Modern Combat 3: Fallen Nation iPhone and iPad Game Review

With this being the third instalment in the series Modern Combat 3: Fallen Nation really doesn't underwhelm. It's bigger and better than the two that came before it combined.
You're sent out to fight on American soil for America as it's been invaded and beginning to be taken over by the three evils of the world, North Korea, Pakistan and Russia which are forming the KPR. You eventually bring the fight off American soil as you travel throughout the campaign which packs 13 missions. The undertone of Call of Duty Modern Warfare running through the title is to be honest slightly ridiculous. But hey it works from the AC 130 adventure to guitar riffs at the end of missions.
The campaign took me around 6 hours to complete. Not the longest campaign in the world but it isn't dragged out and each mission is full of action beginning to end. Everything felt polished from the subtle storyline giving the game a purpose to the absolutely amazing graphics. It all helps for an immersive and fun experience.
Missions are varied and a challenge can be found when cranking the difficulty up. Many terrains are featured which keeps it fresh. The variety of weapons with machine guns, pistols, snipers, shotguns and rocket launchers are all quite literally a blast to use.
Now something many will adore is the online multiplayer. I tried it out and was very impressed. You can play with up to 12 players across 6 maps. A ton of different modes can be played with team battle, capture the flag, zone control, bomb disposal and many many more. Perks and guns can be unlocked by purchasing them with in game money which is earned throughout the game but if your impatient you can buy game money with real money. I see my self everyday dipping in and out of the online multiplayer which means this game definitely has replay value.
I think this is worth pointing out to those who like playing Modern Combat on both the iPhone and iPad but don't like having to purchase two separate versions for each device that you will no longer have to. It's now a universal App and we hope Gameloft continue this trend.
The controls are completely customisable. You can drag the virtual buttons to wherever you desire them. You can also adjust the sensitivity of your aim which is controlled by simply swiping your finger on the right hand side of the screen. You can use the gyroscope to also aim but I end up turning it off as I couldn't be bothered. To move you tap anywhere in the left hand side of the screen and an onscreen virtual joystick appears. The controls aren't noticeable and don't interfere with the game which means there done well.
Graphically this is a masterpiece for the iPhone and iPad. It looks like a console title and thats all down to Gameloft's new game engine being put into action. Everything runs with no lag and the sheer amount of detail in the environments is remarkable, reflections, shadows and lighting is all pulled off. The guns are well detailed and even the reloading is realistic. The little touches like when you move your view quickly the screen blurs slightly and bullet holes landing in walls is all appreciated.
The sound effects are all helpful to bring the graphics to life. I really noticed that the voice acting was top notch in this title. The actual sound tracks and riffs etc when levelling up online or finishing a mission are as I wrote earlier very Modern Warfare.
Overall this is by far the best first person shooter to hit the iPhone and iPad. Simple and not interfering controls, good plot, solid amount of weapons, a nice variety of missions alongside a fantastic campaign, great online and breath taking graphics, what isn't here?

View the original article here

Read More

Reckless Getaway iPhone and iPad Game Review

Reckless Getaway sees you driving away from robberies at crazy fun speeds in a couple of different vehicles. The vehicles handle in a skiddish manor adding lots of fun. Currently 17 creatively designed levels are available to drive through but more are coming in the future with updates. All levels are uniquely designed and set in different areas and terrains, from the dessert to icy snow. The mixture keep it fresh and appealing.
The main idea behind each level is to collect up to 4 golden stars. These are obtained by collecting coins and performing stunts, overtakes of other motorists, crashes etc and this also puts up your score which can be shared with the world via Game Center. Coins are placed in very hard to get to areas the further you go through the game, such as on trains tracks which you have to dodge in sequence due to trains coming and totaling your car which loses you a possible star to obtain making it only possible to get three. The cops also play a huge role with constant shoving into your vehicle damaging you and getting you of course from obtaining the stars.
The default controls are really simple to get use to with left and right virtual on screen buttons and that's it. No accelerator, brake etc is required making it very easy to play. Different configurations for the controls are possible with an option to use the accelerometer but this clearly isn't designed to take use of that quite well enough yet. The default controls work flawlessly though!
Graphics are cartoony and makes the whole game work very well. This wouldn't be anywhere near as fun to play if it wasn't for the funky physics and innocent visuals. Buildings, roads, cars etc are all designed in this cartoony way. Crashes and explosions are also consistent. The physics are crazy fun with you being able to just steer into other cars on the road and smash them off a cliff or into a building and then stunts such as jumps are also very over the top.
The audio tracks are well suited and catchy. The sound effects are very cartoony just like the visuals, with big explosions and smashes, o and not to forget constant police sirens.
Awesome graphics, funky audio, great controls, creative level design and epic fun make this an App not to miss this summer.


View the original article here

Read More

Madden 13 Preview

We recently had a chance to get our hands on a playable version of Madden 13 and it looks like we'll have an all new learning curve on offense this August when the game ships. We're already past the gratuitous "presentation" portion of EA SPORTS' marketing campaign and into the grittiest of the nitty when it comes to Madden 13: gameplay. There's plenty to talk about after our session with the game but here we want to focus on pass timing and flight path.

You'll have to bear with us because we tend to ignore the fancy names given to new Madden 13 features. What they call Total Control Passing, for example, we'll just refer to generically as the new touch passing system. Trust us, it can get quite confusing trying to keep track of all those new marketing-driven phrases every year so it's better if we just look at what they actually do rather than what they're called.

Timing is going to be everything in Madden 13's passing game. After the snap you, as the quarterback, have to be aware of the fact that your receivers will be looking for the ball only at certain points during a play. On an in-route, the receiver won't be looking for the ball until after he makes his break; on deep routes, the player won't be looking for the ball until he gets a certain number of yards down field. This didn't seem like that big a deal on paper but when we saw how Madden 13 is implementing this system, our reaction was mixed. When we say a player isn't looking, we mean that literally now. Offensive and defensive players actually have to look at the football in the air before they can make a play on it. If the receiver on the in-route doesn't look up for the ball after he makes his cut, it's highly unlikely he makes the catch. Obviously this is where a receiver's AWR and CTH rating will play a part. This doesn't mean that you can't throw the ball early on a timing route, like a curl, knowing that the receiver will be looking for the ball immediately coming out of his break. That will definitely work. Our cause for concern comes from the fact that you may not see the passing icon over the receiver's head until the timing for the pass is right. That is, your X receiver on a fly route won't have that 'X' over his head until he's at a point in his route where you're supposed to deliver the ball. This disappearing/reappearing icon will likely be optional when the final game ships, but for now it definitely takes some getting used to.

We ran with the Oakland Raiders (our favorite team) to see how Carson Palmer's arm and Oakland's speedy weapons would function in the new passing system. The timing system was apparent on a screen pass to the underrated Marcel Reece. The whole point of running a screen to the fullback is that no defense is ever going to commit more than one player to watching the fullback. Thus when we snapped the ball and didn't see the "LB" icon over Reece's head, there was a moment of brief panic. You can still throw the ball to a receiver who doesn't have the icon over his head, but we nonetheless thought we'd called the wrong play or something had gone wrong when Reece's icon didn't come up. A split second later when we hit the "LB" button to deliver the ball anyway, Reece broke off his route and headed upfield rather than drifting toward the sideline like the playart shows. Now Reece made the catch, but because the timing of the play was thrown off by our early pass attempt, the blocking didn't get a chance to set up and he only gained two yards. Yes it's only one play, but it clearly illustrates the importance of timing in Madden 13 and it does it using a screen pass; the ultimate timing play. The takeaway here is that the disappearing icons are meant to simulate the reads and decision making quarterbacks have to make during a play. It seems to be implemented fairly well but we'll need much more time with the game (which we'll get) to really see how far this new timing system goes toward accurately representing NFL football.

Hand-in-hand with the new timing system is the new ball flight trajectory and precision passing system. We're now given more control over where the ball goes and how it gets there. The distance between the quarterback and the receiver will determine what kind of power you can put on the pass. No more rifling short passes six yards downfield or inadvertently throwing a "moonball" out of bounds. Tapping or mashing a passing button will determine what kind of touch you're putting on the pass but there are limits to how fast and how high the ball will travel through the air. We had a difficult timing separating the effects of the precision passing system from the flight trajectory system. In theory, you're supposed to be able to use the left stick to lead a receiver with your pass and do it better than we've seen in previous editions of Madden NFL. For years, holding up or down on the left stick as you press the pass button would throw the ball high (so your man can outleap the defense) or low (so you can pick apart a zone with precision). Aiming left or right while passing didn't have a dramatic effect, really. Now, in Madden 13, all of those directions on a pass will cause your quarterback to throw the ball ahead of, behind, deeper or more shallow than the receiver's current route....sort of. As best as we can tell, the same left stick controls during passing will also still throw the ball high or low. So of course we tried all sorts of variations of passes intended to illustrate for us just what does what. For example on a broken play, we always want the receiver to break deep down the field so we can throw a high touch pass over the defender and make a big play out of something. In past Madden's this is very difficult. In Madden 13, in theory, it should be easier with all of the new passing control changes. What we ended up with was a lot of incompletions and interceptions. In our session with Madden 13, we couldn't get an understanding of how to at least attempt creative passes regularly. Whether it's user error, incomplete design or simply a rough early build of the game that's to blame, we'll be digging into this in later sessions.

So that's an early taste of Madden 13. The passing game looks promising as long as the new features are implemented in a way that's not obstructive. The super linebackers are gone, replaced with your decisions to throw high or low and with velocity. That's a good thing. There should be more to come with Madden 13 so keep it on spinmovr because we plan to tell you all about it.

For all of your sports video game needs, including the latest on Madden 13, NCAA Football 13 and more, direct yourself to spinmovr.com. Trailers, news and in-depth features are all waiting for you at http://www.spinmovr.com/ and http://www.twitter.com/spinmovr

View the original article here

Read More

The Scruffs: Return of the Duke Review

Way back in 2007, hidden object aficionados encountered The Scruffs, a fun and quirky game that features equally fun and quirky characters as they try to unfold a family secret and prevent their beloved family home from being sold. Fast forward to present 2012, a sequel to this game appears. The Scruffs: Return of the Duke features a completely different storyline, but brings back the comical family from the original game. And this time, they are involved in a bigger adventure which we will be tackling with the rest of this review.

Grandpa Scruff is actually a duke, and after discovering this fact, the entire Scruff family returns to Scrufford but soon encounters an evil impostor that wants to take Grandpa Scruff's rightful position. Well, that is the entire gist of the story as you try to thwart the impostor's evil plans and help the old man get back his title. Simple, right? Well, that is because the entire game is very simple as well. But it makes up for it with pure, lighthearted fun, lots of humor and possibly the cutest hint system you will encounter in the hidden object genre.

The game play of The Scruffs: Return of the Duke is straightforward hidden object. You try to find items in various cluttered scenes with some of them turning into inventory items you can use to progress the storyline. It is much like the first installment of The Scruffs, but definitely better and more refined. I could say it is funnier too, bringing me lots of laughs even with just the hidden object scenes. And while the puzzles may not be so unique, they are very well made, with some taking quite a lot of time to complete (Sudoku, anyone?).

What I really loved best though is the game's hint system. The Scruff dog located at the lower right side of the screen will give you hints whenever he is available. What he does is bark whenever you get to approach the needed object. Absolutely cute and very fun to use. Kudos to the developers for putting such an element oftentimes neglected on other hidden object games.

All in all, The Scruffs: Return of the Duke is certainly a must try, must buy game. But of course, it is much better for you to try it out first if comic style graphics and storyline suits you well. As a bit of trivia, the original The Scruffs game won second runner-up best hidden object game of 2007 at the Big Fish Games portal. Just so you know how fun this game really is to play.

View the original article here

Read More

The PlayStation Vita Has Backwards Compatability

The new PlayStation Vita utilizes a new media format known as the PS Vita Card. These small flash memory cartridges store game data and allow you to load games much like a Nintendo DS cartridge or similar media. However, the change in format has left many people wondering about the backwards compatibility of the Playstation Vita with previously purchased games for the PlayStation Portable. Fortunately, Sony has offered a variety of features on the Vita that allow you to enjoy older games and content on the new device.

PlayStation Vita Network Support

By registering your PS Vita with your PlayStation Network account, you can download any PSOne Classics, PS Minis and most PSP downloads that you previously purchased. PSP downloads are being added as games are tested for full compatibility. These should install and run flawlessly on the new Vita. Icons will be created in the LiveArea interface that allow you to launch these games with the tap of your screen.

PS Vita has Backwards Compatibility for Universal Media Discs

With the switch to PS Vita Cards, a UMD reading drive was not included with the Vita. At this time, no known plans have been made to release an external UMD reader for the PS Vita. However, there is still a way to enjoy your games on the new Vita as long as you have access to an original PlayStation Portable that is linked to your PlayStation Network account.

By using the UMD Passport program, you can register games that you own on UMD using your PSP. This allows you to buy downloadable versions of supported games at a reduced price from the PlayStation Vita Store. The process is quick and easy. Simply download the UMD Passport app on your PSP, launch the app, insert any UMD games that you wish to play on your PS Vita and follow the on-screen prompts. After you have completed the process on your PSP, launch the PlayStation Vita Store and check for your discounts in the PSP downloads section.

Graphics for PSP Downloads

A few small features are accessible for PSP downloads that allow you to optimize the graphics for the display. With the substantial increase in both resolution and screen size from the PSP to the Vita, there are noticeable jagged edges and inconsistencies in the display of many PSP games. However, these are just a result of stretching the image to fit the new display and do not interfere with playing the games in any way.

For More PlayStation Vita Reviews, news, and other related information visit our blog at http://www.vitaplaystationreviews.com/

View the original article here

Read More

Street Fighter II Hyper Fighting Review

Exclusive to the Xbox 360, Street Fighter II Hyper Fighting lands on the Xbox Live Arcade. Considered to be the greatest in the Street Fighter franchise, this is the third installment in the series adding hyper speed to the world renowned Championship Edition. This is an arcade port of the original; no graphical changes and no remixed soundtrack. This is the classic just like we remember with a raw tiger knee to your face.

Appreciate this port for what it is, a higher difficulty adjustment for the vets and 4 player lobby matches online, making it the closest you'll get to being at the arcades looking over my shoulder with your bag of quarters. Street Fighter II Hyper Fighting because of its timeless game play, the equation is simple: nostalgia plus online game play you can't go wrong.

Concerning the nostalgia factor, I wasn't too fond with the graphical changes in SSF II Turbo HD Remix. It made it look too cartoony. SSF2THD Remix is a great game though, and has a wonderful balance system but because it looks cuter people over look Hyper Fighting. Hyper Fighting hits with greater impact by keeping it all-original separating this game from all the rest. I mean this game alone made me buy an arcade fight stick; you HAVE got to buy an arcade stick. I adjusted my entire room just for the arcade fight stick. It adds so much more fun to the game or you can yourself the Street Fighter pad. I'm just trying my best to keep you away from that FPS d-pad on the Xbox. When I mention controllers I'm only talking to the Street Fighter fans anyway. Casual gamers might not even notice. These accessories were not even around when this game was released back in '06. To own the Hyper Fighting cabinet would be awesome. But trust me, you'll have just as much fun as before when you played it on the Super Nintendo. This is an awesome video game and one that any old and new school gamer would appreciate.

Yeah, you remember playing on the Super Nintendo, when you used to wrap your thumb inside your shirt just to throw a hadouken. Because of how loyal I am to the series, I would have easily given 40 bucks for this game but lucky for us its only 400 points on XBLA. Nowadays the online players are scattered around, a lot of them moved to HD Remix and the Street Fighter IV series. Both of those series are great, but this is the game that keeps me coming back, even now I have memories of when my Xbox Live friends list was filled with Hyper fighters.

To put it all into perspective, Capcom released Street Fighter IV almost ten years after their last 2D SF game. This is what the Street Fighter community is all about, it reminds me of 2008 when Mega Man 9 was released in 8-bit graphics, that's crazy influence! Street Fighter II Hyper Fighting is just not going away. So until next time gamers, charge back, forward, sonic boom!

View the original article here

Read More

Back to the Future: The Game

Release Date: October 25, 2011
Publisher: Telltale Games
ESRB Rating: Teen

Are you telling me that you built a time machine... out of a DeLorean? Great, Scott! Whoa, this is heavy, Doc. Most people can tell you what movie these lines are from, and most can even pull off a Christopher Lloyd or Michael J. Fox impression while doing so. Of course the movie is Back to the Future. If you have shunned movies and general pop culture for the past 27 years, I suggest you go out and buy the trilogy on DVD or Blu-Ray immediately. You'll laugh through the first one, chuckle at the second one, and probably stop about midway through the third film due to lack of interest. But, without a doubt, you will become a fan of the franchise and might want to pick up Back to the Future: The Game.

Back to the Future: The Game, available for the PS3 and Wii, starts out in 1986 with Doc being presumed dead after leaving for the past and never returning. Marty McFly, however, thinks differently. Shortly into the game, the DeLorean returns with Doc's trusty dog Einsten, but Doc is nowhere to be found. Marty must travel back to 1931 to rescue Doc.

The plot is simple enough (written in part by the original franchise's co-creator, co-writer and co-producer) and so is the gameplay. It's essentially a point and click graphic adventure game. You interact with items and people by clicking on them. If it's a person, you choose from a list of things to say to that person. If it's an object, you either use the object or it's added to your inventory to use later. Admittedly, this gets boring after the first 10 minutes. The obstacles you face and puzzles you need to solve in order to further the plot are also just ho-hum.

The game is broken up into five episodes (the game was originally released for the iPad, PC and PS3 as downloadable content). Despite being a fan of the films, I struggled getting through even the first episode. Don't get me wrong, there are a couple of laugh-out-loud moments that evoke nostalgia for the original films (Who doesn't like to see a member of the Tannen family getting covered in manure?). Plus it helps that Christopher Lloyd, who played Doc in the films, voices Doc in the game. And although Michael J. Fox doesn't voice Marty McFly, a terrific voice actor named AJ LoCascio does a spot-on Michael J. Fox impression. These things don't make Back to the Future: The Game good, however. Just more tolerable.

If you have some time to kill and have already beaten all of your other games, then I'd say check out Back to the Future: The Game. It's more entertaining than the film Back to the Future III, but not nearly as inventive or clever as Back to the Future II. Actually, you know what, you're probably just better off watching the original Back to the Future. So what are you waiting for? Why don't you make like a tree and get out of here? Roads? Where we're going, we don't need...roads. Yeah, well, history's going to change.

No, seriously, watch Back to the Future.

To learn more about Slackers, visit http://slackers.com/! Where playing around is serious business.

View the original article here

Read More