[MdaG]

Twilight Princess
55 hours of game play and I'm left a little disappointed. It plays out an awful lot like A Link to the past, which was the last Zelda game I played. In fact it's so similar that I kept getting frequent deja vu. In my case it's no big deal, it's been over ten years since I played a Zelda game so I wasn't too put off by the similarities. Apart from that the game felt a little too repetitious. It's split into three parts. The first part basically lets you redo the same sequence of event three times in a row. The second part consists of you doing the same sequence of events four times in a row. Last we have the third part which is basically makes you do the same sequence twice.

Fortunately the game manages to stay interesting enough for me not to lose interest entirely. The graphics felt dated at first, but ended up being pretty impressive considering the relative low resolution. The bosses are inventive and interesting to fight (but maybe too easy).

There's almost no incentive to finish all side quest since most of them (apart from being infinitely boring) revolve around you collecting x objects and in return you get an empty bottle, larger quiver or larger wallet... *yawn*

Would I recommend it? Sure it's fun overall, you get nice puzzles, nice scenery and easy enemies. If you've never played a Zelda game, you might as well start with this one (unless Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask or Wind Waker are much better).

In short, the occasional high points made this game worth the time I spent on it.

7/10 (barely)

[MoriartyL]

Originally Posted by MdaG

If you've never played a Zelda game, you might as well start with this one (unless Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask or Wind Waker are much better).

Ocarina of Time is much better. Majora's Mask and The Wind Waker are around the same level.

[insane_cobra]

Finished Resident Evil 4. It's a reasonably fun game, but also a very frustrating one.

The main problem as I see it is its inability to decide whether it wants to be a third person shooter or a survival horror/action adventure. The controls are too clunky for a shooter (and I'm certainly not a fan of deliberately gimping controls in order to make a game more challenging) and yet there's too much shooting involved for it to be anything else. While the basic gameplay is relatively fun, it's not good enough to keep me entertained for 20+ hours - the game is just way too long and tiny changes in gameplay do little to offset the repetitiveness of the whole experience.

Ubisoft's porting of the game to the PC is just abysmal, with my biggest gripe being with the constant loading breaks. It might have been acceptable on consoles back in the day, but it certainly isn't acceptable in the world of multicore processors and gigabytes of memory. The graphics also look like crap although I know they looked awesome for a GameCube game (well, a PS2 game because this port is based on that version, and even those texture and cutscene mods don't do too much to help).

The story is fine for a pop corn blockbuster, but it's really nothing that special and the atmosphere is great, but only at times. It's always good to see unlockable extra content, but from what I've played of it, Ada's misisons add very little to the table. She's basically just a differently skinned Leon (although in one extra mission she has no knife and is a little weaker) and the levels are just rehashes of those found in the main game. Admittedly, I haven't given the extras a lot of attention because by that point I was already sick of RE4's gameplay so there's a chance they do spice the things up a little further down the line. The camera angle also looks cool, but it's not always very practical.

All in all, it's a neat game, but I've played loads and loads of better shooters AND action adventures. It perplexes me that this is the industry's idea of an outstanding achievement in game development. Still looking forward to RE5, but I hope Capcom updates a lot more than just visuals.

[MdaG]

Originally Posted by insane_cobra

Finished Resident Evil 4. It's a reasonably fun game, but also a very frustrating one.

The main problem as I see it is its inability to decide whether it wants to be a third person shooter or a survival horror/action adventure. The controls are too clunky for a shooter (and I'm certainly not a fan of deliberately gimping controls in order to make a game more challenging) and yet there's too much shooting involved for it to be anything else. While the basic gameplay is relatively fun, it's not good enough to keep me entertained for 20+ hours - the game is just way too long and tiny changes in gameplay do little to offset the repetitiveness of the whole experience.

Ubisoft's porting of the game to the PC is just abysmal, with my biggest gripe being with the constant loading breaks. It might have been acceptable on consoles back in the day, but it certainly isn't acceptable in the world of multicore processors and gigabytes of memory. The graphics also look like crap although I know they looked awesome for a GameCube game (well, a PS2 game because this port is based on that version, and even those texture and cutscene mods don't do too much to help).

The story is fine for a pop corn blockbuster, but it's really nothing that special and the atmosphere is great, but only at times. It's always good to see unlockable extra content, but from what I've played of it, Ada's misisons add very little to the table. She's basically just a differently skinned Leon (although in one extra mission she has no knife and is a little weaker) and the levels are just rehashes of those found in the main game. Admittedly, I haven't given the extras a lot of attention because by that point I was already sick of RE4's gameplay so there's a chance they do spice the things up a little further down the line. The camera angle also looks cool, but it's not always very practical.

All in all, it's a neat game, but I've played loads and loads of better shooters AND action adventures. It perplexes me that this is the industry's idea of an outstanding achievement in game development. Still looking forward to RE5, but I hope Capcom updates a lot more than just visuals.

I just spent €40 on the Wii version. I hope I find it better than you did the PC version...

[TiAgUh]

Originally Posted by MdaG

I just spent €40 on the Wii version. I hope I find it better than you did the PC version...

Much better.
__

The Dig

Finished yesterday for the 1st time, well..
the game is cool, it has nice story, the overall sound and graphics are great,
the puzzles..

this site's review

(...)You'll probably find yourself consulting a walkthrough much more than you would for any other Lucasarts game.
The length of the game is decent, but it's just a little too difficult.

I have to disagree since i never used a walkthrough and to me
they were rather easy and enjoyable . (I agree about the length)

What sucks about this game is the awful ending and some lame\predictable moments like:

Spoiler:

Maggie's and Brink's (2nd) death

Score? 7.0 out of 10

[insane_cobra]

Originally Posted by MdaG

I just spent €40 on the Wii version. I hope I find it better than you did the PC version...

Well it's not bad, it's just that it's... A 7.5/10 game.

[MoriartyL]

Luigi's Mansion
Why would anyone want a Mario Bros.-themed horror action game?! It's not scary, it's not exciting, it's not amusing or clever or ambitious or interesting at all. It's not terrible, but it's totally pointless. It makes sense that the Gamecube did poorly if this was the launch title.

2/5

[ozzie]

I also finished The Dig yesterday and I thought the planetarium puzzle was plain impossible.
I really had no idea how to open the grave, and while the walkthroughs stated how you can do it, they rarely stated why.

Spoiler:

I think only some pixelated inscription on the wall holds the answer.

The same with the museum, those displays were so vague that they barely helped.
Those supposed technological advancements that the aliens had don't particular show there.

Also, I found the game disappointingly short.
Only the hard puzzles make the game long, but there's not much plot progression, you don't get that much to know about the aliens except all the mistakes they have begun and how you get back home.
Not much about their culture, their society, hierarchy...
The plot is very basic.

I liked the puzzles up to the part where

Spoiler:

you have to catch this small animal, especially the turtle puzzle.

After the badly hinted planetarium puzzle I almost exclusively used a walkthrough, though.
I just didn't trust the game anymore that it would only offer fair puzzles.

Some review said that the ending would be a great reward.
I have to disagree here. It was badly contrived, all what happened to the characters didn't matter in the end.

Spoiler:

Additionally, while everybody was a jerk to you before they thanked you a thousand times after it.

Of course, it was also hard to relate with any character in the game, since everybody seemed like an idiot.

Spoiler:

Brink was supposed to go only mad as a result of the life crystals, but he already behaved badly before. Not a very logical character development.

The game took itself much more serious than it was allowed to; much of the dialogue, or the monologues of Low, were unintentionally funny. Well, at least, they didn't have the effect they should have made.
As a result of this there was barely any emotional involvement.
Man, was I happy when the occasion arrived

Spoiler:

to saw Brink's arm off.

Still, it was an okay game, so I would probably give it the same rating.

But you can't feel the same creativity in this game as is in other LucasArts productions.
It just feels like an above-average cheesy american sci-fi movie.
I ask myself if this is a coincidence...

Favorite part:

Spoiler:

Maggie jumping from the cliff after you reanimated her with a life crystal.
I think I laughed out loud.

[TiAgUh]

Originally Posted by ozzie

(...)planetarium puzzle was plain impossible.
I really had no idea how to open the grave(...)
The same with the museum(...)

They were so easy, really... its just like that cooking puzzle of Still Life,
everybody says its crazy difficult but to me it was simple.

Nice review and...

Spoiler:

cutting Brink's hand was indeed cool but their reaction was kinda weird, they werent even shocked...

Favorite part:

Spoiler:

Maggie jumping from the cliff after you reanimated her with a life crystal.
I think I laughed out loud.

Wait.. what? When was that?

[ozzie]

Spoiler:

You can revive Maggie.
After Brink fell off the cliff you need to put in the machine part in his construction again. It will create two more life crystals.

About puzzle difficulty:

Spoiler:

I was rather surprised that the turtle puzzle was so easy since this is the number one complaint about this game.
I suppose that most people might have given up at that point or continued with a walkthrough.
Either the planetarium puzzle was a different kind of challenge that just didn't suit me as well or it was simply much harder.

[MdaG]

Resident Evil 4 - Wii Edition

Finally tried it. Played it. Finished it. Does it deliver. Sure, it's one hell of a game. It doesn't justify all those high scoring (Game of the "ever") reviews I've seen out there, but it sure is fun. I've only played one resident evil game before (I think it was Nemesis on the PC) and I think this game surpasses it on all levels. Not because of the graphics or story, but because of the vastly superior controls and camera angels. No more, crappy aiming, no more moving about like a Mech, no more not being able to see the enemy, but knowing it's near you, but the crappy camera won't let you see it.

Bah, after playing through these satisfying 25h I'm almost sorry to have to get my next Resident Evil fixes (0, 1 and Code Veronica X) from a game with inferior controls and camera angles...

My only real complaints are that the puzzles feels weird considering the context and there are merchants standing around here and there selling weapons in the middle of a zombie infested area without getting bothered.

Anyway. It still rules! 8.5/10

[insane_cobra]

Originally Posted by MdaG

no more not being able to see the enemy, but knowing it's near you, but the crappy camera won't let you see it.

That's still in there, enemies frequently approach from the sides and you can't see them because of the narrow camera angle. Maybe the Wii version is different, but I even read an interview in Edge in which they said that they did it on purpose to make the gameplay more tense.

As far as controls go, I also disliked the fact that you have to stop moving in order to aim and shoot.

[MdaG]

Originally Posted by insane_cobra

That's still in there, enemies frequently approach from the sides and you can't see them because of the narrow camera angle. Maybe the Wii version is different, but I even read an interview in Edge in which they said that they did it on purpose to make the gameplay more tense.

As far as controls go, I also disliked the fact that you have to stop moving in order to aim and shoot.

What I meant is that you now have a possibility to adjust the camera angle. The last RE-game I played had static angles. It didn't bother me that Leon couldn't shoot while moving, the aiming in the Wii version comes so naturally that it doesn't matter, as a matter of fact I think it just made the experience more suspense.

[Tuesdays Gone]

I just finished TLJ. Although there were some things I didn't like about it, such as the sometimes endless dialogue, I thought it was a great game with an even better story....one that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Tony.

[VOLKANA]

I finished today Ghost in The Sheet. Interesting and bizzare game also. Not a common adventure, nice music, good story and humor. I'll say 7/10.

[evan806]

I just finished Syveria II and is the worst and incomplete ending ever!!!...

Spoiler:

is like Kate Walker just says good bye to Hans and that's it, I think that the Ark is gonna get her to Youkols again like it did for centuries but my god so incomplete!!!...
also at the start of the cinematic you ge to see an old women, Anna? ...
Dunno bad bad bad !!

[tastebud]

Originally Posted by evan806

I just finished Syveria II and is the worst and incomplete ending ever!!!...

I thought the ending was good. Syberia 2 in general wasn't as emotional as the first but still pretty good.

Spoiler:

I wouldn't have wanted to watch Kate fly back to the states... that just wouldn't have been necessary... and some weird twist at the end probably would have been worse.

If you want to see a bad ending play Broken Sword 4

[MdaG]

Resident Evil 4 - Separate Ways, Wii edition
A nice angle on the regular Resident Evil 4 story viewed through the eyes of Ada. It's basically more of the same, nothing new and significantly shorter bringing in no more than 5 hours of play. I don't think getting this extra mission warrants a purchase (it's only included in the PS2 and Wii version afaik) if you already own the Gamecube version, it's not that good.

Anyway. 7/10, what's there.

[insane_cobra]

Originally Posted by MdaG

I don't think getting this extra mission warrants a purchase (it's only included in the PS2 and Wii version afaik)

PC version as well.

[VOLKANA]

Just finish Belief & Betrayl. Really disappointing and really short game. It has only 3 or 4 puzzles that can be solved in 4 moves only and about 10 seconds each. The most of the time i played the game i was sitting and watching videos. Very few interaction. I don't know i did expect more...

4/10