Vice Weekly - What’s your vice?

Mercenaries 2 review…and a whole lot of flames to go with it.

Ok, let me get this out of the way first, if you like destroying s**t, then Mercenaries 2 is a game you should get. This review is a little late I know, so because of that this will just be a quickie of a review.

Well, since many people these days are graphics whores and cant stand anything not on Gears of War standards then they shouldn’t dare look at this game. This game was made for two, and only two types of people: the fans of Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction ( not me, never played) and people who just like to have fun, (me). Yes I do know the graphics could’ve used a bit more graphical touches, but when you have the power to level an entire country, I’m sure some things had to be sacrificed. And these sacrifices are: major pop-ins no matter what you are doing, repetitive buildings, and terrible textures. But if you look at the glass half full like moi, then; beautiful, sometimes jaw dropping explosions that light up the screen. Seriously, they are gorgeous. Also, great destruction, and lovely scenery when you aren’t seeing pop-ins.

Now for the gameplay, which may be the worst part of the game. Controls are the absolute worst, with driving just being an absolute pain. The cars are just so…heavy and…ugh, unresponsive. It just feels dirty and so slapped in there, and there are only about 10 to choose from anyway. Heli’s are better, yet still could’ve used some work as well. The combat is very unorganized, and that’s not even talking about the friendly/enemy A.I. . When calling in support, you have to pull up a menu in game which stops you from moving and has you take damage, which then makes you almost dead when your support comes in anyway. The shooting mechanics seems like it was just put in at a good enough point to ship the game, kind of like Army of Two, meaning the guns sound like pellets, or Dante’s guns, and it never fully feels satisfying killing anybody. It also doesn’t help when the enemies basically stand there and wait for you to kill them.

Wait, you know what? Forget everything I just wrote, cause everyone should buy this game, well everyone who wanted to crucify GTA4 that is, cause this game is as unrealistic as you can get. And if I remember correctly, everyone hated the realism going back to Liberty City, so this game should sell instantly when you think about it. I enjoyed this game very much, its fun to blow things to high heaven, and I do beleive it deserves atleast a rental.

Tags: mercenaries 2, mercs, PS2, ps3, review, xbox

Dreamcast Redux : Vice Style

The Sega Dreamcast is often considered one of the most underrated consoles of all time, this is only now after we’ve realized just how stacked the library was with great games unlike consoles following it who have bigger libraries stacked with only about fifteen to twenty actual hits. The Dreamcast even before the PS2, Xbox, or Gamecube had online play, it was terrible, but it showed that online play on your console was possible. The Dreamcast had an incredible advertising campaign that truly made you want to own a Dreamcast. All in all the Dreamcast was an incredible venture by Sega, so how did it fail? Due to its gift, the console was way ahead of itself which prompted other companies to up the ante. The PlayStation 2 came and boasted everything the Dreamcast had and more, including a DVD player and better graphical capability.

Now if Sega were run by the GamingVice staff, we believe the Dreamcast would have done well enough that it could justify a successor. The Dreamcast had a million and one peripherals, from arcade sticks to fishing rods. One thing it was missing, however, was a DVD player which we feel would have kept the console in the fight much longer. If Sony was able to make a profit with their cheap DVD player/video game console, Sega would definitely be able to make a profit selling a DVD player of its own. As for the graphical quality, there would be no reason to worry about that. The PS2 clearly had the least graphical capability in comparison to the Xbox and Gamecube and it won the console war with its incredible library. Next on the list would be an even bigger campaign then before, new and original advertising techniques to really draw the crowd in. The Dreamcast was already cool, so now it had to look better than the competition.

The Dreamcast had all the necessary tools to stay in the console race, unfortunately the ball was dropped and history occurred. Could Sega have made a comeback after the Dreamcast? definitely. If they were to come out of console retirement it would be one of the hugest shockwaves the gaming world has ever seen. With their experiences and learning from their mistakes they could easily come in and innovate gaming to a point we’ve never phathomed.

Tags: consoles, dreamcast, PS2, revival, xbox

Classic games from the last 25 years according to Entertainment Weekly

In the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly, which also happens to be their 1000th issue (congrats guys) they have a feature article which talks about the new classics from the last 25 years. Journalists Geoff Keighley, Wook Kim and Gary Eng Walk compiled a list of the top 50 games from the last 25 years. 

A few of the most notable titles of the list include Tetris (#1), Grand Theft Auto IV (#9), Metal Gear Solid (#10) & Gears of War (#20). You can view the list in its entirety after the jump.

Do you agree with the list? Also what are some games that you think were worthy enough to be in your top games of the last 25 years? Gaming as a whole has helped shape the world in many ways, so it’s always good to see it held up in a great light like this.

1. Tetris (PC)
2. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64)
3. Doom (PC)
4. Super Mario World (SNES)
5. Guitar Hero (PS2)
6. Street Fighter II (SNES)
7. Super Mario Kart (SNES)
8. GoldenEye 007 (N64)
9. Grand Theft Auto IV (X360/PS3)
10. Metal Gear Solid (PS)

[Via X3F]

Continue reading Classic games from the last 25 years according to Entertainment Weekly

Tags: 360, DS, ps, PS2, ps3, top games, Wii

Enter Sonic: For real this time

As I sit and watch all of these major franchises achieve new heights on next gen consoles, I can’t help but wonder where’s the glory for the original speedster. In days of old when Sega made consoles, it seemed like he was never forgotten, but since their hardware has gone under it seems like aside from 3 good hits on the gba, the iconic hedgehog is falling into obscurity with titles such as Sonic Heroes on the PS2,Xbox,and Gamecube and Sonic the Hedgehog for PS3 and 360, I was beginning to think we’d see the fall of a once so lovable character. Now I’m thinking differently upon the announcement of Sonic Unleashed. The game was originally going to be released as the third installment in the Sonic Adventure series as Sonic World Adventure.

The game is being developed by Sega’s Sonic Team division, who has developed an entirely new engine for the game titled the Hedgehog engine which allows for smooth transitions between 2D and 3D angles. We know the story revolves around the Dr.Robotnik summoning a creature that has caused tremors which have divided the continents into pieces. Sonic must claim the chaos emeralds to bring the world back together. New to the game and possibly the reason for the title “Unleashed” is a werewolf form that has been seen in a screenshot, wheather or not you get to play as this new form of Sonic or how it shapes the game hasn’t been stated by Sonic Team at this time. The Wii version of the game will feature a different control scheme and different stages to fully take advantage of the wii remote and nunchuck. The gameplay takes away some of the linearity that made older Sonic games less fun to replay by having an overworld to be explored, however it is skippable for players who want only the high speed action of past Sonic titles.

There is one negative, however, Sonic Team has decided to shoot for a frame rate of 30 fps rather than 60 which most games run at on next gen consoles. Although, Sonic Unleashed looks to restore Sonic back to his former glory with the same high speed action while adding new gameplay elements and deviation from linearity that once plagued even the greatest of Sonic titles. The game will be released for Xbox360, Playstation 3, Wii and Playstation 2

Tags: PS2, ps3, Sega, Sonic, Team, Unleashed, Wii, Xbox360