June 17, 2012

Review: Mortal Kombat Komplete Edition (Xbox 360)

Posted by: Cybermario @ 12:28 pm Share in Facebook

The Mortal Kombat saga has had ups and downs along the years, from the golden era of 16 bits to more recent titles like Mortal Kombat vs DC, which I must confess, I was not very fond of. Mortal Kombat Komplete Edition for the Xbox 360 brings back the glory of the old days in a true bloody and gore fest fans of the series will love, oh and Freddy Krueger, damn Freddy Krueger!


Story
The game begins when Shao Kahn defeats all the warriors of the earth, Raiden about to die at the hands of Shao Kahn sends what’s left of his energy to his pastself. Raiden now experiencing visions of a tragic future which must be avoided at all cost, is trying to change the events that are about to unfold and rewrite the history of the first three tournaments of Mortal Kombat.


Mortal Kombat



Gameplay
Undoubtedly Mortal Kombat is one of those fighting games that are well worth, especially Mortal Kombat Komplete Edition since it has all the extra DLC which includes 4 extra characters such as Freddy Kreuger, Skarlet, Rain and Kenshi. But that’s not all, you get classic game costumes, plus a code to download the soundtrack of the game, if this is not a fan service I don’t know what is.
This game reboots one of the most popular sagas through the first three tournaments in the story mode, in which we will have the opportunity to play with different characters throughout it.
Something great is the many questions and doubts in the series will receive a answer here, as the origin of the cyborg initiative or the real cause behind the slaughter of Scorpion’s clan.


Just this game mode will give us hours of brutal entertainment. But that’s not all that Mortal Kombat has to offer, we also get Arcade mode which allows us to play classic mode with a new tag team option for up to four players in a local or online, which adds a unique dynamic with lots of action.
Challenges Tower has more than 300 challenges, it will have you glued to your TV for hours! This allows single player or 2 player co-op which is dandy!


The Krypt lets us unlock tons of music, classic suits and fatalities for the characters, in addition to conceptual art of the game, for this you spend coins. Which are easy to obtain because you will get them as you beat your opponents in any game mode.


Mortal Kombat



Online mode, we have a great King of the Hill, which is self explanatory, its a way in which you can challenge and prove that you are the best! With lobbies where you can watch the fights on your opponents, just great.
As we all know the Xbox 360 controller is not ideal for fighting games, even so it was able to pull combos and special moves very easy, even with a lousy 360 control pad it’s easy to execute them unlike other fighting games for the console, it is good to see that developers give us a game with refined controls that make us enjoy the game and not the other way!


Of course The Fatality and Babality are present, blood and murderous moves and combos, all included in a game that you will enjoy to no end!
Speaking of murderous movements, we can not forget the X-ray, you execute this when your power bar is filled completely. You fill the bar by performing combos and attacks, and believe me … not only looks spectacular, but the punishment you inflict on your opponents is totally devastator.
Broken ribs, fractured skulls and much more! Believe me you will love when you connect an X-Ray attack and you sure will hate when you have to bleed by suffering this attack, most notably the attack of Johnny Cage to leave you with the face of pain!


Mortal Kombat



Graphics 9/10
When a game gives the jump from 2D to 3D, does not always work as expected, in this case the transition does not only look great, but also works perfectly!
The game certainly looks fantastic, even when story is presented to us as cutscenes without prerenderization (which would give them more quality) are quite well done and show us quite detailed character models, quite pleasant to watch.
The scenery is highly detailed and with lots of movement in the background, people on the different arenas, pools of lava, fireballs falling from the sky and more!
Of course we can not ignore, how impressive the close up are when using X-Ray attacks, which are extremely painful and in great detail that will leave you saying oh wow, that gotta hurt..!


sound 8.5/10
A very good soundtrack, great sound effects and good voice acting, everything complements the gameplay and the graphics so well.


Downside
Although it is a great game it’s not exempt of problems, let’s start with the obvious that weighs more. There is lag, when you go to a match on Xbox Live and in some game modes it kicks you out from Xbox Live. Offline this happened to me, playing in the tower of challenges and I know it happened to others playing King of the Hill. Can be quite frustrating when you lose a match because of this, something that certainly takes away the gold from Mortal Kombat.
What’s up with some bosses that are so damn cheap? Goro kills you in three or four shots if you’re not careful, Shao Kahn spaming that hammer like if there was no tomorrow, in spite of the game having balanced characters, bosses like these are really frustrating!
What the hell …?! *takes some air* Don’t you hate the monster that comes out of nowhere in the Krypt? That was scary! Why in god’s name they added it, but they succeeded, it’s scary.
Speaking of the Krypt, although it is good that you can unlock stuff, unlocking the fatality moves is somewhat useless, because if you know how to do them or check online this is not really worth it, wish I could get more useful stuff for my coins.


Overall
Without a doubt Mortal Kombat Komplete Edition is an worthwhile investment for your game collection, especially if you’re a fan of the saga that will give you plenty of challenges, lots of unlockables, by the most part balanced and refined combat system and a cool storyline that will delight big to every Mortal Kombat fan out there.
Definitely a title that fans of the fighting genre should not miss, whether you have a Playstation 3 or an Xbox 360 this edition deserves a place in your bookshelf. Believe me, you will not regret it!


We give the game a 9 out of 10!


**A review copy was provided by the publisher for this review




~Mario




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June 12, 2012

Indie Game: The movie Review

Posted by: Cybermario @ 8:11 am Share in Facebook

Indie Game: The Movie is a project that gives a spotlight and a very well earned recognition to independent (indie) developers around the globe. The movie focus and features 3 indie games that now are very well known among the gaming community; Super Meat Boy by Edmun McMillen and Tommy Refenes. Fez by Phil Fish and Renaud Bedard and the highly acclaimed Braid by Johnatan Blow.
This is a movie in which even if other games are not present, if you are a fan that aspires to work in the industry or are already a developer working in a project, you feel inspired and motivated by it and the stories that are included in the film.


Indie Game: The Movie



Their origin and how they did become gamers, inspirations, aspirations and frustations over the years working in their projects, putting all their hopes, effort and sometimes every penny in their pocket, is truly a documentary that will keep you interested from start to finish.
Something I loved of this film is how it portrays the developers of the games we play and love, as a gamer you feel immersed and identify with them. One thing is to read articles and interviews, how it’s how hard is to get an indie game out with a small to really a non existent budget, but visuals tend to be a thousand times better than any article you can read on the web, especially when it comes out of of the developers themselves and you can see their faces and those expressions of sadness with a tear about to drop, or a smile that you can see the total joy in the face of people is a unique experience.
Although i love the games and stories in the film, i wish there was more, feels like a lot of people into indie games were left out and deserved more time in the movie or at least an appearance, was cool to see the developer of The World of Goo. So somehow, i really wish there was more games and developers having a mention in this movie.


Indie Game: The Movie



Also if you allow me to say it, this film also shows us all the love and commitment people put in these games, the quality of gameplay some of these indie games offer. They show amazing creativity and replay value over AAA titles from big companies, that often end in Ebay or the used section of many game stores because people get bored and tired of the poor and generic content of the same.
Meanwhile a lot of indie games developed with love, sweat and blood can be revisited time after time because people devoted years of their lifes to release a quality product.


Indie Game: The Movie



Overall
Indie Game: The Movie was a real blast and I will recommend gamers and aspiring developers alike to check it out, it’s a film everyone into videogames has to watch, heart wrenching and inspiring at the same time.
Be sure to support the guys and buy this film really, maybe if they get enough attention and sales we can see a sequel and enjoy more stories from developers. Which I’m sure a lot of people out there would like to talk of their experiences. You can get this as a Digital Download in Steam and coming soon on Bluray and DVD, for more information head over at http://www.indiegamethemovie.com/ and support the project. Thanks for reading!




~Mario




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May 16, 2012

Review: Minecraft 360 Edition

Posted by: Cybermario @ 4:32 am Share in Facebook

The last title in the Arcade NEXT promotion has arrived, Minecraft 360 Edition. Developed by Mojang for the PC and 4jstudios for the console version. Without a doubt this is the title in this promotion with the biggest expectation among players, specially fans of the PC version of the game.
Being a Minecraft player on the pc for several months now, I cannot avoid having mixed feelings for this release, while i’m exited to see this finally on the Xbox 360, I can’t overlook and ignore the details that take away the magic and charm from the PC release.


Minecraft



Gameplay
Minecraft is a sandbox game in which your imagination dictates the limit, either if you like to build; houses, a castle or the hall of doom, you can do it. As this is release 1.6 it’s fairly outdated and things are different from the more updated pc version; there is no hungry bar, no pistons and some mobs are not in this release, giving it a nostalgic feeling a lot of player missed and enjoyed, if you wonder how Minecraft was during the beta, this is it.
Most of the features are present, game modes ranging from peaceful to hard, the use of seeds to generate worlds is also here. Sometimes you will end up with a world that has a bit of everything that you can call “perfect!” or others without snow or just a bit of sand (not good to obtain glass) so this is a bit of trial and error to get a good world to start playing.


Minecraft



The map limitations can be a problem when it comes to resources, especially for ambitious builders. Learning to build farms can help to obtain infinite resources such as wood and charcoal, definitely needed to avoid depleting the map of precious trees and resources, especially if like me, you like to build a lot of roads and have more than one house or base in your world.
Up to 8 players can co-op online, they can drop in and drop out at any time. This feature is quite good as it’s always enjoyable to build and play with friends. There is a downside and that is griefers, they can join and destroy hours of work, steal resources and what not, so be careful if you decide to go afk or you’re in for a nasty surprise.
The split screen looks great, I give you that, you need an HDMI cable or this feature will just not work, something to take in mind if you don’t own an HD cable and planned to co-op.
The new crafting grid lets you craft any recipe with one click if you have the necesary materials for it, certainly one of the more attractive features in Minecraft 360. Although i’m not a fan of it, it can’t be denied that this is a good feature for players discovering Minecraft for the first time, and does what it’s supposed to do very well.


Minecraft



Graphics 8/10
The translation from pc to the console are perfect and nothing is missed graphics wise, quality is good. You will notice the game feel a bit slower against the pc counterpart, if not in the framerate you will notice this when you try to turn around, mouse prevails as the king versus the analog stick.
Other than that, the amazing retro style is there and it’s all good.


Sound 6.5/10
Minecraft never had a great sountrack to begin with, the music is calm and relaxing but can get to you after a while as there are very few tracks, nothing impressive to comment about.


Downsides
Probably one of the biggest issues and a big letdown for many players of the PC version is the world size limit of 1000×1000. This may not tell you much if you are new to Minecraft, it means there is not an infinite world that generates as you explore the world, the world is just small and lacks the charm of the never ending adventure from the PC version.
For newcomers to the game or for players that will not build more than a house, a few farms and underground bases, but for true explorers and Minecrafters this is certainly not good. Another factor to keep in mind is if you planned to work on megabuilds, the game as of now with extremely limited resources will not allow you to work such projects. Creative may be added in future updates.
As this release is equivalent to the PC beta 1.6 biomes like swamps or jungles are not there, when they update the game your current world may not have these new biomes forcing you to start a new world from 0, for most experienced players this will not be a problem, it may for newcomers to Minecraft.
The new crafting grid and specially the tutorial, as much as it makes things easier, takes away the charm that was to discover what to do, how to survive the first night and learning the many recipes.


Minecraft



Extras
Here 4J Studios redeem themselves with nice awards including gamerpicture, avatar shirt, creeper hat and a clock. Very nice I have to say, it’s always good to have this fan service from the developers.


Overall
So, is Minecraft 360 Edition worth to play? Yes it is, the charm and addictive gameplay that made the PC version great are there, developers promised updates and hopefully issues like the world size limit may change. Is it better than the pc version? Definitely is not.
The game have a nostalgia air to it which make it appealing to old players and is a really good choice for casual players. If your pc can handle the game i will recommend to go for it, if you are new to Minecraft or don’t have a pc that can support the game, then this is the version you should choose.


Minecraft 360 Edition is available in the marketplace for 1600MSP.


Giving the game an 8 out of 10




~Mario




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May 2, 2012

Review: Fable Heroes (XBLA)

Posted by: Cybermario @ 2:41 pm Share in Facebook

Lionhead Studios and Microsoft bring us the third title in the Arcade NEXT promotion for Xbox Live Arcade, Fable Heroes. This may not be what many fans expected and is somewhat different game to what we are used to seeing in a game of the Fable franchise. By the look of it, seems this game will be loved or hated by the fans of the Fable series.


Story
You play with puppets.. Yes, that’s it.. No story whatsoever, now let’s move on.


Gameplay
This is a side scrolling beat em up, you can either play local or via Xbox Live with up to 4 players. If you decide to play solo, the other 3 puppets are controlled by the AI, in the fashion of Left 4 Dead games, without the awesome sauce of course.
By default you can choose one of four different puppets; Reaver, Garth, Hammer and The Hero from Fable 3. Additional puppets can be unlocked by completing objectives. Apparently some of the puppets can be unlocked only when you play Fable: The Journey and viceversa, the gold you obtain in Fable Heroes may be transferred to Fable: The Journey.


Fable Heroes



Combat is not bad and has something for everyone, depending on your own style of play. This ranges from swords, guns, hammers and magic.
Most of the stages are pretty linear without room to explore or discover new areas, that’s it until you reach the end of the level and the road divides in two, leading you to a different route with mini game or a boss fight.
In each level you will find multiple chests in which you will find power ups; as money, slowing time for the enemy, a double that will help you fight, become a giant or a small self. But that’s not all, there are also chests in which you can obtain rewards or misfortunes.
At the end of each level your puppets go to a board game which will be able to roll dice to move on the board, the number of rolls depends on the gold you have earned at the end of each stage.
Each square on the board has different attributes, imagine monopoly or similar games without the penalty boxes. The main objective of the board is to power up your puppet, you get 1/5 options in each square, each upgrade is not free, you have to spend gold and some upgrades are pricey. So get on to grinding the minigames!


If like me, you are a completionist, you will spend a lot of time grinding for gold until you buy every single power up.


Controls if not bad are not really impressive, same can be told of the different attacks, X for a weak attack, Y for a strong attack. (Which is slow to cast, but can be upgraded) The area of effect attack is really effective at killing massive amount of enemies. (But this comes with a price, one of your hearts is depleted, so it cannot be abused.) If you are low on hearts you can die easily, don’t get cocky!


Fable Heroes



Graphics 8/10
The graphics are not bad, the cel shading cartoony style will remind you games like Costume Quest and Dungeon Defenders.
Of course Dungeon Defenders is hardcore mode and Fable Heroes is rainbow mode, clearly a game that was not designed with a mature audience in mind, a graphic style that is not bad but will keep away many hardcore gamers.


Sound 6.5/10
The music is cute, very casual, cannot say bad but nothing epic to comment really. As I said before seems it was aimed for a very young audience and not for a grown up player, after a while it can get boring. I wish they did something better like the music for Castle Crashers, that was catchy, with nice tunes and variety, alas was not.


Extras
The game comes with two avatar awards, one t-shirt with the game logo on it, not very impressive but ehh. The second avatar award is a mask from one of the Fable characters, this is not so bad actually. I love when developers give us this plus, although i wish there was more, can’t really complain when it comes to freebies for the avatar.


Downsides
Fable Heroes can be pretty linear, perhaps too much, without room to explore you really don’t have much interest in replaying a level at all, except exploring both paths at the end, aside of that, could have been better.
There is no story whatsoever, this really takes away not only the gold but the silver as well, i wish there was any story, there is none, bummer.
Dont force people to buy another game to unlock content, hated that in Castle Crashers and hate it on Fable Heroes, i refuse to buy Fable: The Journey just to unlock a few puppets. Gamers buying this game may not like Fable or may not even own a Kinect, more of a marketing tactic than a bonus for the fans.


Fable Heroes



Overall
So it’s enjoyable? I can say it is but do not feels like a Fable game. Definitely Fable Heroes is not for everyone, especially may not be for the fans of the series in search of a more mature and enriching gameplay experience.
The game is very casual, if you can get past the childish look of the graphics and the music, you may find the game enjoyable even if you are not a fan of Fable, as there is no story or plot behind the game you are not missing much if you are new to the fable universe.
Fable Heroes it’s available for the Xbox Live Arcade for 800 Microsoft Points


We give the game a 7 out of 10




~Mario




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December 19, 2011

[Closed] Joe Danger Special Edition Giveaway (xbla)

Posted by: Cybermario @ 6:00 pm Share in Facebook

It’s time for a giveaway Boys and Girls! It’s a special time and what a better way to do it by launching a contest? Ok, if you want to win Joe Danger SE for Xbox Live Arcade plus the Santa Danger DLC keep reading.


This is a very special DLC that will be available on the Marketplace only during the season, So if you are the lucky winner, be sure to claim right away! Once it’s taken out of the marketplace you will not be able to redeem anymore.


Joe Danger Logo

The competition is easy, 3 ways for you to Enter and Win. They are as follows:


Entry 1: Comments
Let us know why you would you like to win, post a comment in this page, simple as that! If you do follow us on Twitter and facebook. Be sure to add that in your comment to give you an extra entry.


Entry 2: Twitter
Follow @animecourtyard and tweet this message:
RT and follow @animecourtyard to win #JoeDangerSE for #xbla details at http://bit.ly/udgW7k #giveaway


Entry 3: Facebook
Head on over to www.facebook.com/animecourtyard and be sure to Like us if you haven’t. There will be a competition post “Like it” and that will be a third entry, optional you can make a comment with your twitter name or anything you like.


Congratulations to the winner @Darko_LuLz from twitter, check your DM’s for the codes. Thanks everyone for the support, we will have more codes and cool swag to giveaway!


Rules and Information
- The competition deadline is 08:00:00 GMT Thursday 22th December 2011.
- The winners will be picked at random from all valid entries after the deadline.
- The winners name will be posted after the competition has ended in this competition post. Prize will be sent within 24 hours.
- You may only enter each entry method once.
- Winning a previous competition does not affect your chances of winning again.




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