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- First reviewMay 4, 2014
- Last reviewMay 4, 2014
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Cynic's Reviews
SynopsisOne can't help but wonder if Andrew Gardner realized the implications of what he was about to create when he developed the Mind Wave technology. It may have been made into a technological advancement by Nerkas Solutions, but Gardner started it all. As the world's governments collapse and new corrupt powers arise, one has to wonder — did Gardner know the technology he developed to contribute to the advancements of mankind could ultimately destroy the very core of humanity?As conspiracies proliferate, join a rogue team of agents that are fighting for survival and getting further entangled in the mysterious truth behind the technology. Use Mind Wave technology to hack enemies, vehicles and civilians equipped with the Nerkas Solutions headsets to control their actions for your own ends. When trouble is brewing, use Mind Slave to misrepresent the temporal and occipital brain functions of a slaved individual and use their perception of allies as enemies and increased aggression to your advantage. Take the solo campaign online with seamless integration into cooperative play. With the ability to control almost any character, your only limitation is your state of mind.
Posted by: Cynic
from Columbia, MO
Age:18-24
Gender:Male
Despite at one point inventing a genre, Square Enix has become easily one of, if not THE worst, studio and publisher today with Final Fantasy and their other RPGs being progressively worse and worse, Final Fantasy XIII carrying the proud distinction of "Worst Writing in Any Video Game."
MindJack on the other hand bares, or rather bore, we do have to account for Ride to Hell: Retribution now, the worst gameplay of any third person shooter. I can't really go into writing details because the plot is completely nonsensical and does not meld well with the gameplay, but here's just a list of problems:
--Your two starting pistols have either an insanely slow rate of fire or little to no damage
--Titular MindJacking not as helpful as the game thinks
--Horrible AI that will shoot at it's feet, leave it's head completely exposed while trying to take cover, or run out in the open even if you're actively shooting at them
--That horrible AI takes over the player character when you try to Mind Jack someone else, meaning he won't take cover properly.
--Bad sound design
--Bad score
--Bad voice acting
--Multiplayer designs interfere with overall gameplay, as you randomly lose your weapons during loading screens and restart with very bad pistols
--Bullets seem to have no impact
--Frequent crashes and bugs that force resets
--Titular MindJacking not as helpful as the game thinks
--Horrible AI that will shoot at it's feet, leave it's head completely exposed while trying to take cover, or run out in the open even if you're actively shooting at them
--That horrible AI takes over the player character when you try to Mind Jack someone else, meaning he won't take cover properly.
--Bad sound design
--Bad score
--Bad voice acting
--Multiplayer designs interfere with overall gameplay, as you randomly lose your weapons during loading screens and restart with very bad pistols
--Bullets seem to have no impact
--Frequent crashes and bugs that force resets
Unless you want to see gaming's answer to Manos: The Hands of Fate, pass this one up.
My Best Buy number: 2182032824
What's great about it: It really is fascinating just how much this fails
What's not so great: If Final Fantasy XIII were an action game, this would be it
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
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+2points
3of 4voted this as helpful.
From the award-winning creators of Civilization comes an action-strategy game about civilization's last stand. Threatened by an unknown enemy, the Earth's governments unite to form an elite paramilitary organization, known as XCOM, to combat this extraterrestrial attack. As the commander of XCOM, you control the global defense team in a battle against a terrifying alien invasion by creating a fully operational base, researching alien technologies, planning combat missions, and controlling soldier movement in battle.
Posted by: Cynic
from Columbia, MO
Age:18-24
Gender:Male
XCOM: Enemy Unknown is a remake of a classic strategy game that is variably titled X-Com: UFO Defense and UFO: Enemy Unknown. While the original X-Com franchise was sunk by a couple of bad spin-offs and Hasbro, the rights were eventually acquired by 2K, who were planning on making a strategy shooter hybrid akin to Rainbow Six with aliens. Fan reactions were... well, horrific, spawning off into the infamous "BETRAYAL!" meme from internet celebrity The Spoony One.
As if under duress, 2K drafted Firaxis, the people behind the Civilization franchise, to make a spin-off more in the vein of the original series. Turns out they inadvertently struck gold, because Firaxis did a great job.
XCOM: Enemy Unknown is a hybrid base management and turn based strategy game where the goal is to lead a top secret military group seeking to save the world from an alien invasion. In base management you have to use money and resources scrounged from the battlefield to fund weapons research, advanced training for your soldiers, and build new facilities to allow for easier manufacturing of weapons and equipment, easier research, containing live alien subjects, and a few other important functions. In combat you lead a small squad of four or six men in a tactical battle against alien squads, using tactics like flanking, using explosives to destroy cover, or using special abilities of your soldier classes to give an edge against enemies who are from the beginning wielding superior weapons and in possession of abilities that can turn the tide in their favor if you're not careful.
Missions vary from preventing alien abductions, rescuing civilians during alien terror attacks, capturing crashed UFOs or UFOs that have touched down, or special objectives given to you by the governments that fund your group. You encounter a wide variety of enemies with interesting capabilities, and the difficulty continuously ramps up, so if you don't play smart you can easily find yourself reaching a point where your weapons don't do enough damage and enemies can kill even highly experienced soldiers in one shot.
Now there are some gripes. For some reason without special perks, your soldiers can only carry one item at a time and often have to choose between a grenade or a med-kit or aim assisting devices. There could be more variety to mission types, and it seems odd that there's no way to win back countries that have left XCOM. It also seems odd that you can only build one base, but that's just nitpicky. It's also worth noting that "Overwatch" mode has an odd bug where soldiers will sometimes be able to detect and shoot at enemies behind walls, but that's also minor.
Overall, XCOM is very solidly built and definitely worth checking out. It was one of the best games released in 2012, and well worth the price. Check it out.
My Best Buy number: 2182032824
What's great about it: Challenging, addicting, well designed overall
What's not so great: Room for improvement in troop customization
I would recommend this to a friend!
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+1point
1of 1voted this as helpful.
Three years after the Patriots system's collapse, peace remains elusive and cyborg technology has become commonplace throughout society. Those who control the trade of this cybernetic technology are thriving in the chaos and instability it brings, and large Private Military Companies previously supported by the patriots have collapsed and countless rogue entities have sprung up in their place. As a member of the peace-keeping Maverick Security, Raiden lives by the mantra of saving and protecting lives — but that's not his only goal. Now, with his lethal skills and powerful abilities harnessed and channeled through a cyborg body, Raiden is seeking revenge and will unleash his vengeance on armies of warriors and massive assault drones. Are you ready to fulfill Raiden's vengeful retribution?Prepare for an all-new Metal Gear gameplay experience with Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. Become Raiden and wield the deadly, high-frequency katana blade as you slice, dice and eviscerate enemies and monstrous drones in your quest for revenge. The ZanDatsu cut mechanic lets you cut anything, anywhere and anytime. Prove your mastery of the fatal moves by channeling your abilities through your cyborg body. Get ready for the action-packed excitement and thrilling combat of Revengeance.
Posted by: Cynic
from Columbia, MO
Age:18-24
Gender:Male
Metal Gear Rising is kind of an interesting item. Part of a project by Hideo Kojima who wanted to reduce the amount of hatred Raiden got for Metal Gear Solid 2, he decided to turn Raiden into a break dancing cyborg ninja. Problem is that when you can lift several tons, can deflect bullets, and wield a sword that can cut through most materials like butter, stealth seems a little pointless, so instead of making him playable in Metal Gear Solid 4, Kojima planned a spin-off game for Raiden.
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is... well it's either a tale of a man trying to stop a human smuggling ring while keeping his inner demons in check, or it's a tale about an insanely powerful cyborg ninja cutting hundreds of people into mincemeat while trying to track down the love child of Randy Savage and Michael Savage. Even though it was designed by Platinum Games, the practical kings of third person action games, it was written by Hideo Kojima, who is nowhere near as talented as he thinks and has a habit of making things seem silly.
But luckily the goofy writing does nothing to lessen the swordplay. You fight inventive enemies and have to use every trick at your disposal to bring them down. While it does have a bad habit of holding your hand in what it considers "Normal" difficulty, the game does present a fun precision based challenge, and is worth picking up for the action and boss fights alone.
The games length does create a bit of a problem. Speed runs can clock in as little as three or four hours, and the DLC packages barely last an hour if you're competent in your skills. There is replay value though, and if you like swordplay there really doesn't seem to be a better pure sword action game out on the market at this time, at least not on the 360.
If you like a challenge or just want to play with a mechanic where you can precisely dismember opponents, this game is worth checking out. If you're after a stealth action game... keep looking, this is closer to Devil May Cry than previous Metal Gear titles. If you don't like a challenge and don't like applying careful technique and precise timing, than this isn't the game for you either.
My Best Buy number: 2182032824
What's great about it: Very well polished combat mechanics, surprisingly solid voice acting, insanely spectacle
What's not so great: Short, the story is a little on the ridiculous side
I would recommend this to a friend!
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1of 1voted this as helpful.
It is 1715. Pirates rule the Caribbean and have established a lawless pirate republic. Among these outlaws is a fearsome young captain named Edward Kenway. His exploits earn the respect of pirate legends like Blackbeard, but draw him into an ancient war that may destroy everything the pirates have built.
Posted by: Cynic
from Columbia, MO
Age:18-24
Gender:Male
Assassin's Creed hit a very ugly low point with Assassin's Creed III which was very boring and had by far the least interesting player character to ever grace the game, and that's including Desmond Miles. As if in repentance, Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag improved on the best part of Assassin's Creed III, the naval combat, and solved quite a few problems with resource management.
The biggest step up is that Desmond Miles story came to an end in Assassin's Creed III, and the story now revolves around you working in Abstergo and researching the life of Edward Kenway, a pirate who becomes involved in the war between the Assassins and Templars not because he was born into it, but because he killed an assassin and stole his uniform and hidden blades. The past segments are set during the Golden Age of Piracy, and you control someone not out to ensure freedom or try to ensure peace through control, but someone just trying to build up a fortune so he can return to his wife.
The story isn't exactly great though. There is an overarching villain, but he ties into the future segments which as far as i'm concerned never should have been part of Assassin's Creed.
Gameplay wise, the game revolves largely around naval warfare. You can raid ships for money and resources, though there are limits to how much damage you can repair out at sea if you fight poorly. Another detail is that it's supposed to be harder to raid ships if you're low on crew, but the difficulty problem other Assassin's Creed games have remain. Once you get some momentum going, it's far too easy to slaughter the entire crew of an enemy ship on your own, and because you somehow have perfect accuracy with flintlock pistols, you can just as easily snipe important crew members.
There is another problem where the story missions on land seem to have far too many "Stalk the Target" missions, but now i'm just nitpicking. The game is overall very fun, and the best Assassin's Creed has put out in years. If you like the series, check it out.
My Best Buy number: 2182032824
What's great about it: Good naval combat, Desmond Miles is finally gone
What's not so great: Villain uninteresting, still too easy
I would recommend this to a friend!
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0of 0voted this as helpful.
Los Santos: a sprawling sun-soaked metropolis full of self-help gurus, starlets and fading celebrities, once the envy of the Western world, now struggling to stay afloat in an era of economic uncertainty and cheap reality TV. Amidst the turmoil, three very different criminals plot their own chances of survival and success: Franklin, a former street gangster, now looking for real opportunities and serious money; Michael, a professional ex-con whose retirement is a lot less rosy than he hoped it would be; and Trevor, a violent maniac driven by the chance of a cheap high and the next big score. Running out of options, the crew risks everything in a series of daring and dangerous heists that could set them up for life.Grand Theft Auto V is the largest and most ambitious game Rockstar Games has yet created and takes full advantage of every ounce of processing power available in the current generation of consoles. In order to provide the best possible experience for such a massive and detailed world, the game will have installation requirements on the Xbox 360. Grand Theft Auto V will ship on two discs; Disc 1 will be used for a one-time mandatory install and Disc 2 will be used to play the game. After the install, players will be able to enjoy both Grand Theft Auto V and Grand Theft Auto Online without any need to switch discs. This initial install will require an Xbox 360 hard drive or an external 16GB USB flash drive (sold separately) with at least 8GB of free space. If using a USB flash drive, it must be at least USB 2.0 with a minimum 15mb/s read speed and formatted for Xbox 360 use. A new USB flash drive is recommended to ensure optimal performance.
Posted by: Cynic
from Columbia, MO
Age:18-24
Gender:Male
During the early to mid years of the Xbox 360 and PS3, this studio was king with Grand Theft Auto IV and Red Dead Redemption.
Lately, it's fallen down a little. It started with Max Payne 3, but Grand Theft Auto V is definitely a step down compared to Grand Theft Auto IV. The big problem is the characters and overall goals and arcs. Niko Bellic, even if he did grate at times, was easily one of the best GTA characters. By contrast Trevor and Michael are easily some of the worst. Trevor's character begins and ends with "Intermittent Explosive Disorder" and Michael is basically a less extreme version whose other gimmick is having a really annoying family. Franklin was close enough to being likable, but it seemed like he was too smart to be hanging out with people more stupid than the drug dealers in The Ballad of Gay Tony.
The HUD is also somewhat annoying. Unless you have a very large HD TV, it's a matter of luck if you'll be able to read the tutorials and see your health and armor indicator.
But in the end, it's still generally fun to play. It could be better, but i can think of worse games to buy. It's just not anything special like GTA IV or Saint's Row 2.
My Best Buy number: 2182032824
What's great about it: Overall solid gameplay, looks fine
What's not so great: Huge drop in writing quality, poor HUD design
I would recommend this to a friend!
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0points
0of 0voted this as helpful.
Listen to your tunes on the go with this Mach Speed Eclipse 180G2 Series video MP3 player that features 4GB* of built-in flash memory to accommodate your favorite songs. The 1.8" color LCD screen offers a clear view of photos and video.
Posted by: Cynic
from Columbia, MO
Age Range:18-24
Number of MP3 Players Owned:More than 5
One of the bigger problems with this Mp3 player is that it's firmware is very badly designed. The "Shuffle" function doesn't properly work, the battery life indicator seems to be inaccurate, synching music to it is weirdly tricky since it doesn't always display the song title but a file name, and even then won't always properly display things like contributing artist, and there are several bugs in it's attempts to display album art. It also has a nasty habit of glitching out and playing loud feedback when you first start up a song. Editing custom playlists is also extremely annoying because you can't remove songs from custom playlists without completely deleting the song.
Another very annoying problem is that not only are the buttons not very responsive, it takes a very long time to scroll through the menu. If you have over 150 tracks it can take several minutes to the individual track you want. I could also add that the video playing capabilities are a joke because it's almost impossible to figure out what it will and won't accept, but that seems to be a universal problem with these Mp3 players.
This is overall a poor product. Yes it's cheap, but it's too badly designed to really make it worth it. You can get much better products for $10 more, and that's what i recommend you do.
My Best Buy number: 2182032824
What's great about it: ...
What's not so great: Bad overall design
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
Durability
2
Sound Quality
2
Features
1
Ease of Use
1
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5of 6voted this as helpful.
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