Showing posts with label Computer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Computer. Show all posts
It's been a while since I've reviewed a video game for you all but the wait will not disappoint. I've been getting more time to play through story modes and complete games to write reviews. For this edition of "In My Console" on this blog, I will be reviewing the new re-imaging of the bloody-fighting series: Mortal Kombat!
The Premise: The years of Mortal Kombat have dealt a heavy blow against the battle of Good vs. Evil. With the events of Armageddon coming to its climax, only Raiden and Shao Khan are left fighting on top of the pyramid while hundreds of their allied fighters lay dead on the fields below. When Raiden is defeated and about to be dealt the final blow, he speaks a mystical incantation that delivers a series of images from key moments throughout the last few years and a defining message that says "He must win" to himself years prior.
Now reliving the events starting from the first game in the series, the visions have created an alternate time line where Raiden impacts decisions previously made with new options. Raiden's influence has spread throughout the first trilogy in the series by changing key events and slowly manipulating the thoughts of characters we have previously thought of as good or evil. With events ticking down to the ultimate conclusion of fighting Shao Kahn, what will the Earthrealm fighters do if they know that their decisions may lead them back to Armageddon?
Where To Play: Mortal Kombat has been ported to a variety of systems such as PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows. For the basis of this review, I have played this game on the 360.
The Good: When dealing with a fighting video game series, many have deemed that they can be interchangeable with each other. The good points about the Mortal Kombat series is that it focuses on the raw and bloody appeal of fighting. The fatalities and new "neck-breaker" combinations deal heavy blows with great cinematics. The story mode definitely was a highlight for me because the first two games never really highlighted the story behind the characters and it was nice to get a real in-depth view of what the characters experienced in the first three tournaments. Also a favourite is the inclusion of new characters yet-to-be created such as Skarlett who started as a palette-swap glitch in the second game. You can see her in the background of story mode so I'm excited to read about her back-story and how she took part in the story mode.The Kombat Pass is a nifty idea that will be a hit or miss with this series. Multiplayer is a hot commodity to have so we'll see if people do end up purchasing the pass to play the game on friend's systems.
The Bad: There were only a couple of things that I didn't like about this game. The fighting movements were a little choppy at parts and some of the fighting stances with previously top-rated characters were noticeably weakened in this game (i.e., Sub-Zero). My biggest negative point is Liu Kang. He was surprisingly a pain to play as in this series and when you had to fight against Shao Kahn to progress the story line, Liu Kang is hands down one of the weakest characters. I'm not bashing him because he's one of my least favourite characters but he definitely caused some stress to play his matches.
The Results: 8.5/10!
While I absolutely love this series and thought this was a great addition especially as a re-imaging, they are a couple of issues that could have been looked at before releasing. The story mode was impeccable and I can't wait to see the sequel and how new characters are affected with the new time line such as Tanya and Shinook. The fighting combos bring a new essence to the game and I thought that each character was given depth and purpose whether they were a lead or supporting. The only thing I wish is that the story mode hadn't have finished too soon because they could have revealed so much more juicy details that we could have been shocked to find out. For the next couple of years, let's see the slight differences between the original time line and this new one. Start taking your bets to see which characters will make a reappearance in the newer games. Hmm... that gives me an idea for later!
Agree or Disagree with the review? Share your thoughts and post a comment with how you felt about the game.
I am literally at the final mission in the game and once again through no fault of my own, the ending has been spoiled for me. I am, however, ready to write the next article in the "In My Console" category. The game that I am going to be reviewing is the action-period piece: Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood.
The Story: Ezio Auditore, the protagonist of the second game, has discovered the secret from the mysterious individual beneath the Vatican. He is confused about the truth but is quickly thrust back into battle against the Borgia, the main antagonist family for the game. After a surprise attack in Monteriggioni, Ezio, his family and a slew of companions (assassins, courtesans, thieves, mercenaries, friends and civilians) must now rise in their locale, Rome, to take back control of the city, defeat the Borgia family and return possession of the Apple of Eden.
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| (L to R): Rebecca, Desmond, Shaun, and Lucy. |
The game also focuses on Desmond Miles. The kidnapped Subject 17 from the first game who was rescued by Lucy and brought on the run with her cohorts, Shaun and Rebecca. Desmond is reliving all the events through the game from his ancestor's memories before the diabolical company, Abstergo, discovers their new hidden location.
Where To Play: The game can be played on Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and on the Xbox 360. Once again for the basis of this review, the game has been played on the Xbox 360.
The Good: Even though this game can be classified as a cross between a sequel and a spin-off for the series, Brotherhood has offered more than the previous two games in terms of extras. There is now a new multiplayer addition to the game and for those of you who have read previous posts of mine, you know how much I love having multiplayer in a video game; it adds the continuing play factor. The new addition allows the user to play as an iconic (fictionalized) assassin to compete on assignments and play head-to-head against other individuals.
Other extras include the iconic scenery of well-known locations and the ability to purchase them to strengthen the power of the Assassin's Guild. My favourite addition is the ability to recruit aspiring assassins around the city, employ them to fight guards in Rome that are after Ezio, and sending them to complete missions across Europe and Asia.
The Bad: The controls have improved from the first two games. However, there were problems when actions didn't orchestrate how I wanted them to while completing a mission, such as running from guards or climbing an incredibly difficult building. Fixed camera angles were a bit of a nuisance, especially in certain locations when you're trying to jump to a support beam or a placement on the wall. I didn't like the half/full synchronization method at first to complete an extra goal. Sometimes the extra goals were redundant and hard to complete in the allotted time. The last issue I had with the game is that the locations were very limited. In Assassin's Creed 2, you're able visit a variety of cities across Italy while in this game, it only focused in Rome. The design of the city was beautiful, but the game felt very short compared to the previous installments.
The Result: 8.5/10!
I love the Assassin's Creed series and the continued improvements that the series is making. I just wish that some of the issues were improved upon and that there was more variety to the locations. Multiplayer is a great touch and I loved the overarching story; however, the experience felt shortened compared to previous installments. The game sometimes felt like an expanded DLC (downloadable content) that could have just been download and added to AC2. However, the purchase as a stand-alone game was worth the buy and subsequent play for all the extras and the continued story in Rome.
I love the Assassin's Creed series and the continued improvements that the series is making. I just wish that some of the issues were improved upon and that there was more variety to the locations. Multiplayer is a great touch and I loved the overarching story; however, the experience felt shortened compared to previous installments. The game sometimes felt like an expanded DLC (downloadable content) that could have just been download and added to AC2. However, the purchase as a stand-alone game was worth the buy and subsequent play for all the extras and the continued story in Rome.
Due to popular demand and an increase in online traffic at this post, I've decided to do another post in the Online by Design section. I've searched through YouTube and various functions to find something that I think might interest you all. On this entry of Online by Design review, we will be looking at the video mash-up series: Dead Fantasy.
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| (starting from left) Kasumi, Ayane, and Hitomi (DOA). Tifa, Rikku, and Yuna (FF). |
The Premise: Starting off in a dilapidated ruin, Final Fantasy X's Yuna is running through a path to be intercepted by Dead or Alive's Kasumi and Ayane. It quickly turns into a battle with DOA's Hitomi and Final Fantasy's Rikku and Tifa joining into the action. Various sequels have included new and recurring characters from the both series including their sister series, Kingdom Hearts for Final Fantasy and Ninja Gaiden for Dead or Alive. Not much is revealed about the storyline but much is apparent that all the characters are in an all out battle; rivaling each other and competing in combat to defeat their unwavering opponents. The burning question asked is which video game series will dominate in the war of combat?
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| Artwork featuring Kingdom Hearts' Kairi |
Where To Find It: The Dead Fantasy series is created by user, Monty Oum. You can find all his videos plus fun contributions with the Dead Fantasy girls on his YouTube account or you can visit his personal to find all graphic art, discussion boards, and news about the upcoming sequels: http://www.montyoum.deviantart.com/.
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| The Dead Fantasy girls performing "Gee by Girls' Generation" |
The Good: Most parodies and online videos sometimes lack the effort and time put into creating a top quality product and that is clearly not what happened here. The quality and computer design for the videos continuing to get better and more innovative with each upcoming sequel. The fighting scenes are highly choreographed, the characters are thought out with their moves and the fighting moments of introducing materia battles, magic, and ninjas are a sight to see. The fact that using iconic characters and scenes from both these series are definitely a gem for any fans of either series.
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| Tifa and Hitomi fighting in the infamous burning opera house from DOA |
The Bad: While the quality and mystery regarding the plot is a draw, I'm still confused as to what is really going on. Another big issue is the interval between sequels. It's taken a while for these videos to be created and while I do respect the time and effort that goes into creating these products, the time waiting feels like an eternity for the next one to come out.
The Results: 8/10!
Dead Fantasy is a great series to watch and see my favourite characters from the series engage in combat. All the sequels can appeal for the amazing quality and jaw-dropping cinematics, but it all resonates within me because I love these two series.
Here is the first movie from Monty Oum's page to begin watching if you haven't already.
Agree or Disagree with the score and assessment? Then leave a comment below and share your thoughts about the content and what you think it deserves. See you later on the next Online by Design.
A couple of weeks ago, my Public Relations internship class had a guest speaker who was lecturing about the basics of having a personal online brand. For those of you who are unsure what this means, you have probably already tried its simplest from: type your name into Google.
It only takes a couple of quick seconds and you can try it out to see what pops up.
Surprised?
Shocked?
Baffled?
The results that pop up are what is associated with your name when someone searches Google looking for you. Our guest speaker told us that many companies and organizations have HR representatives who do background checks on applicants to see their online contributions and see what they have been posting. This includes all social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, blogs, YouTube and every kind of site you can think of. Employers would love to know what kind of person they are going to hire for their organization.
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| Facebook is easily the site where people take for granted in posting pictures and comments |
Have you ever contemplated posting a picture but worried it isn't the best picture you want people to see? Or maybe it was when you wrote an inappropriate response on your Twitter thinking it would be funny or something off the top of your head? People will see and read it on your wall so becareful what you post because it will become public domain and associated with you.
Here are some important quick kips about protecting your online brand:
- First tip: PRIVACY SETTINGS.
It's your best friend. If you feel something is questionable then set your settings so that only those you wish can see it. Facebook cannot be searched if you use privacy settings and people can't see your tweets if you choose to lock them. Read the settings carefully because you don't want the wrong people to see the wrong things.
- Second tip: DON'T UPLOAD OR POST IT.
One of my teachers in class would say, "When in doubt, leave it out", and I feel that this rings true. Never post something that you don't want people to remember in a week or two, people will see it and it may come back to haunt you. Twitter has a public timeline so even if you delete something it may appear on the overall feed. Facebook is full of pictures of half-drunk party-goers with alcohol in their hands. Try not to get tagged in pictures that you don't want to be referred to and tell your friends to remove them off the site if need be.
- Third tip: SECURE YOUR NAME.
Names are a dime a dozen. There are only so many people in the world who were given an original name so there are bound to be a couple of people with your first and last name. Whether it is a website, your twitter handle, blog or something professional, stand out by securing the name. When people search you online, it won't lead to another individual with a questionable professional or online presence.
There are many more tips in protecting your brand and a completely different story when you're trying to build up your online presence. Just remember to be careful and be cautious when you use a camera on a night out with your friends. You've heard the expression, "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas", well in this case...it might end up on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, or anywhere else unless you do something about it.