My Top Tips:
This is a weird character. Once you use it, it reverses all text after it. I cant really use it here, since it reverses the entire post, sorry.Random Updates:
Birthday Drinks - The plan was for a whole night of drinking and it delivered. We hit the Orient Hotel on George St on the edge of China Town. Stayed there for a while, then decided to go to the casino. Had to get a six pack on the way, which didnt end well for all, as I was way to over the top with a toast and chipped a friends toast. Casino went well, playing roulette, as always and ended up winning about 600. This kept us in drinks for a while, although everyone was buying so I cant take all the credit. We spent a few hours at the Lagoon Bar at the Casino then as the sun had come up we decided it was time for breakfast, so we headed to George St got Maccas and then went for one final beer at the... bar next to Woolworths Metro. Caught in the Web:
I can't decide if this is the greatest party dinner ever or really, really creepy. Imagine a pinata, that looked like a person, and 'bled' when it was opened. Im not sure how I should feel, although I know if I sat down somewhere and someone wheeled one out for dinner, I wouldnt even use utensils, I'd get into the spirit of the thing and dig in head first. I'd be like a tiger plowing into a giraffe (That joke is funnier if you're me).
Reviews:
God of War:
The Game: First of all, I am a fan of mythology so this was going to go over well with me. The game is heavily involved in mythology. You play the role of Kratos, a warrior who is in the service to Ares the God of War. I won't give away the story, as it alone is reason enough to play the game, or at least watch someone play through the whole game.You travel through a variety of different locations, each with their own look, feel and challenges. These include Athens, a desert, a maze within a mountain and even the underworld.
As an added bonus, after you finish the game you open up some 'Making of' documentaries. These are interesting and worth watching, they include concept art, levels that were deleted and preliminary character models. Much like a bonus disc of a dvd. Very cool.
The Gameplay: The game is a hack and slash fighter. You fight through all the evil forces of greek mythology the Hydra, Medusa's, Minotaur's, Cyclops' and all manner of other baddies. It is a violent game, in that you will tear people in half, jam swords down throats and generally do all that is expected of a representative of Ares. There are a few puzzles that are not only challenging, but really engaging, and for the most part they make sense within the story. I played through on medium difficulty and at no point did I think that it was so hard I was not going to be able to finish, and if there is some part that seems impossible, after a few retries the game will ask if you want to change the difficulty and make it easier.
King of Kings Rating: *****
Ultimate Spiderman (PS2):
The Game: Make no mistake, this game perfectly captures the look, feel, humor, characters and all other aspects of Ultimate Spiderman the comic. You play as both Peter Parker and Venom, and despite having some features in common they do feel quite different. Venom feels like someone who is built solely for attacking and hurting people while Spiderman moves much faster and cannot regenerate health.
The New York in the game is incredibly detailed for its size. Not only does it include all the things that are unique to the real New York, like the TKTS stand in Time Square, it also includes different things from the New York in the Marvel universe. These include the Fantastic Four's Baxter Building, as well as signs for Kraven the Hunter.
The other reference to the Marvel Universe include the other characters you will encounter, ones like Trask, Nick Fury and Silver Sable are all part of the story so it makes sense. But its cooler to see Wolverine show up in a bar and Johnny Storm show up for a race.
The story is good, but a little short. It includes a lot of characters, both good and bad and flows well between both Venom and Spiderman. I personally would have liked to have seen more characters, maybe working with you at some point. The Ultimates could show up to fight against Venom, or when Venom & Spiderman are going at it, the Hulk could rampage through for a while.
The Gameplay: The game is the comic, and when you're playing you ARE Spiderman. The speed, the jumping distance and height and the actions of Spidey's movement while doing all this look and feel natural. When it comes to web slinging the game shows just how Spiderman would move. The ease at which he spins from one web to the other, as well as the different ways he moves around, web swinging between the larger buildings in Manhattan and the web zipping along the rooftops of the buildings along Queens.
The game plays out in a number of ways, for the majority of the game you chase down the villain and then fight them. There are side quests that include races, and fight tours across the city. The chases can get repetitive and are often frustrating, if you fall to far behind you lose. Several times I almost threw the controller it was so annoying.
There is also a marked difference in the gameplay when playing as Venom. Here you chase and fight as well, however the fighting is more intense because as Venom you are able to regenerate health. The chases are also more frustrating because you cannot move vertically as easily as Spiderman can.
In the end it is a really fun game for the most part, however the frustrating bits bring the score down a little. The story is also a little short which brings the score down as well.
King of Kings Rating: ***1/2
Top 4 Hits of the Week:
1. Stronger - Kanye West
2. Brick House 2003 - Rob Zombie
3. New Workout Plan - Kanye West
4. If I Can't - 50 Cent
