Games Review Thread

[Maikeru D. Shinigami]

Exaggeration obviously. >_>

[Bacon]

D: Then don't take my words out of context after I've taken yours out.

[Maikeru D. Shinigami]

You take mine out, I take yours out. D:

[Wooster]

If I ever finish Xenoblade I shall review it, but not with tenths of points

[Demise]

/Prepares wall of text

Give me space, people. :P

[Shikamaru Nara]

Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy

ESRB Rating: E

Controls: Controls are conveniently placed. My only qualm is that there wasn't any variety in the use of certain commands. For example, the primary kick, double jump and jump buttons are all you really NEED to complete the game. (Side missions and tasks not included.)

Sound: The soundtrack of the game is very limited. Most times I find myself being pretty bored of the music when I'm playing one area for more than a few minutes. However, when you first get to a new location, the music is very interesting. I feel that the music selection, in terms of being parallel with the climate and nature of the level to set the mood, was carefully selected and is appealing at first.

Replay Value: Moderate. Something about this game makes it fun when you're playing it, however, it also makes you feel as if it would be a drag to play through it all again. Most of the tasks later in the game are frustrating enough to ruin the game for you in terms of replay value. However, they are entertaining to play once. Overall, this category receives a replay value of moderate because of the extra orbs to collect, power cells and a hidden mission at the end after you beat the primary boss.

Summary: The story begins with a narration by Samos the Sage, master of the Green Eco. He speaks cryptically of the Precursors, the masters of the universe and creators of all life on the planet, and the powerful substance known as Eco. Meanwhile, Jak and his mischief-making best friend, Daxter, are making their way to Misty Island, against Samos' warnings. After arriving, they see two people plotting with an army of evil creatures known as Lurkers. The duo, worried by what they are seeing, prepare to leave, but are attacked by a large Lurker. Jak manages to destroy it using a barrel of Eco, but the explosion throws Daxter into a pool of Dark Eco. Daxter flies back out of the pit, transformed into an ottsel (a hybrid of an otter and a weasel), but otherwise unharmed. Returning to their village of Sandover, they seek help from Samos who states that only Gol Acheron, the Sage of Dark Eco, could change Daxter back.
The route north towards Gol is blocked by Fire Canyon, which can only be traversed with Keira's Zoomer (essentially a hoverbike) equipped with a heat shield fueled with enough Power Cells (spheres of energy). After Jak and Daxter collect enough Power Cells they make their way back to the Blue Sage's village. The village at the end of the canyon has been mostly destroyed by a giant cyborg Lurker named Klaww, while the Sage of Blue Eco who watches over the village has mysteriously vanished. Jak and Daxter find themselves in search of more Power Cells to energize an anti-gravity device and unblock the way to Klaww's lair at the peak. After opening a path up the mountain, they defeat Klaww and ride their Zoomer down the mountain to the Volcanic Crater.
Jak makes his way to the Red Sage's laboratory, where he learns that all of the sages except Samos have been kidnapped by the same people who Jak and Daxter saw speaking to Lurkers on Misty Island. The people turn out to be Gol Acheron and Maia Acheron, Gol's sister, who wish to flood the world with dark eco. Jak recovers more power cells so Keira can upgrade the Zoomer heat shield in order to navigate a lava-filled tunnel.
On the other side of the tunnel, in the Yellow Sage's lab, Keira declares that Samos has been captured as well. Journeying through Gol and Maia's citadel, Jak and Daxter successfully free all the sages, saving Samos last. He tells them that Gol and Maia are using all the sage's energies to power their robot, which is powerful enough to break open the Dark Eco silos. Jak and Daxter then travel to the top of the Dark Eco Silos to confront a reactivated Precursor Robot controlled by Gol and Maia. Jak battles the robot, but only disables it by destroying the robot's weapons. After this, 4 mini-silos, that are attached to the large silo, which each contain a different eco type shoot beams of light towards the middle of the silo in the air above, clashing and forming a pyramid-like shape. This combines all the ecos and forms into light eco. Daxter realizes that the Light Eco would change him back to normal if he were to absorb it, but ultimately allows Jak to use it and disable the robot.
Trapped in the robot, Gol and Maia sink into the Dark Eco silo, which then closes and traps them inside, presumably killing them both; Samos, however, is not certain that this is the case. The group's attention is then directed toward an immense Precursor Door, which can only open with the energy of 101 Power Cells. With the cells, the door opens to reveal an ambiguous large object enveloped in a blinding light; the details are explained in the next game.

Overall rating: 8

[Maikeru D. Shinigami]

Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

ESRB Rating: M

Presentation: 9.5/10
The game is presented excellently. You are your own character in a fantasy world with dragons, orcs and all those things. You aren't just going through a story on a fairly decent size world. You are actually in a gigantic world with tons of things for you to do. The main quest was okay. It was pretty fun, but if it had been better, I would be able to give this section a 10.


Graphics: 9.5/10
I'm definitely pleased with the graphics. Everything looks lifelike, and I don't even have a problem with the faces. They are much better than anything that I could make right now for sure. That said, occasionally there are some odd graphic based glitches where you may find yourself walking on air or stuck somewhere. The graphics make the world feel real, even with the occasional oddity.


Sound: 9.5/10
The sound on the game is amazing. I'll be honest and say that I don't usually pay attention to it, or any music in the background of any game. However, when I am paying attention to the background music, I realize how awesome it is. It makes me feel like an adventurer, which is what this game is all about. That said, some of the soundtrack reminds me so much of Fable that I can't discern the music from each other.


Gameplay: 9.5/10
The gameplay, like everything else with the game, is also great. It's very easy to learn and there's so much you can do. You don't have to choose exactly what you want your character to be like from the beginning. Instead, you choose your race and edit your appearance. It's much nicer that way. At first, I didn't realize how much I could actually do in the game, so it just seemed like I was travelling a lot. Now that I've gotten use to it though, it's definitely awesome. It sometimes has its issues with actually hitting a target, and sometimes it doesn't look like you're actually hitting them. That kind of mixes in the graphics with the gameplay. I really enjoy using my werewolf form.


Lasting Appeal: 10/10
This is a game that I can definitely play for a long time. Usually, I just go through the main quest. In this game though, I loved to do all the side quests too. The Companions and Dark Brotherhood quests have definitely been fun. Though, sometimes it can still be way easy.


Overall: 9.5/10
While the game is great in every sense of the word, from story to graphics to gameplay to music, it still falls short enough for me to only give it a 9.5. That said, I'm not doing any scores that aren't whole numbers or half numbers. The game is fun, the world is huge, the sound is great, the graphics are awesome and the gameplay is fantastic. Despite some of its oddities and glitches, Skyrim delivers an experience that you can enjoy for weeks and months. If you aren't careful, it'll replace your "real" life.