KN1GHTMARE
Former Moderator
For an even more detailed look, pictures, and reviews on many of the launch games be sure to check out my blog at http://gamerdaddyweekly.blogspot.com/ Also feel free to hit me up with any questions you may have. Thanks for reading!
Let’s Start with Exclusives!
Dead Rising 3: Prior to actually playing Dead Rising 3 I was apprehensive at best. Dead Rising 2 was a real disappointment compared to the original and now the 3rd entry in the series was not really being handled by Capcom and instead was a Microsoft project. The weeks leading to launch also brought news of a few performance hiccups which I admit did seep in some worry to an already struggling optimism.
I am very happy to report that Dead Rising has exceeded my expectations and is a blast to play. The premise is simple, but if the story is something that drives your gaming desire, then you best look elsewhere. The goal here is to have ridiculous fun killing zombies in more ways than you realized were possible and/or needed. The zombies are not so much the enemies as they are obstacles. What I mean is that they don’t serve as the big bad threat, but rather a puzzle to be solved. One example is a fetch mission which involved you getting to the fourth floor of a zombie infested building to grab some item. The fun is figuring out new ways to kill your way to your goal. The game does have the traditional boss fights introduced in prior games and while they are not very challenging, the do offer a fun change of pace.
I have experienced absolutely no slowdowns or hiccups in frame rate. I’m not saying they don’t exist, I just haven’t noticed any yet. The game is beautiful looking and the sheer amount of zombies on screen was my first real feeling of next gen power. This kind of density just wasn’t possible before. The weapons are a ton of fun and finding new combinations is a game in itself. You can similarly combine vehicles and while the ridiculousness behind the results is a lot of fun, the handling is simply terrible. The game is far from perfect, but nothing deters from an overall fun experience.
Verdict: Killing zombies is fun again! A must buy game in a launch lineup that is sort of lacking.
Forza Motorsport 5: When I was still deciding which games I would buy or preorder, I found myself torn between Need for Speed and Forza. I ultimately decided in Forza after much back and forth. I am very happy with my decision. Let’s start with the obvious; this game is gorgeous. The cockpit view is nothing short of breath taking and the tracks and backdrops are awe-inspiring.
The new Drive-atar system brings a much needed twist to the gameplay. What it basically does is study your driving style and then creates a driving avatar that handles tracks and situations just like you would. This avatar is then inserted into other peoples games, much like your friend’s avatars are inserted in to your game. So while racing in my single player career I had the AI of my friends’ racing against me. Rest assured that if your friends drive like jerks, your relationship with their avatar may bring you to uncontrollable rage. This feature brought an unpredictability to the game and made it so much more fun. Best of all you avatar earns money for the races it is in and that money is in your game the next time you play. Awesome.
Verdict: While the game lacks the amount of cars you’ll find in past entries or games like Gran Turismo, the attention to detail and the beautifully developed car models make this one of the games you’ll want to show off. The game is however not for everyone and if your looking for open world car chases then you’re better off elsewhere. If you instead want a realistic and fun experience that is nothing more than you driving and racing nice cars, well then welcome to Forza Motorsport.
Killer Instinct: This game will likely anger some unsuspecting few due to its lack of…well everything. There are three different versions to this game so let’s start by describing the difference.
The first version would be the so called “free to play” version which is a glorified demo. It offers you one character and access to all the modes, which there really aren’t any other than a story-less arcade fight mode. Next we have the $20 version which buys you all the characters, of which there are 6 starters and an additional 2 characters coming soon via DLC. Finally we have the $40 version which gets you all the things mention previously, plus additional costumes and a copy of the original Killer Instinct.
While the game looks great and handles even better, the lack of play modes and even characters is very disappointing. I’m personally not a huge arcade fighter fan, but I found the game to be fun. Whether you are a skilled player or a button masher, you can just pick up and play. The ridiculous combos are great to pull off and even more fun to counter. The announcer (narrator) is great and adds to the chaos felt during a match.
Verdict: I simply cannot recommend this game for its cost. It’s a great time waster as a free to play option, but for $40 just save your money and once you have $60 buy one of the other great titles available. With another season of DLC content already planned, it is possible to see some improvement, but we’ll have to wait and see. Let’s not hold our breaths.
Powerstar Golf: This game turned out to be an unexpected surprise and a whole lot of fun. I was only made aware of this game a couple of weeks prior to launch and after hearing some good first impressions decided to dive in and give it a try. I am glad I did.
The game is very reminiscent of games like Mario Golf or Hot Shot’s Golf, but not as silly. It looks great especially considering it was originally a 360 game. The details make for a great experience, everything from individually rendered leaves to the fantastic color schemes make this game fun to look at. More importantly, it is a blast to play.
The game handles like your typical arcade style golf game. It has a total of 6 characters, although only 2 are unlocked from the start. Each character has their unique ability which is also true of the different caddies available. The game has many of unlockable items ranging from courses, to clothing, to power-ups and everything in between. The asynchronous style multiplayer keeps things competitive with you always trying to beat your friend’s “high score” which are represented by a small icon on the course while playing.
Verdict: This game is a lot of fun and with split screen gameplay as an option; it’s great for some casual, competitive gameplay. It may not be the best looking game available, but don’t be fooled it is very pretty. I would recommend this for anyone looking for a more relaxed game or anyone looking for a family friendly option.
