Happy Greetings!!!!

عيدكم مبارك و كل عام و أنتم بألف خير

All is well throught the year & Eid Mubarak to you all!!!!

- - - - Mookie-Mookie

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Review

By Mookie-Mookie

Developer(s) Infinity Ward
Publisher(s) Activision
Composer(s) Hans Zimmer
Series Call of Duty
Engine IW 4.0
Native resolution 600p (console versions)
Platform(s) Xbox 360
Release date(s) November 10, 2009
Genre(s) First-person shooter (FPS)
Mode(s) Single-player, cooperative and multiplayer (online Xbox Live)
Rating(s) BBFC: 18
ESRB: M
OFLC: MA15+
PEGI: 18+
Media DVD-DL
Input methods Gamepad


“Till the roof comes off, till the lights go out
Till my legs give out, can’t shut my mouth.
Till the smoke clears out - am I high? Perhaps
I'ma rip this shit till my bone collapse.
Till the roof comes off, till the lights go out
Till my legs give out, can’t shut my mouth.
Till the smoke clears out and my high burn out
I'ma rip this shit till my bone collapse.”
Till I Collapse by Eminem (feat. Nate Dogg)

When I 1st heard that on its launching trailer it got me all pumped up.

This is it, the time is now & some of my friends were eagerly waiting for my opinion.

The waiting is done & the war is on.

OK, so it’s finally here, a day early from its official release date & I got it. Computer House sure know how to treat their customers but apparently will cost you a bit more than usual. Aside from MW2 I got Blitz: The League 2 for 150 SR (40$) not a bad price knowing that its so hard to find these games in this country but that’s a different story.

So here’s my review to one of my long awaited games of 2009; Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 on XBOX 360 so light’em up & knock’em down.

Is it better than the last title & took its name to infinity and beyond?

But before that, let me recap the last game which made the name as PS3’s 2007 game of the year, Best FPS on “Top 10 FPS Games Ever!” by GameSpy & GamePro & numerous awards from several respected sties & communities worldwide. It made a quantum leap from previous titles & the obvious one was moving from traditional WW2 interface into modern time. So many love has been put to it & in many different sectors. That time of release, Infinity Ward was sure that they made history. Unfortunately I bought the 1st MW within this year & made me realized that I should have bought it two years ago. I was afraid that it will not change my mind over Sierra’s “Counter Strike”; but luckily, it did & I am officially addicted to it. Almost after two years and 5 months, a sequel was ready for another war.

I have so many love (and a minor “meh” about the sequel) but I’ll try my best to make it simple & clean so here we go.

Presentation
When I put on the game, I automatically noticed that it was asking me to set things up before I get in the main menus. Its pretty neat to be asked the brightness, screen setups & a very interesting option enabling/disabling sensitive context that might offend a gamer’s perspectives. “For the record” as it literally meant it, it gave me a sense of delight viewing familiar encounters from the previous game. The statue in Russia they showed after 5 years from the 1st encounter was truly shocking & sad at the same time that makes me want to say “Another day in Paradise”. New comers might want to check the 1st MW if they want to get what I mean. Visuals did not fail to impress me but on the flipside, as I spent 1 hour from the game I noticed of what I call “one note” that I didn’t saw from the last MW, the pace of the game wasn’t shaky enough & stayed mostly on track. Surprisingly as you go further from the campaign, things will start to catch up & literally drop your jaw with astonishments till the end of campaign (especially to those who played MW1). I know the guns & explosions were so loud but did not surprise me much of the encounters as it used to but looking at the environments & the blood splashes your screen as you take a hit was so familiar from my Killzone 2 on PS3 but works highly well on the game with far better results. Nostalgically as it will sound to you guys but the campaign reminds me (& so as the MW1) of several war movies like Black Hawk Down, Navy Seals and so on and so forth so technically you’re either in the game & making some actions or watching a pop corn movie that will wow you & wonder for more.
Score 9.7/10

Gameplay:
The campaign was casual but if you’re an achievement hunter (like me) it’s best to heighten the difficulties. Mostly the same as the previous one with additions like firing while crouching will increase fire accuracy. In later stages, you will encounter things that will alter the controls to manage on the given situation, not to mention their new sets of weaponry tools & supports or I can call them in multiplayer as “Kill Streaks”. A new mode was added to the game called “Special Ops” a stand alone missions taken from the campaign & can be played with the another player, a new fun way to play it & earning rewards as you complete a mission. In multiplayer, I found out that most of the juices of this baby were there; how shall I count thy ways for it has a vast long list of goodies! It’s like a breathe of fresh air, but again I will try my best to mention them. It felt actually the same as MW1 but with tons of additions, weapons were a lot, killing streak can come in many ways & surprisingly even a simple attempt can earn a reward. Usually the ones who has more kills gets the bigger bits but surprisingly even the ones who got killed several times without killing a single enemy can share a thing or two like stealing the stats of the last player who killed you (a.k.a “Copycat”), when I activated it I suddenly got better guns & started killing more people. Traditionally there are primary weapons & secondary weapons just like before, but what makes it different was you can choose a bigger gun instead of pistols (I got a picture of an assault rifle + shotgun might be my best pick but I know I’m all stealthy all the way so I need to kill more & level up just to get that soon). Killing streak was actually like the race to get there, it allows you get more kills to get to the top of the scoring board. This time around, the kill streaks are a lot! Comparing it to the last one, this will ignite the flames of every stage leaving you with almost no where to run & hide as it hits you. Call signs are finally there, this will identify players what class of specialties they are in, so if you’re a heavy gunner & love to be the RAMBO like or a stealthy assassin (like me) of the team go ahead knock yourself out by putting the right call sign & let them know that you’re fit to that category. On the other hand, dedicated server isn’t there which I used to get nervous of getting lagged but surprisingly with just 1 red bar on my connection I did not felt any delays on my kills like before so IW really did a great job on that. Some minor glitch on the visuals as other players passed by a dead player is like stepping on a ghost but not really a serious problem I’m afraid. Online gameplay from the previous MW had some issue like if the server of the game got disconnected it will automatically end the game just like that, but on MW2 if the server gets off it will find another server & continue the game; that way you won’t lose your achievements from the current game so more fun for everyone! Personally, radars & voice chat is essential to me while playing online multiplayer & to add that connection should be on “green bar” so that I won’t miss a milliseconds to hit targets but this game somehow changed my perspective a bit. I would like to put some more love to this category but I have to leave the other gamers to discover the goodies.
Score 9.7/10

Graphics
OK just one word for this is that it’s “astonishing”. Very well done with the tweaking from the last one & made something more. If you got a 32”+ HDTV this will not fail to wow your eyes.
Score 9.8/10

Sounds
What can I say; it all came from the one of the most famous composer (not to mention he composed the “Black Hawk Down” movie) such as Hans Zimmer. There were times when there’s no music playing but its all good (or maybe it’s just me). Better timings on given situations just like in the movies is like giving some awareness of what lies ahead. A home-theater sound system, this will not fail to impress you. However, be careful though neighbors might scare their pants enough to call the police thinking that a bunch of multi national hired gunmen are robbing your house (kidding).
Score 9.5/10

Characters
I’ve seen new faces in the group & they’re all well made. Just like the previous game, expect some characters casualties but they will not die in vain. There are familiar faces from the past so I don’t want to speculate further on who they are (did I just made some spoiler alert? Just guess who’s who I guess…). Voice acting was so live like leaving me to feel as if I’m watching a Hollywood war movie. Overall, they played their role excellently on the campaign & will be memorable on years to come.
Score 9.7/10

Longevity
The campaign is usually short just like the last one & the Special Ops mode is so much fun with friends; but if you want to get those achievements, better put it on higher difficulty & brace yourself for some hardcore action. On the other hand, online multiplayer will let you play this game all year long or even till the next MW3 comes out.
Score 9.9/10

Final Verdict
Infinity Ward (IW) just did it again, bringing the edge of XBOX 360’s capability & power. To those who waited to buy this game, go buy it because it’s worth every penny & the multiplayer will definitely invest your time. To those who’s new in this title, “surprise surprise” you’re in for this year’s biggest treat but I strongly suggest playing the 1st MW just to get the whole story of this “one-of-a-kind” epic FPS game. FPS on console was a skeptical idea for me at 1st, but when I tried COD4: MW, I can’t stop playing it. Now the sequel is here & will stay longer in my heart & mind.
Score 9.8/10

So the question was if its better than the last title & took its name to infinity and beyond?

My answer was yes. But if its my best game of this year? I have to say after finishing the Campaign mode, this is (so far) my game of the year 2009.

With love & respect,

Mookie

Game Review: Brutal Legend

Game Review: Brutal Legend
Contributed & reviewed by Jerico Mariano
Sunday, November 08, 2009
10:37 PM

Release Date: October 13, 2009
Platforms: Sony PS3, Microsoft XBOX 360
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: Double Fine
Genres: Action
ESRB: M


Overview


Alright it's show time folks! (voice of Jack Black) I finally got a chance to briefly grind the metal on Tim Schafer's Brutal Legend. An action/adventure game that follows the story of Eddie Riggs-who started out as a roadie for a 'heavy' metal band and fears that heavy metal is dying, not until he finds himself transported to an alternative world where heavy metal suffers under the rule of the evil Lord Doviculus.


Presentation


Yes it is AWESOME! A tribute package to all things that are metal. Jack Black's voice acting was really fun-bloody-tastic! The concept, music , art, and character animation simply adds up to the awesomeness of the voice acting. The heavy metal theme was carried on throughout and was given a cartoony effect which gives you an idea on how complexity meet simplicity.

Gameplay


In terms of gameplay, Brutal Legend is somehow hard to define, since it’s a mix of several different styles, from real time strategy, beat 'em up, shooting, to vehicular combat. It may give you an impression that the game can be pretty daunting but as you go along, you'll know that the match-up of styles pretty add up well. Though its great to have different styles here and there, the game would have been better if the game could have a more variety on the site quests or at least make the main character jump. I kindda' feels odd when your at a beat 'em up mode and the dude can't jump. Some quests can be a little bit of learning curve, since some of them don't really guide you or even give you hint on how to accomplish your objective. You learn from it the traditional way… BY DYING!
On that note, the flaws are actually minor to the overall game experience. With creative concepts, awesome music scoring, writing, gameplay styles all mashed upped to something more than what I've expected… A DIFFERENT WAY TO SPELL FUN!


Link:
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=184285797216

A gamer at heart

Arise my fellow gamers in Riyadh!

I’m currently living as an expatriate here in Riyadh Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Gaming industry isn’t really bright during the early 90s. But I actually started playing video games since the time of Atari 2600 with some of my favorites were Frogger, Pac man & Boxing. Since then I developed the love of video games.

As time progressed itself, I started to know a couple of Gamers from my school, we were all crazy about “Captain Majed” (also known as Captain Tsubasa) but when it came out in NES system it became the talk of the season. Most kids in my time were eager to buy one & try tell their experiences.

In early 2000, things were catching up and so were the gaming industry. Adding colors & features & battling game developers to show who had the best game of the year. Most gamers I met were into Fighting games like fighting games like Tekken series, sports like Winning Eleven which now known as PES (Pro Evolution Soccer) & Action games & horror series like Grand Theft Auto (GTA) series & Resident Evil series.

So many great gamers I’ve known here in this City who never been known internationally. I remembered one of my Filipino friend “Geo” (just a nick I call him) was defeated from my Saudi Classmate "Omar" back in High school 20+ to 1. Geo was a pro in Tekken but it changed my mind & embarrassed after his humiliated defeat.

On that point, I realized that the locals here were the ones not to be messed with. & so I made this site as I move along gathering people & showing them, what Gamers in Riyadh really are and what we can offer.

This is our fort. This is where we stand & this is where we start to share.

The game is about to start… now what’s yours?

Cheers!!!

Mookie

(Finally!) Star Ocean: The Last Hope

This year’s best RPG from Japan can offer is finally in my hands.

A few more days before Modern Warfare 2 hits the market & yet I was eager to buy something else while waiting.

I called a couple of games shops just to keep my options open (Computer house at Olaya St. & Eagle Software at Shola Mall) & went to “Turning Point” just around the corner of Owais Market to see if they have any new 2nd hand games so that I can spend less.

I found rather rarest games to see in this country. I’m talking about “Star Ocean: The Last Hope” on PAL system. The Shop didn’t had Borderlands yet so it was a clear sign for me to buy the JRPG game knowing that it’s the only piece in there.

Basically its hard to find this type of games here in the Kingdom & buying it for 150 SR as 2nd hand item is really worth the money. I’m a sucker on RPG games but only looking for a great gameplay and/or storyline. From past SO series I played, I knew how it is going to look like.

Under contruction...

Hey guys!

Finally i was convinced to do this after 8 years haha!

it's still on the works so it'll take a while...

Time is gold & Patience is virtue so later.

Cheers!!!