Review: Ghostbusters: The Video Game

Everyone loves Ghostbusters, it’s a fact. Almost everyone wants there to be a 3rd film. I’m not sure if I do any more. They first two are legendary but I’m not sure if the actors would be able to pull it off now! However if there was a way they could make them immortal then they could still come up with a cracking idea that stays true to the films. Immortality is not possible, but the likenesses can be used and generated in CGI and with the actors voices used to voice the character as well it’s as good as the real thing, which is lucky because that’s exactly what they have done with Ghostbusters: The Video Game.

The story is based 2 years after the last film and a Gozer exhibit is being shown at the museum and things then start heating up from there.  You play as a rookie joining the team which means the tutorial feels natural. The story and humour feel like a Ghostbusters film, and they’ve pulled it off very well, probably because Harold Ramis and Dan Akroyd were the writers. The graphics and character models look really good and the voices, voiced by the original actors, are the icing on the cake. During the game you run in to characters old and new and it really does feel like the whole thing has been nurtured and not forced.

I must admit that to start with catching the ghosts is does feel a little clunky but once you get used to it you can really enjoy it, and as silly as it sounds you do start feeling like one of the team. The rest of the controls are easy enough to get to grips with. Another thing I will mention is the multiplayer. It’s no secret that if you provide multiplayer that is a little different from the norm then you are usually onto a winner, take Bioshock 2 for example. Well Ghostbusters fulfils that as well, however I was a little disappointed because it was subject to a lot of lag, this may have been my network but it was a little disconcerting. I believe there was also an achievement glitch that meant one of the achievements wasn’t obtainable this was supposed to be a fixed in a title update, I’m not sure if this is still the case. Having done a quick wiki search to check my facts it says that they are still unachievable.

Overall if you’re a fan of the Ghostbusters franchise then by all means go ahead and get this game. I have at least one friend on my friends list that has it, and as far as I know he enjoyed it. it’s a well made game and will definitely satisfy the child in you.

General Update 09: I believe I can fly. . .

I should have tweeted about this yesterday but I didn't, bad me. A news story was made Monday morning, or evening for those in the UK, about a new Bioshock Infinite video being released exclusively to Xbox Live for 24 hours before being made available to everyone on the irrational games. “What’s so important about this video?” you may ask, that’ simple, it’s a game play video. You can see the video about. If you’re reading this and the video has been taken down. I do apologies but it’s not my video in the first place, I’m only borrowing it to pass on the news.

When I first heard that they had announced a “3rd Bioshock” game I’ve got to admit I was very dubious, as it seemed that Bioshock 2, despite being a good game, it was short in terms of the story you can always read the full review yourself. But I wasn’t sure they could drag out a third one without ruining 2 great games, and a really interesting story. But it did look like it was going to be done correctly as it was going back to the same team that came up with the first one. The teaser trailer also didn’t calm my nervous disposition about a 3rd game. It felt as though it was so radically different from the previous two as well as being a prequel time wise, as Bioshock Infinite is set about 50 years prior to Bioshock.

But it wasn’t until I heard someone say in an interview that it’s “a spiritual successor” to the series, that I stopped and actually thought about what that meant. In my opinion it meant that the story would be completely set apart from that of Rapture and the previous two Bioshock games that it would have its own space to grow. I hope this is the case as if they try and make this game lead into the other games it’ll end up a mess. Do you remember when you were a kid and did an ace drawing of a machine and how it would work and someone would suggest adding something and when you added it, it ruined the whole thing? It would be like that only much worse, as it would ruin the memory of the original.

So what do I think after seeing this trailer? I like it. I’m definitely more optimistic about this game now than I was when I first heard about it. It looks different enough as there is a lot more colour in the pallet from what I could see. I’m interested to see how the “Tonics” work in this game as there didn’t seem to be any swapping between them, but this could be just because it’s not the full game play as we will see it. This is a good thing as I’d be wondering what they are going to be doing all next year.

What about you guys? What is your opinion of Bioshock Infinite from this trailer?

Gamers Apathy!

I've not actually done much gaming recently mostly because I've not really been in the mind set to do it. I think a lot of it has come from knocking out Dante's Inferno in 4 hours. Don't get me wrong it was still a good game, but  some friends have made comments that have made me think. "Am I getting everything out of these games?"

In my defence Dante's inferno isn't the longest of games, nether was Bioshock 2, but did this take anything away from the game play? In my opinion no, I was still enjoying the story, and in the case of Bioshock 2 was exploring to get everything out of it that I could. I was also looking for the little nods that they were giving to the first game. 

So what about enjoyment? Am I cutting down my enjoyment because I'm running through the games quickly? Now I'm not in anyway thinking "Maybe it's because I'm just so kick ass at gaming?" I know for a fact that I'm not, one look at which achievements I've got on CoD:WaW shows you that I only got halfway through on Veteran difficulty. 


I did manage to get all of the collectables in Dante's Inferno, so in my defence I would say that I have gotten more out of the game than most people. Yes I did use a guide to find some of them but that was only on my second play-through, and it was only a hand full that I had missed.


So where does that leave me? well in my opinion I think that I am getting the most out of what I'm playing. In fact in the case of both Bioshock 2 and Dante's Inferno even Ironman, with each of these games I've played through twice. I don't think that you can only gauge enjoyment on how long you play a game, you also need to think about what you got from the game. 

Review: Bioshock 2

In Bioshock 2 we return to the deep sea dystopia and this time play as a Big Daddy, one of the first Big Daddy’s in fact. The emotional bond between yourself and your little sister means that unless you find her you will slip into a coma due to one of the fail safe mechanisms created to keep you in check. This is how your adventure starts, many of the game mechanics that existed in the Bioshock are back including the Big Daddy’s you’re used to; the plasmids and gene tonics as well as some old and some new weapons, which you can now dual wield with plasmids.

The story was enjoyable, and the references to the original game are there if you are willing to look for them. There are some twists to the story that while the events themselves aren’t that predictable the timings are. However the visuals and soundtrack are much the same as the first with the 50’s/60’s art deco style in disrepair throughout. The locations despite being new to the player feel the same as in the first game and that’s pretty much how the game entire game feels.

Now don’t get me wrong I’m not saying the game is bad, but it does feel like slipping into the same old cardigan and slippers that we’re used to and not in the good way. The locations and some of the tasks are really familiar. However some things have changed, the weapon system now lets you use your plasmids and weapons at the same time meaning you’re not wasting time swapping out your Electrobolt plasmid for your solid slug shotgun just in time to blow off a Big Daddy’s helmet before he skewers you on his arm drill. You can zap and blast to your hearts content. The hacking mini game is better this time round instead of playing the pipes mini game you have to stop a waving pin in the middle of the “safe” zone, and the game isn’t paused while doing this, so you need to keep your wits about you.

Overall I would say get Bioshock 2 if you enjoyed the first one, if you’ve not played the first one then I would say play that rather than head straight in with this sequel. I personally would have liked a little more of a new feel to the game but enjoyed what was on offer, and those changes that have been made do help.

I have tried the multi player and found it really enjoyable. It’s your basic online multiplayer games, capture the flag, domination, last person standing and all out war that you’re used to if you play games like COD etc, however each has a Bioshock twist. The flags are sisters and you play as normal splicers. There is a back story for each of the characters that you can choose, and you level up according to how well you do in the games. You don’t get experience points but ADAM instead, with higher levels unlocking more plasmids, gene tonics and weapons as well as masks and melee weapons as well.

The thing the multiplayer was missing for me was my friends, but I think that can be said about any multiplayer game like this. My favourite thing about this mode was that all the locations and weapons in this mode were from the first game. So you could be running around the farmers Market with the cross bow, or through arcadia, or be camped up in Eve’s garden waiting for an unsuspecting victim.

Weekend in Rapture

After last week’s poor attempt at a gaming weekend I was determined to make up for it, and as I had purchased Bioshock 2 it was only fair that I worked on that, which I did and completed. I hope to try and get the review up shortly, but I’ll have to do the Last Remnant review first. I also tried the multiplayer as well in the hopes of trying to get all the achievements, and I’ve got to say I actually enjoyed it. Sunday I started again on hard to wrap up the last of the solo achievements and I’m already halfway through again.

On Friday I also placed an order with Game.co.uk, as they currently have a sale on. I’ve kinda splashed out some new some old; it’s a bit of a balance. I’ve ordered Dante’s Inferno, Red Faction: Guerilla, The Orange Box and Darksiders. Incidentally that’s also the planned play order as well, although I may have to try each one first! They’ve been dispatched today but I’m hoping to get another night on Bioshock 2 in the hope of finishing on hard before I start the new games. We’ll see though as I don’t fancy taking on 4 big daddy’s and then a big sister especially as I have low ammunition.

I’ve also joined Twitter so feel free to follow me, I’ll update there to let everyone know when new blog posts are done, I’ll also aim to update with game progress as well. My Twitter name is @Gamerpraggers. I’m hopefully going to try and put a feed up on this blog so you can see my tweets if you don’t end up following me.


UPDATE: I've now completed Bioshock 2 on hard, wohoo go me. It wasn't as bas as I thought it would be but I'm glad I had already completed it with our using the Vita-Chambers. The other Solo achievement I had to get was all of the Power to the people stations, I got that one as well. So now I'm all ready for my new games!  

Easter Bank Holiday Weekend

So with a 4 day bank holiday weekend you would have thought that for someone like me that would mean long sessions on the Xbox and plenty of gaming, and you would be right. However that wasn't the way it turned out it all started so well . . .

 . . . Thursday night I managed to get to the final boss, so Friday I spent most of the day grinding on Last Remnant in preparation for that fight. I also had one other achievement that I needed to get as well, Guru of the Mystic, which was going to need a lot of patience for. By Friday evening I was almost ready for the final boss. 

Saturday once I had woken up I tried to finish off the last couple of things to be ready for the final boss however it was going to take along time for that, I needed a character to gain a lot more money but there was no easy way for this to happen, so I decided that I would leave it for the time being and I would go and have a crack at the final boss and if he still wiped the floor with me I would try and continue getting this character to learn a special move. 

I was also ready for the final task on the Guru of the Mystic achievement which could be taken care of en-route to the final boss fight, and was. So I was all set everything was in place did I do it? No, I got well and truly whipped. Same goes for the second and third tries, which included a slight reshuffle on my tactics but still no joy. In the end I combined my 4 teams into 2 super teams, one for combat the other for healing, and ended up handing the final boss his ass on a plate, in two turns. 

After a good few sighs of relief I put the game away, it was a hard slog and the grinding was getting boring after a while. I then had to decide what I was going to play next, which is Bioshock 2. I didn't get a chance to play it as I was heading to the cinema with my girlfriend to see Kick-Ass, which is a really good film. We then had dinner after the film before coming home and starting Bioshock 2.

Sunday everything started going wrong, I woke up early with back pain but this soon changed to a pain across my chest which I couldn't shake, and with being in pain concentrating on a game was out of the question. So Sunday was pretty much written off, however I was feeling better in the evening. Today, Monday, I played some more Bioshock, but the pain has returned so I've left the Xbox off this evening.

So yeah not the gaming productive weekend I had hoped for, but I have now finished Last remnant which is a load off my mind. It does now bring the total of games I've maxed out on gamer score up to 23. I hope you had a good Easter weekend as well.

Last Remnant? more like Lost Remnant!

As you may have noticed I've not written in a while. I would like to say that this was because I've been busy putting the finishing touches on some of the many posts that I have been promising over the past couple of months, or that I was working hard on playing Final Fantasy XIII, or that I had been abducted by aliens. Unfortunately it's not the case for any of the above. So here is a quick run down of what I've been up to.


After completing Wolverine I was in a Marvel Mood, however with a backlog of games only just a little shorter than the list of up coming games, I want to get my grubby little gamer hands on, I didn't feel I could justify getting another game. But my girlfriend helped me out but buying me Iron Man. However I didn't play it straight away. I decided that, as I was most of the way through playing The Saboteur, I would finish it first. 


I finished Iron Man in about a week and it took me another week to whore all  the achievements. I liked it, mostly because I'm a Marvel Fan Boy, but also I got to play as Iron Man, I mean who wouldn't want to be a millionaire Playboy genius! However there were some very frustrating moments, but I will explain more about those in the review.


After that I thought I would get my fill of JRPG's, what with the then upcoming release of Final Fantasy XIII, so I dusted off my copy of Last Remnant and picked up where I left off. Unfortunately the save file I had going was past a certain point so i had to go back a bit and try again, which has turned out to be a blessing in disguise as I'm actually doing better than I was.  


And that's pretty much it, I've taken a step back from playing everyday as my gf has been playing FF13. I will get around to it at some point, but not yet. I've still got Dragon Age, Left4Dead2, Ghostbusters and Dead Space from before Christmas, as well as BioShock 2, Dante's Inferno and numerous others that I still want to buy, I'm sure I will be kept busy.  

Online Play For All?

How do you people feel about online play? Well according to an article on IGN EA Plans Online Play, DLC For All New Titles
I've got to say I'm very scepticle about this news, I have played online and there are games that are specifically designed with online multi-player in mind, for example games like Call of Duty, Left4Dead, Left4Dead2 and Burnout Paradise. The best example out of those titles is Left4Dead, it's a multi-player game with a solo campaign. The reverse can be said of Bioshock where it was an excellent solo play game with an excellent story, graphics and atmosphere the developers decided that it needed a multi-player mode which they released with the PS3 Edition, and have developed that idea for the upcoming sequel.

Looking at the titles EA have released so far you have both the Mass Effect games, Dragon Age:Origins which has recently had a sequel announced, Dante's Inferno and The Saboteur. All of these games are single player and we play them for the story, not to reach a cut scene and have your mates talk all over it, I get annoyed when my girlfriend asks if I wanted a drink while I was trying to find out why a massive alien hadn't just killed my where I stood. Now don't get me wrong I know that the article isn't saying that all games will have a multiplayer storyline, but have some sort of multiplayer mode. 

Another good example of this sort of thing is Assassins Creed 2. Ubisoft have created the Uplay system an in-game system for downloading extras and additional Downloadable content for certain games. You pay for these by unlocking uplay points by doing certain actions in the game. One of these is an arena that you can play against your friends, I don't see the point personally, because you only have a set number of moves that your friend will know as well, it's like playing rock, paper, scissors. There is no skill and this is surely the whole point of multi-player Vs. modes, showing off your skills against other opponents. I could be wrong about this as I've not played it personally.

A lot of this will depend on how well the multi-player is done, with the Bioshock 2 example, 2K have a completely separate development team working on the multi-player platform so it's not supposed to feel like it's been tacked on. 

What Have I Been Doing?

I know I said I was going to try and write an entry every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, but I let it slip a bit this week but thats probably due to playing Mass Effect 2. However with posting this update, then there will have been 2 updates this week so it's only one that has been missed, which isn't too bad.

As I said in a previous post I recently bought Mass Effect 2. I've now completed the story, however I'm still working towards 2 more achievements. I've only got Warp Specialist - Warp the barriers of 25 enemies, and the biggest one Insane - Complete the game on the Insanity Difficulty. The latter I am finding a lot more difficult than when trying to complete the first game on Insanity, but as was pointed out earlier today, when you were continuing a game you already head decent weapons, but this time round you have to wait for the upgrades to come, although you do start with the main weapons.

I have seen the teaser trailer for Fallout: New Vegas. Although it's only a teaser trailer and not designed to give anything away, I'm sure there will be plenty of speculation as to what it will include. I'm guessing the figure at the end is either someone from the Brotherhood of Steel or it's the character that you will be playing.

So what does the near future hold for me on the gaming scene? Well, I'm hoping to finish off Mass Effect 2 to the full 1015G (go Figure!), and as the neither pick up Dragon Age: Origins again or maybe go back and pick up The Saboteur. However we are only 4 days away from Bioshock 2 being released, and I'm really interested in that as well, but what with my birthday coming up I've already decided that I'm not going to be getting any games as I already  have a large back log of games.