• 27Oct 09

  It's good to be El Presidente

  Tropico 3 review wrote:

  The original Tropico was a clever and different city-building game with enough unique ****to help separate it from other RTS games in the genre. Tropico 2 arrived later, which was not received as well by the critics and fans due to core gameplay changes that simply did not work. And so was revealed Tropico 3, a spiritual "re-invention" of the original ****c which promised nothing more but to bring the ****c game to the modern audience with a few adjustments, and without altering the original formula too much. To this end, Tropico 3 delivers on its promises - the gameplay is instantly familiar to the fans of the original, and the new 3D world with great graphics and a re-energized soundtrack helps further promote this sequel. This time around, developed by Haemimont Games and Kalypso Media, the title pulls off interesting city building mixed with stellar and enjoyable presentations. The formula of the original was shifted a little to ensure good replayability was added and any core gameplay annoyances fixed, to the pleasure of the fans. However, this also means that the game continues to be a bit too complex for some fans, of which more is described later.

  Please read the rest! http://www.newgamenetwork.com/article/118/tropico-3-review/

  In other news, since my rant on EA sports in the previous blog, a few things happened. I got a little fed up with the company ignoring the user complaints on the forum, so I decided to approach things from a different angle - I emailed the PR rep for the company on behalf of NGN and actually got a reply within 5 working days. The rep said that the issue was taken into account by the dev team and they apologized for the troubles.

  Lo and behold, on the same day I got that reply, the forums got updated with a moderator posting these same details for the community to see. Coinsidence? I think not. Still, I'm happy I got things moving at EA, but it was also a very cool experience making my first PR communication as a member of the Game Press industry, rather than just another consumer.

  As some may know, I am currently slave-driving myself through life with full time school in the morning, and then straight to work until 11 pm at night, monday through thursday. So weekends (friday-sunday) are as valuable now as ever, to get all my gaming time done.

  As you can tell, I've played Tropico 3 and it's a very fun game which I will continue messing around with. I also have Resistance to finish, along with Uncharted 2 SP. Now that NHL10 is patched, I am sinking alot of hours into my dynasty as well. Next up I am getting Borderlands, and beyond that FIFA 10 (when it's fixed similarly to NHL), Resistance 2 (coming in the mail), God of War PSP (very fun, preparing myself for GoW Collection in November).

  Haven't been to the movies in quite some time, not a whole lot going on there.

  The end.

  • Posted Oct 27, 2009 11:26 am PT
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• 27Sep 09

  Think Fast. Drive Faster. Shift Review.

  TPCG wrote:

  Need for Speed: Shift is the 13th instalment of the long-running racing video game franchise Need for Speed published by Electronic Arts. It was announced in January 2009 as part of a three-game announcement that includes Need for Speed: Nitro and Need for Speed: World Online. Shift was developed by Slightly Mad Studios—who previously helped develop much more simulation-based titles such as GT Legends and GTR 2 together with SimBin Studios. In the new franchising model for the series adopted by EA, Shift takes its place focusing on simulation racing and realistic drifting rather than the arcade racing of previous titles in the series. It abandons the street racing formula of previous games and focuses on simulating the "true" driver experience, in the process risking the loss of it's dedicated fan base. In all honesty, Shift comes across as yet another game from the sim based lineup of GTR2 and Race07, and there are many similarities to those games. I feel that Shift is simply taking a modified GTR2, simplifying the controls and physics to a more arcade driving **** and slapping the Need for Speed logo on the cover. While this doesn't mean that the game is anywhere below average, it just seems like a mismatch of title and content. Fans of racing sims may dismiss the game outright because Need for Speed was never known for being anything other than arcade, whereas fans of the series will find themselves struggling through the career mode due to Shift's much increased difficulty.

  Full Review here! http://www.newgamenetwork.com/article/94/nfs-shift-review-pc/

  In other news, I am currently playing Batman AA, and I find it to be fun! But I am worried - it seems to be heading for the "Wolverine Origins syndrome": ruining any kind of awsomeness by some unimaginative repetition. Hopefully it picks up... otherwise I will be sad!

  Also playing NFS Shift (D'oh!) and NHL10 (on PS3). Another fumble by EA sports - the game has horrid Freezing issues, which makes it unplayable - I am unable to progress a certain date in my Franchise (Be a GM) and the EA mods said "A patch is being worked on, might take WEEKS". Yeah, Really EA? WEEKS? That's what I get for buying a product on launch week? Instead of waiting, getting a sale or used copy?

  I won't make this mistake with FIFA10. And issues are happening for PS3 more so than 360, according to the forum tally. So that doesn't make me happy either. Good thing I don't play online, I heard it's even worse! (Chat issues, lag, connections dropping mid-game)

  School is in full swing, if you will. I think I have a handle on most things, and oh my gosh, Midterms are only a month away!! Crazy...

  Until next time. The_PC_andabitPS3_Gamer

  www.newgamenetwork.com

  • Posted Sep 27, 2009 9:04 pm PT
  • Category: Games
  • 6 Comments
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• 10Sep 09

  The last week :(

  It's my last week off before school starts, so I am trying to salvage as much gaming time as I can these days. However, due to it being early September and all, there isn't exactly much to play.

  I find myself dabbling in various PS3 Store demos and things that I never tried because there is simply no PC version (sports games) or the PC never got a demo, so I was never sure if I wanted to get the game. What's with that anyway, companies claim they release bugged games to torrents to serve as a "demo" for those pesky pirates. Gee, would it not be easier to ACTUALLY go back to offering demos for PC? I never understood why we don't get demos anymore. Sure, some games (read GTA4) you'd have to do some heavy tweaking to prevent players from venturing outside of demo area. But for pretty much everything else out there, with many games being linear or level based, why not offer a PC demo? Why consoles only?

  Anywho, I am going bit way off topic here. So yeah... school is just about starting, and it's my last year. Should be interesting. Gaming-wise, a bunch of releases such as NHL 10 (ps3), Batman AA, NFS Shift (Gtr 2.5) and such are all releasing mid-month. I was really hoping something will come early so I could at least spend my gaming time now with something other than demos. I did get Darkest of Days though, so that should hopefully take up my weekend and further on.

  That's bout it.

  www.newgamenetwork.com

  • Posted Sep 10, 2009 7:59 pm PT
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