Reviews : The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings

This has been nearly a complete year because Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings launched on PC and was praised around the world by gamers and critics alike. Since then console gamers have waited patiently for Polish developer CDProjekt to take the game on their beloved Xbox. Well, manufactured has finally arrived and luckily for those console gamers, The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings is as epic and praiseworthy an experience on Xbox 360 as it's on PC. For those of you unaware of The Witcher series, the result is the adventures of Geralt of Rivia. He's a Witcher, a monster slayer, a mutant alchemist, a man's man as well as a ladies' man. 

One bad ass mofo on all accounts. As Geralt, it is a personal job to roam the world and solve everyone's problems as a good RPG protagonist can. However, the Witcher is not your standard RPG fare. Sex, drugs, profanity, rape, murder, torture, as well as the occult are typical world with the Witcher, so be advised - this can be a mature game authored by mature gamers for mature gamers.

From the Witcher 2 Assassins of Kings, Geralt is once again tasked with essentially solving the world's problems. Yet this time, he's a major component of them. You see, as the game's name suggests, someone has been killing kings. On account of an unfortunate series of events it's going to be as much as an amnesiatic Geralt to find who's been killing kings, why they are killing kings, and just how everything ties into his long and storied history as the most well-known and deadly monster slayers inside land.

He'll do this by making use of a colorful cast that provide great dialogue and voice acting without interruption. Your mates will think that friends, enemies like enemies, and trolls like... trolls. The writing and direction on the game are the best, and also the Witcher 2 is really a game that puts any recent BioWare effort to the test in terms of storytelling. But make no mistake, this can be no Mass Effect 3. There may be true choice and consequence in the Witcher 2, so be warned, that small choice you're making in chapter one could have big consequences down the line. The thing is that, as the Witcher 2 is indeed a linear RPG separate into chapters, the plot branches wildly determined by your decisions along with the game features at least 16 different endings. If you need to know more I'll simply show you this image of any diagram which shows just some of the full branching questline with the Witcher 2. It certainly can't even fit on the screen. 

All I'm able to say is always that on this, my third playthrough on the game, I made different decisions and had different outcomes. It almost felt as an entirely new experience. The truth is, that's the most effective things I know concerning the game. Could not remember fondly the last time I played by way of a linear RPG over twice, aside from for just a third time. Normally I'd just go watch additional endings on YouTube, but with The Witcher 2 there is certainly a lot you possibly can miss on the way depending on your decisions, the action warrants multiple playthroughs. That is due in no small part to the fact that every quest is engrossing every conversation is engaging. The Witcher 2 is usually a top class role playing experience, that's for sure. 

Now, maybe you have heard which the combat is difficult, and choosing right. I endorse playing over the tutorial as well as playing the game on easy soon you reach Chapter 2. The thing is that, easy is more like normal and normal could be hard. However, when you've mastered the combat, you can find it's almost as deep and satisfying and CDProjekt says. One of the benefits PC players have has capable to import a save through the Witcher 1. This can start you off with a number of your old top end gear and provide you with a significant advantage ahead of time. That is not a solution inside the 360 version, so tread lightly you surely die. Luckily, the control and UI improvements created for the 360 work wonderfully and i also were built with a fantastic time playing through the game using a controller which I found a lot more fun and intuitive than a mouse and keyboard. Looting and navigating menus has become streamlined also, and it's really a welcomed experience. The truth is, I've become a big fan of CDProjekt's, "Press A to everything" approach. 

Last and surely including, the experience looks and sounds marvelous on Xbox 360 system. As someone who played the game on "ultra" settings on PC Let me tell you that as long as you're certainly missing out on a few of the grandeur of the visuals, the experience isn't hindered at all through the Xbox 360 elite. The textures are sharp, the frame minute rates are steady, as well as the world is both beautiful and terrifying. CDProjekt has done quite the project of bringing this kind of massive PC game to consoles without marring the overall experience, and they needs to be commended for it.

Any kind of issues? Several. The game itself, you'll definitely desire to install to your hard drive to chop documented on texture pop in and load time. But when you finally do you will be quite pleased. Regarding gameplay, the stealth chapters of the experience are nevertheless poorly implemented and much more of often these days they'll result in violence or even a re-load. Also, and a lot glaringly, the overall game still has deficiencies in autosave checkpoints - so save often. Never assume the overall game has saved, lest you might be backtracking 30 minutes or higher. It happened in my experience while i literally PC version also it happened in my opinion while using the 360 version. Save yourself the frustration. Save your game. 

Now, an issue I have been previously getting asked lately by gamers who've waited until now to learn the world of the Witcher is, "Should I find the 360 or PC version?" Well, after playing both for roughly a year now, I need to say that if you have a superior end PC efficient at running the overall game smoothly on at least high settings, obtain the Xbox 360 system version. It is just a complete experience right as they are that accompany some terrific content within in the box itself being a map, soundtrack and quest handbook. Included in the package have a full wall of achievements along with a truly fine addition to your hardcover 360 game collection. Even the game's regular edition seems like a collector's edition. However, no matter what version I favor, do your favor and have mafia wars. Because in the same way I said one full year ago, the world needs more developers like CDProjekt, and much more games like The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings.

Reviews : Crysis 3

Going All-Out In Terms of Graphics..

The other day in San fran, EA showed me five minutes of live gameplay of Crysis 3. The level they arrowed, nanopunched, and cloaked their way through happens of a third of how over the game, in the area formerly referred to as Chinatown in Ny—you can view footage from your demo I saw in today’s Crysis 3 trailer. From that brief demo, here’s nine notes and impressions I made.

You’re Prophet. Yes, the Prophet that killed himself. Crytek, course, didn’t make clear how Prophet survived his very real suicide in Crysis 2 (“Nanosuit magic” would be the likely medical explanation), but he’s the playable character. The mission we saw had Prophet to save Psycho (Crysis Warhead’s protagonist), who was simply being held underground, presumably by CELL.

It’s still occur NYC. 4 seasons: 2047, 2 decades following the end of Crysis 2.

…but Crytek is applying an absurd plot device in order to make new environments. IGN’s Mitch Dyer made this observation in the end were talking following demo yesterday. So that you can remove the Ceph spores still circulating in The big apple’s air, CELL erected “nanodomes” inside the city itself, sphered-off greenhouses that hyper-accelerate the plant growth within them. It’s a ridiculous premise, but Crytek says the terraformed zones let them modularly make savannah, canyon, swamp, and other environments.

It’s unclear how sandboxy Crysis 3 are going to be. Crytek and EA’s big, read-off-a-teleprompter marketing line was “adaptive sandbox gameplay” yesterday evening, though the demo I saw didn’t showcase any true openess. Perhaps it wasn’t long enough to qualify to do this, but there’s no reason yet will assume that Crysis 3 will permit any of the wandering, boat-stealing, or becoming lost how the original offered. Structurally, things i saw felt like Crysis 2—urban in the scale and structure.

Weapons tend to be more over-the-top. I thought this was a top point. Your compound, auto-loading superbow can equip shock (stun) or explosive warheads. One long-range bow kill used a behind-the-arrow camera. Without doubt, Crysis 3 might be a game with a gun that shoots 500 rounds an additional (the “Typhoon”). Much Mortar tore up a Ceph Devastator with plasma grenades and plasma missiles, splashing neon blue all up the street. Prophet are able to use Ceph weaponry (“It’s a little like District 9,” Crytek said), but a disadvantage towards alien arms are going to be that fresh ammo for the children can’t be found. After they’re drained of ammunition, you discard them.

You’ll fight the majority of the same Ceph. The 5-minute demo I saw mostly featured familiar enemies: Ceph Devastators, a Ceph Pinger, a dropship, and many Ceph Grunts. And though these folks were too busy being killed by the aforementioned aliens to deal with the problem, Crytek indicated that CELL soldiers can be another enemy.

…but some a new. I saw the Ceph Scorcher, a slithering, metallic creature that has a flat, fin-shaped head that could pop-up on four legs (it’s the primary quadrepedal creature within the CryEngine) to spit lines of fire, and Seekers—hovering, unarmed probes (roughly the size of a Manhack) that scan having a searchlight and deactivate your cloak if they spot you.

You'll be able to hack stuff. Hacking would be the only new Nanosuit ability that’s been revealed. From the concepts demonstrated, it’s a 1-button mechanic for making enemy devices fight available for you. From your second floor of any faceless office, Prophet moused more than a tall turret and activated a hack. A progress bar filled. The turret opened fire on nearby Ceph, and Prophet sprinted along toward his objective.

DX11 at launch. Crytek Senior Creative Director Rasmus Højengaard confirmed if you ask me that DX11 will be in at launch. He was less concrete about what graphics options Crysis 3 could make available. (At launch, Crysis 2 offered four measly settings to at launch: resolution, v-sync, HUD bobbing, the other of three pre-defined quality settings).

Article Source : http://www.pcgamer.com/previews/crysis-3-preview/

Review : Street Fighter X Tekken

Street Fighter X Tekken may be in the middle of drama since its announcement at ComicCon two years ago. First fans scoffed at the idea of converting Tekken fighters onto a 2D playing field, then we were holding outraged by gems, equippable jewels that give your characters bonuses once certain conditions are met. Now with the action’s release only workout . are upset, with nearly a third from the cast locked away as on-disc DLC, and multiple issues plaguing the web portion of the overall game. Capcom says they may be looking at the sound bug plaguing online and because you can’t spend playtime with two people on the same xbox online. If Capcom can fix these complaints and you will click beyond the overall game’s other issues, you might find yourself enjoying Street Fighter X Tekken more(a) any other fighting game currently (my score relies within the assumption that they'll). 

Fusing the gameplay of Tough and Tekken, the overall game plays somewhat a lot like Street Fighter 4 while using ruleset of Tekken Tag Tournament. Each player has two characters they can replace manually or perhaps center of a combo to supply their damage. If either of those characters fall you lose the round. Also juggles are prominent here, with many different moves resulting in a wall or ground bounce which allows that you extend your offense. During the battle you build meters, and this can be utilised in many ways like making your moves stronger and performing super combos. Back from Third Strike may be the power to build meters from whiffed moves, but the experience being so fast-paced I don’t see this feature being abused as it was in its predecessor. Whoever has played Street Fighter 4 knows the basics on the game, but they will quickly realize that SFxT is usually a entirely unique animal altogether. To the good thing about many combos are now better to perform. There’s additionally a feature that will perform combos available for you called the “quick combo”, nonetheless it will always be to be a feature for newcomers the way it costs a number of your precious meter. 

The fundamental change this is actually the introduction of chain attacks, a combo that enables you to definitely simply dial from light to heavy without the need of strict timing required. Players can hit the heavy button twice to launch their opponent and automatically attract their second character. Chain attacks really are a brilliant inclusion that can give a sense of accomplishment to players who don’t have or don’t wish to invest hours in training mode. Professional players have zero reason to fear the game is lacking in terms of depth, because the standard link combos will still be included and vital to performing competitively. They’ll still want to use the chain combos though, as possible cancel them into EX attacks in addition to as an effective way for earning your other character. Overall the newest technique is a fantastic in-between for both professional and casual players. For anybody who play fighting games for single player content and feel burned through the recently released Soul Calibur 5, have no fear. Capcom has included an abundance of solo options in the returning trial mode towards the new mission mode.

Mission mode is a set of 20 stages each with their own unique clear conditions including: “just use normal attacks,” or “fight 4 strong opponents when.” It’s a great little feature that wasn’t expected, and definately will often be increased with DLC. Similar in function would be the scramble mode, a fun diversion that enables for all four fighters to fight as well. The common arcade mode returns as well, and surprisingly Capcom has included CG endings for each from the 18 “official” teams. This really is another call on the Tekken games that are fitted with always been better known for their extraordinary endings which have been a lot more preferable to Tough’s usual stills. Graphically the game looks nearly comparable to Street Fighter 4, with all the 3D based characters looking goofy as usual. Stages aren’t as much as other games, but all the locales changes from round to round along with the music associated with all of them. Certainly one of the most popular stage can be a park party that goes from starting empty to going wild and everyone gradually leaving. It’s a distinctive means of presenting the passing of their time for the fight that isn’t any more when compared to a matter of minutes, but part of me prefers quantity over quality in cases like this.

With SFxT there was clearly a huge problem on everyone’s mind, would the Tekken characters transition to 2D? Thankfully I could report they've already made the transition smoothly, with lots of of them feeling the same as Tough Characters and being able to compete with them. Several of the cast have mechanics never seen before in a very Street Fighter game (for example Kazuya’s Mist Step) that will try taking a little getting used to, however it allows for the Tekken side to retain some of their individuality. Most players will probably want to begin with a team of Tough characters until they gear their bearings, however they should definitely browse the Tekken roster for a few fantastic characters. Unfortunately the Xbox version is lacking 5 guest characters featured from the PS3 version, but it’s been rumored that Pac Man and Mega Man are going to be coming as later on in life DLC. Street Fighter X Tekken can be an immensely enjoyable game which is suited not only to the hardcore, even so the casuals besides. You might be upset that a lot of the information is locked away within the disc or how the purity of the game is tainted by gems, when you peer past might target the game itself, you’ll be pleased. Hopefully Capcom fixes the web based issues because netcode is apparently much better than before, and many players desire to play locally together online. All issues aside, Capcom includes a real winner on their own hands with Street Fighter X Tekken.




Article source by by Alex Spruch 
http://www.planetxbox360.com/article_19282/Street_Fighter_X_Tekken

Shark 2 Reviews

Shank 2 is the game I need to to learn on the Super Nintendo while i was ten years old. They can fit right along with that era of gaming, when side-scrolling was at its peak and all a developer must do was put an awesome protagonist in and sprinkle it with some interesting levels and enemies. Really the only things these games were really missing were a lot of blood. The golden age of side scrolling ended while using introduction on the PlayStation and Nintendo 64, even so the genre hasn't been forgotten. Klei Entertainment played it safe using this type of sequel to 2010’s Shank, not straying too far from traditional side-scrolling gameplay, while updating the graphic violence to fit in with the modern day of gaming. The storyplot in Shank 2 is as much blockbuster as it's lackluster. Not too this is a bad thing; it obviously wasn’t an important concern for that developers. Shank 2 is about pumping in the action, pumping out the macho one-liners, and removing most things that decelerates the shanking.

Shank’s beloved has become kidnapped from the rebellion, a group of rebels that fought the cartel merely to dominate their business. Shank spews out a number of ultra-masculine one-liners with the length of the overall game, one inch how the actor might be heard holding back laughter with the delivery. And so the story sucks, nevertheless it’s all in good fun. The action, blood, and violence are what people shall be playing bingo for as there was no problem to be able. Shank’s animations can be extremely fluid, and transitioning between multiple weapons or attacks are slick. There aren’t any attacks or moves that delay the action and any shank links perfectly to another location attack. This prevents the game fast-paced and flowing as players shank, shoot, chainsaw, and beat their way through enemies. Shank carries a various weapons in the arsenal, including grenades, machetes, Molotov cocktails, mines, chainsaws, pistols, shotguns, throwing knives, where there may also be level specific weapons including, bats, spears, axes, fish, boat motors, gun turrets, etc. 

Using the different weapons adds adequate replay value towards the game, as players find out various ways to kill rebels with some other weapons. The amount design is basic, but it works. Players will encounter mini-bosses and bosses in the middle and end of each and every level. Players are able to use the particular level’s architecture as a way to effectively defeat these bosses. This is done simply enough by dropping boats on enemies or by roasting bosses using gas pipelines employing a flip of a switch. Apart from that, the amount are basic platform architecture. Players will jump from platform to platform, killing enemies, where there isn’t much for it besides that. Players may rescue hostages and locate intel through the levels, but this can be about all there is to it. The shanking is fun and the various enemy deaths is quite satisfying, but right at the end of the day, the gameplay has me craving for more. The bloodshed seems novelty when coupled to the simple gameplay. The campaign is 8 levels long and definately will take between 4-six hours to accomplish on Normal Difficulty. Players that want to discover all of the intel items and hostages can get more bang for his or her buck, as there are another Hard difficulty that may add hours towards the play-through time.

When players and carried out with the campaign, ladies Survival Mode that supports both local and internet-based co-op. The Survival Mode throws increasingly difficult waves of enemies at players on three different levels. Because the waves become harder, players will earn income to acquire circumstances to help them to within their fight against the rebels. Players can purchases tequila as a health power-up (Shank is man. When he drinks tequila, he leaves enemies and incapacitated. After i drink tequila, I leave chunks on to the ground.) Players also can purchase war pigs, decoys, mini-guns and much more to protect against the enemy waves. The Survival Mode is surprisingly difficult and players may have a great time playing through it with friends. Shank 2 is often a bloody good time. Its gameplay is familiar, but adds a flair of carnage not typically linked to the side-scroller genre. The violence is a lot appreciated, however the effect wears off after a couple play-throughs. The Survival Mode is a good substitution when ever gamers get bored with the campaign which is more desirable using a friend. Players buying a side-scrolling game proud and unapologetic because of its blunt machismo will get a throw out of Shank 2 and is priced fairly at 800 Microsoft Points.

http://www.planetxbox360.com/article_18962/Shank_2

Warp Review

Warp is one kind of those quirky form of games, one which has that refreshing aroma of independent game development (as furnished by Trapdoor, whose property got acquired by Electronic Arts). Playing through it, you’ll see where it was inspired by other games, like Splosion Man’s insatiable ought to punish scientists or even Portal’s now infamous auto turrets. You’ll enjoy moments such as these, ; however , make an effort to sink to the gameplay itself and realize the experience is usually a bigger beast than you could possibly realize. That’s not saying it’s flawed enough that you just shouldn’t get involved in it – and you should get ready for one mother of your battle, especially when the ultimate stage comes around. Amongst people, you play an adorable little alien named Zero. He’s hastily captured by humans with obviously spent too much effort watching X-Files reruns and to accomplish experiments on him in a lab. After running by way of a quick memory test and chowing concerning grubs (in-game collectibles that could lead to a trophy), they inadvertently re-introduce him to his finest ability – the talent of warping derived from one of spot to another. 

Once he comes into connection with this, all hell breaks loose, and so they you must do everything inside their power to contain him as they tries to generate his escape from the lab. Included in this are turrets, armed soldiers and nearly unstoppable grunts who smash their way through walls – rebuilding budget be damned. When Warp starts out, you can see what Trapdoor been on mind for the game’s puzzle design. Your ability to warp through walls, around air ducts and into objects is introduced cleverly, while you maneuver around objects being dragged around by cranes, sneak your path past turrets and in the end make your way towards the end from the stage. But since you’re brought to warping, there’s also an ingeniously sick ability that involves life – you can make things explode. Rather than just inanimate objects, actually. Along with destroying barrels and turrets, you can actually warp towards you inside a person, driving them to sick for any second or two prior to making them inflate as being a balloon and splattering them. Watching the blood spurt introduces an entirely new level to this particular game, built to be very welcome, despite the alternation in tone. You’ll need this ability subsequently, and more soldiers gather to perform you in, without the hesitation in blasting someone to smithereens. Warp’s got a good bead on its gameplay, ths issue is, Trapdoor doesn’t know when enough is enough.

The actual scale accumulates tremendously, to the stage that you’re flipping switches in some places trying to figure out just how ahead, or trying to figure out how to narrowly escape a pursuer who is able to’t be so easily killed by warping on the inside of him. The later stages are even harder, through enough time you can the ultimate stage, you’ll need the precision of your military soldier to get through in one piece. The sign of an good platformer is always to come up with a game progressively difficult without going much ostentatious, and, sadly, Warp kind of fails this test in a way. That’s not saying the action is impossible, but it really enables you to struggle over you need to, particularly looking at backtracking. In spite of having access to an even map and a thought in places you’re going, it’s considerably more difficult than it has to be. For the good side, we have a good level of replayability inside discovered challenge rooms. Here, you’ll work your way across timed challenges, recording your easiest score against others and achieving used to your warping controls – which aren’t bad, but have their moments of imperfection, especially when one inch of an wrong warp will have you falling for a death.

Warp includes a superb presentation for just a downloadable game. Like we said, the look appears to be something resembling Portal 2 or possibly a good earlier Valve development, with great stage design, small details here and there (such as the panicking scientists) and a decent (though not perfect) camera angle that tells you places you'll want to go next. The explosions are good too, and watching an individual develop into a gooey pile never gets stale. Likewise, the sound is pretty good. While Zero doesn’t have much to mention, the voicework because of the opposing humans is strong, along with the music has its inspired moments, making you feel a bit more distressed about your situation. In the event you’re up to get a harder rather game experience and don’t mind a bit infuriation to settle for your gameplay skills, Warp may just be strangely in your case. It’s got the type of challenges to actually help you stay return, particularly in the task rooms. However, should you’re a newbie and prefer a platformer that’s not too punishing, we recommend a rental first. Last item you have to do is warp yourself right psychiatric ward.

Article Source by Robert Workman

http://www.planetxbox360.com/article_19020/Warp