christiangamer

Well it’s been a while since I updated due to holidays, being sick, more holidays, and (insert more lame excuses here)…

Anywho – here’s some of the new games added to the rotation/are trying out:

Lord of the Rings Conquest

It DID NOT turn out as good as I had been hoping.  The story mode is weak – the controls are confusing and feel rather clunky – the graphics are just OK – the voice acting is TERRIBLE.  As bad as that sounds it’s still fun to play.  There is much fun to be had in the 4-player split screen mode and the 2 player co-op.  It got quite a bit of playtime at youth group last night.  We loved the capture the ring mode.  There is absolutely no depth to this game whatsoever, but it has some fun multiplayer.  Tolkien fans will not like some of the lore/story departures.  I recommend Lord of the Rings Online if you’re looking to play in a very accurate Middle Earth.  That being said, it very loosely followed the big battles of the movies…

Don’t buy it for single-playing, but if you’re a big fan of couch co-op and 4 player split screens it might be worth it.  The concensus among those of us that really dug into it for a while was that it could have been so much better if it was developed for so much longer.  Rushed-out-the-door game here folks – be wary!

Scary monsters and an evil “what-if” campaign are the only things that parents will probably want to investigate on the content side.  There is an achievement for killing 300 hobbits in the shire during the evil campaign… Haven’t gotten that far yet personally so I don’t yet know what it’s like…

Call of Duty World at War

The split-screen multiplayer on this game is identical to Call of Duty 4, except that we’ve found it to be glitch-riddled and much bloodier, unfortunately.  We turn the voice-volume down as well because in the online multiplayer there have been some instances of serious swearing (why can’t Kiefer Sutherland play a laid-back dude?  He seems so calm on the Letterman show…).  I’m not sure if the swearing still takes place in offline multiplayer.  I’m still playing through the campaign; but I don’t recommend it for younger kids at all.  Also, so far it seems that the gut-wrenching powerful story moments of Call of Duty 4 were replaced with simplistic shock factor moments that are cheap, rather than meaningful – which is why I haven’t been all that compelled to finish it.

Hate to say I wouldn’t really recommend it for kids or for youth group rotation.  On a related note, Infinity Ward, the makers of the amazing Call of Duty 4 (Treyarch made Call of Duty’s 3 and Call of Duty:World at War) have officially announced Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.  I hope they stick to a similar formula rather than trying to 1up the cheap shocks, blood, and wordiness of World at War.

Last but not least: Kung Fu Panda

And then there is this game; which is actually quite fun to play.  See; usually big movie tie in games are known to be rushed games that apparently never make it to the “is it fun?” testing process.  This game must have, because whether you are young or old, you will probably enjoy Kung Fu Panda – especially if you’re a big fan of the movie – as I am.  The 1 player adventure mode is funny and fun.  The fighting mechanics are actually pretty deep for a kid’s game.  And the 4-player multiplayer modes seal the deal.  This is one of the best youth-group games you can get; especially for the younger kids.  Highly recommended!

That’s all for now kids and parents – have fun out there in video game land