Is This The Beginning of the End for Nintendo?

Errol Games: The Podcast (Episode 1)

Ratchet & Clank Collection

 Score: 9.0 

Great Gameplay, Great Graphics, and a Great Value make for a great gift this Holiday Season.

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If you're a fan who's never played any of the first three Ratchet & Clank's BUY THIS GAME. You get your money's worth. For $29.99 you get 3 full Ratchet & Clank games. Sure they're PS2 games, but they're remastered with HD graphics, and they look great. Nobody would know you were playing a PS2 game. The series holds up well 10 years later. I thought that after 10 years the controls would be slow and annoying, but they're just as responsive as any PS3 game. This game rocks.  Here's a review for each individual game included in the collection.
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Ratchet & Clank

 

The game that started it all. The first Ratchet & Clank showed off the potential that the series had. Today it's notable for the things it's missing. One huge thing is Ratchet's ability to sidestep. It a huge culture shock to find out I couldn't step to the left or right while shooting at enemies. Even with Ratchet's sidestep missing this game is incredibly fun. It's the only game in the series where I payed attention to the story. I watched every cut scene with full attention.

The first Ratchet & Clank can be pretty difficult. I found myself turning the game off out of frustration a few times. I did usually get past the part I was stuck on the first try after taking breaks with the game.  The last boss fight was a pain tho. I might have ended up watching the last cut scene on YouTube, but that's not important.
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Going Commando

 

This 2nd game in the series feels more familiar with fans who have never played the first Ratchet and Clank. There's a lot more emphasis on the weapons in this one. This is where the upgrade system for your weapons upgrade was introduced. Also included is Ratchet's sidestepping ability and the ability to upgrade your health as you fight. The game's difficulty is there, but I just find the game so much easier with Ratchet's ability to sidestep. That's not to say I didn't die constantly at certain points.

While I love the action platforming aspects of the series, I felt that Going Commando went overboard with the extra curricular activities. It's bad enough I have to play as Clank every now and again, but I got tired of racing. I don't want to win a race to move the story along. I don't want to fight huge enemies with Giant Clank. I don't want to fly around on a spaceship and shoot asteroids. I just want to smash boxes and shoot enemies. I understand the diversity of the games does wonders for it's pacing and story telling but Going Commando had too much diversity. I'm glad to see in future games they limited the Universe to having one stadium where you can do all of the extra activities you want.

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Up Your Arsenal

This was the first Ratchet & Clank game I ever played. I don't even know why I bought it, but I'm glad I did. I remember it felt like I played it for 5 minutes, but I had really invested 20 hours into it. Out of the 3 games in the collection, this one is the best in my opinion. Weapons now have levels so they continue to upgrade as you play instead of one big upgrade like in Going Commando. I'm still playing this game, but it's replay value from when I played it in 2004 or 2005 remains high. In closing I'll say buy the Ratchet & Clank Collection. Fans of the R&C should have a great time with this one. 

Uncharted: Golden Abyss Review

Score: 7.5/10   

Pros

Beautiful Graphics

Uncharted: Golden Abyss is a great looking game. The PlayStation Vita really impressed me as it displayed Uncharted: Golden Abyss on it's screen. This game looks like a portable PS3 game. I guarantee anybody who catches a glimpse of you playing Golden Abyss will be impressed. I've always felt like screenshots of portable games never did the graphics to a game justice. That changed when I started taking screenshots of Golden Abyss with my Vita. The picture to the left is an actual screenshot taken on a persons Vita. Beautiful if you ask me. Nathan Drake gets some really pretty places to explore.

Fun Combat 

There's reason to argue that Uncharted is the best at 3rd person Action Adventure series out there. My favorite part of Golden Abyss was definitely the combat. When it comes to action, Uncharted delivers. You still have a variety of ways to approach how to take down enemies. You can be stealthy, run and gun, melee on people, shoot and cover, throw grenades, shoot rockets, or (sometimes) be a sniper.

My favorite way to play any Uncharted game is to perform Stealth Kills. Stealth Kills have never been easier in Golden Abyss. Golden Abyss makes it easier to track every enemy on your screen. I find that in other Uncharted games I tend to get caught performing a stealth kill by a person I didn't know was there. In Golden Abyss there's enough space between enemies to make clearing an area with Stealth Kills a lot easier to accomplish. Also the addition of touchscreen controls to perform Stealth Kills helps as well. As soon as you get close to an enemy a huge fist pops up on your enemy that you tap in order to perform a stealth kill. Easy.

Gunfights are fun as well. Just about every gun from Uncharted 3 is in Golden Abyss, and they work well. I find that being on my fourth Uncharted game, I'm more open to using the variety of guns the game has to offer. When I began Golden Abyss, I felt that the aiming system was a bit off. I felt like the controls didn't react fast enough with my moves. I found that the aim sensitivity settings were set to 50%. I adjusted the sensitivity to 100% and was good to go.

Rear TouchPad

Golden Abyss emphasizes the use of the various functions of the Playstation Vita. You've got to tilt the Vita to maintain your balance at times, use the front touch screen to move stuff, etc. My favorite Vita function was the use of the rear touchpad. The rear touch pad is something I've never done before, and is used for various reasons throughout the game. One reason is to move objects around as you search for clues, and another is a zoom function.

The zoom function is what really impressed me the most about the rear touch pad. It took some getting used to, but once I did it was all good. I liked being able to adjust the zoom on my scope without lifting a finger. The rear touch pad also made it easier to get specific shots with this camera Drake carries with him. The camera icon appears at times for Drake to find a clue. The shots require a certain zoom level which the rear touchpad made easier to adjust. Sure you could use the front touchscreen to adjust your zoom as well, but I preferred the rear.

Front Touchscreen

The front touchscreen is probably the most used Vita function in Golden Abyss. There were things the front touchscreen did really well, and others that frustrated the hell out of me. It was fun using the touchscreen to perform stealth kills, climbing was a breeze as I moved my finger across the screen to get around, and adjusting the scope for the sniper rifle was a breeze with the front touchscreen. That's about where the front touchscreen stops being cool, and started becoming an annoyance tho. The touchsceen was cool in the first half of the game, but by the end of the game I was done with using it.

Cool Treasure

Golden Abyss added a new element of finding hidden treasure to the Uncharted series. The hidden treasure you find in Golden Abyss come with a back story of the people and place Drake is exploring. I remember finding a lipstick case which came from a woman who had dropped it as she and her husband were being kidnapped. Pretty grim, but it's a lot cooler than finding a ring that I can only rotate and zoom in on.

Cons

Game is Too Long

Call me crazy, but Golden Abyss is too damn long. The game has 34 Chapters. I was done with Golden Abyss by the 17th Chapter. At that point you've seen damn near every weapon and Vita function this game has to offer. Things started to get repetitive at this point. The worst parts were getting stuck over a stupid puzzle or something. It was a huge sigh of relief to see the ending credits in this game. It shouldn't be like that, but with Golden Abyss it was. I'm not saying to make future Uncharted games shorter. What I'm saying is it shouldn't feel like a hassle to get to the end of the story.

Quick Time Touchscreen Events

Later in the game (Chapter 20 something) quick time events becomes a major focus in the game for no reason. Instead of moving the control stick to perform these actions, you are required to use the touchscreen to perform some really mundane quick time actions. It would've been cute if the Vita read my finger movement every time. I found that when there were back to back quick time events, my Vita had a hard time reading my finger movement. It sucked because you'd have to sit through a boring cut scene every time to perform the same quick action. I also found myself constantly missing my quick time cue due to simply not being interested in the cut scene.

WAY Too Much Treasure

I saw a blog post from John Garvin, the creative director of Bend Studios, that said there are hundreds of thousands of treasures and artifacts in Golden Abyss. That's way too damn much. The worst part is the separate stories for hidden treasure that you find. I'd find a lipstick case from a woman who was kidnapped, then I'd find a random piece of a stone that belonged to another set of treasures with a different story. This made it really hard to keep up with the stories behind each individual piece of treasure. I think Uncharted should to stick to the 100 pieces of treasure formula and make stories behind that linked groups of 10 treasures. That would be a lot more manageable and easier to follow.

Final Thoughts

Being a fan of the Uncharted series, I was excited to play Golden Abyss on launch day for the PS Vita. It didn't disappoint. The gameplay is overall is really good. I would recommend any fan of the Uncharted series to check this one out if you get a chance. It does a good job at showing the promise of the PS Vita by showcasing beautiful graphics and adding interesting new features to the series. If I had to compare Golden Abyss to the other three games in the series, I would say this is probably the weakest addition to the series, but it's still a lot of fun. Golden Abyss is a lot like Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. It's the first game on a new console, and does a good job at showing the promise of future Uncharted titles. Naughty Dog delivered on that promise with Uncharted 2, and I bet Bend Studios will deliver on that promise as well with future Uncharted titles on the PS Vita.

Fallout 3: Point Lookout Review

I haven't played a new Quest in Fallout 3 in a while. I've spent the better part of three years exploring the Capital Wasteland. I finally came around and bought some downloadable content (DLC) to expand on the original story. In comes Point Lookout which I bought for $9.99 on Xbox Live. Point Lookout is an island just off of Maryland's Coast. When you buy the DLC a ferry shows up to take you over. That's a picture of the ferry "Duchess Gambit" above.

Point Lookout is a crazy place. It wasn't hit by nuclear bombs during the war, but the island received radiation from the Capital Wasteland. The radiation attracted Ghouls and Swamp People who are radiated inbred locals. The small local population is reduced to gang of people known as Tribals. Tribals are initiated by traveling to the swamp and ingesting special seeds. The seeds cause you to fall asleep. You wake up with a scar on your head, and a piece of your brain missing. Lets just say that losing a piece of your brain can cause a person to go crazy. Point Lookout is worth a visit. By the time I finished the main quest I was satisfied with what I accomplished. It inspired me to finish the main story so I could start the "Broken Steel" DLC.

What the Hell is a Deus Ex?

Forgive my ignorance but what the hell is Deus Ex? All's I know is it's a PC game that came out 10 years ago. My knowledge of PC games is limited to Call of Duty 2 and The Sims. My PC doesn't turn on, but it has an ATI Radeon X700 video card inside of it. I'm guessing that a pretty dated graphics, but I was able to play the Sims 2 on high settings with no problem.

Back to Deus Ex. Apparently a version of the original game was ported to the Playstation 2 in 2002. I wasn't aware of it. I was too busy playing Resident Evil on the Gamecube. The reviews have been pretty solid for Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Human Revolution popped on my Radar after my trip to Blockbuster earlier. I walked in and noticed that all seven copies for the PS3 version of Deus Ex were rented out. I've never seen a whole section of PS3 games rented out at Blockbuster. Ever. I knew it would get worse as I checked the XBOX 360 section. Sold Out. I asked the guy at the counter if he had any copies. He told me they'll be back on Sunday. Great. The game I wanted to spend Hurricane Irene playing will be back on the day Irene shows up.

Looks like I'll have to spend an arm and a leg to buy Deus Ex: Human Revolution. $59.99 is a ridiculous price for a videogame. I'd be cool if videogames were released digitally if it meant I had the option to rent the game before I bought it. Maybe it already exists. Told you I'm ignorant when it comes to PC Gaming. Anyway's I've got a videogame to buy. I'll make sure to not buy it from Gamestop due to them taking the PC version of Deus Ex off it's shelves. I'm not planning on buying the PC version, but I shop where all gamers shop.

The Summer Flood of 2011

Make sure to check out Catherine on July 26th, and No More Heroes: Paradise on August 16th. Catherine has me interested. Mostly because it looks like some time of hentai from the promo pictures I've seen. The game should come with a guarantee that boners will be had during gameplay. I already know the deal with No More Heroes.

No More Heroes is the best series born on the Wii. It's about time Travis Touchdown graces the PS3 & Xbox 360. I'm interested to see how the game plays on a regular controller. I'm pretty much done with the whole motion control craze from the Wii. I've moved onto 3D with the 3DS.

Nintendo has me right where they want me. I may not be playing my Wii, but I damn sure am playing my 3DS. 258 hours later I'm getting pretty decent at Street Fighter 3D. I'm hooked. It's on my short list for Game of the Year.

My favorite game of the last 3 months would have to be LA Noire. It's sad to hear about the tension between Rockstar & Team Bondi. It's looking like we won't see the next LA Noire 2 developed from Team Bondi. That's too bad. LA Noire took seven years to produce, but it's one of the most innovative titles I've ever played. I'm sitting there doing math problems trying to figure out clues to solve a crime. I've never done that before.

Shadows of the Damned is a fun game. I'd choose that game over Fear 3 which was released on the same day. Shadows of the Damned reminds me of games such as Resident Evil and Silent Hill. Fear 3 reminds me of Call of Duty. The only difference is Call of Duty is a better first person shooter. I didn't find Fear 3 to be scary at all. What's so scary about strategically shooting enemies with my friend Enzo? I couldn't tell you.

Portal Kombat is also a fun time. Let's not forget about these gems. Portal 2 is something special. I like how the Co-Op story is different from the Single Player story. I didn't finish either, but I spent a good amount of time on both. The Single Player story had me laughing the whole time, while the Co-Op story had me and whoever I was playing with in tears. I'm not sure you can save the Co-Op story so until I figure it out it loses a point for that. Mortal Kombat is fun too. The story mode is something else, but I spent most of my time in the Challenge Tower. I didn't make it to the top, but I like how it teaches you different ways to approach fighting in Mortal Kombat. If Street Fighter could mimic that and teach players along the way I'd probably be playing as someone other than Ken after 258 hours. #JustSaying