Star Wars the Old Republic Preview

SWOTR Darth Malgus

Yes its finally here! (well almost). I just pre-ordered my copy of Star Wars the Old Republic last week and all I have to say is.. about damn time! I have been waiting for this game to come out for over 2 years now and I was beginning to think it was going to be another Star Craft 2 launch fail (took over a decade).

Don't forget to pre-order this game asap because not only to you get some cool in game items such as a color stone (for your lightsaber) but early in game access as well. This is your chance to save your favorite character name before you have to be xShadowkillerx32. Trust me this game is going to be big and has the highest probability of being a Wow killer. (did I mention it broke pre-order records already?)

Star Wars the Old Republic is a mmorpg based in the Star Wars era thousands of years before Darth Vaders' story, when the Galactic Republic and Sith Empire waged war. Your character can be anything between a smuggler to a Sith Warrior. This game is going to seriously going to add 10 pounds to nerds everywhere, get a couple people fired, and destroy a few relationships. 

I for one hope this game follows through and releases in January just a couple weeks after I graduate where I'm in that weird "just graduated but can't find a good job phase." My job til March will be kicking some Sith Lords ass and saving the digital world one planet at a time ;) 

Do you guys think this game will be better than Wow? How badly do you think Blizzard is biting their nails right now hoping that this game doesn't take away from their 7 million (formerly 12 million) subscribers and dropping?

And with that I will leave you all with this video from this years Comic Con

Castlevania Lords of Shadow Review

Image via Wikipedia

I have always been a fan of the Castlevania series since the super nintendo, but this one puts the icing on the cake. Castlevania Lords of Shadow takes a different spin on the original games by combining castle wall climbing, and using your whip to swing through the forest like in Ninja Gaiden and Assassins Creed. The creators of this game did an excellent job staying true to the Castlevania game play, while adding new the wall scaling features.

 The castle climbing isn't as intricate as Assassins Creed but it does add a lot of fun to the game. I mean seriously, haven't you ever had the feeling of staring at a giant castle and just wanted to strap on a harness and spider man that shit?! I know I have.

Anyways, Castlevania Lords of Shadow also did a great job on the storyline for this game. I felt like I was watching a movie during the cut scenes and did I mention that Christopher Lee (Saruman) does the narrating?
Freakin sweet, who else would you want to read you a bed time story about devils, demons, vampires, and chasing after a fallen love rather than Saruman himself? (maybe Morgan Freeman but I don't think they had that kind of budget).

In Castlevania Lords of Shadow you play as Gabriel, one of the earliest members of the Belmont family. The story takes you through forests, swamps, cliffs, and castles searching for answers about the death of Marie. Throughout the campaign you gain artifacts from defeating bosses such as Lycans, Vampires, Necromancers, and giant Golems, which aid Gabriel in defeating the devil. The fighting controls in this game are seamless and  integrated well. Of course one of Gabriel's main weapons is the whip which is quite fun to use, as well as some artifacts he obtains along the way. The graphics in this game are amazing! I would spend a couple minutes staring at waterfalls and castles trying to figure out if I will ever be able to draw that well one day.

 
Castlevania Lords of Shadow is a great addition to the Castlevania series and I definitely recommend playing this game. I hope Konami keeps up with this style of game play for the series and makes a few sequels.
What do you guys think about this game?
Do you like the new style or the 2-D side scrolling better?

Castlevania Lords of Shadow rates:

Gameplay 8/10 This game switches back and forth between action, solving puzzles, and castle climbing all the while integrating an epic storyline. What more can you ask for?

Graphics 9/10 Lords of Shadow did an excellent job on the graphics. I had to give this game a 9 out of 10 when I realized that I stopped playing just to admire the background.

Audio 7/10 If the soundtrack would have been as epic as the other Castlevania games then this game would have been easily a 9 out of 10 overall, but the music was pretty average.

Replay Value 8/10 Normally in these kind of action adventure games you will be satisfied playing them through once. Not true for this game, I haven't played since last December but I'm dying to pick it up again.

If your a fan of Castlevania or this kind of genre of gaming, then I would definitely buy this one.

Batman Arkham City Preview

After Batman Arkham Asylums success the sequel to this game is well on its way to retail stores. Coming out on October 18th this game comes with a couple new yet familiar characters.

Arkham City: Batman Robin and Catwoman

Robin will be a playable character on challenge maps if you pre-order the game from Best Buy. I heard it was exclusive to Best Buy pre-orders only so I would recommend purchasing the game from Best Buy just in case (Robin looks pretty badass in this game if you ask me).

You are also able to play as Catwoman for a rumored 10% of the game during the single player campaign (not a great amount of time but better than Robins exclusivity). Catwoman is reportedly a fun character to play as because her fighting style stays true to her feline abilities and swiftness. She doesn't receive new gadgets throughout the campaign like Batman does but she is equipped with cat claws and a whip (don't all women come equipped with these?)

The main focus of the game is still centered around Batman and his progression through the campaign. Batman's controls in this game are still said to be impressive and stay true to Arkham Asylum. In this game Batman's cape comes with a new gadget that allows him to glide over Arkham City.

  This new feature might make me waste a few minutes flying around Arkham City aimlessly like a pissed off drunken Batman looking to beat up some thugs.

As far as the villain goes in this game the Riddler is the main attraction this time. Of course the Riddler will provide Batman with a few new challenges and puzzles throughout the game such as hostage situations and more.

This game looks promising and I will definitely be purchasing and reviewing this game when it comes out on October 18th. Let me know what you guys think about this game, and be sure to follow me on my blog/twitter for updates!

Transformers War for Cybertron Review

Transformers War for Cybertron beat my expectations for how fun this game could possibly be. If your a fan of the Transformers series/movies or like to blow $h1t up then this game is for you. The storyline is pretty interesting because it goes through a Decepticon and Autobot campaign about the War for Cybertron which shows you how Cybertron became so devastated. This game gets really fun when you start blasting away at other transformers and then transforming into tanks to really starting blowing them all to hell. Did I mention that you can also be Starscream and turn into a jet and fly through parts of Cybertron while being shot at by Autobots. Also, the graphics are done quite nicely because even though they are not the best details I have ever seen they still make you feel like you're in a different mechanical world.

Overall I was very surprised how well High Moon Studio (the developers) made this game. It is fun to pick between different Autobots and Decepticons while changing back and forth between forms.

There is also a release date set for 2012, for Transformers War for Cybertron 2.

Transformers War for Cybertron rates:

Gameplay 7/10 - This game is a great buy for Transformer fans, but I would say rent it otherwise. Lots of action and high speed vehicle chasing (just how Michael Bay likes it) makes it fun game to play.

Graphics 7/10 - The graphics are detailed just enough to make you feel like you are set in a different world, but I would like to see even better graphics in the sequel.

Audio 8/10 - All you need to do to make a transformers sound track is have the original Transforming sound which it does.

Replay Value 7/10 - This game may only be fun the first time around for the campaign but there is a really fun multiplayer to add replay value.

I will definitely check out and review Transformers Dark of the Moon and The War for Cybertron 2 so be sure to check back! 

What do you guys think about this game?

What about the actual Transformers movie that just came out? (I thought it was a lot better than the second movie)