are for that.
My next review will be about Left 4 Dead 2 (which my friend Dan and his mum so kindly bought as a birthday present) and that will be either later today or tomorrow (depending on my mood and how busy i am with Team Fortress 2 (another game ill review)), so untill then, this is Simzy, signing off.
Peace!
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Star Wars The Force Unleashed: Ultimate Sith Edition
Star Wars The Force Unleashed takes you through the story of Darth Vader's secret apprentice known only as Starkiller, which takes place between the films, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.
The first cut-scene gives you that classic Star Wars film rolling credits startup which gives you a quick insight into the story.After the cut-scene you start on the planet of Kashyyyk (home of the Wookies aka Chew-baka's home planet) as Darth Vader who is hunting for the last of the Jedi. When you reach the end of the level you find the Jedi you was searching for and after you kill him you see his son, who you protect (Darth Vader showing compassion, can you say WTF?!?). In the next cut-scene you see an adult Starkiller and this is where the main story starts.
Force Unleashed has you first start with knowing only a few jedi moves like force grip, force jump etc, as you progress you learn can learn new attacks like force lightening and lightsaber throw, all of which can be unlocked using force points. The combat system is pretty good, allowing you to be able to combine force powers such as force lightening on your lightsaber combo's and force push to throw your enemies into the air.
As you progress through the levels you find Jedi Holocrons (yellow boxes) which unlock new lightsaber crystals such as colours and power attachments and Sith Holocrons (red triangles) which give you temporary boost's such as invincebility, unlimited force power and health stealing aura. The Jedi Holocrons are all permanent unlocks so you can always change your style of lightsaber depending on your mood.
Bad things about Force Unleashed, the camera moves to an awkward position but you can just rotate it back into position, another annoying thing is that unless you update to patch 1.1, if you have an IM program running the game will crash upon you recieving a message, also the patch updates a few things like adding ability to turn off high detail graphics (which the game lacks the options for).
Good things about Force Unleashed, you can do some decent combo's and the story is kinda well written although it could have been longer, using force grip to grab enemies and then throw them into others can be amusing. You can change your lightsaber features at any time, you can choose to change your costume to any of the ones that are available for example, if you ever wanted to play as Old Ben Kenobi, you can, you just select the costume and then exit the pause menu and your done, while the costumes dont provide any boosts or anything as they are purely for show, they can have some enjoyment. At the end of the game you can choose which ending you would like, you can either choose the Sith ending which involves you killing Vader and becoming the Emporers apprentice or you can choose the Jedi ending which means you get to kill the Emporer (or do you????)
To sum it up, Force Unleashed is a good game if you like the Star Wars games although I did beat the game in under 10 hours on the hardest setting but I was more interested in just playing through the story then collecting everything.
I'm Simzy and this has been my review of Star Wars The Force Unleashed.
Peace out.
The first cut-scene gives you that classic Star Wars film rolling credits startup which gives you a quick insight into the story.After the cut-scene you start on the planet of Kashyyyk (home of the Wookies aka Chew-baka's home planet) as Darth Vader who is hunting for the last of the Jedi. When you reach the end of the level you find the Jedi you was searching for and after you kill him you see his son, who you protect (Darth Vader showing compassion, can you say WTF?!?). In the next cut-scene you see an adult Starkiller and this is where the main story starts.
Force Unleashed has you first start with knowing only a few jedi moves like force grip, force jump etc, as you progress you learn can learn new attacks like force lightening and lightsaber throw, all of which can be unlocked using force points. The combat system is pretty good, allowing you to be able to combine force powers such as force lightening on your lightsaber combo's and force push to throw your enemies into the air.
As you progress through the levels you find Jedi Holocrons (yellow boxes) which unlock new lightsaber crystals such as colours and power attachments and Sith Holocrons (red triangles) which give you temporary boost's such as invincebility, unlimited force power and health stealing aura. The Jedi Holocrons are all permanent unlocks so you can always change your style of lightsaber depending on your mood.
Bad things about Force Unleashed, the camera moves to an awkward position but you can just rotate it back into position, another annoying thing is that unless you update to patch 1.1, if you have an IM program running the game will crash upon you recieving a message, also the patch updates a few things like adding ability to turn off high detail graphics (which the game lacks the options for).
Good things about Force Unleashed, you can do some decent combo's and the story is kinda well written although it could have been longer, using force grip to grab enemies and then throw them into others can be amusing. You can change your lightsaber features at any time, you can choose to change your costume to any of the ones that are available for example, if you ever wanted to play as Old Ben Kenobi, you can, you just select the costume and then exit the pause menu and your done, while the costumes dont provide any boosts or anything as they are purely for show, they can have some enjoyment. At the end of the game you can choose which ending you would like, you can either choose the Sith ending which involves you killing Vader and becoming the Emporers apprentice or you can choose the Jedi ending which means you get to kill the Emporer (or do you????)
To sum it up, Force Unleashed is a good game if you like the Star Wars games although I did beat the game in under 10 hours on the hardest setting but I was more interested in just playing through the story then collecting everything.
I'm Simzy and this has been my review of Star Wars The Force Unleashed.
Peace out.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Borderlands
Borderlands is a First Person Shooter mixed with an RPG style story. You play as 1 of 4 characters which you pick at the start of the game. I chose Siren (Lilith) who uses the Phaseshift Skill which allows you to run fast and avoid groups that may be in your way and can also be used as a weapon itself.
The story is based on the planet of Pandora upon which you are trying to find an alien structure known as "The Vault", as you go through the story you must do quest's in order to find pieces of the "key" to open the vault. The Vault can only be opened once every 200 years and is said to hold many treasures within, which is where you come in. You heard about The Vault and wish to find it, leading you to Pandora and the start of it all.
When you first start you recieve a message from a mysterious woman who will try and guide you to getting to The Vault. Once you get off the bus you meet a very strange robot called CL4P-TRP aka Clap Trap, there are several of these through-out the game, most of which you have to repair, doing so will get you backpack upgrades for your character (trust me you need them). The first town you come to is called Fyrestones, this is where you start doing the quests from, you can also do side quests but only after a few of the main quests via the bounty board. Through the side quests you can new weapons and money for buying ammo storage upgrades, new weapons, sheilds or even health packs. You will also get grenade mods and others as you continue through the game.
While you are going through the game you will notice alot of weapons dropping from your enemies, these can either be sold or you can keep them, if they are better then a current weapon of the same style e.g SMG. You will notice that the weapons have different elemental types and also different level requirement. You will also find that some of the weapons that drop from the bosses will last you for quite a while as most of the others are all lower in stats for them.
Something that annoyed me about it though is the lack of storage, there is none, the only storage you have is what you carry around with you, once its full you have to sell or drop things, ammo doesnt count towards storage. You will however gain upgrades to your storage by repairing clap traps you find that are acting like they are dying (kinda funny to watch).
Most RPG's have a Hard Mode programmed into it which means you have to beat the game first to unlock it, however, Borderlands has a slightly better version, its called Playthrough 2. Everything is alot harder this time through then before, all the levels on creatures are higher so naturally it makes them stronger, a good thing though is that you get to keep all your weapons/items/upgrades/skills from your previous playthrough.
Your skills can all be assigned in the skills menu from which you can pick different ones and if you choose, you can even reset them at a new-u station so you can try another style on them. You can even change the colours of your character at a new-u station.
One thing I have noticed about the online play which uses the GameSpy Arcade network is that it lags, alot, some people have reported about how the game will suddenly disconnect even the host. If you want to play online I highly suggest you use Tunngle, the ammount of Borderlands rooms on it has sure proven that its popular and theres always games you can join in on, will also be alot easier for your friends too, it kinda works like hamachi (although borderlands refuses to let you use hamachi). You just make a lan game or search for one and your away. Alot less lag (barely noticeable) and its a great way to find new ways of doing things.
Overall i think this is a good game to play, it can give you many hours of enjoyment and you get to shoot things :P
Peace for now.
Simzy
Edit: Added part about Tunngle.
The story is based on the planet of Pandora upon which you are trying to find an alien structure known as "The Vault", as you go through the story you must do quest's in order to find pieces of the "key" to open the vault. The Vault can only be opened once every 200 years and is said to hold many treasures within, which is where you come in. You heard about The Vault and wish to find it, leading you to Pandora and the start of it all.
When you first start you recieve a message from a mysterious woman who will try and guide you to getting to The Vault. Once you get off the bus you meet a very strange robot called CL4P-TRP aka Clap Trap, there are several of these through-out the game, most of which you have to repair, doing so will get you backpack upgrades for your character (trust me you need them). The first town you come to is called Fyrestones, this is where you start doing the quests from, you can also do side quests but only after a few of the main quests via the bounty board. Through the side quests you can new weapons and money for buying ammo storage upgrades, new weapons, sheilds or even health packs. You will also get grenade mods and others as you continue through the game.
While you are going through the game you will notice alot of weapons dropping from your enemies, these can either be sold or you can keep them, if they are better then a current weapon of the same style e.g SMG. You will notice that the weapons have different elemental types and also different level requirement. You will also find that some of the weapons that drop from the bosses will last you for quite a while as most of the others are all lower in stats for them.
Something that annoyed me about it though is the lack of storage, there is none, the only storage you have is what you carry around with you, once its full you have to sell or drop things, ammo doesnt count towards storage. You will however gain upgrades to your storage by repairing clap traps you find that are acting like they are dying (kinda funny to watch).
Most RPG's have a Hard Mode programmed into it which means you have to beat the game first to unlock it, however, Borderlands has a slightly better version, its called Playthrough 2. Everything is alot harder this time through then before, all the levels on creatures are higher so naturally it makes them stronger, a good thing though is that you get to keep all your weapons/items/upgrades/skills from your previous playthrough.
Your skills can all be assigned in the skills menu from which you can pick different ones and if you choose, you can even reset them at a new-u station so you can try another style on them. You can even change the colours of your character at a new-u station.
One thing I have noticed about the online play which uses the GameSpy Arcade network is that it lags, alot, some people have reported about how the game will suddenly disconnect even the host. If you want to play online I highly suggest you use Tunngle, the ammount of Borderlands rooms on it has sure proven that its popular and theres always games you can join in on, will also be alot easier for your friends too, it kinda works like hamachi (although borderlands refuses to let you use hamachi). You just make a lan game or search for one and your away. Alot less lag (barely noticeable) and its a great way to find new ways of doing things.
Overall i think this is a good game to play, it can give you many hours of enjoyment and you get to shoot things :P
Peace for now.
Simzy
Edit: Added part about Tunngle.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Risen
Risen is an RPG based around the main character who, for some unknown reason, you never find out his name, who has been stranded on a remote island. The company who published this is Deep Silver, whom in the past also published Sacred 2 (I'll review Sacred 2 at a later date hopefully).
In the first cut-scene you see you and Sara sneaking around on a small ship in the middle of stormy seas. As you and Sara get to deck, you see the Inquisitor, calling out to a Titan in the seas. The giant Titan rises through the waves, shrieking at the Inquisitor. The Inquisitor tries to battle the creature, but he loses and teleports off of the boat (talk about getting your priorities right) . Seconds later the Titan smashes the boat into pieces, sending Sara and you into the depths. You wakes up on the shores of Faranga in the midst of the storm, surrounded by dead bodies (thank god your not one of them). Both you and Sara are unharmed.
You soon learn about combat and as you make your way inland you also learn about restoring your health by using healing plants which you can find all over the island. Soon you come to an abbandoned house at which you and Sara rest and she decide's to stay for a bit leaving you to continue exploring. Once you get futher inland you meet a man named Jan who can help you get to either the bandit camp or the main city. The choice is yours and he doesnt really have any use other then to help direct you to them.
Soon you will come to a part in the game where you get to make your choice about your profession, Bandit, Knight of the Order or a Mage, all 3 have different quest lines although they all meet at 1 common point in the game. I chose to become a mage but also did some work in the bandit camp first to get some experience and gold before i went to the city (makes it easier because you can get a couple of levels of experience and some training in camp before you go to the city). Once youve got free roam of the island (its best to choose a profession first and do the main quests for it before you go out exploring) you can pretty much go anywhere you like and also do numerous quests or just run around killing things.
The combat system is pretty good as you can use a variety of weapons such as sword's, axe's, bow's, crossbow's and staves. You can find trainers for all these in the different areas of the island and as you progress each one you learn new techniques such as parry or even wielding a 2 handed sword in 1 hand. As a mage you can also progress your magic spells to make them cast quicker and become more powerfull.
Another thing you can learn is prospecting, smithing, gold smithing and alchemy so you can make some new weapons with things you prospect using smithing, new rings and amulets using gold smithing and potions with the alchemy talents. All of which people can train you in so you can become better at them to make better things.
The main story consist's of 4 chapters with chapter 2 being the longest and 3 and 4 passing pretty quickly, it's also based around ruin's which have risen from the ground all over the island so if you want to be a bit of a treasure hunter you can go and search them to see what you can find and sell or even use.
In the end you have to fight a Titan which can be quite easy to beat once you know how (no i wont tell you, you will have to find that out yourself) but dont worry you still have to find certain things first before you can go against it (this is where the treasure hunting comes in) and once youve got what you need you can go fight it if you want.
Something you may notice as you play through is achievement's unlocking, I have no clue what their use is as you cannot link it to a Games For Windows account yet they seem to on the Xbox 360 version (from what ive been able to find out atleast) so my guess is that they are just for show when you show people the game.
To summarize, Risen can be a good game if you want to try something new but dont expect it to take you a week to complete, the combat system and character improvement is pretty decent compared to some games although could be better. The story could have been done better like actually giving your character a name. It should have been longer, perhaps more chapters or atleast making 3 and 4 longer then what they was instead of having them so that just as you start getting into them you end up in the next one.
Thats my review of Risen, I am your host Simzy, thanks for reading and I bid you adieu untill my next review.
In the first cut-scene you see you and Sara sneaking around on a small ship in the middle of stormy seas. As you and Sara get to deck, you see the Inquisitor, calling out to a Titan in the seas. The giant Titan rises through the waves, shrieking at the Inquisitor. The Inquisitor tries to battle the creature, but he loses and teleports off of the boat (talk about getting your priorities right) . Seconds later the Titan smashes the boat into pieces, sending Sara and you into the depths. You wakes up on the shores of Faranga in the midst of the storm, surrounded by dead bodies (thank god your not one of them). Both you and Sara are unharmed.
You soon learn about combat and as you make your way inland you also learn about restoring your health by using healing plants which you can find all over the island. Soon you come to an abbandoned house at which you and Sara rest and she decide's to stay for a bit leaving you to continue exploring. Once you get futher inland you meet a man named Jan who can help you get to either the bandit camp or the main city. The choice is yours and he doesnt really have any use other then to help direct you to them.
Soon you will come to a part in the game where you get to make your choice about your profession, Bandit, Knight of the Order or a Mage, all 3 have different quest lines although they all meet at 1 common point in the game. I chose to become a mage but also did some work in the bandit camp first to get some experience and gold before i went to the city (makes it easier because you can get a couple of levels of experience and some training in camp before you go to the city). Once youve got free roam of the island (its best to choose a profession first and do the main quests for it before you go out exploring) you can pretty much go anywhere you like and also do numerous quests or just run around killing things.
The combat system is pretty good as you can use a variety of weapons such as sword's, axe's, bow's, crossbow's and staves. You can find trainers for all these in the different areas of the island and as you progress each one you learn new techniques such as parry or even wielding a 2 handed sword in 1 hand. As a mage you can also progress your magic spells to make them cast quicker and become more powerfull.
Another thing you can learn is prospecting, smithing, gold smithing and alchemy so you can make some new weapons with things you prospect using smithing, new rings and amulets using gold smithing and potions with the alchemy talents. All of which people can train you in so you can become better at them to make better things.
The main story consist's of 4 chapters with chapter 2 being the longest and 3 and 4 passing pretty quickly, it's also based around ruin's which have risen from the ground all over the island so if you want to be a bit of a treasure hunter you can go and search them to see what you can find and sell or even use.
In the end you have to fight a Titan which can be quite easy to beat once you know how (no i wont tell you, you will have to find that out yourself) but dont worry you still have to find certain things first before you can go against it (this is where the treasure hunting comes in) and once youve got what you need you can go fight it if you want.
Something you may notice as you play through is achievement's unlocking, I have no clue what their use is as you cannot link it to a Games For Windows account yet they seem to on the Xbox 360 version (from what ive been able to find out atleast) so my guess is that they are just for show when you show people the game.
To summarize, Risen can be a good game if you want to try something new but dont expect it to take you a week to complete, the combat system and character improvement is pretty decent compared to some games although could be better. The story could have been done better like actually giving your character a name. It should have been longer, perhaps more chapters or atleast making 3 and 4 longer then what they was instead of having them so that just as you start getting into them you end up in the next one.
Thats my review of Risen, I am your host Simzy, thanks for reading and I bid you adieu untill my next review.
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