The 30 second review thread

[Chamsie]

Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway - (PS3, 360, PC - September 23, 2008 - FPS) - 3.0

WW2 FPS with squad based RTS elements that takes place during Operation Market Garden. I am reviewing the 360 version. Game is fun to play through and really shines when you are commanding your squads. Graphics get the job done and are above average. The game suffers from poor enemy AI and very repetitive gameplay. The segments of the game where you are not in command of a squad seem to really fall short. Having not played the previous two games in the series, I did not enjoy the story much. Definitely worth a rent.

[wild_whiskey]

Valkyria Chronicles - (PS3 - November 4, 2008 - Strategy RPG) - 4.5

This gem is a real adventure for anyone curious enough to give it a try. Gameplay is a combination of tabletop troop deployment, Tactics-esque battle planning, and Mass Effect shooting. It has its share of innocuous flaws and obviously the budget isn't up to snuff with the GTAs, the Killzones, and the Halos of our time. But the experience is a brilliant combination of graphics, gameplay and heavenly music. It delivers on all fronts and is so satisfying, it seems like a sin to pass it up.

[serwal]

Mirror's Edge - (PS3, Xbox 360 - November 2008 - FPAA (First person action adventure) ) - 3.0

First person platformer game with a small amount of FPS thrown in as well to help out the game play. Unique concept and interesting while it lasts but unfortunately rather short when it comes down to it. Running and jumping from rooftop to rooftop can be fun but is also frustrating when some jumps require pin point perfection in jumping which is made harder by the fact that you need to look down to see where your feet are in contrast to the end of the object you are running off of. Controls also at times felt a little delayed and the combat system felt rather clunky as well. Definitely a weekend renter at best

[AladainAF]

Persona 4 - PS2, Dec 9 2008, Japanese RPG - 5

Near flawless execution of the persona model. Strong story, great social link mechanic improvements over Persona 3, and the usual over-the-top presentation. Has some camera problems, but they don't detract too much. Highly recommended. 100+ Hour game and very replayable.

[AngryGerbil]

Company of Heroes - (PC, September 2006, RTS) - 4

Somehow this game slipped by me until recently. Similar to Dawn of War in gameplay in which you control squads instead of soldiers and capture points to generate resources instead of farm/mining them. The game falls between the micro/macro extremes of Warcraft3 and Empire Earth. The graphics can be glitchy but are generally nice, the sound is excellent and the single player campaigns can be quite challenging. Negatives include a relatively small player base due to its age and being overshadowed by it's bigger brother, DoW. If you like the WW2 setting though, this game delivers.

[AngryGerbil]

Spore - (PC, September 2008, spans many game genres) - 2.3

I'll hit you up front with the sauce: Spore was a huge disappointment. Will Wright has made some great games. And this isn't one of them. The game presents itself as an evolution simulator, which sounds cool....and probably is cool...but we wouldn't know because Spore is not an evolution simulator. It is a conglomeration of mini-games. And that's really all there is to say about it. You spend an hour or two on 4 different (crappy) mini games, then you get to the 'Space' part which is really where you'll spend 90% of your time...and this part isn't even very well done. You buy an evolution simulator game but you end up with a space economy sim game. Primordial Soup is cool and original....Terraforming Planets from orbit is, well, old and tired.


(Note: I know Spore has been done to death. I add it here only because I like the idea of this thread and would like to see it prosper. Add any game you want to, just do it. I think this thread could be epic.)

[Itzena]

Saints Row 2 (360, PS3, PC) - 4.5
Remember how much fun the various GTAIII games were? Volition does. The true successor to Rockstar's classics, SR2 has great character customisation (and vehicle customisation for that matter), good missions/activities, decent radio stations, and it's fun. Down sides? The game is a little buggy from time to time, and the PC port sucks.

[Nehrak]

The Last Remnant (XBox 360/PC - November 2008, RPG) - 3.8

This RPG published by Square-Enix took a more unique spin on turn-based combat, as you control groups of characters rather than assign commands to individuals. The story is "okay", as is the voice acting, but the combat gameplay is what is the real deal maker. However, it's plagued with loading issues likely due to the use of the Unreal Engine, with technical issues such as texture pop-in and a lot of time spent waiting for the combat field to appear. Still, you'd be doing yourself a disservice to not rent this at the utter least.

NOTE: Make sure to install it to your HD if you play it on the 360. The loading decreases substantially.

[Meppe]

Killzone 2 (PS3 - February 25, 2009, FPS) - 4.7.

Truly stunning looking game with a gritty atmosphere, captivating story lead by interesting characters and fun multiplayer to boot. Controls might take a bit getting used to hence only 4.7 instead of a solid 5. Definite buy if you fancy fps games.

[Blide]

Halo Wars (Xbox 360 - March 3, 2009 – RTS) – 3.9

I’ll preface this by saying I only played through the single player.

I actually had quite a bit of fun with the campaign. The production values were top notch, plot was decent, and it played very well for a console RTS. The biggest beef I had with the campaign was simply how short it was. There are 15 missions that range in length from 15 to 45 minutes, most being on the shorter side. The campaign was also extremely easy on normal difficulty, especially if you have any prior RTS experience. The missions were pretty varied but fundamentally involved just massing units for an easy win. I would rate this game a 4.5+ if the campaign was double the length or if they had included a Covenant campaign.

Bottom Line: I’d wait till the game drops in price before picking it up unless you’re a hardcore Halo fan. It is just too short to justify the 60 bucks but what is included is very good and true to the Halo Universe. Also don't go in expecting the depth you'd find in PC RTSs because you simply won't find it here, but I will admit Ensemble found a formula that works for console RTSs.

[MrGraham]

Defense Grid: The Awakening (PC Steam, XBLA - Dec 2008 - Strategy) - 3.7

I'd say this is a "must-play" for any tower defense lover, but honestly I wouldn't pay more than $5-10 for it (look for it in Steam sales). It's fun, there's a good variety of towers and maps, there's several challenge modes that help replayability, but it's not a huge step up from the free flash TD games available online, and I'd even call it a side step / step down from W3 TDs.

[Zehn - Vhex]

Dynasty Warriors 2 Gundam (PS3 - April 2009 - Action) - 4.0

Yet another in the long line of Dynasty Warriors, only instead of ancient Chinese warriors, futuristic Japanese robot warriors! Diverges from DWG1 and Dynstay Warriors 6 in that this edition comes with a truckload of unlockable content and missions to do as opposed to the relatively short gameplay of the others.

Well worth the pickup, -especially- if you have someone you game with often. Not many quality 2 player split screen games available for the PS3, and this is one of them.

[Meppe]

Prinny: Can I really be a hero? (PSP - February 17, 2009 - Platform) - 4.5

Really solid platforming game with lots of funny characters from the Disgaea universe. Strong, solid controls that you can never really blame if you fail. Catchy tunes to listen to while you slay monsters and quite a few funny cut-scenes at the end of each level. Decent difficulty overall to boot, varies from "Walk in the park" to "Oh please someone kill me already" depending on if you go for the secret stuff. DLC via ps3(couple of bucks / level)if you fancy that. Overall, a really solid game that will keep you occupied for quite a bit of time if you're into platforming.

[Nirrudn]

Resident Evil 5 (PS3/360/PC, March 13 2009, Survival Horror/Action) - 3.8

Same style as 4, more emphasis on action than other aspects. Your partner isn't useless and I never felt like I had to babysit her. Inventory management was kind of annoying. Local co-op splitscreen is tiny, even on a good sized TV. Would rate it higher as a pure action game, but it (like 4, I thought) doesn't do the Resident Evil name justice. Almost no puzzles, and the one or two there were weren't challenging in the least. Still no zombies.

Short enough to be a rental, but if you're a RE lore nut there's dozens, maybe hundreds, of pages of reading material you can unlock.

[serwal]

Punch Out!! (Wii, May 18 2009, Sports) - 4.0

Punch out just like you remember it with opponents who have specific weak points to do more damage. The game revolves around dodging and countering punching as well as finding out patterns, much like the other versions of the game. Can play with just the Wiimote, Wiimote + Nunchuk, Or with the Wii balance board as well.

There are a few new characters but otherwise the game play remains pretty much unchanged from the original game we have come to know and love. Worth a weekend rental at the very least.