BUY THE LAST REMNANT |

G4TV’s X-Play host Morgan Webb reviewed Square Enix’s “The Last Remnant”.   Her review was not too favorable.

G4’s X-Play host Adam Sessler recently reviewed “Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe”.

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“Finally, a tennis game featuring Sega video game characters with mini-games galore and some wacky fun that I would come to expect from Sega.”

TITLE: SEGA SUPERSTARS TENNIS

CONSOLE: XBOX 360

RATING: EVERYONE - Mild blood, Mild Fantasy Violence, Mild Suggestive Themes

OFFICIAL WEBSITE

As a person who buys a lot of tennis video games, I’ve been waiting for a tennis game featuring the characters from Sega video games.

With Nintendo’s popular “Mario Tennis” and “Mario Power Tennis” (or Mario Tennis: Power Tour for the GBA), Nintendo tennis games have been very addictive and fun.

So, I figured that Sega’s entry featuring characters from the popular “Sonic the Hedgehog” series plus characters from the “Samba de Amigo”, “Space Channel 5″, “Jet Set Radio”, “Nights” and “Super Monkeyball” series, we would get one hell of a tennis game.

One thing I enjoyed about “Mario Tennis: Power Tour” was the ability to start with a boy and girl and then train and develop the characters and take on character bosses and later on take on some of the Nintendo All-Stars.

Another game, “Tennis no Ojisama Crystal Drive” for the DS featured characters from the popular anime and manga series and taking on rival schools utilizing special tennis attacks and strategy.

So, I was wondering what direction “SEGA SUPERSTARS TENNIS” would take.

The overall gameplay of SST features Sonic and 15 friends in a game where you select a character and visit various courts that revolve around Sega video games and you play various mini games until you get to a tournament match which if beaten, will open up a character and additional stages.

Within these stages are mini games such as Puyo Pop which you must eliminate Puyos or certain colors of Puyos; Sonic’s court which feature mini games where you collect rings and dodging attacks; a “House of the Dead” court which you take out zombies with a tennis ball and collect various tennis balls that show up on screen which give you multiple tennis ball hit attacks and so forth.

So, for a tennis game, the approach is much different compared to other tennis games which rely on building statistics and taking on various tennis opponents.  And because it was made by Sega, by no means was I expecting a Virtua Tennis clone but I was expecting more tennis challenges rather than wacky mini-game challenges that may or may not include something tennis-related outside of taking place in a tennis court.

The object is to beat about a dozen mini-games and then you get to a tournament. With each mini-game beaten, you open up more songs or the next level of that world. And then the main tournament to open up more characters.

And this is where things become a bit so-so. You really have to be a hardcore Sega fan to know who these characters are. Where Nintendo had tend to bring their other characters together for various video games, Sega on the other hand hasn’t really done that. Part of the enjoyment is knowing and enjoying the characters and fortunately, being a Sega fan, I know who the characters are but are they really that exciting?

When I opened up the porkly Gillius, an axeman from “Golden Axe”, my first thought was… “No way?”. Not that dislike Gillius but he’s not a character I would really want to play in a tennis game.

And through the tournament, each character has a special, crazy super move which is a bit more blinding and crazy compared to other characters with super special attacks from other tennis video games.

But for all it’s worth, it is a different tennis game compared to others and I would give them that credit. The colors of some of the courts are just beautiful, crisp and colorful.

But for an XBOX 360 game, what makes “SEGA SUPERSTARS TENNIS” a winner is the amount of achievement points one can rack up just by playing this game. And also interesting was to see how quickly this game dropped in price from $39.99 to $19.99 in a matter of a month or weeks. So, at $19.99 for the console version and $14.99 for the DS, it’s a very good price.

Well, if you enjoy Sega music, with each mini-stage beaten, you earn music. Sega hardcores will no doubt like that.

But for the J!-ENT factor, I guess having all these characters together in one game is a fun. But where’s Shenmue?

I’ve opened up so many character worlds and really stoked to have gotten this game cheap and to find out how gracious Sega is with the achievement points.

Granted, many people will probably want the Wii for the interactivity of the Wiimote but my major reason for not getting the Wii version was a bit of the frustration of playing Wii Sports Tennis and not getting the control that I wanted.

With the XBOX 360, the controls were easy to use (especially since you just really deal with one button and the right trigger for a special attack move) and again, the amount of achievement points you get from this game is just insane.

So, all in all, it’s an average tennis game at most. A lot of cool mini-games and so, this is more of an all out party game that is fun, colorful and wacky but just felt that maybe more cooler characters would have been nice. Not that Gillius isn’t a cool character, its just for a tennis game, not a secret character to get excited about. So, wished there were more cooler Sega characters included.

A fun game for its price point and worth playing for its generous XBOX 360 achievements points.

+ A tennis game bringing together the Sega characters

+ Very colorful and cool stages

+ Fun and whacky mini-games from the Sega video game universe

+ XBOX 360 achievements galore!

- Wish it was a little more in-depth of more of a tennis game where you feel achievement of starting from a tennis character and accomplishing tasks to be a better tennis player than just playing a dozen mini-games to get to a tournament.

- Secret characters were ok but wish they had more characters in it.

VIDEO GAME TITLE: CALL OF DUTY 4: MODERN WARFARE

PLATFORM: XBOX 360

DEVELOPER: Infinity Ward

RATING: Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language

INFO: Players 1-4, System Link 2-24, 4MB to save game, HDTV 720p/1080i/1080p, in-game Dolby Digital, Online multiplayer 2-18, content download, leaderboards, voice

OFFICIAL WEBSITE

Let me first make this clear. I don’t really play first person shooters. I own a lot of games but really, I don’t play the game completely because frankly… I suck at it. I get dizzy and feel nauseous and really can’t beat the game.

Since my years of playing the first “DOOM” and “Wolfenstein 3D”, I tend to get motion sickness, so unfortunately, my experience has not been so great with FPS like my friends. In fact, I think I’ve owned the games mainly for party games when the guys get together to play.

That changed when I got my XBOX 360 at launch. One of the games that I purchased and loved (and never got sick) was “CALL OF DUTY 2″. That game was so awesome that I never got bored, I just wanted to play for hours and it’s just great to see you work as a team with all soldiers running around and things happening all around you. It was an experience that I enjoyed immensely.

So, here we are a few years later since I purchased “CALL OF DUTY 2″ and here we are with “CALL OF DUTY 4: MODERN WARFARE”.

The storyline of “CALL OF DUTY 4: MODERN WARFARE” is that you play the new recruit nicknamed Soap and your brought in to stop a terrorist.

You also get to play other characters in the team which will take you on missions that happened in the past of certain characters but everything is focused on modern times as you fight terrorism in the Middle East and Russia.

I only completed the single player (at normal level because again, I suck at FPS) but what an awesome game!

So, far the reviews have all been positive for this game. Great graphics, great gameplay and so I guess you can read my review from a guy who really doesn’t play FPS and who doesn’t play it well, actually loving this game.

Whereas the past COD games were based on World War II, to have a game based on modern warfare and the usage of technology is very cool!

From the first level where you are on a ship and having to evacuate and jump on a helicarrrier was awesome, to another level where you are on a helicopter and have to take out the bad guys who look like ants scurrying around, to having to play a little stealth while the enemies walk on the field and you and one other are hidden in camouflage but must dodge multiple enemies who are walking through that field, to the final mission where you are on back of vehicle trying to escape a car chase against the enemy and a helicopter trying to attack you from above, this game is full of action and definitely intense.

The graphics are top notch via cuts cene and game play. From fighting during the day, during the dark, during dry and cold seasons, people running around everywhere, you name it.

I had no problem with controlling my character, I think the XBOX 360 controller was perfect for this game. Not so much worrying about buttons and everything felt comfortable and right.

Now, let me just say that before I bought this game, a few people told me that I wouldn’t enjoy it because the single player is short, several hours long and the game is geared for multiplayer gameplay.

I may never have the opportunity to play this game ala multiplayer but for single player, I can tell you right now that it was worth everything I paid for it. Infinity Ward manages to create the action and excitement and I’m just literally blown away at how the final mission ended. And stoked that there was one more right after the credits.

After beating the single player mode, I was able to open up an arcade mode where you play for points via each level or play the whole game over for points.

I know, many gamers who have played this game, especially multiplayer may feel that I’m missing out on the true gaming experience by not playing online but I’m cool with that.

I’m sure every review that you’ve read on this game has been positive and the same with my review for a guy who doesn’t play multiplayer but only the single player campaign mode.

“CALL OF DUTY 4: MODERN WARFARE” has been a great experience and definitely exceeds for graphics, gameplay and the single player mode duration was good enough for me. It was not as short as I thought it would be and all in all, there is a lot there for people who want to enjoy this game beyond single player.

What negatives do I have? Really, I have none.

I do have suggestions of what I would love to see next. Hmm… I would have liked to see civilians scattered and just being careful not to hit a civilian. Especially when you run into a room in a building, would like to see a family cowering or hiding or something to give that extra sense of realism.

But really this game is just too awesome and I love the potential of “CALL OF DUTY”, hell I would love a futuristic type of game similar to a “Command and Conquer” type of game (no, not like “Renegade”) or something that took place in a futuristic setting. I have no idea what Infinity Ward has planned but I hope it’s not going back to World War II, definitely would like to see an experimentation in a different universe or possibly instead of one historical setting, jump in time to different other settings from war’s past using a variety of weaponry.

But I highly recommend “CALL OF DUTY 4: MODERN WARFARE”, not just for the hardcore FPS gamer but also for those like me, who are not really good at it but can still appreciate a great game!

GAME: PROJECT SYLPHEED
CONSOLE: XBOX 360
DEVELOPER: Square Enix
RATING: TEEN

Wow! I’m pretty stoked to see a Square Enix game on the XBOX 360. And it’s a game from the makers of “Final Fantasy” and “Kingdom Hearts”. Now, it seems that my XBOX 360 will be used afterall. J/K!

I know that in the podcast, that I’ve been talking about PC games but I figure that I need to get my XBOX 360 running again and purchased a few games (because they were cheap) such as: “Ghost Recon: Advanced War Fighter”, “Prey” and “Earth Defense Force” and my favorite, “Guitar Hero II”. Also, a purchase of “Double Dragon”, “Castlevania” and songs for GH2.

Although, I’m quite open to video gaming of different genres, my passion are games from Japan and I actually knew nothing about the game until I saw ads that a Square Enix game was coming out for the 360. For all intents and purposes, if the game reeked of a SaGa game, I wouldn’t care. If it’s made from Square Enix, Atlus or NIS…I’m more likely to buy it.

So, I put the game on and played it and enjoyed the cinematics and I was happy that it was a space shooter game…reminded me like the old school Star Wars (or Wing Commander) games but needless to say that so many things were going on screen that I managed to beat the first level but was utterly confused with the controls.

Sure enough, being the non-manual reading person that I am, I see there is a tutorial and from there I learned the control scheme and how much was involved with the game. A fun game it is and it felt like I was playing a game in the (new) Battlestar Galactica universe and taking on the Cylons (I know…sounds so geeky but I love the new BG).

The main storyline is that you are part of Earth’s terran forces known as TCAF (Terra Central Armed Forces). Pretty much for five centuries, people of Earth have colonized the galaxy via terraforming but after one terraforming mishap which pretty much obliterated the population of the planet Acheron. Four systems want out of the TCAF and have created the ADAN “Freedom Alliance” to fight against, what they call “Terran Tyranny”.

The storyline focuses on TCAF pilots Katana Faraway (the person you play), Ellen Bernstein and Margras Mason. The trio were close friends in pilot training school, that was until Margras home planet Acheron was destroyed in the mishap.

Margras has now joined with the ADAN and now, Katana and Ellen need to prepare for battle against ADAN and possibly their friend.

The game, similar to other space shooters allows you to accumulate different weapons via purchase over time. You have to battle ADAN forces in each mission, may it be to protect or escort a spaceship or go in an all out battle.

The biggest difference compared to other games of this genre is the frenzy what you see on screen. Each spaceship produces a trail of light. TCAF has trail of blue and ADAN a trail of red. This helps distinguish what is what because there are so many things on screen with big giant spaceships for the TCAF being under attacked by dozens of ADAN forces and then there is your team trying to eliminate the ADAN.

If anything, the controls might be a bit much for those who want simplicity with a few buttons. Everything on the XBOX 360 controller is being utilized. Triggers for speed, shoulder buttons for weapons, analog sticks for piloting and movement and the buttons for cycling through weapons, performing advanced maneuvers and special attacks.

Fortunately, the tutorial will get you up to speed in no time.

I’ve only beat the first five missions so far but I enjoy the game a lot and it’s definitely a welcomed addition to the XBOX 360. I enjoy the storyline because it has that “Battlestar Galactica” feel where pilots grieve after pilots killed in battle, new pilot recruits talking during battle of their feelings and so forth. Of course, with all the frenzy going on, sometimes you just don’t listen to what the rookies and other pilots have to say. Even at one point, an admiral tells another admiral to not talk to him during the heat of battle. That was quite funny.

All in all, it’s a fun game for the XBOX 360 if you like these type of games. It’s also among the cheapest games for the XBOX 360 at $39.99 (and that’s for a “new” game).

Check it out!