Poetic

The concept of a metallica guitar hero game is ingenious, because nothing symbolizes guitar hero more perfectly than metallica. Each started out small, with a small group of extremely loyal fans. Gradually, as they became more popular, they changed, until now, they have completely forgotten what made them successful in the first place, and spend too much time thinking they're painfully awesome to make an attempt to please fans. When playing, you will feel disappointed, but be shocked at how poetic the idea of the two merging is.

As far as the game itself goes, it's guitar hero. you know what to expect. But metallica's influence can be seen everywhere in the game. This may seem kind of pointless to say, but there are features in the game that just seem like metallica insisted the game feature them. For example, to make the game more mainstream, there is now a "Beginner" mode, which is just insulting to anyone trying to play. There is a cool new feature where you can make charts for songs and put them online, but true to metallica's piracy politics, you have to write the actual song yourself with some badly programmed software, and cannot simply import a song onto your hard drive and chart it, so this feature is ultimately pointless.

The actual game itself, however, reeks of metallica in ways that I cannot begin to explain, and it's almost worth a rent for the absurdity of it all. While the default characters you can use still have a cartoonish feel to them, the character models for Metallica's members are completely different, and almost frightening in their accuracy, almost as if metallica owuld not be happy with simple charactures of themselves. The venues that you play at are strikingly faithful recreations of the stages metallica uses, and the character's behaviors before begining a song are alot more over-the-top than in any other installment of the game. However, rather than coming off as a sincere effort to faithfully recreate the metallica experience, it seems more arrogant. You get the feeling that metallica simply thinks they're insanely awesome, and did it more to gives James Hetfield something to masturbate to. Rather than being impresssive, it's almost vulgar and creepy.

The thing that makes this game truly disappointing is the setlist. In the back of my mind, ever since guitar hero came out, i've always wanted a game similar to this. When they announced this game, I got really excited. Metallica has some songs that would be almost orgasmic to play on guitar hero. Words fail me when it comes to this setlist. Don't get me wrong, there are some really good songs on the disk. However, activision obviously chose the setlist according to mainstream popularity. Enter Sandman, The Memory Remains, No Leaf Clover, and plenty of new songs are there. However, most of the songs on the disk are similar to those, and the songs that are missing are the songs that made me excited for a Guitar hero Metallica in the first place. Sure, some staples like Fight fire with fire and disposable heroes are there, but rather than please me, these songs simply seem like a slap in the face. I just couldn't stop wondering how on earth they would put Dyers Even or Hit the Lights in, then not put in Ride the Lightning, Trapped Under Ice, Damage Inc., Motorbreath, Phantom Lord, or Metal Melitia in. Those last two songs are the reason I started playing Guitar to begin with, which is what Guitar Hero was supposed to be all about. Being able to play songs people wish they could play on the guitar. This left me speechless.

This is not a bad game. It's not broken, it's perfectly functional, and doesn't frustrate. If you're a fan of modern metallica, definately pick it up. However, if you like old-school metallica, don't even pick it up. You'll feel betrayed, because the game left out all the reasons you bought it to begin with, and you'll just be disappointed, because you'll know you can never have it.

Functional but immensely disappointing.

A good game ruined by a complete disregard for other games in the series.

Resident Evil 5 isn't that a bad. The game is fun to play, the controls are tight, and the graphics are good. However, to anyone who has played any of the previous entries in the series, this game is complete garbage. Not because the gameplay is completely different to the originals, so much so that the game is no longer recognizeable as Resident Evil, which it is, but because of the story.

The story in Resident Evil 5 is horribly developed. They introduce several plot points that they never explain, such as why Las Plagas have infected african locals, when the virus that you are attempting to destroy is completely unrelated.

The biggest problem with the story is that it simply doesn't fit in with the rest of the series. For example, Wesker, the villian in the game, was always a scientist interested in creating a virus himself. The last time he was in a game, he had kidnapped a main character, Steve Burnside, who was infected with a mutation of the T virus called the T-Veronica virus. This has been completely abandoned, and wesker now has the Uroboros virus, which isn't really a virus to begin with. There are little bits like that through the game that just don't add up, but i can excuse them.

However, in no less than three occasions, RE5 reveals information that is not only impossible, but goes counter to what the other games have already established. And, fair warning, i'm going to list them.

1. In RE5, you find out that the T virus evolved from the Progenator virus, which was discovered in a species of african flower, even though that the entire plot of Resident Evil Zero centered around how Marcus extracted the T virus from mutated Leeches.

2In RE5, you find out that the T virus was developed because the company's founder, Oswell E Spencer, wanted to have godlike super powers. But, Code Veronica already revealed that the Ashford family, the founders of umbrella, created the T virus in an attempt to create bio weapons for the military.

3. In RE5, you find out that Wesker has his super powers because he is the only surviving "Wesker Child," a group of super humans who were manufactured by umbrella. This one actually made me scream. It had been hinted in Code Veronica, and straight up revealed in the Umbrella Chronicles that wesker survived being skewered by the tyrant because he had injected himself with a mutated string of the T virus immidiately before he died. He was not always a super human, and in fact, worked for Umbrella along side william birkin to help perfect the T virus in the first place, as well as help birkin with creating the G virus. In fact, one could argue the fact that the entire Resident Evil series was possibly only due to wesker, as Wesker was the one who sent STARS to the mansion, the outbreak in racoon city had occured because Wesker sold out Birkin and wanted the G virus, and Code Veronica would never have happened had Wesker not betrayed Umbrella to work for another company. Which, of course, doesn't make an apperance in this game.

The game isn't bad. It's actually fun. But, I needed to focus on the story, because its completely broken. If the story had merely sucked, I'd have given it a 4 out of 5.

All in all, if you only played RE4, or if this is your first RE game, go ahead and get it. You'll have fun. If you've been a fan of the series for a long time, though, I'd say proceed with caution and keep expectations low. However, if you've been a fan of this series since the beginning like i have, do yourself a favor. I'm not suggesting you avoid this game, I'm begging you to avoid this game. Not because it's terrible, or because I'm trying to be radical. I'm completely honest in saying that this game entirely ruined the series for me. I've completely lost interest in the series, and even if RE6 revamps the series again, I doubt i'll still be interested.

Die hard fans, this game is not for you.

Butter scraped over too much bread.

Mirror's edge can be fun. It's definately unlike anything I've ever tried before. Unfortunately, the game quickly loses steam. First person free-running is a great idea, but this game doesn't do enough with it to justify an entire game.

The graphics in Mirror's Edge are interesting, but hard on the eyes. The game uses colors in an entirely unique way, using only a few colors in the scheme. The colors you'll be seeing almost soley are red, white, blue, and green. This does look impressive at first, but quickly becomes unnerving. Every area begins to look like every other area, and you lose any feel for where you're going. It also hurts your eyes after prolonged exposure.

The music in the game doesn't fit the game at all. While you're running from building to building, daftly cheating death, there's a very soft and calming ambient sounding technoish music playing. It reminds me of what alot of old Dreamcast games used. It's good music, something that would be good to fall asleep to, but in the game, all it did was take me out of the experience.

The combat in this game is dreadful. You're can only run, jump, slide, kick, or punch your enemies, and while that might seem alot, after five minutes of combat you'll start to feel that you're somewhat limited for someone who can run straight up a wall and jump off a building onto a crane. The biggest problem with this is all your enemies have weapons that can kill you with about three direct shots. And the enemies are pretty accurate. You can pick up these weapons, but when this FPS actually embraces the Shooter aspect, it falls apart. The controlls are clunky, it's VERY difficult to aim, you only have enough shots to kill maybe three enemies, cannot pick up additional ammo for your gun, and can't see how many shots you have in the first place. The most annoying part is that, despite the fact that the characters remind you that it's better to run, and the loading screen tips do so as well, the game likes to put you in a situation where you have no choice other than to fight. The combat quite literally feels like it was tacked on as an after thought.

While we're on afterthoughts, I'll mention that there is a story, and it's as well developed as this paragraph.

This is the basic problem with this game. It doens't feel developed enough to justify an entire game. The game still isn't long; you could easily complete Mirror's Edge in a single night. There are about 9 half hour missions in the game, but despite this, it STILL feels long. I say, with all honesty, that just get the demo. You'll get more enjoyment out of wondering what the rest of the game is like than actually playing it.

The game consists of, basically, get from point A to point B. But there are only about 10 or so freerunning moves you can do, so the obstacles quickly begin to become almost identical and tedious. Combined with the interesting yet bland art the game does, quite literally, feel like you're doing the same level over and over again. Because the combat feels so shallow, I really feel like Mirror's Edge is a great idea that was undeveloped.

Overall, Mirror's Edge is a great idea, and it's real fun to play, but it gets old FAST. The biggest problem overall with this game is that there isn't enough content to justify an entire game. I can't help but think of Portal when playing it. Portal was a great, yet simple. Valve knew that they didn't have enough to justify an entire game, so they made a fun-size, two hour game out of it. If mirror's edge had done this, I'm sure that it would have inspired a cult following worthy of Tom Cruise. Unfortunately, the game stays well past it's welcome, and by the time you finish, you'll feel the sense of relief you do when your awkward relatives finally leave after christmas dinner.

Lets talk about these "shortcomings" everyone mentions.

I admit it, i likedFable 2. But rather than just write praise for it like everyone else, I'll talk about what problems i have with the game.
You may think that Not Enough Content is a ridiculous claim for this game. But, while there is alot to do, there is too much missing that I loved about Fable. The real estate aspect of the game is fun, but that's really the only compelling side feature in the game. There is absolutely no armor in the game. Yes, an RPG without stat armor. You can no longer buy cards with new hair or tattoos on them, and must wander around until you find a vendor with the you want. While there are dyes available to customize clothing, the number of cloths you can buy has been drastically reduced. While there are more weapon types available, the diversity of these weapons have been reduced as well. There are about 4 legendary weapons available, there are only 2 major towns in the game... there is just so much missing that I loved about Fable that I miss. I managed to buy an outfit i liked within 2 hours of playing the game, but I never added a single garment to my outfit because there were no new ones introduced throughout the entire game. The weapon levels have been reduced, having thrown out Obsidian weapons entirely. The number of items available feels completely shallow.
There are alot of things other than items left out as well. You can no longer be a professional thief; you can steal things from dressers, but you can no longer sneak, pick locks, and steal items from stores. The number of Demon Doors has been drastically reduced, a total of nine, but the items they offer haven't been respectively increased. There are no more Bows, only crossbows. There are just so many things i miss about it...
The world of Fable 2 is praised as being 10 times larger than Fable, but there were still more areas to explore in the original. A VAST majority of the land comes from the central hub, Bower Lake, which most of the areas in the game branch off of. But there is no reason to actually go there. There are few secrets to discover there, and most of the time you will fast travel through this area alltogether. If you took out this area, i'd it would take about half the area out of Fable 2. Which is still big, but I ended up feeling like I was lied to.
Despite the increased game size, the Main Quest line is actually SHORTER than the original. I avoided doing side-quests and managed to get through the whole game in four and a half hours, and I took my time to level up some things. And the story itself does not feel very engrossing. The villian is extraordinarily lame, you are never quite sure until the VERY end exactly why he's doing all of his general evilness, and when I finally fought him, there was no epic finally boss fight. He simply sat there, waiting for me to shoot him in the face with fire. I was very disappointed with the story.
My last problem is something I can't even really accurately describe. The game gives you a real feel that your consequences have actions in the world, but at the same time I did not feel connected to the world. Adding a modern element to the game was a nice touch, but it removed many of the fantasy elements of the game that made it compelling in the first place.
I like this game, don't get me wrong. Its fun, and almost all of the new elements it adds it does perfectly. But, I just can't bring myself to love a game when I spend the entire time lamenting things that are gone. You'll have a great time with it, and there's enough replay value to suggest a purchase, but I don't think a game deserves a perfect score when I spent the most time imagining the game that could have been.

High production without gameplay to back it up.

I know I won't make many friends saying this, but I did not enjoy Bioshock. It's not a bad game by any means, but neither is it a great game. It's an okay game that looks and sounds beautiful. Bioshock does deserve praise, but not nearly as much as it's gotten.
The visuals are, indeed, stunning. I'll admit that I played the demo and made the decision to buy the game durring my first underwater decent to the city of Rapture. If someone said "picture an underwater city that was build durring the 50s," I'd have pictured exactly what Bioshock offers. Unfortunately, you are never really offered much of a chance of scenery. Occasionally you'll pass through one archway that will be covered in ice, every now and then a room will be filled with water, and every now and then a room will be completely dark, but it all looks like the same rooms that you're in. There are games out there that make this offense worse, but the graphics are Bioshocks best feature, so i feel this is a bigger problem than usual.
The audio in the game also contributes greatly to the atmosphere of the game. You hear the constant dripping of water, making you feel like Rapture is unnatural and nature is doing all it can to destroy it (I can't really describe it accurately. You'll know what i'm talking about.) You'll occasionally hear an old phonogram playing some old music that really does add a generally creepy element to the existig general creepiness. But as far as in-game music goes, bioshock has almost nothing to speak of. Silent Hill uses random ambiant noises to screw with your head, but it also has the best panic music I've ever heard, and even when there aren't monsters running all over, the music still adds to the atmosphere. Bioshock has a few moments, and occasionally it will have music in the form of the aforementioned phonograms, which is creepy, albeit at first. The developers were trying to go for a more realistic feel, and I'll grant them that if you're being chased by monsters in real life you won't have a soundtrack to accompany it, but it only works for the first portions of the game. It gets really quiet.
The only note-worthy gameplay element is the Plasmids, flourescent over-sized syringes that give you super powers. Yes, it does add an element of strategy to the gameplay, especially bringing the environments into your strategy; however, I cannot bring myself to call a game that gives you superpowers "original." Granted there is one that turns your hand into a hive of wasps, which is by far the most bad ass thing i've ever seeen, but they're not all like that. They all end up being lightning, or fire, or kenetic powers, and we've seen all those before. It's interesting, but not original.
Bioshock is a first-person shooter. This means you have guns, and you should use them. I say should, because ammo becomes an issue. There is plenty of ammo to be found, unfortunately your guns can hold enough for about three full clips before you run dry. The point of survival games is to horde ammo, and the point of first person shooters is to use it. You constantly have so little ammo that you hesitate to use it for fear of needing it seconds later. This is NOT how I want my FPS to feel.
The combat is completely uninspired. You shoot things. You can shoot turrets, or a bunch of a bunch of enemies that look the same, or Big Daddy's. That's it. The enemies aren't that interesting, and with excluding the Big Daddy's (they're optional), there are hardly any bosses to speak of. And i killed a few of those without realizing they were bosses.
There is also a half-hearted attempt to add morality to gameplay, but there are two endings, and those depend on whether or not you want to kill little girls. That's it.
This is my problem with Bioshock. It's an average FPS with high production values. The only things that stuck with me were the portions that were scripted. It's not a BAD game. It's a repetitive and uninspired game that looks awesome. Rent it.