Dynasty Warriors 6 (PS3/360)

Hurray Koei brings us another gem in the bread basket of their sales we call the Romance Era of China. Technically the 6th of the seires (actually more like the 411th or something like that) the game has a good amount of new features.

Gameplay: So the basic control of DW games is kill maim slaughter, and hack slash shoot and beat...until all the bad people are dead or running away to be killed later. Normally you'd go through getting weapons or level to earn you a new series of combos which is still there but now there is the Renbu system. Which works like this...the more combo you build up the higher your rank goes allowing you to get new moves if you've purchased the ablility to rank up to add to your maiming attack string. This means the more people you beat up the more people you can beat up which is a fun system. 4/5

Story: The story is the same as always a twisted version of the novel and historical events. So I'll talk about Story mode or Musuo mode which you'll take controll of a various historical character and play through 6 stages...the funny thing is some characters are little more than do nothing second player or free mode characters despite their historical weight...Koei gets weird somethimes... 3/5

Graphics: The graphics are at there best and a true test of the systems capabilities. Enviroments are alive and active. Character models are bright flush and interesting. Animation and cut scenes are on the same graphical level as the game which adds a nice feel to it. 5/5

Audio: The music is a little random some stages having a heavy metal theme with changes to a triumphant march as soon as your team starts when and then to Oh my god save me! as soo as they start losing all in all tho is rather good. 4/5

Replay: The stages and objectives can be tricky adding alot of replay value for those who like a challenge. The multitude of stories from the various characters and the ability to see history from different angles also helps. Though not as much in previous titles the game does have a good amount of reply. 4/5

Overall: The game is good definately one of the better in the series and with fresh and fun gameplay elements it has a lot to offer but at times it feels like they rushed it out half finished. Many of the characters not having stories the greater lack of the normal giant library of unlockables and this and that here and there make you wonder if they didn't just wanna get it out on time. Either way its a fun game worth getting for fans of hack & slash or the Romance era of china or people in silly crazy clothes hurting other people in silly crazy clothes. 4/5

The Simpsons Game (all systems except PC)

So I know it's been out for a while, but today I'm going to review The Simpsons Game.

Story: You're the Simpsons. You go on various escapades. It's nothing deep and thought provoking. 3/5

Audio: The sound is from the tv series. Also characters will randomly start spouting lines. Not just the characters you control, but the people walking around in the streets. All of it using the Simpsons' voice actors, so it feels like you might be in Springfield. It's good audio. 5/5

Graphics: There are moments where the graphics look great, just like an episode of the game, and then there are times when they look like hastily drawn cartoons. Still, the environments are fully drawn, and there are lots of references to the show. It looks good overall. 4/5

Gameplay: The gameplay is fairly straight forward. It's all running, jumping, climbing, punching, special abilities..etc etc. Special abilities need items to be used, and when they reach a certain point you can charge them for extra strength. It's easy enough to master. 4/5

Replay: The levels all have hidden items, as does Springfield itself (which you explore between levels) and there's a time trial too. So it's worth going back and playing the levels again. 4/5

Overall: The game is a great fan tribute, and if you like the Simpsons, this is worth picking up. If you're not so fond of the Simpsons, you probably wouldn't like it as much, and if you've never watched the Simpsons, a lot of the references wil pass you by. 4/5

No post

I'm having a bad week, and the game I have to review doesn't interest me, so there's no post this week.

Nights: Journey into Dreams (wii)

So, Superbowl Sunday, and I have a non football related game for you. Today's game is Nights.

Story: You are either a boy or a girl and are drawn into the world of dreams. There you meet Nights, a carefree androgynous being who likes to fly around. He gets in trouble, you rescue him, you fly around trying to save the dream world. Not exactly story of the year. 3/5

Audio: The music has a surreal, cutesy, dreamlike feel to it. i can't explain it exactly, but it suits the game so no complaints. 4/5

Graphics: The game has cutscenes which look good, and the non cutscenes aren't bad, but they aren't amazing. Still, the environment is fully developed and looks good. 4/5

Gameplay: Nights offers you the choice of controller. I made due with the wiimote, but shortly in i seriously considered switching to a gamecube controller. When you play as the little kid, the game isnt' too hard to control, but then you merge your kid with Nights and you fly. Flying is not that intuitive. Supposedly you are suppose to point where you want to go and you'll go. This happened sometimes, and then my sensor sent me to the other side of the screen and i started flying the the wrong direction. Of course you might say this is a wiimote issue or sensor bar issue, and so it might be and i'm not gonna complain too much. What did annoy me while flying was trying to do this one attack which name slips me now. Basically you're supposed to loop the cursor around and Nights does a vortex that sucks in enemies and items. Often when i told it to circle i flew back and forht and did not do the attack. Sometimes I'd od the attack without knowing why. I think a gamecube controlle would make it much better. Anyhow, the game basically has you walk around as a kid or fly around as Nights, going through loops and hunting down enemies. It's nothing deep or thought provoking. 3/5

Replay: I don't see a point. 2/5

Overall: The game is bright and colorful and friendly, so if you have a wii and want something to distract kids, this might be it. But I wouldn't recommend it for most people. 2/5