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Mirror’s Edge Stats and Records
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Turning Point: Fall of Liberty Stats and Records
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Spider-Man 3 Stats and Records
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Infamous Collection Review
Infamous is another one of those games that I’ve always known about but never got to play before. Now thanks to the collection I get to play two of them at once so that’s pretty cool. The games definitely hold up really well as great 3D action games with a whole lot going on. They are the kind of games that you want to keep on replaying until you have completed all of the missions around.
Both games are a similar length. They’re not all that long but will still keep your attention at all times. The first one introduces us to Cole who was at the epicenter of a giant explosion. This destroyed thousands of humans in the area but Cole survived and now has super powers. Other people have also gained abilities so the city is in a terrible state. Cole has to decide whether he should use his powers for good or for evil. If he chooses the dark side, then he will be able to do whatever he wants but if he chooses the light side then he will need to start protecting the humans from all of the villains around. It won’t be easy.
The game has you choose between the light and dark options for every story decision so those tend to come around very quickly. Then at the end of the game, your choices will start being locked in depending on how good or evil you are. There are no takebacks here for the most part. You could do a bunch of normal missions to try and shift courses but the game intentionally makes this difficult so you can live with your decisions. You can’t really trust anyone in this game, every person has their own selfish motivations for either helping you or standing in your way.
Cole’s specialty is lightning so you are able to shoot bolts of it or even shoot out thunder grenades. You can absorb electricity from any object near you to power up when you are running low. You also have hand to hand attacks but for the most part that’s not something you will really need to worry about. Hand to hand simply isn’t as effective as ranged attacks although the sequel changes this a bit. There is also a pretty large hub world where you will be helping people out at different points in time.
In some ways I would even compare the game to Spider-Man in how the plot progression works. You can always choose to go right to the next story mission or clear some side missions first. You have a clear upgrade system as well which lets you get stronger and stronger. As always I would recommend beefing up your attacks as soon as possible but realistically you don’t need to go for all of them. As you play through the game you will quickly find your favorite and least favorite attacks to use after all.
The graphics are definitely solid. By now the game has certainly aged quite a bit but to me it holds up pretty well. The soundtrack also isn’t bad but it’s a little generic. I wouldn’t really recall any specific themes by the end. The sequel updates the graphics pretty well although the soundtrack is about the same. I guess some things can’t be easily upgraded to the next level in a single sequel.
The second Infamous is very similar but the small changes stand out more since I played them back to back. For example there is a much bigger emphasis on melee so your hand to hand attacks are actually useful this time around. The upgrade system was made to be a lot more convoluted which was annoying. Aside from the EXP needed to buy the upgrades, you now must have completed some conditions first which can be a bit of a grind. I ended up beating the game without a lot of the upgrades as a result of that.
For the most part it is all more streamlined than the first game though and a general improvement across the board which is what you want to see from any sequel. Even the story is a lot more intricate now as we have several main characters who all have powers. The whole story is about stopping the Beast, a being of unlimited power who is set to destroy humanity. It was cool that you get to fight him at the beginning of the game to see how outclassed Cole is and then to contrast that with his new powers at the very end of the game.
By the time you’re done with the first two games you are super hyped to get out there and play the third one which is exactly what I imagine the intent was from the start. I’ll certainly be there at some point. Outside of the main story content which should take you around 15 hours or so, the games have a good amount of replay value. You need to beat the game under both light and dark modes for each title. In the first game that means beating the entire story for a second time while for the second one you are able to quickly just re-complete the last level. Still, a lot of the other trophies will take time as well.
The best thing I can really say about the game is that it’s a lot of fun. The hub world is handle perfectly which plays a large role in this. With some games you can feel afraid to start a side mission because it’s going to take forever and be boring. The average side mission here takes less than 5 minutes and immediately rewards you with EXP and more territory so it just feels worth it. Likewise with finding the various birds across the city. All of the side content really adds onto the main story and just feels like a part of the overall experience.
Overall, This collection gives you a lot of bang for your buck and is also just a lot of fun. I had a blast using my superpowers everywhere. This feels like a full fledged superhero game all the way through and shows just how many things you can do with electricity. The blueprint is there now if they ever want to make a Static Shock game. That said, you don’t have to be a superhero fan to enjoy this game. As long as you really like 3D action titles then this one will be right up your alley. I would definitely recommend checking it out at any time and the price is generally really cheap nowadays.
Overall 8/10
Mirror’s Edge Review
I remember playing the reboot for this game a long time ago and it was pretty good. Generally people seemed to prefer the original though so I was interested in seeing just how it would stack up. Ultimately they play in pretty similar ways but this one is definitely going for a more stylistic approach. In a way it ends up feeling nostalgic as a result though and I definitely had a good time here. The game breezes by pretty quickly but you will have been having fun throughout.
The game starts with Faith’s sister being framed for a murder. Unfortunately, the circumstantial evidence looks bad so a guilty death verdict is imminent. Faith will have to find a way to figure out who the real crook is but it won’t be easy in a world where basically everyone is super corrupt. She also doesn’t have a lot of time here and will have to move quickly.
This game is all about parkour and so you’ll be jumping from building to building as you try to keep your speed up. You gotta be real quick with your reaction times as well. At times you will be able to grab a gun from one of your opponents and put that to use but it is never required. The game even rewards you with an extra silver trophy if you can go the whole game without shooting anybody. Without a doubt the game is easier if you do decide to just start shooting but that’s why it is satisfying not to do that.
Pay a lot of attention to the various movement options in the first level because you have to use them all by the time you complete the game. The gameplay mechanics themselves can be rather intricate so this isn’t your average title. It can be really rough to mess up a jump and have to reload to the last save point. It’s also not always obvious where you need to go. As you play through the game you will be better at recognizing your surroundings and moving to where you need to go.
The best technique you can probably learn for yourself is how to disarm your opponent. The exact timing will differ depending on the type of enemy you encounter so you should really keep that in mind. One wrong miss and you’ll probably be shot to death. You can also go at them with hand to hand combat. It takes around 5 hits to defeat an enemy so you want to hit them with 3 blows, then wait to avoid the instant counter and land another 2. In some ways it is a lot easier than the disarm but takes longer so it’s risky if you are up against a lot of enemies.
There are also shielded enemies that take many hits to defeat. You will want to be extremely careful about taking any of those guys on. I had to beat one in the parking lot level and it felt like at least 20 hits to beat him. Meanwhile if you slip or miss a dodge then you will be going down in a second. Very different levels of defense for Faith compared to these guys.
Outside of the main campaign you have the speed run versions of every level where you have to beat them without dying. There are also time trial missions where you play a portion of each level and have to try and clear it. This isn’t easy so be warned. It does add a ton of replay value though and you can get a good amount of trophies out of it. The Platinum looks particularly hard so I can’t say that I’m aiming for it but that would be a pretty good feather in your cap.
The graphics are definitively pretty good. I love how bright the game looks, particularly for the outdoor levels. Everything is incredibly shiny, it almost makes the game feel a lot newer than it actually is. The cutscenes between levels also have a very stylized look to them that works well. The soundtrack even has a lot of action/rock to it so on a technical level the game absolutely holds up. The whole atmosphere around the game is something that I enjoy.
Meanwhile I enjoyed the story as well with its full voice acting. The cast is small but they all get something to do here. The body count is rather impressive by the end of the game and there are a decent amount of twists and turns. I’m surprised they never did much more with Mirror’s Edge because this absolutely had all the tracings of being the next big thing. There’s just so much you can do with this franchise. At the very least I’d like more Parkour type games where you are on the run at all times.
Reminds me a bit of a Sonic game in that sense just with less action. I wouldn’t complain if there was a Sonic game that was all about the pursuit itself. That would be pretty interesting. There are a good amount of checkpoints here so you don’t have to replay large sections too often. Occasionally the checkpoint feels a bit far away but that’s not going to be your normal experience at least. Now that would have made things feel a bit rough. In general you don’t have to worry about any qualify of life issues like that though. The levels are well designed and often times there is more than one way to clear an obstacle. Particularly in the combat levels where you can totally choose how you want to complete them.
Overall, Mirror’s Edge is a pretty good game. I enjoyed the story and the gameplay is definitely very smooth. All of the level designs are on point and so while you will breeze through the game, it always feels like a full adventure. The game also has its difficulty so this is no walk in the park. If you’re looking for a retro game experience with a whole lot of running, then you should definitely be checking this one out.
Overall 7/10
Turning Point: Fall of Liberty Review
It’s time to look at a shooter that a lot of people probably haven’t even heard of. The game is one I only found because I was looking for poorly reviewed titles. It can always be fun to give them a whirl and these games tend to be dirt cheap anyway. Well, I can safely say that this one is a trip. I can understand the bad reviews because there are noticeable glitches here and that tends to weigh heavily. So long as my game isn’t crashing though, glitches aren’t going to limit my adventure too much. I had a pretty good time with this one and it just really lacked some quality of life features.
The game starts by introducing us to an alternate history where Chamberlain died in his car accident and so the Nazi’s ran unopposed for a long while. They also launched a pre-emptive strike on the USA and managed to take over the country. You play as a construction worker who survives the initial assault and decides to help the resistance fight back. It won’t be an easy fight, nor will it be a short one but this is a battle that he can’t turn his back from. One way or another, America will be united once more!
The gameplay is your classic first person shooter style. You go around blasting away at all of the enemies as you get closer to the goal in each level. Occasionally there is a little bit of platforming but these sections are few and far between. Generally you will be sticking to the shooter gameplay here. You can hold up to two weapons at once and will be switching between them a whole lot as you go through the levels. Keep a close eye on your ammo as well since you can run out at the worst times.
You can also carry grenades but the enemy tends to survive them while they pose a lethal threat to you so I recommend avoiding them. As you play through the game you will quickly find out which weapons you like to use and which ones hold you back. I recommend getting a favorite weapon quickly so you have it ready for the more difficult fights. The game’s difficulty level is considerably high so you don’t want to underestimate it.
The toughest part of the game is that checkpoints tend to be few and far between. So you could be having a great run but then die right before the checkpoint and have to redo a large portion of the level again. This is easily the game’s biggest issue because it adds a lot of unnecessary repetition. You will be dying quite often in this game so then it makes you want to speed through the level on your next attempt rather than taking your time which can make things even trickier.
Additionally, your health meter isn’t visible so you can only tell how close to death you are based on how gray the screen is. This is an interesting mechanic but it also means that sometimes it appears to be very inconsistent. There are times where I would die to a quick pair of bullets when I had survived 5 prior to that. Additionally there are explosions that happen randomly with RNG during some levels so if you get hit by one then you die right away. There’s nothing you can really do to defend against that.
So moments like that will feel a bit cheesy. Parts of the game’s difficulty are completely legitimate and then other parts like this tend to feel quite cheesy. The game does its best to make the best out of it but it does feel rushed at times. Just remember to do a lot of running and gunning. Your health completely restores if you can avoid taking damage for about 2 seconds so you need to try and buy that time.
Meanwhile the graphics are pretty decent. The game has full on cutscenes between each level and the graphics within the game are pretty solid. One unfortunate effect is that the flash on your gun is so high that you will have a hard time seeing where you are firing depending on the gun. It’s another reason why you have to pick your gun very carefully because the wrong option will actually cost you some lives.
The soundtrack is more on the forgettable side. I wouldn’t say that any of the tracks are particularly memorable. The story is really the driving force of the game and fortunately that part is really good. This is just a very fun what if and it’s also a good excuse to be the hero and save your country. You can’t really go wrong on that account. There isn’t any replay value as there are no trophies or a multiplayer mode to keep you afloat. So the main campaign has to tide you over at all times. It’s fairly short but the difficulty might add an hour to round the experience to around 5 hours or so.
My final tip here will be that the hand to hand combat attack is actually an effective strategy. If you are running out of bullets then you should run up to an enemy and take him out. One hit will defeat any opponent so the key is to only do this when you are in a one on one combat situation. Definitely do not do this when it’s 2 v 1 as the other fighter will shoot you during the long animation of you fighting the first guy. You are fully open during that period.
Overall, Turning Point is a good game. I had fun with the story and the gameplay is good enough for me even if I’m not a big fan of the FPS genre. That said, it does have noticeable bugs involving the health bar and how explosions will hit you out of nowhere. A few more checkpoints could have also gone a long way to getting the game to the next level. So long as you don’t despise fps titles or anything like that, I think you’ll have a reasonably good time here.
Overall 6/10
Soul Calibur IV Review
It’s been a while since I played a Soul Calibur game and it was time to take this one out from the backlog. It’s always interesting to play an older fighting game after playing the sequels. Maybe even more so in a fighting game compared to other genres, you can see what mechanics stuck around and which ones were removed. In this case the gameplay feels so similar that I wouldn’t say it was that different. The main change is how the story mode plays out compared to other titles. In the newer installments, the games had a focused story mode while this one is more of the classic arcade mode. Interestingly there is an arcade mode which seems almost identical to the story mode which feels a bit redundant.
So I went through the story mode with a bunch of characters until I unlocked all of the characters and stages that could be unlocked through this mode. There is an extra character and stage through arcade mode but I didn’t go to that level of detail. So I had fun playing as guys like Darth Vader, Nightmare, Siegfried, Astaroth, and more. They each have their own signature control schemes, and the game does a good job of making everyone feel unique.
Story mode has 5 levels within it, typically 2 of those will have you defeat 4 enemies and then the other 3 levels are your classic 1 vs 1 fights. Each character has a unique encounter in the 3rd and 5th rounds with a few exceptions where you just get the generic dialogue. The character roster is actually rather impressive with around 30 characters in there, but I do feel like it shouldn’t have been impossible to have unique dialogue for all of them. It’s the small things like that which can really make a difference.
Still, you’re here for the gameplay and it’s really excellent. For a lot of titles, I may be skeptical of a ring out mechanic but in this one it just works really well. It feels satisfying to throw someone off the ring and make an ultra comeback that way. Each character also has a whole lot of different attack moves to the point where it’s actually a bit hard to keep track of them all. Half the time I would use a move and then be unable to use it again. It seems to be based not just on direction but also on momentum which would take some getting used to for me.
Blocking is a button rather than holding back so you want to be real careful about that as well. The levels where you fight 4 opponents back to back can actually be tough as well since they all have a full health bar. Make sure you don’t take them too lightly or you’re really going to be in trouble. Ultimately there is near limitless replay value here because of the vs mode. I also like how the unlockables are rapidly unlocked just by playing through all of the story modes. I’ve always found that is the best way to have the unlockables set up. There are no PS3 trophies for this game which is unfortunate, but you can still have fun on a local level.
The graphics are definitely really good. The art style has aged well and the characters look sharp. The colors are striking and I really don’t have any issues here. Meanwhile the soundtrack is also good. There are quite a lot of different stage tunes here and of course Darth Vader brings in his own remix from Star Wars.
Outside of the story and arcade modes, you also have a tower climbing mode. I did not try this mode out as of yet but it seems to be a fairly long one. You have to continue defeating opponents as you ascend the tower. This will get tougher and tougher as you go through and of course some unlockables are tied to this mode as well. I appreciate that the game has a lot of full fledged single player options since you don’t always see that nowadays. Sure, fighting games are going to spend the majority of effort on multiplayer but no reason why you can’t put a little budget into single player.
Technically speaking the existence of the sequels means there is less reason to buy this one specifically but it’s worth entering the time bubble here. It’s cool to just see the series evolve and this one still stands out on its own. My nostalgia goggles are strong for Soul Calibur II and V so they won’t be surpassed but this is a very good game and I wouldn’t hesitate to play it at any time. I also appreciate that this game still has the announcer who sets up the confrontation before every fight. He really does a good job of making each fight feel really thematic and epic.
Overall, I would definitely recommend picking this game up. It’s one of those fighting games that is easy to pick up and play while being hard to master. You will want to really hit the lab here in order to be one of the best. If you do put in that time, then I don’t think you will be losing many fights because it is hard to overcome that skill gap. I hope we get a new Soul Calibur game soon, it feels like the series has not been expanding as quickly as it should be. If you don’t have the game yet, then you can get it for a great price right now.
Overall 7/10
Batman: Arkham Origins Stats and Records
PS3 trophies 7/51
Batman Arkham Origins: Blackgate Stats and Records
PS3 trophies 13/31
Batman Arkham Origins: Blackgate Review
It’s time for an Arkham game that quite a lot of people never really got to experience. I can say after playing through it that it is a worthy addition to the franchise. The ending does start to drag on a little bit though which is what just barely keeps it from getting an 8. It could have used some quality of life updates to the travel but otherwise does a good job of feeling like a miny version of the main Arkham games.
The game starts off with Batman chasing Catwoman but ends up getting some unexpected help from a private military force. They lock Catwoman up in Blackgate but then a big riot happens and all of the prisoners escape. The place is ruled by three factions led by the Penguin, Joker, and Black Mask. Catwoman agrees to help Batman gather intel as long as he can break her out and have her transferred to a safer jail afterwards. He agrees and now begins his tough mission of taking down all of the villains.
I enjoyed getting to see some different opponents here. This game has boss fights with Catwoman and the Bronze Tiger for example. Bronze Tiger is probably my favorite boss fight in the game because it is straight up hand to hand combat the whole time. It’s really smooth and makes good use of the quick time events. That was a lot of fun and really tests your timing. The Catwoman boss fight continues this but the timing is even tighter so that ended up being an incredibly difficult boss fight. She actually defeated me multiple times before I was able to win.
The gameplay is similar to the main Arkham games, just in more of a 2D setting. You have your combos and the parry option for all of the serious attacks. Then as you play through the game you get various gadgets that help you get through the different areas. The main difference compared to the main games is that this one’s actually a Metroidvania. Trust me I was surprised about that as well. You will be going back and forth among the different areas and that is where the game can be a bit weaker.
My main problem there is that it isn’t always easy to get from world to world and the map layouts can be a little confusing. The use layers instead of stretching the map out so you will have multiple doors on the map and it’s hard to tell which one goes where. I ended up going to the wrong place several times as a result. In the climax you have to go back to every world again which got old pretty fast. So I could have done without a lot of the backtracking there.
The game isn’t too long but just long enough where the travelling adds up. Should take you around 5-6 hours to complete the game. There is a decent amount of replay value with all of the collectibles and multiple endings though. You have to beat the game at minimum 3 times in order to get all of the endings and the Platinum. I like the fact that each path gives you new cutscenes which adds some incentive to playing the game over again. Perhaps someday I’ll go after the other routes. It’s not super high on my list but I ended up with a D for the trophy list so I would like to get that up to a C average at least.
The graphics are pretty solid. I really liked the artstyle for the cutscenes. It was very artistic and stood out as a result. Batman always looked really intimidating the way they set him up as well. The levels look solid and everything is easy to keep track of. There isn’t much of a soundtrack but the voice acting is very good. So all in all there is really a lot to enjoy here. Mix in the great gameplay and you’ve got a solid title.
It would be nice if you could have unlocked more costumes and such to wear during the game. The way they are spread out, you won’t be unlocking any until the very end though. The way you play the game will vary a lot from player to player since it’s very non-linear though so maybe some ill pull that off. Since you often need power ups to enter new areas, I’m thinking that will definitely be limited though.
If you do really enjoy Metroidvania titles then that will probably bump the game up for you though. It’s not a genre that I can see returning to Batman anytime soon after all so you will want to enjoy it now. The combat itself is extremely easy outside of boss fights though. This is a game where you can generally ignore stealth and just run into the enemies every time. Everyone goes down in a few hits and that’s why the bosses will take you by surprise since they are really difficult. I want to say that nearly every boss beat me at least once. Not exactly a flex, but it shows how tough the game could be.
Overall, I would recommend checking this game out. If you want to play it on the PS3, keep in mind that their shop is still open but you have to have a pre filled card or PS credit first since you can’t reload on the older console. It was cool to find this out since I thought the shop was completely shut down. So that’s a little tip if there are any other PS3 games you want to play. I’m not sure when I’ll be playing another PS3 game in the future so for now this was a fun nostalgia visit. I’m basically caught up with Batman games now as well so hopefully we get a new one soon.
Overall 7/10
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