Azurik: Rise of Perathia

You begin this game being trained with your weapon using the power of the elements that you will lose in about 2 minutes anyway during the first cut scene. Once it’s over your mission is to retrieve the elements and fragments of ancient powerful discs that were shattered by a guy called Balthasar (who sounds like Jean-Luke Picard) and then were scattered about the land.

The animated kingdom of Perathia is quite lovely and very well detailed. There are snowy mountains to climb and deep lakes and oceans to swim in. in the very beginning it almost seems like a simple mission of “collect the jewels, as everywhere you go they’re right in front of you waiting to be picked up. Later in the game the jewel trails give you an indication of which way you need to go next and lead you to little areas you might not have otherwise gone to where there are secrets hidden from view. The controls, though difficult at first, eventually become simple and they allow you to take full advantage of the 3-d world around you. Basically the left thumb stick should be used for forward or backwards motion and the right thumb stick is best used for turning Azurik in the direction he should be running. Once mastered, ledges and balancing acts that seemed very difficult and frustrating before become a piece of cake.

Though you have all the “bling” to guide you, mission instructions are not clear. One could spend hours running around at a loss as to what to do next or battling enemies they aren’t prepared to face yet. So that is the bane of this game: I prattle on about it and explain what I did about it here: You're not Leaving 'Till You've Finished That...

Once I moved on from the earth realm fiasco, then game became much more entertaining and by this time I had gotten used to the controls. Azuriks attacks are limited so long periods of enemy onslaughts can become a bit tedious, making the fact that enemies all return if you comeback to a save point quite annoying. There aren’t necessarily end bosses in the realms mainly puzzles to figure out, so the enemy list is limited as well, but their antics can be amusing to watch and they can be a challenge to defeat at times. As the game progresses you get back the powers of the elements you lost at the very begining and you can use them to explore the land further. For example, one of the powers you retrieve is that of “air” and with it you can fly over short distances, so it was fun to return to areas I had already been to and try to fly to little caves and ledges. Or with steam power melt ice bariers that blocked the path to rooms or encased items.

I’m not sure if I will play it again with all the other exciting games that I’m still waiting to play. It was good, but by no means a classic, in my opinion. I’m sure if I did replay it though I would come across a lot of things I missed the first time through.

Silent Hill 2 (PS2)

I am a huge Silent Hill fan. I play it for the rush I get when it’s dark and quiet and I’m home alone, or with a friend, and suddenly the radio goes berserk and my heart jumps in my throat. I love horror movies, so for me this is like acting out a “Choose Your Own Horror Adventure”. Silent Hill 2 is my favorite so far, though I don't have a PS3 yet, so it'll be a while before I play the newest one.

As much as I love it though, I have never finished the game due to one of several reasons.

- It’s best played during sleepover parties (yes, I still have these : )
- I refuse to play it in easy mode and inevitably get stuck fighting a Big Bad-Ass
- And there’s not enough hours in a day for me to play everything I want to play.

The game starts off in the men’s washroom at what I believe is a rest-stop just inside the boarders of the town of Silent Hill. A man called James had received a letter from his wife who’s been dead for 2 years, and now he’s in Silent hill trying to find her.

This is PS2, and the graphics are pretty standard for the system. What it lacks in visuals it makes up for in lighting and sound; they’re what make this game so awesome. I love the disturbing horror tactics: the fog, the quiet, isolated atmosphere, the suddenness of the radio, the scraping of the red pyramids knife on the floor, the droning of the alarm that accompanies him, the frustration with the camera angles and flashlight that show you just enough to get freaked out, but not enough to calm your fears.

It’s great that the map updates as if James is writing on it with a pen. It would be better if he took clues like notebooks and wallets with him, though. I always have a notepad beside me when I’m playing so why can’t they just “write it down” for me. The puzzles, though frustrating at times, are great. There’s a huge sense of satisfaction when you finally put two and two together and it works! Like throwing the juice down that trash compactor to get a coin (I figured this one out after 2 hours of running in circles and finally going to bed to mull it over.)



I count all Silent Hills, as a group, among my all time favourite games. Let’s repeat I Love Silent Hill! Here however, are a few things that cause me endless grief in this particular version.
One: I can’t for the life of me, no matter how quickly I press R2 and X, swing at the freaky guys in the street and hit them at a speed that does justice to the panicky frightening and dangerous nature of the situation. Or the way I myself would clobber the same creatures if I were to meet them in real life. (I know, I would probably just turn and run, but that’s not the point! : )

And Two: Some of the dialogue in the cut scenes are redundant, obvious and quite ridiculous at times. Some examples:
The little things like (and these are all rough quotes from memory, not word for word): “Sure is foggy around here”, “it’ an ordinary washing machine” or “it’s a newspaper but it doesn’t look interesting”.

I just don’t get why he says things like these out loud or why the game allows you to interact with objects that have and never will have a purpose in the game. They seem like a waste of energy.

***Click here: Silent Hill Ridiculous Dialogue Rant to go to my Video Dr. - The Bane of the Game page and view the tangent I went off on while further describing more ludicrous dialogue in SH2.***

All this lovely script writing aside, I’m determined this time to finish the game. No matter how long it takes or however many hours I have to play it on my own and freak the crap out of myself doing it. It shall be done!

Photos courtesy of http://www.gamespot.com

Wii Sports

This games was physically painful in an awesome way. After about 20 minutes of playing each of the sports demos, tennis, baseball, golf, bowling and boxing, I couldn't lift my arms for two days or laugh without my core muscles hurting. It's a video game AND it's a workout, who'da thunk it?! It was about time something got gamers like myself up off the couch.

Though Wii included the demo versions of these games you can also purchase the full versions of all of them except Tennis. I don't know why. That was was the best in my opinion... It appears they are releasing a game called Top spin Tennis in the second Quarter of 2008 though, and sales will probably be given a boost by the anticipation of a full version tennis game. In the mean time Table tennis is available.

I'm not much of an athlete, the only sport I play is the occasional rec soccer game, so I handed over the controls to my brother in law who's an avid softball player to get a 'pro's' opinion. His only complaint was that the movement sensitivity was a bit low. that can be adjusted though and wasn't annoying enough for him to not ask my sister for a Wii for Christmas. Being a real "man's man", he didn't even mention the childish animation of the characters, so I'm assuming he either enjoyed it so thoroughly that he didn't notice, or he's been desensitised by having a 2 year old daughter. looking at gameshots of the full versions it appears they adultified the graphics. k, well maybe not in MLB Power Pros, but Tiger Woods PGA Tour & Victorious Boxer: Revolution appear to be well done and realistic.

My suggestion is: if you buy the Wii, don't bother investing in other games till you get sick of this demo, or invest in another set of controllers so you can play with friends. Got a bone to pick with a buddy? why not duke it out in the boxing ring? Boxing was, by far, the best multiplayer game in this set.


Gameshots courtesy of: http://www.gamespot.com/

Fable (XBox)

This is honestly a great game! I had about 20 hours of fun with it. Unfortunately that wasn't enough and trying to replay it in evil mode only bore me to death. So I have only written the Bane of the game for now: Fable: Was done way before I was

When the frustration and irritation has subsided and receded from my memory I will write a review on why it was so good that I couldn't put it down until it was finished,(however prematurely).

Sudeki (XBox)

The game, though it came out a few years ago in June of 04 and is on original xbox, is wonderfully animated, and takes place in a big, colourful, world. You begin with one character, Tal the warrior, then go pick up the other three as you play.

The picture to the left is of Ailish, the princess and Tal. It doesn't really bother me that the bum is cut out of her, um... "Armor" (*snicker*) because she changes into new stuff soon that's more armor-like. So does Buki, who is half cat or something and battles it out in a G-stringed bodysuit, though not quite as quickly... Why couldn't they make Tal shirtless and manly instead of his weird, womanly, low-cut top?

I’ll begin with the Bane of the Game.

Controls though very simple are a bit tricky in battle. Tal and Buki’s combos are difficult to get, because with each swing of your sword you have to follow what the game is telling you to do, otherwise your just hitting your enemy with regular sword swings, so you spend more time looking there than at what your character is doing.

...here I go off on a tangent about the controls. To view my tangent go here Sudeki - Having Combo Inadequacy Nightmares at Video Dr.'s - Bane of the Game. Or just continue reading below, if you're not at all curious...

Ailish’s septer thing is odd to shoot. It’s right trigger and aim with the right analogue stick, but they don’t tell you how to aim they just tell you how to shoot (If you have pre read the booklet, though you'd know). The right analogue is tetchy and there’s probably a way to adjust that, but the slightest move and your pointing ninety degrees farther than you wanted to.

My final complaint, so far, about this particular game is that you can’t jump, if you're just slightly to the side of a walk way or stairs you will just stop, forcing you to go around to the front. It's not much but being able to make tiny shortcuts here and there make a game more realistic. I don’t want to jump over boundary fences, I just want to step up little ledges and such.

Spells or skills are wonderfully animated and fun to use. Though when you’re controlling all four charaters it can get a bit confusing trying to remember who has which skill. I have gotten in the habit, so far, of using Tal’s shield then Elco’s battle or “nano” enhancement. It’s proving to be a very effective combo.

Because there are four characters there is such a range of what you can do in any given area. With Tal you can push large blocks and statues, with Buki you can climb walls, with Ailish you can see invisible hidden objects and Elco has a jet pack so can fly. I found myself going back to common areas with a different character and making new exciting discoveries.

I’m getting a bit tiered of fighting in dungeons and not being given any time to complete fun side missions, but that could be because I haven’t unlocked the tele-portal-thingy yet.

Photos courtesy of http://www.gamespot.com/

Intro: The Purpose...

As a passionate gamer who happens to be female, I want to create an arena of gaming discussions - reviews/critiques/opinions - comparing mine, other girl gamers and gamers of the male persuasion's thoughts on games in possible contrast.