Astro Gaming A40 with wireless MixAmp 3.8 Review

 

 

 

Brought to you by: Aatro Gaming

 

“If I can describe Astro Gaming Products as a Car Company that would be luxury ones like Ferrari.”

 

Before I start reviewing this monster of a device, I’ll give a brief introduction about the company that brought it. Astro Gaming is a company that designs top of the line gaming headsets for PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 device. In short period of time, it gained popularity back the states and is now the official gaming headset company for Major League Gaming (MLG) that holds game tournaments back in the USA. Shortly after, they are now invading the world competing against other gaming accessory companies such as Razer and Turtle Beach. Among all those companies, Astro Gaming gets a lot of favorable reviews.

 

I first heard of this company a couple of months back somewhere in mid 2010, by that time I started doing some research about Astro Gaming products along with other companies such as turtle beach.

 

I’ve checked a few reviews here and there, till I decided which I’ll invest my money on to. Currently the only shop that sells this product is “Computer House” where I bought my A40 headset with the wireless MixAmp 5.8 as a bundle.

 

And so here I am and ready to give my review.

 

 

 

Appearance

 

 

 

A40 Headset

 

Technically, the first thing I noticed about the headset is its weight, its heavy for a headset, as I opened the black box, I found the headset protected in a hard travel case which in fact a very useful accessory whenever you take it out from the house. It’s a sturdy hard black case with an MLG zipper tag that gives you the feeling like you’re in the game.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MixAmp 5.8

 

This is my personal favorite; the box has a cover which is black just like the A40 black box but as a surface cover. However, as soon as I slid it off, I realized that the company has also invested their time on the design on the packaging. The box is folded into three separate sides and each sides has a protected plastic for every section which all of this are very impressive and will also allow the consumer to appreciate of the product in packaging. The TX and RX units are made of plastic and rubber at the most. However, the RX master volume control feels a little heavy which is good compare to a fast switch product, this way it will make you feel that the product wasn’t made easy or cheap.

 

 

 

What comes with package?

 

 

 

In the A40:

 

Travel Case

 

As I opened the case, there I found the headset well protected with built in foam in the case with extra care so that it won’t move a lot in the case, it also have a larger room for the Mixamp to fit in. Pretty neat for a headset case insuring that no harm will come to your A40 Headset.

 

The Headset

 

The headset is one of the main thing I pulled off from the case; it’s heavy with combination of metal and plastic parts at most, with 3 attached foams, the two are for the ears and one for the head, if you want to remove the headset, you can twist both earphones facing the back so what it can rest easy on your shoulders feeling the foams which I find pretty impressive provides a gamers’ fashion statement and comfort.

 

Microphone

 

The microphone is detachable, whereas you can put it to your left or right ear for total comfort to those who wishes/prefers the other ear.

 

Extra Foam (1 only)

 

This is an optional item if you want to decrease the sound outside of the headphone. Therefore, it will help you hearing the voice chat with no outside distraction.

 

Speaker Tag

 

Basically you’ll find these in three pieces outside the case. The tag is nothing more than pimping your headphone with style. It comes with a basic design of the company’s logo however you can also go to their site and order online if you want certain tags or a customized one (and yes you can also put any pictures you want or even put your silly face in there and they won’t mind). It’s another fashion statement that’s going to make your friends jealous and differ yourself from other A40 users by using a customized speaker Tags. (Neat? I’d say it’s awesome!)

 

Standard Quick Disconnect (QD) Cable

 

This will allow your headphone to connect to a stereo device or MP3 Players with a simple stereo sound.

 

PC QD Cable

 

This will allow you to connect it to your PC with a standard digital sound.

 

Tip: if you have a nice sound card, help yourself to set that up to 5.1/7.1 surround sound and you’ll get the full A40 headset experience.

 

3.5mm to ¼” adaptor

 

This allows you to connect to stereo devices that only has ¼” audio jack.

 

In the wireless MixAmp 5.8:

 

 

 

TX Unit

 

A bridge device that connects PC/Console with the headphone connected with the RX Unit. It also acts as an audio mixer and a headphone amplifier that provides Dolby 5.1 and 7.1 surround sound. The Front panel has the power/pairing button and Bass Expander. The Back panel will have the power socket where you plug the adaptor, Dual USB (for future accessories of the device), Optical in and out where you connect your TOSlink Optical cables (TV/Home Theater/PC/Console) and AUX in for the USB chat cable for PS3/PC (sold separately).

 

Tip: the TX unit can handle four RX units in range. (So the more the better and every four player s will have an epic sound blasting time)

 

 

 

RX Unit

 

A Device that connects with the TX unit wirelessly. The front panel includes a game voice balance where you balance chatting and game volume and the master volume. On the back panel will have the head phone slot where you plug in your headphone such as the A40, Xbox 360 Controller Cable where you plug in the 2.5mm-to-2.5mm Xbox live controller cable to use the voice chatting system and a mini USB slot for the USB-to-USB Mini power/charger cable. While opening the back panel, you will have three AAA battery slot where you either put three regular AAA batteries or rechargeable ones.

 

TX AC Power adaptor

 

This device is simply giving some “juice” on the TX unit.

 

TOSlink Optical Cable

 

This one will connect a sound source from PC/Console or TV or even a home theater to the TX unit.

 

2.5mm-to-2.5mm Xbox live controller cable

 

This will link your Xbox 360 controller to the RX Cable so that you can you use any Chatting Headphone rather than using the standard one ear head phone from Xbox 360.

 

USB-to-USB Mini ‘B’ Cable

 

This one will connect any USB source (PC or your Console) to the RX unit in order to provide power or charge the RX device if it has a rechargeable battery.

 

Y-Adapter

 

This will turn any 3rd party headset/earphones into one cable that will allow you to plug it on the MixAmp (so any headphones will work perfectly fine on the MixAmp).

 

Note: the A40 and A30 already has combine audio and microphone signals so no need to use this cable otherwise you’ll end up not hearing anything, trust me I already did that)

 

RX Belt clip

 

This is a very handy clip if you wish to go wireless with your RX unit. Just clip it with you and go play freely without worrying to step on any cables.

 

AAA Batteries

 

It comes in standard models that will allow you to use it in a couple of hours just to get the feeling wirelessly.

 

Note: Personally, MixAmp is the most important device of ASTRO GAMING; as long as you have MixAmp or MixAmp 5.8 it will give you the maximum audio experience and game chat advantage.

 

Note: The MixAmp devices can also operate any third party headsets so there’s no need to buy the Astro Gaming headsets. Tip: But if you want an epic sound experience, go buy their headsets.

 

The experience

 

I first tried only the headset; as I wore it, the foams were comfortable to the ears and so as the head, this helps me to have no troubles wearing it on long game sessions. First, I made it as a stereo headphone by trying it on my PSP and PC and I could say it delivers a loud sound within the headset without bothering the room and also improved the sound quality of a simple bitrates of 128 kbit/s MP3 songs. As soon as I tried it with the MixAmp on Dolby sound, I thought that I was in a totally different world whereas I thought that the room was so loud but in fact it wasn’t when I took off my headphone. Maybe it’s just me because I never had this experience before, but for a headphone, it’s an impressive experience by taking you in a different world using the A40 with MixAmp 5.8. Even though it runs as wireless, there are some plugs to put in but it’s nice to have great sound reception in a little further from my HD Monitor (where I used listen to a plugged headset) without disturbing the family in the house. So right now I wonder if I can play Dead Space 2 on this one but I’m sure it’ll scare my pants off.

 

Speaking of Dead Space 2, I used to play background music while playing the first one to lessen the element of surprise but as far as I currently know, I’m afraid I might not be able to do the same thing with this device as the feature was stripped off from the first MixAmp, so you can’t jack in your MP3 players while playing games (for now I hope). I’m not sure for now but I hope that in the future those two USB slots from the TX should do something useful. Another issue is, the chat cable from PC/PS3 to MixAmp is sold separately. So if you do multi tasking (like me, chatting while playing games) or a PC gamer, you should consider buying that product for about 10$ separately. However if those two issues will not stop your fun, I’m sure to guarantee the amount of fun you will get while using this baby.

 

The final verdict

 

Astro Gaming did a wonderful job making a top of the line gaming accessory. Despite of its imperfections and its hefty price tag, it gets the job done. The overall experience is a satisfactory in sound quality and gaming advantage that will take you for a ride to the edge of your seat.

 

 

Pros:

• Great sound reception. 
• Wireless delight. 
• Premium finishing in physical and sound quality. 
• Providing comfort for long gaming session.

Cons:

• Chat cable is sold separately.
• No MP3 jack. 
• Pricy for a headphone.
• Rechargeable batteries are sold separately.

Buyer’s Guide to Xbox 360 Vol. 01

The other night I was asked by a friend about the Xbox 360 because he’s about to buy them.
Well “Mamo” here’s what I can offer you all about The Box and its differences here in KSA.

First off, you have to know enough knowledge on what you are buying so to begin here’s a brief history about the box.

It was first presented in 2005 in the United States of America and went worldwide, back then, the only major drawback of the device was the Red Ring Of Death also known as RROD.

How it happens?
Well this is how it goes, the on switch button will lit 3 quadrants of the ring in red color and from that, your box will no longer operate any games as well as accessing the dashboard.

Why it happens?
It usually happens by several reasons within the system’s hardware components. It could be overheating, core processor issue or video card malfunctions.

Fortunately, Microsoft has been kind enough to take actions on fixing the problem since its date of release; it wasn’t later after almost 3 years that they have stabilized the situation and brought better solutions in preventing it to appear on later releases. Although consumers who had their devices bought from release date till 2008 were granted a 3 year warranty in case if the RROD appears.

As a proof, I bought my Xbox 360 Pro in March 2008 and I still didn’t have an RROD. So it seems that the later devices will work better knowing so.

Types of Boxes

Now that we dealt with the technical concerns (which it used to be my major fear on the console), we’ll get to the different types of Xbox 360 models which usually are in the KSA market.

First off we have the Arcade edition; this is the most affordable out there. It includes a standard white wireless controller (rechargeable battery not included), an adaptor, 2 games and AV cable and a headset. However, hard drive is not included. (Currently ranging between 700 to 800 SAR)

Second, Pro Edition, this includes a standard white wireless controller, an adaptor, 2 games (I got Kung Fu Panda and Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures), AV Cable, headset and a 60 gig hard drive. Currently the price range between 800 to 900 SAR.

Third, Elite Edition, among the previous mentioned boxes that comes in white colored consoles, this baby comes in black form and includes a black wireless controller, an adaptor, 2 games, AV Cable, headset and a 120 gig hard drive. Currently the price range between 900 to 1000 SAR.

Forth, Super Elite, they only come in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 or Final Fantasy 13 editions. Limited numbers only so if you get lucky you’re in for a treat on this one. The FF13 comes in white colored console, includes 250 gig hard drive, 2 white wireless controller, black headset, one month Xbox live (XBL) membership subscription, adaptor, HDMI cable, Final Fantasy 13 game, Chocobo avatar pet, exclusive avatar costumes (Roche and Nabaat) and a faceplate of Lightning for the console.
COD: Modern Warfare 2 includes, Black console with MW2 faceplate, 250 gig hard drive, 2 black wireless controllers, black wired headset, adaptor, Ethernet cable, 1 month gold membership in XBL, 1 month trial in Netflix. Current price range is around 1200 to 1300 SAR.
(So the bottom line is their main perk is the 250 gig hard drive)

Fifth, the S model also known as the Slim (Current version), this was released this year with major makeover (which I will include it on a different article). This new device will include a glossy black console, 250 gig hard drive, black wireless controller, black head set, AV cable, one month XBL gold membership, 1 year Limited Express Warranty. Current price range around 1600 to 1700 SAR.

Other consoles…?

Yeah, for standards, this country only offers PAL systems due to some global regional control issues also known as Regional lockout. Other systems like NTSCJ and NTSC are sold on selective shops like Eagle Software or Computer House to name a few and they can be a bit expensive than PAL boxes and with no warranties. While Jarir bookstore sells only PAL games, other shops tend to sell NTSC and NTSCJ games for special reasons. But if you’re in luck, some games can be region free like HALO game or Assassin’s Creed games to name a few.

So which one should I buy?

It only depends on how much you can afford at the moment; seriously, you should not rush in buying them all at once if you can’t afford them. Take Arcade edition for example, go buy that first and whenever you’re ready to buy the hard drive or an HDMI cable for some modifications then go for it. Be advised though that the free games included are usually standard selections and if you know how to bargain or make a deal with the retailer then good luck.

So about the Xbox Live….

This is where the console specializes; simply I can say is it’s a colorful and fun place. You can edit your avatar, watch videos and connect friends who also have Xbox live account, play with people online, download game demos, access facebook and twitter and interact friends with chatting and playing and many more. There are two types of membership and they are Silver and Gold and the only differences between them are that Silver doesn’t provide an online multiplayer mode and it’s free. Gold on the other hand allows you to play online multiplayer mode and participate on special events and even win in XBL but will cost some money for subscription. Current price for Gold membership range 200 to 250 SAR.

What about Xbox Live Arcade?

Aside from retail games, there are games that sold in Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA), some are new ones and some are back in the old school times. In addition to XBLA games, they also have previous Xbox 360 games and old Xbox title for a reduced price. They can be bought by Microsoft Points (MS Points) which can be bought in stores or via credit cards depending on how much MS Points you want to you buy. Current prices are 120 SAR 1600 MS Points & 190 to 210 SAR for 3000 MS Points.


What are suitable accessories you can recommend?

First of I have to recommend buying a rechargeable battery for your controller, playing numerous hours might cost you money buying AAs in a month when you can save it for buying a rechargeable one that will last for several years. If you’re an avid on typing messages, check the Messenger kit, the keyboard will come very handy. HDMI Cable, better on the eye? Sure why not?! So if you want better viewing, connect your console on monitors or TVs. These accessories won’t cost more than 100 SAR each so it’s really a nice price for better innovation. However, among the most important accessories that cost more than 100 SAR is the Detachable Hard Drive, now if you bought an Arcade version, I would highly advise to get this one and the higher capacity the better (suppose 120 or 250 gig hard drive).
Estimated price are between 300 to 600 SAR.

So “Mamo” I hope you’ve got enough info on this. For more info and questions please do let me know.

Happy gaming people!

~Mookie-Mookie~

Review: Prototype

Developer(s) ‎ Radical Entertainment ‎


Publisher(s) ‎ Activision ‎


‎‎Engine ‎ Titanium


Platform ‎ Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 (reviewing on Xbox 360)‎

Release date ‎ PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 ‎


June 2009‎


‎‎Genre(s) ‎ Action-adventure, Third person, Open world


Mode(s) ‎ Single-player ‎


Rating(s) ‎ ESRB: M


               OFLC: MA 15+‎


               PEGI: 18+‎



Personally, I am not a big fan of open-world game. I do have standards of game ‎selection and this genre isn’t my cup of tea until I hear about this game and the ‎other one which I will make a review very soon once I tasted enough fleva for the ‎feva of “inFamous”. This gave me game me a different feel of open world game ‎since it’s gory, bloody and a mind-blowing moves of the character. Like from a ‎well known similar game (grand theft auto) missions scattered throughout the ‎area and at some point will give you choice weather you’ll be a hero or a badass ‎mother “beep!”. Excuse my French… but this little man’s abilities makes him an ‎upside down (not to mention crazy) protagonist. Who would think that you can ‎travel so fast, glide, crazy melee attacks and disguising other’s flesh and clothes ‎for some stealthy missions? Sound cool and made me think that this will be a ‎one bad ass game of the year (2009). Who am I kidding? Lets just review this ‎one and find out if it can live up to most of the gamer’s expectations.‎






Presentation:‎


It’s bloody, its gory, and engaging just to know what the heck is going on around ‎the guy and what made him into a biological killer. However, the presentation ‎was killed by another factor of the game that dramatically deprive from our high ‎expectations. Although storyline is ranged from nice-to-good but not grown ‎breaking as other good games that came at the same year so its safe on this ‎part.‎


Score:‎ ‎ ‎ ‎8.5/10‎






Graphics:‎


Surprisingly, it looked more like a high-end PS2 graphics, but I do salute the fast ‎phased actions it has although I really wish that they worked more on it than ‎releasing it on time. ‎


Score:‎ ‎ ‎ ‎8/10‎






Gameplay:‎


This hurts my nuts so bad, after I invested hours of gameplay I finally gave one ‎word description of the game. “Repetitive” as simple as that. Sure its cool running ‎around the place and strike a pose with your small-but-terrible maneuvers but ‎hey, it gets too boring and it warns me off so fast not to mention the feeling that ‎you’ll be doing something similar missions that makes me say like “urgh! Again? ‎Didn’t I just did something similar before?”. Leveling up is one good thing with so ‎many choices to make but it gave a crack to me when I discovered that you’ll just ‎repeat the same “1 2 3 combo” over and over to the enemies till they’re down or ‎even till you end the game. The least thing that keeps the game alive is the story. ‎Whenever you consume a certain person or an enemy, you’ll discover a short ‎clips of their memories that will lead you to solve the mysteries but really, you’ll ‎get that “repetitive” feeling sooner than later. ‎


Score:‎ ‎7.5/10‎






Audio:‎


At most times of the game, the voice acting was well delivered and effects were ‎okay. The voice acting and effect during animation was impressive enough to ‎capture your attention to know more about the plot. So the audio was good-to-‎great but not enough to cover up their gamepaly flops. ‎


Score:‎ ‎8.5/10‎






Overall:‎

Repetitive is the word of this game. It looks and feels badass but they failed to ‎keep your motivation at the high level by giving you same old missions and same ‎old killing combos over and over again. This game is for rent/borrowing and not ‎for keeps. Not enough power to dominate GTA for sure but I do hope that ‎whenever or if they ever make another one I would not mind to have it another ‎look. ‎


Score ‎ ‎8/10‎






Pro(s)‎


Badass killing moves, abilities and insane roaming ability


Interesting storyline


Bloody and gory


Nice stealth mission


‎ ‎


Con(s)‎


Repetitive will bore you


So many similar missions


~Mookie-Mookie~So many good abilities but the killing procedures are down to repetitive‎

Review: Mirror’s Edge

Developer(s) EA Digital Illusions CE

Publisher(s) Electronic Arts

Engine Unreal Engine 3

Platform Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 (reviewing on Xbox 360)

Release date PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
November 2008

Genre(s) First Person, Action-adventure

Mode(s) Single-player

Rating(s)

ESRB: T
OFLC: M
PEGI: 16+
USK 16

Here’s a game that I never heard of from most of my friends. The funny thing here is whenever I listen 2 or 3 of its OST I started to say “I miss Faith”. There’s something special about this game that never fails to remind me. Maybe after I review this you guys will get what I’m trying to say. I’ll sum them all up at my conclusion so here we go:

Presentation:
The environments are full in rich colors that gave the city a relaxing feeling to it. Not to mention the music wasn’t too lousy or too boring but just at the right tempo to any given situations and segments. Although I don’t get much of the transition between in game mode and cut scenes which were 2-D, a lot of people complained on that category but I don’t have the definitive reason to complain about. In the end, it delivered a new fresh air and a different good feeling on the other side.
Score: 8.5/10

Graphics:
It wasn’t a top of the line graphics but has so many rich colors of the character’s surroundings. Those colorful obstacles really help to identify your tracks on what to do and where to go.
Score: 8/10

Gameplay:
Generally its an FPS, but for me it’s an FPS minus. Like any typical FPS, this one has its conditions. You play as a Runner and mostly you run and the game is design not to use guns too much. Well if you’d like to shoot minions its your choice but the downside is that it will only slow your phase down. Taking down enemies by disarming and hitting them is a go. You basically run (duh), jump from one buildings and obstacles to another but much faster than Lara Croft’s Tomb Raider. In addition, it’s a trail and error game, whenever you fail from your attempts you will restart to the last checkpoint and make it right. For those who has trouble playing FPS should better not play this one because you’ll definitely get motion sickness. Time trials are addicting just to beat your own or other online peoples'best time. They could have done more like multiplayer mode like passing documents to another friend or racing against each other to the finish line. But hopefully will open some possibilities in the future.
Score: 9/10

Audio:
Yeah the music as I said before is precise. The sound effects were not bad even though the gunfire sounded like a 32-bit game and the voice acting was okay but not as engaging.
Score: 7.0/10

Overall:
“A breath of fresh air, free your mind and fly as you run freely by living in the edge” haha I feel so light whenever I play this game and its where I got my motto “Edge of Faith, with love and respect”. No matter how long it has been for me with this game. It doesn’t fail to make me miss it from time to time. Many praised this game and I am one of them, I just hope that when the sequel comes down, online multiplayer will go extra mile if they include it.
Score 8/10

Pro(s)
A different feeling.
Original gameplay.
Calm environments at most.
Addicting time trial modes.

Con(s)
Trial and error.
Sometimes you get stuck on a puzzling place for a bit long.
No multiplayer features.

Happy Gaming!

~Mookie-Mookie~

My 2010 XBOX 360 GAMES (including whish lists)

The year 2009 is near to a close and 2010 has several upcoming titles to come out in line. I gathered up some of my picks with my personal comments and here they are:


Mass Effect 2 Release date Jan 2010
The kickoff can’t get any better than a sequel from an award winning Action/RPG game. I tried the 1st part and liked it. My anticipation for the sequel is fair and hopeful to break the ice while it’s the 1st month of year.



Bioshock 2 Release date Feb 2010
I played the 1st and I enjoyed a different experience of FPS gameplay in a different twist and RPG elements. One of my anticipated title of 2010.



Dante’s Inferno Release date Feb 2010
Devil may cry titles were inspired by the book. Therefore, I will not take a second chance on getting this game. The novel book has imaginative and twisted vision of “Hell” itself but it is entertaining despite the entire sensitive spiritual context in it.



Final Fantasy 13 Release date Mar 2010
As a die hard fan of FF7. I should give this one a try (like I always do from the previous title except FF 11 online). Positive reviews are everywhere, so my choice still stand as FF7 is still my number one FF game. But we’ll see…



Gears of War 3 Release date Q4 2010
This franchise was one of the Major reason why I bought XBOX 360, tried the 1st and 2nd titles and I was content. Now I have to wait and hope it will release with another BANG! (Exited even though there’s no release date yet).



Batman: Arkham Asylum 2 Release date Unannounced
The 1st one is one of my GOTY 2009. the announcement came out as a teaser and wow it’s a direct sequel and the fizz of all the issue was Arkham has moved? Where? Just take a look at the trailer.



Metro 2033 Release date Mar/Apr 2010
This might work. A new title entry with the somewhat similar concept of “F.E.A.R.” but based in Russia. I better take a closer look at this and hope for the best.



Alan Wake Release date Q2 2010
This has been in production for a very long time. Trailers are making me want to know what the heck is going on at Alan’s world.



Brink Release date Q4 2010
Imagine “Mirror’s Edge” with guns. With a co-op and multiplayer features, I’m pretty sure it’s a promising title (so far).

Aliens vs. Predator Release date Feb. 2010
Dose my eyes deceived me? I heard the last news that it will be out around Feb 2010. well anyway I’m a sucker of AVP franchise and sadly I never got the chance to try their old AVP FPS game before. Maybe its just me but I really love the concept of AVP.

Medal of Honor: (new title) Release date Unannounced
A contender for MW? Why not? I’m keeping my doors open for MOH now that they moved to a modern setting. Lets face it, Call of duty was inspired from MOH.

Well to wrap things up. It’s been a nice ride for 2009 and for other future games that I will mention will only mean that they just came after I posted this article. I’m hopeful for the undetermined future games and all the best to the ones that will release for 2010.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL GAMERS OUT THERE!!!

Cheers!!!

Mookie~Mookie

Review: Fallout 3: Game of the year edition

Developer(s) Bethesda Game Studios

Publisher(s) Bethesda Softworks & ZeniMax Media

Engine Gamebryo

Platform Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 (reviewing on Xbox 360)

Release date PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
October 2008

Genre(s) Action role-playing

Mode(s) Single-player

Rating(s) BBFC: 18
CERO: Z (18+)
ESRB: M
OFLC: R16
OFLC: MA15+
PEGI: 18+

It’s December and finally I came to close my game lists of year 2009. my long awaited game has been put to rest for now and I felt like getting me another “award winning” game (or so they speak) just to have a look of what’s the fuss was all about. Luckily, I bought Mass Effect for 50 SR (13.33 $) which wasn’t bad (review will be posted separately for it) and Fallout 3: Game of the year edition.

Both were special in their own ways but I have to focus on the Fallout 3 since that’s what written on the main title.

I was skeptical at first because I wasn’t really a fan of Elder Scrolls 3 and I blew and sucked big time.

So after playing this baby (played 15 hours straight during Eid Al-Adha Holiday), I should make a review about it just to share my love and respect of the 2008’s RPG game of year (was beaten by MGS4 as game of year but I’m an MGS fan).

Presentation:
This one really fooled me right when I first checked the main menu and thought of cheesy music of 50s; but I was so wrong from picturing it that way. I never would imagine how twisted it was. I mean can a post apocalyptic could ever get anymore dreadful than this? A brief story will explain how it became like this. After a nuclear bomb explosion, the United States of America became a Capital Wasteland, but some limited people was taken shelter called “the vaults” the hero/heroine resides on Vault 101 and as the child grew up, he/she escaped from the Vault searching for his/her father’s whereabouts and the reason why he left the Vault 101. It really is engaging storyline to it and as you progress in search for your father, you’ll encounter many side quests as optional tasks. Yeah, those side quests really dragged me to push it to the limit and put my a** on the chair for hours! To make the long story short, presentation was nicely enough for me to invest the other day for a 15-hour straight gameplay (no rest and some people I know had days playing it!). Sounds and visuals gave a definite impact and sometimes terrifying on what lurks ahead.
Score: 9.0/10

Gameplay:
Character creation comes first and while your still at Vault 101, you’ll be given a chance to carefully create your ideal hero/heroine and stats for survival. For those who think Fallout 3 is a fulltime FPS/TPS game, please do not expect it to come highly to that category, mainly its more an RPG than a shooter. Although you are required to use any means necessary to defend yourself from the outside world of The Capital Wasteland and that includes using weapons. Weapons on the other hand were from familiar firearms, home made, advanced and weird but deadly; all are present at your disposal and can be use on special occasions depending on your style. While venturing the world you’ll get a chance to talk to interact with them and some may give you helpful information or main/side quests. Karma system is one of the game’s features that will determine your balance of good/evil nature; so Karma is what we really think it is as common Karma and it will determine on what type of ending you will get at the end of the campaign. As you level up, just like any other RPG I played, you’ll get perks and its up to you where to put that points just to improve your survival skill in the world. The cool thing to add while on battle was the V.A.T.S. (also known as the Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System); by activating it, you’ll get a chance on where to hit your enemy and what are the effects and chances to get a successful hit or a one hit kill if lucky. Systematically cool to watch in bullet time and at the same time gruesome sometimes when you’re killing a human target (the other day I blasted a ghoul’s head and saw jaw and eye balls flying off in bullet time….O_o). it’s really controversial and not really for everyone to see so keep it away from the eyes of those who’s not into violence. There are almost limitless possibilities by customizing your player and tons of places to explore in the capital wasteland and to add the expansions really add many things to do. So there’s lots of things to do that kind of letting you say “just one more quest and I’m done for today” but ended up playing another hour.
Score: 9.5/10

Characters:
They’re all well crafted. Voice acting is superb that sometime makes you remember them throughout the game. But I was shocked when a kid cursed by using the “F” word on me, but not really a big deal, maybe I’m not used to hear kids saying those stuffs but it’s all good.
Score: 9/10

Overall:
Whoa! Just like that. However, I really s**t you not that this is a very long game and replayability is high. I never would have thought I’d get hooked in a game like this and I’m glad that I finally stashed it in my “best games of Xbox 360” collections. It won’t please everyone including to the hardcore FPS/TPS fans but it’s an open invitation to all gamers. Weather you’re in RPG or FPS/TPS action or a collector like me. Fallout 3 is a gem and deserves to recognize in history and many years to come for RPG lovers.
Score 9/10

Pro(s)
Character graphics is the weakest link of this game but the environments were in a different curve.
Sounds really keep you terrified whenever you lurk in a dark area.
Very high rate of replayability.
Anything is possible for customization your way of playing the game
Get ready to invest countless hours in this game including the expansions.

Con(s)
Character graphics.
Inventory limits (I carry a lot of loot in my back because i tend to head back after a very long quests but wth, its my opinion)
Addictive (two genre in one game, what could possibly go wrong?)

---Mookie-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

(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.