Dante's Inferno: So... What Was Done RIGHT..?

EA's Dante's Inferno really caught everyone off guard. Such a random spin-off idea for a game, and why ALL the publicity? Well, Dante's Inferno is based off of the epic poem "Dante's Inferno". Okay, great - so why am I saying any of this?

In the poem, Dante stumbles upon hell because he was lost in the woods. Virgil, an angel sent from heaven to guide Dante, is going to help our hero through. The game has Dante plunging into hell willingly to save his beloved Beatrice who, in the poem, was actually the angel who sent Virgil to guide Dante.

First problem - Beatrice isn't a damsel in distress, she's actually the "hero".

Second problem - Dante didn't dive into the fiery depths of hell, he stumbled upon it.

Moving on, Dante is a poet, not a warrior! But let's be honest, that's a liberty that I think (and a lot of people would agree) was necessary, unless of course this poet was good with a sword, ha ha. And some big big red flags here all in succession... Dante wasn't the worst person ever! So when Dante dies in the game (Spoiler), he shouldn't have fought Death. He was actually set on going to heaven.

Third problem (that's FINE) - Dante is a poet, not a warrior.

Fourth problem - Dante never died, was going to go to heaven, and never FOUGHT death. Where as in the first 30 minutes of the game, Dante is dead and hell-bound after killing Death..?

Don't get me wrong, I give the game a 9 out of 10 and can't wait to try to downloadable content! But in the first hour, so many problem arise. A lot of the details actually are in fact there, and accurate. But all those little things added on with some big red flags really aren't quite accurate... At all! But here's some quickies for you:

Fifth Problem (that's FINE) - Charon is actually a person with a boat, not a giant head on a cruise ship XD

But heck! Play the game, it's great! And if you care about accuracy, then please by all means read the poem, because it's really good! But a little messed up (as is the game -_- WHEW).

Magic: The Gathering vs Yu Gi Oh

I'll start this essay off with my opinion. Yu Gi Oh was fun for the first month of it's release, then after I grew up and discovered Magic: The Gathering, I found a whole new depth in strategy, and fun. Yu Gi Oh was made for kids, and there's a crappy TV show that spoils the card game to prove that. Magic: The Gathering is for everybody from 7th grade to adulthood, and is always consistent and fresh.

Now, let's look at who published both games, Wizards of the Coast. WoC makes many card / strategy games (such as Dungeons and Dragons, and Pokemon TCG), and also happened to make Magic, and Yu Gi Oh. Now, Magic was released in 1993 by WoC and features the player hoarding mana to cast spells and release artifacts on to the battle field. Sounds simple enough, all the creatures have an attack and a defense number, and those numbers can conceivably be manipulated by other cards. Yu Gi Oh is the result of a company slimming down a lot of the strategy and making the numbers bigger.

A powerful card in Magic is an 8/8 (8 attack points, and 8 defense points) and requires quite a bit on mana (I would guess, 7 to 9). A powerful card in YGO is a 2,000/2,000 (notice the same attack/defense pattern), and requires just that it is the player's turn to lay down the card. Also, in MTG, one's life points is equal to 20 (that can be manipulated as well), and in YGO, life points are 2000. Bigger numbers doesn't a game a better.

To the point: everything done in Yu Gi Oh can be done in Magic. Magic came out first in 1993. Yu Gi Oh has a lot of things going on, and to be fair to YGO lovers, I will us the earliest release date that I can find (which isn't for the card game, it's for the original airing of the Japanese show), and that is December, 1996. I don't want to start a nerd fight, but the same company used essentially the same formula to make essentially the same game.

Now to some more opinionated stuff. the show of Yu-Gi-Oh is not well written, and is extremely cookie cutter to many Japanese copy write things, as is the manga. The story is about some kids who play a card game. In Magic the Gathering, the player is the story, when one make their own deck, one becomes the story. MTG has no corny show, no poorly written manga, and no other things going for it BUT the game.

Now how is Yu-Gi-Oh a copy of MTG? Allow me to dig further into the obvious. Magic came first, so even the show and manga of Yu-Gi-Oh could have gotten the idea from the alpha and beta Magic sets. But that doesn't hold up very well because it would then be by chance, correct? Well, now digging further, they are both made by the same company. But that also doesn't hold up, because companies can make many different things.

Past the superficial, I will be fair and construct my case on why I truly think YGO copies MTG. Here is an example of a Magic card.

Here are some facts:

1. Notice in the lower right-hand corner, two numbers. Attack and defense. One can choose to attack during an attack phase, or defend when being attacked.

2. Notice in the middle between the picture and the effect, there s a rare mark, and a creature type.

3. Notice in italics is a quote, and about that is a "flying" and some effects of the card.

4. Lastly, notice the at the top there is a number with 3 stars next to it, that's a mana cost.

Now here is an example of a Yu Gi Oh card...

Here are some facts:

1. See that in the lower right hand corner? That's an attack and defense score! Strange, that's on the Magic card too, in the same place... But surely it's used differently, right? Not quite, the player can attack during attack phase, or defend when being attacked. The attack and defense score is equivalent to a 15/10 in Magic.

2. Rare mark is where the stars above the picture are, and creature type is above the quote (recognize any similarities yet?)

3. Wow, there's a magical whimsical quote in the exact same spot as in the Magic card!

4. Now, where's the mana cost? Surely this creature can't just be layed out because it's so powerful! Oh, nope, no mana cost.

I think that's some pretty conclusive evidence... Yu-Gi-Oh is a simplified, ripped of version of Magic: The Gathering. But the same company made them, so congrats Wizards of the Coast, you made more money by making the same game.

Rareware

So many small gaming companies see the top, but just can't get there, no matter how aggressive they find themselves becoming. Rareware appeared to be a company that was at the top, but just didn't care about staying up there.

With every game almost immediately becoming a hit in the Nintendo 64 era, it looks like Rareware was just a great company with no struggles. But little is known from before that time, such as, the NES and everything between. Although some wonderful games came from Rare before the N64, they still had not made themselves a name. And now what's possibly worse, why aren't we seeing games from them now? Especially with all the new technology they have at their disposal.

When one thinks of Rare, what games come to mind? First, Banjo Kazooie, Conker's Bad Fur Day, Perfect Dark Zero, and Blast Corps. If you play video games you may recognize that 3 out of 4 of these games are on the N64 system, and only one is for the XBOX 360. Why is that? With such great games, such potential, why is this company living in yesteryear?

When we think about it, Rareware tried some new things (Viva Pinata, Banjo Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts, Kameo: Elements of Power), but were these attempts were failed, they did not live up to the Rareware standard that everybody had set from the moment they first played Banjo Kazooie.

One possible (and sad) answer for this dilemma, is look at who owns Rare... That's right, Microsoft. And look at who USED to own Rare... Nintendo. Now, this could mean nothing, but if you ask me, Rare did a fine job with Nintendo and Nintendo's recourses. Microsoft is sadly enough just not putting bread on the table. Take for instance the Banjo Kazooie formula, Adventure / Platformer in the good old days with Nintendo. Now, Banjo races around on vehicles. Don't get me wrong, Nuts and Bolts is a fine game, but just fine.

Rareware needs to deliver, and they need to deliver fast. Conker's Bad Fur Day won't always be around to save them, and neither will the remake for the XBOX. I don't want Rare to become dust in the wind (like SEGA, unfortunately), but it could very well happen if they don't go back to what they did best.

Pictured Above: Dare I call it... The good ol' days?

Final Thoughts:

Rare, make me some new, excellent games.

Call of Duty vs HALO

HALO is the latest "has-been" in video games, plain and simple. The formula is getting old, and interest has been sucked dry. Call of Duty is guilty of recycling a formula, but changes and additions have made every game in the series exciting and new. Now, normally I wouldn't care about these two games going at it, but in the world of the internet, these two games are constantly placed beside each other in some messed up comparison.

I will take a hit for the team, and put an end to the final say about which is better. Gameplay, story, control scheme, online play, among other things will be the way in which I judge. Getting down to the roots of the gaming experience certainly helps one to differentiate these two seemingly alike games.

Firstly; Gameplay and control scheme. the control standards were certainly set by HALO, Bungie did a fine job of identifying what a nice controller map would look like, but the ultimate reward for this concept goes to Infinity Ward's Call of Duty. HALO requires a tap of the right stick to aim a scoped weapon (and a scoped weapon is the only weapon that can be aimed), where-as Call of Duty's aim feature come "standard" with all aspects of the game, and feels more "right". Call of Duty's cover feature also bests HALO's because in HALO cover is never really needed, it doesn't feel realistic.

The story is a huge aspect of every game (and TV show, and movie, and book). HALO grabs the story from the discount section of a science fiction book store. Aliens and humans alike need control of some outerspace laser than can destroy big things, non original. Call of Duty's story has reflected World War 1, World War 2, and a fictional take of the war in Iraq. With original characters living out real events, it feels more original than what it actually is (which in most cases is a copy of history). Whether you like aliens or human warfare more, everyone's opinion can go either way on this element, but personally, I think human warfare is an experience that feels more realistic.

Online play is an element that is always a hit or miss. HALO has a huge community of dedicated players, making it easy to find a match, and a wide variety of maps to explore and kill in. But let us also consider, HALO is a host for "power players", people who are simply so good, it makes the game not fun to play online. Leveling up is nice, but there's no reward for it, rather than just a cute number and symbol next your name. Call of Duty's online layout is much more user-friendly. Offers everybody a chance to level up (and you do ONLY level up, unlike HALO where you can go down a level for not being perfect), and the leveling up process is rewarding and feels fantastic. HALO online play is for people who want a raw challenge, in the worst way possible, and Call of Duty is for people who want a challenge, and for people who enjoy feeling significant (but not overpowering) online.

As for the art, and the sounds of both of the games, I truly think the graphics are equally brilliant on both sides of the spectrum. No real complaints there at all, both HALO and CoD are proficient in those two areas.

Pictured Above: HALO does look good, but that's no reason to buy it.

So, in conclusion, Call of Duty is just... Better. HALO is fine, but ultimately not on the same plane of video game.

My Ratings:

Call of Duty (series) - 9.5 out of 10

HALO (series) - 6 out of 10

Review: Castle Crashers

Created by:

- The Behemoth

Genre:

- 2D Side-Scroller

Release:

- Aug 27, 2008

ESRB Rating:

- T (Teen)

My Rating:

- 8 out of 10

Castle Crashers is an exiting thrill ride through an old fashion swords and sorcery setting.

Castle Crashers is an exiting thrill ride through an old fashion swords and sorcery setting. It's hack-N-slash gameplay (with added RPG type elements) has been close to mastered by the developers, and it's amazingly fun with 3 other players, yet it holds up extremely well as a single player game (making Castle Crashers a very fun Co-Op experience). The storyline is cliche, but it's known that it's an old plot that's been done before - and that's used as an advantage for some hilarious satirical comedy!

The graphics add to the charm of the game, the 2D aspect in a 3D world was well received, and there are fun animations that are beautifully done. Each character comes with a certain weapon, a certain spell (Fire, Ice, Thunder, and Poison), and they're all color-coated by the element of their magic, this makes the game more colorful and radiant.

Pictured Above: One of Castle Crasher's many colorful levels

The DLC extras for this game are nice too, and very inexpensive. In the added content, they give you three more characters (a normal knight, a general bad guy, and the king), more animals, and different levels along with different boss fights. As well as one recently released, one can play as the black knight, other bad guys, and adds even more weapons and animals.

For a download XBOX Live arcade title, this game could easily stand off as a complete separate game on itself, it offers a wonderfully large world with fantastic levels designs and new things to constantly keep you pulled in. With mini games, a separate arena challenge, and a full world of leveling - Castle Crashers is an excellent game that everybody should own.

However, there is not just praise to go along with this game. Castle Crashers is short, and DLC should have included new levels as well. The fact of the matter is, it's fun to play through Castle Crashers with some good friends one time around, there's little replay value to be had. In addition, Castle Crasher's leveling system is fun, and nicely tuned, but leveling can get old if one is going to try to get as high as they can.

All in all, Castle Crashers is a wonderful game, and well worth the little money that would be spent on it (and the DLC is cheap too).

DLC Review Bundle: Borderlands

Borderlands changed the way that gamers all over the globe would play RPG / FPS forever, especially because Borderlands is the first ever RPG / FPS, so not the most competition (but it takes guts to try something new these days). Also, Gearbox, the company who made Borderlands, cares about the gamers enough to keep this game alive by maintaining a steady stream of DLC (Download Content).

Usually, download content released is *cough* lame *cough*. By lame, I mean map packs, in-game items / equipment, among other things that people would never plan their day around purchasing. But all the Borderlands content (aside from Moxxi) has been wonderful, whole new experiences that offer more to what the game is, rather than just adds to the game.

This DLC review bundle will focus on:
1) The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned
- released Nov 24, 2009 ($10)
2) Mad Moxxi's Underdome Riot
- released Jan 7, 2010 ($10)
3) The Secret Armory of General Knoxx
- released Feb 23, 2010

The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned

The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned starts vault hunters in the dark, post-apocalyptic Jakob's Cove, and as the name would imply, zombie killing ensues. This DLC included new weapons, new bad guys to kill (including brand new baddies and zombified versions of previous enemies), new quests, and a new Borderlands experience.

The new weapons aren't much to talk about because, heck, nobody has seen every weapon in the original game! But the new zombies are a nice touch, and might remind one of Left 4 Dead's brand of zombies. There is the basic grunt zombie, a Corrupter that spits on you and blurs your vision (as well as slows movement), a "Tankenstien"... You guessed it, a big guy that's hard to kill, among other zombified version of original enemies.

The new quests certainly deliver, even more so for only $10. New achievements go along with these quests rather well, and compliment the gameplay, so you'll never feel pressure to get achievements is you progress through the DLC at a normal pace. One quests in particular ("Braaaaaaaaaaaaaaaains") takes just about the whole playthrough to complete, and there is a satisfying achievement for it.

The story line is another interesting part of Zombie Island. Without revealing to many details, there is an island of zombies, and a guy named Dr. Ned is involved, and he is in fact related to Dr. Zed. The maps are large, but with no vehicles, and very few outposts, getting around takes a long time.

Although there is a wealth of new story based bosses, the boss battles still just feel like a very strong, fast enemy. Just shoot it a lot, and take a little more cover than you would normally and you'll be fine.

My rating for The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned:

- 4 out of 5

Mad Moxxi's Underdome Riot

Mad Moxxi's Underdome Riot sure offered a lot... Unfortunately, it wasn't a lot of what anybody wanted. Leveling up is taken out of the equation, and instead, a couple of skill points are awarded after a ridiculously long tournament with no breaks (roughly 2 hours per tournament). Mad Moxxi's offers no new weapons, and no new enemies. In fact, all the boss battles every 5 rounds are bosses you've already destroyed in your original playthrough of the game. The Underdome Riot however, does offer one exciting bank option. Finally, one can store some things they'd like to hold on to. And not to mention, one kicking soundtrack.

The Underdome Riot just doesn't deliver, with no new small perks to keep you going. The same tournaments get old after a while, and it just will never feel like the true Borderlands experience. But get 3 friends, and try to tackle this challenge together, it could be extremely fun for you.

But there are a few redeeming qualities for Mad Moxxi. Firstly, the music is extremely catchy and has a wonderful beat. Second, the banking option is actually very cool, except there is no option to store money, which would have been appreciated. And lastly, the extra skill points could always potentially go a long way, but the level cap should have been increased here, and we should be allowed to gain experience during the fights.

My rating for Mad Moxxi's Underdome Riot:

- 1.5 out of 5

The Secret Armory of General Knoxx

The Secret Armory of General Knoxx gives more of what we all wanted out of Borderlands DLC. New vehicles, weapons, enemies, maps, and a new story. Believe it or not, General Knoxx brings the story almost full circle, but not completely. There are some loose ends tied, and some secrets about the original game learned, which is really satisfying if you follow Borderlands completely.

There are a few new vehicles, and they are fantastic! One vehicle holds all four people in the game, another is a racer type vehicle, and of course, it goes extremely fast. The new vehicles are definitely a plus, and the new locations compliment the vehicles amazingly. The new maps are huge, and most always have quite a few vehicle outposts at your disposal.

The new weapons are a nice and noticeable touch. And the alien type weapons from the vault have made there way out I suppose, because I found two of them within 4 hours of playing (I personally never found a single one in the normal game). But new rare weapons that, to the most part, match your level are nice. The new weapons help destroy the new array of challenging enemies.

Whether it's surviving another assassin attack, or working your way through soldiers, the Secret Armory will test your skill. New enemy vehicles, as well as giant robots all add up for a real challenge, not even seen in the Underdome.

But with all the fun, there is one undeniable fact about the Secret Armory of General Knoxx... It's hard, plain and simple, if you're doing single player, you're in for (some would argue) to much of a challenge. General Knoxx might force some to come out of their shell and play online for this reason. And let's be honest, Borderlands is always more fun online! Oh, and of course, General Knoxx raised the level cap, by 11 levels!

My Rating for The Secret Armory of General Knoxx:

4.5 out of 5

Review: Borderlands

Created by:
- 2K Games

- Gearbox Software

Genre:

- RPG / FPS

Release:

- Oct 20, 2009

ESRB Rating:

- M (Mature)

My Rating:

- 9 out of 10

Borderlands offers an array of different and wonderful possibilities, such as character development, big and open worlds, and fun gun-play.

When I first heard about Borderlands, I was genuinely uninterested. I never liked First Person Shooters until I played Borderlands. I gave it a try because it was promised to be an RPG as well. I fell in love with it. Borderlands offers an array of different and wonderful possibilities, such as development, big and open worlds, and fun gun-play.

The Good:

Borderlands has a cool cast of characters, and great graphics and voices to match. Cell Shaded graphics have always been the best and most creative way to make a game. Cartoon like graphics and real looking characters all rolled into one package. Borderlands is truly a work of art, with huge maps - there's a lot to look at, and big reasons to explore the landscapes.

Borderlands also offers variety to the highest degree. From a variety of enemies, to weapons, to quests, to skills one can develop - you're sure to find a favorite game within the game. The enemies may seem the same at first, but they get even more diverse, and more threatening as the game plays on. You'll always have that sense that the enemies are your enemies, because they are delightfully brutal.

The guns in Borderlands are plentiful, and no one person could possibly collect every gun in the game (Gearbox claims that there's millions). All the quests are fun, and give one a sense of achievement after completing them, also the quests generally reward the player extremely well, which makes leveling up a fun activity. You'll never feel like your "grinding" to try to get to the next level.

Pictured Above: Borderland's level up system is perfect and tightly tuned

The RPG elements of this FPS are amazing. Each individual character has a unique skill tree, and they get one skill point per level up, which makes leveling up even more fun. Also, one can master a type of gun for added damage and perks, not to mention class mods or grenade mods (give certain constant perks). The multiplayer adds fun with challenge, and you can get your friends into the game, and explore the game together.

The Bad:

The maps in Borderlands are humongous, and vehicles are usually around somewhere. But sometimes in a particularly large area, means of transportation aren't around, and one has to walk or run all the way to the objective and back when they complete the objective. This is even more so lonely in single player, as you have no one to talk to on your 10 minute (in game time) stroll to the next map.

Pictured Above: Looks like Mordecai is in for a long jog.

The boss fights are brutal, but sometimes they may only be as brutal as a very strong enemy. It takes little strategy to destroy a boss, mainly it simply means using more bullets and taking more cover, and using your special move a few time more than a big gun fight. This is very evident in the last boss of the campaign, extremely lackluster, it feels like all you've worked for was a very unsatisfying and unsettling conclusion to what was an epic story.

One more very obvious problem that will be evident when playing is the lack of a mini map. Whenever a player needs to get to another side of the map, they'll need to check back to the map by entering the start menu. The objective marker is nice, but doesn't solve getting around certain obstacles in the map.

All in all, Borderlands is just a fantastic game. Congratulations Gearbox, you've made quite the game. I highly suggest this game, even for it $50 price tag, it is well worth the money. Not to mention the constant stream of DLC, all for only $10 extra (reviews coming soon).

1 picture provided by Gamespot.com