MotoGP '07

Well I've been waiting for this game ever since I heard about it at the beginning of the year. I am a huge motorcycle and MotoGP fan and was very happy to hear the THQ was going to update the great MotoGP 06 game that they released last year.

The first thing you'll notice is that all the menu graphics have teen changed. And for the most part it looks much better. I love how there is an aerial view of the track as it is loading... but you'll also notice new accomplishments listed as well. THQ have added such things as "Clean Lap" "Clean Race" "Target Laptime" and "Target Speed". These do add to the game and make it more fun.

Now lets talk about the graphics in the game... they added cut scenes that now include grip positioning (with team members and umbrella girls present), team helping you out as you leave your garage, and podium scene as well. Nice touches... does nothing for gameplay.

In game graphics have improved (as difficult as that is to imagine) especially the track graphics... you can see MUCH more detail around now, from waiving flags to people, helicopters and other things. The track looks great. The riders do as well, though they looked really good in MotoGP 06, but it does look really really good.

Now the most important part... the gameplay. This is the area that was MOST changed... and most improved. Yes you heard me right... VERY improved. So what could they do? Well for one the bikes "feel" much lighter. They are much more flickable (I keep over steering the corners still) and, as in real life, they feel smaller and faster. The lean angles have also increased and overall the sense of speed is much better than the last game. The addition of the bike moving around is also wonderful. It really feels like you are pushing to the limit when the whole thing gets sideways. Though this is still an arcade experience (not simulator) you can increase the level of realism in the settings making it much more difficult to go into a corner hot, lean over and push hard on the breaks without crashing... good, very good. The wiggling of the bike great, it really feels like it's moving when you push it too hard. The only time it really wiggles is when you are at full lean and push hard on the gas... though the bikes obviously have steering control built in and that usually keeps you from high siding (unless you touch the grass... then you have a problem... again, GOOD).

It's fun to see how the game has progressed over the years and this is the best version yet. If you have MotoGP 06 you'll want this one... but be warned... once you start to play MotoGP 07 you won't go back to 06. Funny enough, after you get used to the new 07 physics... the 06 bikes feel like SUVs going around the track. Just not very flickable and not as fun.

The online play is as good as in the last game and overall I must say I love this new version and highly recommend it.

Now for some things that need to appear in next years (hopefully there will be a next year) version:

-Different Tyres (Bridgestone, Michelin, Dunlop)

-Tyre management (the tyres need to get used up during the race. SBK 07 does this VERY well)

- Bike Damage (if you crash the bike should feel more difficult to ride, and you should have the ability to set the damage so that if you crash hard enough, or often enough, you have to retire, again SBK 07 does this very well)

-Rider Health (again, if you crash too much or too hard, the rider should be able to get hurt and therefore retire)

-Gear manufactures (why can't you get the real gear into this game as well????)

-The ability to add new paint jobs, and riders during the season. This should be downloadable content as there is no way to forsee when a team decides to change riders or have a special colour for a race.

That's it for now...

4.5 out of 5 starts

Planet Puzzle League (Nintendo DS)

Planet Puzzle League is a new puzzle game for the Nintendo DS. The best way I can explain it is... touchy Tetris. Now I know there is already a version of Tetris DS (which I own as well) but Planet Puzzle uses the touch pad much more. Overall its simular to Tetris (a couple of rules changed of course). It is very addicting, and has great options and even WiFi play. I can't say enough about how good this game is. I does nothing wrong really... even has a daily play so you can try to beat your score daily (not allowed to try again until the next day). It's really the little things that matter and this game has been thought through. Really a must have. :-)

5/5 STARS

Brain Boost (Nintendo DS)

I just got the two Brain Boost games for the DS. Brain Boost Beta Waves and Brain Boost Gamma Waves. Since I am a big Brain Train and Big Brain Academy fan (how many times have I said Brain already??!!??!) I decided I could not resist. So here's the deal with these two. First of all, they should be one game, I have no idea why the company made it into two... but I have a feeling that some marketing genius is behind this.

As for the games, they are very fun. NOT as good as Brain Train or Big Brain Academy but still fun. If you want to just pick up a game and have a quick play... this is good. It's not nearly as deep as Brain Train, or as fun as Big Brain, but I liked them. I figure if they cost about $5 each or $10 together it would be the perfect buy.

So for a Brain game (I'm going for the record here with this word) I would say good game if you can find it cheap. Not very deep, but fun.

I really wish they added online play though (they are both only a 1 player games).

3/5 STARS

Gears of War (Xbox 360)

Well this review is a bit late as what more can be said about Gears of War? It IS the first true system seller for the Xbox 360 and rightfully so. Epic Games has done an amazing job bringing this top shooter to the Xbox 360 which no other system will get. The graphics are simply put, fabulous! I mean breathtaking... you will be blown away.

This is one of those games that once you start playing you say "wow" as your mouth stays open while you enjoy level after level of hellishly fun shooter action.

You are part of a commando team sometime in the future, after the Earth has been overrun but oversized cockroaches and other devilish looking beasts. All they want is one thing, to kill you... so your mission is simple, kill them. The thing that this game does so well is create an amazing atmosphere from beginning to end, submerging you in this hell hole of a future... and loving every minute of it. It actually gets your blood flowing and adrenaline going while you play, that's how much fun it is.

The game play is second to none, the game was obviously designed from the beginning with the Xbox 360 controller in mind. You run into a room and the first thing you do is find a hiding place from which you will peak out and shoot the enemy, and hiding again while the enemy tries to return the bulletfest you just unleased at it. Good thing too since you do have to reload at some point. The weapons are massive, a good selection, not complicated... the level design is first rate... the whole game is simply a master piece and EVERY Xbox 360 owner should have this game... no questions asked. It's THAT good!

5/5 Stars

Lost Planet (Xbox 360)

Lost Planet is a Capcom game which was first shown at last years E3 (and was released as a demo on Xbox Live). It was released earlier this year and has sold very well. The reason for this is that it is a very good 3rd person shooter. The story takes place on a distant planet... yes an icy planet, where you must battle aliens, big ugly aliens, VERY big and VERY ugly aliens.

The atmosphere of the game is setup very well. The cold environment is well made. As you walk around in the snow (snow up to your knees) you leave a trail behind. As you kill enemies you pick up power cells (which help your life).

The story is a little weak, but typical anime kind of thing. You wake up, don't remember much, you have some new technology installed on your arm, your not sure what it does but it makes you stronger... blah blah blah.

The graphics are VERY VERY good in this game, the enemies are well drawn, some of the bigger enemies are HUGE and very impressive looking. Controls are well done, very responsive and the game overall feels like it's made for the controller. I loved the demo and the game didn not disappoint me. The multi-player is also great and is easy to use. Xbox Live is a class act multi-player network.

4/5 Stars

Crackdown (Xbox 360)... surprisingly good

 

 

When I originally got Crackdown for the Xbox 360 I was really getting it for the Halo 3 beta (though I'm not sure why now as I'm not that big of a Halo fan to begin with). Needless to say the game sat on the shelf for months before I actually played it. Now that I have I can't put it down. This is a damn good game. To start off with it is not too difficult, but not too easy. It mixes many aspects of different games (such as running around shooting people, driving, looking for secrets, etc) almost like Grand Theft Auto but not as bloody (though I'm actually a gore fan [not he ex-vice president] and usually enjoy some blood in my games. Crackdown has some but MUCH less than GTA, also it's not quite as... insulting as a game. You get penalized in this game for running over pedestrians not like GTA where you get points).

The game uses its many tall buildings to hide a large amount of additional power ups which you end up spending time looking for. I mean who wouldn't want added agility allowing you to run faster and jump higher? The weapon's array is good and not too confusing. The amount of ammo in the game is good (so you don't run out easily) and the difficulty is fun, you'll get through the game but you won't breeze through it. Part of the reason is the massive area you can move around in, and you are free to go to any of the three main areas.

Oh yeah, it has very cool multi-player too where you can have friends join you and do co-op levels where you and your friends are against the bad guys. A cool idea I think, as you don't always want to blow away your friends.

Overall I have been very impressed with this game and recommend it highly.

4/5 Stars

Forza Motorsport 2

I'll be the first to admit, I'm MUCH more of a motorcycle nut than a car nut MUCH MUCH more. Though, as a guy... I do like my car games as well. I play Ridge Racer 6 and Project Gotham Racing 3 (two completely different types of games) and enjoy them both. I even have Test Drive Unlimited which I've own for 9 months but have played only once (I'll get to it someday).

When I heard about Forza 2 coming out I wasn't sure if they would do it right, if it would become the new king of racing games (well until MotoGP 07 but that's motorcycles and a different level). Well let me tell you... it's THAT good. Forza 2 has in fact become the standard for car racing games moving forward... perhaps you've heard of the last "standard"... you know, the default best racing game from a few years back. I'm talking about Gran Turismo of course, and Forza 2 has completely leap frogged GT in a way I don't think Sony will be able to get back. That's too bad too, though I wasn't a huge fan of GT (probably due to the fact that I'm not a car nut) I could understand how people loved it so much. Well Sony was very good a dropping the car-racing ball so bad that I doubt they will get it back. The continued delays on GT sequels (the PSP version STILL hasn't come out) and the obvious invenstment that Mircrosoft has done with Turn 10 Studios has paid off, and boy has it paid off.

This game has it all, graphics, framerate, control, options, and all the little details that make it legendary. In fact I spent at least 2 hours yesterday just painting my car and making it look the way I want it (2 HOURS!!!!). Oh course the wonderful Xbox Live features don't hurt either as nothing beats racing with real people.

So overall, I would recommend this game to car nuts, and motorcycle nuts, and ANYTHING nuts! Every Xbox360 owner should have this title in their library. The only bad thing about this game is now someone has to come up with some even better and I'm just not sure how they are going to do that. :-)

5/5 Stars