Midway Touchmaster Volume 1 App Review

Midway Touchmaster Volume 1

Price $4.99

The IPhone app store has become very successful in it's short existence and we've seen several of the more mainstream gaming companies (EA, Konami, Gameloft)  jumping into the App Store with both feet.  Midway is the latest to jump in feet first with an excellent collection of games in Midway Touchmaster Volume 1.  Each of the games is fun, easy to pick and play, and each is an excellent time waster which is my most important criteria).  The five games are Combo 11, Carpet, Dice King, Prismatix, and SpellWinder.  Each of these games are obviously worth more than a dollar, which makes Midway Touchmaster Volume 1 and obvious steal and one of the better apps on the marketplace.  

COMBO 11

Combo 11 is simple enough. Take two cards and make them add up to 11 and it's rather addictive.  You're dealt 15 cards straight up and have a pile of 25 other cards to aid in your quest to finish the deck.  You also have a jumble button which shuffles the cards up a bit.  The game is quite easy, but rather difficult to master.  

CARPET

Carpet is a unique twist on Solitaire in that you draw cards from the deck and try to build each suite up.  As you move cards from the right into the suites on the left, you're able to put new cards into those empty slots.  Much like Combo 11, the game is challenging, yet easy to pick up and play. You're only allowed one pass thru the deck of cards that aren't on the table, so choose carefully which cards to put into empty slots. 

DICE KING

Dice King is a mix of favorite puzzle games with a twist.  Simply select three of the same color and it puts them into a row above the main board.  The twist is that not only are you making sets on the bottom, but you get points for making sets on the row above the main board.   The game controls rather easily and the rules are easy enough for anyone to pick up and play. 

PRISMATIX

Prismatix seems easy enough.  Make the pattern that is on the vertical line by using each of the hexagons below.  You get time bonuses and points for getting as many of these patterns as you can.  The game gets more difficult over time since the hexagons disappear once you've used them for patterns.  This is perhaps one of the most addictive games in the set and very time consuming.  It's easily one of the best games in the set.  

SPELLWINDER

I've saved the best for last.  Those who've read my reviews and impressions before know what a nut I am for word games.  I've bought every single word search and crossword puzzle game on the App Store.  This is my favorite game in Touchmaster series.  You find the words from the list in any order on the board and they can be in pretty much any order.  You cannot play Spellwinder like a typical word search game.  Be prepared to be creative to find all the words in the puzzle.  I love the challenge.

Bottom Line

The Midway Touchmaster Volume 1 application is a great value and a great addition to anyone's IPhone or IPod Touch library.  Each of these games could be priced at much more than $5 and be well worth the money, but Midway chose to release them all together at a great value.  In these tough economic times, it's nice to see companies giving consumers a great value.  The games are easy to pick up and play and provide hours of fun and they even provide trophies.   It's nice to see Midway joining the App Store and I hope that we see some of their major releases show up as well, and it would be nice to see Midway Touchmaster Volume 2 as well.  Give them a try if you're so inclined.  

OVERALL SCORE 5/5

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Viking Battle for Asgard Mini-Review

As Charles Barkley would say "turrible, just turrible".  I received this one from Gamefly yesterday and played it for about a half hour and could go no further.  Just a horrid game.  The graphics are really well done, but the controls and gameplay are "turrible".  Avoid this one at all costs.  

Brothers in Arms Hell's Highway Review

Price 29.99 (trade in value at Blockbuster 27 dollars)

Played thru on Veteran Difficulty 

Time to finsh 15-20 hours

I'm a sucker for World War II games, always have been since I played the first Medal of Honor.  I played the first Brothers in Arms, Road to Hill 30 back on the original XBOX and it had a lot going for it back then.  It was the most realistic WWII shooter and was one of the first games where you could aim down the Ironsights to take down your foes.  I was in heaven and I loved the first one.  I played Earned in Blood as well and enjoyed it.  First a little backstory on Hell's Highway.  I'm sure all of you can remember seeing trailers for this game in late 2005-and thru 2006 and then little to no info came out about the game.  The game was pushed back several times that I can remember.  

Hell's Highway tells the story of Operation Market Garden from the viewpoint of the typical protagonist, Matthew Baker of the 101st Airborne.  The game takes place during one of the bloodiest and most costly battles of the war for the Allied Forces.  The game is historically accurate in both details and layout.  The game is quite good short of a few WTF moments that we've not seen before.

Graphics

This is not one of the best looking titles you'll see.  In fact some of the graphics look a bit dated and are not in line with other top tier titles.  The character models look somewhat dated, but passable for so called next gen gaming. Environments are dated as well.

Sound

Gearbox is masterful in their sound presentation.  It's so nice to hear the clink of an M-1 Garand cartridge as it hits the ground or the sound of an MG.  Gearbox also did a great job with character voices.  The voices are recognizable and help the gamer relate to the story.  

Story

Just like the past two Brothers in Arms, there's a great story which is told in great detail throughout the game.  I'll spare any spoilers and say that short of a couple of WTF moments with the story (those that have played it will know what I'm talking about), the story is as good as the other two games in the series.  I genuinely care what happens to Matt Baker and his squad and there's a few times in this game, where the gamer truly feels sad for Baker and his squad.  Gearbox is so good at telling a story and I'd love to see a Brothers in Arms movie later on down the road.  The script is so good that I think a movie could be made from the game.  

Gameplay

Brothers in Arms is a different type of shooter.  You must be calm, careful, and patient or you'll die many times over the course of the game.  The gamer must take the time to plot a course and let his squadron do at least some of the work.  You'll spend alot of time in cover, and thankfully Gearbox put a fantastic cover system into place.  Call of Duty screams for this type system, but Brothers in Arms is the only WWII shooter to have it.  Flat out, this game is difficult at times and frustrating at several points.  You will die often in some of the latter stages if you get the least bit impatient and don't thin out the German army first.  You'll play the role of Baker as well as a tank commander.  The tank controls are the most intuitive of any shooter that I've played.  It's genuinely fun to play the tank missions simply due to the controls.  I'd be a bit remiss if I didn't mention the kill cam.  It was blasted in quite a few reviews online, but I enjoyed it.  I did experience some freezing which required replaying some really hard missions.  

I'd have loved to have tried out the online mode, but much like Quantum of Solace, no one was playing thanks to Gears and Call of Duty.  I cannot speak to the quality of the multiplayer.

Bottom Line

If you're looking for a game with a great story, lots of action, and loads of challenge, then Brothers in Arms is the game for you.  EB and Gamestop just dropped the price to 29.99 and it's well worth $60 and even better at $30.  Pick this one up

Final Score (8/10)

Points taken off for graphics and some freezing issues towards the end of the game.  

Quickshot Review Battlefield Bad Company

Since this one came out a while ago and I finally finished it up last night, I figured I'd post a quickshot review for the game.  

Graphics and Sound are fantastic.  Online play is beyond fantastic especially with the new maps and modes that just came out.  The single player is one of the better games that I've ever played with lots of twists and turns.  The ability to "blow a hole" in pretty much any building is a big plus.  There's just not enough blowing shit up in video games nowadays.  

Score 9/10

Quantum of Solace Review (the videogame)

I'm a huge James Bond nut. I've seen all the films at least three or four times each and I've tried most all of the James Bond games (even the bad ones) and this is one of the best short of a few small issues. I knew going into this one that Treyarch did the game and we all know how bad Call of Duty 3 was, but I rented it anyways, and I was pleasantly surprised.

The graphics are stunning and the face mapping that Treyarch and Activision did on Daniel Craig and Dame Judy Dench are lifelike and spot on. The levels are well designed and well laid out. The sound is top notch and the voice acting is superb (considering that most all of the actors reprised their roles this is no surprise)

Quantum of Solace uses the COD4 engine and that's what makes the game a winner in my mind. Treyarch uses the engine to it's full advantage and even adds in a fantastic cover system which I was hoping made it into COD World at War, but it didn't. I'm hoping it makes it into Infinity Ward's next COD project. Much like Gears of War and other games with cover systems, you can stick to most anything and it truly helps the gameplay. Much like the James Bond series, there are many explosions and twists and turns along the way in the game. There are so few games that come out that are truly fun to play, and Quantum of Solace is that. This game takes the Bourne Identity's gameplay and kicks it up a notch. The Quick Time events are better as is the gunplay. There is one mission in particular that's a bit silly and worthless but I won't spoil it for you. I did have some freezing issues on several missions where I'd have to completely restart the level which sucked, but other than that, no issues at all.

The multiplayer was lots of fun but no one is playing it thanks to Gears of War 2 and COD World at War. It reminded me quite a bit of COD4 without the perks and addons.

Bottom Line
Quantum of Solace is a great game with a few issues. It's rather short (it took me less than 10 hours to beat it) so it's probably a good rental. The freezing issues took away from the experience and score only slightly. The multiplayer is fantastic, but thanks to the big releases of October and November, no one is playing it.

Final Score 8/10

Real Soccer 09 IPhone Review

Football is my favorite gaming genre hands down. Whether it's FIFA or PES, football games are my favorites and I'm pleased that now even the IPhone has a great football game.

Real Soccer 09 is available now for the IPhone via the ITunes Application Store. The game seems to be built off of the PES engine or something similar.

The touch screen has a directional pad as well as two buttons on screen. It's a bit tough to get the hang of at first, but once you do, it's very intuitive and very easy to use. This is not a bare bones game when it comes to control. You can do stepovers and other of moves with the ball.

The gameplay and graphics are both surprisingly good for a cell phone game as well. For $9.99, it seems to have a large number of modes and an exceptional amount of licensed teams. The developers plan to introduce wireless play and perhaps Internet play in a later update. Give it a try if you're so inclined. This is hands down one of the best games for the IPhone.

Final Score 9/10

Hot Shots Golf Open Tee 2 PSP Review

This is a review I meant to write much earlier, but simply forgot about it. I've had this title since it's launch and it has become one of my favorite games. I love the simplicity and pick up and playability of the Hot Shots series. This will be a much shorter review than some of my previous ones since it's been a while since the launch of the game. 

The graphics and sound of the game are just fine. Just like with every Hot Shots game, eventually the caddy becomes a bit annoying. The graphics are neither the best on the PSP system nor the worst. The fun of Hot Shots is the gameplay; and there are a few new courses as well as some new gameplay niches that make this title better than the first Open Tee in almost every way.

The challenge mode has been beefed up a bit with more items, clubs, and skill additions. A few new mini games have been added which beef up the title and you can also now play online. I tried out a few games online and they were pretty good, not much lag at all. You can set up tourneys and play in pre-made tourneys as well as play regular games online. 

The sad part of Hot Shots is that as silly as it's characters and courses are, it's still more realistic than the official golf sim of the PGA, EA Sports' Tiger Woods games. 

Bottom Line
This is Hot Shots Golf at it's finest. If you've enjoyed the series on the PS1, PS2, or PS3, then you'll enjoy this game on your PSP. It would have been nice to have seen some sort of tie-in with the PS3 game "Out of Bounds", but that feature didn't make it in. Very little has changed with the series over the years, and I'm fine with it. I love Hot Shots just the way it is. At a $30 price point, this game is a steal and well worth that price. Pick it up if you're a fan of Hot Shots. 

Final Score 8.5/10

Madden 09 PSP Review

Let me preface this review by saying that I'm not the biggest fan of EA Sports Football. I feel that EA has taken huge steps backwards the last few years in their football gaming department, while their hockey and soccer gaming departments have taken huge leaps forward. Call me an EA hater, call me whatever you'd like, but I hold EA to the same standard that I hold every single other gaming company in the industry, and the fact of the matter is that EA's next gen football efforts have been lackluster at best.

That having been said, Madden NFL 09 for the PSP is the single finest effort I've seen in sometime from EA as far as a football game goes, and it's a far greater effort than NCAA Football for the PSP. The difference is almost night and day.

Let's start in the graphics and sound department. The graphics seem largely improved over the 08 version for PSP. The player models have more detail as well as the stadiums. The sound
is as per usual with John Madden, a bit ho-hum. It's the same tired commentary that we've heard for years, and I certainly hope that the new commentary team from Madden 09 on the big consoles makes it to the small screen next year.

Gameplay for Madden 09 is amazing and with the right combo of sliders (Rodster's from our very own forums), and it makes for a very enjoyable playing experience.

Madden 09 plays so well and has so many options on the PSP that at times you forget you're playing on a handheld system. I saw no issues with fumbles or interceptions and short of a few dumb AI decisions, I have had several great games. The Franchise mode has all the
options that you've come to know and love from it's console brethren: training camps, preparation, preseason games, trading block, etc.

At times, the computer AI doesn't make wise decisions with clock management, but it's not an issue in all games and only happens on occasion. I had no trouble running or passing the ball and saw no franchise or other issues.

The bottom line is that Madden for the PSP is one of the best versions of video game football that I've played. I give it a 9 out of 10.

NASCAR 09 PS3 Review

EA releases their second next gen version of NASCAR. Does it take the checkered flag or does it end up in the pits with a broken engine? Okay enough of the silly cliched review quotes and onto the review. This review is for the PS3 version and I'm pleasantly surprised.

This review may come as a bit of surprise to some of you, given my love-hate relationship with EA Sports. In the last year, EA showed it's brilliance with the release of FIFA 08 and NHL 08, NASCAR 09 falls right into line with those two releases. NASCAR 09 is such a big step forward for EA and it almost conjures up the magic of NASCAR 05, which was the last great game in the series. EA has gotten rid of the"total team control" play type, the rival and ally system, as well as other goofy gimmicks, replacing them with a game that is fun to pick up and drive. This year's game can lean to either the sim side or the arcade side depending on your preferences, which based on different forum impressions has made the masses very happy.

Graphics
The graphics are neither spectacular nor mundane. They do look pretty good though. EA gets a pass on this due to the need to have all 43 cars on screen at once. The much prettier racers out there like Project Gotham Racing but others don't have a 43 car requirement. The car models look lifelike and the tracks do as well, and the transition from day to night on some of the tracks is almost lifelike and a much welcome addition to the series.

Sound
Short of the nauseating soundtrack, the sound in the game is great. The engines sound lifelike and the spotter gives much better commands this year as far as pitting, and letting you know when you're clear and when you have cars around you. I don't mean to downgrade the soundtrack, but I'm not really a fan of any of the bands or artists featured.

Extra Features
EA has implemented the ability to change and share paint schemes online this year via the EA locker and via the Paintshop, and to them I simply say "Bravo". NASCAR by Papyrus did this years ago, and it's about time this functionality made it to console systems. I love being able to download schemes from the internet and put them on to my PS3. Right now I have several different schemes for the various series and it's just a matter of deciding which one I want to use. Not to sound like a broken record, but this was a brilliant move on EA's part and is one of my favorite parts of the game. I've seen Dale Earnhardt's old scheme, Rusty Wallace's truck scheme and several other historical paints as well as some new ones. I'd love to see this feature expanded on next year by allowing the user to edit real life drivers' schemes since they change paint schemes at the same rate most of us change pants.

Online
I've raced a few races online and noticed no lag and I've also downloaded a few schemes from people's lockers as well and noticed no problems. The online portion of the game is very good and I'd love to get some online games in with some of the WNR readers. My PSN name is itsmedave. Feel free to send me a friend request.

Gameplay
This game is flat out fun to play. You can play it as sim as you like or as arcade as you'd like. I'm sure that for some experienced racers out there, it's not sim enough, but for someone like me, it's perfect. I'm not a fan of NASCAR at all, but I do love the career mode and I hope that the modified cars as well as some of the other tracks make their way in next year (Gateway, Nazareth, etc). The career mode is challenging and there's nothing more fun to me than starting out in the truck series with a low team and low sponsor and making your way up to the Sprint Cup Series. I love that EA took out some of the fluff and replaced it with much better racing models and much better controls. NASCAR 08 was undriveable for me, but with 09, the controls are spot on. The AI was challenging to me at the top levels and they always seemed to make a race of it with me.

Bottom Line
If you're a fan of NASCAR or just a fan of games with great career modes, then NASCAR 09 may be just the ticket for you. This is EA's best NASCAR effort since NASCAR 2005 and it appears that they're on the way back. This game is definitely worth a purchase to a NASCAR fan or to anyone who has any interest in racing as it's one of EA's best efforts in years.

Final Score 8.5/10

NCAA 09 PSP Review

After a 2 year hiatus, EA's NCAA Football is back for the PSP. EA took a year break after the game killing "running" bug that plagued NCAA 07 for the PSP. I'm happy to report that this version is better in almost every way than it's predecessor.

Graphics
The graphics for 09 are largely unchanged from the 07 version. I searched far and wide for a copy of 07 just to compare both games since I wasn't a PSP gamer when that version came out. There's been a bit of tightening up the graphics, but it's not as noticeable as in other titles. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with the graphics, they just look unchanged from previous versions.

Sound
The sound for this title is first rate. I love the commentary team of Nessler, Herby, and Corso and they're all here for the PSP version. The fight songs are all in and the in game sound is great as well. Since this was my first NCAA game for the PSP, I'm pleased to see that all of the sound of the big console games made it into the handheld version.

Gameplay
You'll see many of the same options you see in the 360, Wii, and PS3 versions, including a great dynasty mode, rivalry mode, mascot mode, and exhibition mode. The controls are a bit tougher to learn if you're used to the 360 or PS3 version of the game. You'll need the instruction book to figure out how to do the simplest moves from the 360 and PS3 versions.

Here's where the review gets a bit tricky. The game has a severe fumbling problem which I cannot seem to fix even with sliders or gameplay adjustments. I am seeing at the very least 5 to 6 fumbles over the course of a 20 minute game (5 minute quarters) for both myself and the computer. It happens against low and highly ranked teams and there's no rhyme or reason to it. I've tried most everything to fix it, but haven't found a fix yet. I may try to edit a few of the players to see if I can fix it via ratings.

The gameplay is great if you can get over the fumbling. I'm seeing just a few interceptions as well (well within normal parameters). If anyone has any suggestions, I'd be more than happy to try them and re-rate the score for the game.

Bottom Line
If the fumbling problem were fixed, this would easily be a 9/10 game, but with the fumbling problem intact, I simply can't recommend this game to anyone. Give it a rental at best. 

Final Score 4/10 due to the fumbling problem. It makes games unplayable at times.

MLB 08 The Show PSP Review

Just like most of our staff and readers, I'm a baseball junkie. The only sports games that I enjoy playing more than baseball games are football (soccer) games. I'm not one to double dip on games (buy the same game for multiple systems) but for The Show I felt I had to. I purchased it for both the PlayStation 3 and PSP to get the full experience.

Graphics
SCEA San Diego cleaned up the graphics from last year and stopped quite a bit of the stuttering and slowdown. The player models are excellent and the stadiums look simply amazing for a handheld system.

Sound
Is there any company that puts out a baseball game that captures the ambiance and thrill of the sounds of a baseball game better than SCEA? The bat sounds and ambient ball park noise of The Show really make it seem as though you are there, and that's not even mentioning the commentary. SCEA has the best commentating team for any baseball team that's come out. Matt Vasgersian, Rex Hudler, and Dave Campbell make the game as lifelike as possible and touch on streaks, milestones, and even stats from the current game. I thought the commentary from last year would be hard to top, but SCEA topped it.

Controls
I love the new base running controls because it makes things so much easier on the base paths than in previous years. It seems there's been a movement in sports games the last few years to complicate the controls, and I'm so glad that SCEA has resisted that so far. The batting, fielding, and pitching controls are easy and intuitive to use.

Even though it's been years since the first MVP Baseball 2005 came out, I still love and use the pitching meter that is also used in The Show. I set my control way down with sliders and I get a good number of walks and errant pitches as well.

Options
The Show for PSP doesn't have all the options that it's big brother on the PS3 does, but you find that you don't miss many of them. There is no franchise mode, but there is both a season mode as well as the great Road to the Show mode. The addition of those two modes made the loss of a franchise mode more bearable. There's also a home run derby mode, Manage Only Mode, and Exhibition game modes. One of the biggest disappointments for me is that there is no franchise swapping between the PS3 and PSP versions, but according to SCEA, they're trying their best to get it in for next year. The minor leagues aren't playable except in the Road to the Show mode, but you'll probably find that you don't miss them that much.

Gameplay
If you enjoy The Show on the PS3, then chances are you'll enjoy it on the PSP as well. It plays virtually the same game as it's big brother on the PS3. This is hands down the best baseball simulation for consoles on the market today, be it a handheld or home console. You'll see small things on the PSP version that amaze you as well.

I feel that our own Steve Semple did a great job in his review of The Show for PS3 and since the gameplay on the PSP mirrors that of the PS3 version, I'll skimp a bit on the gameplay impressions. To put it simply, the PSP is a smaller version of the PS3 version. If you enjoy the PS3 version, then you'll enjoy the PSP version. Got that? Good

Online
I jumped into a quick game online and it was a bit laggy. I hope that SCEA can clean that up as baseball requires less lag than any other sport online due to the pitching. SCEA does provide weekly roster updates and you can even download news items about your favorite teams to read them later offline. Nice touch for your baseball news on the go.

In closing, if you own a PSP and are looking for a great baseball game to just pick up and play, The Show 08 is the game for you. It does almost everything as well as the PS3 version. It's missing a few of the bells and whistles, but it's understandable since UMD's can't hold the same amount of info as a Blu-ray disc. This game is well worth it's $39.99 price tag and I'm almost sure that I'll be playing it non stop until MLB 09 comes out.

Final Score
8.5/10

Points taken off for the unreliable online play, but once the problems are fixed, I'll move the score to a 9/10.

God of War Chains of Olympus Review

First of all, I love Greek Mythology. I always have since I was a child and learned about Zeus, Athena, and everyone else who resides on Mount Olympus. I can't tell you how many books and movies I've read over the years dealing with Greek Mythology. I've always been fascinated with Sparta (even before 300 came out) and wrote quite a few papers during my school years about the Spartan way of life as well as it's military.

The back story on the God of War Series is that the lead character Kratos is now in servitude to the Greek God of War, Aries, after Aries spared his life in a Spartan Battle. He's become basically a slave to the Gods and is at their beck and call when they need him to take care of something for them.

Chains of Olympus is a prequel to the orignal PlayStation 2 game, God of War, and does a great job answering several questions that have been left unanswered in the two previous God of War games. I won't spoil anything here about the story of Kratos since I'm sure some readers haven't played either God of War and God of War II.

With the God of War series being such a huge hit on the PlayStation 2, Sony decided to give the series a try on it's handheld cousin, the PSP, and enlisted the services of Ready at Dawn to design the game and keep the series' good name.

Graphically, this is the best PSP game to date. The character models and environments would be top notch for a console game, much less a handheld game. The amount of detail in the character design is stellar for a handheld and the environments are just beautiful. The frame rate is steady and I didn't see any slowdown or glitches along the way. There are some minor graphical glitches and tearing at various points of the game, but nothing that takes away from the overall experience.

Ready at Dawn did a great job with the sound and the soundtrack as well. One of the best things about the God of War series is the score and this version is no different. The best way to play Chains of Olympus is with headphones in just to hear the dialogue, swords clanging, and the enemy voices as Kratos chops them down. The game is a top notch ovearll sound experience.

The Gameplay in God of War Chains of Olympus is second to none. This is hands down THE best game on the PSP both in graphics and playability. The camera can be a bit of a bother at times, but it's really not a problem. Controls are usually a problem on handheld games, but just like many others, I prefer the controls in Chains of Olympus to that of it's big brother the PS2. The controls work perfectly and there are no issues at all. The real time events are still in when killing enemies as well. If you loved either of the two previous God of War games, then this one is a must play as well. The gameplay is so good that it's almost as if Ready at Dawn shrunk the PS2 versions a bit and put them on the PSP. Kratos has his trusty blades as per usual, but there are new types of magic that I've never seen before in the series. The story is classic God of War and includes cameos from several creatures from Greek Mythology, among them Persephone, Morpheus, the Sun God Eros and many others. The story is a bit on the short side, but is action packed from start to finish.

In closing, God of War Chains of Olympus is not only the best game on the PSP system, it's one of the best games on any system period and is reason enough to own a PSP. Was the transition of Kratos to the PSP a success? My answer is an overwhelming YES. Ready at Dawn did a fantastic job making God of War Chains of Olympus shine on the PSP. There isn't a PSP game yet I've seen that can touch the gameplay of this title. If you have the least bit of interest in the character development of Kratos before the first God of War on the PS2, then you owe it to yourself to either buy this game or rent it.

Final Score 9/10
Points taken off for a bit of screen tearing at times and some wacky camera movement at points.

Call of Duty Roads to Victory Review

My fascination with World War II games continues with Call of Duty Roads to Victory. First off, I enjoyed this game but not quite as much as the Medal of Honor series from EA. For that reason alone, I'll be comparing Call Of Duty to the Medal of Honor series. This one is a notch below the Medal of Honor series with good reason. I'll mention the negatives first. There is no online play at all for this title, only LAN play. It's preposterous for a game not to have any sort of online mode when Wi-Fi is a strong staple of the PSP system. The graphics aren't on the same level as those in the Medal of Honor series either, but the player models and scenery are at least serviceable.

The controls are a bit of a weakness as well. There's an auto aim feature, that you really must use if you're playing at any level above the easiest, since enemy soldiers are much faster than you are. The controls are similar to other PSP first person shooter but feel a bit more floaty and not as tight as other games in the genre on the console.

Bottom Line
This game is a good rental and shouldn't take any more than 6 to 7 hours to complete. I don't mean to trash the game, because it is a good game, it's just not comparable to the Medal of Honor Series. If you're a Call of Duty fan, then give it a rental, I think you'll be glad that you did.

Final Score
6/10 - Great Rental. I took points off for no online, controls that take a bit of time to get used to, as well as graphics that aren't quite up to snuff.

Medal of Honor Heroes 2 Review PSP

Medal of Honor Heroes 2 is the followup to 2006's Medal of Honor Heroes on the PSP. I played through the first Medal of Honor and had a blast with it, so the second one was a natural pickup and it's an improvement in every way over the first title.

Gameplay and Story
The objective in this game is the same as in every other WWII themed game. Kill Nazis, destroy targets, so on and so forth. You play the role of an OSS soldier though several challenging missions. Each mission is strung together and builds off the previously completed one.

You'll see a variety of different guns and different locales in the game. The improvement in gameplay over the first Medal of Honor: Heroes is vast. Hit detection has been improved and the controls have been tightened up over the first game. The enemy AI has been improved as well as you'll now see enemies try to flank you and try new ways to take you out of your mission.

The guns are a bit more reactive than in the first game and the iron sights have been improved as well. EA has also added checkpoints into the game to prevent you from playing several areas over and over which is a big plus. The story is typical FPS fodder and doesn't have much of a storyline.

Graphics and Sound.
The graphics have been cleaned up over the first Medal of Honor and the game looks great. Character models have been improved as have the environments and the guns as well. With the sound, the guns sound realistic and the score is phenomenal. I've always been a fan of the music in Medal of Honor series on other platforms, and this one doesn't disappoint either.

Controls
I feel that with each review of a PSP game, not enough time is spent on the controls in reviews, so I'll touch on that now. The controls are a bit tough to get used to due to the lack of a second analog stick, but the good news is that you'll get used to it quickly and there are several different configurations to match what you want to use. The default scheme employs the same controls as the Syphon Filter Series on the PSP.

Online Gameplay
The game offers 32 player online gameplay with several maps and several different game modes. It's a lot of fun online with minimal lag and the online really adds to the longevity of the title.

Lasting Appeal
The single player is a bit short, but the multi-player will keep this one alive until Medal of Honor: Heroes 3 comes out. This game was a must buy for me, but give it a rental to make sure you can get used to the controls.

Final Score
9/10. Medal of Honor Heroes 2 is one of the best games on the PSP system and is a great placeholder until God of War: Chains of Olympus hits stores. Medal of Honor shines on the PSP and Heroes 2 is the best one yet.

Conan Review

Everyone has seen the Conan movies with the governor of California. If not, then a background story may be needed. Moving on to the game.

Conan is somewhat of a classic character, and has spawned many different action figures, movies, books, and now video games. Upon popping this one into my 360, and playing through the first level or so, I had the feeling that I'd played it before. Oh yeah, I have played pretty much the same game before, God of War on the PS2. THQ rips everything off of the God of War series and puts it into Conan, and you know what, that wasn't a half bad idea on their part. THQ added a few little personal touches which improves on the God of War idea.

GamePlay
As mentioned above, this one is pretty much a clone of God of War, so if you enjoyed the God of War series, then chances are you'll at the very least enjoy this one as well. You'll see the same scripted button press type sequences you see in God of War to kill enemies, open a door, open a chest and so on. '

The X and Y buttons are your attack buttons and the B button grapples and picks up enemies. The LB button is used for your magic (in a sense) and the RB button is basically the catch all "use" command. The gameplay is fun to say the least and challenging if you play it on the hardest or even on the medium level. The Camera works well and doesn't seem to get in the way.

The enemies vary and include Lions (no tigers or bears yet though). Warning for those with children, there are naked breasts in this game and lots of them. The story is lacking a bit and doesn't come anywhere near the storyline of the God of War series, but it's serviceable for an action button mashing type game.

Graphics and Sound
The graphics are a bit lackluster compared to some of the top flight 360 titles. The character models aren't as sharp as they should be, but the Frame Rate seems to stay at a solid 60FPS. There is no slowdown in the title at all either. The voice work in the game is quite good and the sound is well done.

XBox Live Functions
There are no XBox Live modes present in this title.

Lasting Appeal
Once you play through this game (and I'm almost done with it), I don't really see any reason to keep it to play again. I'm sure it could be beaten in a rental, but the price just dropped, so it might be worth a buy if this is your type of game.

The game is a heck of a lot of fun and as said above, if you like the God of War series, then you'll at the very least have a good time with Conan.

Final Score
7/10. Points taken off for longevity and for graphics.

Logan's Shadow Review

I just finished up one of the best games I've ever played. The game has a better cover system than Gears of War and Uncharted, one of the best storylines in gaming this year that ends with the biggest cliffhanger in the series, excellent gunplay, great controls, and is great fun to boot.

Am I talking about Bioshock? Nope Mass Effect? Nope.

I'm talking about Syphon Filter Logan's Shadow.

Most of the readers probably think I'm nuts picking this as a great game. It's on a portable system and games on portable systems are watered down with clunky controls and no storyline. That's the typical response, but not with the Syphon Filter series.

The gameplay is similiar to the Splinter Cell series with more control and better storylines. The Syphon Filter series is THE premier franchise on the PSP as far as I'm concerned. I'm just saddened that there's no new Syphon Filter coming out for a while. If you have a PSP, you simply owe it to the gamer inside you to try this series out. Admittedly, I'm not much of a reviewer, but I'd give this game a solid 9/10. It's a bit on the short side, but is action packed for much of that time.