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Showing posts with label ps3. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ps3. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Gran Turismo 5 [2010]




When I heard this game was coming out, getting a PS3 became a no-brainer for me. If you played all the previous version, then you know how much detail and depth this racing simulator has. I'm talking about Sony's Gran Turismo 5. This game has so much content and depth to it that giving it a full in depth review is almost impossible, so instead see this review as coming from someone who has put in some hours.

When you first play this game you immediately notice the amazing HD graphics. I mean the quality is photo realistic. It's easy to forget what is real and what is not. The amount of detail in the cars and the tracks alike are phenomenal. The game sounds are also done very well. The sound of the car's engine and tires really make you feel as you are there. But what really make this game shine is the physics, amount of content, and replay value. The GT team does a great job at simulating the handling of all the cars. The tracks characteristics are also done insanely well. With over 900+ cars and 50+ tracks (mostly variations of already existing ones) to race, it seems almost endless. There is a lot of diversity in races, tracks, and cars, including Le Mans style races, Drifting, and Rally races. They even threw in some NASCAR! It is indeed the most extensive racing game out there.

That being said, I do think the game does have its flaws. The game seems almost no different from the previous, but the improvements make it feel different. At times I felt disappointed because I had really high expectations. With games like NFS Shift and GRID out there, this game almost felt dated. The lack of realistic car crashes and damage just seemed lazy. Other racing games have shown that it is possible to do, but I guess the GT team felt it wasn't important enough to implement. There are also discrepancies in graphics. Cars are divided into two categories, premium and standard. The premium cars have very high detailed graphics, the standard look like they were directly ported from GT4. This makes the graphics in the game seem disjointed and disappoints me. What makes some car worthy of getting a facelift and not the other? From an efficiency stand point I understand that it may have been necessary, but from an average gamer standpoint I don't. The game also tends to have massive mandatory updates, which can also ruin the experience when wanting to just get racing already.

In all, if you can see pass these flaws the game is quite remarkable. You can tell the creators love cars plain and simple. They might not care for realistic crashes and fancy car motion effects, but they do care about the cars and the racing experience. And at the end of the day that's what racing fans really care about. The amazing amount of detail to the simulation of cars in different tracks and track conditions, and the massive array of cars make this game a must have for racing fans out there.

 
coming soon


Graphics 9/10
Sound 8/10
Gameplay 9.5/10

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Infamous [2009]




Infamous from Suckerpunch was one of those games I had to do research before buying. After all, it was a new franchise from a production company I've never heard of before. The reviews that I read were relatively positive; however, I remained skeptical. The fact that the main character can roam freely throughout this neo-city with electro power while listening to the ambient sounds of Amon Tobin is what sold me. I had to get this game, and so I did.

I have to say the graphics are awesome. For the amount of detail that the city has the graphics are great. I did experience occasional slow downs, but not by much and not in critical situations (e.g. boss fights). But what it lacked in smooth frame rate it made up in overall gameplay.

The plot is intriguing. I don't know if it's the greatest, but it definitely kept me entertained and wanting to see it through. The characters quickly grew on me; the ambient sounds and voice acting submerged me into the game, which I believe accounts for that. The fact that my actions also determined not only whether I’m a hero, anti-hero, or villain, but the city resident's reaction to me added another level of gameplay. The controls are also note worthy; allowing special moves execution to be seamless, enabling you to focus on the game.

However Infamous is not without its flaws. The side missions quickly become repetitive and somewhat annoying. They do get progressively more challenging, but the lack of variety makes you wonder if the developers ran out of ideas or if they were just plain lazy. Thankfully they are optional, but if you want to build your character it's the only way to go.

Infamous is definitely one of those games that I didn't expect much from, but ended up getting a lot more. The excellent environment and character graphics, high quality voice acting, atmospheric soundtrack, plot, and overall gameplay makes this a great game.
coming soon


Graphics 9/10
Sound 10/10
Gameplay 8.5/10