Resident Evil 5 Review (Xbox 360)

Editor's Note: I have never played any of the Resident Evil games in the series prior to this installment. Yes, I know, as a gamer you ask "how could you?" Well I wasn't really into horror/zombie type games to begin with, but I just couldn't resist the graphics of 5 and so far am pleased with the game overall.

Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Release Date (US): 3/13/2009
System(s): Xbox 360, PS3
Modes: Single/Co-op campaign over Live, Co-op, or split screen; multi-player Versus (DLC)

When I first popped in Resident Evil 5 (RE5) into my Xbox 360, I forgot how loud the DVD drive is! So of course I immediately put the game on my Elite as soon as I got the chance. Here are some first impressions of the game that I've thought about since playing it last weekend.

Pros:

• Quick keying with D-Pad
• Offline, Online, and Systemlink co-op
• Ability to go back to completed levels and finding more treasures to sell.
• Added replay game value for Achievement whores that want to obtain and upgrade all weapons, purchasing all outfits, obtaining all treasures, etc.
• Graphics are insanely beautiful.
  

Cons:

• Ammo management - Ammo takes up a separate slot in your nine box inventory grid. If you have a hand gun and rifle with full ammo and some spare ammo, then you will need 4 of the 9 boxes available. 2 for the guns and 2 for the different types of ammo. If your gun is empty and you come across ammo but have no available inventory slots, then you either need to drop something and pick up the ammo or use an item. Ammo should not be something that occupies an inventory slot!!
• Melee - press and hold LB, but you can't physically walk when you unsheath your knife/sword. Zombie AI is smart and will hang back until you get out of the way.
• You have to pay for the multi-player that will be available via DLC.
  

You can look at this as a plus or a minus, but some of the cut scenes are interactive; meaning you have to press a button at certain times when the screen tells you to. Some might thinks this is fun and unique (I don't know if the other games in the series has this feature), but others might find it annoying because they'd rather just watch the scenes like a movie.

I'm through Chapter 4-2 in the game and so far there has been shooting guns off of vehicles, interactive cut scenes, plenty of weapons (but sometimes short on ammo), and killed a mini boss at the end of every section of each chapter. It's fairly challenging on the intermediate level (Recruit, Soldier, Veteran, and then later War Hero is unlocked).

I give this game an overall score of 8.1 out of 10. This game feels like zombies mixed with the graphics and gameplay of Gears of War, except with a crappier control scheme.

RE5 on Wikipedia
RE5 on Metacritic
Xbox Joystiq article comparing Gears of War and RE5
Another Joystiq article

Castle Crashers - XBLA

Developer: The Behemoth
Publisher: The Behemoth
Release Date (US): 8/27/2008
System(s): Xbox 360
Modes: All You Can Quaff, Arena Mode, Story Mode
Rating: T (Teen)

What can I say about Castle Crashers? That game is SOOOOOO fun!!! So fun that it gets people who don't care for gaming at all to play. Think of this as an RPG version (characters can have 4 types of skills leveled up throughout the game: strength, magic, defense, agility/archery) of TMNT Arcade Game or X-Men the Arcade Game. It's really just a smash and grab game that pays homage to the classic 2D side scrolling action adventure genre. At first I thought the 1200 MS Points ($15 US) was a bit steep, but this game has a little more depth to it, as well as excellent HD graphics. It's one of the only games I can think of from the XBLA that employs widescreen and not a little 4:3 box.

• All you can Quaff is a single and multiplayer mode that is a basically a button masher. You press buttons alternately to make your player eat food. Whoever finishes all their food the fastest wins. This seems to go on forever ( never played more than 6 or 7 rounds at a time) with no apparent end.
• Arena - in single player mode, you fight an onslaught starting with one, then two, then three, etc. of one type of enemy. That enemy is usually whatever enemy dominates the nearby level close to the arena or stadium that you are in. The arena near the thieves' forest is filled with arrow-wielding thieves. After you beat all of them without dying, you unlock characters. In multiplayer everyone fights amongst themselves until one person is standing victorious.
• Story - I don't think I need an explanation here...

Each of the characters have a different magic power. The green soldier has a toxic green poison that continues to temporarily hurt the enemy for a small amount of time, the red soldier is lightning, the orange soldier is fire, and the blue soldier is ice. As you increase your stats in magic, your powers become stronger. At a certain point you can shoot your magic powers through the air and when you jump.

In all honesty, I am lazy, but that's not why I feel that I don't need to make a long review out of this game. For starters, I'm trying to catch up on games I've bought since doing the last few reviews. It's a lot to cover, but Castle Crashers should be downloaded immediately. I was wondering why there was so much hype about it, but it really is a great game.

9.5/10 for high replay value and universal appeal. Plus it's fun to try and get all of the characters maxed out on stats.

Geometry Wars Retro Evolved 2

Developer: Bizarre Creations Ltd.
Publisher: Activision
Release Date (US): 7/30/2008
System(s): Xbox 360
Modes: Deadline, Pacifism, King, Evolved, Waves, Sequence
Rating: E (Everyone)

Geometry Wars 2 is the follow up to the smash hit Geometry Wars Retro Evolved, available for download at the Xbox Live Arcade/Marketplace for 800 MS Points ($10 US). I was sucked in when I played the first version of this game, which is actually a game type in the second iteration as "Evolved."

The look and graphics are about the same as the first one, except it is a bit harder to see your ship at times on this version than others. The fact that it has 6 game modes as well as multiplayer (up to 4 local only) improves upon the original version. Too bad there wasn't a discount for those that owned the first Geo Wars.

If you enjoyed the first Geo Wars, you should DEFINITELY purchase this game. Don't even bother with a trial, just buy it and download it! You will NOT regret it. I honestly feel like this review does not require a whole lot of opinion writing because it's one of those games you will either be sold or not by playing it first hand. It's a good thing XBLA allows for free demos of all their games! One main difference is you collect green shards of gems called "Geoms" that up your multiplier rather than just get a string of kills without dying.

I might as well quickly go over the game modes of GW2, with most of the games having just one life:

• Deadline - Infinite number of lives but only 3 minutes to get as many points as you can.
• King - You can only shoot when your ship is inside a protective circle or "field" that shrinks once you enter it.
• Pacifism - Your ship cannot shoot but can travel through gates that will cause an explosion and destroy nearby enemies. If you hit the gate on the sides/edge, you die.
  
• Evolved - Start with 3 lives and 3 bombs, it plays like the last Geo Wars except your multiplier does not reset to 0 when you die.
• Sequence
• Waves - My personal favorite, you have to watch out for "waves" or lines of enemies that move in straight lines back and forth or top to bottom repeatedly until they are destroyed.
  

The game also "knows" when you are attempting an achievement and will give you a status of how close you are to that achievement at the bottom of the screen. All of the game modes can be played single player or multiplayer, versus or co-op.

GREAT GAME! Go BUY IT TODAY if you haven't already!
9/10

Persepolis (2007) Review

I saw a trailer of this movie while watching this "Nothing But Trailers" show on HD Net. It looked interesting enough so I decided to check it out... by check it out I meant find a copy of it!

I was very impressed with this film. Originally in French, I normally would read the subtitles and listen in French, but since I was playing with my new MacBook, I decided to listen in English (which the subtitles and dubbed voice overs do not sync up).

This movie is about the life told by the narrator, a girl who grew up during the Iranian Revolution. She speaks of her life growing up both inside and outside of Iran.

This film is fairly educational (assuming the facts presented in the movie are true) and make learning about history and other cultures more interesting. I did not want to pause or stop this movie once. I highly recommend this movie to anyone who finds themselves enjoying foreign films, or history buffs and people who would like to understand the thinking of people different from him or herself.

WATCH THIS FILM.
8.3/10

2.4 Ghz Black MacBook Review

I recently sold my faithful HP Pavilion dv4000us to my uncle who needed a cheap laptop. I own an HP desktop and I wanted the smallest possible laptop that isn't a technological beast... so yeah I overpaid for a MacBook because I love Apple's style, and I used to use Apple products back in the days of the Power PC processors made by Motorola. And if I can install Windows XP on this machine, then why not get something lightweight and stylish if I can somehow afford it? Well here's my impression of it:

Under the hood:
2.4 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo with 3 MB L2 Cache, 2 GB 667 Mhz DDR2, 250 GB 5400 RPM HDD.

The trackpad is awesome. I didn't realize why Apple had a "widescreen" trackpad, but it makes sense since I don't have to pick my finger up to scroll all the way from one side to the other. You can also use two fingers to scroll up/down and left/right in larger windows such as IE/Mozilla/Safari/etc. Yes, those are my drawers in the background. My boxers are peeking out. Oh well.

The MagSafe AC power connector - clips on magnetically so it won't sending your computer flying if someone trips over the cord! As you can see the light is green when fully charged and is yellow/orange when it is charging. It does kind of suck that the cable is white and not black, much like the headphones/USB cable for the black iPod.Unfortunately the screen is not a backlit LED screen, but it still is very bright, vivid, and crisp. Built-in microphone and iSight camera for video chats and pictures. When you take a picture using Photo Booth, the screen flashes white to create a flash for the camera. Pretty good idea if you ask me! The iSight camera is pretty good, but it seems they could've made it a little bit clearer, seeing that the computer costs $1,500!!

Connections:

2 USB, 1 FireWire 400 (6 PIN), Mini-DVI, headphone, microphone, and a notebook lock. One thing that really annoys me is that Apple made a mini-DVI port. Of course they probably said it helped add in another USB port (which they are usually scheisty on with all their computers) but in reality, if you want to connect this to a projector for a presentation, you will more than likely need the separately sold $19 mini-DVI to VGA (or to DVI) cable. Every university classroom I've been in with a laptop hook up for presentations is VGA.Right side view of MacBook - slot loading CD/DVD+/-RW sounds like it's devouring your disc when you slide it in the side.

It is somewhat difficult to rate the battery. I have spent a lot of time typing on the notebook and putting it to sleep or shutting it down, so it's difficult to rate the actual length of battery time since I don't really have 4 or 5 hours to sit down and just use a laptop straight for that long. I'd rather be playing Xbox...

Overall I'm very pleased and impressed with my purchase, although it is somewhat bullshit that the black color costs $200 more. A friend of mine has the white version with the same hardware and it cost her $200 less. It would be nice if the speakers were better, but at least I have bluetooth to listen to the music wirelessly with my S9s! One thing I really wish it had was a built-in media card reader. It's somewhat annoying to have to USB photos to it constantly.

I Am Legend review

"I Am Legend" started out a little slow, but still kept my attention then and the rest of the movie. This was actually a remake of a couple other movies, including "The Omega Man", which I have not seen. I did feel like the film needed some more story to it, but was already pretty long.

I was impressed by Will Smiths ability to act alone through the majority of the film...sort of like "Cast Away" with Tom Hanks, not to mention, the dog, Abby, who played "Sam" (short for "Samantha") was not too shabby herself. The beautiful german shepard was well trained, and played a major role in the movie...what can I say, I love animals. This was a major role for Will Smith as well, since the weight of the movie rested mainly on his shoulders since he is by himself. There was no doubt in my mind he'd do a good job. His daughter in the movie was also played by his real daughter, Willow, even tho it was a small part.

There was one scene in the commercials that did not make it to the final cut, which I thought was going to be an important part in the movie, but they must have changed their minds, so I'm interested in seeing deleted scenes on the DVD. I was also impressed with the CGI in the movie. The shots of a rundown, deserted New York City was very cool, and almost believable.

I was amazed to find out that the director, Francis Lawrence, also directed "Constantine"...but he is originally a music video director, he did some videos with Green Day, Jennifer Lopez, and Brittany Spears. I think he did a very good job on this film too.

I was overall VERY happy with this movie, and even wanted to see it again, and I will probably end up buying it when it comes out on DVD.

Here's some interesting facts taken from IMBD.com:

--Warner Bros. Pictures has owned the rights to the book since the 1970s. The studio first attempted adapting it was as The Omega Man (1971) with director Boris Sagal, starring Charlton Heston. Then as 'I Am Legend' with director Ridley Scott, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, which fell through when the production went over-budget. And then in 2002, Michael Bay was set to direct Will Smith, but they decided to make Bad Boys II (2003) instead.

--The scenes at the Brooklyn Bridge involved over 1000 extras and various military vehicles and aircraft.

--Much of this film was shot on location in New York City's Washington Square Park during fall and winter 2006-2007, causing holiday decorations to be taken down and replaced tumultuously for over three months.

--The studio spent an estimated $5,000,000 for a 6 night shoot in New York involving the Brooklyn Bridge. To film in this location, the producers needed the approval of up to 14 government agencies. The producers had to bring in a crew of 250, plus 1,000 extras, including 160 members of the National Guard in full combat gear.

--The film was green-lit without a script.

--Warner Brothers initially opposed filming in New York because of costs and logistical challenges. However, Michael Tadross, a veteran New York production manager got the city to approve closing the Grand Central viaduct, several blocks of Fifth Avenue and Washington Square Park, albeit at night and on weekends, between September 2006 and April 2007.
Plants were transported via trucks from Florida to dress up the city streets as if weeds had overtaken them.

Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock - Xbox 360

Developer: Neversoft (Xbox 360)
Publisher: Activision
Release Date (US): October 28, 2007
System(s): Xbox 360 (Reviewed), PC & Mac (11/12/07), PS2/3, Wii
Modes: Single player career, Co-op, Online co-op
Rating: T

I am a huge fan of the "rhythm" game genre. Unfortunately there aren't too many, at least not that many as fun as Guitar Hero. Even though the game has departed from Harmonix (developers of Rock Band), the game is still just as good as ever!

Let's talk about the guitar. Boy is it sweet. There is virtually no lag between the wireless controller and the game. This is surprising, although for those really fast passages, I really wonder how much of it is me or the wireless signal... Anyways, the guitar is detachable at the neck for travel purposes. You can also customize the guitar with face plates (extra of course), as well as get a free universal guitar stand for your controller if you buy the game this week (10/28-11/3) at Circuit City. The glossy black finish is sweet, but it does lead to smudges showing up easily, like an iPhone screen.

The buttons are not as springy as the Xbox 360 and PS2 GH2 versions. The strum bar is much quieter than before as well, making it less noisy when playing those really fast passages. It would have been nice if the guitar had rechargeable batteries in it with a cable to recharge or play without batteries, but this would probably drive the cost up. I'm sure a third party manufacturer will produce them at one point. Also, the neck strap is REALLY long. They must've realized that fat people like to play Guitar Hero as well!

My only real complaint about the Gibson Les Paul guitar is the sensitivity when activating the Star Power. Normally this is great, because in the past I would tilt the guitar several times to get the Star Power going. But when I sit in a chair with arms, I automatically tilt the guitar up in order to play more comfortably. Whenever I get enough "juice" to activate the Star Power, it automatically starts since the guitar is somewhat tilted. Guess I'll just have to play standing up, huh? Or get a new chair...

So back to the gameplay. Everything looks basically "the same" as the previous version, as far as the format of naming your band and selecting songs. Instead of a newspaper at the end of each song you are featured in a magazine. You also play an encore after finishing 4 songs in each set, as in the previous version. One nice change with the song selection screen is that it posts your career score at the bottom of the screen. If I'm not mistaken, in previous versions you had to go to another screen to view your career score.

Co-op is expanded with being a mode in career, as well as multiplayer over XBL, either against each other or as a duo. There are also ranked and player matches on XBL. I can't wait to try the ranked matches... look for me as PekosRob!

This will keep me patiently waiting for Rock Band next month. I plan on getting the guitar and drums for that, although I have NO room in my bedroom for the drums, so I will have to figure out what I'm going to do.

The song selection is EXCELLENT, with both classic rock (hence the name Legends of Rock) from Cream to KISS, and a nice song selection from the 90s, my personal favorite decade in rock after the mid 60s to late 70s (yeah, more than a decade, but who's counting). 90s songs include Sabotage, My Name is Jonas (about time Weezer got on the game!), and Bulls on Parade.

The Achievements are REALLY difficult in this game, so I'll be happy if I get at least half of them.

I give this game and guitar and overall score of 9.0/10. It would be a 10, but how on earth could a sequel get a 10? It's the same thing, but just a tad bit better each time, so it's not like it's innovative or groundbreaking (usually). Even Halo 3 didn't get a 10 from me, although now I might rate it a lil higher.

UPDATE: Did you read how I wished the battery was rechargeable? Looks like someone already made some. But you have to take them out to recharge them.

Californication - Mondays 10:30/9:30c on Showtime

Californication stars former Special Agent Mulder (David Duchovny) as an author from NYC living in LA, separated from the mother of his daughter (they never married). His wife is engaged/about to be married to another man, who Hank (Duchovny) learns to hate. The entire story is intertwined with several story lines that are all tied together. I was hesitant in watching this show, but I'm glad I gave it a chance. After two episodes I can honestly say I'm hooked. There is gratuitous nudity, and the relationship between Hank and his "wife" resembles a lot like Denis Leary's in Rescue Me. I give this show an 8.7/10.

Viva Pinata

Developer: Rare Ltd.
Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Release Date (US): November 9, 2006
System(s): Xbox 360 (Reviewed), Games for Windows, DS
Modes: Single Player
Rating: E

What can I say but WOW! How did I not pick this game up earlier? I probably thought it might be a disappointment for a "kiddy game," like Animal Crossing was to me (both the GameCube and DS). This game is basically Sim City meets fake animals and gardening. The achievements are pretty much all attainable unlike some games out there for the 360.

It is easy to spend hour after hour on this game. I finally got to the biggest space provided for a garden now. The game starts you off with a smaller plot, and as you become a better gardener, then your garden size increases (twice). Your shovel receives upgrades, such as the ability to dig ponds, although they do eventually dry up and shrink, so you have to keep digging later on.

You can either receive free seeds at random by Seedos, one of the characters, or you can purchase them in the store. There's a little village with several different services, such as building "homes" for the animals of your garden, capturing certain species of Pinata you want in your garden, to watering/gathering/watching your garden so you can do other things, such as breeding Pinatas.

There are different variants of Pinata. I found out on my own without using a FAQ online that the duck, or Quackberry, can become a "Juicy Goose" if he/she eats a gooseberry (go figure). The animals seem all one sex, that is, it doesn't matter which ones you use, you can still breed the little buggers. They're basically all inbred.

I really could go on forever, but I'll just say this. By far one of the best games, if not BEST, I've bought for $20 or less (new). If you have any specific questions, comment, and I'll email you back! 9.3/10 (I shit you not!! hours of entertainment!)

Beerfest - DVD

Beerfest
Release Date: December 5, 2006 (DVD), August 25, 2006 (Theatrical)
Rated: R
Duration: 110 minutes

If you did not enjoy any other movie by Broken Lizard, such as Super Troopers, Puddle Cruiser, or Club Dread, then you probably won't like this movie. I myself am a huge fan of Broken Lizard, so I was very satisfied in watching this movie.

If you don't like drinking, then you probably won't like this movie either. If you're down with a little bit of crude humor, then this flick is right up your alley.

The premise of the movie consists of two brothers who compete in a secret beer drinking competition in German during Oktoberfest. I don't really need to write more about it, so I'll just hurry up and give it a rating. I'll give it two ratings, since some people who don't watch it probably won't really like it. Metacritic calculated a REALLY low score for the show.

Does ANYONE have any clue what city in Colorado Beerfest takes place in? It seems to me that it would be Ft. Collins. Don't ask me why, but that's what I think.

8.5/10
6.7/10

Weezer Albums

Weezer is one of my favorite all-time bands. I know a lot of people would disagree, but I really think Weezer has such an original sound and should deserve more air play! Regardless, I decided to give a tribute to them by listing some of the better songs from each of their albums.

Weezer (Blue 1996) - 9.5/10

My personal favorite album, their debut CD kicked ass. Starting out with "My Name is Jonas" all the way to "Only in Dreams," I love every single track. Even though it's hard to choose since I love all the tracks, my personal favorites are: The World Has Turned and Left Me Here, Undone, Say It Ain't So, In the Garage, Holiday, and Only in Dreams. Of course all of the other songs that were singles are great, but those you gotta check out.

Pinkerton (1994)- 8.3/10
I often wondered when this album would come out, and found out it did about a year after it actually came out (I think). Back then the internet wasn't really as good as it is now, and there weren't a whole lot of websites (like this one) that you could find a review from the "normal" fan. This is probably my second or third favorite album by Weezer. Much darker than the first album, Pinkerton still has a few tracks on it that can make the listener crack a smile (such as "I'm dumb she's a lesbian, I thought I had found the one."). Highlights of the album include: Why Bother, Across the Sea, The Good Life, El Scorcho, and Pink Triangle, which all coincidentally are tracks 4 through 8.

Weezer (Green 2001) - 6.8/10
By far the worst album to me. The reason I dislike this album the most is because the songs on it were so cheesy. I understand Weezer became much more successful after this album since they were cheesy and appealed to more people (naturally), so I forgive them for tryin' to get paid. There are a few songs on this album that are really good though, and unfortunately radio play has made them less special, if not downright annoying, to hear it being played, but nevertheless: Photograph, Hash Pipe, Island in the Sun, and Glorious Day. These songs are all REALLY short, so it is a bit of a disappointment to spend $10 or $15 on a CD for 35 minutes of music. Too bad Photograph wasn't longer... that song is REALLY good.

Maladroit (2002) - 7.4/10

This album made up a lot for the last one. Weezer went back closer to their original sound than from the previous Green album. One of my friends, Todd, told me this is the album that got him into Weezer. I can understand completely that this might be some people's favorite album, especially if they didn't start listening to Weezer until 2001 from the Green Album or later. Notable songs: Dope Nose, Take Control, Slob, Burndt Jam, Slave, and Fall Together.

Make Believe (2005) - 8.3/10
I can't believe it's already been two years since they came out with this album. I will admit that I was not impressed with Beverly Hills when the single first came out, but it eventually grew on me. I think it was the really heavy and thick drums and chords that got me into the song. I enjoyed this album tremendously, because I feel that it is Weezer getting even closer to what they were like when they first came out. Of course that's impossible since the four members aren't the original four that started, but oh well, this will have to do. Best jams not already mentioned: Perfect Situation, This is Such a Pity, Hold Me, We Are All On Drugs, The Damage In Your Heart, Freak Me Out, and Haunt You Every Day.

I know that I basically listed half the albums for the notable songs, but I figure if anyone wants to start listening to Weezer, that's a great place to start. Until next time!

Reviews Galore!

So now I have a friend writing with me for reviews. You should be able to tell who posted it by the author tag at the bottom of the post. Welcome him by commenting on the posts, especially if you have your own opinion of something we/he reviews!