Heavy Rain PS3 Review

Heavy Rain is one of those games that was hyped up way before it's release and I personally think that it lives up to the hype. On the first playthrough the story was compelling and the battles where intense for a system that just made up of quick time events.. There were battles where I was on the edge of my seat hoping not to get crushed or beaten to death. Since Heavy Rain's game mechanics are set up for if a character dies they stay dead for the rest of the game, staying alive in a battle became a hell of a lot more important. However I did figure out that if you press start and quit the game while your character is dying and before it has a chance to save you can avoid the death and start over right at a certain place in the battle. Just make sure you watch for the origami figure in the bottom right hand of your screen before attempting such blasphemy as to not screw up your save.

The beginning of the game sets you up for the story and learning the controls. I think it easy you into the new system quite nicely. The only gripe I have about the controls is how they want you to walk. To move your character forward you press the R2 button to move your character forward and the left analog stick steers them in the direction you want to go. It is a bit weird to use and takes some getting used to. I also found it difficult to turn sometimes at a certain point in the game where a character has to crawl in a tight space. Other than that I found the controls quite enjoyable. Some of the control movements mirror what you do in the game making it seem like you are almost doing it yourself. The game Utalizes the motion controller in a good way that you don't see with a lot of Playstation games, especially since a lot of games seem to forget it's existence all together. This is refreshing to see with a Playstation game.

I keep mentioning that Heavy Rain has a compelling story, but I keep veering away from the topic. I don't want to give too much away seeing how this is a murder mystery game and the whole point is to find the murderer and save Ethan's son from dying. But I can say that when the murderer was revealed I did not see that one coming. As for the complaints about plot holes for your second time through, I did not feel the same way. I can see why all the characters did what they did, both playable and non playable characters. But again I don't want to go into details as to not spoil it for anyone.

As for the pacing in the game I did find it a bit slow at times, especially with the second playthrough because I already knew what was going to happen. With all the possibilities for this game and after hearing there are 7 different endings, I would have liked it if the Origami killer could have changed with the different choices you have made. It does have some replay value because of the different endings, but with most of the story remaining the same I can't see too much of it. But I think it does have a good solid first playthough with possibilities for replay. Though I did find the game to be on the shorter side as I played through it twice in less than a week.

Game Play 7/10
It's unique style is a nice break from so many games that come out with the same premise and control schemes. The pace can seem a bit slow at times, but other than that it's intense and compelling. Some of the tasks can be tricky to figure out what you need to do or if you have missed something, which in that case it's too late, so I don't find it too easy. Though the difficulty levels just seem to coincide with how well you know the controller giving you no extra challenge in the sense of detective work.

Controls 8/10
The controls for this game are pretty unique. The battle system is pretty different from a lot of games as it's a timed button pressing system. You only have a certain amount of time to press the correct button which can be tricky if you aren't used to the ps3 controller.

Graphics 8/10
This game has some pretty stunning graphics and utilizes bluray and the ps3 capabilities nicely. There are a few places that seem to look out of place. The scrambled eggs you make look nothing like eggs except for that it's yellow, and trust me I made them right because I got the trophy for it. They end up looking like some yellow jello mess. Most unappetizing. Throughout most of the game you do play in muted colors that helps set the dark tone and was in a film noir style which was nice.

Sound 8/10
The music helped set a eerie, depressing tone of the game though none of the music particularly stood out to me. The voice acting on the other hand was just horrible at times. When Ethan calls out for his son at different points in the game it's an ear sore. Luckily he only calls out his name when want him to by pressing the x button.

Story 8/10
As I mentioned the murder mystery aspect of the game was quite compelling and I was surprised when the killer was revealed. There are some slow parts, but not too many. On the second playthrough you do lose the element of surprise because you know who the murderer is, but I did not find any plot wholes because of it.

If you are looking for something a bit different and heavy in storyline based in film noir I would say this is a must buy for anyone with a PS3. The things to look out for currently though is there have been a few technical issues with the game. I had only experienced minor skipping and at one point the voices were out of sync with the graphics. However there have been reports of games freezing and then losing saved information. If this concerns you, then wait for a patch to come out.

Heavy Rain Demo

So the Heavy Rain demo has been leaked from the UK and I got a chance to nab it. In this demo you get to play a short scene with two characters: Scott Shelby, a private investigator and Norman Jayden, an FBI agent. You start off as Scoot Shelby as it gives you a kick guide on how to control your character. The control scheme is pretty unique and uses the bottoms well, that is except for walking which I found awkward, but once you get used to it I'm sure it won't be that bad. Because the analog sticks do other actions, them make you hold down R2 to have them just walk and then you use the L analog stick to have them move in a different direction. Again why they didn't just have you use the L stick like a lot of other games is beyond me. After the brief intro you start your investigation by talking to the mother of a child who was killed by the Origami Killer. You have options on what you want to say to her, but I couldn't get her to talk, so whether she tells you anything or not I'm still not entirely sure. As this character you also come to a fight like situation where it has you pressing buttons that show up on the screen. If you hit the correct button in time you will throw some punches or dodge your opponent. If you don't hit the correct button in time then you will get hit or slammed up against a wall. I missed a couple of times, but overall kicked his ass. So it's nice to see that you don't have to get 100 percent to win. Because when your character dies, they stay dead and you continue with the story.

Next you play as Norman Jayden and get to do some investigating at a crime scene. If you have seen any previews with him you would know that he has special equiptment out of some science fiction movie. Special glasses and a pair of gloves let's you find and analyze evidence such a shoe prints and pollen that leads a trail in the air. As for investigating the evidence around you, you also get to check out the body. However you don't actually see much of the body. After you are done investigating you leave the site and the game shows you a preview of more to come.

I enjoyed this demo and it makes me want this game even more. A demo drops Feburary 11th for the states and the game comes out February 23rd.

Diary of a Gamer: It's Halloween

It's Halloween and that means it's time for Jack-O-Lanterns and Scary Games in my book.

First off I would like to share my own Jack-O-Lantern. It's my first time making a game character in my pumpkin and I would say for my first try it's not bad at all. Take a look.



So if you are looking to scare yourself tonight and want something different then the horror movie marathon then why not have a horror game marathon. To me a game is even scarier then a movie and I do love my horror movies. With a game you go at your own pace and I feel because you are the one making the decisions, that you feel more like you are the character. That the killer isn't coming after the young starlet on the screen that you are screaming at your tv to not go in the basement, THE KILLER IS IN THE BASEMENT!, but instead you feel the killer is coming after you. So you are the one deciding should I go in there? Is there a monster in there.

But here are my top 5 scary videogames to play this halloween.

5. Haunting Ground PS2

Picking the 5th one was hard because I knew I had to cut it off somewhere, but what game would hold it's spot. I decided to go with this game because it's not played like most survival horror games, as you will see there are a couple on my list that go away from the norm of survival horror games in some way. Decide to mix up the list a bit. In this game the only defense you have is to hide. You must search a mansion to find a way, which is like many survival horror games, but in this one you have no weapons, however you will eventually get a helpful, friendly dog who helps you get items and fend off enemies.

4. Fatal Frame PS2

A classic survival game with a twist. Based off of a couple Japanese myths you go in search of your brother in a haunted mansion with a camera as your only weapon. These enemies are different from most as they can chase you threw walls and objects.

3. Eternal Darkness for Gamecube

If this game is a giant mind fuck, then I don't know what is. The game worlds and storyline is creepy on it's own, but this game has a few more unique tricks up it's sleeve. It breaks the forth wall really making you believe that you just might be going insane. When your characters sanity goes down effects start happening such as the volume lowering with a volume bar entering on screen.

2. Resident Evil PSX

You knew this had to be on my list somewhere. Zombies are just creepy on themselves, then mix in some abnormal monsters in an abandoned mansion with a double crossing boss. The have some cheap scares that will make you jump out of your seat and even though the dialog is a bit cheesy at times, the story will keep you intrigued.

1. Silent Hill PSX

Even though I talk about Resident Evil a lot when I talk about horror games, but Silent Hill was the scariest game I've ever played. The world surrounding you quickly changes from a eerie ash falling atmosphere to a completely degrading world from the aftermath of a fire. The creatures you come across do not attack you in horde, but show up randomly sometimes giving you a warning and sometimes not. The game really messes with your head as you search for your missing daughter.

Diary of a Gamer: New Segment

Not so new seeing how I have already had none game review posts, but this way I can group them together and perhaps have a reason to update more.

So it's the Xmas Season. Pretty sad seeing how Halloween hasn't even come yet, but that complaint comes every year when stores start selling Xmas stuff next to the Halloween costumes. But this time also means that there are a lot of new and exciting game releases. The best games usually do come out around this time. So are there games that I'm looking forward to? Hell ya! Does this mean more reviews? Let's hope so, but my addiction of gaming leaves me to buy more games than I can keep up with. Which leaves even less time for reviews. Hense where I hope this segment will come in to pick up the slack.

A big release that just came out was Uncharted 2 for the PS3. I am already plugging away the hours. I'm half way through the story mode and am very pleased with what has come so far. The cut scenes are beautiful, the storyline is interesting, and the gameplay is amazing. And with the online multiplayer mode there is so much to do. I recommend the game fully, but if you want to wait a review might be coming.

Another big game coming out, this time for the Wii, is the New Super Mario Bros. which will bring you back to the gold old days of 2D gaming. This one peaks my interesting and I probably will end up picking it up sooner or later. If only it had online multiplayer as well.

Other releases are Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days for the DS, and Activision and MTV Games have a bunch of new music games that have recently been released or are soon on there way. So this holiday season should be full of new and fun games for any gamer.

However there are more games on the horizon past the holiday season. Mario Galaxy 2 is coming out next year for the Wii, as well as Heavy Rain for the PS3 and Bayonetta for the PS3 and 360. And in the distant future Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep for the PSP and Final Fantasy XIII.

I'm most looking forward to the games for the PS3. I feel a lack of excitement for my Wii these days feeling like a lot of games aren't being designed with my type of games in mind. Though New Super Mario Bros. does look intriguing however I'm put off by the idea that the game can play itself when things get too tough for some to handle. Sure I don't have to use it, but it's the idea of what games are coming to these days.

Then there's Bayonetta, which looks like it could be fun, but the PS3 port hasn't been done well so far. Sure it's not released yet and Sega, who has already owned up for it's mistakes on the poor graphic quaility to the PS3 version, still has time to spruce it up to the 360 version's standards. The PS3 does have better graphic capability, it's time that multi-platform games use what the PS3 is capable of even if it's just to match the 360 version. If we are going to shell out $60 for a game we want the best it can be and not another Ghost Busters issue.

So if you are looking for a new game there are plenty of new releases and up and comings to pick up. Don't let all that holiday time go to waste!

Fatal Frame PS2 Review

So after a rant and a review on what makes a good survival horror game, I have found me one. All I had to do was search numerous Gamestops and reverse back a system. And it appears to be so good that it's still $40 used after 2 sequels, with a 4th in Japan, and for being a 7 year old game. Good thing I had coups.

Fatal Frame has all the elements of what makes a good survival horror game: monstrous foes, puzzles, creepy music and environments, and the fear of having a ghost pop out at you at any moment.

What makes this survival horror game different from it's competitors is the weapon system. Unlike having a gun and knife to fend off evil foes you use a camera to capture the ghosts energy. What makes that so interesting if the fact that it comes from reality or well what some people believe to be reality. The idea that a camera can capture your soul and allow you to see spirits is one deeply rooted in our history all over the world. It may not be your belief, but it's still neat idea for a game.

The first Fatal Frame is also based on a true story or well two. How many videogames out there can claim that? The idea that the game has basis in reality can make the reality of the gameplay more interesting and scary for some. Many people have in fact claimed that Fatal Frame is one of the scariest games out there. I won't deny that it's a scary game, but I believe that Silent Hill is the scariest shit out there. Now that really plays with your mind.

As for actual gameplay and story, I found it interesting and engaging. You first take the control of Mafuyu, a young man in search of his mentor who has gone missing inside of a haunted mansion. You don't control him for long. After finding a special camera know as Camera Obscura, and defeating your first ghost, he too goes missing. You then take control of Miku, Mafuyu's sister, as she goes on a hunt for him. She too finds the camera and searches deeper into the mansion for Mafuyu as she finds out the dark secrets that the mansion holds.

In this game you will not have hoards of ghosts attack you all at once, I think the most I had to fend off was 3 at a time, but that makes it scarier in my opinion. Not knowing when a ghost will appear and even have them move through walls is scary and adds a different bit of challenge to the game.

The controls are a bit clunky, think original Resident Evil as the control system is pretty much the same for walking and camera angles, and sometimes you will run into invisible objects. The system for walking up and down ladders is incredibly slow. You could get into some real trouble if you are heading down a ladder with a ghost chasing after you. What makes it worse is there is no button command to use a ladder, if you walk up close to it you just start climbing. Combine this with the changing camera angles for different areas and you could end up using the ladder 3 or 4 times in a row.

The game has two different endings, 3 if you have the xbox version. Both endings seem sad in their own way to me, but you will just have to play through to figure out what you think of them.

Fatal Frame gets a 4 out of 5 stars for unique weapons, scary situations, and a good storyline. I knocked off a point for clunky controls, but it's still manageable.

UNCHARTED: Drake's Fortune PS3 Review

With Uncharted 2 just around the corner, I finally decided to pick up a copy of the original and give it go. After playing, it got me wondering why I didn't pick up this title sooner. It has a nice mix of a third person shooter, an adventure game, and a puzzle game all rolled into one with a few other surprise elements.

You are Nathan Drake, who sets out to find a treasure with hints and a map from your ancestor on the same hunt. Throughout the game you get some help and help out a couple of AI characters. Luckily these AI characters can't die that way you don't have to worry about saving their ass every five minutes. However in the storyline you do seem to be saving their asses quite a bit. One is a old friend and con artist, while the other is a film journalist. When your friend gets into trouble you question his motives, while when the female AI character (aka the film journalist, who you just can't seem to get rid of) is in trouble you have to be the hero and save the damsel in distress even though she can handle herself most of the time. She does rescue you a few times so it helps balance out this injustice. But I mostly kid. The dynamic between these characters help build a strong story.

As for the gameplay, there really is a lot to it. You have a variety of weapons, however you can only carry three weapons at a time: one sidearm; one machine gun, shot gun or sniper rifle; and a set of grenades at a time. So rationing ammo and deciding what weapon will be needed to carry on with you to the next part becomes a bit harder. If you do run out of ammo or just want a different kind of action you can do melee moves and combo attacks.

The puzzles and some other aspects of the game are very reminiscent of Tomb Raider. If Nathan drake had a higher voice and large breasts I might actually think I was playing one. The puzzles have you move or drag objects around and he jumps and clings to cliffs in a very similar way. But even with the similarities UNCHARTED is it's own game. The targeting system and health system is different. You can choose to have a cursor appear and aim for the enemy you want and not to just the closest one. There is also no health packs in UNCHARTED. If you get low on health the screen colors dim until they become black and white and the only way to recover is to stay out of the line of fire for a short amount of time. The swimming system is also different. Nathan cannot swim under water like Laura can, which I actually prefer since I hate water levels.

But enough with comparing UNCHARTED to other games. It can stand alone as a very strong game with many twists in turns and with a sequel on the way I can see this series lasting a long time. So UNCHARTED: Drake's Fortune gets a 4 out of 5 stars from me.

Just a note for those of you picking UNCHARTED up after the PS3 update 3.0. Some people have reported the game freezing constantly forcing you to restart your system. There is now an optional update known as 3.1 that you can install that will fix this problem.

Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box DS Review

Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box is the second in a series of puzzle games and the latest one to come stateside. Like the first game, Diabolical Box follows Professor Layton and his apprentice Luke to solve a mystery by solving puzzles. It's a point and click adventure with an intriguing storyline that separates this game from other puzzle games putting it in a class of it's own. There are over 100 puzzles in the game ranging from fairly easy to quite difficult which will keep you entertained and puzzled for hours.

I'm gonna to spend a good chunk of this review discussing the puzzles because this game at it's core is a puzzle game. There are a variety of different puzzles ranging from guessing the right item from a number of clues to classic peg board puzzles to sliding puzzles. Some of the puzzles are unique to the other puzzles in the game, while others are just a harder version of a previous puzzle. A couple use outside elements taking you away from the screen. One of them uses a paper ticket that is found in the game's booklet which is instructed for your use in game. The last puzzle in the story uses a feature that none other in the game uses, leaving you to really think about what you have to do. That puzzle was my favorite because it really utilizes all the features that make the DS so unique.

If you get stumped on one of these puzzles you can get up to three hints which can be unlocked by using hint coins found throughout the game hidden in the background. Most of the coins are easy to find and hidden in the same types of places that they would be found in the first Professor Layton game. I was hoping for more of a challenge looking for these coins, but since they are used as a helping tool and not necessary to finish the game it wasn't a big deal. Plus it might be nice to not struggle over where to find one of these when you really need one to be finish a puzzle that you just can't seem to figure out. But then it becomes even more easier to find them when you finish the hamster side quest puzzle as he actually will point out their location to you.

Speaking of these side quests, there are a few for you to accomplish as you head through story mode. Three are of them to be exact. You will run into a chef on the train who will tell you about his pet hamster and how he needs some exercise for he fears that he is too unhealthy from living in a kitchen feeding off all the scraps. There are five levels and once he is fit and feeling good he will help you find those hint coins.

Another of these side quests involves a broken camera you receive. Again you will find pieces after solving puzzles and then you have to put all the pieces together to fix the camera. Once the camera is fixed more puzzles will be available to you.

The last side quest is played by mixing herbs together to make tea for the towns people. This side quest was the least fun. The towns people randomly appear to be sweating, indicating that they need tea. But if you serve them the wrong tea they don't seem to want another cup until some random time later. It's a bit frustrating to serve them the wrong tea just to go back later and find out you still don't have it right.

Other than the extensive amount of puzzles there is a story that ties them together nicely. Some puzzles are even tied into the story, so not to make them just a random element. The story to Diabolical Box was nice and full of mystery. You discover a little more and more of the giant puzzle as you move along like any good story, too bad you don't have to figure this one out on your own. It is all revealed through cutscenes, sometimes being backed up with a puzzle.

The cutscenes are nice with three different kinds that move the story along. The best is the actual moving pictures with voice acting. The style, even though not realistic is quite nicely drawn. The other two types is a still frame of the two characters currently talking with subtitles. Some of them are voice acted while others are not. It leaves you wondering why all aren't voice acted.

This game has a good replay value. Even after the story is finished there might still be puzzles to be solved since you don't need to solve them all to finish the story mode. There are also more puzzles to be downloaded through wi-fi just like the first. With so many puzzles and a cute artistic style this is truely one game on the DS to not pass up. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.