Review: Little Big Planet (PS3)

Little Big Planet has to be one of the most creative games ever made.  Who would've thought that little childish looking "sackboys" and "sackgirls" could be so much fun?  In this game, you start out as a plain little brown sackboy.  As you traverse little big planet, you find lots of items that help you not only customize your sackboy, but also your little box that you start in and levels for you to create.  The game is a traditional platformer at heart.  You run around and jump over gaps in the ground, yadda-yadda-yadda.  But other than that, there are tons of puzzles and races for you to do as well.  The game play is simple and fun and when you add players it only gets better.  I have to say though, if you play with 4 people, make sure you all have a cohesive attitude and can move together because if not, it can turn into a real mess.  The camera isn't too forgiving for those who get ahead or fall behind.  While the initial loading of a level is slowed down a bit by having more players, the frame rate is spot on.
Everything in Little Big Planet is customizable.  Let's start with your sack boy.  Everything on your sackboy is customizable throughout the game.  You get new clothes, hair, facial hair, eyes, ears, noses, tails, colors (skins if you will), teeth, and even your sackboy's gender can be altered!  There are tons of costumes in the game that you can mix and match together and Sony has already released some free DLC on the PSN for two more costumes (one is an astronaut and one is a jack-o-lantern.  If that isn't enough, even your sackboy's emotions are customizable.  If you press a certain direction on the d-pad, it changes your sackboy's mood.  Left is scared, down is sad, up is happy and right is angry.  There are three "degrees" to each emotion and there is also the default emotion.  Want more, oh, there's more!  If you press L2 or R2, the sackboy's respective arms will move where ever you point the thumb sticks.  This is useless for the most parts as far as getting through the game is concerned but it's a lot of fun, especially when you aren't playing by yourself.  If you are playing with another person, when you are close to them and you flick the thumb stick hard enough your sackboy will smack the other sackboy.  You emotions also play a part in the are movement as there are different gestures that follow each emotion.  Default is pointing with the index finger, happy is peace signs, sad is thumbs down, angry makes a fist, and scared has open palms.  There is one last thing that you can do with your sack boy and that is make him move.  I don't mean left and right on the screen, I mean part of his body.  If you turn your controller in certain directions, your p.o.s. er, i mean, uh, sixaxis will move either your sackboy's head or pelvis in that direction.  If you press down on the left thumb stick, it will change which is being moved.
So, other than making your sackboy unique and playing platforming levels, what can you do?  Well you can make your own levels!  I must admit, when you first start doing this you will get frustrated.  There is a large number of tutorials that you are forced to go through before making specific things in your level.  My suggestion is to keep clicking the "next tutorial" button until you go through them all before you start.  Once you've done all of this, you can make tons of levels any way you want them.  The further you progress through the story levels in the game, the more objects and materials you will have to play with in your levels.  To the game's credit, you get a massive chunk of land to put your level on and the possibilities are literally endless.  There is a level that I played online that was made out exactly as the first dungeon from the Legend of Zelda (the 1st one on NES).  It was remarkable and I wish I knew how he built it, because you played as link, not as sackboy.  Well, if you want to know more just ask because this isn't a review of that kid's level.  Anyway, when you finish your level you can save it to your console and you can post it online for others to play if you like.  A note to anyone who posts their own level: Please play through it first and make sure that the obstacles you've made are physically possible and that there aren't any places to get stuck.  
Now, when you play online there are two things you have to deal with.  1) Whoever you're playing with and 2) the PSN and its tendency to sign you out for no reason at all.  Other than that, lag is at a minimum until you have 4 players from 4 different consoles.  Then it can get a little jumpy but nothing to write home about.  Online levels... You need to keep in mind that your average person is not very creative.  Most of the levels you will find aren't very good, but there are good ones out there (like the zelda one I mentioned before).  You can leave feedback on people's levels as well so when they suck, don't just say YOU SUCK!  Tell them what they could do to make the level better because otherwise they'll just ignore you.

Anyways, in the end, this is a MUST HAVE title for the Playstation 3.  It may look stupid and childish but it's really a lot of fun.   Endless hours of fun await in this game and when you get bored with it, make your own levels or play other people levels.  Then when that gets boring, bring other people over to play with you and I guarantee you the fun will be back.  Oh, and this game does have trophies as well (48 to be exact).  I give this game a 9 out of 10 for its awesomeness.

9/10

-CA

Preview: Mirror's Edge (PS3, Xbox 360)

Out this week for the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 is another all new IP from EA called Mirror's Edge.  Mirror's Edge is made by EA's DICE studio, which last made a great impression with Battlefield: Bad Company, so I have high hopes for this game.   The game takes place in the future where information has become possibly the most valuable commodity.  Communication in this world is heavily monitored by some sort of totalitarian regime so the only way to get information for one person to another without it being compromised is by what they call "runners".  Runners carry this information and bring it to the people who require it by travelling on foot.  This might not sound very exciting until you see that most of the time, you are travelling by rooftops.  In the game, you play as a runner named Faith (see pic below).  The game's most unique selling point would be the gameplay itself.  The camera is at first person, but it definitely wouldn't be labeled a first person shooter.  This is a first person action adventure.  

A demo version of the game has already been released on both the Playstation Network and Xbox Live.  If you haven't tried it out yet, I highly recommend it.  The demo starts out with you as Faith, recovering from an accident that you had the last time you had a mission.  This is the demo's excuse for teaching you the unique controls scheme.  My biggest surprise is how well the controls actually work.  After an obstacle course or sorts, you head out with a fellow runner and do a sort mission and then the demo ends.  Enemy interactions are quite unique in this game as the most important aspect isn't killing them (though if you acquire a gun you can), but is disarming them.

In the end, I am personally anxious to see the final product of this game.  It is unique and can turn out to be great, but through the demo you can see many areas where the game could POSSIBLY fail.  Let's hope DICE thought all of those areas through and EA can get two great new IPs out in one year (this and Dead Space).  Here is the official trailer.

-CA

First Impressions: Gears of War 2 Single Player Campaign (Xbox 360)

I managed to pick up my Gears of War 2 Limited Edition earlier today and cram some gametime in and needless to say, I was impressed.  For those wondering, the limited edition comes with an art book, special packaging, a free DLC code for a gold plated lancer assult rifle for multiplayer, and a free DLC code for a Gears of War 2 theme that has been optimized for the NXE.  Both versions of the game come with a free DLC code for a 5 map map-pack for multiplayer and a 48 hour trial of XBL.  The game appears to be told from more of a narrative vs how the first Gears game was.  I'm playing through on the Hardcore difficulty on my first time through the game and I am impressed with a number of things.  First and foremost would be the enemy AI.  Sometimes you feel like you're playing online against actual people because the locusts really work as a team.  They hide in seperate areas and when you go after one, the other attacks and vice versa.  They also heal each other when they are almost dead just like you can do in co-op.  I have only come accross one new gun so far, that being the Hammerburst assult rifle.  It's a powerful assult rifle that shoots as fast as you can click the trigger.  It has a bit of recoil but is definitely a fun gun.  The graphics are beautiful (as expected) and the sound is as well (same as GoW1).  I have yet to play in Co-op or online so there isn't really anything I can say about it at this time but I wanted to post this for the people who were wondering if this is as good as the first.  The answer is, no.  It is much better than the first.  I'd say it's a must-have for Xbox 360 owners.

-CA

Review: AC/DC Rock Band Track Pack (Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, Wii)

Let me start by say this isn't going to be a normal review because this is not a normal game and thus, will not get a rating.  This is a stand alone track pack (you don't need either Rock Band game to play it) with 18 AC/DC songs (all live).  This game is full of disappointment, BUT THAT DOES NOT MEAN YOU SHOULDN'T GET IT!  (please read whole review before any decision making)  The first disappointment is the price.  $40 ($30 for PS2) for 18 songs?  Give me a break!  Secondly, the game is made on a bare bones version of Rock Band 1.  Everything is exactly the same as Rock Band 1 except there's only 18 songs, they're all AC/DC, the lag calibrating sucks compared to Rock Band 1's, there's only 1 venue to play at, and you can't make customized characters.  Other than these, it is exactly the same: hit or miss hammer ons (they fixed em in Rock Band 2, so why this has them still I'll never know), same menus, even the same loading pages!  

Ok, now to the positive things!  AC/DC rocks!  All of the songs are fun and the fact that they are from live shows gives the game a great environmental feel as far as sound goes.  The game actually has achievements (12) and I'm not sure if the PS3 version has trophies or not.  The game is challenging regardless as to which instument you choose; though the guitar and drums have some pretty intense solos that the bass and vocals can't compare to.  Despite all of the disappointing things about this, I would still recommend it; though not to everyone.  If you love AC/DC, buy it now.  If you just like rock band and aren't too crazy about AC/DC, wait until it goes on sale.  The game's most redeeming factor is that the songs are exportable onto your hard drive to be played on either Rock Band 1 or 2! **It is not an in game option.  There is a code on the back of the instruction book that you have to enter through XBL or PSN.  So don't think you can be slick and just rent the game and copy it onto your hard drive because the code only works once.**  And if you have Rock Band 2, this will rid the pack of all of the disappointing features!  The song list is as follows:

"Thunderstruck"
"Shoot to Thrill"
"Back in Black"
"Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be"
"Heatseeker"
"Fire Your Guns"
"Jailbreak"
"The Jack"
"Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap"
"Moneytalks"
"Hells Bells"
"High Voltage"
"Whole Lotta Rosie"
"You Shook Me All Night Long"
"T.N.T."
"Let There Be Rock”
"Highway To Hell”
"For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)”

This game will be available for the Wii on November 16th ($40).  Final Thought: Get it now if you love AC/DC.  Get it when it goes on sale otherwise.  Oh, and this game is ONLY available at Wal-Mart.

-CA

Correction/rebuttal to HD confusion

Just a minor note to add to Josh's little rant... The problem with the Playstation 3 games not being 1080p does not lay with Sony (in fact the only 1080p game you listed was made by Sony) but it lies with the developer.   I don't know what the problem is, whether it is just ridiculously hard to make PS3 games 1080p or whether developers are just too cost conscious to the point where they're almost lazy; but for some reason there are an extremely limited number of games for PS3 that utilize 1080p and most of the are made by Sony.  Xbox 360 games with 1080p capibilities have been on the rise lately.  What's the deal?

-CA

Nintendo, Nintendo, Nintendo......

Oh, Nintendo........where do I start? How bout the fact that apparently only children and old people are buying from you this holiday season. At least that's what it looks like by what awesome games you're not releasing this year. Where's Zelda? Metroid? Mario? That Kid Icarus game you promised? I'm a hardcore gamer, I need the good old Miyamoto magic I know and love! Oh, whats that? Oh, he made WiiMusic? Oh, I guess that's the reason why you made him sign a contract that copyrights everything he thinks about for your own personal use; for ideas like that.

Can't forget about Animal Crossing for Wii! Apparently thats the game coming out this year for people like me. It comes with an awesome WiiSpeak speaker/mic so the whole family can play (for about 10 minutes). Don't get me wrong, Animal crossing is awesome, but Nintendo's attempt at online play is a little disappointing. XBL and PSN are doing it right by using headsets, which promotes privacy......which i like when I'm playing online because there always gonna be some 12 year old kid from upstate New York that has the dirtiest mouth and thinks its cool to talk like that cause his parents are asleep.

And where are we at with availability of Wiis? In the same boat we where two years ago when they launched. You have to know somebody that works at a major retail chain in order to get one, and everywhere seems to have them for about 10 minutes. Its the exact same thing with WiiFit. I dont know if Nintendo is doing this on purpose or what, because supposedly they've increased production to 600,000 per month.

Well. I guess we'll have to wait until next holiday season to see if Nintendo picks up the ball again. Maybe a ball with Zelda, Mario, and Metroid on it.......maybe.

thanks for reading

-JD

PS: Microsoft. Keep it up!

HD Confusion

Ok. I know I'm probably not the first person that's wondered this, but maybe i should be the first to mention it. I recently got a chance to compare the specs of both the 360 and PS3 versions of Fallout 3. I was surprised to find out that the PS3 version is in 720p, while the 360 version is in full HD 1080p greatness. Now, tell me how this is possible! 360 games are on dual-layer DVDs (12.4GB), and PS3 games are on dual-layer bluray discs (50GB). Why would a game with such an open world and countless features be able to run in 1080p off of a DVD? Either Microsoft is lying or Sony is holding back.

Now, this has happened with certain games, where I notice a difference in graphics during gameplay. Games such as Grand Theft Auto IV on 360 look amazing, while on PS3 it looks dismal. While playing GTA:IV (hooked up component, mind you, not HDMI) the explosions are the most realistic I've ever seen. Then I played my buddy's copy on PS3.......not as exciting. My question is: why? Bioshock also looks loads better on 360, than the PS3 port.

With Sony's "amazing 8-core cell processor", its possible that things like this are just too hard to program, which hurts the look of the game. But, Uncharted doesn't look so bad. LittleBigPlanet looks amazing. So what's their excuse? We may never know......

If anybody is able to answer this question, please comment.

Thanks for reading

-JD

PS: Nintendo? You're next.....