Red Dead Redemption Review

Red Dead Redemption

Developer: Rockstar San Diego

Publisher: Rockstar Games

Release: May 18, 2010

Genre: Third Person, Open World

Platforms: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3

Modes: Single-player, Multi-player (online)

Availability: Xbox Market place, PlayStation Network, online stores.

Disclaimer:

- This is the Game of the Year edition

- Got it for $20 on amazon

- I have played other Rockstar games such as

Grand Theft Auto 3 and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

- Review is based on the PS3 version

- This review doesn't cover the Undead Nightmare expansion.

- Screenshots taken from http://www.rockstargames.com/reddeadredemption/

-Played on hardcore mode and beat the game with 96 % completion

Info:

          Red Dead Redemption was made by Rockstar San Diego, formerly known as Angel Studios. They were known for games such as Midnight Club series, the Smuggler's Run games, and Red Dead Revolver. Rockstar North, known for the Grand Theft Auto series, helped out with the game development. The Game of the Year edition was released October 11, 2011 with all the DLC and the Undead Nightmare expansion. Included is a new hardcore mode for the original game, and one scene of nudity being censored.

Story:

          The year is 1911 and the Wild west is coming to an end. Red Dead Redemption is about a former outlaw by the name of John Marston who's family is being held hostage by the U.S. Government. They want him to hunt his old gang members that are terrorizing the last of the Wild West. With no choice, he sets out find them and bring them to justice. One way or another.

Translation Issues

                                                      Translation Issues

          In these past years, there have been lots of discussions about the quality of translation in games. Games like Xenoblade Chronicles, Fatal Frame 5, and Fire Emblem Fates have been in the fore front of the issues. With dialogue changed and things removed, it as stirred lots of displeasure among fans. Translations when it comes to game media is a mess. You got people who translate 1:1 and people who translate well. Then you got people who translate poorly or so different that it becomes a different product. Video games and Anime are the only mediums were translations can vary so much. It makes no sense.

          There are people who say 1:1 translations are not good because they are dry. What defines “dry”? Is a written work dry because it doesn’t have swear laid about or any talk of memes? That's called changing the work. Regardless of what anyone says, by making something less “dry” you are altering the tone and potential meaning of the text. Who are you to say what needs to be changed or not? Doing that isn't respecting the source material, but making your own derivative product.

Atelier Rorona Plus Review

Atelier Rorona Plus

 

Developer: Gust Entertainment

Publisher: Koei-Tecmo

Genre: RPG

Platform: PS3, Vita

Release: 6/24/2014

Availability: PSN, and other online stores.

Mode: Single-player

Disclaimer:

- I played the PS3 version

- I like management sims

- I like RPG's

- Screenshots from official website

http://www.ateliergames.eu/roronaplus/#home

Info:

          Atelier Rorona Plus is a remake of the 2009 “Atelier Rorona” by the publisher NISA. The Atelier series is a long running series that started in 1997 and through 16 games, not including remakes and ports, is about alchemy. Atelier Rorona Plus is a remake of the 11 game of the series. At the time, the game was very hard, with the game-play being tough to figure out. When Koei-Tecmo acquired the right to the series, they started working on plus versions of the Arland Trilogy and the Dusk series for the PS Vita. These plus versions, contained all the DLC integrated in the games, had various game improvements, and extra content not found in the PS3 counterparts. This time, they decided to release the Remake on both the Vita and the PS3 with the same content.

Reviews on Other Sites

 Note: This a short opinion piece about my thoughts on reviews.

            I was browsing various games sites to read their reviews and I noticed that mostly big name games get 2-3 page reviews. If it wasn't a big name release then it typically got only a page. Even for RPG's like the Tales series, they would be just 1 page long compared to big name RPG's like Fallout 4. Even NBA 2016 would get a 3 page review. It's not really fair that only certain games get a full length review, while others are merely summarized. I understand that paid reviewers have many games to review, but they do deserve better. They don't all have to be 3 pages long, but at least long enough to do a game justice. It doesn't do many games justice to merely summarize them as it will eventually make them sound all the same. There is more to gaming then the big name titles that are out there.

3D Dot Game Heroes Review

3D Dot Game Heroes

Developer: Silicon Studios

Publisher: From Software (JPN), Atlus (NA)

Platforms: PS3

Release: 5/11/2010 (NA)

Genre: Action-Adventure

Modes: Single-Player

Availability: Online Stores like Amazon ($30 New)

Disclaimer:

- I'm not a professional reviewer.

- A Link to the Past was my first Zelda game.

- I enjoy classic style games like this.

Info:

“3D Dot Game Heroes” is made by Silicon Studios who have developed; Operation: Darkness, Bravery Default 1 and 2, FANTASICA, and other games.

Story:

          The plot involves the player character being a descendent of the legendary hero that stop evil from taking over Dotinia Kingdom. Years latter the popularity of the kingdom wanes so the king decides to make the world 3D in order to make the world more appealing. Unfortunately, this strengthened evil and put the kingdom into peril again. So it's up to you to save the Kingdom.

          The writing is light hearted and silly with many tributes to classic games like Dragon's Quest, Final Fantasy, and of course, Zelda. There is plenty of 4^th wall breaking references that acknowledged the silly game-play and story tropes that appear in many games. It's nether obnoxious or in your face, but subtle humor.

Graphics:

          The game is rendered as millions of tiny cubed pixels known as voxels. From the game world to the characters, it helps give it a retro NES/SNES feeling to it. Looking at the character from a flat perspective or from far away on an overhead view, they can almost be mistaken for sprites. When you play for the first time, the colors may look flat and muted. You will need to adjust the brightness and color setting, in-game, to make it look it's best. Too much color and brightness will hide the outlines of the voxels and blend some colors together. You may also have to adjust it in the volcano and wind valley sections where the HDR can make things hard to see. It's a minor issue, but it's something that can be easily fixed.

Katamari Forever Review

Katamari Forever

Developer/Publisher: Namco Bandai Games

Release: September 22 2009 (NA)

Platform: PS3

Genre: Rolling game

Modes: Single Player, Offline VS mode, Offline Co-operative

Availability: Online stores (Amazon for $20)

Disclaimer:

- I have completed all levels in all modes with mostly

100 and 120 points for them.

-I have collected 97% of objects and almost

all the cousins and presents found in the levels.

-I don't have a second controller so I couldn't play multi-player

-I'm new to the series

-I got it for $20

-"Katamari Forever" is  primarily a best of collection of levels

Story:

          The story begins with the prince show the King of the Cosmos how high he can jump. Eager to show the prince what he can do, the king leaps into space, but a space object knocks him in the head and gives him amnesia. So the prince and his cousins decide to make Robo King to temporary replace the King of the cosmos, but Robo King goes out of control and destroys the cosmos. So it is up to the prince and his friends to fix the cosmos and cure the King's amnesia.

          It's a silly and charming story that you don't take seriously. The rest of the story is filler of what the queen does in the mean time, and the jumbo man team's antics. These story movies can be re-watched in the movie theater option. Quirky dialogue is what makes up the rest of the game and adds to the charm of the game. You have characters like the Robo King is a sympathetic character who's self depreciating dialogue is charming and silly. It's not grating or obnoxious so it can be appreciated by anyone. The writing adds plenty to the quality of the product that would not be the same without it.

Super Stardust HD Review

Super Stardust HD

Developer: Housemarque

Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment

Genre: Twin-stick shooter

Release: 6/28/07 (PS3), 12/8/08 (PSP)

Platforms: PS3, PSP

Modes: Single-player, Co-operative Multi-player

Availability: PlayStation Network Store

Disclaimer:

-I'm not that great at arcade shooters.

-I only played on easy mode, which

was hard enough for me.

- Completed arcade mode, but still

have two planets to go on planetary conquest mode.

-I don't have a second controller so I couldn't play co-op.

-I didn't purchase the dlc for the game,

though they are variations of arcade mode.

Graphics:

          Super Stardust HD is visual treat with plenty of shiny and glowing effects that give it a visual vibrancy that most games don't have. The style of vibrant lighting helps with the alien sci-fi visual theme. Texture wise, they are simple and nothing to write home about, but the intense visual effects compensate for it.

Game-play:

          Super Stardust HD is a twin stick arcade shooter where you guide a small ship around a 3 dimensional sphere and destroy as many enemies and rocks as possible in each wave. Each wave has a certain amount of rocks and enemies that need to be destroyed before you can advance, but new ones will drop in on you as you play. Surviving 4 waves on a planet will trigger the boss fight that can only be hurt from his weak point. Once you beat a planet, you will unlock it in it's respective mode and will have to beat 4 more planets.

          As it is an arcade shooter, there are plenty of power-ups to utilize in your survival. There are extra lives, shields that let you take a free hit, points, and ammo powers. You have access to three weapons for the three types of rocks you encounter. It is possible to destroy rocks with other weapons, but they are not as effective as their color coded counterpart. The green rock cutter, the red gold cutter, and the blue ice cutter. The rock cutter shoots thin beams that go fast but has a moderate effective range. Gold cutter is like a flamethrower that has shorter range, but can lock onto multiple enemies without aiming. Ice beam shoots thicker projectiles that travel far, but are slower then the other two. Bombs are limited, but can destroy everything on screen. Enemies don't have any weapons they are weak to so you are free to use any beam that is strong enough and effective.