Presentation: GoldenEye 007: Reloaded is based off of 2010′s Wii incarnation GoldenEye 007. The Wii version of the game was loosely based off of the classic Rare title GoldenEye 64 (1997). So basically GoldenEye: Reloaded is a remake of a remake of a classic game. Gone is Pierce Brosman and in comes Daniel Craig as the lead protagonist of GoldenEye 007: Reloaded. Updated visuals and alternative gamemodes are really the only shining beacon of differentiation when comparing Reloaded to its Wii counterpart. As far as my history with James Bond is concerned I believed I have seen every movie. Some better than others in my opinion. My father and brother are real fans of the series (they know each musician that are featured in every film). Now that is hardcore.

Getting back to this game’s presentation I have to say its flat out lacking in a few key areas. Number one is the AI. GoldenEye 007 wants to give you the option to play stealthy but immediately takes it away by an AI that can magically hear and see at super human levels. Bodies disappearing right in front of my eyes after I killed them. Lack of imaginative gadgets that makes James Bond James Bond. All you have is a smartphone that can hack, take pictures etc. Level design and missions had a major lack of imagination. After the first two chapters it seemed the game had an itch to have me run through burning crumbling buildings on my way to the next chapter.

Level design on many maps were so linear they made Call of Duty look like Crysis. The visuals had an HD upgrade but still looked extremely washed out for a Playstation 3 game (the system I played the game on). Waxy faces and bad animations ripped any kind of life the characters might have had. The music was good at times but the drab uninspired voice acting was inadequate. The saving grace for this game’s presentation wasn’t the multiplayer (which many people just don’t play) it was the gunplay. Despite a horrid cover syustem shooting felt great throughout, very quick twitch and light.

The title screen had menu tabs of Single Player, MI6 Ops, Multiplayer, Options and Extras. The menu interface was good and had a nice James Bond vibe associated with it. The controls via the Dual Shock 3: LS-sprint/move, D-pad-inventory, L1-throw secondary, L2-ADS, Select-scoreboard, RS-melee, Square-use/reload, X-vault/climb, O-crouch, Triangle-switch weapon and R1-throw primary. The controls are solid. Shooting was visceral but a little too easy with the default auto-aim on. Sprinting stopping and shooting was no problem. I must say the reloading animations are slow and got me killed a few times. You can’t rely on cover in the single player campaign when reloading.

Story: GoldenEye: Reloaded is about “Janus” aka 006 and his plans for a high tech bank heist involving two satellites. The story is nothing like the movie or even GoldenEye 64 for that matter. The story just didn’t resonate with me at all. James ends up saving the woman and beats the bad guy in the end.

Visuals: Despite this game looking better than its Wii sub HD counterpart it still features static and washed out textures for a Playstation 3 game. The in-game cutscenes featured waxy looking character models. The gun models were good. The explosions didn’t look that good. The draw distance and diversity in settings particularily the snowy Siberia setting looked good. With that said the game still seems dead and lifeless to me for some reason. This game would have looked good four years ago lets leave it at that.

Sound: Classic James Bond orchestra tunes are present and provide fanfare. The actual in-game sound design wasn’t that good. The voice actors and dialog needed improvement.

Gameplay: Its a shooter. You run to marker to marker the entire campaign through mostly linear chapters. As far as guns are concerned there were quite a few like the Strata SV-400, AK-47 and Torka T3 I enjoyed. The checkpoint system used in GoldenEye 007: needs more frequent checking. The bossfights were all uninspired featuring either waves of enemies or badly constructed QTE fight sequences. Much of the gameplay can be called uninspired except the gunplay which was solid. The best in-game sequence came in the form of a tank driving chapter in Saint Petersburg Russia. I mentioned how bad the cover works in this game already. I also mentioned the bad AI.

Level diversity and setting are strong points in GoldenEye 007. You span the globe from Siberia to the jungles of Nigeria and Dubai. The actual level design on each setting remained the same pretty much that being really linear. The stealth gameplay never actually worked. You could not run through a chapter totally stealth like you can in Metal Gear Solid per say. The AI always magically finds you. There are ventilation ducts on many of the levels that make avoiding gunfights easier. The hacking of turrets was a nice added gameplay element that helped me near the end of the game. For the most part the gameplay and world was static and uninspired throughout.

Replayability: There are collectibles scattered throughout the single player campaighn where you shoot emblems. The campaign itself lasts over ten hours. MI6 Ops lets you replay all of the chapters from the single player campaign. You play to score points and attain high ranking stars. GoldenEye 007: Reloaded boasts a diverse multiplayer but many people on PSN just don’t bother with it. I did find a few deathmatch games just yesterday which was a good sign. Some of the gamemodes includes Blackbox, GoldenEye and Heroes. Some maps include Archives, Docks and Facility. You can also set up a Private match and adjust modifiers if you choose. You can manage loadouts and clan tags. For the most part the multiplayer has all of the bells and whistles that an avaerage multiplayer first person shooter will have.

The problem with the multiplayer are two main things which revolve around so little number of gamers play this and the fact it has major technical issues. The multiplayer matches I played online had bad connection issues and often times would shut-off mid-game. The latter is frustrating when you wait a long time to find a match. The multiplayer was fun in spurts but is no way a go-to type of multiplayer game in my opinion. The Golden Gun and Heroes gamemodes were two of the most fun multiplayer modes but took forever to find enough players to start matches. You can also play split-screen multiplayer like the good old days. As far as content and replayability goes I would say GoldenEye 007 is pretty good.

Final Verdict: GoldenEye 007 Reloaded is a good game  that does some decent fanfare for the fans of James Bond. This game could have been a very good to great game if it had more imagination and polish. The game just has a static look and feel about it that I just did not enjoy.

7/10 

And The Lost Expeditions: Hunter Pack, Predator Pack and Warrior Pack and last but not least the Insane Vaas wahine doll. Far Cry 3 is flying under the radar this year due to other bigger releases this fall. However I am a big fan of open world first person shooters which Far Cry 3 happens to be so I am excited about what the single player campaign will bring. Despite its bugs I really enjoyed Far Cry 2 and like the direction Far Cry 3 appears to be taking. Thanks GamerSpawn.

Fez centers around Gomez (protagonist) who one day receives a visit from a mysterious being instructing Gomez to collect  cube fragments or else the Universe will collapse. No choice but to help right? So Fez is a game about collecting gold cubes in a nutshell. Its much more than that don’t worry. The title screen showcased the following menu tabs: Start, New Game, Leaderboards, Achievements, Help & Options, Unlock Full Game and Exit Game. I then checked the default button layout courtesy of the Xbox 360 gamepad: LS/D-pad-move, LB-rotate left, Back-world map, Start-pause, RS-look, A-jump, B-talk, Y-inventory, X-action and RB-rotate right. If you noticed the bumper button’s commands in regards to right or left that is how you merge/change dimensions in Fez. As far as the controls go they felt ok. I have the impression the controls are slow to fit Fez’s world and not so much the gamer’s quick twitch style.

Levels are usually tower shaped and requires you to find cubes and unlock doors which in turn lets you progress to the next stage. You traverse levels by climbing vines, jumping, pushing crates onto levers and pushing pivots to line-up ladders. The HUD on-screen keeps track of keys and cube pieces collected. The levels themselves have a tranquil calm vibe about them. Its true they are 16-bit visuals. You can explore the levels rotating deminsions and whatnot. The atmosphere was nice as you hear wind, birds and the occasional tranquil music play out. The visuals are pure 16-bit as you see shadows cascade from clouds from the day and night cycle each level employs. Exploring rewards you with treasure chests.

I can’t emphasize the nostalgia factor enough with Fez. Although the puzzle dimension gameplay is current gen fare the presentation really isn’t. At times I felt as if I was playing The Legend of Zelda and Super Mario Bros as I was figuring out puzzles and collecting cube fragments. I know those two games from a gameplay perspective are nothing like Fez it has to do more with the sound design and sense of accomplishment as I figured out puzzles and collected “gold” cubes. At any-rate I am a old school gamer so I naturally appreciated the nostalgic ride the demo gave me. The demo did a good job at showing diversity of settings and puzzles. None of the puzzles were difficult but really fun and addicting nonetheless.

The first puzzle tower I played was really straightforward. You just had to hit the right and left bumper a few times to make it up to the top collecting all cubes as you reach the first door. The next area had quite a few doors each involving full cubes to unlock. The room with the doors is like a hub if you will and led to many more puzzle rooms. The levels in the demo were quite diversified. Some levels had water below you could swim in. Other levels were dark and linear in nature. The puzzles for the most part were all interesting and required different means to solving them. Platforming was pretty good as well and rounded out the gameplay.

If you ever played Where is My Heart? you will enjoy Fez’s 3D dimensional puzzle gameplay and tranquil world. It retails for 800msp. Thanks for reading.

However, I wouldn’t be surprised if Danger Close ditched that in favor of what is “hot” these days. Judging from the looks of it it looks like we will be visiting the Philippines which appears to be the focus of this particular trailer. Medal of Honor: Warfighter is a first person shooter developed by Danger Close and published by Electronic Arts. The game will be available on the PC, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 October 23, 2012. Thanks GamerSpawn.

The gameplay judging from the trailer has  free running and stealth mechanics. You can use magics as well swords for combat. The game is in first person. I am saying it now gamers, just keep an eye on Dishonored if you’re a real fan of adventure games. It has a chance to surprise. Dishonored was developed by Arkane Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks for the PC, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. The game drops October 9, 2012. Thanks GamerSpawn.

I managed to see a few new takedowns for Batman and Robin during the video.  Batman Arkham City was one of the best games to release last year let alone the best Batman game to ever be created so this DLC is welcomed. Batman: Arkham City Harley Quin’s Revenge DLC drops May 29 for the PC, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. If you want to read a really good Batman: Arkham City review I suggest you visit Video Games Source, Thanks GamerSpawn for the video.

I have some history with Max Payne. Besides watching the Mark Wahlberg movie I have completed both games on my original Xbox. This time I am playing the game on my Playstation 3. The first thing I noticed was the long install time of Max Payne 3. I didn’t check to see the file size however I haven’t had to wait this long for a install in a long time. Upon start up you see a cutscene of Max moving into his new apartment in Sao Paulo Brazil. Voice dialog and music immediately brings me back regarding Max Payne’s noire. Max talks about a “new start” amongst other things during the opening cutscene which gives you a really good indication as to what kind of a man Max Payne is. After the cutscene your now at the main menu screen showing a animated image of Max Payne drinking and smoking a cigarette. The menus include: Story, Arcade, Multiplayer, Settings and Playstation Store. The main menu screen also has a Social Club and News area to explore with Start and R1 L1 buttons respectively.

Next I choose Settings and wrote down the default button layout for the Dual Shock 3: LS-move, Select-attachments, D-pad-pain killer, camera toggle, quick turn, L3-crouch/prone, L1-weapon wheel, L2-shoulder aim, Start-pause, RS-camera, X-sprint, vault, roll, Square-cover, Circle-reload, Triangle-interact, R3-bulletime, R1-shoot dodge and R2-fire. At first I was messing up with the controls since I haven’t played a Max Payne game since my Xbox days. As I settled in I was taking cover, using the weapon wheel and engaging bulletime like it was nobody’s business.  The controls are solid so far. I love shooting while prone full 360 degrees. Max Payne 3 doesn’t totally feel like the older Max Paynes per say, that is due to the new cover system I am thinking.

I then choose Story to get the campaign started. The Story menu tabs broke down into New, Continue, Chapter Select and Grinds (achievements/trophies). Difficulty comes in the form of Easy, Medium, Hard, Hardcore and Old School. I choose Medium just so I can run through the game and get it reviewed at a respectable date. Next up was Targeting which gave me the choices of Hard Lock, Soft Lock and Free Aim. I choose Soft Lock which locks hard in my opinion. I could imagine what Hard Lock feels like. As for the chapters I completed they were Something Rotten In The Air, Nothing But The Second Best and Just Another Day At The Office. I am currently at the beginning of Chapter 4: Anyone Can Me A Drink which is a flashback sequence telling us why Max had to leave New Jersey.

As for the story so far it revolves around the main protagonist we all know and love Max Payne. Max became a bodyguard after hooking up with a long time associate Raul Pesos (hope I spelled his name right). Max moves down to Sao Paulo Brazil and becomes a hired bodyguard for a rich business man named Rodrigo Branco. Max is more in charge of protecting his wife Fabiana more than anything. Gangs have tried to kidnap her in the first chapter and was actually successful in the second chapter. The third chapter was to negotiate her release by giving her captures 3 million dollars but things went wrong badly for Max and Raul. As for a overall synopis of the first three chapters you have shootouts with gangs in a penthouse, a nightclub and a big futball stadium (I am American btw).

The gameplay is a mash-up of cover based shooting and using bulletime. You have to take pain killers to restore health and searching around for clues like celeb magazines and dropped photos fleshes out the missions. There are also golden gun collectibles in each mission that you can find. There are scenes where Max must use bulletime on moving helicopters and other times when he was  protecting Raul in the Futball stadium. The gameplay doesn’t really add nothing spectacularly new to the series but is nonetheless fun and quite visceral due to the updated visuals and sound design.

The main thing I can say about the gameplay is that its addicting so far. When you get your last kill the screen transitions into a slo-mo kill cam that really brings out the gore and hit detection system in Max Payne 3. The guns I played with range from Uzis, pistols, small machine guns, shotguns and sniper rifles (so far). Yes you can mix and match some guns for dual wielding which I have done. Every gun does have a distinct feel with Max acting accordingly in a realistic manner when using different weapons depending on size and weight.  Playing through the first couple chapters I can really appreciate Max Payne’s presentation. Its strong in my opinion like every other Rockstar game.

The atmosphere is thick but not as dark (so far). The visuals are impressive showcasing nice textures in-game as well in cutscenes. There were some clear framerate issues during some cutscenes and big shoot-out sequences but not many. Overall I would say the game runs really good despite the hiccups. The music is really good along with the voice actors so far. The world has that glow like previous Rockstar games have. So far I would say the first couple of chapters in Max Payne 3′s single player are action based and gives us little in the way of story. I know this is a methodical game and the story will heat up eventually. Overall, so far, so good gamers. Thanks for reading.

Spec Ops: The Line’s title screen shows Demo and Options. The controls are default for the Dual Shock 3: LS-move/crouch, RS-look/aim, D-pad-grenade type, secondary fire, next grenade, Select-show intel, L1-aim, L2-throw grenade, Start-menus, R1-shoot, R2-command squad, Triangle-switch weapon, O-melee/vault, Y-cover/sprint/context actions, Square-reload/pick up. If you played Gears of War or Uncharted Spec Ops has a similar gameplay style. However I thought Spec Ops had a more complicated button layout which felt odd compared to Gears of War and Uncharted’s more streamlined layout. I’m not saying the controls are bad they are decent. Aiming, shooting diving into cover and vaulting over cover was pretty fluid. Giving orders to squadmates takes some getting used to.

I choose Combat Ops for my difficulty and got the demo started. The demo opens up with a flashback on-rails helicopter sequence with you manning a chaingun in third person. You take out helicopters over Dubai in extreme action movie fashion with huge explosions, dust storms and destroyed skyscrapers in the distance. Eventually you go down in your chopper and the scene transitions to present time. Now you play the role of protagonist Captain Martin Walker along with Lugo and Adams who are in search of John Conrad (the guy who went down in the chopper). Early gameplay was a tutorial that took place outside of a destroyed Dubai. You learn the basics like marking targets and giving orders to Lugo and Adams. You learn how to use the enviroment (sand) as a tactical advantage as well.

You fight against rebels in the first portion of the demo and then PMC soldiers in the second part. I really like the setting in Spec Ops: The Line. You fight in a wrecked airliner, around skyscrapers (outside and inside). Level design did seem compact often times with the AI getting in your way literally. The AI wasn’t very good in this game that much is clear.  Collectibles include Intel scattered about. There are in-game cutscenes and quite a bit of voiced dialog during missions and after missions. The story doesn’t seem engaging. I know there are two rival factions involved and they are both trying to kill off Martin Walker and his team. Dubai is in a current civil war like state.

The demo did a really nice job at showing gameplay and in particular the guns. Some of the guns I played with during the demo included: AK-47, MHA1,Uzis, Pistol, W1300 Shotgun, M249 SAW, UMP 45 and a Sniper Rifle. You can attatch silencers on some of the guns in-game. The guns felt and performed decent. If you are wondering you have to play the second part of the demo Chapter 5 “The Edge” to get the Sniper Rifle, SAW and UMP 45. After you shoot some enemies you can perform executions with your gun or fist by pressing O when they are on the ground.  The wildest enemy is a guy with a knife who dodges bullets like a maniac and just runs at you. You can revive fallen squad-mates in-game. I did not die once so I am not sure if the AI revives you but I am pretty sure they will.

The missions included stuff like locating a distress beacon and rescuing and evacing Alpha company. The main goal initially is to rescue John Conrad. You know how these games go, the story and mission will change as the story unfolds. Spec-Ops: The Line does have a real sense of scope and scale during some repelling down skyscraper sequences. Fighting in destroyed Dubai with the sand storms and the ability to use sand as a weapon adds a small unique gameplay element to Spec Ops: The Line. As for the graphics they were ok during in-game except for the waxy faces visuals. The game has that Unreal Engine depth of field blur also. Textures up close are decent. The sound design was good. You do get a good sense of scale regarding shootouts. The music also brings out the game’s atmosphere and was presented nicely.

To sum up the demo I thought it was better than I had initially thought it might be. The demo does have a good length showcasing  many of Spec Ops: The Line’s  gameplay elements and story. The game appears to be rough around the edges from a performance perspective judging from the demo. Its still a good demo and hopefully game when it ships. Thanks for reading.

As soon as you land on the opening title screen a gamer picture unlocks. The cool catchy background music for Trials Evolution gets you ready to play. The main menu screen incorporated Single Player, Multiplayer, Track Central, Leaderboards, Achievements, Help & Options, Unlock Full Game, Recommendations and Exit Game. Menus and navigation was no problem. The controls are via the Xbox 360 gamepad: LS/D-pad-lean forward/backward, LT-brake, Back-restart race, Start-pause, X-brake, A-gas, B-return to last checkpoint, Y-bailout and RT-gas. The default button layout is similar to the previous game however controlling your bike feels more accurate. Maybe the physics engine had a upgrade I don’t know.

As far as demos go Trials Evolution has loads of content. You can play through multiple events/types including D License Test, C License Test, Skill Game and Circus Icurus Race. There are multiple races and tracks tied to each type of event. Some tracks are more normal in design and some over the top. One event has you rolling a ball around a track like Super Monkey Ball style with traps all around. Another track had me placed in a WWII battlezone. Explosions and gunfire were going off as I achieved mad air off ramps. Trials Evolution has a strong identity regards to its imagination. One thing I can say is that this game will probably never be boring to play.

When you access the Single Player tab on the menu it breaks down to the following subtabs: Go Race, Garage and Stats. Garage breaks down into: My Rider, My Bike, Headware, Top and New Bikes. The Garage serves as your hub for keeping tracks of your customization. As you complete events and win money you can purchase a multitude of upgrades for your rider and bike. Its too bad I couldn’t access the track editor. I understand its a deep editor that can make a diverse selection of game genres. Think Litle Big Planet 2 level editor.

Trials Evolution has a great presentation judging from the demo. The gameplay is just flat out fun not to mention exciting and addicting. Even in the demo I couldn’t get enough of the explosions, music and sick stunts. The physics are wild in this game. Some of the crashes will have you laughing. Like I alluded to earlier the music was really good as well the sound design in-game. The visuals look a little better from a texture and color palette standpoint compared to the last game. Although I can’t access all of the content the demo did have good content as far as tracks and events are concerned. The full game has 2-4 player multiplayer (online and off). There are plenty of Challenges to unlock. You can download top-rated tracks. Look i’m not selling myself on this game I was sold the second I put the controller down after the demo.

If you are on the fence regarding Trials Evolution get off it and buy the game. You won’t be disappointed. Thanks for reading.

The title screen had menus that consisted of Start Game, Play Online and Art Gallery. When you select Start Game the tabs break down into Story Mode and Sandbox Mode. I decided to play Story Mode first to see how it differs from Dead Rising 2. The story mode in Dead Rising 2: Off The Record starts off showing the rise and failure of Frank West after the events of Willamette. Much like in the beginning of Dead Rising 2 Frank takes part in TK’s game show just as Chuck Greene did. You have to make zombies crawl into a meat grinder. Frank is dressed in a wrestling suit and the fight takes place in a wrestling ring.

The events that started after seems like a copy paste game. That being copying Frank West and putting him in Chuck Green’s place. The latter has to do with most of the cutscenes that take place early in the game. Also keep in mind I only played thirty minutes of the story so things could always change. TK is behind the plot as you take Frank behind the scenes with his camera and take photos of TK. The photo gameplay is back from Dead Rising. The game is very similar to Dead Rising 2. You need to find Zombrex and find out what TK is up to. The odd thing is that the story of Off The Record happens the exact same time as Dead Rising 2.

Just like in Dead Rising 2 you must rescue survivors and collect combo cards and use work benches to create wild weapons. There are checkpoint saves and normal restroom saves from previous Dead Risings. Time is of the essence and drop in and out co-op is available for the story campaign. I couldn’t for the life of me find a co-op partner on PSN. I played Dead Rising 2 co-op and loved it. You can take photos for money and XP. Special PP Posters nets you big money and XP.  There were big performance issues like framrates and stuttering in Dead Rising 2: Off The Record. The visuals also didn’t look the best for some reason.

After putting half of my allotted hour into the story campaign I jumped into Sandbox Mode. Sandbox Mode is the reason you should buy Dead Rising 2: Off The Record in my opinion. Sandbox Mode is a open world mode with no time limits. Crazy survivors roam the city and there are special Challenges you can complete. Completing Challenges provides rewards. The first Challenge you encounter is Rooftop Massacre. The opening cutscene shows Frank being dropped on a roof and yelling “This is my Vacation”. The atmosphere is fun and wacky in Sandbox Mode. Soon after completing my first Challenge I ran into a crazed survivor named Gordon who I killed.

I was able to make a Saw Launcher and kill about 500 zombies before the game shut off. Sandbox Mode was fun and totally felt different than the story campaign. I felt free to experiment and cause chaos in Fortune City. You have no time limits or Zombrex to take. You just explore Fortune City and make crazy weapons, and oh yea, kill zombies. Dead Rising 2: Off The Record would be a deal at $10.00. As of now the price is too high in my opinion. Thanks for reading.