The Last Of Us

I do not get the chance to do many game reviews because of lack of financial backing from both myself and others. So It is a special day when I can get a game at launch.
I am admitadly a big fan of the uncharted series. I have platnumed 2 of them and am close to the third. So when Naughty Dog announced The Last of us I was locked in. I have been waiting and drooling for a good year. Now I can stop drinking so much water from dehydrating myself.

The Last of Us is a journey very unlike any that Naughty dog has sent you on in the past. It is a step in a different direction from the lighthearted games they are use to making. But Naughty dog has taken all that they have learned from making Uncharted and turned out a new series that not only bennefits from previous games from the company but expands on them.
Your main protaganist is Joel. He has been hardened from all the difficulties of years in a post modern world. He is synical and angry and has done many things that many of us would hope we would never do. But all this has made him the perfect man for the job.
Elle is our other main character and is a character at that. She can be a brat and a sweetheart. She is always helpful and will do anything to help Joel.
There are many other characters in this that you will love and hate. Some are more helpful than others. Some you might hate at first but love and miss once they part ways. Others you will always hate as they are not likeable characters. But that is how Naughty dog meant them to be.
When you finish The Last of Us you will have felt you were on this journey with them. Naughty Dog has done a supreme job at this story. You might cry with them you might feel cold and unfealing like joel tries to be at all times. But you will have a large range of emotions throughout this game.

The gameplay mechanics are clean and work well. Although there were some points where I was trying to hit someone or something and completly missed even though I was close. The situations in this game make you need to show control of when you will show force or when you will sneak around. On top of that it is sometimes just better to run to fighanother day. But those options are always there.
The AI is very smart and depending on the enemy will hunt you down in different ways. I died many times because I did not take into account that the infected did not fight like the humans and vice versa. And when you die by the hands of the infected it is not a pretty sight. The infected pay no attention to your flashlight. This is good since they are no alway is the brightest spots. The humans will talk and coordinate with eachother to surround and capture you. This is where I found running helpful.
The graphics for this game are what we all have come to expect from Naughty Dog. The sets and vibrant and detailed. The cities are grey and dreary feeling with hints of life. The outdoors are bright and green. But they both give you the feeling of being alone and scared of whats next.

The Last of Us is Naughty Dogs grand goodbye to the PS3 and boy did they do it right. Not much was missed in this game from the great mood setting music and wonderfully written story line. To the great graphics and gameplay that keeps you in the story. As Naughty dog is not creating a game but more an interactive experience. This game is a must play. But be aware of the language and gore that come with it.

PlayStation Move review. W/ Sports Champions

Just a few days ago I got the new PlayStation Move controller. I already had the PsEye for some other games. The move is something that not only can help the PS3's life cycle be extended but also give use for the PsEye that has had very little support from it's launch.

Some of the claims that Sony has been making is the 1:1 tracking that the move has. If you don't understand 1:1 tracking it just means it shows your movements on screen at the same time and same movements that you are making in real life. Some might think that the Wii does this, but this is not so. This is why with the Wii you can make very small movements or large movements and get the same effect. The Move is not like that. It tracks your movement in 3D space with the PsEye. This also allows them to do augmented reality, or basically put things in your hands or things you can interact with that can only be seen on the screen. So does Sony meet these claims? Yes they do. Although some things will need to be fixed or tweaked, this will be in game and not the move controller it's self. the tracking is done very well and follows you everywhere as long as the camera can see the controller.

To go into more depth of this new controller they have a handful of games out at launch with more on the way. One of these games is Sports Champions. This is in all respects the PlayStation version of Wii Sports. All the controls are smoother and more accurate that the Wii though, even with the Wii plus attachment the Move out performs it.

Wii champions has 6 sports/games that you can play. Frisbee Golf, Gladiator Duel, Archery, Beach Volleyball, Bocce and Table Tennis. All of these have their strengths and weaknesses but still perform very well.

First if Frisbee Golf. This is like what you would think . But with the move controller you get the same movement as you would with a real Frisbee. If you tilt the controller or twist the controller the Frisbee will show that on screen. So if you want to throw the frisbee upside down for some reason you can. If you throw it at an angle it will curve and yes you have to do the full movement and strength. (I just would not let go of the controller as we have seen videos of the is happening with the Wii controller) All the rest of the game is basic Frisbee golf.

Gladiator Duel is a basic fighting game. You have a sword and a shield. This game also allows for use of a second Move controller, Although it is not needed it could make things interesting. This is the game with the most weaknesses. The 1:1 tracking if still there and done very well. But after you hit someone if you follow through it does not mean your character will. This does not last for long though as you can quickly readjust and keep hitting. or blocking with your shield. If you have 2 Move controllers one is your sword and one if your shield. this could make for some fun later on. But I personally only have 1 controller as of now.

Archery is one of the more fun games for me in Sports Champions. This is also one that can use two Move controllers. It is very quick paced especially if as you move up in the ranks. But the best part is all the variety of games that you can play. from quick shots and target ranges to a form of tug of war. This is very fun and I could see how a 2 player competition would be fun.

Beach Volleyball is one that I have not played as much. But is pretty good for a 4 player game. Although I wonder how you would get 4 players in the PsEye view. You do 3 main moves: bumps, sets and spikes. This allows for a fairly realistic Volleyball game.

Bocce is one of the best of the group. It uses the motion sensing very well as you can put a spin on the ball and it senses your speed when throwing the balls. This would be great for a 2 player game also as you compete with each other in a very golf like manner.

Table tennis is the most realistic of the group. The Paddle lets you hit the ball at different angles and put spins and other tricks on the ball. You can hold the controller any way you want. So if you hold a paddle upside down you can and it will show it that way in game. This can be very fast paced also depending on your opponent. A 2 player match is also something I am interested in trying sometime.

Graphics in this game are well done although not state of the art. They are crisp and clean and give you everything that you need to play the game and not think of this being downgraded.

Audio reminds me of going to Epcot in Disney World. Its very epic type of music. makes you think of something new and innovative. You can put your own song selection into the game if you don't want to hear the default music anymore. I do wish it would do playlists though.

Game play. This is a new experience for PlayStation owners, and in some ways for Wii Owners. This is easy to pick up and very intuitive. The little tutorials are quick and easy but help you get either the idea of what the games rules are or just little basic movements to help you figure things out.

Presentation. This game is presented very well. When I said the Audio made if feel new and innovative, that nailed it. Everything feels clean and give you that awe struck feeling when you first launch the game. there is plenty of variety so you will not easily get bored and you are always moving, so you will get tired before you get bored. I just have to say, watch your extension playing the games. you could over extend your arms during a big swing and possibly hurt yourself.

Heavy Rain.

Heavy Rain is a relatively new genera to gaming. Created at Quantic Dream studios a division of Sony Computer Entertainment. and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. This is a game best described as an interactive thriller or drama. Most of the game is very dreary. There are very few times that you see sun during game play. This is also a game that if you have the mental endurance you could finish over night.

Graphics - The game is very well done, and in between scenes they do not hide the fact that they are proud of that. The rain in this game really helps get you in the mood they want. The areas are rendered out really well and the little details seem strong enough as to not distract you. Each character is well done and rendered in game very well. You sometimes hope that the 3d artists did not have to much fun making some of the female characters.

Story - Well this game has a very well thought out story line, although you do see little holes once in a while. To be honest though I found myself very irritated at the first of the game with the father and the Son Jason wandering around the mall. If you play the game you will understand what I mean. I honestly do not see me having that issue with any of the kids that I know. I can see the situation happening but not that way with a kid of that age. The rest of the story has little to do with that situation except to reference it. You follow a few story lines throughout the game trying to find out who the Origami Killer is. You follow a few main story lines. One is of Ethan, who is the father of the kidnapped boy. You also follow around a FBI agent and a detective, along with some other once in a while that help push the story along.

Game play - for those use to regular games this one is different on how you use the controls. It took me a little time to get use to moving the character around and it caught me off guard a few times during the game also. Basically you point your character in the direction that you want them to go and then hold down the R2 button. this is not all bad but sometimes I just wanted to forget about having to use the R2. Not a complaint though just took some getting use to. this game is also allot about mini games. you have to hit buttons in the right way at the right time. sometimes you will have to hold down 4 or 5 buttons and if you did not start out right you might wonder how you will get that last button or movement with the stick.

Audio - Well if you read my last review of God of war you would know about the Audio issue that I have. Well Heavy rain is the same. I wish I did not have this problem since it would make the experience that much better but I do. But the voice acting is another thing that is well done in this game. I have always said that they have nailed water graphics in games. Well they have done the same with Much of the voice acting. You do not have the issue of a bad translation in most games anymore, and the voice actors are getting better with every game. I did not notice and problems with the Audio for this game. The music fit the mood of the game well and any time a character walks or something moves it makes that appropriate sound. Very well done.

This game plays out like a movie. If you want someone to be able to sit and watch a game while you play it. This is one of those games. It is very interesting and uses allot of camera angles and other little tricks to make it look like it should. Once again this is not a game for anyone under the age of 18. There is some Nudity and Violence along with a few other things that you would not want children to hear. But this game provides all the things that you would want from a thriller movie or game. There is plenty of suspense and with a possible 22 variants on the ending it might keep you playing for a while.

UPDATE: Move Integration.

I just downloaded the Move support for Heavy rain and for me it was a mixed bag. Picking thoughts and questions are easier but some of the controls are a little more complicated. You will have to use the Move controller and the separate navigation controller(although you can the the normal PS3 controller.) Some of the controls are a little more complicated but many of them are more simple and make more sense than with the normal controller.

Honestly I recommend you putting the PS Eye camera on normal view instead of wide view when playing Heavy rain. Otherwise your going to be making some large stretches to get the movements right.