Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Jackass: The Game (PSP) Review

Is this as bad as a few nutshots?

I swear Jackass the game, which is available on PSP, PS2 & Nintendo DS, is a rare game. It's a hard game to find. When the game first came out, it's everywhere. Since I got my PSP, it's one game I'd like to get. When I finally find it. It's used & 10 dollars at EB games. I would have loved to have gotten the game with it's actual case and with a manual, but I am glad I got it at least.
Now before I continue, Jackass the game, on PSP & PS2 are almost the same game and the DS is just downright a piece of crap. On PSP, you are the new director for the new season of Jackass and you play as one of the Jackass members, though there's no Bam Margera, and I loved alot of them. There were only a few that I didn't like. Though the ones I did love, most of the later mini-games, feel like either bigger or smaller versions of the mini-game I played in an earlier episode. The audio has to be one of the best parts of the game, each cast member does their own character in the game and the music that plays while the mini-game goes on, just makes it feel more like the show. That's the main thing I loved about the game, it really got the vibe of the show. The graphics are PS2-good and that's not a bad thing. Though I do wish they made a new Jackass game for the new consoles. The one thing that makes the PSP version stand out from the PS2 and the very crappy DS version is the replay editor. With that, you play a mini-game, get footage, you can either make a little clip, an entire episode or you can make a full 7 episode (I'm pretty sure it's 7 episodes) season. Great graphics, audio, controls are simple and they show you them in the corner of every mini-game & a hell of a lot of stuff to unlock, the replay editor has to be the one mode in here that will take up most of your time and PSP's battery life. This is a mini-game collection done RIGHT. Jackass: The Game for PSP is getting a 9.0 out of 10. 

R.I.P. Ryan Dunn



 

Sunday, June 26, 2011

My thoughts on the Nintendo 3DS

Alright so the other day when I purchased Brunswick Pro Bowling for my PSP, outside of the Gamestop that I went to, was this truck promoting the Nintendo 3DS, and when I asked the guy who worked at Gamestop what was going on, he said "It's all Nintendo, they came in this morning and asked if they could park there." After I bought Brunswick Pro Bowling, I went into the truck and it was a pretty small truck, there were 8 or 6 tables and each had 2 3DS's and when one was available to try, I tried it out and the first thing I noticed was...the 3D is great on it! The handheld felt like I was holding a liter DSi but with an analog, which I'm gonna talk about in a minute. I was playing Excitebike and one thing I had to do was go from 2D, which shows it as the original Excitebike, but then when you put in the 3D. The 3D gave Excitebike alot more depth. There was more of a world, stadium, sky, clouds. It was amazing to see. I played one track once with the dpad and another with the analog stick. The dpad feels alot better then the DSi's dpad and as for the analog stick, if felt kinda cheap, kinda crappy, I'm not gunna lie. Then after a lady worked for Nintendo Canada explained more of the 3DS to me. In my head I was laughing, I already know what the system can do, I watched E3, I listen to the news from the Video Game Industry, I know what goes on. I know what the system can do. Everything she told me from Street Pass to transferring my DSiWare games to the 3DS, I know it all but I was nice and pretended like I didn't. I just wanted to play the damn handheld. One more thing I got to do before I left was, I took a picture of myself and turned it into a Mii. I look asian because my Mii's eyes are closed for some reason when my eyes were open during the picture but whatever, I thought it was awesome. I took two pictures of my Mii from my cell phone. One picture in 3D, one in 2D. Now instead of giving it a score, all I can say is the people at Nintendo ain't going hungry for a long time and I am really thinking about picking up the 3DS after my pleasant, random encounter with it the other day.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Guitar Hero: Metallica (Xbox 360) Review

Do you want to ride the lightning?

*Before I start the review, I gotta give a shout out to my good friend Jonathan Tisdale for letting me borrow his copy of GH: Metallica for the purpose of this review. Thanks Tisdale :) *


 Guitar Hero: Metallica, the second GH game based on a band. Except this time, you can play as the whole band. There you go GH! Now I'm going to be completely honest. I can't decide whether GH: Metallica or GH: World Tour is my favourite GH game, I love both for their beautiful graphics, incredible setlist & gameplay (which to me can never get old) & pure awesomeness. Guitar Hero: Metallica, I loved it but I was a little disappointed in. You can turn on the game and go right into quick play and have every song unlocked from the start. But for this time that I was playing I was going through the career and sadly, as much as I liked the cartoon/comic design of things, I didn't like the career, it was so boring since all the songs were already unlocked. One main thing I really did enjoy was playing the Metallica songs, watching this was as good as watching them live. Don't doubt this, I went to Youtube to watch a few live songs from them, this is just as good. Also another thing I went through this time was a few of the extras, the Metallica facts is cool to read & learn. The videos on how the game was made, videos with the band, this is a complete package for the fans. Fans of Metallica, don't be afraid to get this, this is a fan package right here. There may be no DLC except for that Metallica album which you can download in Guitar Hero 3, World Tour & here but the songs are always fun to play and I love singing Tuesday's Gone. Always fun. Guitar Hero: Metallica for the Xbox 360 is getting an 8.5 out of 10. 

Still can't decide between this and World Tour as my personal favourite GH game.

PSP Movies - Click, Dodgeball & Ricky Bobby Reviews!

3 movies, which one is worth watching?

Click Review
Click has to be one of my favourite Adam Sandler movies. (Little Nicky & Big Daddy being my favourites) Click was available for free download in the "Welcome Back" program on the PSN, so I thought...free movie download, why the hell not? Downloaded it...watched it and halfway through the movie, the audio started going faster then the movie and then I fast forwarded it and the picture was going faster then the sound. So I turned off my PSP and turned it back on and it still did the same problem. With that, I don't recommend downloading Click for PSP, I do however recommend watching Click on DVD, UMD or Blu-ray, if it's on Blu-ray.
 Click - Don't Download

Dodgeball Review
 Dodgeball was one of the first comedy movies I watched on DVD, finding it on UMD for 7 bucks was great for me because I haven't seen the movie in a few years and it still holds up. The characters, writing, everything. It's still one of my favourite comedies ever. If you find it on UMD and you're a fan of either comedy movies or Vince Vaughn, then check it out.
Dodgeball - Buy

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby Review
Ricky Bobby is definitely my number 2 favourite comedy of all time. (The Hangover being #1) Ricky Bobby is one of those movies that I can watch again and again and still be laughing my ass off at hours later. The shake and bake is still good on this UMD disc and I was EXTREMELY lucky to have found it in mint (never used) condition in a thrift store for 4 dollars. If you find Ricky Bobby on UMD for your PSP then it is a MUST BUY, this is an excellent comedy.
Ricky Bobby - MUST BUY


I did these PSP movie reviews for 1 main reason, to tell you that UMD discs are better then downloading the movie off of the PSN. After my experience watching Click, I don't think I'll be buying any movies off the PSN anytime soon.
 

Ape Escape: On The Loose (PSP) Review

Is the PS1 classic still good many years later on the go?

Ape Escape is another game I used to play when I was a kid. I remember a lot of these levels and playing it again all these years later was pure nostalgia for me and I loved almost every bit of it. Ape Escape hasn't changed much, the graphics look exactly the same, the audio, the controls are different, what this being on PSP and all but I got used to the controls in less then 10 minutes and by the time I was on the second level, I felt young again. A few problems I had with Ape Escape here (I didn't have problems when I was younger, I thought the game on PS1 was perfect.) was the camera, wasn't always behind Spike (the main character), whenever I would jump or fall, the camera just felt like it was going all over the place. Another thing is the difficulty, because this is a platformer, the camera is also difficult to manage when you jump and you can't tell if you need to go further or not when making a difficult jump. Wait until the last few levels of the game, then you'll see what I mean. Like I said earlier, audio is still the same and I still love it. The only part I found annoying was the cutscenes with the professor and the girl, they got a bit annoying. But other then that, I finally beat Ape Escape as well. I never beat it as a kid, I only got to the TV tower level or Specter-Land, I'm not really sure but either way I beat it in 2011 on the PSP. Well, with the problems I had here & there with Ape Escape, I did enjoy playing it again all these years later and Ape Escape: On the Loose for the PSP is getting a 7.5 out of 10.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

NHL 07 (PSP) & NHL 11 (360) Reviews!

2 hockey games, who will come out with the cup?


NHL 07 isn't that bad for a portable hockey game. It plays alot faster then NHL 11 & that's most likely cause it's a portable game. I got used to the controls very quickly and that's because they show them to you during the loading screen (which is a great idea!). Even though the graphics are PlayStation 2ish, that didn't bother me and I didn't have many problems with NHL 07 because this is the portable hockey game I wanted. NHL licensed, portable, awesome. I think the only problem I had with it is that this is 07. Not the new roster of players like there's no Luke Caputi or Reimer on the Leafs. I would hope that EA Sports starts up in making hockey games for PSP (or now, Vita) cause I would really like to have a Vancouver vs Boston battle for the cup game on the go. NHL 07 is getting a 9 out of 10.


Now as for NHL 11, I love it. The game looks beautiful. The few problems I have with NHL 11 is that there a few glitches that happen here and there, like when Luongo has the puck, he'll like shoot it from his glove and it'll go all the way to the other side of the rink. I call this "The Luongo Power Shot" The main thing I always play in NHL 11, other then quick play, is Battle for the Cup, which is a mode where you can do it in one game or 7 and you do like Vancouver and battle for the cup. I played the online once and it is fun, but I'm more of the "just get the puck and shoot at the net every chance you get" type of player. I did love the hits, they look like a hit from a real game. After seeing how EA sports is upping their game from NHL 11 to 12, I'm very excited for 12 but til then NHL 11 is getting a 9 out of 10.


It's aboot time the leafs won a cup, eh?

Monday, June 13, 2011

Star Wars Trilogy: Apprentice of the Force (GBA) Review

May the force be portable.

I remember watching the original trilogy when I was younger. I loved the sci-fi around it, it really entertained me and I always thought Darth Vader was the greatest villain of all time. Fast forward a couple years and one of the last GBA games I got was Star Wars Trilogy: Apprentice of the Force, which is all 3 original movies, A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. What I love about it is it is TRUE to the movies, line for line, scene by scene, opening sequence of floating word by floating word, and the music isn't that bad either. Since this is a side scroller (it's a gba game) you can move left and right and you can also jump, attack, and use jedi force powers which is pretty cool. The story is told through still blue with photos from Luke's perspective and the more talking parts are done with the characters in-game. A few of the things I did hate were the random enemies, like when you're playing through the Endor levels, which for some reason feel like they never end, you are fighting bees and dogs. Why am I fighting dogs & bees and what does this have to do with Return of the Jedi, or Star Wars in general? Another thing is most of the levels feel like they never end, or they are a giant maze. Why is that? Just make it a simple go from one side to the other until you get to the end of the level. Not go in a door WHICH BLENDS IN WITH THE BACKGROUND!!! But with those flaws, I did have fun with Star Wars Trilogy. The force is decent in this one. Star Wars Trilogy: Apprentice of the Force is getting a 7.5 out of 10.

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Naughty Bear (Xbox 360) Review

It's Naughty Time!

Naughty Bear. What to say about it. When I first heard of this game, I was excited. This is a kind of game I've wanted to play for a while. Where you are the killer. Now the story is, you are Naughty Bear and the other bears are holding a party and Naughty Bear wasn't invited, so that is your motivation to go and kill...better yet, "finish" all the other bears off. You can do it however you like, either run in and kill or you can do it slowly and stealthy. I liked mixing it up here & there, it was all good fun. I thought sabotaging the phones and electricity was one of the most smartest things in the game. It really reminded me of the Friday the 13th movies but with teddy bears. One of the few things I didn't like about Naughty Bear was the camera felt a little loose and was going all over the place, the killing animations just repeat over and over and over again. Another thing is the difficulty, one chapter level feels like it's the easiest game ever and then when it's a level with the zombie bears, it feels like the difficulty goes up to impossible. Now when I got this game, DLC is already out and so I got my hands on the free DLC, which is another chapter and instead of killing zombie bears or army bears, you're killing super hero bears. I loved this because most of the easter eggs in here are nods to super heroes like X-Men, Hulk, Batman, and also notice the kryptonite in the background and around the area. I loved it but not for long because the game just repeats itself over. Now before I finish the review, I gotta talk about the online. I played an online mode once. ONCE. Do you know why? No one's playing this online! So if you find this cheap, like 10 bucks cheap, then yeah grab it. You'll have some fun but once you see it all and the game starts to repeat itself, the fun dies out. Naughty Bear for the Xbox 360 is a 6.5 out of 10. Maybe next time Naughty Bear, maybe next time.