37)Bioshock 2 Xbox360 Games Review

Bioshock 2


Follow-up to BioShock, 2K Games critically acclaimed and commercially successful 2007 release, BioShock 2 is a first-person shooter set in the fictional underwater city of Rapture. As in the original game, BioShock 2 features a blend of fast-paced action, exploration and puzzle-solving as players follow varying paths through the overarching storyline based on the decisions that they are forced to make at various points in the game. In addition to a further fleshing out of the franchise's popular storyline, players can look forward to new characters, game mechanics, weapons, locations and a multiplayer game option.

The Story
Set approximately 10 years after the events of the original BioShock, the halls of Rapture once again echo with sins of the past. Along the Atlantic coastline, a monster--somehow familiar, yet still quite different from anything ever seen--has been snatching little girls and bringing them back to the undersea city. It is a Big Sister, a new denizen of Rapture who was once one of the forgotten little girls known as Little Sisters who previously inhabited the city's dank halls.

No longer a pawn used to harvest ADAM, the dangerously powerful lifeblood of Rapture, from the bodies of others and in turn run the risk of being harvested herself, the Big Sister is now the fastest and most powerful thing in Rapture. You, on the other hand are the very first Big Daddy, similar to the Big Daddies familiar from the original BioShock, but also very different. The question is as you travel through the decrepit and beautiful fallen city beneath the waves, hunting for answers and the solution to your own survival, are you really the hunter or the hunted?

Gameplay
Although full gameplay details have yet to be released, is is known that in BioShock 2 players will take on the role of the original Big Daddy, not that of the original series protagonist, Jack. As a Big Daddy you will have access to most, if not all the strengths and weapons of a standard Big Daddy, as well as others such as free will and a new relationship to Little Sisters that although allowing for the familiar choice as to whether to harvest or adopt them, creates a different dynamic between characters. In addition, the game will feature new plasmids, weapons, the ability to combine these two and much anticipated multiplayer modes including: Free-for-all, and Team Death Match.

Key Features

The Big Sister - No longer just something to be harvested or not, the Big Sister is the most powerful resident in Rapture.
You Are the Big Daddy - Take control with the original prototype Big Daddy, and experience the power and raw strength of Rapture’s most feared denizens as you battle powerful new enemies.
New Plasmids - New plasmids such as "Aero Dash" allowing for bursts of speed over short distances, and "Geyser Trap" a stream of water used as a jump pad and electrical conductor, join the ample list of Plasmids from the original game.
New Game Mechanics - BioShock 2 contains many new gameplay mechanics. Just a few of these are: the ability to wield plasmids and weapons simultaneously; flashback missions detailing how you became the Big Daddy; the ability to walk outside the airlocks of Rapture to discover new play areas, and many more.
New Locations - Just a few of the locations and environments debuting in BioShock 2 are Fontaine Futuristics, headquarters of Fontaine's business empire and the Kashmir Restaurant.
Evolution of the Genetically Enhanced Shooter - Innovative advances bring new depth and dimension to each encounter, allowing players to create exciting combinations to fit their style of gameplay.
Return to Rapture - Set approximately 10 years after the events of the original BioShock, the story continues with an epic, more intense journey through one of the most captivating and terrifying fictional worlds ever created.
Genetically Enhanced Multiplayer - Earn experience points during gameplay to earn access to new weapons, plasmids and tonics that can be used to create hundreds of different combinations.
Experience Rapture’s Civil War - Players will step into the shoes of Rapture's citizens and take direct part in the civil war that tore Rapture apart.
See Rapture Before the Fall - Experience Rapture before it was reclaimed by the ocean and engage in combat over iconic environments in locations such as Kashmir Restaurant and Mercury Suites, all of which have been reworked from the ground up for multiplayer.
Buy this game=Bioshock 2

36)HALO 3 ODST Wii Xbox360 Games Review

Halo 3 ODST

Developed exclusively for Wii  Xbox 360 by acclaimed developer Bungie, Halo 3: ODST is a new, stand-alone expansion to the Halo saga that lets players experience the events leading up to the epic story told in Halo 3 through the eyes of an entirely new character the ODST (Orbital Drop Shock Trooper), as they search for clues leading to the whereabouts of their scattered squad and the motivations behind the Covenant's invasion of New Mombasa.

The game adds a new dimension to an all-encompassing universe that gamers around the world have known and loved since the release of the first Halo game in late 2001.


New Campaign, New Hero, New Tactics
Much more than an expansion, Halo 3: ODST allows players to explore dangerous new ground, search the dark, abandoned streets of New Mombasa for clues, and fight back against the Covenant invasion from multiple perspectives. Dropping in as "the rookie," a new member of an elite squad of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers (ODST) sent into New Mombasa on a classified recon mission, you'll be armed with specialized weaponry and upgraded technology, including silenced weapons and a VISR enhanced vision mode.

Separated from your squad, you'll have to scour the city for clues in order to learn what happened to Buck, Dare, Dutch, Mickey, and Romeo. As you collect new clues, you’ll experience the story from their perspectives, fighting through the occupied city hours earlier.

A New Way to Play: 4-Player Co-op Firefight
Drop feet first into a new way to play Halo with the cooperative campaign mode, Firefight. Form a squad of your friends over System Link or Xbox LIVE and put your skills to the ultimate test against the invading Covenant war machine for glory, high scores, and achievements. Do battle in multiple environments, on foot or in vehicles, and against increasingly difficult waves of Covenant attackers while Halo 3's skull modifiers progressively activate to up the ante.

After the Firefight, relive and review every last kill you earned and see how your high scores and stats stack up against your friends' and the community overall using Bungie.net's persistent online stats and Firefight leaderboards.

3 New Halo 3 Maps
Three all-new maps make their debut for Halo 3's traditional, chart-topping multiplayer. Heretic, Longshore, and Citadel drop in alongside the original Halo 3 multiplayer maps, all packed in and playable from one standalone disc. Twenty-four maps in all, including the Heroic, Legendary, Cold Storage, and Mythic Map Packs, provide a peerless multiplayer experience, near limitless content creation and customization via the Forge and Sandbox, and a slew of new multiplayer achievements for Halo 3.

New Challenges and Achievements
For the first time, Recon Armor for use in Halo 3 multiplayer will be made available to players who complete the "Road to Recon" challenge. Earn all seven of the Vidmasters, a series of Xbox LIVE achievements that span Halo 3's Campaign and Multiplayer and Halo 3: ODST, and then visit your Bungie.net Service Record with a linked gamertag to enable your sweet new set of digital duds.

If you already own Halo 3, you can get started now by collecting the "Annual" campaign achievement and the "7 on the 7th" and "Lightswitch" multiplayer achievements in matchmaking. And, if you've already downloaded the Mythic Map Pack, you can collect the hidden skulls on Assembly, Orbital, and Sandbox today.

Community Features
4-Player co-op experience over Xbox LIVE or System Link, screenshots, saved films, custom Halo 3 multiplayer map and game variants via the Forge…all of the award-winning features included in Halo 3 are packed into Halo 3: ODST with an extra 1,750 available achievement points piled on for good measure. And Halo 3: ODST introduces an all-new single player experience with new characters, new weapons and technology, and the frenetic cooperative experience, Firefight, an entirely unique way to play Halo.

Bungie.net Integration
What good is winning if you can't brag about it to your friends? Extend your gaming experience beyond the console with Bungie.net's expansive integration. All of your lifetime stats are aggregated into your online Service Record - every last kill, every single medal, and your entire collection of career post game carnage reports, plus robust charts, graphs, and leaderboards allow you to instantly see how you stack up against the rest of your squad and the Halo 3: ODST community at large.

Invitation to the Halo: Reach Beta
As an added benefit of buying Halo 3: ODST players receive an invitation to participate in the Halo: Reach multiplayer beta due to hit Xbox LIVE in 2010. Halo: Reach is Microsoft Game Studios and Bungie's upcoming prequel to the events of the original Halo: Combat Evolved game. Based on Eric Nylund's novel "The Fall of Reach," it is packed with details surrounding the origins of the Sparten II soldiers, of which Master Chief was only one of many and the beginnings of the conflict with the Covenant and the Flood. If you want in, hold onto your copy of Halo 3: ODST and stay tuned to Bungie.net and Xbox.com for more details.
Buy this game=Halo 3 ODST

35)MLB 09: The Show PS3/PSP Review

Best Baseball Game Ever...PERIOD!

MLB 09 The Show Ps3/PsP continues to be one of the most consistent sports video franchises of all time. Since I came upon the series in 2006 when Acclaim went under and with it my beloved All-Star Baseball died with it, I have been on board with this franchise and have seen it grow into one of the few sure things in sports video gaming. Simply put, MLB 09 The Show is a gem of a video game and the only other sports game worth it's $56.99 price tag besides NHL 09. If you are a fan of sports games this is a MUST BUY!

The Break Down

Presentation/Graphics: 10
The presentation in this game is unmatched by any baseball game EVER! The pregame fly ins into the stadiums, the panoramic shots of the ballparks, the views from inside the seats that make you feel like you just went through the turnstiles, got a hot-dog and a coke and sat down really get you geared up to play. You are then treated to a "Player to Watch", basically a key player, player warm-ups and then the line-ups and pitcher profiles. The replays an cut scenes in this game really add to the depth and TV feel, and are usually mixed up really well. On occasion you will see things that surprise you and occasionally make you laugh. From dug out gags, to walk off home runs, to after brush back stare downs, to team mascots it's all here, it's all well timed and all enjoyable to see in action.

Sound: 9
The sound in this game is really a treat as well. I have 5.1 surround sound and this game really makes use of it, with THX Technology the ballparks come alive with great crowd ambiance, player specific cheers and taunts, vendors and all the oohs and ahhs you could ask for. The PA announcers sound great with the stadium reverberating his every word and the organ player gets the crowd going with all your ball park favorite ditties. The announcers in the game are by far the best as well, as they rarely repeat phrases and really deliver a seamless performance that truly reacts to game situations.

Pitching: 8.5
The pitching is a meter based system that accounts for effort (speed/break) and release point for accuracy. Basically you aim for the center of the accuracy area, anything too soon accounts for a high release point making for mistake pitches up in the zone, anything beyond that point and yer killing worms and throwing into the back stop. This is a really solid system, the pre-pitch aim icon needs to be toned down though in my opinion. The yellow arrows basically show you the break of the pitch, so there's no real need to learn your staff because you are shown the starting point and break points of all your pitches. There should be a little more skill involved in making your pitches and learning each pitcher's tendencies.

Hitting: 8
Hitting in MLB 09 The Show Ps3/PSP is the familiar Timing/9 Zone button press system. You also have the ability to guess pitch type and location to receive a tip-off, but this is a feature I wish was removed from all baseball games, all the guessing should be contained in your mind and not on-screen to tip off your opponents.....especially online. At least there is the option to turn this off or at least reward yourself without knowing by selecting the NO FEEDBACK option. Another sore spot with me is the POWER SWING. There needs to be more of a trade off for using the power swing other than not being able to check your swing. If you use power swing you should have to be dead on accurate with yer swing to be rewarded with a HR. I basically use power swing with power hitters until I get behind in the count and then switch to contact.It's just an area I think needs to be looked at and more balanced. Yet all in all it's a decent system that also allows for pre-pitch placement to try and hit holes in the defense and has a great variety of hits. If you get under the ball expect pop ups and long fly outs, if you are on top expect grounders, if you swing at inside heat expect to get nubbers and saw off jobs that splinter your bat into a million pieces. I would like to see more innovation in the hitting interface, as I still hold a fondness for the Icon Hitting found in old All-Star Baseball. When you got a hit on that game, you felt you earned it.

Fielding: 8
The fielding n MLB 09 The Show Ps3/PSP remains, as in every baseball game ever made, the hardest part of the game to make a seamless and flawless experience. You will still encounter the scratch your head moments, especially with the new approach angles fielders take to the ball. You will still curse the preloaded throws that never happen because you got to your branch point too late. You will still cringe at the weak throws from your RF when you maxed his throw meter and he lolly gags the throw and allows a runner to advance from 1st to 3rd. You will still gasp at the amount of balls the go through your 3rd baseman.......but all in all it's still solid enough to not be overly frustrating. There are errors in real baseball all over the field, and this game is no different. You will be using the replay feature to check out a sweet double play or backhand stab deep in the hole. For as many bad moments there are, there are 15 good moments. So I think it's balanced as well as a complex AI system can be.

Base Running: 8
I can only vouch for the CLASSIC base running mode. I love this system due to the fact that I can hit the runner Icon and the base I want that runner to advance to. Priceless on 1st to 3rd's and 2nd to Home's. Once you get the system locked into your mind you will rarely make mistakes and get caught in run downs.

Online: 6.5
The online set-up for this year is outstanding. All the things you want, One Vs. One, 30 Team Leagues, Full Live fantasy Drafts, Tourney, Rankings, Buddy Lists, Player Cards, SCOUT, Roster Updates, Live Buddy Game-Cast with Audio, plus being plugged into MLB.com where you can read stories, stats and scores to keep up on your favorite trams news as well as news from around the league. I'd say this is as robust as you can get. The reason this gets a 6.5 is because the LAG really ruins a lot of the experience of playing online. Lag effects the pitch meter as well as the batter's timing and hitting......which basically ruins the game. It's like trying to kick a game winning field goal on Online Madden only to have lag screw up yer power and you miss your mark, but MLB is this horrible experience pitch after pitch after pitch. It's been this way for years with MLB, and I'm not sure it's something that can ever be fixed. Baseball is just a game that is adversely affected by online lag due to the fact that all the core mechanics of the game of baseball rely on timing and any amount of lag destroys that delicate balance. I hope this is something that in the future can and will be addressed. It's a shame that a game this solid can't readily be enjoyed online. So basically it's great to have all these online features this game has, but what's the motivation to use them all if the core game mechanics are so flawed by the lag?

RTTS: 8.5
Road to the show remains a solid game mode, although one I only use when I want a quick fix. Generally I stick to Season mode. I find road to the show to be a lot of fun, but I preferred the Be A Pro mode in NHL 09 to RTTS in MLB. I guess it's due to the tedious nature of the game of baseball. But please form your own opinions on this game mode as I'm sure that it will be many people's favorite game mode.

Verdict: 9
BUY THIS GAME! This might be the best sports franchise in video games today with NHL 09 a step behind it. This game is a must have for sports fans that own PS3s.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10

Buy this Game=KENG PS3 Games Shop Online

34.2)The King of Fighters XII PS3 Review Part-2

Part-2

Replay Value: 3

Well...things took a turn rather quickly, eh? Up to this point I've been talking about what this KoF has gotten right but now we've reached a place where things are no longer as rosy. The King of Fighters XII is easily one of the most unfurnished fighting games I have ever played. I appreciate that a fighting game's greatest value is in improving one's skills and thanks to the sublime engine, that need is met. However, aside from that you'd probably demand more than what's here, especially for a $60 investment. There are only three offline modes: Arcade, Versus, and Practice. Arcade mode is a "time trial" event, where you try to clear out a five-stage tournament in the lowest time possible. You beat five teams and the game ends, that's it.

If you don't like your completion time for a specific fight, you can redo the match for a lower time. The game offers a couple of cinematics during Arcade mode but they serve little purpose other than filler. There is no boss stage at all, which is something you'd come to expect in a fighting game (the fifth team is the "Final Stage"). Versus mode allows you to fight in 3-on-3 or 1-on-1 matches against a friend or the computer. Practice mode is what it sounds like (an inanmiate opponent acts as a dummy for you to train your skills and combos on). That is the entire extent of the offline features in this game (and subsequently what kills the replay value; you'll fast run out of things to do by yourself). There is no story in this game, no boss (not even Rugal made this party; what happened to the infamous "SNK Boss Syndrome"?), no hidden characters (just unlockable art), and no other kind of single player mode like Survival. Even the game's Trophies seem trivial (and they're mostly online-related). The game has online support but it's very hit-or-miss and with any fighting game, lag is always the enemy. Sometimes you'll find a stable match connection and for others it'll be an 5 fps slide show (the game's online has been patched but it isn't a catch-all like BlazBlue's patch was). Given the extreme lack of features it's almost as if SNK wanted to release a stripped-down game, like they were afraid to make a really deep game. Oh well...at least the fighting itself unquestionably delivers.

Overall: 7
The King of Fighters XII can be described as the purest fighting game ever released. It's almost impossible to enjoy this game alone, you simply NEED live competition to really make this game worthwhile. There is virtually no single player to speak of here. A completely respectable fighting game engine is stranded on an island devoid of features and a slim character roster. The game's online will supposedly be patched for better performance so that will help give the game somewhat of a boost. However, as a whole, the requirement for human opponents is utterly mandated. I sadly cannot advise you get this game at full price unless you find people who will agree to play with you. If you are a hardened SNK fan, you may want to rent the game but anyone considering adding this to their collection, wait for a price drop (unless, again, you know there will be people to play with). The game's fighting gameplay is stellar and it looks fantastic but as the only factors that contribute to the game's positive attributes, I am sorry to say that SNK has not come through at least in the asking price for the game ($40 would probably have me singing a different song). The way SNK treated this game makes me think this was an "experiment"; something for them to test the waters of the newer hardware and graphical technologies of today after years of using older systems like Atomiswave and the NeoGeo. Maybe we can expect XIII to be more robust now that SNK has messed around with the current gen hardware but until then, XI and 2002 Unlimited Match keep their titles as the series champions.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10

Buy this game=KENG PS3 Games Shop Online

34.1)The King of Fighters XII PS3 Review Part-1

On the twelfth game of KoF SNK gave to me...not much...

BEST FEATURES: Shiny new HD sprites, well-animated, superb fighting gameplay
WORST FEATURES: Ridiculously stripped-down single-player experience, smallest KoF roster to date with key figures missing and no boss character, iffy netcode

The King of Fighters is one of the hallmarks of the fighting genre. While never as popular as the Street Fighter franchise, KoF has found it's own niche as the flagship of SNK's fighting game efforts. Between 1994 and 2003, we were graced with yearly updates to the series. Then SNK broke from the yearly mold and released The King of Fighters XI some two years later in 2005 (a game that would go on to become my favorite SNK game to date). Now four years later, KoF makes a huge step into the current generation of gaming and debuts a whole new look and feel. Unfortunately, the game feels woefully incomplete.

Graphics: 10
This game is probably one of the nicest looking 2D fighting games ever. Even the Street Fighter III series (a series made famous by it's intricate and splendid sprite work) has something to look up to in this game. All the new hand-drawn sprites are rendered in a beautiful HD quality (though, there are some jaggies; this can be rectified using an in-game filter) and are all animated just as well. KoF has finally ditched the NeoGeo sprites of years past in favor of an entirely new bank of sprites (sprites that supposedly took nearly a year to create for each character). The on-screen characters are endowed with many frames of motion and the graphical effects (fire, electricity, etc.) are likewise sharp and animate smoothly. The backgrounds are full of life and color is well-used to bring out the best (plus ambient touches like shadowy areas that darken the sprites when they enter them show dedication and attention for detail in the design). Truly KoF XII is an amazing game graphically.

Sound/Music: 8
While the music isn't quite as memorable as previous KoF efforts, XII still provides a good selection of background music. It's chosen well for the various settings in the game (such as an Egyptian kingdom or a French bistro). The sound effects are loud and audible so you really feel the hits as the fight drags on. Particularly the sound of triggering a Critical Counter drives home the power of the blow. The only real caveat here is the characters aren't as vocal as usual. The characters are voiced by their usual voice actors (mostly) but SNK didn't add many vocalizations during the fight. While they didn't need to go to an extreme with the in-game dialogue (like Guilty Gear does), a few more quips from the fighters wouldn't have hurt.

Control: 9
Accurate control is a must for a competent fighter. KoF has never been a slouch here. The controls are accurate and quick, which is important for combo timing. Getting around the screen is never a chore and dealing out the damage comes without any notable problems. The only issue I could even find with the control is the new throwing system (holding forward or back plus both punch buttons, A and C if you prefer NeoGeo notation) is somewhat hard to do pull off on the default control scheme. However, since the game lets you freely reconfigure your controls, you can easily assign a single button to represent both buttons (the shoulder buttons are unused by default so you can put it up there). And...of course, if you prefer, you're free to use an arcade stick (not my cup of tea but I'm well aware of how many like it that way).

Gameplay: 8
To match the advent of the new age of The King of Fighters, SNK overhauled the gameplay engine. This new KoF installment legitimately feels unlike any previous entry. While there are some staples of the series embedded in the game, this KoF as a whole is different beast. From the hit detection to the general flow of the fight, it'll be a different experience for series veterans. However, despite this change, SNK did a great job of making the engine. It feels polished and the roster seems relatively balanced. New features include the Guard Attack, Deadlock, and Critical Counter. A Guard Attack allows you to intercept an incoming attack and then slam your opponent away from you in order to clear your personal space. Deadlocks occur when the fighters' attacks meet each other in the same instant and then the engine will push them away from each other into a neutral standing. Finally, the Critical Counters allow you to deal out heavy damage if you're able to time the perfect counter hit. The game feels accessible to KoF newcomers and even if you don't know what to expect, the game includes a "Simple" mode for easy move execution to get you right into the fray (though I personally don't advocate using it). Sadly, it's not all praise. The roster for this game is the smallest one ever featured in a KoF game. Only 22 characters made the cut (two exclusive to the console version) and among them, there are some important KoF names missing. While must-have characters like Kyo Kusanagi, Iori Yagami, and Athena Asamiya are on the roster, other expected shoe-ins (like K' or Mai Shiranui; in fact no characters from the 1999-2002 NEST saga are present) did not make the list. In addition, many characters are heavily changed which makes the game feel even more foreign to veterans expecting their old favorites to handle the same. On another note, while this may be more of a personal issue, I do miss the tagging system from 2003 and XI. The addition of changing characters mid-match gave the game a far more strategic edge as now it was important how well your characters worked together as well as on their own. Going back to the classic 3v3, 1-on-1 matches is okay but I'm still more attached to the free-swapping gameplay of XI. However, not everyone will agree (I know many who said the tagging actually hurt the game's flow and balance) and I can respect that. All things considered, the game plays fine and I think that counts most of all.

Buy this game=KENG PS3 Games Shop Online

33)Tekken 6 review

   Raise your fists and get ready to fight to the brutal finish. The battle comes alive with bone-jarring realism as you pummel your opponent and do your utmost to inflict maximum damage. Your fists are fast and your grip is strong, but will it be enough to help you dominate in the ultimate King of Iron Fist Tournament?

Following his victory in the previous tournament, Jin Kazama has taken charge of the Mishima Zaibatsu and now possesses tyrannical ambitions. Using his resources within the organization to become a global superpower, he severs the Mishima Zaibatsu's national ties and openly declares war against all nations. This action plunges the world into a chaotic spiral, with war erupting around the globe and even amidst the space colonies orbiting the planet. Kazuya Mishima, is aware of this and finds Jin's interference in his own plans for global domination to be a nuisance. Now in charge of G Corporation (which was put under his command following a violent fury against the company's heads), Kazuya is seen as the only force who could oppose Jin and places a bounty on Jin's head for anyone who can capture him. Jin's response is to announce The King of Iron Fist Tournament 6 in order to battle Kazuya and crush G Corporation.

A must-have for Tekken aficionados, TEKKEN 6 sees the return of many familiar faces as well as new characters to create the largest line-up the series has ever seen. With a growing roster of fighters, each equipped with their own deadly techniques, martial art moves, and attack combinations, TEKKEN 6 will be the best “King of Iron Fist Tournament” yet. Adding to the already rich gaming experience, a deeper character customization feature will only enhance the incredible fighting intensity as players go mano-y-mano.

Buy Tekken 6

32.2)Punch-Out!! Wii Review Part-2

""Join the Nintendo fun... I mean, join Club Nintendo today, Mac!""

Part-2

Both of your energies are represented by bars up above. Lose all your bar and you get a knockdown. If you are knocked down and do not get up before the count of 10, you're considered Knocked Out. If you get knocked down three times in a single round, it counts as a Technical Knock Out and it's over. It is the same for your opponents. One last thing to keep track of is your heart meter. Represented with a scaling heart and numerically, it goes down when your hits are blocked or when you take a hit. If it goes to zero, you will not be able to hook or jab. Dodging a hit will bring Mac's energy back.

To play the game on a basic level is very simple, but to get to the more advanced opponents or make good time on earlier ones, you'll have to keep an eye out for Punch-Out!!'s intricacies. For instance, any time your opponent seems to be rearing up to launch an uppercut at you, a swift dodge will keep you out of harm's way. If you are quick, you can start pelting your opponent with jabs and hooks before they can put up their guard again. The basic game hinges on how quickly you master this dodge-and-retaliate mechanic. Once you have it down, and know how your opponent moves, you can then use these mannerisms and opportunities to score hits even before your opponent throws a punch.

Longtime Punch-Out!! players will take notice that reading opponents will be easier than before. Visual cues are much more noticeable with the advances animation and sound cues add to it. Most blatantly, the only newcomer to the series, Disco Kid, will rear back and proclaim, "Here it comes!" before jabbing. In some cases, it will make going into a rush painfully easy. In the later fights and modes, it will be the only thing keeping your face off the mat. If nothing else, all opponent will flash red briefly without fail before punching at you. In the rare instance they taunt or appeal, they will flash yellow briefly. Quickly nail them to earn one of three stars you can have at one time.

Speaking of the stars, they certainly take more front and center in this game than they did in the NES title. Stars allow you to use the Star Punch, a powerful uppercut that will add a good chunk of damage to your rush. If you time it right, you could even do more damage than expected with a Star Punch for the TKO. If you earn multiple stars before using the Star Punch, they will all gather into a single, very powerful Star Punch. Should you take a hit before then, all your stars are gone. How you use your Star Punches can mean the difference between a lot of things. Winning some fights by TKO even hinge on the Star Punch

Keep all these things in mind and you're ready to take on the circuits. To explain it does the game no justice to the experience, really. There's a lot of good build-up, and you'll want to beat the next opponent because of the hype surrounding it. Fortunately, the simple controls paired with the in-depth and accessible metagame behind Punch-Out!! makes the story-to-gameplay transition and integration seamless. You'll swear that the colorful characters are talking and taunting at you, the player, rather than at the ingame avatar, which gives a sense of immersion that is rarely appealed to in this game's generation.

As much as I absolutely love this system, grew up with it, and have an old-schooler taste, I'm afraid I can't speak from that standpoint alone. The game, despite being well-made and with some wide appeal, it's audience is much more limited than I give it credit for. The game's basic simplicity and tone will not work for everybody, and can actually be a turn-off for people expecting something more in-depth and less formulaic. If you're looking for a game that won't play the same in successive plays through, Punch-Out!! won't offer you that toss-up in replays.

The game's multiplayer actually does this somewhat. The characters control like a hybrid between single player Little Mac and an opponent fighter, throwing single punches or uppercuts and dodging. Dodge a hit and the other player is stunned and you get your counter punch. The goal is to get enough hits in to transform you avatar into Giga Mac and the real multiplayer begins, single-screened and all. Giga Mac works EXACTLY like a single-player opponent, making appeals to keep himself Giga (and opening himself up for counters) and tossing in hits that do great damage. The fun part is that Giga Mac is also prone to the weaknesses, as well. If he misses, the opponent can do a rush in single-player style and use that Star Punch. In between the spastic dodge-fest and how one-sided a Giga Mac transformation can be, multiplayer is still mostly fanservice.

Overall: 9
Punch-Out!! will have two camps about it, fans gushing and non-fans wondering what the big deal is. I happen to be somewhere in the former camp.

That said, Punch-Out!! could have been a lackluster revival attempt to cash in, but the people at Nintendo did try well to keep it of good quality. There just plain isn't anything like Punch-Out!! on the market today. Its cast is mostly unforgettable, the soundtrack is phenomenal, and the gameplay remains original, if not dated for the newest generations of players.

The fun factor, however, is another thing. It is nothing to detract from the experience, but requires keeping in mind for when the issue arises. The basic career mode is a cute little exhibition of what it means to control your character and what it's like to read your opponents and act accordingly to win bouts. The real meat of the game for those who are really into it is the Title Defense mode, which puts you in the gloves of the defending champion. All the opponents you faced come back faster, stronger, and with new moves or gimmicks about them to work around. The competition in Title Defense is fierce and will put to the test your Punch-Out!! skills. Lastly, there's Little Mac's last stand. Three losses and you're out, basically. The exhibition mode is where the real metagame lies. Fight opponents you've defeated again and again, this time with three challenges apiece such as a set number of punches or a time limit or even leaving the match to decision. After the career mode is over, this is the source of your fun in the same file.

Playing through the game once will yield great fun and exploration of all the different opponent types. To play through it again will give you an edge of knowing. Playing through successive times might yield diminishing gains. In between bouts there's some menu navigation to select your circuit and opponent. Even more if you're going between modes like training to career, let's say. If you're done with or don't care about the challenges, there won't be much new content after career mode is done. If you want to fight through the circuits again, you'll need to go through the menus each time to select your next opponent, which might break the flow of gameplay ever so slightly.

One thing Punch-Out!! could have done to honor its arcade-inspired roots would have been to include a mode that sent you through the entire basic game from start to finish without returning to opponent selection screens, and giving you the option of getting back in the game when you fall out. It's an entirely different play experience from picking your opponents and moving forward with goals than to just go through and play for the love of the game. If you love Punch-Out!! anyway, you'll tolerate the menu-surfing anyway.

Buy, rent, or skip: Rent ~ Buy
No doubt, Punch-Out!! is at least worth a single play through. Having the memories of that single career mode might work for you better than having that $50 game on your shelf that you don't pick up any more. On the other hand, if you do like the game's system and are a fan, you won't be thinking twice about picking this game up anyway. If there were attempts to lengthen the game's play time, such as any number of online functions, Punch-Out!! would be a better overall game. In the end, it's very functional and very fun. It's very much a game for the fans, and there's nothing wrong with that.
Reviewer's Score: 9/10

Buy this game=KENG Ps3 Games Shop Online

32.1)Punch-Out!! Wii Review Part-1

""Join the Nintendo fun... I mean, join Club Nintendo today, Mac!""

History Lesson

The Punch-Out!! series has a successful history in the arcades and on the Wii consoles. Even though Super Punch-Out!! has been the most recent entry until recently, the household name of the franchise has always been Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! (later "Punch-Out!! featuring Mr. Dream" after Tyson lost the undisputed championship) for the Nintendo Entertainment System. This is the game that 2009's Punch-Out!! for the Nintendo Wii aims to live up to.

Plot: 7

This Wii installment of Punch-Out!! is a retelling of the plot of the NES title. The player takes control of Little Mac, a young upstart boxer new to the World Video Boxing Association. With the training and helpful advice of his trainer, Doc Louis, Little Mac will rise through the ranks of the various circuits and aim for the World Championship. Other than the said bare bones of the plot, there's not much else. Story develops through a few interchangeable cutscenes and still-picture montages featuring the rival boxers. Otherwise, there's no real story other than progression through the WVBA, and the last mode where the story takes a turn.

Where this game shines is the presentation. Far removed from reality, Punch-Out!! resembles a cartoon with its bright and exaggerated representations of the sport of boxing. Most of the game's charm comes from its equally exaggerated roster of fighters. In this day and age of political correctness, these character designs never would have passed. Reinforced with better graphics and a grasp of animation style, these character are unapologetically drenched in stereotype and that's why players loved them then and in new ways now. Take Glass Joe, a French contender who takes time to shout "Viva la France!" right in the middle of a match and sweats croissants when dealt a Technical Knockout. Piston Hondo leaves himself wide open with honorable bows and subscribes to the mannerisms of every Japanese action animation ever created. Even Super Macho Man is assigned a Southern Californian surfer motif, shouting "Bogus!" when he whiffs an uppercut.

Astute players don't concentrate on the offensiveness of these characters as much as how they make Punch-Out!! a unique experience among the other choices in gaming today. The character are endearing in each their own way, and every individual player forges their own story of determination, training, learning, victory and defeat.

Graphics: 9

The Wii will never shake off its critics when it comes to inferior processing power and graphical capabilities, but games like Punch-Out!! will continue to take what is expected of modern games and challenge them. Instead of striving for graphics that attempt to look like something real, Punch-Out!! embraces its cartoon nature with 3D model designs that are as colorful and exaggerated as the characters they represent. You may spot the an incredibly rare polygonal flatness once or twice, but nothing to take you out of the game.

Moreso than most of what the medium of video games has offered so far, Punch-Out!! looks just like what would happen if the characters and environments from western-styled animation were to have a run-in to the third dimension. Even the way the character models move about, fluid in some ways, jerky in others, gives that extra immersive (a word which can adequately sum up this game by itself) emphasis. The little touches even come during the gameplay, as your opponents react to the flow of the match, making faces and watching you as you make your move or only being able to wear a horrified expression as Little Mac ducks down to deliver the Technical Knock Out.

Sound: 10

From the startup music in the Wii menu, Punch-Out!! is pleasing to the ear, both for longtime fans and rookies alike. The game does not dare forsake the legacy that it is reviving, keeping the NES title's soundtrack and then some. In fact, Punch-Out!! is very aware of the star power that its soundtrack has to go off of. Instead of using the fight music at face value for each match, as was done in the NES title, the theme has been remixed for each individual match. Typically when a game does this, it is quite obviously shameless fan service. The case of Punch-Out!! is no different except for the fact that the music is good regardless! It matches the culture of the contender you are facing and makes for some great tunes to play again and again just to hear.

The other standout audio in this title is the voice acting. The previous installments were limited to a minimal amount of voice acting, requiring specific honks of the synthesizer or mere grunts in Super Punch-Out!! With the current generation making much more possible, so is voice acting and I must say, the justice that the performances in this game does to the franchise and its characters is great. It allows the game to elaborate on its international cast by allowing them to speak. Each character speaks their own language in ways that sound authentic, if not delightfully hammy. The actors clearly did their homework on the characters to help deliver something genuine in this game that is otherwise outlandish.

Control: 8

When you think of a game themed around boxing and the Wii, you'll think of using the Wii remote and nunchuk attachment as your fists. That is exactly the control scheme that Nintendo has been pushing and in my experience, it actually works pretty well! Left hand for left hooks and right hand for right hooks. Hold up on the nunchuk's joystick to block and use jabs. Hit left, right, or down on the joystick to dodge and hold either A or C and strike with the respective hand to perform the famed Star Punch. Alternating motions will recover health whenever an opponent is being counted down.

In the case you don't have a nunchuk or want to play it old school, hold your lone Wii remote sideways and play just like in the old days. 1 and 2 handle punches and health recovery, the D-Pad controls all the directional commands, and with the addition of mid-game pausing, the Star Punch is now through the minus button instead of the plus button as longtime players might expect. It is a very simple layout that translates to a limited set of moves, but within the context of the gameplay they will be your tools for knocking out your opponents and each maneuver has its use.

The Wii Remote works best with this game. If you've practiced up on your NES Punch-Out!! titles, you'll be ready to tackle the Minor Circuit right out of the box. The motion controls, though functional, do not offer the edge that the full-button control offers. For instance, the motion-sensing is as sensitive as ever, so make sure only to make wide or sudden movements when you mean to. Also, and this applies the most to health recovery, the swiftness that you apply in pressing buttons will not translate well into motion controls. Waving the remote and nunchuk as fast as you can will not fill up your health meter even at a decent rate. Instead, a more casual pace that will still have you work up a sweat will get you that extra few pixels back. No matter how much I played with the pace, it never matched up to the recovery I racked up with the Wii remote's 1 and 2 buttons.

If you want to go full motion control, get out your Wii Balance Board and synch it up. Leaning on either side dodges and ducking on your board will have Little Mac duck as well. Everything else is as before stated. Just like with the other motion controls, it works. However, maneuvering with your shifting weight may not be as intuitive as clicking the joystick or pressing on the directional pad. If you practice, you may just get good with full motion control. In the meantime, you'll get more out of the game using the other control schemes.

Gameplay: 9

I will say this right now: Punch-Out!! is not an extensive boxing simulation game. If I had to say, I would call it an action puzzler. Surprising for a boxing game, yes? True to the sport, all gameplay takes place in one-on-one boxing matches. The presentation, with a camera angle behind a transparent Little Mac, is similar to Super Punch-Out!! while the gameplay is all from the NES title. In a way, the gameplay is more rigid and formulaic than you'd think. You're rooted to the spot, so there's no running around. Every punch you throw will aim for the opponent with out fail, and so will your opponents' to you. You must utilize your blocks and dodges in order to keep from getting hit and see what effects your jabs and hooks have on your opponents to best knock them out before they get to you first. Be wary, your opponents will also try to read your moves.

Buy this game=KENG Ps3 Games Shop Online

31)Mario Kart Wii Review.

This latest Mario Kart is Wheel-y good!
Love it or hate it, you have to respect the Mario Kart franchise. Spanning six systems, arcade units, remote controlled cars and widely known as the epitome of multiplayer racing, the series makes a welcome return to the Nintendo Wii. The motley crew of characters and weapons make an appearance along with the recent DS additions of online and retro throwbacks. While Mario Kart Wii adds a few more additions and changes, such as a new control scheme, changes to the drifting system, motorbikes and tricks, this is the same old Mario Kart we all know and love. Every installment added something new to the fore - MK64 added four player multiplayer, Super Circuit was portable, Double Dash!! added two racers per kart, and MKDS was online. So what is new here?
The obvious is the main control scheme - a hunk of molded plastic called the Wii Wheel which houses the Wii remote. Placed in the middle, the remote sensor and the feel of the shell give the illusion you are driving, although you may feel like an idiot doing so. However give it a chance, let go of your inhibitions and you will warm to it faster than you realize. The steering feels very natural, very subtle, and feels more fun that it probably should be. Despite the surprisingly sweet messages the Wii Wheel exhumes, like wishing you were six years old in a push petal car again, for remotely serious play you have to ditch the plastic. The main reason is that because the turning is so subtle, on occasions where drifting and tight turns are essential (such as every cup after 100CC) you can not react like you can with an analog stick. Because of the subtlety in turning, drifting and drift boosting techniques are difficult to attempt, meaning Automatic drifting is realistically the only option. Add in factors such as a rubbish soft B button and arm ache over long periods really highlight that this is not intended for serious play. The main thing to note, however, is that it does work, but you will not want to use it.

Thankfully Nintendo saw past the motion gimmickry that has plagued other Wii titles and give players the option of using the Nunchuk, Classic Controller and GameCube controller. The Nunchuk is a perfectly fine choice, where everything can be performed without any restrictions, with the added benefit of the speaker and hands free play. Naturally the two controllers work as they should, and all three of these methods really emphasize how much easier it is to play with analog controls. Do not demote the wheel straight to "glorified Frisbee" status or rudimentary digging tool, but for showing someone how to play Mario Kart for the first time or in 'casual' multiplayer sessions, the Wheel is spot on.

Getting over the potentially cumbersome barrier of trying to play Mario Kart Wii, the game adds three new gameplay mechanics - tricks, motorbikes and a revamped drifting system. Tricks could be considered the biggest change to Mario Kart strategy since the introduction of drifting; at every ramp you can perform a mid-air trick by waggling the Wii Remote or Wheel as you take off, giving you a boost as you hit the ground. The timing and positioning is key - if you trick before a corner you'll shoot off the edge, but by turning before hand you stay on and with some advantage, giving an extra layer of strategy into racing lines. Not only that, but any time you get into the air you can trick - finding hidden ways of performing tricks such as off wobbly floor sections, fallen columns, tree roots and even from the inside of the N64 Mario Raceway pipe - you will always be looking out for new ways to fit in an extra trick. The addition of half pipes is utterly pointless however - serving only to waste your time, thankfully they are only featured in a couple of tracks and can be skipped entirely.

You are forced to play 100CC through with Motorbikes, a new vehicle type, but the differences to karts are practically non-existent. Although you can execute a Wheelie with a flick of the Wii Remote, giving you a boost of speed, elsewhere your drift boosts are capped, and handle just as karts do. Aside from picking a specific bike for its stats, you have no real reason to choose them after getting through the 100CC class.

The change to drift boosting is one that will cause the most concern among the Mario Kart community. Now taking longer to drift boost - up to several seconds in fact - means that drifting over and over, or snaking, is all but removed. It is possible to still do it to a degree on wider tracks, but realistically should be attributed to just corners and shortcuts. To those who hated Snaking, your prayers have been answered. To those that loved Snaking, you can still semi-snake with a degree of effectiveness. The system is a decent go between for both camps and reminds you what competitive play is really all about – the items.

Aside from these changes, the gameplay is Mario Kart through and through. The items all return (with the random exception of the Boo Ghost) and despite three pointless additions - POW Blocks, Large Mushrooms and Thunderclouds - races are still as random and exciting as ever, and just as frustrating with the rubberband AI that loves to snipe a win out of nowhere. The sixteen new wacky, colourful courses - from circuits to malls, mines and cities, and ending with the staple Bowser's Castle and Rainbow Road - lack any real inspiration and are completely derivative from previous titles. The few exceptions such as the gorgeous Autumn themed Maple Treeway and river riding Koopa Cape do not quite make up for the usual punch we expect from a Mario Kart title. Akin to its portable predecessor sixteen retro tracks make an appearance, where classics such as DS Delfino Square and N64 Bowser's Castle make up for any shortcomings in the new content, and are given a new lease of lift thanks to the trick system.

The amount of content is through the roof - as well as an exhaustive eight cup grand prix across four settings, staff ghosts, multiplayer and dozens of unlockable vehicles and characters, a fully fleshed out online service gives the game legs beyond what you would normally expect from the series. Once you get past the ever convoluted friend code set up, there are a plethora of options that sky rocket longevity. The player ranking and matching system has had an entire new approach, along with the addition of two players on one system, a downloadable Wii Channel for rankings and challenges - it feels like a proper attempt at an online game. Nintendo should be commended for their dedication in providing a proper service for such a game that hinges so much on multiplayer.

Although Nintendo has done so many things right with this new edition - the intuitive (and free!) Wii Wheel, the superb online approach, tactically deep trick system - it does not feel as overwhelmingly fresh as those before it. The game takes little advantage of the Wii architecture - trackside Mii's, online and downloadable Mario Kart Channel excluded - the vast majority of this game could have been done on the GameCube. The ability to play without remote sensing control is evidence of this. However, it is just as inviting, just as charming, just as fun as before, and you will have a blast from when you first clip on that Wheel to getting blue shelled on the last corner of an all important online race. Mario Kart Wii is game that deserves your attention, whether you are new to the franchise or not, and cements the Wii as the champion of multiplayer this generation.

Pros
- Free Wii Wheel works surprisingly well for casual play
- Multiple control schemes
- Trick system is simple yet very effective
- Online is leaps and bounds from what we have seen from Nintendo previously
- A lot to unlock and do

Cons
- New tracks lack any punch
- Motorbikes practically the same as Karts
- Feels more of a Greatest Hits than a fully fleshed out new installment
Reviewer's Score: 8/10,

Buy this game=KENG Ps3 Games Shop Online

30)Wii Fit Review

Wii Fit - Turning your liveing room into a gym!

Recently, Nintendo has been working their Nintendo magic to become more innovative, and try to attract non-gamers to play. And their newest installment of the Touch Generations series is one that is definatly getting some attention - Wii Fit.

The game is very complex, but is made simple thanks to the guides and characters in the game. First off, you have a Wii Balance Board; it's like a scale, but is able to feel and sense your movement and balance. In the game you will be using the balance board to perform Yoga, Strength Exercises, Aerobics, and some simple (yet addicting) Balance games.

The game fist starts out with you signing in your Mii. Once you sign in, you put in your height and age and step on the scale, to determine your Center of Balance (CoB) and weight, along with your BMI. Afterwards, you are required to play a simple balance test, in order to determine your Wii Fit age. The closer your WF age is to your actual age, the better off you are.

From then on, you are told to select a trainer, either a male or female, to help guide your through your exercise routines. Both trainers work exactly the same, and they're both very patient and helpful when it comes to performing your routines.

Along with your trainer, you are also given a Wii Fit bank, to record your hours. The longer you play, the more games and exercises you unlock.

I'm going to go into depth about the four categories and what they're for.

First off is Yoga, in a nutshell, yoga is a series of poses used in order to ease your body, mind, and spirit, in order to successfully perform the yoga poses, you must be very balanced and calm. I haven't done too much yoga in my playing, but it really makes be feel better after doing the poses, it's also a great stress reliever. I find it difficult, but if you practice it enough every day, you should be able to ace the tricky ones.

Second, you have the strength exercises, a bunch of workouts that you can do in order to tone your body, some can be simple, yet effective, while other can be a pain in the arse. I highly recommend doing some basic stretching before attempting most of the exercises, if you don't you could seriously hurt yourself. When I played, I found myself easily clearing these, but I had lots of difficulties doing more reps.

Next up is aerobics, aerobics are a bunch of fast-paced activities focused on helping you burn fat and calories, I recommend these the most ofr anyone who bought the game in order to lose weight. These activities include, hula-hooping, free running, rhythm stepping, and rhythm boxing. I find all of them enjoyable, especially rhythm stepping; which reminds me of Dance Dance Revolution.

Finally, Wii Fit has nine balance games to play in case you need a break from your activities. All of the games involve the balance board, to ski, snowboard, head soccerballs and walk on tightropes. I find these enjoyable, but they're not exactly what you need in order to acheive your fitness goals. The game explains that have better balance can lead to better posture, and better posture can lead to better health and fitness. So these games are pretty important.

As far as I can see, the game does a great job of motivating me and my entire family to keep on playing. My brother, though slightly on the larger side, plays to lose weight, and my other brother, even thought his BMI is normal, plays to gain muscle for basketball next season. As for myself, I'm not sure why I still play, since I'm in top condition thanks to running CXC, I find myself playing all of the time.

I think that the reason this game is so fun and addicting is the fact that we're all eager to check our daily progress, I find it cool to see my status and progress in the game of a line graph, and It makes me feel more involved in my fitness habits.

In conclusion, I rated this game a 9/10 for it's effectiveness, and I recommend this game to everyone, for the people that want to lose weight, the people who want to acheive better fitness, and for everyone else, because I know that they'll need to work on their balance.

Thanks for reading :D

Reviewer's Score: 9/10

Buy this game=KENG Ps3 Games Shop Online

29)Wii Sports Resort Review

TRUTH BE TOLD, WE still dust off Wii Sports from time to time and have an extended session of tennis or bowling.
Even three years down the track, the title that launched alongside the Wii is still darn good fun. When we started hearing rumours of an improved motion sensing system for the Wii-mote, we couldn’t wait to try it – and the game designed to showcase its capabilities. That day has arrived, and we’ve put Wii Sports Resort and the new Wii MotionPlus through their paces.

For those who haven’t heard of it, the MotionPlus is a small, plug-in accessory for the Wii remote, designed to track your movements more precisely, with an increased level of sensitivity and response. Installation of the MotionPlus device is simplicity itself, and there are onboard video tutorials to guide the technologically challenged. The MotionPlus ships with a rubberised ‘jacket’ which slips snugly over the whole remote for improved grip. It can easily be recalibrated should it misbehave while in use and from what we’ve seen, it certainly lives up to expectations, delivering a more realistic, more immersive feel to most of the sports.

The game is set on Wuhu Island – an idyllic holiday resort with more activities on offer than Club Med. There are 12 sports to try - each with different modes of play for a bit of extra variety, and all of the sports have single and multiplayer options. Playing solo is fun – at least for a while, but playing against real live opponents is far more so. Several activities require the nunchuck and others just the modified Wii remote. Some even allow you to select your dominant hand or playing style (e.g. manual or automatic ball release for bowling). Simple to follow onscreen prompts show you how to employ the correct techniques, so it’s pretty much foolproof.
At the end of each round, race or match your results are displayed in graph form. As your skill level increases you’ll earn rewards and be able to access more in-game options, which is a good incentive to keep striving for higher and higher scores. While there is no online leader board on which your proudest sporting moments can be witnessed by all, each game has a high score table, so you can see how you’re ranked against your friends and family. You can also win stamps, which are similar in nature to achievements.

Golf and bowling are the only two sports to make a return appearance, and the MotionPlus accessory has improved their enjoyment factor (no more wildly overpowered putts, or misinterpreted curve balls). If further proof were needed that the experience is now more realistic, one player strained exactly the same muscle Wii bowling as she does when hefting a 12 pound ball at the local Super Strike… ouch!
As well as the two favourites, the list of activities is rounded out by the following newcomers: air sports, archery, basketball, canoeing, cycling, frisbee, power cruising, swordplay, table tennis and wakeboarding. There is literally something for everyone, from the armchair umpire to the adrenaline junkie, and with plenty of audience participation from the sidelines it’s as entertaining to watch as it is to play. Some sports are more fun than others, and while the list of favourites is subject to individual preference, several were deemed the best of the bunch: archery, swordplay, table tennis and the player-controlled aerial tour of Wuhu Island. These were all activities our testers returned to again and again.

On the other side of the coin, frisbee, cycling and basketball (the 3-point game, not the 3-on-3 mode), proved least popular with those who tried them. Some comments were that the controls were too fiddly and unpredictable, or in the case of cycling, the actions too repetitive – plus pedalling a bike with your hands is just… odd.
A lot of thought has gone into making multiplayer accessible using a single, pimped-out Wii-mote. Take archery for instance; when it’s your opponent’s turn you simply ‘pass the baton’, so owning another one is not an issue. When engaging your friends in sports such as table tennis and sword play however, each player is required to have their own controller… which means investing in another MotionPlus accessory. Since Wii Sports Resort is at its very best in a group situation, we reckon the game should have shipped with two of the suckers, even if it did bump up the initial outlay. For the record, it is worth buying that second MotionPlus, but don’t waste your money on more. There’s only one sport (canoeing) in which you can use up to four of them, but in our opinion it doesn’t rate highly enough on the fun-meter to warrant the expenditure.

In the sound and graphics department, expect more of the same as we saw and heard in Wii Sports: bright, vivid colours, simple but charming locations populated by a selection of Miis (including player-generated ones), and a ‘summer holiday’ soundtrack which complements the setting quite nicely.

With its accessible-to-all-ages appeal, sheer variety and addictive, engaging gameplay, Wii Sports Resort is cheaper by far than a family holiday at Club Med… and promises many more hours of fun.

Order this game=KENG Ps3 Games Shop Online

28.2)Pro-Evolution Soccer 2009 (PS2-3/Xbox360) Reviews Part-2

Part-2

The marquee mode of this series has perhaps been the Master League. Since its introduction, the player has been able to control a club from a bare bones team of losers to world beaters. You buy and sell players, earning the credits to do so along the way. The Master League mode has evolved slightly over the years, now you can use an already existing team (ie, the current Liverpool squad for example), or you have the option to turn on player progression, in which young players develop over time, and old players dwindle, and eventually retire.

I quite like this mode to be honest, it's a quite nice balance between the stat heavy games such as Football Manager, and the hands on nature of a quick exhibition match on Pro Evo. Sadly, the Master League mode has changed very little over the years, and the only difference between this years and the previous version is that players now have a degree of club loyalty, which obviously has an effect on things like signing contracts and moving to other clubs. Another slightly weak point is that this mode has no interaction with the Champions League mode. It would have been great to be able to set up a Premiership league, but with all the buying/selling options of the Master League mode, and have the Champions League available as a prize for the top 4. Instead, once again, we are subjected to some generic “Euro Masters Cup” or something as the depiction of continental competition between leagues.

New to this game is the completely new Be a Legend mode, and accompanying Legends Online mode. I say “completely new”, but apparently it's very similar to a mode FIFA introduced last year or so. I'm told that the Pro Evo version is much better though, for what it's worth.

The main premise of this mode is that you control a single player on the pitch (like that old PlayStation game, Libero Grande, but much, much better) and guide him through his career. He's 17 when you start, and you have say over how he improves, and what he works on. You start off by playing the training matches at a smaller club, but you develop based on performances, and then get picked for full matches based on development. From what I can tell, the general reaction from people is mixed. I know a guy who has played nothing but this mode since the game was released, but I personally can't stand it, I don't like the lack of control, but there you go.

The biggest flaw of this mode in my opinion is that the experience you gain from matches, and indeed, whether you get picked or not is based heavily on the rating you get from each match. Now, the rating system has been absolutely dire since they introduced it back on PES3. No exaggeration, you can score 4 goals in a match and still get a 7, with all your team mates getting 6.5s and so on. This mode rewards those who stick with it long term, and if you don't have the patience, then stay away. If you keep playing, then eventually you'll play for the big teams with the big players in the big leagues, and even get a call-up to play for the national team.

The single biggest innovation in modern gaming has been online play. PES08 had a pseudo-playable online mode, but it was very jerky and laggy. This year, it's slightly more playable, but like before, both you and your opponent need good connections for it to work well. Anything less well take away from the “split second reflex” actions you need to make, and from what I can tell, this places the advantage firmly with the attacking player, who can just take a guy like Messi or Ronaldo, and run at you, thus earning a cheap and cheesy victory.

There is an online mode to accompany the Be a Legend mode, which is basically online play, but you just control one player again, and you share a team with a load of other guys who can also only control one player, and play against a team of similar makeup. Honestly, I am yet to play this mode online, as you can only use players nurtured from the beginning in Be a Legend mode, but I seriously have my doubts. If a normal online match is two PS3 consoles connecting together to play a game, then the Legends online mode will somehow have to synchronise ten plus PS3 units, which to me seems unfathomable. Plus, if you assume that there are six players on each team (defenders and goalkeepers are CPU controlled), then at least one of them is going to be an idiot who does not want to play the game properly.

The only thing more annoying than listening to Mark Lawrenson waffle on Football Focus on a Saturday lunchtime is listening to his irrelevant babble on here. Lawrenson is once again joined by Jon Champion for commentary duty, and once again, it is poor. It's about as good as we can expect from a sport game though I suppose. A lot of the phrases are just cut directly from PES08, but there are some new ones in there.

In conclusion, despite the negative tone of this review, I do think this year's game is actually pretty good. I'm pleased that it's not just the same game repackaged, there is a clear difference, but there are a lot of creases that need ironing out. I think PES09 for Ps3/Xbox360 is a game that will last a long time, and a lot of hours of fun are to be had. Like I suggested earlier, having a partner in crime, to play against or on the same team is one way to absolutely get the most from this game.

Rumour has it that the next instalment,PES2010 for Ps3/Xbox360/Wii is going to be the first truly next-generation PES game, as it will have a scratch-built match engine, so I would suggest that you play the demo, or rent this game before you buy it, because overall response to this game has been seriously mixed. Also, FIFA09 has been getting some great reports this year, so check that out too, you may like that a lot better.

Ideally, I'd give this game a 7.5, but GameFAQs requires me to give an integer, so I'll choose 8, because I have only really scratched the surface of what this game has to offer.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10

Buy this game=KENG Ps3 Games Shop Online

28.1)Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 Reviews (PS2/3-xbox360) Part-1

"Not a world beater, but still acceptable"

Many moon ago, Konami decided they'd release a football game, and lo, it spawned an era of majestic wonderment. Even since the early days, no single game or series could break the dominance of the FIFA Football series from EA Sports. Many came and went, some were alright (Sega Worldwide Soccer, Sensible Soccer), but some were dire (This Is Football, that means you).

The Pro Evolution Soccer(PS3/Xbox360) series started life as the Winning Eleven series in Japan, but the first of these to really hit western shores was Winning Eleven 5 (PS3/Xbox360), which we know as the very first Pro Evolution Soccer. Since then, the series has always provided the honest, hard-working alternative to the FIFA series; the general consensus being that Pro Evo had the better gameplay, but FIFA had all the correct licences, so all the competitions, teams and players were authentic. In recent years however, EA Sports seem to be getting their act together, and Konami seem oddly content to release the same game over and over, with little improvement with each instalment.

PES09 (PS2-3/Xbox360), for me just had to be an improvement on 08, because I had the (mis)fortune of owning both the PS2 and PS3 versions of 08, and I swear, with the exception of slightly polished graphics, the two versions were nigh-on identical. Thankfully, I wasn't really disappointed. My initial impression of PES09 was overwhelmingly positive. The game just ran an awful lot smoother, dribbling and movement just seemed a lot more loose, thus enabling the player to get much more from the game… right? Well, you'd think so.

Graphically speaking, this year is an improvement on last year's effort. Colours seem a touch brighter, and the pitch itself no longer looks awful, which was dreadfully distracting in 08. The players look great too, the detail in the faces is quite something. I came across a website a while back which compared the appearance of each player in PES09 (ps3/xbox360)to their appearance in FIFA09; the difference was quite something, the Pro Evo faces were consistently better than those in FIFA. Naturally, there are one or two question marks in there (Berbatov, what?) but the vast majority of the players look spot on.

This year, the only two Premiership teams to have their authentic kits (and indeed, correct team names) are Liverpool and Manchester United. Now, to me, this isn't really a problem, because we live in a wonderful age of information, in which I am able to import some fan made database that has all the correct kits and stuff, but not everyone has that luxury. There are other leagues around Europe with their correct kits and stuff, but some are missing.

Here's where things get interesting. One licence that Konami have managed to acquire is the official UEFA Champions League competition, so the full 32 team line-up for the 2008/09 competition are there ready to be played. The Champions League mode comes complete with authentic music, logos, and even the real Champions League style TV presentation is there. For me, this licence is only a very, very minor positive to this game, because they don't really combine it with other modes (like Master League, but see later). Then again, playing in this mode really does capture the imagination, and the atmosphere is something as of yet unseen in a PES game for Ps3/Xbox360, and seeing your captain lift that beautiful trophy is great.

New this year is the addition of certain little things like players raising their hand to call for the ball, or pointing to where they want the ball playing into space, which is actually really nice, but once the novelty has worn off, you notice that when they call for the ball, they aren't in space, and you should only rarely follow their “advice”.

Like I've already said though it's the gameplay that the PES games had going for them, and again, like I've said before, it seems to be floundering a little in recent years. Personally, I'm quite pleased with this year's effort. To those who haven't played one of these games in recent years, you control one player at a time, on your control pad, the basic controls are pass, long pass, through-ball and shoot, as well as the option to sprint and to perform a slow but accurate style of dribbling. With other button combinations, the player can pull off practically the full arsenal of kicks and tricks we see every Saturday afternoon. I've heard a lot of people say things like “the shooting is broken” or “the through-ball doesn't work” but quite frankly, I think it's all a matter of timing. It all works really well, but that said, nothing is quite perfect.

Perhaps my biggest gripe is that when running down the wing with a wide player (say, a right-back), the other player on that wing (say, a right midfielder) will seldom make that awesome run into space down the wing, so you have to mosey around with the ball for a while before they actually make that run. Similarly, the front men, irrespective of the player's skill, well rarely make a well-timed run behind the backline, and that can really kill the realism of the game, especially for the way certain teams play. The way I get the most from this game is to play co-op with someone else, with the two of you playing on the same team, obviously. That way, whoever is controlling the man off the ball can make that incisive run and really cut the defence open. Seriously guys, having this advantage will allow you to put the game difficulty up by one level. For all the progress that the opposing team's AI has made over the years in all games, I wish they put a bit of effort into make your team mates a little brighter.

Remember, I said my first impression of the game was that I thought it played smoother than last years, and that is true to an extent; the game does seem to play a little more fluidly, and the match engine has been improved slightly, so there will be a period of adjustment from 08 to 09. The timing of certain things like crosses and shots is very different this year, and it's all for the better really.

What really frustrates me however is the difficulty level in the game. As in previous versions, there are five levels from easy to hard, but in my opinion, it shouldn't be called “difficulty level”, it should be called “run of the ball” or “rub of the green”. It seems that at higher levels, all that happens is that the opposition will win every single one of those 50-50 balls in the game, they'll win every header, and they'll get every favourable bounce. Also, their strikers will never miss, and their keeper will turn into an octopus. Perhaps I'm moaning because I'm yet to master the game fully, but I bet I'm not the only one who has noticed this.

Within the game, there is an awful lot to do; there the standard selection of cups and leagues, for the hundreds of club and national teams available in the game. There are classic all-star teams to unlock, which is nice, and other little things in there, like the track record mode, which is like an extensive statistics page, which is great if you're that kind of guy. There is the edit mode too, which as I have alluded to earlier, you can use to bring your team rosters up to date, as well as correct team and player names and uniforms. It is probably best to download a fan made database though, which have all the unlicensed teams replicated pretty well.

1.1)Play Station 3 80Gb Review Part-2

Since the release of the PlayStation 3, Sony has continued to release newer versions of the embedded firmware. These updates usually address bugs and other glitches and even add features such as DVD upscaling, Blu-ray improvements, and an improved interface for the PlayStation Store. These updates are always free, but unlike the Xbox 360 and Wii, they take quite some time to download and then install. Just recently, force vibration capability was added with the release of the DualShock 3 controller on previous titles.
Digital media hub
Before we delve into the PS3's HD movie prowess (see Movie Watching, below), let's take a holistic look at the console's multimedia functionality.
With the new 80GB and 160GB versions, the PS3 drops the flash card reader--a major blow for shutterbugs out there. It also skimps out on available USB slots, limiting them to two, but it does support importing images from a full array of USB-attached devices, including most digital cameras, the PSP, USB flash drives, and home-burned CD-Rs. (One caveat: the images may need to be placed in a special directory, such as DCIM or Picture, if they're not already there.) A few slide-show styles are available, including a unique "photo album" view that displays the images across a white work surface as if you'd dumped them there and spread them out. When stored internally on the hard drive (copying back and forth is easy), photos appear rapidly, and in the basic slide-show mode, you can advance your slides forward by simply pressing on the top-right shoulder button (the left shoulder takes you back a slide). Most JPEG, TIFF, BMP, GIF, and PNG images should work just fine. By contrast, the Xbox 360 lacks the impressive photo album viewer, and the Wii--while including some cool and fun photo-viewing and manipulation functionality--includes only a built-in SD card reader.
As for music, the PS3 supports most of the major music-file types, including MP3, ATRAC, AAC, and WAV, and like the Xbox 360, has a built-in music visualizer. As with the photos, you can import songs from the flash card reader, a USB thumbdrive--again, you'll have to create a special Music folder--or rip songs directly to the hard drive from a CD. (Yes, unlike some Blu-ray players on the market, the PS3 can actually recognize and play CDs). It cannot play back music from attached iPods, nor can it stream from other music players that incorporate copy-protected music formats. Here, the 360 has a leg up: it offers some iPod compatibility, and it can play back WMA music files, as well. In addition, the Xbox 360 allows you to customize your in-game music, while the experience with this on the PS3 is somewhat of a mixed bag.
On the video front, the PS3 plays Profile 2.0 Blu-ray Discs in full high-definition as well as DVD movies. It also supports MPEG-1, MPEG-2, and MPEG-4/h.264 video files from USB or disc-based media (reading from the "video" directory). If you transfer the videos to the PS3's hard drive, thumbnails on the video menu are shown as 15-second video clips, rather than just as still images of the first frame of the video. Like the Xbox 360, the PS3 can act as a digital media hub, with the ability to stream content from any DLNA-compatible network device, including PCs and network attached hard drives.
PSP owners will find increasingly close integration between Sony's portable and the PS3. Users now have the ability to control their PS3 anywhere in the world using a Wi-Fi connection, thanks to the Remote Play feature. Digital media, including photos, music, and video can be streamed to the PSP, as well.
Sony's version of Web TV
Taking a page out of the PSP's book, the PS3 also has a built-in Web browser, but the nice thing about the PS3 is that if you connect a USB keyboard, you don't have to type in URL addresses using the system's tedious virtual keyboard. Likewise, a USB mouse lets you point and click your way through a Web page, just as if you were on a PC. Not all Bluetooth keyboards will pair with the PS3--the Logitech Cordless MediaBoard requires a USB dongle, for instance. But our favorite keyboard for light text entry is the Logitech diNovo Mini, which interfaces directly via the console without monopolizing one of the precious USB ports. (Likewise, most Bluetooth phone headsets should work fine, allowing you to chat with fellow players during online gaming sessions.)
The browser is fairly robust, and even offers limited Flash support. For instance, YouTube videos work fine, but those on ABC.com and Hulu do not. Overall, the browser is a nice convenience for those who want to browse from their living room couch. That said, the sharpness of Web pages' appearance--and how readable they are--will depend on the quality of your TV and its size. For example, viewing Web pages on a 60-inch DLP set is going to be more of a challenge than, say, looking at those same pages over a 20-inch computer monitor. And viewing Web pages on anything less than an HDTV at full resolution (720p, 1080i, or 1080p) will be decidedly eye-straining.
The PlayStation Network
While the PlayStation Network did not launch simultaneously with the PlayStation 3, it has since opened up to the public and with it, many games and services are now available. Connecting to the PlayStation Network is free, as is multiplayer gaming, although downloadable games and other content come at a cost. You can, however, get free demos to most games so that you can try-before-you-buy.
In fall 2008, the PlayStation Network will launch PlayStation Home. Home is an online virtual world, somewhat in the vein of Second Life, where gamers can have their avatars interact with one another in addition to the ability to virtually create your own "home." From Home's interface, you can set up game matches and communicate with friends as well as other gamers. The service also promises to integrate the recently-debuted Trophy System, the PS3 equivalent of Xbox Achievements.
The PSN allows all gamers to play online in multiplayer matches for free. By contrast, Xbox Live Silver, Microsoft's free entry-level service, gives you access to some community options but to play online multiplayer games, you have to upgrade to Xbox Live Gold service, which runs $50 per year.
Free online play is obviously a big plus in Sony's favor. That said, Xbox Live has been around for years and has had time to mature, plus the majority of Xbox 360 games offer some form of online play. Microsoft also has its Xbox Live Marketplace, where you can download games, demos, video content, full-length movies, and TV shows in high-definition, as well as game themes and additional game content. As the PSN matures, Sony has been moving more in that direction, as well: there are now plenty of free demos for download, as well as dozens of original mini-games and classic PlayStation One games available for purchase. Sony also recently debuted an entire video section to the PlayStation Store, allowing PS3 owners the same content-on-demand experience Xbox Live users have had for some time now.
Instead of the points-based payment system found on Microsoft and Nintendo's networks, the PlayStation Store sticks to dollars and cents--users can simply transfer cash to their PlayStation 3 Wallet via credit card or with prepaid gift cards. (International locations will likewise be denominated in their home currency--yen, euros, pounds, sterling, Canadian dollars, and so forth.)
Overall, there's a strong and growing list of titles with solid online play primarily composed of first-person-shooters, action games (Resistance: Fall of Man, Warhawk, Call of Duty 4, Unreal Tournament 3, and Grand Theft Auto IV) and sports titles. Pairing a Bluetooth headset will give you chat support in most games as well. While the online multiplayer support isn't quite as robust and widespread on the PS3 as it is on Xbox Live, it's a big notch up from the Nintendo Wii--the few online games the console offers are burdened with Nintendo's friend 16-digit code system, which must be activated on a title-by-title basis.
Cell inside
When final specifications were released for the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3, not surprisingly, there was a big debate over which system was technically more powerful. The 360 uses more off-the-shelf PC components, while the PlayStation 3's 3.2GHz Cell processor was built from the ground up just for the console. It consists of a single PowerPC-based core with seven synergistic processing units and is the result of a joint effort between IBM, Sony, and Toshiba, which was ironic, considering that Sony and Toshiba were in a deathmatch over Blu-ray and HD DVD.
From the get-go, we were told that the Cell has the juice to run a new class of gameplay physics that will allow developers to create spectacular effects and eventually provide a whole new depth of realism to games. Paired with PlayStation 3's RSX Reality Synthesizer graphics-processing unit, a gargantuan 550MHz, 300-million-transistor graphics chip based on Nvidia's GeForce 7800 GTX graphics technology, and you're looking at a very high-end PC. The only problem, of course, is that it has taken developers years to learn how to take full advantage of all that processing power and truly deliver on the graphical promise of the system. Titles such as Heavenly Sword and Metal Gear Solid 4 (as well as previews of 2009's Killzone 2) have shown that developers are finally beginning to tap the full potential of the PS3's power. That said, the hope that the PS3's graphics would run circles around those of the Xbox 360 has yet to be realized. To date, the vast majority of games that appear on both systems look roughly indistinguishable.
As with the graphics chip, the PS3's Blu-ray drive--which allows for games of 25GB to 50GB in size--has yet to show a big advantage over the 8.5GB limit of the Xbox 360's DVD media. Presumably, as games become larger and more complex (Xbox titles could eventually spread to two or three discs, all of which should have no problem fitting on a single Blu-ray), the PS3 still has one annoyance: its Blu-ray drive has a comparatively slow transfer time, which requires most games to utilize a PC-style hard-disk installation. Installs can take up to 20 minutes but only usually need to be done once, but it doesn't exactly scream "next-generation" from a convenience standpoint.
Those minor gripes notwithstanding, the PS3 delivers an overall level of excellence when it comes to engineering and performance. What's impressive about the PS3, in fact, is that with all this power under the hood, the system runs as quietly as it does. (Some have complained about fan noise, but those problems seem to be few and far between--contact Sony's customer support if your PS3's fan is excessively loud.) After running for several hours straight, we found that we could still place a hand over the back of the unit and not get scorched--the system runs pretty warm, but not blazingly hot. Meanwhile, the Xbox 360 cooling fan and DVD drive are comparatively far noisier, often to the point of distraction. Also, the PS3 hasn't had any widespread reliability problems, unlike the "red ring of death" problem that continues to plague the 360. The console's high failure rate--at least on models produced early on in its life cycle--has made for customer service headaches and a billion-dollar liability for Microsoft as frustrated Xbox gamers exchange dead consoles.
Play time
As mentioned above, despite all of the vaunted "power" of the PS3's unique Cell processor, games appearing on both the Xbox 360 and the PS3 tend to look all but identical on both consoles. The PS3 clearly measures up to the Xbox 360 in terms of its graphics prowess, but there are few games available that are unique enough to declare them as a "system-seller," while the argument can be made that Metal Gear Solid 4 is that game. However, other exclusive titles such as Heavenly Sword, Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction, and Uncharted: Drake's Fortune have finally given PlayStation 3 owners something to cheer about. Simply put: Sony needs to deliver still more compelling exclusives, as well as multiplatform titles that look and play better on the PS3. That said, 2008 has certainly seen things looking much better for the console than ever before as sales have gone up, most likely because of the decision to cut the price of the console and the end of the high-def format war.
At first, the PS3 came with backward support for a wide range of PS2 games (with the 20GB and 60GB models), utilizing the "Emotion Engine" chip to provide hardware support. When the updated versions shipped in March and August 2007, the company stripped the console of this chip to reduce costs and in its place added a software emulation solution for PS2 playback. This became a precarious situation for long-time PlayStation fans as backward compatibility with PS2 games was slightly deteriorated. However, this has gradually improved with periodic software updates. All along Sony has stated that it wanted to eventually shift to developing content exclusively for the PS3, and with the total omission of PS2 support in the new 2008 PS3 models, this is the first indication of that focus.
Movie watching
Since the PS3's debut, we've seen several Blu-ray players from Samsung, Panasonic, LG, and Sony itself. None of them generally perform any better than the PS3, even though they cost more (twice as much or more in some cases). HD movies look superb on the PS3, which can output video at full 1080p resolution via its HDMI 1.3 port. Audio support is also top notch as the PS3 decodes Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio soundtracks internally, outputting them as linear PCM, which should deliver impeccable lossless surround when connected to most HDMI-equipped AV receivers. Sticklers may lament the lack of "bit stream" audio output or multichannel analog connectors--if either is an issue for you, then you're in the small minority who should opt for one of those more expensive standalone Blu-ray players.
With Blu-ray having soundly defeated HD-DVD in the high-def format war (thanks, in large part, to the popularity of the PS3), all major Hollywood studios are now supporting the format, and Blu-ray releases are ramping up as the format slowly but surely becomes more prevalent. In the meantime, the PS3 also plays (and upconverts) standard DVDs (see detailed analysis). As of now, the PS3 is the only console available with the best Blu-ray player on the market. This is yet another reason to consider it not only a gaming console but a fully featured, high-def media hub that can easily compete with the Xbox 360 in terms of video quality. The PS3 will once again have its hands full when the Xbox 360 begins to offer Netflix streaming with the much anticipated November 2008 dashboard update.
Our only real complaint with the PS3's movie playback is the remote control issue. Accessing Blu-ray and DVD menus with the PS3 controller is functional, yet a bit awkward. Unfortunately, you won't be able to program a standard universal remote to control your PS3 as it lacks an infrared port. Thus, it needs to receive commands via Bluetooth. Not coincidentally, Sony offers a Bluetooth compatible remote for $25. Other options have surfaced to combat this issue, such as the Nyko Blu-Wave Infrared Remote and the USBIRX3 from Schmartz.com. But we just wish Sony would've spent a few extra pennies and added a standard infrared receiver to the console. Also, with the console now only offering two USB ports, you'll be down to one should you choose a USB IR solution.
Matt Panton contributed to this review.

Buy Order This Game=KENG PS3 Games Shop Online