Lego Harry Potter Years 1-4 Review

Jon Gillem here with another review on a game thats taken up a ton of my time...Lego Harry Potter Years 1-4

Lego Harry Potter is the next installment in the Lego game series and is definitely interesting considering lego and harry potter are 2 very famous and popular things. Anyway on with the review

Graphics- The game is a Lego game so expect Blocky (hehe) graphics but the game still manages to keep very fluid movements and good on the eyes visuals.

Gameplay- The gameplay follows the other lego games as in you build stuff, unlock stuff, and run around in the harry potter world collecting studs and learning the story in a humorous non talkative way. It has tidbits of platforming, hack-n-slash, and adventure.

Sound- The sound is very nice. Voice acting is nada because the characters mime everything out. The music is very nice and all the sounds just make everything humorous and nice.

My Opinion- This game got reviewed not so nicely but this game is my favorite out of the Lego series. The humor is here that Lego games offer and the gameplay is similar but some new stuff. For instance Character unlocks aren't simply bought. You have to find the character stud and then buy it making it a treasure hunt for everything. Being a harry potter fan this game made me laugh seeing some of the oh so serious scenes turning funny. My only complaint is the loading screens and cutscenes can sometimes be to long. Great stuff and I highly say play it

MMO Report-What are MMO's

Hey everyone im here to talk about a trend more and more people are getting immersed into called MMO's.

MMO's or Massively Multiplayer Online Games are vast worlds where millions of players can meet up, battle monsters, take on quests, and just hang out. MMO's have become multi-million dollar and player games with such hits as World Of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online, and Runescape. MMO's are different from eachother in terms of landscape, community, and gameplay ideas. WoW takes place in the world of Azeroth where the original Warcraft games take place while LOTRO takes place in Middle-Earth where the books and movies take place. The community varies amongst each as each game has a different audience and target set so some games you might have a mature community and another all little whiny kids.

The system requirements are also indeed different. While LOTRO and WoW take installs and such, Runescape merely needs java and a browser. While MMO's may be really addictive, fun, and breathtaking to many be wary, many MMO's require a monthly fee before you can enjoy it fully so be prepped to put down at least 5 a month and usually 15 a month for MMO's.

Retro Game of the Week

Welcome to my 2nd retro game of the week post. This week will be about retro game Phantasy Star Online.

Phantasy Star Online or PSO is a Dreamcast original turned pc game that came out with the dreamcast. It is often credited as one of the first console online games.

Graphics- The graphics came out in the late 90's early 2000's so the graphics are not top notch for todays time.

Gameplay- An Offline/Online Hack n Slash game with swords, guns, and other things to kill with makes the gameplay feel very familiar. The Hub of the game is a ship called pioneer 2 with all sorts of shops and a Hunters Guild where you can take up quests to further the story and your character. The fighting and questing takes place in 4 areas in episode 1 and 4 in episode 2. Forest, Ruins, Mines, Caves, and all the VR testing areas make up the questing and fighting. The bosses consist of cutscenes showing off massive bosses before fighting them making boss fights feel epic and shows the boss to be pretty bad ass.

Nice Vicious Giant as all Get Out Dragon

Sound- The sound is fitting to the game and all the areas making the sound good. It can be a bore at times with the constant loop but other wise good.

My Opinion- This game has sucked so much time from me and will keep sucking time from me. It has fun combat and keeps me entertained for hours especially with the online. Nothing beats finding 3 other old friends and us hitting up PSO for a night of leveling and such. The community suprisingly is alot more mature than other games and still has a good following. The sound problematic looping is averted when i put my own soundtrack on and listen. Honestly i like this game alot and I recommend you all try it.

Xbox360 VS PS3 Version 1

Ok there is a console war going on with PS3 Vs Xbox360 on which is better...so which is better?

This will cover the unbiased facts of both sides and will tell you which is better to suit you.

PS3 Pros and Cons

Pros- Blu Ray Player and Disks make large games 1 disk only due to room on Blu Ray is bigger than regular disks. Also saves money on Blu Ray player

Free Online makes those unable to pay a monthly fee happy due to no required monthly fee to enjoy the online features

The Interface is very self explanatory and easy to maneuver

Blu Ray adds pretty graphics to the games making everything so much better looking

Music and Videos seem easy to add and access making it simple to see the latest entertainment

They have Playstation 1 games to buy on the store making a retro sony trip possible

Updates are still available to those without PS3 internet as you can update by USB

Some Great Exclusive titles

Cons-At times the internet crashes or disconnects

Games take a bit to install on first time making new games take a bit before playable

Games are a bit more expensive due to the disks being Blu Ray

The online community can be a bit annoying to deal with at times

Lack of personalization with profile

Xbox360

Pros-Avatars can be created and customized any way you want

Updates constantly making everything run smoothly

Can get good deals on stuff that others can't due to amount of time and money Microsoft has

Kinect and special hardware adds some great features to it such as voice control and more

Better Security due to ability to pay people to keep things secure

Cons

Pay to play online monthly

At times the interface can be confusing or frustrating

Some of the community is annoying

Some game titles are put together rather quick or stripped of some features Mortal Kombat 2010 I am looking at you

PS3 is good for the entertainment side of things
Xbox is good for the competitive gaming part


I know this isn't all of the stuff and might be slightly biased but this is version 1. Version 2 will be released later on.
Hope you enjoyed it and stay tuned

5 Tips to Introducing People To Gaming

Hey guys and girls I have 5 tips to get that non-gamer to give gaming a try

Tip 1- Try finding a game similar to hobbies. EX...If he or she likes cooking try Cooking Mama

Tip 2- Start off with something active and casual like Bejeweled or Wii Sports or the likes.

Tip 3-Party games are enjoyable with many people and games like Mario Party that keep things lighthearted and fun should be interesting

Tip 4-Games with things familiar to the person might spark an interest. EX-Scene it or I-Spy or Where's Waldo or something similar

Tip 5- Make a deal with them such as your soul for 3 hours of gaming to try to convince them to game and pray they enjoy it to not take your soul

And those are 5 hopefully helpful tips to try to get a non-gamer gaming

Alice Madness Returns DLC Review

This is a review for the Alice: Madness Returns DLC...

Recommended- You beat the game at least once and trying a Nightmare difficulty run or trying to hit 100%/Achievement Whore before you activate this DLC and use it as it adds a few balance issues.

**WARNING**-Using Fleshmaiden and mass amounts of Hysteria has been known to glitch the final fight to make it impossible to finish without a restart. Spam Hysteria at your own risk

This DLC is for Xbox360 costs 2 dollars and includes new costumes and weapons.

Additions to current game- Just some new costumes and weapons nothing big but still amusing for 2 dollars. The stuff definitely has separate designs and effects making all the DLC stuff seem unique and different.

In-Game Changes- Some of the dresses throw off the balance completely (I.E. Fleshmaiden and its unlimited hysteria spam of death) making a first run way to easy especially on easy or normal. Definitely can be useful for nightmare runs and all though for those wanting to beat hardest difficulty without difficulty

All costumes from left to right:  Checkmate, Late but Lucky Dress, Fleshmaiden, Cheshire Dress, Caterpillar Dress, The Hattress

Here is a List of Weapons and Dresses and the effects they provide:

Weapons

• Pepper Grinder — Called the Octo-grinder, this weapon increases ammo limit and provides double the ammo.
• Hobby Horse — The Knightmare restores gamers’ health with each hit.
• Teapot Cannon — Known as the Catnip Cannon, this weapon increases damage to enemies by 50 percent.
• Vorpal Blade — The Vorpal Cleaver reduces damage from enemies by 50 percent.

Clothing

• Flesh Dress — The Fleshmaiden dress causes hysteria at any time.
• Mad Hatter Dress — The Hattress causes a player to lose teeth instead of health.
• Chess Dress — The Checkmate deals out double the damage for all weapons.
• Rabbit Dress — The Late but Lucky Dress imbues a player’s health with the power of Shrinking Violets.
• Cheshire Dress — The Cheshire Dress disables all Rose Drops from enemies.
• Caterpillar Dress — The Caterpillar Dress keeps Shrink Sonar active.

 My Opinion- Honestly for 2 bucks this was a steal. At first I was saying "Oh God not another Dead Space 2 DLC copycat". But I load it up and to my surprise i find everything looks different and adds on to the game. My main problem is the balance destruction it causes and the glitch that made me restart final fight. Other than that I was surprised and right after running the game on normal I got my DLC on for a nightmare run. The Caterpillar Dress made getting 100% a breeze and the weapon upgrades made nightmare a breeze.

Ok guys update...i will be starting a vlog about nerd stuff in 1 week. tune in for more and check in tomorrow for a new review

Alice Madness Returns Review

Hello everyone Jon here for yet another review this one on Alice Madness Returns for the Xbox360, PS3, And PC

This Game is a Hack N Slash/Platformer that takes Alice from Alice in Wonderland back into wonderland for a new adventure. 11 years after the fire that took her parents from her Alice starts to lose her sanity again and she is sucked back into wonderland to figure things out.

This Game takes total about 12 hours to beat not including all of the side stuff.

Backstory- A few months after Through The Looking Glass Alice is asleep when all of a sudden a fire breaks out killing her family and forcing her to go insane. While in the asylum wonderland calls asking for her to save them and as she goes back wonderland is screwed up. Alice travels through fixing wonderland and at the same time fixing her mind. 11 Years later Alice returns to wonderland as something is messed up again...

Anyway let's get on with the review...

Graphics- The graphics in this game look beautiful and well crafted. Each world has it's own unique look that makes it so much more unique and seems to make you want to see what is in the next world.

Gameplay- The gameplay is Hack N Slash and is very similar to the Zelda series and such but with the Alice twists. Alice wields a Vorpal Blade to attack with initially and can gather a slew of other menacingly cool and powerful weapons to fight with. She can get everything from an Umbrella to a Teapot Cannon and none of the weapons have the same fighting style. Also the ability to upgrade said weapons and immediately tell a difference makes upgrading each weapon a good thing even if it is just to see all the cool weapon designs.

 

 

 

May be a unicorn but can kick some ass

Sound- The sound is crafted to where it fits each and every area your in. From the Chinese sounding tunes of the samurai world to the peaceful sounding tunes of the Vale of Tears the music fits very well.

Storytelling- Alice is trying to figure out why things people have told her about the fire seem to fit. As she ventures wonderland saving everyone she also sorts out memories and tries to find the truth.The story is told in a pace people can keep up with and also is told with backstory slipped in between the current story effectively allowing newcomers to understand what is going on. At times the story does get a little confusing to newcomers but is quickly remedied in the next little portion.


My Opinion- The game really isn't given justice by most reviews. I found the game very enjoyable and very addictive. For those of us waiting 11 years Alice Madness Returns was no disappointment. Getting to venture wonderland and find out what happened really gave me a taste of satisfaction as I ventured wonderland completely. The main complaint was about the graphics which in my opinion really looked beautiful. The gameplay while the same as other games still had it's Alice twist making it a joy to sit through.

I recommend this game but don't just listen to me try it yourself 

Retro Game of the Week.

So as many people know I am a huge retro gamer. The thought of visiting the past to rock games thrills me and I found a perfect game to fit the bill for the blogs first RETRO GAME OF THE WEEK.

The game is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Arcade Game

Now when I first played this game I found myself sucked in by beautiful graphics, stunning gameplay, and a frustratingly awesome difficulty.

So I was browsing Gamestop.com for some new stuff to play with and I found TMNT Arcade.

Pricing- The price for the XBLA version was a mere 6 dollars so it didn't hurt the bank so i rate that a 10/10

Graphics- The graphics were held to original standards making it a blast from the past 10/10

Gameplay- For those who have never played the game, It is a sidescrolling hack n slash with very high difficulty...but it withstands time and kept me sucked in for many hours before realizing it had been 6 hrs 10/10

Replayability-The game is very difficult yet fun enough to keep you hooked to beat your old times making this very playable and very replayable 8/10

Overall- If your looking for a new game to last a little bit while waiting, or a cheap game that will not break the bank and you have an Xbox Live Account then get TMNT:Arcade... for 6 bucks you get hours of fun and definitely get to play 4 players making it so fun. So why sit here reading this when you can get it for a mere 6 bucks

Duke Nukem Review

Hey Guys and Gals Jon here with a new review. Duke Nukem Forever. Now before you say oh god this got horrid ratings so he will say its horrible hear me out. Im gonna list everything here for you the good and the bad.

Game ISN'T MEANT FOR KIDS!!!
Rated M For Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Mature Humor, Nudity, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content, Use of Drugs and Alcohol


Graphics- The graphics may not of been freaking Blu-Ray but they were great considering it's a game of 12 years.

Gameplay- The gameplay is First Person Shooter with it's Duke Nukem twist. instead of adrenaline or something of a similar sort it's beer. Instead of a mushroom it's steroids. You get the picture... It has it's jokes and it's Duke Twists such as strippers and lesbian scenes and all the goodies men like and moms hate. But there are 2 sides so lets see both...

Single Player- The single player is the same old Duke. Kill baddies while making jokes. You can see strippers, Fight aliens, punch bosses in the balls, fight 3 boobed aliens and more. Run n Gun gameplay with the same old duke humor makes single player fun to sit through. the only real problem is the story is shorter than many will have expected though

Multiplayer- The multiplayer plays similar to quake but with duke twists. freeze rays, shrink rays the good stuff. As you level you get new clothes and stuff for your house instead of weapons and the sort making the leveling refreshing enough. The servers though are hard to connect to and oftentimes people are booted or lagged out making it hard to play. But if you like the classic best gun obtained first wins then you will enjoy the MP.

Sound- The voice acting was ok but the music really seemed to fit the mood. you get to be reminesent of the old days with updated sound bytes and the like so nostalgia is something you will feel.

My Opinion- The Game was reviewed horribly and I wanna kill the reviewers. I felt the game was great in single player down the the last cutscene. My only problem is the multiplayer. It was frustrating to connect and when i did games were shortlived before i disconnected again making multiplayer something i wanted to shoot dead and ship to Thailand. But honestly still it was a good game and i recommend you at least try it

Video Game Reviews--The Rant/Talk/Whatever

Guys and Girls i usually don't rant but this round i do. I want to rant about current video game reviews such as game informer and many others. Firstly a couple things I have noticed...

1. Game Informer and many other reviewers rate the mainstream and top selling games high even if they are a pile of crap or the same thing with 1 addition this time around (sports games im looking at you).

2. The Indie and Hidden Gems are very rarely recognized even if they have a multi million selling rate and fanbase

and lastly the reviews are biased and many a time do not go indepth to all the features but cover the ones they dislike/like.

Now i rant about this because many a people rely on reviews to buy a game and not their own likes and dislikes. this means many games are being unnoticed because they got rated bad or never got a rating. For instance the newest Alice and Duke Nukem got horrid ratings yet when i played them i had a blast. now your like Jon you play all games so you don't count.

Well i may play all games but i know one i can enjoy and one i dislike with every fiber of my being. For instance i dislike many a sports games yet i see 8's and 9's with every single one in the review. so i don't go near them even though im recommended them by people who say "It got a good review so therefore it must be good". And lo and behold I try them and guess what...I still hate them...

Just Remember reviews aren't everything and try a game before dissing it because of a bad review...

Rant/Talk Over

Medal of Honor review

Hey all my first post will be for Medal of Honor for PS3 and Xbox360. Now my first impression was Hey wasn't this the game that came before call of duty?...well yes it did and i was like well COD:BO is really big so i dunno if this will be any good at all. turned it on and here was what i noticed and my reaction after 4 hr gameplay.

Graphics- Graphics are not so outdated to where graphic loving people would vomit at it.

Gameplay- The gameplay seemed somewhat similar to the other Medal of Honors and to Call of Duty making it feel like the others except a little bit more real. ANY Fps player will know and be at home with the controls almost immediately.

Sound- The one thing people complained about was the gun sound and such. Though they do bear a resemblance i don't see how this could affect gameplay

Playability/Replayability- The game does what it should. It absorbs you and makes you want to play more and more. enough said

Learning Curve- If your used to the feel of Call of Duty or something like that Medal of Honor will be hard at first. But trust me it gets easier if you stick with it


My Opinion- This game was nice and had absorbed me for 4+ hours before i finally set it down. It was a great break from the Call of Duty Series and will be keeping me busy until Catherine comes out in july. It definitely had everything a shooter should have guns, people, killing, stuff to keep said people busy, and relatively few bugs and glitches. I recommend this game if you dislike Call of Duty or if you just need a break from other shooters, OR if you need something to occupy time

Welcome

Hey all Jon Gillem here and all i can say is im looking forward to blogging about gaming with you all. Ill be posting gaming info about the latest AT midnight releases and ill be posting gameplay tips and all on the go as i learn them. stay tuned for more updates