Singularity provides a much needed break from the strains of tumultuous gaming to offer an experience that is just plain fun.

What I like,
Is how the story is developed throughout the game; In the early years of the Cold War, the Soviet Union discovers a rare and powerful new mineral known as E99 hidden on the small, remote island of Katorga-12 just off the eastern coast of Russia. Using this strange new element, the Soviet government begins harnessing the powers of E99 via strange and dangerous experiments and discover that E99 has the ability to alter time.

The results of these experiments lead to the creation of a mechanism known as the Time Manipulation Device (or TMD), and later, in light of Russia’s attempts to use E99 against the US, cause a catastrophic event known as the “singularity,” an disaster which the Soviet government sought desperately to cover up.

More than 50 years later, on a mission to investigate a bizarre radiation emission coming from the island, Air Force pilot Nate Renko and his crew crash land upon Katorga-12 following a strange blue flash. They soon discover the history of this place and find themselves at the mercy of the ongoing effects courtesy of the singularity.

You will assume the role of Renko, who quickly finds himself in possession of the TMD and in control of the time manipulation powers it contains. The game’s story is nothing new, nor is it anything original. It’s your fairly average Soviet-bad, United States-good cliché with time travel thrown in.

What makes it worth talking about, however, is the way the game deals with the shifts in time. Speaking strictly from a story perspective (we’ll get to the time travel’s gameplay use in a second), the story will frequently jump back and forth between 1955 (the date of the singularity) to 2010 (the date of Renko’s crash landing).

Seeing the world around you change right before your eyes on more than one occasion is an interesting approach to the time travel scenario, wherein usually the person is the one going back in time. Here, instead, the entire island itself is actually stuck in a time loop, struggling to maintain itself in each period. You’ll frequently come across Russian military troops in either time period, as well as the island’s various mutated inhabitants that still roam following their transformation from the singularity.

What I don’t Like,
The gameplay is your average First-Person Shooter with big influences from atmosphere, progression, propaganda – taken out of Bioshock, to the more mechanical things from games like Half-Life 2 and Dead Space. Don’t get me wrong, those are some awesome mixes for the game – but the mechanics for the game feels like it wasn’t finished.

There’s also the problem with little ammunition in the game with a couple of scenes I’ve bumped to with little to no ammo to defend myself against the enemies; forcing me to use my TMB, wasting all of the energy plus avoiding getting hit while it recharges in hope to use the TMB more.

The AI is pretty dumb even on the hardest difficulty; repeating the same cycle making it easy to predict for the mutant-species. Same goes for the soldiers running straight towards you making it so easy not-to-miss the shot.

If it wasn’t for the story, I wouldn’t be playing this game at all. There’s quite a few bugs you encounter in the game and a lot of moments where you really wish you could just skip through(some parts feel like repeats from a previous part of the game). Now time to finish the game and see what the three different ending show with USA blown to bits, Save USA from Russia, or Destroy Russia entirely(lol okay i made it up but it wouldn’t surprise me if it does).

inFamous is an open world sandbox game by Sucker Punch Productions. Creators from the PS2 series, Sly Cooper games have returned to deliver another amazing game to play.

“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.”
Abraham Lincoln

The story takes place with
Cole MacGrath, an ordinary joe who works as a bike messenger. One day he finds himself delivering a package to a random location in the middle of Empire City which turns out to be a bomb. After blowing up nearly half the city, Cole wakes up bruised and battered but seemingly alive with the ability to manipulate electricity. Comic Book Hero-like don’t you think? It is. The game takes a lot of its style and story telling from comic books and does it especially well with the power to become inFamous(Villain) or a Super Hero.

As you get more control of your powers, Cole runs into a slew of characters like Zeke, his best friend who’s a conspiracy nut. There’s also Trish, Cole’s girlfriend who now hates him for seemingly blowing up the city and killing her sister, Moya a government agent who’s willing to give Cole a one way ticket out of the hellhole that’s left of Empire City if he does a few errands. That’s only speaking of supporting characters, there’s also several villains with equally surprising origins as Cole, the various gangs of Empire City: The Reapers, the Dust Men and the First sons and a mysterious hooded man who may have all the answers.

The gameplay
Neutral throughout the city as you progress you choose between Good(Blue) or Bad(Red) Karma. Whether you’d like to save the people or be a selfish overpowered bastard is totally up to you. As a Super Hero, you gain powers representing your protect towards the citizens and the city. As an inFamous, your electric powers become red representing your evil deeds as you spark through the city with destruction everywhere you go. Either choice, you gain awesome powers the more you progress through the story with a bunch of side-quests which aren’t really boring at all to do.

The Gangs in the city aren’t enemies to play around with, they do not miss a shot unless you cover yourself or go all-out crazy with your powers mixing it with various sunts for more EXP(used to upgrade your powers, melee and more). There are a few bosses who apparently have -different- super powers from your own with their own unique characteristics and role for the story. Although you never finish them off as they slip out of your hands one way or another. We will be seeing them all again in the future very soon.

The Graphics & Sound
The soundtrack is great, the ambient noise of the city makes you feel like you’re there, and the sound effects are solid. Music during the bosses make the battle more intense as each moment becomes a challenge.

Overall,
The formula of story, control and re-playability in this game is perfectly done for both walkthrough as Evil and Good. This is one of the new IP’s worth owning for every PlayStation 3 owner.

Thought of Sequel
inFamous 2 was announced back in E3 2010 out for Spring 2011. The gameplay and graphics have improved a lot but Cole got a completely new look – I don’t like it at all. The new Cole looks smaller, weaker, Horrid teenager voice (pussy voice if you ask me) is better apparently. How the hell is this better? I can undertand Sucker Punch listens to their fanbase about some people complaining of the Old Cole being too mature and all but come on; if you want a pussy weak looking super power dude go play Spiderman. That’s right America. Come get me.

Again with their rare-like games, which isn’t bad either. I loved Folklore so I’m definitely looking forward to their next big game release known as Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom coming this Summer for the PlayStation 3 & Xbox 360.

Not bad? I can definitely tell their loss in graphics in comparison to their previous; Folklore. Perhaps the involvement of multi-platform made it this way? Sad but hey as long as it still keeps its unique look I don’t mind. An action adventure that combines platforming, combat and puzzle solving elements, similar to the Prince of Persia games? Definitely interested.

A kingdom taken over by darkness for over 100 years and now a lone nameless thief has made his way into the ruins of the palace. Our young hero even has the ability to speak with animals. Soon to befriend with Majin(that giant beast?) and save the kingdom once and for all. Not much of the gameplay was shown just a few small parts on GameTrailers – I guess one must wait until it’s Summer release to make some real judgment over this game. Here’s an interview on GameSpot for a deeper look.

Surprise Note: Game Republic is developing Clash of the Titans 2010 film video game for this Summer. And it looks good too!? Did EA/Activision lose the bet to grab the title?

With almost 20 years since his appearance, Mario still holds the top title for best platform game in the Video Game Industry.

Super Mario Galaxy is the sequel to it’s predecessor Super Mario Sunshine, which apparently not people liked unlike me who did! Miyamoto made a huge improvement towards Mario & 3D for the Nintendo Wii. Glad to see the dying system isn’t left out with just 3rd party bad games, majority of the Wii’s game releases are pretty bad still Nintendo and a few top developers keep the system alive.

Galaxy is by far one of the best Platformer games I have ever played. A must-have for all Wii owners. The new space-themed mechanics has changed my view on Mario completely making every level epic and fun(that’s what game is all about right?!).

How the story began,
Shortly after Mario is invited to the centennial Star Festival by Princess Peach to celebrate the comet that passes overhead, Bowser invades the Mushroom Kingdom with a surprise attack in a fleet of airships. Summoning a giant flying saucer, he rips Peach’s entire castle from its foundations and lifts it into outer space. After an unsuccessful rescue attempt, Mario is catapulted across the cosmos and awakens on a small planet. On the planet he meets a mysterious woman called Rosalina and her companion stars, the Lumas. Rosalina is a watcher of the stars, who uses the Comet Observatory to travel across the universe.

However, the Power Stars that act as the Observatory’s power source have all been stolen by Bowser, rendering it immobile. Bestowed with the power to travel through space, Mario sets off on an intergalactic adventure across the universe to reclaim the Power Stars and restore power to Rosalina’s observatory. Eventually bumping into his brother, Luigi & friends.

Thoughts,
For start, the whole game was completely weird and unfamiliar with the new control in space. With a combination of it’s original gameplay from 64, Sunshine & the new galaxy things just got a whole ton better in every way. Easy at first with some tricks and challenges as you slowly go through each galaxy for the stars. The auto-camera is done nicely with the option to control it, at times if in an open area.

The first 60 stars(120 overall) isn’t quite hard although there are some tricks you need to learn once you lose that first life or two. Rosalina, your guidance & mother of stars in space helps you by having her stars help you through your mission to save Peach and the galaxies. With many different powers to use like using Fire Power, Bee Mario, Ice Mario, even Flying Mario(Black+Red Clothes flying anywhere in space freely). The game definitely does not disappoint.

The final battle,
With Bowser turns out to be a whole lot better than it’s previous two: Super Mario 64 & Super Mario Sunshine with it’s outstanding music mixed with it’s pissed of Bowser making his battle not once or twice, but three small planets used for the final battle. Leaving the ending for an opening, Bowser still didn’t die this time either! Of course making the opening for it’s sequel Super Mario Galaxy 2 to be released this May with a whole lot more fun. Stay tuned for the review of the sequel next month!

I’ll be making small talks on whats been going on lately during my play in the world of FINAL FANTASY XI: Online! The best changes? Can’t really say but it definitely helps boost things up a bit again making the game even more fun and easier to play with. It’s been eight years since the path to explore the world of Vana’diel has been open. Since my last play over 5 years ago a lot of changes have been made throughout the game.

I’ve spent hundred of hours into this game with love towards it’s unique style of gameplay with balanced classes to the power of addiction on Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game. Still continue to this day, I ask myself why do I still play this? So, I’ve spent sometime studying my time in this imaginary world as a pursuit to the escape of real life. I am a White Mage who grew her way up through the San d’Oria Nation with the help of many other adventurer’s in the online community filled with many different kind of players from all over the world.

The world(server) I current play was recently merged with Hades; Cerberus being mines. The world has increased almost triple the size with many more players to be with, giving more opportunities for a party invitation to making new friends to continuously play with. Lately the game has been receiving a bunch of updates the past few years along with the new Add-on(expansion) from last year and now late this year again. In comparison to it’s release, the game has gotten a whole lot easier for everyone with the new changes made in the game throughout the past 2 years. Many players have returned while other players have retired, waiting for the release of Square Enix’s next MMO; FINAL FANTASY XIV: Online.

Currency has dropped on many items since the merge of my server, which is a whole lot more populated than it ever has. Things have been turning out to be a lot more fun with other people around than before. Everything has gotten more competitive with more LS(LinkShell = Guild) around I’ve been invited over a dozen times, I don’t know which to stick with anymore.

Drastic changes have been made for every class ever since earlier in March with the announcements of a Level Cap Increase to 99(75 being the max at the moment), everyone is curious how things are going to work out on how exactly this will affect the game. Starting the Summer comes a 10 level increase for Square Enix to “experiment” on us how we’ll all react towards it. I just hope Square Enix learns that not all of us want to be toyed with around here.

I’ll talk more in-depth once the new updates arrive this Summer with the arrival on the first Add-on, Security Tokens & more.

Next up; The Gil problem is still going on with the game what to do and how it can be fixed.

With the whole media buzz on the big-hit sequel, Mass Effect 2 released not too long ago. I go back to it’s original release on the very first, Mass Effect for Windows.

The Story
The game begins at your soon to own ship SSV Normandy commanded by Captain Anderson and his executive officer, Commander Shepard(this is you).

The Normandy is sent to the human colony world of Eden Prime to recover an unearthed Prothean beacon. To assist in recovering the beacon, the Citadel Council, the galaxy’s primary governing body has sent one of their top agents, a turian “Spectre”, named Nihlus.

A small team consisting of Nihlus, Shepard, biotic Kaidan Alenko, and the quickly-killed Corporal Jenkins, who is replaced by Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams, discover that the Eden Prime colony is under attack by alien synthetic life-forms known as the geth, led by a rogue turian Spectre named Saren Arterius, who kills Nihlus. After the battle ends, Shepard locates the beacon and receives a vision. While initially struggling to understand the vision, it turns out to be images of biological creatures being slaughtered by machines.

Recovered in Citadel(a gigantic space station considered to be the center of galactic civilization), you are become a Spectre after proving Saren connected with the Geth. From here on, you are given the opportunity to choose where to begin your adventure in space…

The Graphics
The graphics are outstanding for my own Personal Computer to be running it. Since it’s run by Unreal Engine it’s not difficult to understand why the performance is greater. In comparison to Mass Effect 2, still great but not that great now lol!

The Sound
Deep Surround Sound At It’s Finest! BioWare keeps the game top-notch with it’s oustanding Original Soundtrack filled with out-of-this-world sound fit perfectly for the world of Sci-Fi.

The Voice Acting is recorded at it’s professional level like any previous BioWare game. Although with some minor few actors crying to be removed from the game completely, those who have played it will know exactly what I mean.

The Gameplay
The game is much more free based than I expected. You can go to any star system available to you to do any missions in any order. You can choose not to do certain missions or missions where you have or haven’t been before. Almost all missions are plot based if not plot advancing, meaning that almost every mission you do will contribute to the plot in some way.

Gameplay consists of exploring systems, and planets. Once you find a system you’ll search around for anything you may be able to survey. If you find a planet you can land on you will actually be dropped off in a land-rover type vehicle. Exploring planets is tremendous fun. The rover also has a machine gun and canon that you will have a good time with.

The Combat is not Bioware’s typical “pause to direct you companions and continue.” This is a third-person shooter very similar to Gears of War, from the view to being able to use obstacles to shoot around and use for cover. Of course you can pause the combat to issue orders which can be a cheat at times during a struggling battle.

Opinion So Far….
Although the game is fully controlled by side-quests from start to finish – BioWare knows how to balance it out to create an outstanding sci-fi video game for everyone. Have yet to invite the last member available to join which is turning out to be a little hard with the massive worlds…. you can get lost if you don’t know how to search the galaxy XD lol!