Retro Review - Silent Hill: Homecoming

In light of the trailers being released for the upcoming game entitled Silent Hills, starring Norman Reedus, I thought why not go back and finally finish and review some previous Silent Hill titles. So without further adu here is my review for Silent Hill: Homecoming.

 

Homecoming cover art.

 Silent Hill: Homecoming is the sixth installment in the Silent Hill survival horror video game series, developed by Double Helix G...ames. The game was announced on July 11, 2007 by Konami at their E3 press conference, and was originally entitled Silent Hill V. This entry follows the journey of Alex Shepherd, a soldier returning from war, to his hometown of Shepherd's Glen, where he finds the town in disarray, and his younger brother missing. As he continues on his search to find his younger brother, he discovers more about the Order—the cult of Silent Hill—as well as the town's history, and his own past.

The game was released on September 30, 2008 in North America for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, and the Microsoft Windows version was released for North, Central and South America on November 6, 2008 exclusively through Valve's Steam digital content delivery service. All versions were simultaneously released in Europe, including a retail Microsoft Windows version, on February 27, 2009. The Japanese version was cancelled.

Being an early PlayStation 3 (PS3) release the graphics aren't the best, but they are still rather good. The sound effects are quite creepy indeed and the voice acting is pretty good as well. The story was good with a couple of unforeseen twists, but one thing I love about the series is you never really know just what the hell is going on.

The game play is a bit sluggish and "tanky" but, to me, that just makes the game that much more tense. You don't know what's behind you and you can't just turn and run away unscathed.

I have always been a huge fan of the series and this is the first time I played all the way through this one. The sound and some of the visuals really creep you out and leave you thinking "WTF?"

WTF?

 Overall by todays standards I have to give this title a 7 out of 10 stars and recommend it to anyone looking to play a game that makes them want to leave the lights on.

 - N64

Retro Review - Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions

Our next game review is in, Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions!

 

Shattered Dimensions cover art

 

Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions is a video game featuring Comics hero Spider-Man. Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions blends together four universes from the Marvel Comics multiverse, allowing the player to play as four different Spider-Men. Known Spider-Man voice actors Neil Patrick Harris, Christopher Daniel Barnes, Dan Gil...vezan, and Josh Keaton voice a Spider-Man from each of their respective alternate universes.

The game revolves around an artifact known as the Tablet of Order and Chaos. When it is shattered into pieces during a skirmish between Spider-Man and Mysterio, it causes problems with multiple Marvel Universe realities. Madame Web calls on four versions of Spider-Man from four realities to assist her in bringing the realities back into balance: the Amazing Spider-Man, Spider-Man Noir, Spider-Man 2099, and Ultimate Spider-Man.

Although this game is available on multiple platforms, I played it on the PlayStation 3 (PS3).
Graphically the game was pretty well done. The cell shading graphics gave it that comic book/cartoon look that I prefer for a Spider-Man entry. The sound and voice acting were really well done too, with our hero dropping as many smart alec one liners as he can to give a good chuckle now and then.
The story was OK but not really engaging, and some of the levels seemed more like drawn out boss battles.
Another disappointment was no free roaming exploration of any version of New York, the game is very linear, which, to me, is a down fall for a Spidey game.

Spidey in gameplay action

 The plus side the character advancement is decent and with each version of Spidey you play the game play is slightly different. The bosses are cool and two of them include two of my favorites, Deadpool and Carnage. Yes that is correct Deadpool is in this game!

Overall the game is fun and a recommended rental or borrow, but not a must own. 6.5 out of 10 stars

 - N64

Retro Review: God of War 3

The final review is in for the God of War Saga, God of War 3!

 

Cover for God of War 3 on the PS3

 God of War III is a third-person action-adventure video game developed by Santa Monica Studio and published by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE). Released for the PlayStation 3 (PS3) console on March 16, 2010, the game is the fifth installment in the God of War series and the sixth and last chronologically. The best-selling game in the... God of War series, it sold nearly 5.2 million copies worldwide by June 2012, and it was included in the God of War Saga that was released for the PlayStation 3 on August 28, 2012. Loosely based on Greek mythology, the game is set in ancient Greece with vengeance as its central motif. The player controls the protagonist and former God of War Kratos, following betrayal at the hands of his father and King of the Olympian Gods, Zeus. Reigniting the Great War, Kratos ascends Mount Olympus until he is abandoned by the Titan Gaia. Now guided by the spirit of Athena, Kratos battles monsters, gods, and Titans in a search for Pandora, the key to opening Pandora's Box, to defeat Zeus. Successful, Kratos kills Zeus and ends the reign of the Olympian Gods.

Kratos doing what he does best.

 Of all the games in this particular series, this one leaves me in awe. The graphics are amazing. The sound, engaging. It's just an overall beautiful game! One of my all time favorites for sure! The gameplay, again, remains mostly the same, but hey, if it ain't broke don't fix it.

This installment takes you to Mount Olympus, Tartarus and the Labyrinth fighting and killing all the gods and titans and even Hercules. The brutality of the kills is just awesome. Kratos literally tears Helios' head off then uses it as a flashlight throughout the game. Say, Hermes has some nice winged boots that make him run fast, Kratos cuts off his legs and takes the boots for himself. Good times! The only Olympian you encounter that Kratos doesn't kill is the goddess Aphrodite, I'll let you guess what you get to do with her. (Parental discretion is advised)

With each gods death the world falls deeper into chaos. A couple of examples: Posiedon's death brings in great floods, and Hades' death releases the souls of the dead from Tartarus. And of course, after being betrayed by Gaia, Kratos ends up killing the titans in a rather brutal manner as well.

Overall (in my opinion) everyone who owns a PS3 should own this game. I rate this an easy 10 out of 10 stars! definitely the best "hack 'n slash" game out there!

 - N64

 

Retro Review - God of War: Ghost of Sparta

Wait, time for another game review? Already?

That's right the next chronological installment in the God of War series, God of War: Ghost of Sparta.

 

Ghost of Sparta PSP Cover

 God of War: Ghost of Sparta is a third person action-adventure video game developed by Ready at Dawn and Santa Monica Studio, and published by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE). It was first released for the PlayStation Portable (PSP) handheld consol...e on November 2, 2010, then together with Chains of Olympus, Ghost of Sparta was remastered and released on September 13, 2011, as part of the God of War: Origins Collection and the remastered version was re-released on August 28, 2012, as part of the God of War Saga, both for the PlayStation 3. The game is the sixth installment in the God of War series and the fourth chronologically. The player controls the protagonist Kratos, the God of War, following the events of the original God of War. Kratos is haunted by the visions of his mortal past and decides to explore his origins. In Atlantis, he finds his mother Callisto, who claims his brother Deimos is still alive. Kratos tries to rescue Deimos after learning of his imprisonment and torture in the Domain of Death. Climaxing in a confrontation with the God of Death, Thanatos, the battle ends with the deaths of both Deimos and Thanatos, and Kratos returns to Olympus, enraged at the gods.

The overall gameplay does not change much in any of the games in the series. If it's not broke don't fix it. Graphically it is well done by handheld standards, probably the best PSP graphics out there, but naturally subpar by PS3 standards. However the game is by far the easiest one in the series and is a lot of fun, which is probably why I got through it so fast. The sound is good as well, the music in these games really seems to keep one engaged. The voice acting, as usual, is sufficient with the occasional over dramatic. (Kratos does so much yelling in these games I think Vin Diesel would be a good actor for the role of Kratos in the upcoming movie.)

The story was really interesting and a fresh change of pace, and the character and level creation was excellent as well. Not only do you go to Atlantis and the realm of death, but you also return to Sparta for the first and last time in the game series.

Kratos returns to Sparta

 I really had a lot of fun with this installment, factoring that in with the sound graphics and game play I rate this one a 7.5 out of 10.

 - N64

Retro Review - God of War: Chains of Olympus

 

I'm kinda going old school here, but I figured I would review games as I play them. Today I finished God of War: Chains of Olympus and thought why not review the whole series, game by game, as I play them? Of course I am playing them sequentially by timeline of events as opposed to by release date.

 

The story of God of War, in a nutshell. You play the game as Kratos, a Spartan during ancient times when gods like Zeus and Ares were worshipped and the world lived in fear of the Titans return. Kratos was a leader of the Spartan army and during a battle when all seemed lost he cried out to the god Ares for help pledging himself to the god. Ares helped and later betrayed Kratos, causing Kratos to commit the most heinous crime. Looking to have his past forgiven and the torment of it erased, Kratos asked the gods for help and they promised to do so after a time of servitude to the gods.

God of War: Chains of Olympus is a third person action/adventure game developed by Ready at Dawn and Santa Monica Studio, and published by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) that was originally released on the PSP but has since been rereleased on the PS3 in HD format. All God of War games are PSP and/or PS3 exclusives. Graphically it is sub-par on the PS3, but pretty well top notch for a handheld game. The controls are tight and fluid. The voice acting is also very well done with the occasional overly dramatic.

The story in this installment (without spoilers) the sun god Helios is knocked out of the sky by the titan Atlas and the goddess Athena has charged Kratos with finding him before the dream god, Morpheus, takes over Olympus.
Along the way you have the pleasure of meeting other gods, titans, demigods and various other greek myth characters.

 

 

I love the series as a whole but only rate this title a 6 out of 10 due to the sub-par graphics and the hollow story, if you're new to the series the story is hard to follow in this game.

- N64