Alright, I might be a little behind, but back when Uncharted originally came out I downloaded the demo, and had major issues playing the game.  I really never liked FPS style games, and I just didn’t give this one a chance.  The visuals were awesome and I told myself if the game ever dropped in price, I was going to try it.

About a month ago, I found this game for 30$ at BestBuy, so I thought I’d finally try the game.  Let me tell you, this game has got to be one of the MUST HAVE for PS3 owners.

So I got into the game, the amazing cinematics.  The awesome graphics.  The ease of game play.  As I’m not much of a FPS gamer, I played the game very safe (and on normal) and tried to use mostly guns for the fighting.  Let me tell  you, the amount of different weapons was quite interesting.  I myself, loved the Dragon Sniper Rifle.  That was just awesomeness in a can.  There is melee combat as well, which I didn’t do much of.   The game also consists of several puzzles, but on Normal mode the game does help out with some hints.

With this game, unlike many games, I never used any sort of walkthroughs or cheats on this game.  I had lots of fun just trying to figure it out myself, with my 8 year old helping me look for ammo and treasure.

First time through, I got most (half) of the treasures, so I figure for me, that’s not too bad.  Once you finish the game, and save the world the main menu  unlocks some bonus content.  Watching the behind the scenes of how they made the game, for a techie and 3d person was just awesome.

Now I have the ability to play certain levels again (like I didn’t play them enough when I was dying the first time) and try to get more trophies and more treasures.  Now that I understand the game mechanics, some of the earlier levels might be a lot more fun.

As I’ve said before, I would highly recommend this game to every PS3 owner, even if you don’t like the FPS genre.  It mixes a lot of other things in too.. GET IT!! (it’s cheaper now too)

Score: 9.5 out of 10
Recommend: YES

]]> http://www.dave-bates.net/2009/10/28/uncharted-a-review/feed/ 0 http://www.dave-bates.net/2009/05/26/first-look-punchout/ http://www.dave-bates.net/2009/05/26/first-look-punchout/#comments Tue, 26 May 2009 17:23:00 +0000 Dave Bates http://www.dave-bates.net/?p=79 A couple of weeks ago, I received a coupon from Best Buy that allowed for a 10$ gift card when I bought the Wii Version of Punch Out.

Glass Joe

Why not, I thought.  I liked the game when I was younger on the original NES.  I remember playing both on the home console and in the arcade.  I had fond memories of Glass Joe, King Hippo and of course Mike Tyson.

Wii has since, removed Tyson and replaced him with a character called The Disco Kid.  The game plays very well on the Wii console.  Game play seems to be the exact same as I remember.

The characters are styled very well, they kept the look.  The feel of the original game still remains.  There are 3 sections you have to play through on “Career” mode that has 4 characters to beat in each class.  Glass Joe is the first as it was before, and is very easy to beat once you get the controls down.

As with the controls, they let you choose how you want to do it.  Using both the Nunchuck and the WiiMote, using just the WiiMote and using the Nunchuck, WiiMote and Balance Board.

I tried to use the version with the Balance Board, but couldn’t get it to work to my advantage.  There were times when I turned one way on the board, but the game registered it going the other way.  I found using the standard Wii controls was the best way to go.

I also notice there was a “Head-to-Head” version of the game.  I have yet to try this version of the game and will play it before the final review.

The next day, after I first played, I found how out of shape I really am.  My whole BODY ached and stiff.  I will have to wait a couple days before going back to the game (or playing through the pain).  I believe this game will also help me get a little more fit, seeing as I do have some to shed.

Hopefully, within a month or so I’ll be back with a full review of this game.

For now, I recommend it to anyone that has a Wii and a love of the original game!

GLaDOS Companion Cube

I bought the XBLA version of Portal a few months back.  Well okay, maybe more.  I had heard a lot of  hype about the game, but couldn’t really figure out why people liked it so much.  Was it the nefarious references to cake?  Was it the cuddly companion cubes that I saw all over the Internet?

So I dropped the coin and downloaded Portal.  After learning the basics of portal I was hooked.  Granted, I’m not the best at this game, I had a couple of times I couldn’t think spatially.

There were a few times, I needed a hint from an anonymous source on the Internet.. but only in a few of the areas.. The game became extremely addictive when I did play, and I was forced to leave it from time to time.  The game had a wonderfully fun game play, but looks to have limited replay value.

The game was a lot of fun and did keep me entertained, and the final credits were the best part of the game.  GLaDOS was extremely entertaining too.

I would definitely recommend this game to anyone.  It wasn’t too hard, but it wasn’t so easy that it wasn’t enjoyable.  I think maybe in a few months I may go back and play some more.  I also will plan on doing the challenge maps to try and get some more achievements.  There are some achievements that I KNOW I won’t be able to get.. but that’s okay..

Rating: 8 out of 10
Recommended: YES

Big Daddy

I’ve had BioShock for a while, tonight I decided to crack it open and try it out.

These are my first impressions I had with the game.  The game reminded me a lot of a cross between a Horror Movie and a ride at Disney World.  There were times were I found it extremely hard to see things as the game is set in a underground city with electrical problems

The back-story is quite interesting and lends itself well to the game.  As I don’t usually play FPS type of game the controls were a little wonky to me, but you eventually got used to ‘em.  I was able to get through about an hour of play and the first puzzle.  The first puzzle wasn’t overly hard, I did fail it a couple of times while I tried to “get it”, however only took me like 3 times to finish it.  I assume it’s going to be harder as we go along.

The whisper and yells that are in the background are a little disconcerting, which lends itself to the game very well.  The graphics are good, and the game play seems to work well.  I did find that the camera seemed limiting, I was always bumping up against walls and getting stuck in corners, but this is probably my inexperience with FPS games.

So far, I’d give this one a 4/5 rating.. I hope to play this one some more.. I know it will frustrate me, but I believe it will be worth it.

I’ve only played this game for a total of around 1 hour and 4 achivements. So far the game has not let me down.  It had alot of the elements that I like in games.  The ability to go off the path and “Quests”.  I’m a huge quest hound which is probably why I like WoW so much.

The graphics on the gameplay and the fighting are nothing more that astonishing.  The cut scenes, what few there are, are beautifully done and add well to the story line.  The idea of the dog companion is great, I like that he helps find little things that you might otherwise miss, and playing ball with a dog is always fun!

As I said, I’ve only got about an hour under my belt so I can’t rightly say how the game is, but the gameplay, the graphics and the story are keeping my interest; for someone with ADD that’s a plus.  I will return after I’ve completed the game (if I can get that far) and give you and over view of what I like, what I hated.  As of now, I’d give this a 4.5 out of 5 stars.

I do plan on downloading the DLC (Knothole island), but will give my final review before I play that.