VVP
Reviews
Dragon's Lair (iPhone)
An stand alone DVD extra
The Good
The graphics are amazing, even today's standards, yet when we think it was made back in the 1983 it must have been mind blowing to see that detailed graphics especially when only games you saw in the arcade were Donkey Kong and Asteroids. The animation was made by a legendary Disney animator Don Bluth, which gives some more value to the people who grew up with his movies. And the aspect I really like in the game is its humour value, because the game is so campy with is stereo typical setting, slapstick humour and poor game play.
The Bad
The game play elements in this game are, as I said, poor because it is pretty much a QuickTime event after QuickTime event. All you do is push buttons to hope you make right moves. The game has option to use infinite lives and make buttons flash when you have to move that way or use the sword, which pretty much enhances the feelings towards the QTE-impression. These QuickTime events are nearly in every game in these days so it is got old all ready, so do we really need a game based around those (or release an old one utilizing it)? And if you want play this game for it's camp value I recommend the arcade version over the home one, because the home version has additional scenes, which are just mirrored from some of the other scenes, yet like the game isn't tedious all ready!
The Bottom Line
If you want to re-live your childhood memories, enjoy campy thing or just like Quicktime events, check it out, otherwise use your 75 cents to something more worthwhile, like song from iTunes. My bottom-line is it isn't something more than those "games" you can found as extras from some DVD.
By VVP on August 1st, 2010
Mass Effect 2 (Windows)
The ultimate interactive movie
The Good
First off I have to confess I haven't played the first Mass Effect, and after I finished this awesome game, I feel guilty of it, but I am going to fix it. But about this game I would say it is a modern classic. When I first inserted and installed this game in to my PC I got so hooked that I played this game through in five days, so it really took almost all free time I had. This game is the best one I have ever played in my life, and you might want to know which made me think like that. First off there is the story. When some one mentions the term "interactive movie", you probably start thinking those shitty FMV games (like Sewer Shark e.t.c.), but you should forget those and take this an example of good interactive movie. The game focuses more on the Shepard's personal relationships with his crew mates, and everyone have some sort of problems with their past, which you must to sort out to get their trust and, eventually, survive from the suicide mission. These side guests make the characters more deeper, and they feel far more humane than the common characters in the video games, so in fact that I felt sorry in my first play through because three of them died on a suicide mission. The combat is your common third person shooter, but it is very well done, all though the duck and cover style game play is so common these days it's actually became a modern cliché, but you forgive it when you watch your enemies falling to death from the cliff by your usage of biotics. And due the games many classes and choices you can play the game over and over again.
The Bad
But there is nothing so good it doesn't something bad with it. First of the game has an particularly nasty and annoying bug: your character gets stuck to different places you shouldn't be even able to reach, usually something above the surrounding area. This wouldn't be a such a problem if your character could fall but due the coding you just stick in some car's roof and you only change to get down there is run on the borders of the area and hope that the bug just reverse it self or reload the game and lose all that you have done so far. And the another thing that bugs me is the quality of the Cerberus network DLCs, or should I say lag of it. Sure it is always nice when you game is supported after the release, but I would have expected something more. The new armour and weapon are pretty pointless, the Hammerhead is pretty neat, but it serves pretty much no purpose, but the biggest disappointment is Zaeed Messani. He is a new addition to the crew and has his own side story like any other crew member in the game. The mission it self is the pretty basic, but that just about it. You can't have any discussions with Zaeed, and only thing he does is just tells the stories about himself, but without any ability to comment these he is more distant than the rest of the crew. And what I have read the DLCs you have to pay for are not any better. Overall Zaeed (and probably Kasumi) leaves me with the feeling he's originally was going to be in the main game, but the team didn't had the time to finish him up so they rushed him and released him as an crappy DLC. The mining mini game is boring as hell, but if you want to survive the suicide mission and play every single side guest and get every upgrade there is you have to do it, and it takes god damn long (although there is an upgrade that fastens it up).
The Bottom Line
If this game won't be at least the role playing game of the year, the awarded game got to be made by the God himself. The issues there is are just nick picking. This is the game I can proudly call an art. Why do you still read this review when you could save the galaxy!
By VVP on June 15th, 2010
Garry's Mod (Windows)
It's not game, it is 42
The Good
This game have absolutely no limits. If you want build car, space ship or something else, it can be done. You can role play too. And there is thousands of different mods to choose from the tools to the working star gates e.t.c. If building is not going to work you have excellent tools to make comics also, just pose rag doll any pose you want, make it face look funny, spawn some props ant place them, take a picture with camera "weapon", edit picture and voéla, you have made comic. If you have video capture program you can make movies. Or you can just mess around.
The Bad
Well the base of the game is bit simple and have just stuff from the source engine games of VALVe you have installed. If you want more stuff you have go to the Garrysmod.org and download mods and stuff from there. And if you want every or just most of them these downloads take time from playing. And the installing of them is pretty time taking too. You got read read me files to make sure you install stuff correctly without grantee them work.
The Bottom Line
Worth to buy mod, if you are builder, comic artist, movie director or someone who is looking something different.
By VVP on May 8th, 2009