Reviewer: Meghan Ventura
Title: Lumines II
Platform: Playstation Portable
Price: $19.99
ESRB Rating: T for Teen (13+)
Developer: Q Entertainment
Publisher: Q Entertainment / Buena Vista Games
Age Range: 12+
Buy?
Maybe. If you already have some version of Lumines, you probably don’t need this one unless you’re a diehard fan who wants some new tunes to play to. However, if you’re new to Lumines and looking for a solid puzzle game, $19.99 is a great value for this little package.
Summary: A puzzle game with falling blocks that requires players to make same-colored squares, rather than lines like in more traditional puzzle games. See the video below for a clearer picture of how Lumines works. (Note: Video footage is NOT from Your Family Games. The original video can be found at GameTrailers)
Learning curve: Initially, very steep. Maybe 30 mintues. Tutorials and logic puzzles really help you find your footing. My first puzzle, I hardly lasted five minutes, but now I can play for at least 40+ minutes before I meet the doom of a full screen of blocks. To a certain degree, Lumines is about practice and the more you practice the more you improve.
Family Factor: Curse words have been omitted from any songs with bad language. Some of the puzzle stages’ backgrounds have the music video of that particular song playing in the background or super-surreal backgrounds for non-lyrical tracks.
Review:
The concept of Lumines is simple: use these falling two-toned blocks to make same-colored squares. Executing this idea is at first difficult, but once you figure out the most strategic ways to fit the falling blocks together, breezing through 30 minutes worth of puzzle will be a snap and the only main challenge remaining will be improving your dexterity in being able to quickly move those blocks. Lumines is indeed strange in that it’s a little more difficult to pick up than your average puzzler, but making the jump from being a good to great player is merely a matter of adeptness with the simplistic controls.
Lumines has caught my attention since its beginnings on the Playstation 2. The first time I saw it, my now-roommate was playing it, intently moving falling blocks in an impressive and unique audio-visual atmosphere created by the game.
To keep puzzles visually interesting, puzzle games typically employ changing the backgrounds and colors or shapes of the blocks (say one level might have diamonds and the next bananas depending on what the level’s theme) as you progress through different levels. Lumines takes this common practice and multiplies it to a new level. Lumines has flashy backgrounds that can include a video or moving pictures, and an accompanying tune to play along with it. The backgrounds are intriguing, distracting and sometimes surreal, ranging from a line of 6 jumping ears to simply a montage of dogs and dog-related pictures. A majority of the accompanying music has a non-vocal, techno, synthesized flair, but there are a pleasing amount of song from pop, rock, rap and alternative genres, like Gwen Stefani’s Hollaback Girl, Beck’s Black Tamborine, the Black-Eyed Peas’s “Pump It” and Missy Elliot’s Lose Control. Although the songs come from a wide spread of genres, the music is appealing, and even the sound effects, that go with laying down a block, making squares and clearing squares are pleasing in that they match the theme established by that particular level.
Clearing squares is one of the most rewarding things in the game. Once you assemble the falling blocks into a square, a vertical line called the timeline scans the puzzle from left-to-right and will clear the squares, making more room in your puzzle. The timeline accelerates and decelerates with the tempo of each song, giving each level it’s own rhythm. Leftover blocks that don’t make same-colored squares will get left behind. If not assimilated into a square, these blocks will be left behind by the timeline and build up if you’re not careful. If your puzzle continues to build up, blocks will eventually fill the screen resulting in the disappointing “Game Over.” But, when the timeline rolls over the squares, they disappear in a visually mesmerizing shower of sparks, cleansing your board and giving you a radiantly satisfied feeling. Couple this dynamic with the soothing audio and visual effects, and you’ve got an all-around enjoyable experience (once you learn how to play well, that is).
However, this is essentially what all Lumines games offer. If you have a Lumines game, you probably already have everything the game offers, unless you are a hardcore fan absolutely dieing for some new songs. The gameplay is the same and aside from the regular “survive as long as you can” play that is the core of Lumines, two forms of logic-based mini-puzzles are included (just like in Lumines I). Lumines II simply isn’t expansive or strong enough as a sequel to justify buying if you already own a Lumines game.
Also, the PSP will sometimes lag between the simultaneous level, song, and background change. The game will also slow down if you rack up an insanely huge combo including multiple squares. This slight hiccup in play isn’t a huge deal, but throws your rhythm a bit when full speed kicks back in.
The appeal of Lumines? It’s quirky, flashy, mesmerizing and oddly comforting once you get good at it. If you haven’t played Lumines before, Lumines II is a great place to jump in, especially because of that extremely attractive $20 price point for a very entertaining puzzle game. But if you’re a veteran Lumines player, Lumines II isn’t truly worth the upgrade.
Related games: Lumines (PS2), Tetris
Monday, March 31, 2008
Monday, March 17, 2008
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Xbox 360)
Reviewer: Will Kirschner
Title: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Platform: Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Windows, Mac OS X
Price: $59.99
ESRB Rating: M(17+)
Developer: Infinity Ward, Aspyr (Mac conversion)
Publisher: Activision
Age Range: 17+
Buy?
YES! This game had me from the second I turned on the console and I still can't stop thinking about it. It regarded in the same echelon as Halo 3 and rightfully so. A must buy for anyone who enjoys first-person shooters.
Summary:
The game has a dual plot storyline where you assume the roles of Sergeant “Soap” MacTavish of the 22nd SAS regiment and Sergeant Paul Jackson of the 1st USMC. The game begins with the violent overthrow and execution of President Al-Fulani by one of the, “The Horsemen of the Apocolypse,” Imran Zakehev. The horsemen are made up of Zakehev, his son Victor and the new dictator of the country Khalad Al-Asad. They pose a threat to the US and her allies with their anti-American ideals and of course nuclear weapons. Mayhem ensues.
Total Hours of Play:
5-8 hours to beat the storyline. Limitless on-line play.
Difficulty: Medium
Nothing about this game will trouble the experienced gamer with a bit of patience. However, if this is the first time you have gotten your hands on a FPS with the depth of Call of Duty 4 (COD4), this might give you some trouble. The game is the perfect amount of challenging to make fun.
Learning Curve: Medium
Not much has changed since the last installment in the Call of Duty series. Some levels have tricky bits which can tend to snag up even the most experienced player. The “iron sights” firing mode remains the same and feels almost too fluid for a video game. This has you looking down the barrel of the gun through a variety of different sites to fire.
Family Factor:
So not for kids! This game is realistically graphic when it comes to the level of violence it depicts. For example, there was a sequence where I sniped a man in the eye through my scope and he crumpled in a frighteningly human way. The game depicts a scene of what the developers think being in the blast radius of a nuke would look like. It was the most intense scene I have ever witnessed in my time as a gamer. This is definitely not a game for the younger teens in our audience.
Review:
I won't lie, this game inspired me with awe, made me laugh and I shed a few tears when it was all said and done. They finally made the decision to push the Call of Duty series out of the tired and nearly overdone WWII shooter genre and into modern war, and it could not have been a better decision.
The use of real weapons in the game and the stunning realistic graphics are absolutely breath-taking. The “iron-sight” shooting mode and the shooting mechanics in the game are down-right amazing. Iron sights differ from the conventional first person shooter, because instead of the normal aiming reticle, one pull back on the left trigger on the controller brings up a much more precise aiming mode. It is basically like if a gun was a sniper rifle at a normal range. It adds a immense level of realism to the game and is a great carry-over from the other Call of Duty games. The only drawback being that it requires you to be stationary and as we all know, a soldier only stays in one place when he is dying or killing. The gameplay feels fluid and incredibly natural. The storyline is as good as you could expect from a video game.
A minor drawback is that the storyline is too short (only 5-8 hours for a $60 game) and the characters seem a bit too type-casted. The health system, which allows you to regenerate the small amount of health you start with unlimitedly makes the game a little too easy at some points, but it helps on some of the tougher levels. The epilogue to the game is a major question mark but these are just minor issues with the game.
The online mode of the game is ridiculously amazing, challenging and fun. With everything from the classic death match to a one on classic cage match the variety in modes will keep you coming back for more. The game allows you to create customized classes, changing everything about your gun, whether it be attaching a a silencer or changing the gun's camouflage. You get Xbox achievement points for winning certain challenges which makes it all the more fun to play. The online game is a perfect ending to a perfect game.
Related Games:
The rest of the Call of Duty series, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six series and the Socom series.
Title: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Platform: Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Windows, Mac OS X
Price: $59.99
ESRB Rating: M(17+)
Developer: Infinity Ward, Aspyr (Mac conversion)
Publisher: Activision
Age Range: 17+
Buy?
YES! This game had me from the second I turned on the console and I still can't stop thinking about it. It regarded in the same echelon as Halo 3 and rightfully so. A must buy for anyone who enjoys first-person shooters.
Summary:
The game has a dual plot storyline where you assume the roles of Sergeant “Soap” MacTavish of the 22nd SAS regiment and Sergeant Paul Jackson of the 1st USMC. The game begins with the violent overthrow and execution of President Al-Fulani by one of the, “The Horsemen of the Apocolypse,” Imran Zakehev. The horsemen are made up of Zakehev, his son Victor and the new dictator of the country Khalad Al-Asad. They pose a threat to the US and her allies with their anti-American ideals and of course nuclear weapons. Mayhem ensues.
Total Hours of Play:
5-8 hours to beat the storyline. Limitless on-line play.
Difficulty: Medium
Nothing about this game will trouble the experienced gamer with a bit of patience. However, if this is the first time you have gotten your hands on a FPS with the depth of Call of Duty 4 (COD4), this might give you some trouble. The game is the perfect amount of challenging to make fun.
Learning Curve: Medium
Not much has changed since the last installment in the Call of Duty series. Some levels have tricky bits which can tend to snag up even the most experienced player. The “iron sights” firing mode remains the same and feels almost too fluid for a video game. This has you looking down the barrel of the gun through a variety of different sites to fire.
Family Factor:
So not for kids! This game is realistically graphic when it comes to the level of violence it depicts. For example, there was a sequence where I sniped a man in the eye through my scope and he crumpled in a frighteningly human way. The game depicts a scene of what the developers think being in the blast radius of a nuke would look like. It was the most intense scene I have ever witnessed in my time as a gamer. This is definitely not a game for the younger teens in our audience.
Review:
I won't lie, this game inspired me with awe, made me laugh and I shed a few tears when it was all said and done. They finally made the decision to push the Call of Duty series out of the tired and nearly overdone WWII shooter genre and into modern war, and it could not have been a better decision.
The use of real weapons in the game and the stunning realistic graphics are absolutely breath-taking. The “iron-sight” shooting mode and the shooting mechanics in the game are down-right amazing. Iron sights differ from the conventional first person shooter, because instead of the normal aiming reticle, one pull back on the left trigger on the controller brings up a much more precise aiming mode. It is basically like if a gun was a sniper rifle at a normal range. It adds a immense level of realism to the game and is a great carry-over from the other Call of Duty games. The only drawback being that it requires you to be stationary and as we all know, a soldier only stays in one place when he is dying or killing. The gameplay feels fluid and incredibly natural. The storyline is as good as you could expect from a video game.
A minor drawback is that the storyline is too short (only 5-8 hours for a $60 game) and the characters seem a bit too type-casted. The health system, which allows you to regenerate the small amount of health you start with unlimitedly makes the game a little too easy at some points, but it helps on some of the tougher levels. The epilogue to the game is a major question mark but these are just minor issues with the game.
The online mode of the game is ridiculously amazing, challenging and fun. With everything from the classic death match to a one on classic cage match the variety in modes will keep you coming back for more. The game allows you to create customized classes, changing everything about your gun, whether it be attaching a a silencer or changing the gun's camouflage. You get Xbox achievement points for winning certain challenges which makes it all the more fun to play. The online game is a perfect ending to a perfect game.
Related Games:
The rest of the Call of Duty series, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six series and the Socom series.
SOCOM 2: Combined Assault (PS2)
Reviewer Christa Puccio
Title: SOCOM: U.S. NAVY SEALs Combined Assault
System: PlayStation 2
Price: $17.99 USED
Rating: T for Teens
Developer: Zipper Interactive, Inc.
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios
Age Range: 12+
Summary: Lead a squad of four Navy soldiers into battle, using weapons and strategy to complete various missions.
Total hours of play: This game has unlimited game play due to the online gaming capability. Through story mode, the game has over 50 hours of play.
Learning Curve: Training is available in the main menu. Each action is described in the training and after each description the player must pass the training course to continue to the next action to learn. After the training is completed, the player is able to learn the techniques and strategy as they go along in regular game play.
Family Factor: Becuase the player is apart of the US Military as a Navy Seal fighting for their country, the game is filled with violence and weapons of destruction. However, it focuses a lot more on strategy and action rather than violence and gore. It is not too gory but is based on the idea of killing and assassinating, while also capturing and saving innocent civilians. There is not much blood present when killing an opposing player, however, when your character or a team member is shot, they stay lying on the ground and blood is visible on their face, but then the game cuts out to say that the mission was failed.
Buy it? Yes! This tactically challenging game contains hours upon hours of fun. This game engages the player with the diversity of the types of missions and the various difficulty levels available. If the missions ever become dull, the option of playing friends online is available. (requires Internet connection)
Review:
As commander of squad of four Navy soldiers, SOCOM is action packed with missions and battles for hours of game play. A quick briefing is given before each mission explaining the goals and any restrictions to abide by. There are hidden assignments throughout the storyline that can be picked up on while in battle as well. During game play, the only noises are sound effects including shooting, talking, footsteps, explosions and other battle field. Music is only played as an indicator of success or failure. After a goal is accomplished, the game plays rewarding orchestra music as an indicator appears at the top of the screen revealing what assignment was completed. As soon as a mission is completed or failed, music cuts in as well with either cheerful or depressing music accordingly. Besides those exceptions, the game is based on the sounds are according to the battle field.
Each mission varies in what weapons must be used, how they are used and what form of travel is necessary. Navy Seals are capable of battle in all types of conditions, as mission sites vary in climate, weather and/or location. Depending on the mission, the player will travel by foot, boat, or military truck. Both vehicles are equipped with built in weapons to use. Commanding the troops and looking out for the team is essential to the team’s success. The game is online compatible, through broadband only, allowing you to work live with others and not just with computerized characters. Combined Assault demands strategy, stealth and technique to conquer each mission.
The game does take some time getting used to with not only looking out for yourself, but having to take command of an entire team. It is challenging, but consequently addicting. The online side of the game is very exciting to be able to work with live others to compete. It has tons of hours of play and different levels of difficulty to push the player to their utmost limit. The requirement of stealth requires the player to get into character and tests their ability to strategize and problem solve. Some of the computerized characters do sometimes get stuck during game play in various glitches, which does become frustrating if the gamer is required to reset the game or restart the mission because a computerized teammate is stuck and cannot function properly. This rarely happens, but definitely is a noticeable issue.
SOCOM is unique in that it allows for the player to quickly switch views from third party perspective, to over the shoulder, to first person perspective by simply using the up and back buttons. Medal of Honor does not have this capability, only allowing the player to view the game through the first person perspective. SOCOM also allows the player to stand, crouch, and lay down by using the triangle button. While mobile, the player can sprint, jog, or skulk with the analog stick. These different capabilities enhance the player’s accuracy, battle field vision and allow the player to become more agile during game play.
Related games: Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction, Call of Duty 3, Medal of Honor.
Title: SOCOM: U.S. NAVY SEALs Combined Assault
System: PlayStation 2
Price: $17.99 USED
Rating: T for Teens
Developer: Zipper Interactive, Inc.
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios
Age Range: 12+
Summary: Lead a squad of four Navy soldiers into battle, using weapons and strategy to complete various missions.
Total hours of play: This game has unlimited game play due to the online gaming capability. Through story mode, the game has over 50 hours of play.
Learning Curve: Training is available in the main menu. Each action is described in the training and after each description the player must pass the training course to continue to the next action to learn. After the training is completed, the player is able to learn the techniques and strategy as they go along in regular game play.
Family Factor: Becuase the player is apart of the US Military as a Navy Seal fighting for their country, the game is filled with violence and weapons of destruction. However, it focuses a lot more on strategy and action rather than violence and gore. It is not too gory but is based on the idea of killing and assassinating, while also capturing and saving innocent civilians. There is not much blood present when killing an opposing player, however, when your character or a team member is shot, they stay lying on the ground and blood is visible on their face, but then the game cuts out to say that the mission was failed.
Buy it? Yes! This tactically challenging game contains hours upon hours of fun. This game engages the player with the diversity of the types of missions and the various difficulty levels available. If the missions ever become dull, the option of playing friends online is available. (requires Internet connection)
Review:
As commander of squad of four Navy soldiers, SOCOM is action packed with missions and battles for hours of game play. A quick briefing is given before each mission explaining the goals and any restrictions to abide by. There are hidden assignments throughout the storyline that can be picked up on while in battle as well. During game play, the only noises are sound effects including shooting, talking, footsteps, explosions and other battle field. Music is only played as an indicator of success or failure. After a goal is accomplished, the game plays rewarding orchestra music as an indicator appears at the top of the screen revealing what assignment was completed. As soon as a mission is completed or failed, music cuts in as well with either cheerful or depressing music accordingly. Besides those exceptions, the game is based on the sounds are according to the battle field.
Each mission varies in what weapons must be used, how they are used and what form of travel is necessary. Navy Seals are capable of battle in all types of conditions, as mission sites vary in climate, weather and/or location. Depending on the mission, the player will travel by foot, boat, or military truck. Both vehicles are equipped with built in weapons to use. Commanding the troops and looking out for the team is essential to the team’s success. The game is online compatible, through broadband only, allowing you to work live with others and not just with computerized characters. Combined Assault demands strategy, stealth and technique to conquer each mission.
The game does take some time getting used to with not only looking out for yourself, but having to take command of an entire team. It is challenging, but consequently addicting. The online side of the game is very exciting to be able to work with live others to compete. It has tons of hours of play and different levels of difficulty to push the player to their utmost limit. The requirement of stealth requires the player to get into character and tests their ability to strategize and problem solve. Some of the computerized characters do sometimes get stuck during game play in various glitches, which does become frustrating if the gamer is required to reset the game or restart the mission because a computerized teammate is stuck and cannot function properly. This rarely happens, but definitely is a noticeable issue.
SOCOM is unique in that it allows for the player to quickly switch views from third party perspective, to over the shoulder, to first person perspective by simply using the up and back buttons. Medal of Honor does not have this capability, only allowing the player to view the game through the first person perspective. SOCOM also allows the player to stand, crouch, and lay down by using the triangle button. While mobile, the player can sprint, jog, or skulk with the analog stick. These different capabilities enhance the player’s accuracy, battle field vision and allow the player to become more agile during game play.
Related games: Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction, Call of Duty 3, Medal of Honor.
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