Video Game Reviews, Previews,and Walkthroughs

Oblivion PC review coming soon.

2009-11-13T15:55:00.000-05:00

I've been really busy the past month so I haven't had time to write, but the Oblivion review is coming soon.

Metal Gear Solid: Peacewalker Demo

2009-09-24T10:39:00.000-04:00

A demo for Metal Gear Solid: Peacewalker on the PSP is availible for free here. It was taken from the Tokyo Game Show so it's all in Japanese. Here are the basic controls.

Analog Stick - Move Snake

D-Pad Down - Toggle between kneel and stand, hold to lie down (but not to crawl?)

D-Pad Up - Multi-Use Action Button. Stealth button for hugging walls.

D-Pad Right - Choose Weapon (use Square/Circle to choose)

D-Pad Left - Choose Item (use Square/Circle to choose)

Button Pad (Triangle, Square, Circle, X) - Camera

Right Trigger - Attack with CQC

Left Trigger - Attack with Weapon (use Right Trigger to shoot after aiming)

Select - Toggle Auto-Aim

Start - Toggle Utilities, such as Map, Comm, etc.

Bioshock 2 Release Date

2009-09-19T14:50:00.000-04:00

Bioshock 2 is set to release Feburary 9th for the PC, Xbox 360, and PS3.

Possible Wii Price Cut

2009-09-14T20:50:00.000-04:00

It has been rumored the Wii's price will be dropped to $199.99 during the holidays.

GameTrailers TV New Episode

2009-09-11T19:29:00.000-04:00

The latest episode of GTTV was posted today, watch it here.
This episode is all about Lucasarts and their upcoming games.

Monster Hunter on Wii

2009-09-11T16:33:00.000-04:00

Capcom has officially announced Monster Hunter Tri for a North American release in 2010. The game will allow up to 4 people to play online co-op and take on prehistoric monsters with a variety of weapons. The has already been successful in Japan, with 1.6 million pre-orders placed.

How to Install Daggerfall on Windows XP

2009-09-11T16:19:00.000-04:00

The Elder Scroll II:Daggerfall is a classic RPG game that was recently released for free, here's a guide to installing and running Daggerfall on Windows XP.

First create a folder on your hard drive titled DOS. Then download and install Dosbox, a free emulator for running dos games, you can get it here http://www.dosbox.com/download.php?main=1.

After installing Dosbox you must configure it to run Daggerfall.
To do this:

1. Open DOSBox's configuration file:

     a) In Windows navigate to Start > Programs > DOSBox 0.73 > Configuration > Edit configuration.

2. .Make the following changes changes to the configuration:

        a) Under [dosbox], change memsize=16 to memsize=32.

        b)Scroll to the bottom and add the following lines after [autoexec]:

@echo off

mount c "C:\Documents\DOS" -freesize 1000
mount d D:\ -t cdrom -ioctl
c:

3. Save the file and run Dosbox.

Notes: If you have an LCD monitor, you may wish to scroll up to [render] and change aspect=false to aspect=true.
If desired, change fullscreen=false to fullscreen=true under [sdl] to enable fullscreen mode.

Install Daggerfall

NOTE: Daggerfall can be downloaded for free from the official Elder Scrolls Web site here http://www.elderscrolls.com/downloads/downloads_games.htm, packaged as a ZIP archive. It is identical to the 1996 CD release.

In Windows, extract DFInstall.zip to C:\DOS.

In DOSBox, type MOUNT C C:\ then C: then start the installer: dfcd\install.

Agree to the license.

Choose "Install the game to your hard drive".

Accept the install size.

Accept the installation directory.

Install. Wait.

Configure sound:

Choose "Select digital" and choose "SoundBlaster 16/AWE32"; set port to 220, DMA to 1 and IRQ to 7. Test if desired, then choose "OK".

Choose "Select MIDI" and choose "MPU-401" at port 330. Test if desired, then choose "OK".

Choose "OK" to quit the sound configuration utility.

Still in DOSBox, run dag213.exe to apply the patch; answer yes to both prompts.

Contrary to the installer's instructions, run Daggerfall by typing fall z.cfg.

Good Luck!
Taken from the UESP wiki, edited by Cloud957

Videos

2009-09-11T12:21:00.002-04:00

I have added a new videos section for my channel on Youtube.

What I'm Playing 9/10/09

2009-09-10T16:03:00.000-04:00

Right now i'm playing The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion for the PC, expect a review soon.

New 2D Sonic Game

2009-09-10T12:47:00.002-04:00

To celebrate the anniversary of the Dreamcast, Sega has annouced a new 2D Sonic game to be released sometime in 2010.
Other details are unknown.

Final Fantsy XIII Japanese Release Date

2009-09-10T12:42:00.000-04:00

Final Fantasy XIII has been confirmed for release in Japan this December.

Half-Life High Definition Pack

2009-09-10T11:44:00.000-04:00

The Half-Life HD Pack is availible for free to those who own Half-Life, Opposing Force, or Blue Shift.
It improves the quality of the weapon and character models.
Get it here,
http://store.steampowered.com/news/438/

Dreamcast 10th Anniversary

2009-09-10T11:40:00.001-04:00

Yesterday was the 10th anniversary of Sega's Dreamcast, released 9/9/99.
The Dreamcast was Sega's last home console and was the first 6th generation console.
It had several good games including the first Soul Calibur, It enjoyed strong sales at its release but flopped after the Playstation 2 was out.
Sega officialy ended all support for the Dreamcast in 2002.

Half-Life 2 Review (PC)

2009-09-10T11:35:00.007-04:00

Well here is my first review and it's for Valve's Half-Life 2.

Please subscribe and comment.

Half-Life 2 is a single player first-person shooter and the sequel to Half-Life, and while Half-Life 2 doesn't redefine the genre like Half-Life did. It does provide one of the most intense and fun single player shooter experiences to date.

What It's About

Set in the near future (20 years after the previous game), where an oppressive alien regime, known as the Combine, has taken control of earth. Half-Life 2 once again puts you into the shoes of theoretical physicist Gordan Freeman, who in his absence has become legendary among the human resistance. I won’t reveal much of the story it’s excellently done and features several plot twists you won’t see coming.

City 17, the first place you visit.

Presentation

Instead of having cut-scenes which take control away from the player, the game is made up of hundreds of scripted events. This means that when another character is talking to you or a zombie breaks through a wall, you still have the ability to move around and interact with the environment.
The game immerses you completely in the world; Combine soldiers patrol the streets and beat innocent citizens senseless, and small robots fly around and photograph your every move. Every aspect of the game is believable and possible.
10/10

Graphics

Despite being released 5 years ago, the graphics are still excellent today, the character models and facial animation are eerily realistic, and the environments are detailed and believable, the weapons are all bump mapped, and the physics are incredible. The engine has been updated since its release to feature HDR for realistic lighting.
However the environmental textures are not bump mapped and a lower resolution than today’s standards, and some of the particle effects are outdated. But all in all the graphics are still top notch.

The character models are amazing.

The game managed to run on my Mobility Radeon 9000 graphics card with 64MB video ram with medium settings with a frame rate of 23 fps.
The game ran smoothly with all setting turned high on a system with a 1.9 GHz dual core processor, 2GB Ram, and a 256MB graphics card.
8.5/10

Audio

All the sound effects are top notch, everything from walking to climbing sounds great. Every weapon has the appropriate kick to it, and the screams of the aliens are enough to make you jump out of your seat. The voice acting is some of the best seen in a video game, it’s the quality you’d expect from a movie rather than a game.

The music is minimally used, only coming on during key moments and the bulk of it is taken from Half-Life 1. The tracks themselves are a sort of upbeat techno, and fit the game surprisingly well. However none of them are particularly memorable.
9.5/10

Gameplay

The core gameplay is not much different from any other shooter; you travel through linear areas, and shooting stuff. However what sets Half-Life 2 apart is the unique things you engage in like riding a hovercraft through a canal, or commanding an army of giant alien insects.

Riding through the canals

The design of the levels themselves is great, they feel open and realistic, despite this being a very linear game. Your arsenal is also excellent; you have a human arsenal made up of the iconic crowbar, pistols, a sub-machine gun, shotgun, R.P.G, and grenades. You also have an alien energy rifle, and what is perhaps the greatest game weapon of all time, the gravity gun.

                            The Gravity Gun in action..

The gravity gun can pick up any physics object in the environment and use it as a weapon. Pick up saws and slice through your enemies, If a combine soldier hides behind a car, flip it on top of him, use a piece of metal as a bullet shield, the possibilities are endless. You can also use the gravity gun to solve puzzles, like using it to build a staircase out of boxes; almost all the puzzles in the game are solved using objects in the environment, which adds to the realistic feel of the game and help break up the action. The enemies are also excellently designed from the parasitic headcrab and the zombies they create to the many- legged Combine Striders, all the enemies are unique an interesting.

                         Facing of against some headcrab zombies.

The enemy A.I. is also impressive, Combine soldiers will actively take cover and flank you; however the partner A.I. is not as good, your partner will often get lost or stuck if you’re not careful.

The areas themselves are not divided into levels; you play through the game continuously with each distinctive part of the game as a chapter. With each chapter having slightly different gameplay.

Overall this is some of the best design seen in a shooter; gameplay is always fun and intense.
10/10

Replayability

The game will take you about 15-20 hours on the first playthrough, making it fairly long for a shooter.

After completing the game you can try it again on a different difficulty level, I played through twice in a row and still found the game to be fun. After purchase you can also get another chapter called The Lost Coast for free, though it only adds an hour or less to the game.
8.5/10

Closing Comments

This has been said in every review before but I’ll say it again, if you like shooters or even if you just like video games in general, you’ll have a good time with Half-Life 2. So rarely does a near perfect combination of graphics, gameplay and story come together, do yourself a favor and buy this game.

Overall Score
9.8/10

Half-Life 2
Developed by Valve
ESRB: M
Metascore: 96/100
Available on Steam for $19.99
http://store.steampowered.com/app/220/
Free Demo
http://store.steampowered.com/app/219/

Review by Cloud957.

All images are owned by Valve.