Delayed
Wow. I haven't posted in a while. I avoided it mainly because I haven't beaten games for a bit. I kept getting more.
Anyways, since I last posted I've bought:
50 Cent: Bulletproof: G-Unit Edition (PSP)
Spider-Man 3: Collector's Edition (PS3)
iQuiz (iPod)
Daxter (PSP)
Urban Chaos: Riot Response (PS2)
Pokémon Pearl (DS)
Reviews:
50 Cent: Bulletproof: G-Unit Edition (PSP)
Go ahead and laugh. I knew what I was buying when I picked it up. Be honest, do you know what the game is about? Probably not, outside of 50 Cent and guns.
In reality, the game is a top-down re-tooling of the PS2 version with more content added and gameplay issues addressed. I don't know exactly what issues were fixed, but I enjoyed it.
It plays like Gauntlet with a heavy hint of Dead to Rights, which makes sense as developers from that game worked on it. You run around levels shooting people, looting their bodies for cash and various bling, which you can trade in for a wild assortment of shit ranging from actual music tracks to G-Unit clothing.
At first the selection is daunting, with over 180 music tracks, 30 music videos and dozens of fly shirts and jackets to choose from. These just pepper the game and have no real effect on gameplay, but are a welcome addition. Inside your pad you can listen to the music in a custom playlist (shuffle or regular) or just watch the music videos and dress yourself in the purchased clothing.
Outside of that, you can also purchase new quick-kill animations, more ammo, health, health upgrades and other standard fare, but why bother when you can get that during the levels?
If you're a wuss, you can also purchase cheats like Invincibility or Unlimited Stamina, but wait until you're struggling first.
The actual gameplay works very well. The camera control is nonexistent, but never obtrusive. You can lock on to enemies, strafe, reload, dodge and switch weapons quite easily. Once you get a feel for the system, you can take out a group of enemies quite easily.
The cutscenes are straight out of the PS2 version, but they're well animated and quite frequent, featuring familiar faces like Dr. Dre and Eminem playing key characters in the story.
The boss battles are a little disappointing, given how straight forward they are. It usually boils down to you wailing on him with all your guns until he dies. Little strategy is ever needed and there aren't any gimmicks to exploit.
The game is short, probably about 5-8 hours, but has a fair amount of replayability. Completing the game unlocks a level select, and you can also choose the difficulty of the level before you go in, something more games should include.
This game is definitely marketed toward a specific demographic and you probably know if you are in it or not. I can understand a knee-jerk reaction to the premise of this title, but it worked out well, especially if you can get it cheap.
I wish I had more PSP friends around here so I could try out the multiplayer, both competitive and co-op. It feels like those could work well in this title.
iQuiz (iPod)
This is the first purchase I have ever made on the iTunes store, outside of using free credits. Do I feel the 99 cents is worth it? Yes. The presentation is wonderful and the gameplay is a step up from the aging Music Quiz. But to fully appreciate it, your music collection needs to be fairly robust and tagged moderately well. It comes with a few bonus categories like TV Shows and Movies, and can add in a few random music questions, but the meat comes from your own music, guessing if the song playing came from a certain year or is on a certain album.
Unfortunately, it feels the "year" category comes up far too often, so if your music tastes span many decades, you can feel a bit lost when trying to remember what year the Offspring released one of their albums.
To make up for that, Apple has allowed people to make their own quizzes, complete with custom music and graphics. Currently it's Mac only and I haven't seen any noteworthy quizzes, but I expect some good ones eventually and who knows how long the 99 cent price will last?
I'd say go for it if you are considering it.
Haven't touched Urban Chaos yet. I want to.
Currently playing:
Spider-Man 3: Collector's Edition (PS3)
Daxter (PSP)
Pokémon Pearl (DS) (not that much. I want to avoid it until I have a relatively clean slate)
Anyways, since I last posted I've bought:
50 Cent: Bulletproof: G-Unit Edition (PSP)
Spider-Man 3: Collector's Edition (PS3)
iQuiz (iPod)
Daxter (PSP)
Urban Chaos: Riot Response (PS2)
Pokémon Pearl (DS)
Reviews:
50 Cent: Bulletproof: G-Unit Edition (PSP)
Go ahead and laugh. I knew what I was buying when I picked it up. Be honest, do you know what the game is about? Probably not, outside of 50 Cent and guns.
In reality, the game is a top-down re-tooling of the PS2 version with more content added and gameplay issues addressed. I don't know exactly what issues were fixed, but I enjoyed it.
It plays like Gauntlet with a heavy hint of Dead to Rights, which makes sense as developers from that game worked on it. You run around levels shooting people, looting their bodies for cash and various bling, which you can trade in for a wild assortment of shit ranging from actual music tracks to G-Unit clothing.
At first the selection is daunting, with over 180 music tracks, 30 music videos and dozens of fly shirts and jackets to choose from. These just pepper the game and have no real effect on gameplay, but are a welcome addition. Inside your pad you can listen to the music in a custom playlist (shuffle or regular) or just watch the music videos and dress yourself in the purchased clothing.
Outside of that, you can also purchase new quick-kill animations, more ammo, health, health upgrades and other standard fare, but why bother when you can get that during the levels?
If you're a wuss, you can also purchase cheats like Invincibility or Unlimited Stamina, but wait until you're struggling first.
The actual gameplay works very well. The camera control is nonexistent, but never obtrusive. You can lock on to enemies, strafe, reload, dodge and switch weapons quite easily. Once you get a feel for the system, you can take out a group of enemies quite easily.
The cutscenes are straight out of the PS2 version, but they're well animated and quite frequent, featuring familiar faces like Dr. Dre and Eminem playing key characters in the story.
The boss battles are a little disappointing, given how straight forward they are. It usually boils down to you wailing on him with all your guns until he dies. Little strategy is ever needed and there aren't any gimmicks to exploit.
The game is short, probably about 5-8 hours, but has a fair amount of replayability. Completing the game unlocks a level select, and you can also choose the difficulty of the level before you go in, something more games should include.
This game is definitely marketed toward a specific demographic and you probably know if you are in it or not. I can understand a knee-jerk reaction to the premise of this title, but it worked out well, especially if you can get it cheap.
I wish I had more PSP friends around here so I could try out the multiplayer, both competitive and co-op. It feels like those could work well in this title.
iQuiz (iPod)
This is the first purchase I have ever made on the iTunes store, outside of using free credits. Do I feel the 99 cents is worth it? Yes. The presentation is wonderful and the gameplay is a step up from the aging Music Quiz. But to fully appreciate it, your music collection needs to be fairly robust and tagged moderately well. It comes with a few bonus categories like TV Shows and Movies, and can add in a few random music questions, but the meat comes from your own music, guessing if the song playing came from a certain year or is on a certain album.
Unfortunately, it feels the "year" category comes up far too often, so if your music tastes span many decades, you can feel a bit lost when trying to remember what year the Offspring released one of their albums.
To make up for that, Apple has allowed people to make their own quizzes, complete with custom music and graphics. Currently it's Mac only and I haven't seen any noteworthy quizzes, but I expect some good ones eventually and who knows how long the 99 cent price will last?
I'd say go for it if you are considering it.
Haven't touched Urban Chaos yet. I want to.
Currently playing:
Spider-Man 3: Collector's Edition (PS3)
Daxter (PSP)
Pokémon Pearl (DS) (not that much. I want to avoid it until I have a relatively clean slate)
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