Left 4 Dead
Four survivors battling through hordes of zombies, barely holding on by the skin of their teeth in an attempt to reach an evac point. That’s the basic summary of “Left 4 Dead,” but doesn’t even begin to describe the fun. There are several different gameplay modes, including single-player campaigns, two-player split-screen cooperative play, plaver-versus-player splitscreen play, and online play that pits special player-controlled zombies against the survivors. “Left 4 Dead” is fast action, adrenaline pumping, on-the-edge-of-your-seat gameplay through and through. At times players will be rushed by hundreds of zombies at once, and at other times they will be traveling through the dark hallways of abandoned buildings, hearing the soft crying of the “Witch” zombie and desperately trying not to startle it, for one attack from the Witch means instant incapacitation to anyone unfortunate enough to face its wrath. At other times, the mighty “Tank” zombie rushes the team, bashing away until the survivors have pumped enough lead into it to finish it off. Players must also keep an eye out for “Boomers” which explode upon being shot, and even worse, their puke attracts hordes of zombies to the survivors’ location, as well as “Hunters” who can leap insane distances in a single bound and once they pounce on a survivor, only a fellow survivor can save them from sure death. “Smokers” grab survivors with their tongues, pulling them away from the group and making them susceptible to a beat-down by the zombie horde.
Thankfully, there is a wide variety of weapons at the survivors’ disposal. From automatic shotguns to sniper rifles, there are plenty of guns to fit any player’s fighting style. Moltov-cocktails and Pipe-bombs make useful explosives, as the cocktail sends up a wall of flame and the Pipe-bomb beeps for a few seconds prior to exploding, attracting any zombies who hear it to pile on top of it.
Health packs are few and far between, and on harder difficulties players will find themselves having to decide whom amongst them to save. Pain-pills can be found every so often, but the temporary health boost they give wears off slowly.
At certain intervals along the way, players stop in “Safe-houses” which zombies cannot enter. Inside, players can restock on ammunition, switch weapons, and heal up with the med-packs that can be found there.
“Left 4 Dead” is a great game to play with a friend. Players will be watching each others’ backs and calling out for help all the way through each challenge.
Fable II
The other day, my older brother brought home a game he’d borrowed from a friend. I didn’t place much interest in it at first, but after my brother played for a while we discovered a co-op mode. I was given a crash course in the controls of the game and soon found myself blasting enemies with powerful spells (that look quite awesome I might add). My brother turned in early that night, but I stayed up literally through the night, creating my own file and playing through the storyline. Though the battle system is amazing in its own right, there is much more to Fable II that makes it one of the coolest Role-Playing games I have played. Not only can you customize your character’s skill set to be a sword-bearing warrior, a sharp-eyed marksman, a powerful spell-caster, or any combination of the three, you can do a number of jobs, from chopping wood to assassinating given targets, you can own a house, tavern, shop, and virtually every building in the game. You can execute a number of expressions that will affect people’s opinion of you, choose to eat pies and cheeses and become fat or fruits and veggies to stay thin, walk the holy path of Good or take the lower road of Evil. You can buy a wide array of weaponry, clothing, furniture, potions, jewels, and gifts. You can start a family (or a few families, if you wish) who love and adore you and give you gifts, or you can just use them for personal gain.
Rock Band 2
I know I’m way behind the curve here, but I finally got myself a copy of Rock Band 2. I played it all night long to unlock “One Step Closer,”
then played for the rest of the week working on unlocking all the songs and finishing my solo career. I have finally *finished* the career in the since that I have beaten the “Rolling Stones Rock Immortal” setlist, but I do not yet have the 900 stars required for the Endless Setlist 2 (I have 707 so far, and I just need to keep completing setlists). All in all, I give RB:2 a 9.5/10 because it has great gameplay and great replay value. I was a little dissapointed that I cannot transfer the songs from my original Rock Band disc to Rock Band 2 without a way to connect my X-box to the internet and $5 worth of Microsoft Points or whatever it’s called… Also, the “Impossible Challenges” are not-so-impossible. The songs that make up the marathons are about as difficult as GH3’s “Raining Blood,” “Cliffs of Dover,” and the last half of “One.” I never failed any of them on Expert Guitar. Yeah, the setlist was most certainly difficult, especially as one has to play six songs in a row, and the fingers do turn to jelly about halfway through the sixth song. However, taken one or two at a time with a short break in between, the songs on the Impossible Challenges are relatively easy to beat. When I saw the words “Impossible Challenges” I was thinking along the lines of “Through the Fire and the Flames” and I must say I was a little dissapointed. Rock Band has never been as difficult on the Guitar as the Guitar Hero games, understandably, but I was still hoping for a little more of a challenge. I do have a challenge, however, in getting 5 stars on some of these songs, and it will most definately take me a while. I will continue to work on that, and once that gets boring, I’ll see about getting an internet connection for my X-Box so I can download more selections to play. I am looking forward to getting the Who’s album, as “Who Are You” is one of my top 10 favorite rock songs of all time–OH! and kudos to Harmonix for re-doing “Carry On Wayward Son.” I LOVE this song and I love the re-vamped chart for the guitar. The awesomeness factor of this one song almos makes up for the non-challenging Impossible Challenges. Some of my other favorites from the RB:2 selection are “In the Middle” by Jimmy Eat World, “Alive” by Pearl Jam, “White Wedding” by Billy Idol (I’d never really been into this song very much, I’d just heard it a few times on the radio and liked it), and, of course, “One Step Closer.” Harmonix definately beat Activision in their choice of a Linkin Park song, because “What I’ve Done” (On GH: World Tour) is waaaay too easy, even though it is a great song. “One Step Closer” is a bit more challenging, so one can enjoy the music and the note chart as well.
iPodization
A new word is being used throughout the internet, and is quickly becoming widely recognized. iPodization is the phenomenon in which American culture is becoming more impersonal, and transferring into the virtual world. iPodization can be seen in the streets, when everyone is talking on their phone, texting a friend, listening to their music. On the bus, when there’s no one to talk to, since they’re all engrossed in their own games, movies, and other media. Some want it to stop, some want everyone to just lay down their gadgets and interact in ‘real life.’ The truth is, just as the highway, phone, and television systems brougt America closer together, and just as the internet connected the world together in one giant web, so “iPodization” is bringing everyone closer together on a global scale, although the local social system may begin to crack. Even the government is getting in on the deal, developing a system that will send out mass-text messages warning people to get to saftey from impending disaster. Podcasts, some updated hourly, keep the population informed as to what’s going on. Businesses now have a host of more opportunities to get their name out there and attract customers. New can spread around the world in a flash, via E-mail, text message, and phone calls. Although iPodization causes people to be oblivious to those three feet away, it brings millions of people to one, virtual interaction.
The Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass
The Phantom Hourglass is the newest addition to the “Legend of Zelda” series. It’s only for the Nintendo DS, as it fully utilizes the touch screen. You can play through the whole game without ever touching a button, though you can use “Y/Left” to open the Save/Collection menu, “B/Down” – “X/Up” to swap the screens, and “A/Right” to open the items menu if you’d rather. As you could imagine, the touch screen is used to direct Link (you can’t use the D-Pad), swing the sword, guide the boomerang (You can draw the path you want the boomerang to follow), aim/fire the bow (touch and drag to aim, release to fire), draw navigation routes when sailing the seas, write notes on your map for later reference, and a number of other things. The game starts with “Tetra” (Zelda) being kidnapped by the Ghost Ship. Link is washed ashore (once again) on Mercay Island, where he is found by Ceila the Fairy. Ceila takes him to Oshus, whom she calls “grandpa.” Oshus tells him to go to the harbor, as there is a man there with whom Link could sail. And thus Link’s next grand adventure begins. His travels lead him to delve into the Temple of the Ocean King to find sea charts which will aid him in his quest to rescue Tetra. He then learns that he must defeat a great evil and save the Ocean King, who has been captured by this evil in the Temple of the Ocean King.
The game is great fun, I completed it in about three days, but there are numerous side quests that you can follow, as well as the ever-present challenge of beating your best time in the Temple of the Ocean King. (My current best is 21 seconds). There are 13 floors and you can get a total of 25 minutes of protection from the Sand of Hours in your hourglass by the time you beat the game and collect extra Sand from side quests. Within the Temple are “save zones” in which the clock freezes and enemies cannot touch you. By expertly maneuvering between these while solving various puzzles, as well as collecting golden pots that restore 15 or 30 seconds of your time, it is possible to reach the bottom of the Temple in 0 seconds (though it takes more like a half hour in real-time). This is a fun challenge for hardcore Zelda fans, and since it’s a hard thing to do, it takes some time to perfect, so you can show off to your fellow Zelda-geeks.
Throughout the game, players can collect various parts to customize their ship. When using parts from the same set, the ship’s stamina increases, the max being 8. While sailing the high seas, players can shoot down foes with the cannon, salvage treasure from the bottom of the sea, and even catch fish. Other seafarers offer side quests, treasure, and opportunity, and the Beadle is a traveling salesman selling potions, bomb bags, quivers, bombchu bags, treasures, and ship parts. Players can find fortunes on uncharted islands, some of which have mini games and others offer secrets and special abilites. (There’s a really special island on the east side of the Northwest sea chart if you’re playing The Phantom Hourglass and wondering what the jumping golden frogs are for ^_^. When solving the riddle, think whale)
The Phantom Hourglass also comes with a multiplayer Battle Mode, which is essentially a glorified cat-and-mouse game. Two players take turns in controlling Link or three “Phantoms,” large, lumbering, armored beasts that possess immense strength. The player controlling Link must scurry to collect “Force Gems” of varying sizes (The larger they are, the more points they reward) and carry them back to their base. Larger gems are heavier, and therefore make Link slower, increasing the chance that he’ll be hit by the Phantoms. The player controlling the Phantoms directs them by drawing paths on the touch screen. They cannot enter safe zones (Where the Force Gems start out) and move somewhat slowly. As a result, the player must use wits and cunning to trap Link and hit him. Once the timer of 120 seconds counts down to 0, or a Phantom hits link, players switch roles. Whomever has the most points in the end wins.
All in all, this is a very good game, arguably the best Nintendo DS game out there. I give it 6 out of 5. I’m quite addicted to it, and hope you become so too ^__^ If you’re ever out there on the Nintendo Wi-Fi network, look me up. My friend code is 116118781820 and my username is Dachneon. Post a comment if you want to add me XD.
