CHECK OUT THE VIDEO REVIEW @ CHEATMASTERS

CHECK OUT THE VIDEO REVIEW @ CHEATMASTERS

CHECK OUT OUR FULL REVIEW OVER AT CHEATMASTERS.COM

CHECK OUT OUR FULL REVIEW OVER AT CHEATMASTERS.COM

CHECK OUT OUR FULL REVIEW OVER AT CHEATMASTERS.COM

FOR MORE ON SPLINTER CELL VISIT OUR FRIENDS AT CHEATMASTERS.COM

I’ve got to be perfectly honest. I have never liked Splinter Cell. To me, the controls always felt clunky and the way things were laid out just made for a game that was out of reach for anyone who wasn’t deeply invested in the series (or someone like me who is just downright impatient). Even going into Splinter Cell Conviction, I had major reservations (as stated on our podcast). In fact, I actually considered not even playing it. Thankfully, I decided to give Ubisoft’s latest entry into the series a shot.

I’m not too familiar with Tom Clancy’s past storylines for the Splinter Cell series so tying everything together for a newcomer is a bit daunting but not certainly not overwhelming. You’ll be able to piece things together easily enough but you certainly get the feeling that those who have followed the franchise have a much better scope of the Splinter Cell universe. We find Sam Fisher out for revenge for the murder of his daughter but of course there is more than meets the eye. The plot is engaging and keeps you moving forward throughout the game, wanting to see just what will happen next.

The big thing that stands out for me about Splinter Cell Conviction is that the controls are now accessible. The way the game introduces you to Sam Fisher’s gadgets is paced well and you never feel overwhelmed as in previous versions. The focus is largely on stealth and in that respect, one can make some comparisons to Batman Arkham Asylum more so than something like Metal Gear. You can sneak up behind enemies, kill them and take their guns. But Sam’s tried and true default silencer pistol is hands down the most effective weapon in the game. Other gadgets include remote snake camera, EMP grenades and a broken mirror to look under doors. Perhaps the coolest innovation to the Splinter Cell franchise gameplay is the Mark and Execute finishing maneuver. This ability becomes available every time you take out a bad dude with a stealth kill. You can literally mark your pray, press a button and let Fisher do the work. Everything comes together and feels great!

The audio has a moody, cinematic feel to it that suites the game well. Voice acting is also well done with Sam Fisher sounding like a complete grizzled bad-ass and the supporting cast is also well done.

The graphics look good but there’s nothing outstanding. Character models sometimes look a bit jagged and the movements a bit android-like but they get the job done. The surrounding world itself certainly sucks you in, allowing you to become Sam Fisher, each location with its own very complex layout. The set pieces and surroundings in this game are certainly something you will be talking about a long time.

There is no doubt that this is the best entry into the Splinter Cell franchise. The gameplay is much improved allowing everyone access, the story is well-told and pushes you forward, the music accompanies the game well, the voice acting is spot on and the graphics are a wonderful sight to behold. Fans of Stealth-action should not hesitate to grab Splinter Cell Conviction.

-Yuen Fei Lung 云飞轮

FOR MORE ON JUST CAUSE 2 VISIT OUR FRIENDS AT CHEATMASTERS.COM

In my personal opinion, Just Cause 2 is the biggest disappointment of 2010 thus far. After playing the downloadable demo I was greatly excited for this seemingly over-the-top sandbox action-adventure title. However, the end result is a game that, in some ways, feels unfinished, lacks polish and never manages to find any real direction.

Just Case 2 might as well not even have a story. You play as the unlikable agent Rico Rodriguez. Rodriguez has been sent in to the South East Asian islands of Panau. Your job is to disrupt the government there by BLOWING STUFF UP! You’ll team with various anarchist factions throughout the game to do this. Sadly, the story and voice-acting is so poorly done that you won’t feel an ounce of attachment to Agent Rodriguez or any of the characters you’ll meet.

Panau is a big place and the graphics look pretty nice. They aren’t anything mind-blowing but they are certainly very acceptable. The architecture is also nifty and the ability to destroy massive structures is satisfying. I would certainly question why various areas are laid out the way they are. Nothing feels like it has any particular rhyme or reason.

As mentioned above, the voice-acting is poorly done. The soundtrack itself is fine but there’s certainly nothing memorable here. Enemy dialog is pretty entertaining for a time but many characters have repeat voices.

The gameplay in Just Cause 2 is a toss up. On one hand, the crazy over-the-top physics are a blast. Honestly, most of the cool stuff that’s going to happen isn’t even within the story; but rather when you’re creating more Chaos and just blowing stuff up! The grappling hook mechanic used to get around is nifty but the issue here is that when you jump onto an object there’s no way to grab onto it in order to lift yourself up. Though you can open your parachute at any time to help with your jump the lack of a grab mechanic feels like a serious over-sight. There’s also no cover system and this too feels like that something that should have made it into the final version.

Another issue is that while the game encourages you to create massive amounts of destruction, you’ll often times find yourself running out of ammo. You can collect guns and ammo from fallen enemies (of course you can also buy ammo) but switching guns is a real pain because of the design layout. All of these issues combined really affect the game in a negative way and that’s ashamed because it comes off as feeling almost unfinished.

In the end, there is fun to be had with Just Cause 2. The open-world sandbox type game is probably my favorite genera. But in my view, there are a lot of games that do it better such as Crackdown and of course Grand Theft Auto IV. There are those who will really enjoy Just Cause 2 because it is so open but I’d highly suggest renting before you buy.

-Yuen Fei Lung 云飞轮

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

It’s been five years in the making and finally Final Fantasy XIII​ (ファイナルファンタジー XIII) has arrived in North America! But was the thirteenth installment worth the wait? Find out in our detailed hour long review as we dissect Square-Enix latest offering.

When the first God of War came out back in 2005 for the PlayStation 2 people went bananas! The combat was incredible, the graphics were outstanding, the music was epic and the game’s ultra-violence was something to behold. Combine that with perhaps the most badass video game character of all time and there was absolutely no doubt that Sony’s Santa Monica studio had a winner on its hands. The original story revolved around a Spartan named Kratos and his obsession to kill the God of war, Ares. As the first game progresses we find out that Ares tricked Kratos into killing his family. That sounds like a good reason for revenge if you ask me! After defeating and killing Ares, Kratos becomes the new God of War. However, the new God of War continues to be haunted by memories of the past and the other Gods feel that he has created too much bloodshed. In a double cross, Zeus takes Kratos powers, turns him back into a mortal, and kills him. On his way to Hades the mother of the Titans Gaia saves the fallen warrior with the hopes that he can help them take revenge upon the Gods. After many twists and turns we find that Kratos is actually the son of Zeus and as the kids say “it’s on like Donkey Kong!”

Though Kratos and Zeus did battle in the second God of War, the story left on a cliffhanger. So now in 2010 we finally have what is apparently Kratos’ final game and what is assumed to be the conclusion of the God of War series. Kratos vs. Zeus, Zeus vs. Kratos! Who will live! Who will die! But of course, it wouldn’t be any fun without an entire eight hour game to build to this titanic climax.

Without giving too much plot away, story-wise I felt that this was certainly the weakest God of War title. That’s not to say that there’s not some interesting stuff going on here but I felt that a majority of the major plotline was told in God of War 1 and 2. This isn’t such a bad thing though because players are familiar with the characters and Kratos motivation for revenge. God of War III does have a conclusion and it does tie up any loose ends but at least for me, it certainly didn’t have the impact of the first two games.

The sound is epic and will indeed having you feeling like you’re in ancient Greece doing battle. I suppose one could compare it to Lord of the Rings… except… more Greek! God of War has always been known for its terrific voice acting and there is no exception here. Kratos sounds like a complete badass and all the supporting cast sound as they should. There’s never a moment of shaking your head thinking “that sounded stupid or unnatural” unlike recent titles such as Heavy Rain.

The graphics in God of War III look terrific and will no doubt blow your socks off. You could complain about the fixed camera (which does cause some problems) but when looking at the overall scale; the size of the set pieces and the MASSIVE bosses one cannot help but drop their jaw in amazement. One battle in particular where Kratos fights a Titan is a battle that people are going to be talking about for YEARS to come. So, while it’s easy to overlook the fixed camera, I can’t help but wish they had given us the freedom to look around and do a bit more exploration. Still, there is no doubt that God of War III is amongst the elite when it comes to graphics, just under such titles as Uncharted 2.

I truly have mixed feelings when it comes to the gameplay in God of War III. On one hand, you have INCREDIBLE combat. Fighting hordes of enemies, whether they be small or gigantic, truly does make you feel like THE God of War. The variety of weapons and special abilities you have and the sheer depth (yet ease) of combat makes it what is in my opinion the best combat system in gaming today. That in itself is saying something because honestly, the combat hasn’t changed a ton since God of War 2. On the other hand though, you have a lot of platforming. This is where the game becomes downright FRUSTRATING! There are times when Kratos needs to spread his wings in order to glide from one area to another. But more often than not the controls simply DON’T respond to your command and you’ll find yourself dying over and over again because of this. This is an area that should have been tweaked going back as far as God of War 2 but for whatever reason it’s been left untouched and that’s probably the biggest problem in this game.

Like the previous Games, GoW3 has lots of puzzles, most of which are fun, a few of which you will rack your brain over (or just look up a guide… not that we’d ever have to do that here mind you!). I’ve always been amazed at the creativity of these puzzles and how everything in God of War somehow manages to interlock together. Unfortunately, I feel that some of the puzzles in this game were just put there to prolong the experience. One puzzle in the Upper Garden seemed almost as if you’d HAVE to be one of the game developers to figure know what to do. Maybe I just suck at puzzles but I don’t recall having this kind of trouble in God of War I or II.

While I feel that God of War 3 is the weakest game in the series from a creative and cinematic story-telling standpoint, I can say without hesitation that it is the best looking. If you enjoyed the first two games there’s no doubt you’re going to want to play this one, if nothing else, just to see the conclusion. It’s a really good game that has some quirks that feel left over from the PlayStation 2 days and a game that probably should have been out shortly after the PlayStation 3’s launch. In the end though, I feel I can only recommend that truly hardcore God of War fans buy this one. The rest should probably give it a rental first and then decide if they should shell out the big $60.00.

-Yuen Fei Lung 云飞轮

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

YFL and Zwei discuss and Review the Sony PlayStation 3 exclusive. As always, it’s SPOILER FREE!