Wii - Medal of Honor: Heroes 2

Reviewed By: Mindesyn, Byronic Gaming, Canada

Medal of Honor: Heroes 2 is a first person shooter for the Wii that takes place in the WWII era.

In this installment of Medal of Honor you take the role of a soldier on a top secret mission to strike a devastating blow against the Axis forces and save the Allied armies from a deadly new threat.
The action starts on the infamous landing in France's northern coast and continues through 8 campaign missions.
Along Campaign mode there is Arcade mode, which is similar to a rail shooter. You don't have to move your character, and instead it takes you around the level, and you are able to shoot at will and concentrate on your marksmanship. A wide and diverse choice of guns keeps the game fresh including machine guns, pistols, sniper rifles and of course rocket launchers.

EA Games have set up an online community for up to a 32 person multiplayer experience. Online modes include Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, and Infiltration. Deathmatch is every man for himself. The player with the highest score wins. Your score is equal to your total kills minus your total deaths. In Team Deathmatch you create teams and the team with the highest score wins. Infiltration is basically capture the flag. Not alot of variety but enough to keep one occupied.

The graphics were very good for a Wii shooter. Very fast frame rate kept the game fast running and exciting. Smooth transitions and animations made the game flow together nicely. Death animations were sometimes over exaggerated but that just adds to the fun. Gunfire and explosions were at times pixelated, but usually only for big moments in the game. The maps were detailed nicely and gave the overall atmosphere a darker feeling much like Nazi Germany would be in the second world war. Overall a great looking game.

Sound effects and voice acting were done well enough nothing outstanding, just the same old generic sounding guns, most of the acting was German since the Axis force are the Nazis. The music was really dark, and brooding, very warlike. Fit the game, nothing more, nothing less.

Controls are a staple of any quality FPS and Medal of Honor 2 is no exception. The game is fully designed to use the Wii Zapper peripheral. The biggest thing about the controls is that no matter the skill level of the player they are accessible and comfortable to play with. Some innovative controls such as thrusting the zapper forward to stab with your bayonet, and putting the zapper on your shoulder for a bazooka, even throwing the grenades require a downward motion of the zapper. Keep the game fresh and unique. The only problem I had control wise, and alot of aiming based games for the Wii have this problem but, if the light reflection in the room is irregular, it makes aiming with the Wiimote sporadic and frustrating. Overall it's an effective and smooth control scheme.

Overall Medal of Honor: Heroes 2 is a very respectable and solid FPS title for the Wii, one of the best on the system, with the online the replay value is high, and the difficulty levels are fair but challenging. If you are looking for a ground breaking or unique experience this isn't it. It's another WWII FPS, In saying that however its still a good play and lots of fun.

For Byronic Gaming I give this game 3.8 Purple Hearts out of 5.

Wii - Bleach Shattered Blade

Reviewed By: Mindesyn, Byronic Gaming, Canada

Bleach Shattered Blade is a fighting game that is based off of the hit anime and manga series Bleach by Tite Kubo. The game isn't based directly on the storyline of the series however, in this particular arc Ichigo and his friends rush to find shards of the mighty executioner's blade to force open the gate leading back to their world. However, fierce supernatural foes seek the same powerful shards for their own gain. The Espada.

If you have ever watched the show you would know the main cast of Bleach consists of dozens of characters, and this game is no exception, with 32 characters to play in total after unlocking them all. 31 from the series and 1 character made specifically for the game and story arc, an Espada by the name of Arturo Plateado, rounds it out to 32.
The characters are fairly balanced to the point that their isn't much difference between many of the choices. Some of the more well known characters have their traditional attacks, special moves, and of course Bankais make an appearance for the select few. The game doesn't give away any spoilers so if you haven't seen the Bankai in the anime yet, you won't see a sneak peek in this game.

The game offers various modes of play including Episode mode where you play the storyline with selective characters, Arcade mode, where you choose any character and fight through 8 other opponents. Versus mode, where you are able to play against other players or against the computer. Training mode allows you to learn the basics of the game's controls. Urahara Shop gives you the opportunity to buy items such as costumes, characters, stages, and gallery. Gallery gives an in depth look at the art style of Tite Kubo and also lets you hear the English voice acting in the game.

The voice acting was a bit of a letdown since I have become accustomed to the Japanese voice actors portraying the characters for so long. The English voice overs, always seem so forced and unnatural, however in saying that, there are moments in the storyline that do shine in the English actors favour and it shows. Pronunciation of the Japanese names and moves were correct and fluid. The sound effects and music suited their purpose, nothing special, just generic fighting game sounds and music.

The opening FMV was a collaboration of clips from the series, including new ones for the new character, Felt like a traditional Bleach opening theme. The graphics where not superb did look rather sharp at times. Lots of flashy lights, and kanji indicating sound effects litter the air around your fighters. Treating it like a cartoonish style of fighting from the series. The absence of blood was a letdown since the series does show it from time to time, and a game consisting of Katana combat would endorse it, however the game does fine without it nonetheless.

Controls were based mainly on motion controls. 3 types of attack types, that you could alter holding the B or A buttons. The basic attacks were chops where you swing the Wiimote downwards. Slash, where you swing the Wiimote left or right, and Stab, where you push the Wiimote inwards towards your TV. To change the actions to certain special attacks you hold the B button and swing the Wiimote in the desired direction, same goes for the Critical attacks, except you hold the A button for those. Z guarded, C made your character use a technique called 'Flash step' which made your character run and move faster when you used the control stick. To activate Bankai, you shake the nunchuk to accumulate soul power and once maxed, flick the nunchuk to go into Bankai mode.

Overall this game does the series justice if you are a fan of Bleach. For a stand alone fighting title however it falls a bit short on the fact the controls are at times unresponsive to what you want to do, and the characters are a bit to similar in moves, and balances. Lots to unlock however will keep you busy, and it is a story arc to the series, that won't be shown. Could have used an online mode to up the value of the title, but really wasn't needed.

For Byronic Gaming I give this game 3.4 Bankais out of 5.