Review #3: Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate

Stating something. I am still open to comments on this review. Always looking for improvements as they always say haha.

This week's review will be on~~~~

Nope. It's not on the PS Vita. Sorry! :<

This game... Oh this game.. I have seen this game before but never played it as I do not own a PSP nor have an interest in it until my friend Jeremy Dong introduced me to it. ( actually he was playing Monster Hunter 4 but it's the same, right? :x ) I was super hyped when i got the game and actually was hooked on it for like 350+ hours and counting.

Oh sh..

So what is Monster Hunter all about? It's about gathering mushrooms. JUST KIDDING.

As the name suggest, it's about hunting monsters. Not just some monster, some of them are small and laughable, some of them are super cool and i love how they were designed and some of them are super big in size and they will be the one laughing at your puny size instead.

You're kidding me right?

There is no story for monster hunter except for killing monster and killing more monsters. Nor any other game modes. No highscore. No PvP. Only killing monsters. That's it! ( or the occasional gathering quests. BORING! ) But no two monster is the same, each unique monster have their own special signature move. From Zinogre going super saiyan ( Literally ), to Deviljho's Dragon Breath.

Super Saiyan Zinogre

Bored of hunting alone? Get a couple of friends with 3DS with the game and hunt together! ( Games are always best played with friends! ) Why is it more fun? As Monster Hunter is a game where random things can happen.

Gold Rathian please

PROS

• First Monster Hunter game but it actually have a tutorial to teach you what to do.
• Tried Monster Hunter Freedom Unite 2 but i have no idea what's going on nor any tutorial.
• Gives all the weapon types once you start the game.
• Different weapons have different styles.
• Have different ranks.
• Low Rank, High Rank and G-Rank
• Low - Easy, get to learn the game
• High - Slightly challenging with subspecies of each monster
• G - God rank.
• Rewarding.
• That feel when you get your armor set/weapon.
• Skill points for each armor
• Different skills give different buffs to the player.
• Possible to mix and match armor pieces.

CONS

• Require to grind in order to get items you want. 
• Once, I have to get a gem and fought a Elder Dragon 15 times, 30 mins per fight before getting one = 7.5 hours worth
• Considered a little hardcore to some people
• YouTube search Heroics *monster's name* then you'll know what i'm talking about
• Camera issues for first time players.

JUDGEMENT

• Graphics 9/10
• Pretty nice with the graphics and special effects.
• Notably Zinogre's charge to Super Saiyan level.
• Nicely designed weapons and armor.
• G-rank weapons and armors are the nicest compared to their Low/High rank counterparts.
• Although they reused some graphics from the old games it still looks cool overall.

• Gameplay 8.5/10
• Awkward camera controls
• Weird movements
• Controls sometimes won't happen the way you wanted to.

• Replayability A must have for 3DS users
• Fun game
• Great for long distance travels
• Average per fight is 30mins.
• Monsters are more fun to fight with friends.
• Sense of achievement and satisfaction when a monster is killed.

• Overall: 9/10
• Great game by Capcom
• 10 years of the Monster Hunter franchise!
• Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate coming out next year, 2015
• Fun to play alone
• Even better with friends.
• A good game to play on the go

Also sorry the late review >.<

Will be more consistent about reviewing a game every week.

Speaking of which the next game to review will be~~

Thanks for reading as always~!

Review #2: Mass Effect Trilogy

Hey guys! Time for another review but before i start the review, i have some things to say.

My reviews are on a weekly basis but i won't always release them on the same day every week. It will be released on a certain day of the week.

Also, i would also like to thank or mention the people who introduced these games to me. In the past, I don't normally find games to play. My friends introduced these games to me so i'll give them some spotlight here. :D


Moving on to the review. This week, i'll be reviewing Mass Effect 2 and the people that introduced me to this Mass Effect series was my Secondary School friend, Zi Sheng. He introduced the Mass Effect Series to play, so i did, hooked on the Mass Effect series and actually replayed Mass Effect 2 and 3. ( i didn't play Mass Effect 1 ;w; )

Cover art for Mass Effect 2
Credits: EA

Cover Art for Mass Effect 3
Credits: EA

Mass Effect is a 3rd person sci-fi shooter + RPG created by BioWare. The story is set in the distant future where humanity invented space travel and found evidence of a extinct space-faring species called the Protheans on Mars. With the technology the Protheans left behind, Humanity's space travel florished, being able to unlock the secrets of Faster-Than-Light travel. Furthermore, humanity also discovered a network of Mass Relays capable of travelling thousand of light-years into the distant stars. That's where Humanity made it's presence in the galaxy, encountering various alien species.

You'll play as Commander Shepard, the main protagonist, and travel in the SSV Normandy with hopes to unlock more secrets of the Protheans and in the future, the threat of the Reapers.

I think if i go on, i might as well tell the whole story, but i won't!
Anyway, here's some unique points about the Mass Effect Trilogy.

Morality

Ever wanted to be the most nicest/most badass Commander in the galaxy?
Well, in the Trilogy, there is something called morality choices.

Paragon - The good side, hate conflicts, the good guy the galaxy has ever known. Have a halo above his/her head.

Renegade - The bad side, love to kill people, the biggest and baddest badass ever known. Have devil horns above his/her head.

Morality choices will have different outcomes depending on the situation, like interrupting a bullying gangster from a merchant or just plainly let the bully do what he wants while you just look on.


No Limitations

Basically, the game doesn't limit you in certain points (duh)

For example, you pick a class as Infiltrator aka sniper specialist but the games doesn't limit you to use sniper and pistols only. The game will just let you outfit with whatever weapons that you want. Sniper class wielding a shotgun? Anytime.

Also, personally, i think it's a good break from the traditional RPG styles.

Decisions, decisions, decision

Every decision you make in-game WILL, repeat, WILL have an impact throughout all three of the Mass Effect games!

*Spoilers i swear*

For example, in a certain part of Mass Effect 2, would you save your crew from being bio-mass, or just ignore them and do some other missions before saving them? If you save them, one of the crew members will be brought forward to the next game. If not, she stays as bio-mass forever. (also means dead)

Dead in ME2

Or alive in ME3

Oh right, you can also bring save games from the previous Mass Effect Series to bring over your character's decisions and who have survived etc.

PROS

• Excellent story (starting of Mass Effect 2 gave me a "what the hell" moment)
• Will have a lot of missions to do (expected from a rpg)
• Excellent character design and also personalities
• Made me tear at some parts. 
• Porting over previous game's saves.
• Multiplayer in Mass Effect 3 (i am very excited about this)
• Decision making
• Romance ( It's Bioware )
• DLCs are actually multiple missions instead of character clothes or features
• You get to blow up a Reaper.

CONS

• The ending. ( it's a good game still ).
• Mission Journal ( You know.. Where are all the objectives are )
• Auto-dialog from NPC repeats until you can memorize what they are about to say.
• If you don't play Multiplayer, there is something in the Singlepalyer called War Readiness that will directly affect the ending of Mass Effect 3.
• For a sci-fi/space game, no space battles? Really?

Judgement

Same thing as always. Graphics, Gameplay and Replayablilty

• Graphics 8/10
• Occasional random weird graphic glitches but still playable and not a hindrance to the player.
• A character called Kaiden was walking weirdly in a rare walking glitch.
• Customization of your guns!

• Gameplay 8/10
• Some repetitive missions and parts that are not needed.
• Small glitches when trying to move from cover to cover.
• Exploration is fun! Actually need to explore to find items!

• Replayability: OMG Yes
• To be really honest, it's a very good time waster, plus such a great story within each of it's individual games.
• So many different paths and decisions to complete and end the story.
• Final cutscene is worth tons of replay.
• In short, the final cutscene will be different each time you play differently.

• OVERALL: 9/10
• If you have a week or two, sit down and play the series. Actually worth the time playing the game.
• Also, personally never tried Multiplayer but i've heard that it's fun so it might be worth playing it too.

Thanks for reading! I'll make sure this comes out as soon as possible next week!

Next game to review next week!

Review #1: Star Wars Empire at War: Forces of Corruption

I admit am a Star Wars fan. Ever since i watched Episode IV: A New Hope, i fell in love with it. So no doubt that any Star Wars game that i come across will be unplayed by me unless it's Pod Racer.

Moving on.

So this game i am about to review is called Star Wars Empire at War: Forces of Corruption. It is an expansion to the Star Wars Empire at War game.

Why do a review on the expansion instead of the main game? Cause the expansion is waaaaaaaay better than the main game. Not saying the main game is bad but but.. I played more of the expansion than the main game.

Warning! Potential Spoilers incoming.

Even the cover art looks awesome!

So what is this game all about? SW:FOC is a Real-Time Strategy game created by LucasArts and the timeline is set in the middle of the galactic war between the Galactic Empire and the Rebel Alliance but in the midst, you will get to play as a faction called the Zann Consortium. Don't worry, all 3 factions are playable in Single Player and even Multi-player.

Forces of Corruption Gameplay
Credits: IGN

There are different modes in the game, most notably the Galactic Conquest mode. It removes all story cutscenes and also let the player chooses which faction and map they want to play.

Galactic Conquest map as a Rebel Alliance player

Gameplay

As a Real-Time Strategy game, it does not the traditional gameplay mechanics such as building your base, collecting resources or training troops. It is all done before any battles in conquest mode, which lets you decide what troops to garrison to protect the planet and also build the buildings BEFORE any enemy fleets/transports to come into your welcoming fire of doom.

PROS

• Memorable characters.
• Very interesting plot.
• It fits perfectly in the Star Wars timeline.
• Wide variety of units and gameplay choices
• Nothing is "overpowered" ( Looking at you C&C 3 )
• Friendly for newcomers.
• Bored of the main game? The community have created tons of mods for this game. Most notably is the Clone Wars mod!

CONS

• Multiplayer for Galactic Conquest is very very very boring and slow-paced (might be good but mostly bad if someone decided to start with the highest tier upgrade)
• Unit Limit for each faction. ( Limits number of strategies )
• A bug that loses all your main characters.

Judgement

I will only have a few things to look out for, mainly graphics, gameplay, replay-ability.

• GRAPHICS: 10/10 
• For a 2010 game, the graphics are awesome. It's clean and the graphics are absolutely amazing. The particle effects,  explosions and also the colors that depicts the faction is all cleanly shown in the game.

• GAMEPLAY: 9/10
• Sometimes buggy, but it's rare that i got a bug. 
• Bold of not using the traditional method of Real-Time Strategy games and actually succeeding in it.
• Wide variety of units and each units have strength and weaknesses to it, allowing different unit formations to use and think about.

• REPLAY-ABILITY: Totally
• Best when played with friends.
• Story is very well told. I played the campaign 3 times and was still fascinated with it.

• OVERALL: 9/10
• Definitely worth picking up and try it. It is now available on Steam, buy it and play with friends! Or drown yourself with the rich story of Tyber Zann, Zann Consortium and the fate of the entire galaxy!

Thanks for reading. I'll do this on a weekly basis so have a look out for it!

Next game to review: Mass Effect series

Introduction!

Hi guys! Welcome to my review blog!

An little introduction of myself. My real life name is Kai Xiong, i am a student studying in Diploma in Games and Entertainment Technology (now known as Diploma in Games Design and Development) in Temasek Polytechnic in Singapore.

I played games at a young age and my first game was probably a PS1 game called Army Men. You know, those toy soldiers that go pew pew at each other. Since then i fell in love with games and soon was playing many different games on the PC. (i don't own any consoles, the PS1 game that i first played belongs to my relative)

Currently, I still have an interest in gaming and still gaming.

If anyone is interested add up SG Spartan in Steam and that's my ign for like 90% of my other accounts. So if you see that ign somewhere, it's most probably me!

Thanks for reading!