LEGO Batman

Long time since last review... a lot of work combined with some kind of a cold and the common weariness. But i am back!

Today i'm reviewing LEGO Batman. I'm in love with the whole DC Universe (except Superman), especially Batman. Started with the animated tv show and went on with the first movies. (Can't even remember how often i've see Batman Forever) And i don't think i have to mention Batman Begins and The Dark Knight here, cause nearly everyone have already seen these two movies and likes them.

So one day i saw LEGO Batman (which was released already long time ago) and wasn't too expensive, so i just bought it for my nephew. I didn't expect very much, because games like LEGO Island were not really exciting, but this one blew my mind. Great gameplay, good graphics and a lot of funny elements (and all the dialogs without saying a single word) make this game awesome. And playing multiplayer makes even more fun.

So you start as Batman and Robin, who fight their way through all different criminals with every stage having an endboss. (The endbosses fled from Arkham and you have to get them back.) You have to fight the group of The Riddler, the group of The Penguin and the group of The Joker, all groups containing villians you know already if you're into Batman and his stories. You can even control the vehicles on land, in the water or in the air. A lot of costumes, characters, vehicles and cheats/fun elements are ready to unlock. After finishing 15 levels of being Batman, you gain access to another set of 15 levels for the villians. On some occasions you have to assemble Lego objects to proceed further in the level or cross obstacles. For Batman and Robin you get different suits to access different abilities, while the villians all have some special ability by themself. (e.g. extraordinary strength, ability to seduce enemies, gliding, ...)

And now i'm the one playing all the LEGO games, because - if you haven't already - they are defintely worth a look. (Newest release is LEGO - Pirates of the Caribbean. Played it already, and it is great)

Duke Nukem 3D

Currently everybody is waiting for Duke Nukem Forever to be released. Some people (like me) wait for this since 1997.. you ask why? Because Duke Nukem 3D showed us what it means to kick some alien asses.

Duke Nukem 3D is a FPS developed by 3D Realms and was released 1996. There exist Duke Nukem and Duke Nukem II, but they were pretty lame 2D Jump&Run games.

In Duke Nukem 3D you play the American "Duke Nukem", who just came back to Earth from Duke Nukem II, when faced with an alien invasion in Los Angeles. In the original Duke Nukem 3D there exist 3 Chapters. First one is LA, second one in space and the third one again in LA.

You have a great repertory of weapons including some futuristic weapons like the Shrinker or Freezing Cannon.




What made Duke Nukem 3D so great weren't only very good graphics (we're talking about 1996 here) compared to Doom, Hexen and other FPS these times, but the quotes Duke speaks out from time to time and other funny possibilities (e.g. Having strippers open the bra for money, lighten yourself at the toilet, etc.)

I would recommend everyone who is going to play "Duke Nukem Forever" to take a look in it's previous alien-ass-kicking-fps. You won't regret it.

PS: I'm currently playing the Atomic Version of Duke Nukem 3D, which also works on Windows 7 and has an additional Chapter :D

Broken Sword

One of the best Point&Click adventure games ever created is called Broken Sword. ("Baphomets Fluch" as in the german version)

You start as George Stobbart who is on vacation in Paris, when suddenly a bomb placed by a clown detonates. George decides to investigate in this murder case and gets caught up in a dangerous story including attractive photo journalist Nico Collard, a mysterious cult and conspiracies about the Knights Templar.

While progressing in this game, George travals all around the world to find the murderer. Later in the game there are many possibilities to die, which are hardly avoidable when playing for the first time.

Although i like nearly all Point&Click adventures, this one is a special. You are not in a fantasy world and don't want to become a pirate (:>). You are just a normal person and want to find a murderer. It feels like you're right in a crime thriller. Additionally the researches in history facts reminds one of movies like "The Da Vinci Code" or "National Treasure".

Meanwhile there exist 4 official games. The first 2 are controlled by traditional Point&Click mechanism. Part 3 was the first with 3D graphics and is controlled either with a gamepad or keyboard. Part 4 has also 3D graphics but Point&Click control were used again.
Other than these 4 there was a fanproject called "Broken Sword 2.5" created by MindFactory.

I recommend to play at least part 1 and part 2, those were definitely the best of the series.
Thanks for reading :)

Loco Roco

Loco Roco is a platformer for the PSP.

Its specials aren't only the "childish" graphics or the crazy mind-eating music, but also a very funny idea how the control works. The main goal in every stage is to navigate the LocoRoco through the level, eat special berries to grow and avoid enemies called Moja. But instead of controling the LocoRoco to move you have to tilt the world by using the shoulder buttons of the PSP. And that are the main things to tell about this game.

You expect photorealistic graphics? Negative. You expect a complicated and twisted plot? Negative.
You expect one of the most addictive games ever created? Hell yes.


And a very well-intentioned advice: Don't have the music on too loud when anybody is around. They are going to kill you for sure.

Fable

Today i'm writing a short review of a video game my girlfriend currently plays. I went through it a few years ago. It's a good action RPG developed by Lionhead Studios (remember Black&White?) with a lot of fights, decisions, different skills and a straight-line plot.

You start as a little boy in your hometown on the birthday of your sister. Just when you gave her your birthday present, the whole town is raided by bandits. Youself get rescued by a mighty wizard called Maze. He takes you to the Heroes' Guild, where you start to practice swordplay, archery and your willpower (for casting spells) to avenge your family.

I don't want to spoil any more of the plot. The battle system is mostly free, so you can attack nearly anybody and can change between melee weapon, ranged weapon and spells in one second. This allows you to be both archer, warrior and mage in one person. You get general experience for killing enemies and quests and additionally experience in the three categories (strength, skill, will) that is based on the method you damaged the enemy/skill you used. There is also the good/evil component in this game. Every decision you make, turns your character more good or evil, which also changes your appearance and the behaviour of NPCs towards you.

There are also funny RPG elements in this game. You can buy houses, extinguish whole towns, marry women, gamble, show around your trophies, fish, dig for treasures and get new hair styles/beard styles and tattoos.

I can hardly find anything that's not beautiful in this game, so it's definitely worth a recommendation. Due to the fact that there are already part 2 and 3 released, this game isn't expensive. Too bad i haven't got a XBOX360, i need to play 2 and 3 as well.

Silver

Another classic game for the PC. It's long time ago i went through this game, but i'm always looking back to it, because it was one of the most entertaining games i've ever played.

You start as David, who lives with wife and grandfather. One day his wife Jennifer is kidnapped by Fuge, the son of Lord Silver, who rules over the island Jerrah. Silver ordered to bring all women in the age of giving birth to him. But David isn't going to watch over this, and decides to fight this injustice. But before he can defeat Silver he has to collect 8 magic orbs with different powers (e.g. Fire, Time, ...) that allows the user to cast spells.





You play a party of 3 people, where 2 are controlled by the AI. One of the greatest things in this game is the combat control. You move by clicking on the point where you want the character to go, but when a fight is engaged, you have to hold the CTRL button and use mouse gestures to defeat your enemies. Additionally there are special-moves, spells and food to regain health.

It was the first game i've played that used this kind of control, and i was amazed by it. Think i have to replay it sometime again.

Morrowind

Today i'm presenting you a milestone in the RPG genre. The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. It's the predecessor to TES IV: Oblivion, which is very popular as well. Morrwind is a 3D-Action-RPG with mostly used first person view. (3rd person is available too, but not very playable) 2 Addons and a lot of user created mods are released.

The game starts in the cargo hold of a slave ship. You get released in a small town called "Seyda Neen" with the mission to deliver a packet to an Imperial officer in Balmora. From this point in the game you have full control over your destiny. You don't have to deliver this packet, you don't have to go to Balmora, you don't have to do anything. But you have a lot of options to do. You can join diffent guilds, you can just go and kill everyone in sight, you can run through the woods to collect plants/flowers to mix some potions, and many more possibilities.



As soon the ship arrives in Seyda Neen, you have to answer different questions to create your character. There is also an "What would you do in this situation"-Q&A game integrated, that chooses the class that fits you best. One of the greatest things in character creation is the possibility to mix different skills, so you don't have to choose a "pure warrior". You can create a polearm-wielding, cloth-wearing rogue with the ability to sneak around and pick some locks. Even if you chose the wrong abilities, you just can train other abilities - by using them or by paying a trainer - to improve your character.

The great island of Morrowind with lots of dungeons and places to explore, the many NPCs and quests, the huge pile of items to collect, the possibilities to create your own potions, spells, enchants and even build a stronghold makes Morrowind not only a game with a massive amount of freedom, but a place where you can spend days and hours.

Spiderman: Shattered Dimensions

After 2 older games i thought there is need for a newer game. So here i'm presenting Spiderman: Shattered Dimensions. In my eyes this game looks like it wants to compete with the 2009 released Batman: Arkham Asylum. And yeah, i think it does pretty well. The game is splitted into several stages where one destined spiderman has to complete some missions and finally knock out a final boss to finish it.

I finished the game about 1 month ago, and i really liked it. The main story isn't really good, but also not very important, it's about collecting pieces of an old artifact tablet that shattered and is spread in different dimensions.

The individual stages are really cool and you never get the feeling that the developers recycled other stages. During the game you get points for collecting spider-emblems, hidden spiders, good combo-moves and finishing missions fast. You can spend this points by choosing between better stats, new moves or new outfits for every spiderman.

Very cool outfits, nice combos and moves, awesome bosses. To make it short: Huge Nerdboner.

So if you haven't already played it: DO IT! If you liked Batman: Arkham Asylum, you will most probably like this one too. More of these awesome superhero-games!

Final Fantasy 7

The most beloved game i own. I played it for like 120 hours to explore the whole world, find secrets and hidden story elements.

It was released 1997 and was the first Final Fantasy using 3D graphics. Although the graphics were awesome this time, it wasn't the reason for its great success. The plot does all the work, not only because of many twists in it.

A few infos to the story:

Cloud Strife, ex-member of SOLDIER (the fighting force of Shinra) is now a mercenary and works for AVALANCHE (an organisation to damage Shinra). AVALANCHE tries to sabotage some reactors of Shinra and partially succeed with that plan. As the story progresses, another evil force is presented. It's Sephiroth himself, a first class SOLDIER, who also dedicates himself to destroy Shinra and also the planet.

Cloud has to face his strongest enemy and himself, disbeliefing who he really is.

Final Fantasy 7 is now obtainable through PSN for the PS3 and PSP. On the PS3 the graphics may be a little brutal, but on the PSP it is nice to play. Give it a try!

Baldurs Gate

Hi there, this is my first game review! It's Baldurs Gate i'm currently playing.
Well, i think anyone who is into RPGs knows this game. It is the first one build with the Infinity Engine and it uses AD&D rules.

A few years ago I bought Baldurs Gate II, but haven't played it too long, because i just wanted to get the full story in right order. So i started Baldurs Gate I, but after about 1 hour I was ganked so hard outside of Candle Keep, that i lost interest in it.

Now i started playing again, using the BGII Engine with the BG1Tutu project. And what can I say? It is awesome. The start was hard again, but after playing a few hours i can't wait to kill anything in my way just to get some more experience to level my party.

Just finished the Bandit Camp, and currently looking for the Cloakwood Forest.



If I managed to elicit some nostalgia tears, I would be pleased to receive some comments!

Hello everyone!

As you can see, this here is my new (and first) blog!

This blog is about computer games/video games. One part is playing some games - no matter how old they are, where the other part is about programming (preferred with C# and XNA).