Final Fantasy XIII

Posted in Game Review, Random Things on March 13th, 2010 by Matthew Carlton

Well I bought Final Fantasy XIII for the xBox 360 on Tuesday, I’ll be popping it in later today for the first time.  I hope it’s not awful.  I’ll let you know …

Game Lists and Game Thoughts

Posted in Game Review, Personal Update, Reviews, Updates on June 25th, 2009 by Matthew Carlton

I’m trying to keep more current on the xBox gaming world, and with that knowledge I plan to make a few lists…

Games I want to play:

  • Ghostbusters
  • Red Faction: Guerrilla

Games that I’m looking forward to:

  • Dead Rising 2
  • Left 4 Dead 2
  • Modern Warefare 2
  • Brutal Legend *Edit*

Games I currently enjoy:

  • Orange Box: Portal
  • Left 4 Dead
  • Castle Crashers

xBox things I don’t care to ever set my eyes on:

  • Project Natal
  • Rockband: Beatles

Why wouldn’t I want to rock out with one the best bands ever?  Well because the same reason I’d not want to rock out with Led Zeppelin or other band specific title.  I already know the music and I find no satisfaction playing Hello, Goodbye or Hey Jude on my tricked out Beatles inspired guitar.  I would be bored to tears as really let’s face it … how can you make a game about rocking out and feature the Beatles?

On the flip side I recently played through Portal that I neglected ever since I picked up the Orange Box over a year ago.  Shame on me for not playing that sooner, it was very enjoyable and I now know the cake is a lie.  My favorite sequence is by far when I realized that I was getting dumped into a pit of fire and had to do something.  Grade A fun, I hope they make something to follow, maybe a Portal 2?

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xBox360: Left 4 Dead

Posted in Game Review, Reviews on June 23rd, 2009 by Matthew Carlton
252px-Left4Dead_Windows_cover

Left 4 Dead

I know Left 4 Dead isn’t a new release, however with the news that Left 4 Dead 2 is on its way I thought I’d take time to write a few things about the game.  Who doesn’t love a first person zombie apocalypse game?  We’ve seen our fair share, but in recent memory this is one of my favorites followed by Dead Rising, who also has a sequel coming our way.

I enjoy the way Valve put together the stories in this game, setting them up as rad “B” movies with cheesy tag lines.  It offers 4 different stories/movies to play, they can all be played on xBox Live with others and it also has a mode where you can play as the infected.  It offers several fun achievements, which still have me occupied.

For those who may want to take out a rough day on some mindless zombies I suggest you pick up this game and get to work.

Video Game Review: Halo Wars

Posted in Game Review, Reviews on June 15th, 2009 by Matthew Carlton
Halo_wars

Halo Wars

I’ve not been an avid Halo player nor do I know the plot very well, however I am a fan of Real Time Strategy (RTS) games.  I’ve played several well known IP’s like Warcraft, Starcraft, and Command and Conquer.  When I heard the now defunct Ensemble Studios was developing a Halo based RTS I was a bit skeptical for one I never really enjoyed the Age of Empires games and I wasn’t very confident that an RTS would be very playable on the xBox 360.

I was surprised at the easy of game play in Halo Wars all the units on the whole map were able to be controlled with one button, where as the units just shown on your screen could be controlled with another.  The simple how-to’s and tutorials in the opening campaigns were easy to follow and they made game easy to pick up.  However the story line was one sided as the game itself only followed the UNSC (United Nations Space Command).  The Flood and Covenant have no playable campaigns and thus makes the game’s story feel unfinished; you can however play as the Covenant in the multiplayer mode.

Over all the game was enjoyable and easy to play, I would have liked to have seen more of the story focusing on the Covenant and Flood.  Maybe they’ll have a fallow up … I’m not one to speculate, but considering the founders of Ensemble created Robot Entertainment we may see more in the future.

-3.5 out of 5 Stars

Halo Wars – Offical Website

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