 HookedGamers.com, Now with Edgeworks Flavor |
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| Posted by Nerrolken |
Jul 15th, 2010 | 12:49 am |
Just a quick community update: several people have noticed some familiar tunes coming from some YouTube videos recently. It's true, several videos from HookedGamers.com have asked for and received permission to use music from The Codex and The Heretic in their title sequences. There's some good stuff there, with some good coverage of E3. Here are some examples for your viewing pleasure:
Marvel Vs. Capcom 3
Dead Rising 2
Vanquish
LittleBigPlanet 2
Enslaved: Odyssey to the West
We don't tend to announce this sort of thing on our site, but we've been receiving some indications of interest from the community and we decided to spread the word. Check out the videos above, and more on HookedGamers.com! |
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 Lost Planet 2 (PC, 360, PS2) |
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| Posted by tb2571989 |
May 20th, 2010 | 5:13 pm |
Lost Planet: Extreme Conditions was a bit of a surprise for me. I’m not normally a fan of the Japanese with their epic slash-and-hack and button mashing RPGs but this was a bit different coming from the east. Lost Planet was a solid, fun, old-style blaster with epic enemies, awesome locations, if a slightly wobbly plot and at the end all hell broke loose, went back it its Japanese roots and went all out with mechs with motherfricking lasers. In the end though, it was a decent game with the unfortunate lack of co-op/local multiplayer.
The team behind Lost Planet 2 have undeniably tried to make a game that could follow up to the original. Game mechanics have changed in the way that you don’t constantly loose T-Eng (thermal energy) due to the warmer climate of EDN III, the location of both games and instead it is used as a fuel for the Vital Suits, or VS’s, walking battle suits capable of carrying an assortment of weapons from rocket launchers and oversized shotguns. Also the energy is used for the Harmonizer, used to quickly replenish health at the risk of being unable to fight back. Overall, the game has been enhanced with the addition of co-op campaign and the feeling of taking on the “boss” akrid at the end of the first chapter with a friend (or in my case, brother) is simply epic. This is also where the game falls down though.
When you start a level (3 levels to a chapter) you are given a Battle Gauge balance of about 2500. Each time you die, you lose 500 points, and when you activate a datapoint you get 500 points. The datapoints are the games checkpoint system; if you die you get sent back there, with your 500 point deduction. When you run out of points however, then the game brings into play, as XBOXWORLD 360 describes, “the bastard checkpoint system from hell”. You don’t die and go back to the datapoint, or the level, no. You go back to the beginning of the chapter, and the progress that just took you half an hour is wiped out and the feeling to throw the controller at the screen is immense. I hope Capcom reacts to this and change it because it needs to be done; otherwise completing the game in co-op is going to be very hard work.
All in all, Lost Planet 2 is like the first, a damn good enjoyable blaster, with the added bonus of bringing a friend along for the ride. It does, however, have two main problems. The first being the bastard checkpoint system from hell, and the second are the controls. Most of them are OK, apart there are a couple of fiddly maneuvers like Y and left trigger, ill-pressed means you’ll probably blow yourself up with a grenade and holding B to run, in a straight line.
Rating: 3/5 Dead Akrid
Lost Planet 2 is a decent enough game if you can look over its flaws. I wouldn't pay the full £50 asked for some 360 games now but picking it up for half that price is enough for me to enjoy it. Until I get stomped on by a massive fricking Akrid, or jumping into a lake in a VS with my brother, killing us both and sending us back to the start of the chapter. Only pick up if you've played the first game or can get it cheap.
Official Site - Trailer - General Discussion |
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| Alan Wake (360) |
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| Posted by Trumpetman |
May 19th, 2010 | 5:29 pm |
"Alan Wake" isn’t your typical video game with a dull storyline and obvious twists and turns that almost make you want to stop playing the game. No, this game is like "Lost" meets Steven King meets "Twilight Zone" on steroids. If you happen to pay attention to the storyline and try to follow it, trust me you are wrong. What comes off as being, “Oh I know what‘s going on” quickly turns into “Wait, no I was wrong…..what just happened?”. The game keeps you involved which is a major plus. You have to watch out for the enemies or “The Taken” because they can appear and kill you quickly. Not sure I would be playing this game in the dark or at night time, just to warn you.
The soundtrack was written by Petri Alanko, who did a great job creating a Psychological effect from the music. The soundtrack fits perfectly inline with the game play and typically doesn’t sound just thrown in there to keep you entertained.
The character designs are nice and add in a little flavor by keeping with the overall grim nature of the story. Even the titular character himself is a bit grim looking. The only graphical problem that I have encountered is that the darkness that is prevalent throughout most of the game can be a bit distracting causing you not to be able to see everything. Though this can be looked on as a good touch for the game to create more suspense, I suggest turning up the brightness of your TV a bit.
Like I said, the storyline is pretty good. The ending, not to give any spoilers, creates an obvious need for more sequels. There is a lot of storyline in there that I think a good two play-throughs should help you understand it all. When you get to the end, a lot of the storyline is all wrapped up. There are only a few things that they didn’t wrap up, which may make you almost want to throw the controller as much as you did when you beat "Halo 2".
The gameplay is really well done and the controls are pretty easy to figure out. If you have ever played a third person or even first person shooter then you know the drill. There are a TON of collectibles throughout the game which means that you might have to do a lot of searching and a few play thoughs to find them all! It’s all totally worth it in the end.
Rating: 5/5 Finding Unwritten Manuscripts
Alan Wake is a psychological thriller game that will have you guessing until the very end. Most of the twists aren’t obvious to guess and overall the gameplay is extremely well done. If you enjoy “Lost”, Steven King books/movies, or “The Twilight Zone” then get up and go buy this game.
Official Site - Trailer - General Discussion |
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 Brooklyn's Finest |
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| Posted by Trumpetman |
Apr 7th, 2010 | 4:39 am |
So I was up at the theater one evening and we were watching this movie. I wasn’t sure what to think of it, one of my friends had told me that it was good, but I came in with some very VERY low expectations to say the very least.
Anyways, after watching the movie, I was very disappointed. The fact is, my low expectations weren’t low enough apparently for me to enjoy this movie. All I saw was cliche after cliche.
"Brooklyn’s Finest" is definitely about the police force and has everything you have come to expect from police movies(or tv shows for that matter), unrealistic drama. That was one key point in all of this. The movie is full of it. From the actors to the simple direction of each scene, you are hammered with cliche from opening to close.
As a bit of a side note: I did like the way they edited the music. The arrangement was alright, but it did fit well with the movie as a whole.
Now obviously these are some strong words toward a movie I barely paid attention to, but I find it bad when someone important is killed and I don’t care.
Let me separate this one out a bit since parts of the movie were good!
The writing wasn’t too bad, especially for a cop movie. Most of the time you find things like CSI imitators interlaced into the writing, but not as much here. Though, don’t get me wrong, it was still full of the cliche cop work and it wasn’t unexpected on the way it ended.
The direction wasn’t too bad, I didn’t like the director’s choice of some camera shots which made me sit back and have to think, “Why did the director go with this shot? Why not, blah blah blah”.
The acting was what really brought this movie down to the ground. The actors appeared to have been sloppily thrown together and they didn’t really connect. Sure there were a few parts where the actors/actresses connected, but those were few and far between.
I can’t say it’s the worst movie I have ever been to. Trust me, Battlefield Earth still takes that cake. I don’t really suggest to anyone to really watch it other than maybe watch some of the cooler action scenes. Those were probably the highlight of the whole movie. Even saying so, it isn’t enough to make me want to ever really watch it again.
Rating: 2/5 Unconnected Actors/Actresses
If you want a movie that can help pass the time, sure go rent it from like Netflix or something. Other than that, I can’t really say that I am pleased with how much I had to spend(matinee prices). Although if you are a hard-core cop movie goer, sure go see it. Maybe it will entertain you, maybe not.
Official Site - Trailer - General Discussion |
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