MEMBER PROFILE FOR symposiumx
Average Overall Score Given: 8.28571 / 10
Total Forum Posts: 1099
Reviews
Otogi: Myth of Demons
Overall: A fantastic game concept mared by an unforgiving 'health system'. The concept of being a servent of some higher power, sent on quests to "purify" areas of demons is very cool. I was VERY much looking forward to this game...alas, after playing for a few hours I wanted to strangle someone with my controller cord.Gameplay: This is where the game falls apart in my opinion. Right off the bat, with the controls, I'm let down. Why the hell would yo umake a game where when you push left, the camera pans right...and vice versa? urgh!! now...the coupe de grace...the HEALTH SYSTEM. What the bloody hell is going on with this? I'm at full health then out of nowhere, I hear the heartbeat warning showing i'm on the verge of death. I guess the developers wanted to speed things up and make it more intense by forcing you to constantly fight demons or lose health. For me, this RUINED the game. It turned a game that would have been a highly enjoyable slashing/thinking action/rpg into a button mashing frenzy. Considering that once you get in the "danger zone" the only way to gain life is to "purify" demons, you end up running for the nearest creature, and madly slapping buttons to kill it before you're hero myseterisly perishes. Making a game INSTENSE is one thing...making it pull-my-freakin'-hair-out frustrating is another!
Graphics: Overall, the game had some decent graphics. It shines in its magic use...expecially the boosting up and watching the colours change and swirl. The enemies seemed a little....hmmm..lacking visually?
Audio: Sounds seems middle of the lane most of the time. There were a few cool sounds and music to draw you in. On the flip side the game grates on audial nerves with some downright annoying sounds (i.e. one boss saying "none shall pass" about a gazilllion times over and over)
Suggestions: adjust the controls, and for the love of buddah...implement a new health system. The character should only lose life when he's HURT by something, NOT just as a way to keep the gamer hurrying through the game!
Overall Score: 4.0 / 10
Brute Force
Overall: Overall, Brute Force is one of the best games XBOX has currently. Although it doesnt come close to the hype it set forth, it is a rather fun game. worth at least a rental.Gameplay: Controls were spot on ala HALO. I found myself repeatingly doing the same sorta things...using mostly stealth to take out a few enemies, swtich to brutus to shotgun a few more, charge another...have the sniper (flint) take a few headshots. I found myself neglecting Tex...good for disarming traps...but unless I felt just like toying with the poor sob's and gunning down the enemies like I was a disgruntled postal worker on crack, then Tex got left out of the mix.
Sometimes the A.I. was a little annoying (running off to get slaughterd, or brutus using a medkit (grrrr)), but most of the time they were smart. ABove average.
co-op is great but multiplayer is hurting. Maps are great, but the lack of game styles hurts.
Graphics: Cutscences were done well, enviromental effects were pleasing to look at. Sometimes the enemy was VERY difficult to spot...but hey, I guess that is the point of having brutus? *grin*
Audio: The sound of lava rumbling, the dirt crunching beneath your feet, and some of the "realistic" things the characters/enemy say are done well. That said, the music and overall audio feel fell a little short. It just didn't grab me the same way HALO did. I want music in a game to help build and sustain mood, not just fill the "gaps of silence"
Overall Score: 9.0 / 10
Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance
Overall: If you are even slightly into RPG, then this game is a MUST play. Although not as in-depth as the PC versions of Baldur's Gate, this game still rocks in the areas that count. This game is sooooo addictive, I was waiting for an action/rpg multiplayer game on XBOX, and THIS IS IT!Gameplay: I'll sum it up real easy like. First off, customize your controls anyway you choose! YAY!!
Good amount of action. Decent assortment of Monsters to take on. Each Monster attacks the way you would expect it to do so.
Graphics: Breathtakingly beautiful for this type of game. Spells are so vivid and well done. The first time I cast "Meteor" I sat back and was like "HOLY SH*T!!s are lush, trees move in the wind, water is amazing (as it usually is on XBOX).
Audio: Sounds was well done. Overall sound was good. Voice acting was excellent. The sounds of battle were pretty good.
I didn't give it a "5" rating just because for some intangable reason I felt that the music could have driven me more.
Suggestions: Definetly make a sequel. Make the game longer. Also, I would like more choices on characters,spells,ect.
Overall Score: 10.0 / 10
BloodRayne
Overall: Take some cliche plot, throw in a sexy vampire, add in buckets of blood and gore, and top with several tight shots of bouncing boobies and your have yourself a remarkable addictive game. Although, the game falls short in several areas, it proves to have the right stuff where it counts. Gameplay: This is where the game shines. Player movement is smooth, Switching between abilities weapons via the directional pad and white/black buttons is a no-brainer. The only drawback is the slighlty unatural control configuation (the IN-ability to customize it beyond the standard A,B,C setup).
More of the good: A tried as the plot is (killing nazis, fighting zombies and mutant badies), the gameplay is still true. Although the first few levels are downright annoying and cheesy (spider creatures = UGH!).
The use of "Bosses" was done well, for the most part, save the first main boss 'Mother of darkness' That b*tch was a royal pain in the arse to beat. Overall, its nice to see a vampire slaughter normal mortals with ease (as it would be in "real-life").
One point I really want to stress is the AI. Although, not the BEST ever, it was rather good. I enjoyed how Nazi soldiers would flee the area if they dropped something vital (like a gun.....or...like there arm) MUHAHHAHAA. Also, watching enemies actaully SLIP on pools of blood and chunks of their deceased comrades made it enjoyable. Just like a Jerry Lewis movie...well, with blood and dissmemberment.
Graphics: Graphics for this game are hit or miss. This is one of a few areas that could have been tightened up on the xbox. Chopping Nazis to bits + bouncing boobies = GOOD; sloppy animations/graphics on most everything else = BAD. This is a DECENT visual experience, but sub-par for what the XBOX is capable of doing.
Audio: The voice acting was a mixed bag. Overall, the mouth movement was near good. The use of soem swearing was actaully pleasing to hear, it fits the situations and I'm glad that the developer didn't "tone it down" as much as most games do.
Some of the dialouge is downright B-grade spoofy humor (i.e. "I will wear you like liederhosen (SP)). Don't get me wrong, I laughed my arse off at that!
The envirmental music was done well, some areas downright creeped me out with the sound.
Suggestions: First step is to knock the graphics up a few levels. Make is shine. Seeing Rayne's sexy arse and nazis being dismembered with XBOX graphics would be amazing!
Allow the player to Customize the controller to suit them better. When you do BloodRayne 2, throw in more "finishing moves", and keep more action coming.
Overall Score: 8.0 / 10
The Thing
Overall: Overall, the game is well done. The transition from movie to game was surprisingly well done. I expected a horror/action game, and I got it in THE THING! This is a definite game to play for those of you who are fans of good action/horror games, or for fans of the movie. I say, at least rent it...you'll end up getting addicted to its play.Gameplay: Overall, the gameplay is rather solid. Controls are easy to learn. I like the use of R trigger (fire) and L trigger (item) along with the D-pad for item/weapon select. The auto aim is a must for this game, as enemys have a way of popping up from any/everywhere and skirt about faster thank you can say "Holy Donkey F'er!" Trust/fear idea was well done, albeit sometimes a little frustrating (until you learn to leave the guys out of rooms that make them panic/lose it).
that said, sometimes the mission objectives are a tad obscure. making it frustrating to overlook something simple before you move onto the next 'level'.
Graphics: Visually, this is the only real area taht I think could really use work. At times, the graphics look nice (i.e. faces, weather). Overall grpahics remind me of some suped up Playstation. The nice sprucing of gore (read: severed head in the comode) was a nice touch, but in all honesty, I could have used more!
Audio: Not Halo Calibre by any means, but very well done. I like the fact that they characters actually SWEAR. I mean come on! In that situation, I wouldn't be saying "funk this!" I'd be pooping my pants, screaming for my mommy, and blowing my brains out with a shotgun.
The voice acting is well done, sometimes a little overdone, but all in line with the movie.
Suggestions: I would have really enjoyed this game as a First person horror/action game. I understand this presents problems tracking enemies, etc. Still, it would have made it even creepier. Improve the graphics a little and tighten up the gameplay in certain spots and you have a total gem. Well done.
Overall Score: 9.0 / 10
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Overall: I Don't really watch the show at all, but I thought I'd pick up this game for some entertainment over this past weekend. Boy, am I happy I did. I was more than happy with the game. Visuals were nice, gameplay was tight, and the humor (though cheesy) was entertaining.Gameplay: Controls were done rather well. The ability to choose WHICH attack you want to do, as oppsed to blind button mashing, was nice. This said, you could do almost any attack to get you out of a tough spot. The levels are rather short (between saves), but this is a good thing (because dying really sucks when you havent saved in 2 hours). There were only a few times that the controls caused me problems, and that was just do to falling off cliffs do to the triple kick combo - through the air, and off the edge! WHEEEAAAAHHHH!!!
Graphics: Graphics were done well. For the most part the characters looked like their real life counterparts. Buffy looked a little round faced, but better than Sarah Michelle Gellar. The skies, enviroments, and effects were done rather well. I was surprised.
Audio: The sound was actually terrific. I rated it a "5". Though, no where as good as Halo, it deserved a "5" for THIS genre of gameplay. The music was fitting to the particular mood, and most importantly, the dialouge did NOT get annoying/too repetative.
Suggestions: I would like to see a multiplayer version, but that may be fitting for this game.
Overall Score: 9.0 / 10
World Series Baseball (Sega)
Overall: Overall, this is a tight game. The presentation and playability - combined with the realism of the sport - make this one of the best console baseball games...EVER!Gameplay: Batting is one of the biggest challenges of the game - as it is in the sport's real life counterpart. Where a ball goes, how far it travels, whether or not it rocks off the bat, or dripples off your bat like one of those cheap immitaion rubber baseballs, it is all determined by timing and placement of your swing. Whereas, in other baseball games, you can have your #4 hitter smack a homerun out no matter if he swings a second early and seemily misses the ball by a yard (the ball "magically" rockets off his bat)...not so in WSB. If you are late by a fraction of a second...you get a long foul. If you missplace your swing, at BEST you get a tough ground ball or pop out, at worse you are wiffing at air.
My only gripes about the gameplay are:
1) AI. The computer sometimes makes really, and I mean REALLY, stupid baserunning mistakes (i.e. computer has a man on 2nd, no outs, and the batter pops up to the SS. what does the baserunner do? he stands about 5-10 feet from second.) all you have to do is catch, and fire to second. Easy double play. This would rarely...RARELY happen in real life (I don't think even Daryl Strawberry would be high enough to wander off 2nd base with a sure pop-out).
2) Limiting easy homeruns is a good thing, but this game might make a a tad TOO hard to hit a home run. In over 20 games, my team has hit a total of about 4 homers. I think that is a little short. Better than hitting one every-other at bat, but still a little low.
3) This is a minor gripe. Being picky, I noticed in the outfield that they had other game scores posted..."DET 1 KC 0 6th"
I thought, "wow, that is cool...way to go for keeping track of every nuance!!". To my dismay, after finishing the game, I looked at the daily scores and DET did NOT play KC, they played TOR. It just bugged me that something like that was just there in a game. It pulled me out of make believe - BIG TIME.
Graphics: Most of the players look realitic. A few look like the retarded, inbred cousins of baseball players though ;)
The Crowds could have been a little more aestetically pleasing.
Audio: Sounds was decent. It had the usual repeating the same lines a billion times, but hey! that is better than most games where they repeat the same lines a trillion times!
good sound effects (bat smacking a frozen rope, etc.)
the sound of a called third strike as the curve ball slips over the corner of the plate and into the catcher's glove is so fulfilling *sigh*
Suggestions: Having to reset the camera view every game, as well as certain effects (i.e. show strike zone) get rather annoying. As does the INability to switch camera view at anytime. This needs to be fixed.
???? What is up with the "all-star voting?" I played a game against the Mets. Mike Piazza went 1 for 4 with a single. My catcher went 4 for 5 with 2b(2), 3rbi, bb, and a put out at 2nd on an attempted steal. After the game, Piazza received like 120,000 votes and my catcher received O (ZERO!!!!!) WTF!!?
Overall Score: 9.0 / 10
