It’s Sunday, and that means another Reviews Spotlight’s coming your way. We’re taking a look at two of the hottest games to come out in recent weeks, Brütal Legend and Uncharted 2. We’re hoping that Bitmob community members write even more reviews as you tear through these games.
We’re supplementing your review intake with Dead Space: Extraction for the Wii. It’s nice to see that this Wii game is getting some play from the Bitmob community. We also present an analysis of Mirror’s Edge and a not-so-great adaption of a not-so-great movie featuring Terminators. Now that’s a full plate. Let’s get it on!
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves – PlayStation 3 Review
By Kevin Zhang-xing
This sequel to one of the best PS3 launch titles is receiving the most hype and some of the best reviews of any of the system’s games to date — and for good reason. Kevin’s definitely happy with the game, from top to bottom. Starting with the story, he says, “The character development is excellent, coupled with the amazing voice acting.” That’s just the beginning, though. “It’s an excellent cinematic experience from start to finish, and it never leaves you doing the same thing for too long.” Kevin touches on every aspect of the game.
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Review
By Juan Letona
Juan was lucky enough to attend the movie theatre event where people got to not only play this new hot title before it hits stores but also play it on the silver screen. Seeing it in this type of venue could’ve spoiled him, but he was still thrilled with the game once he started playing at home. “With a cinematic prose, solid action adventuring, and a story that is not as campy as a Dan Brown novel but as charming as the first three Indiana Jones movies.” That says volumes about the story, but is it fun? “Uncharted 2 is what Metal Gear Solid 4 hoped to be — a fun action-hero story told cinematically in videogame form.” That’s two huge claims for any video game. Sounds like Uncharted 2’s the real thing.
There’s bias in GameThirst’s Uncharted 2 review
By Eunice Schafer
Our last examination of Uncharted 2 is a little out of the ordinary: a review of a review. Regarding Games Thirst’s review of this highly anticipated game, Eunice says, “…it seems fanboyism and a poor education have once again gotten in the way of original thought and purposeful discussion.” Ouch. Eunice feels that “…there’s no way Uncharted 2: Among Thieves should get a higher score than Auto Modellista or Yanya Caballista: City Skater.” A word of warning, Eunice is not only critical of Games Thirst but also feels slightly negative about the game itself. Read at your own risk!
One Shot at Glory! Brütal Legend (Xbox 360)
By Reggie Carolipio
The second most-anticipated release of the week is the overmuscled Jack Black vehicle Brütal Legend. This game seems like it could be sort of lame, with a Meatloaf-looking hero taking out bad guys with his ax (and by ax I mean guitar). Surprisingly, the brilliant Tim Schafer seems to have used all of his unique storytelling skills to craft a fun and vibrant new action game. Reggie states that “(Schafer) and his crew at Double Fine have come up with the ultimate roadshow where the metal gods live and their music can bring down burning zeppelins to smite the enemy.” OK, so the story and graphics are good, but with a guitarist as the main hero, the music’s got to be good, too, right? “Brütal Legend also comes with what some older players might take to be one of the greatest soundtracks ever compiled for a game.” As Wayne’s World’s Wayne and Garth would say, “Party time! Excellent!”
Brütal Legend: 5 Thoughts
By Stephano Nevarez
Stephano agrees with some of Reggie’s opinions, however, his review isn’t a 100 percent glowing recommendation. His assessment starts out good, though. “The land and inhabitants of Brütal Legend were something of a treat.” So far, so good. He goes on to say that “the cut-scenes were the perfection of the game” and “music, music, music — Brütal Legend has music.” So, in Stephano’s opinion, what’s wrong with the game? “Probably the weakest point of the whole game…was the gameplay itself.” Yeah, that’s pretty important, all right. There’s some disagreement on how great this title really is.
Terminator Salvation Review PS3
By Michael Wenzel
Terminator: Salvation (the movie) couldn’t have been more of a disappointment. The effects were, of course, top-notch, but the acting (even by Batman himself) was sorely lacking. Is it possible that the game based on this movie can salvage an otherwise depressing movie? Michael starts his review with something most of us gamers know: “Movie-based games are infamous for being remarkably bad.” This is bsolutely true. With something as cool as the Terminator universe to draw from, though, the game has to have some redeeming qualities. Right? “I played through it, hoping for some fun shooter elements and unfortunately didn’t find them. Instead, I found a game hardly out of a beta stage.” Well, that’s a bummer indeed.
Living Life On The Edge (Mirror’s Edge Xbox360 Review)
By Brian Shirk
Remember that part early in the Bond movie “Casino Royale” where Bond chases a guy over rooftops, on to a crane, and then back down to street level — all at a dead run? This is the art parkour, and Mirror’s Edge attempts to utilize this as the game’s central gameplay mechanic. Does it work? According to Brian, “There have been a few first-person titles where gunplay isn’t the main focus — most notably Metroid Prime and Jumping Flash — but never before have players felt so agile.” Actually, this sounds like a lot of fun. “Clearly, Mirror’s Edge has some technical problems, but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit to it generally being a rush.” A game with an uncommon theme is, at least, a rare commodity these days. That alone may make this one worth checking out.
Exactly One Year Later, A Dead Space: Extraction Review
By James DeRosa
There’s little doubt that the first Dead Space is a great game. It’s story is engrossing, to say the least, the graphics are great, and the gameplay adds new strategic elements found in no other game. The Nintendo Wii is obviously a weakling in the processing-power department, so how can one possibly bring this incredible world to the millions of Wii owners and maintain its awesomeness? According to James, “Visceral Games has made so many astute design choices in this game that it’s simply staggering.” That’s how. “With Extraction they’ve [the designer Visceral Games] vaulted into a Wii design stratosphere that is inhabited by a relative few third-party developers.” For an extremely detailed explanation, read his full review.
Dead Space: Extraction Review
By Patrick Williams
Patrick agrees wholeheartedly with James. “Much to my surprise, while the game was more action-oriented than its XB360/PS3 sibling, Visceral really managed to carry over the Dead Space universe and re-create the setting.” He goes on to say that even though he was surprised and that the game is a heck of a lot of fun, “The sad part is that I doubt we’ll see this kind of excellent title again on the Wii because the poor sales will indubitably be the death knell for mature titles on the Wii.” In Extraction’s defense, though, most Wii third-party sales numbers have been below sea level. That reason alone has not kept talented developers away from the system so far, and hopefully that won’t change.