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Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core – PSP Now Playing March 27, 2008

Posted by Lyle in News.
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ESRB Rated: T for Teen

Blood, Mild Language, Mild Suggestive Themes, Violence

Final Fantasy fans that own a PSP have been waiting for this game for a long time (me). I’m only a couple of hours in but it looks like it’s going to deliver the goods.

Content: It seems to be pretty mild so far – there is some fighting and monster-mashing, but its pretty tame. Final Fantasy 7 (the PlayStation original) was surprising because of some of its language and sexual references (such a cartoony game – it just seemed out of place), and I expect that there will be some of that in Crisis Core; although I haven’t seen any yet. There is some mild language.

This will probably be in my PSP for a long time – these games are usually quite big… I will post a review when I finish it or at least get further in.

Assassin’s Creed – Xbox 360 Now Playing March 26, 2008

Posted by Lyle in Now Playing.
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Status – Now Playing – a few hours in…

ESRB Rating – M for Mature

Blood, Strong Language, Violence

Content – Sorry kids, I know you want to play this game but it’s pretty brutal. I would recommend that parents play it first and then still stick with the recommended ESRB rating of M for Mature. I’m a few hours into the game and have caught one F word (other words too), lots of violence and killing (you are the assassin, after all), and one seriously brutal murder in which a guy gets slashed and stabbed repeatedly by one of your future victims. I was pretty stunned by it and didn’t think to count the number of stabs – but there were many.

The game’s story is interesting and it makes you think pretty seriously about life, death, war, and justice – and that is a good thing. The violence is not obscene or meaningless. You are actually supposed to follow a creed which forbids you to kill innocents (all your targets are jerks, it would seem); but regardless of the perception that you are meant to be seen as a good guy; you still kill a lot of people and the lines of morality are very very blurry. So although I think the game has some redeeming and interesting qualities, I still can’t recommend it for anyone’s kids. Parents, if your child wants to play it – make sure you play it first and play it up to the point that I mentioned above (you’ll know it when you see it).

I may update this article with more as I play through…

Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune – Now Playing February 14, 2008

Posted by Lyle in Now Playing.
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ESRB Rated: T for Teen

Blood, Language, Mild Suggestive Themes, Use of Tobacco, Violence

Disclaimer: I would have recommended this for an M rating due to it’s realistic violence and some pretty consistent language

I’ve been playing this amazing-looking game on PS3 for a little while; and wanted to write up some of my impressions of it so far.

GOOD:

  • It’s absolutely beautiful. About the only thing I can complain about is some visual tearing; but that’s really it. The tearing may be due to my TV; but I’m viewing it over HDMI so I’m not really sure. It really doesn’t affect the experience that much. It’s just flat-out gorgeous! Colors jump off the screen. Levels are big and organic-looking.
  • It plays like Tomb Raider mixed with Indiana Jones; only with a lot more guns. Lots of fun to be had in the exploration and puzzles (though nothing too complex yet).
  • The ‘digital actors’ are amazingly life-like. In fact, I think the animations of the character models combined with Hollywood-class voice acting make for some of the best acting I’ve seen. This is incredibly immersive.

THE NOT GOOD:

  • The fighting sequences awkwardly switch between really fun and frustratingly hard without warning. There have been a couple of spots in which I’ve felt doomed to repeat over and over again until some luck comes my way. I’m thankful for the auto-save system as it seems to usually do a good job of knowing when to save your game for you.
  • The swearing. It’s pretty unnecessary for the characters to resort to this much trash to get their lines across. It would probably seem tame to most; but to me seems a bit too much for a T for teen rated game (they must be religious characters since they talk about Jesus and God so much).
  • I’m a little surprised that the violence factor didn’t get them a mature rating. It’s not an over the top gore-fest or anything, but it is pretty realistic. If you get a headshot (which is rewarded via an in-game acheivement system) the victim reacts accordingly; in other words: he looks and acts like he just got shot in the face…

THE BOTTOM-LINE:

  • I think I’m about 4-5 hours in. I’d give it a PG-13 rating if it were a movie (so far).
  • I’d label it one of the prettiest games I’ve ever seen.
  • The combat can be frustrating in certain areas and detracts from the game a little.
  • The exploration is a blast.
  • The acting is awesome.
  • Language (especially those God’s-names-in-vein variants) and violence may make the game feel like an M-rated title for some.

I may add more to this when I get a chance to play more… :)