We’ve seen waves of great titles hitting us over the past few weeks, and we’re still waiting for the tsunami that’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 on Tuesday (start prepping those community reviews for next week’s Reviews Spotlight).
In the meantime, the Bitmob Community continues to hang out with Nathan Drake, so we have more in-depth reviews of Uncharted 2 — and some may not be 100 percent favorable. Bitmobbers are still shredding metal with Brütal Legend. We also get a glimpse of a couple great racing games and another analysis of the sequel to Operation Flashpoint. We’ll also throw in a new Xbox Live puzzler, a sequel to a classic strategy game, and yet another port of the highly successful Rock Band franchise.
Nathan Drake, Globetrotting Killer
By Shawn D. Stone
Shawn has an interesting take on Nathan Drake. He points out that “Early in Uncharted 2’s estimated 10-hour adventure, Nathan Drake expresses concern about shooting a security guard.” Obviously, you’re not playing a silent assassin as you are in Metal Gear Solid — the game doesn’t entertain this momentary fear of whacking bad guys. He does love many aspects of the game, but in the end he says, “I could even learn to be OK with the violence if it was dealt with in a more convincing manner. Unfortunately, it is not.”
Review! Uncharted 2
By Chris Davidson
Chris’ review is more in line with a standard review. The difference in this breakdown of the game is that Chris takes the approach that we’re already sold on the game. He gives us a few reasons why we might want to buy Drake’s latest adventure if we haven’t already (and touches on what the game lacks). About the improvements over the original, he says that “The levels are both diverse and breathtaking, and even if they decide to keep the level in the same locale, they change what you’re doing there.” If you’re looking for multiplayer with your buddy who’s sitting right next to you, as Chris was, be prepared to be disappointed: “This game doesn’t have local multiplayer, and I can’t even begin to describe how angry I am that this is the case.” This could be a red flag to many gamers out there.
Uncharted 2 Review: A Story-Driven Ride with Invisible Tracks
By Zach Drapala
Zach explains while Uncharted 2 could be considered a linear game, it doesn’t feel like other titles that give you a predetermined path to follow. “In Nathan Drake’s latest quest, I was pulled forward for once by story as opposed to checkpoints,” he says. “Along with combat and climbing, the game throws in a handful of chase sequences to further diversify its campaign. I loved these segments, particularly the tension built by running towards the screen, Crash Bandicoot style.” What, you expected him to compare it to Crash Bandicoot?
A Brütal Legend Review for the Roadie-Errant
By Juan Letona
Juan starts out his review by explaining that “Brütal Legend is a combination of Tim Schafer’s love of heavy metal and open-world adventuring with strategy elements during core missions.” Last week, we learned that there is a strong RTS element to the gameplay. Juan claims that “it’s an Action Strategy Game in a sense, but it feels like a mosh pit of random units with long stalemates.” Read on to see if he feels Jack Black’s latest interactive opus is worth rocking out to or not.
Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising Review
By Christian Rydberg
Christian says right up front that he “was skeptical starting Dragon Rising, since I am an avid fan and player of the original Operation Flashpoint.” He’s definitely happy about the graphics. “The polish is visible straight from the intro and the menus, as they are very well designed, informative, and easy on the eyes.” Unfortunately, he goes on to say that “this level of polish and good design isn’t really followed through when it comes to the other aspects of the game.” It can’t help that it came out only a month before Infinity Ward’s similarly styled FPS.
Not all MMOs are About Night Elves — Battlefield: Heroes Review
By Kevin Zhang-xing
When you talk about the genre of MMOs, World of Warcraft dominates the landscape. It’s nice to see an attempt at originality. This also seems to be the type of game that the Bitmob Game Club is looking for. Kevin says that Battlefield Heroes is “…extremely rewarding. When you’re shooting at someone, and you die, you’re still rewarded with some XP if you hit him a bit.” Since it is an MMO, what are the chances of finding a game right away? “The community recently hit 2 million players, and the player count is still rapidly growing, meaning that it shouldn’t be hard to find a match with a decent amount of people in it.” Read his full review to see if this MMO is worth the charge of…no money at all.
Opin-yon of NFS: Shift
By Ravi Busi
The Need for Speed series has had its highs and lows. The latest entry has received overwhelmingly positive reviews. Ravi says the best feature of Need for Speed: Shift “is the rewards and leveling mechanic where by the game gives you points and trophies akin to the Kudos system in PGR.” Kudos in the Project Gotham Racing games is one of the reasons why that series has longevity. One fault Shift seems to have is its drifting mechanic. “A simple tutorial with a test track and explanation of the drift HUD elements would have fixed this issue. Instead, I had to resort to the gaming brethren on YouTube in order to learn drifting.” That’s not a ringing endorsement of such an important tactic.
Forza 3: My New BFF
By Tony DaSilva
Just as NFS: Shift seems to feel more like a Gran Turismo game than an arcade racer, the same can be said about Forza Motorsport 3. As Tony says, Foza has “…400 cars to choose from and a simulation-styled experience that can grab a hold of anyone — yes, anyone, whether they’re 6 or 60, a gamer or nongamer.” Sure it has the variety in vehicles and tracks, but how are the visuals? “The attention to detail is mind-boggling. For example, the tire physics are so deeply improved, including real time wear, that it enables you get a true understanding of how your car is reacting turn by turn.” It sounds like a racing winner to us.
Peggle in 300 Words
By Brian Shirk
Puzzle games are a very “hit-and-miss” genre. Usually, they will either entertain you for quite some time, or they quickly become boring and repetitive. In Brian’s quick overview of the Xbox 360 version of the game, he says that “what’s amazing about Peggle is that it’s easy enough to figure out in a minute, yet it contains enough of a challenge for a video game veteran.” You’ll have to delve into all 300 words of his review to see if this pachinko-style puzzler is worth the Microsoft points.
Majesty 2 Review
By Eric Majkut
Majesty 2 is the sequel to a hit from 2000 for the PC. Being a fan of the original, Eric’s obviously happy with this RTS. “That hint of nostalgia, combined with what turns out to be a fairly solid game, makes for one of the most entertaining titles I’ve played on my computer in ages.” He says, “Unlike traditional RTS titles that put you in direct control of your army, the heroes inhabiting the world of Majesty 2 are much more free-willed.” Read on to see if these new gameplay logistics live up to what gamers expect out of modern-day strategy games.
IQuickies: Rock Band
By Stephano Nevarez
In this week’s installment of Stephano’s iQuickes iPhone reviews, he looks at an unlikely, if not inevitable, port of the phenomena known as Rock Band. Harmonix undoubtedly polished this game to a high sheen using the advanced processing power of the iPhone, and most of the reviews claim the game is easy to play. In Stephano’s opinion though, “…even with the work put into making the interface smooth, Harmonix couldn’t help but suffer a hick-up from the iPhone’s interface.” Concerning the music itself, he says that “the track list was only solid enough to get me through World Tour mode hastily and play a select few titles in Quick Play.” Read on to see if he feels the game is really worth the $9.99 price.