As of writing this, I've just 100% finished Plants Vs. Zombies, aside from growing the tree as high as possible. And all I can say is... well, keep reading.
Premise
Plants Vs. Zombies is just one of those games where the premise alone gets you. Basically, your some random dude in the middle of a zombie apocalypse who's just trying to stay safe in his house. Naturally, being one of the few humans left in the world, the zombies all want to eat his brains. So what does he do? Plant vicious plants that guard your house from zombies with their life. I just love it when movies and games take the zombie route in a humorous, hysterical way. So naturally, the premise alone of Plants Vs. Zombies deserves a high score in my book.
Score: Above Average 8/10
Gameplay
The gameplay in Plants Vs. Zombies takes the Tower Defense genre to a whole new level. You see, it's not just your typical old tower defense game. Plants Vs. Zombies has a tower defense-like feel and objective, but the real time interactivity within the game add something that really spices up the genre as a whole. In a typical game, you plant your sunflowers(or other sun producing plants) as soon as possible to start building up sun power. With sun power, you can plant more seeds in turn, including more sunflowers. Eventually, you have to start growing offensive plants such as the peashooter so that approaching zombies will be killed before they reach your house. Other than that, you don't really need to use any of the other plants, though it's highly recommended and especially in the later stages of the game. Some of the other types of plants include wall-nuts, which act as a wall that the zombies have to eat through to get to your other plants/house, as well as other types of support plants such as the magnet shroom, which steals metal buckets, ladders and many other magnetically attracted objects from zombies. All in all, there is a lot of strategic complexity to this delightfully simple game. And in my eyes, it's a perfect balance that other games should strive for. And with so many different modes to keep you occupied--adventure, mini game, puzzle and survival--perfect really is the correct choice of word.
Score: Perfect 10/10
Sound & Graphics
Plants Vs. Zombies utilizes very two dimensional looking graphics, though it can still pass as looking like a modern game. It's not as if the graphics are pixelated or anything horrible. In fact, they look quite nice if you ask me and are absolutely fitting to the game. The music is also nice and fitting, though all in all neither of these categories are very special in this game. Not that it matters much, of course.
Score: Above Average 8/10
Final Thoughts
So maybe there is a lot I can say about this game. Hell, I could talk about it for hours. If you haven't played Plants Vs. Zombies yet then what are you waiting for? Definitely one of the best games of 2009, and it's very cheap. Seriously, I don't care what kind of games you normally play or enjoy. Plants Vs. Zombies might be a chance of pace from the usual, but it's a nice one. I can't remember the last time I played a game from start to finish in 100% completion. BUY THIS GAME NOW!
My overall score is: 9.0/10.0
Saturday, January 2, 2010
[Game Review] Torchlight (PC)
Wow. I can't believe 2010 is already here. And with the first day almost over, I guess I better get this review out to you guys. BTW, tomorrow I'm reviewing Plants Vs. Zombies. Enjoy!
Environment & Atmosphere
Torchlight doesn't really make much of an attempt at having a story. Instead, they spent their time developing a little bit of lore that creates a rich environment and atmosphere to the game. As a result, that's what I'm going to be reviewing rather than it's "story". Though to be honest, with that said, even the lore seems to be lacking a bit in this game. But the aesthetics of the mines as you get deeper down, and their ability to really make you feel like your in an entirely different world each time you get to a new area is just flat out impressive. In that regard, they did a very good job. But in terms of anything that involved writing... I'll just let the numbers speak for them self.
Score: Average 6/10
Gameplay
The gameplay is definitely the strong point in Torchlight, especially since everything else seems to be pretty low budget. Though, most people value a game having better gameplay than anything else anyway, with myself included for the most part(I've played games where story took some precedence over gameplay but the gameplay was still very good.)
First off, you should know that this game is essentially Diablo 2.5. In fact, some of the people who made it used to work for Blizzard and ended up working on Diablo 2. The only catch is that the game has no multiplayer. *waits a few seconds* Yeah, I know I just lost a bunch of you right there. We've essentially got Diablo 2+ and they forgot multiplayer! Okay, okay, I get what you're saying, just here me out. They haven't "forgotten" multiplayer. They're actually working on a free mmo of Torchlight that is going to use a lot of the stuff that's in the game but is going to actually be multiplayer like Diablo. As for the Torchlight we've got now, it has something HUGE on Diablo games. Two words: Player mods! For a single player game, Torchlight seems to be pretty community based, and I would guess that's because of the mod communities that have developed. In fact, well over 100 mods have been made and 100s are in the process of being made as I write this.
Score: Above Average 8/10
Sound & Graphics
The music and art styles used in this game are just absolutely stunning if you ask me. A lot of people claim that some of the music was taken directly from Diablo 2 but honestly, even if it's true I really don't care. They really do a good job using the WOW like graphical style to create visually stunning environments and they pair it with music that is both moving and fitting. At least in this aspect, they really capture the essence of gaming and what it's like to feel immsersed in a game.
Score: Above Average 8/10
Final Thoughts
This one is simple. If you're considering buying this game you've only got a few things to consider. One, do you like Diablo or similar dungeon raiding, isometricly viewed action rpg games? Two, would you play a game like this despite there being no multiplayer? If you answered yes, then go buy this game now! It's only $20! Actually, $10 on steam if you buy it before Jan. 3rd. So hurry!
My overall score is: 7.6/10.0
Environment & Atmosphere
Torchlight doesn't really make much of an attempt at having a story. Instead, they spent their time developing a little bit of lore that creates a rich environment and atmosphere to the game. As a result, that's what I'm going to be reviewing rather than it's "story". Though to be honest, with that said, even the lore seems to be lacking a bit in this game. But the aesthetics of the mines as you get deeper down, and their ability to really make you feel like your in an entirely different world each time you get to a new area is just flat out impressive. In that regard, they did a very good job. But in terms of anything that involved writing... I'll just let the numbers speak for them self.
Score: Average 6/10
Gameplay
The gameplay is definitely the strong point in Torchlight, especially since everything else seems to be pretty low budget. Though, most people value a game having better gameplay than anything else anyway, with myself included for the most part(I've played games where story took some precedence over gameplay but the gameplay was still very good.)
First off, you should know that this game is essentially Diablo 2.5. In fact, some of the people who made it used to work for Blizzard and ended up working on Diablo 2. The only catch is that the game has no multiplayer. *waits a few seconds* Yeah, I know I just lost a bunch of you right there. We've essentially got Diablo 2+ and they forgot multiplayer! Okay, okay, I get what you're saying, just here me out. They haven't "forgotten" multiplayer. They're actually working on a free mmo of Torchlight that is going to use a lot of the stuff that's in the game but is going to actually be multiplayer like Diablo. As for the Torchlight we've got now, it has something HUGE on Diablo games. Two words: Player mods! For a single player game, Torchlight seems to be pretty community based, and I would guess that's because of the mod communities that have developed. In fact, well over 100 mods have been made and 100s are in the process of being made as I write this.
Score: Above Average 8/10
Sound & Graphics
The music and art styles used in this game are just absolutely stunning if you ask me. A lot of people claim that some of the music was taken directly from Diablo 2 but honestly, even if it's true I really don't care. They really do a good job using the WOW like graphical style to create visually stunning environments and they pair it with music that is both moving and fitting. At least in this aspect, they really capture the essence of gaming and what it's like to feel immsersed in a game.
Score: Above Average 8/10
Final Thoughts
This one is simple. If you're considering buying this game you've only got a few things to consider. One, do you like Diablo or similar dungeon raiding, isometricly viewed action rpg games? Two, would you play a game like this despite there being no multiplayer? If you answered yes, then go buy this game now! It's only $20! Actually, $10 on steam if you buy it before Jan. 3rd. So hurry!
My overall score is: 7.6/10.0
Friday, January 1, 2010
Happy New Years!
To kick off the new year, I'm gonna do a week straight of reviews as well as other good shit. Though, seeing as this is somewhat a fresh start I'd like to denounce my current review structure and allow myself a bit more freedom. Generally, all the reviews are going to be similar enough for them to be comprehensible but I'm not going to restrict myself by forcing myself to write a section on the story of games that never even attempt at having a decent one. I'm also going to have sections in reviews that only really apply to a few games, so you can expect each review to be a little different and more catered towards each specific game. First review of the year goes up later today: Torchlight.
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