Borderlands review

Bordelands
Overall 9.3
Graphics – 9.0
Gameplay – 9.5
Value - $50
Achievements – Very easy (Almost all are easily attainable)
Pros
Quick and fun gameplay, different classes make game enjoyable, co-op and multiplayer are a good time
Cons –
Some achievements are bugged, bad guys respawn behind you during missions (see below)
Note: I have played this game only for a day and about 8 hours. I will modify my comments and numbers above if need be.
Full Review
I was concerned about Borderlands turning out to be some over the top game with too much descriptive violence, cussing, and immaturity. I am glad to be wrong on this. I have heard very little cussing, and the depicted violence matches your actions, that is, you shoot a guy in the head and his head explodes.

The M rating is for the above mentioned violence and the environments of the bandits you encounter, along with some of their dialogue. For example, fighting a bandit in his lair might lead to him antagonizing you with “Do you have any last words before we cook ya?” They don’t drop MF bombs or anything like that. I honestly am not sure they cuss at all, but I could have the volume turned down too low. Update - They definitely cuss. Maybe as they get stronger their cursing vocabulary increases. :-) Also, the game is more of a mix of Fallout 3 and Diablo than WOW.

The game is a first person shooter with a mix of World of Warcraft type spawn with very limited RPG elements in leveling up your characters. It is an absolute blast to play.
Missions are from simple scavenger hunt style to assassinations. They are a standard variety of them, but they vary enough to make the game fun.

There are 4 classes of characters that fit standard stereotypes. Bruisers, snipers, front line gun nuts, and “magic users.” The magic user isn’t really that, but it’s hard to explain her story.
There are a large quantity of guns, but that can be misleading.

While it is very enjoyable to have this large variety of guns, they really break down into a few categories, stats, and bonuses. You might find a shotgun labeled “Rusty Shotgun” that does 10 damage and has a bonus to the spread, and another labeled “Rusty Shotgun” that does 11 damage and has no bonus to the spread radius. The guns appear the same, but have different stats and manufacturers.

That being said, the guns are an absolute blast and do have noticeable quality improvements as you get better guns. They are also generally color coded with their special ability. A gun that catches your target on fire is red, while one that does electricity damage is a cool blue color, corrosive damage are green, etc.

Leveling up not only consists of leveling your character and choosing various traits, but also you become more proficient with the weapons each time you use them. You like combat rifles? As you use them you gain bonuses to accuracy, damage, and faster reloads.

My main complaint thus far is the spawning system needs tweaked. Many times I would be heading into an underground lair, or some larger area and behind me monsters would spawn within just a few minutes of clearing it out. This is frustrating as it does not allow you to take your time, or the ability to find ammo and equipment from a vendor that was at the start of the level. Thought you had enough ammo to make it through, but you don’t? Too bad, if you run the way you came in, all 50 enemies you killed are back on the board after 10 minutes. Fortunately with the variety of weapons and different ammo types this isn’t too much of a pain. If you run out of ammo on your fiery pistol, use your shotgun or combat rifle.

Update - The multiplayer portion is fun, but terribly difficult to implement. All participants must be at the exact same part in the story or they can not play together. This means that bad ass 30th level hunter you have can't play with another 30th level character unless he is in the same part of the overall campaign that you are. Bad deal here.

It has been awhile since a game sucked me into its clutches like Bordelands has. I strongly recommend it for a fast paced action filled game. Kind of like a hyperspeed fallout that is definitely worth the price of admission.

Only In Theaters....

So I hear this time and time again in a movie trailer. "Now playing, Yet another over inflated big budget reboot of some comic book character" only in theaters!

This must be removed from all trailers.

Where else would it be? Are you saying that you are not going to have a million copies for sale at all retail outlets on both Blu-Ray and DVD in 6 -12 months?

Are you saying that people can not download it for free at all the various pirate sites out there? You have managed to cut all piracy of your movie?

Are you saying that newly released movies are available by PPV or some other method the day they come out? Not that I have seen.

Maybe they want to warn us that there is no real life acting down at our local theater, and that we can only see it via the movie. Thank goodness they warned me, I almost went searching for the Shakespearean version of Transformers 2. If not for that part at the end "only in theaters" I would have been searching for hours.

Get rid of it already, it's insulting. It's like saying "Air conditioning keeping it 72 degrees, only indoors." or "Shoes, only available at retailers or online."

Try spending that time into something more constructive or showing more of the trailer.

An extra 3 seconds of Megan Fox for example would be more productive than telling me the movie is only available at the only place that it could possibly be available.

Explanation of Value in Game Reviews

Often when I review games I place a value in the review. I wanted to explain in a bit more detail what that means.

I think that very few games are really worth the $60 it costs to purchase them. I assign a value that is my gut feeling for what the game should cost and what its price point should be.

For example, a game like Fallout 3 or Call of Duty 4 have long term playability for different reasons. Fallout 3 is an RPG, first person shooter without any multiplayer, with a huge open world to explore. COD4 has a decent single player campaign mode with excellent pacing and a very robust multiplayer experience. Both games are worth their price due to the countless hours you can spend enjoying them.

In contrast, a game like Halo ODST is nowhere near the $60 price tag. A campaign that is less than 5 hours long, with one new multiplayer mode that is very similar to Gears of War Horde Mode, 8 new maps, and nothing else for those who already own Halo 3, you gained 5 hours of new content and 8 maps. Compare Halo ODST to Shadow Complex, a $15 game on Xbox live, and you will see that their value is similar.

My hope in assigning value for a game is that if you have an opportunity to purchase a game for that value, you should take it. If you find Batman for $30, it is well worth that price. Will you still be playing it 2 years later (COD4) or enjoy 120 hours of game play over a year (Fallout 3)? No, so the game is not the same value as those. But at 30 bucks, you get a great game that you will most likely be trading in to a retailer in 30 – 60 days.

Batman Arkum Asylum Review

Overall 9.0

Graphics – 9.5

Gameplay – 9.0

Value - $30

Achievements – Relatively easy

Family Friendly – For the most part. Language is very tame. Some appearances of bad guys might scare very small kids. Violence is comic book style without anyone really dying (they fall down but there is no indication they died). They are just defeated. No blood splatters, head shots, or gruesome gore.

Pros

Fun game, good story, variety of challenges and resolutions to tasks

Cons –

No multiplayer, short (8-15 hours to complete, faster if you don’t actively look for the riddler’s clues)

Overall a very enjoyable if short game. The gameplay is varied and has a very solid comic book feel. Level variation is fun, standard fighting thug levels, with puzzle levels, mixed in with trippy Scarecrow levels make for a fun experience. Multiple villains make their appearance as well as several cameos from the Riddler’s clues.

There are also challenge levels where you can hone your combat skills in two modes, a basic combat mode, and a hunter mode. In the hunter mode you have to use stealth to combat enemies that wield guns. You can hang from gargoyles, create diversions to attack goons from behind, and much more. These same tactics can be used in the campaign as well.

I also enjoyed upgrading Batman’s gadgets in the order that suits my play style. As you complete levels you choose different upgrades and equipment. Multiple batarangs, better armor, new combos to utilize in combat, and much more are at your disposal.