Another game cleared from THE BACKLOG !!

Onto business...

UNCHARTED: DRAKE'S FORTUNE REVIEW

Uncharted 1 is a game I played back in 2007 over Christmas vacation at my bro's house. I remember having a good time, but not much else. With Uncharted 2 out, I decided now would be good time to re-familiarize myself with Nathan Drake's first adventure.

DISCLAIMER: This is 2009 review of Uncharted 1. Meaning that I'm reviewing this game with today's price ( $20 or so ) and current games in mind.

LOVED

Narrative: Uncharted's tale about a treasure hunt does not tread any new ground, but Naughty Dog did an excellent job making it entertaining. Uncharted plays out like a Summer Blockbuster movie, full with ( tons of ) action, comedy, and a little romance. Just a well-crafted story that's easy to enjoy and not confusing. The voice acting is also well done.

Visual Design: Most of Uncharted takes place in and around ancient ruins surround by a tropical jungle. A great setting for displaying the PS3's graphical prowess. Lush jungle vegetation, detailed & crumbling ruins, gorgeous oceanic vistas, realistic lighting effects, and detailed character models all make Uncharted a treat for your eyes. A true showcase for the PS3's potential.

Gameplay: Uncharted has 2 aspects to its gameplay; Platformer and 3rd Person Shooter. I wasgoing to list just Platforming here, but I did enjoy the shooting too, just not as much. The platforming segments are never difficult, but always fun. The shooting segments can be frustrating, yet still enjoyable. All in all, Uncharted is just a fun game to play. Very few parts are frustrating.

Audio Design: An audio treat for anyone fortunate enough to own a sound system capable of receiving a DTS ( or higher ) signal. A great use of blu-ray extra storage capacity.

Trophies: ....lots of them. Uncharted doles out Trophies early and often. It's great.

HATED

Button Mapping: ....or lack thereof. Why oh why do PS3 devs map shooting to the R1 button when R2 is more akin to a trigger? And really, how difficult is it to allow custom button mapping for a game? This complaint is a pet peeve of mine, but any gun shooting on PS3 should automatically be mapped to the R2 button.

Replayability: Unless you are captivated by this game, you'll find there's little replayability to be had. The only reason this is a complaint is because Uncharted can be completed in under 10hrs (with a max of 12hrs). It's like a rollercoaster: Very fun, yet over too quickly.

Sponge Enemies / Gun-Play: The enemies Nathan faces are some tough dudes. Some of them literally take half an AK-47 clip to die. So what happens in the numerous gun fights is you exhaust your current weapons' ammo and then round around (while being shot at) searching for more ammo or new guns. I dunno....something just felt "off" about Uncharted's gun-play to me. Still enjoyable, just not as polished as it could've been.

Grenades: Powerful, yet almost useless. Throwing grenades is done by holding down the L1 button while tilting the controller up or down (for distance), then pressing R1 to throw it. Horrible, horrible implementation of SIXAXIS controls. Thus, I rarely threw grenades in this game.

CONCLUSION

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune is a proper showcase not only of the PS3's potential, but also of Naughty Dog's talent. For the 10 or hours the game lasts, you'll be treated to gorgeous graphics, superb DTS audio, fun gameplay, and an entertaining story that will keep you glued to your HDTV. Unfortunately, once that 10hr thrill-ride is over, there is little to come back to.

An excellent start to the franchise...

SCORE: 8.5 / 10.0

Time Played: About 10hrs

Trophy Detail: 52% Collected

GAMING UPDATE

Now that Uncharted 1 is finally done, the next game up is.....

Yeah, I'm a Halo fan who still loves Halo3 MP. So Halo3 ODST was made for a gamer like myself. I've had this game since launch, but I've only played the Halo3 MP disc. With Modern Warfare 2 coming out next week, I figured I should finish ODST's campaign before I become engrossed in MW2 for a while.

I plan to play on Heroic, which, according to the reviews, should take me about 7hrs to finish. I should have this done before MW2 drops next week.

WORK-OUT UPDATE

Still going fine and losing weight. I've lost about 10 lbs so far! My work-out schedule has stayed roughly the same: Gym 3x a week, Racquetball 1x a week and running every morning before work.

Hopefully, I can lose another 5 lbs or so by January.

Well, that's it for now. Until I blog again with my ODST review, these will be the games I'm playing:

Halo3 ODST - Heroic solo playthrough

Madden10 (X360)

SFIV (PS3)

Modern Warfare 2 (X360)

RE5 (X360 co-op only)

THANKS FOR READING MY BLOG!

Two blogs in one week? Yeah, it's a slow Friday in the office.

Onto business....

THE ORANGE BOX REVIEW

I'm strictly a console-only gamer. So, I missed out on the original Half Life and HL2 on PC. I washappy when Valve announced The Orange Box for Xbox360 because I knew I'd finally get to see what all the hype was about. The fact the Orange Box included Portal and Team Fortress2 was just icing on the cake.

LOVED

Portal: There's no better proof that innovation in gaming doesn't requirehigh-end hardware specs or long development times, but rather fresh ideas. Portal is a pure puzzle game set in the first-person perspective....and it's a real mind-bender. Truly an innovative take on the puzzle genre. Worthy of all the praise.

Half-Life2: Nowadays it's rare to have a developer create a campaign-only FPS. HL2 proves that when a dev sets out to do so, a fine campaign & narrative can be crafted. It's kinda amazing to think that HL2 stands up to this day among the best FPS campaigns even though it came out in 2004.

Episode 2: Well polished from beginning to end. Incredible battle at the end too. A real showcase of Valve's talent.

TF2's Art Design: Remember when you were a kid and dreamt of Toy Story-like graphics for your video games? Your dream has come true.

HATED

Episode 1: Now "Hate" is too strong a word here, but Ep1 is just not on the same level of HL2 or Ep2. Still worth a play, but a let-down in the grand scheme of things.

Gun Audio Level: Of all the games I've played this generation on my Surround Sound System, HL2's guns are, by far, the loudest I've heard. I literally had to turn down the volume numerous times because it was too loud. Yes, I know I'm being nitpicky here.

CONCLUSION

There is no better deal in gaming than The Orange Box. 5 great game for one low price of $20. If you're a fan of FPS, then you need to play this game.

SCORE: 9.5 / 10

TIME PLAYED: About 40hrs

ACHIEVEMENT DETAIL: 540 GamerScore

GAMING UPDATE

I'm still clearing out THE BACKLOG , so until I update my blog again with my Uncharted1 review, here are the games I'll be playing:

• Uncharted1 (duh)
• Halo3 MP (still great)
• SFIV (PS3)
• Madden10 (X360)
• NCAA10 (PS3)
• RE5 (X360, only playing in co-op)

Let me know if you want to game

THANKS FOR READING MY BLOG!

It's been a while , hasn't it? I've been on NeoGAF, so GS has taken a permanent backseat for me. BUT I still like to post my reviews & such on GS.

Onto business....

MIRROR'S EDGE REVIEW

Mirror's Edge is a game that I had a passing interest in. The concept and art direction were intriguing, but not enough to warrant a purchase for me. So in the spirit of honesty; I only played this game because my EA dev friend gave it to me.

LOVED

Gameplay Concept: Mirror's Edge is based on the concept of "free-running" around a city's landscape. EA/DICEreally nailed how I'd imagine free-running to feel like in real life. The game is all about momentum and speed and it's displayed perfectly on screen.

Visual Design:The city the game takes place is full of stark white environments contrasted with vivid colors. Important doorways and paths are highlighted in red, which gives you a sense of the unique manner how a Runner views the world. Mirror's Edge is just a pretty game that has a visual ****all its own.

Audio Desgin: Even though most of the game takes place on rooftops, the city comes to life with excellent audio design. As you're running along, you'll hear police all around you slamming open doors, shooting at you, and yelling at you. You really do feel like you're being chased.

Time Trials: Mirror's Edge in itspurest form is displaed in the Time Trial mode. It is all about finding the best / quickest path through a level with all the visual cues to help you. Time Trial mode is pure action platforming and it's really enjoyable.

HATED

Melee / Combat: Mirror's Edge encourages free-running by (basically) making Faith incredibly weak and the enemies strong and armored. You'll often be pitted against numerous armed guards dressed in full SWAT gear. You'll quickly learn your best option is to run away. BUT there are many instances where you are forced to fight these guards.

Story: ....or lack thereof. Mirror's Edge story is about Faith's sister being framed for the murder of a politician and Faith's fight to clear her sister's name. Completely forgettable story.

Trial & Error: Lots and lots of error. Expect to replay certain segment over & over as you try to find the path to the next area.

CONCLUSION

Mirror's Edge is a game that doesn't know how to get out of its own way. The free-running gameplay itself is great, but you're often being shot at and having to fight armed guards to get through the levels. You can choose to disarm the guards and use their guns, but then the game turns into a weak FPS and not an action platformer.

If not for the Time Trial mode, this game would be wasted potential and little more. Good for a weekend rental .

SCORE: 7.5 / 10.0

TIME PLAYED: About 12hrs

Achievement Detail: 605 GamerScore

BACKLOG UPDATE

Now that Mirror's Edge is cleared from THE BACKLOG , the next game up is:

With the release of Uncharted 2 (andthe rave reviews), I've been dying to replay Uncharted1. I played the game back in 2007 over a weekend when I visited my bro. I barely remember the story, but I do remeber having a great time. I want to finish this game before Modern Warfare 2 drops, so I can trade it in towards MW2.

WORK-OUT UPDATE

Doing pretty good. I take my neighbor's dog running with me in the mornings. My diet has been decent, but (like usual) could always be better.

Well that's it for now. I should get around to posting my Orange Box review soon.

THANKS FOR READING MY BLOG