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Two Quick Reviews
Apr. 8th, 2010 06:40 amOf games I got for my birthday. Both of which are near polar opposites of each other.
Endless Ocean: Blue World - This one is an odd one for the Wii, and I'm hesitant to even call it a game. The basic premise is that you're a newly hired diver for the L&L Diving Service, run by a retired oceanographer Jean-Eric and his granddaughter Oceana, who finds him/herself caught up in their quest to discover the source of the "Dragon Song", which cost the life of Jean Eric's son.
This results in well, swimming around underwater a lot in some beautifully rendered environments, examining s lot of fish and digging up treasure to pay for improved diving equipment. While there is an element of violence at points (you have a "pulsar" gun, designed to pacify aggressive sea creatures) you can't actually die, just run out of air and be forced back onto your boat.
While there are some elements that you just have to chalk up to the designers not caring (swimming in the Arctic in a bikini?), it's honestly better than it sounds. It's a good game if you're interested in mild puzzles and a slight "gotta catch 'em all" mentality as you attempt to track down every fish in the game (there are over 300 to be found).
Left 4 Dead: It's the apocalypse, you and three friends are survivors, you all have guns and there are a lot zombies.
That's it really.
This is Valve's attempt to strip the Zombie Apocalypse genre down to its most basic elements, hook it into a co-op shooter format, and it works beautifully. Of the six scenarios provided, all are basically the same plot in a different setting. Start at Point A, bunny hop from Safe Room to Safe Room, until you reach the finale and blast at a nearly unending horde of undead until rescue arrives.
The repeatability element comes into play with a specialized AI "Director" who spaces out the Horde attacks to give players some breathing room, especially if they're running low on ammo. Besides conventional zombies that are basically "One shot one kill" (or "One shotgun blast MANY killed") things are livened up by specialized attack units like Boomers (that explode), Smokers, and the Witch and Tank, who WILL make your day miserable.
Great fun, especially after an irritating day at work.
Endless Ocean: Blue World - This one is an odd one for the Wii, and I'm hesitant to even call it a game. The basic premise is that you're a newly hired diver for the L&L Diving Service, run by a retired oceanographer Jean-Eric and his granddaughter Oceana, who finds him/herself caught up in their quest to discover the source of the "Dragon Song", which cost the life of Jean Eric's son.
This results in well, swimming around underwater a lot in some beautifully rendered environments, examining s lot of fish and digging up treasure to pay for improved diving equipment. While there is an element of violence at points (you have a "pulsar" gun, designed to pacify aggressive sea creatures) you can't actually die, just run out of air and be forced back onto your boat.
While there are some elements that you just have to chalk up to the designers not caring (swimming in the Arctic in a bikini?), it's honestly better than it sounds. It's a good game if you're interested in mild puzzles and a slight "gotta catch 'em all" mentality as you attempt to track down every fish in the game (there are over 300 to be found).
Left 4 Dead: It's the apocalypse, you and three friends are survivors, you all have guns and there are a lot zombies.
That's it really.
This is Valve's attempt to strip the Zombie Apocalypse genre down to its most basic elements, hook it into a co-op shooter format, and it works beautifully. Of the six scenarios provided, all are basically the same plot in a different setting. Start at Point A, bunny hop from Safe Room to Safe Room, until you reach the finale and blast at a nearly unending horde of undead until rescue arrives.
The repeatability element comes into play with a specialized AI "Director" who spaces out the Horde attacks to give players some breathing room, especially if they're running low on ammo. Besides conventional zombies that are basically "One shot one kill" (or "One shotgun blast MANY killed") things are livened up by specialized attack units like Boomers (that explode), Smokers, and the Witch and Tank, who WILL make your day miserable.
Great fun, especially after an irritating day at work.
