PS3 - Resistance: Fall of Man

Reviewed by: 007Ace,
Byronic Gaming, Canada

Resistance: Fall of Man, now there is a mouthful. This is a game I've been wanting to play since it was announced. Its original realistic, yet fantastic storyline was something I knew I would enjoy.

Having had a xbox, xbox360, and PC for years, I'm no stranger to the First Person Shooter. However I have rules to the types of shooters I'll play.

Im not a fan of war for the sake of war, and I don't really appreciate 'strategy'. I like to be able to run up to a guy smash him in the face, and move on without dying from a single stray bullet.
I like Sci-Fi, fantasy, adventure, action all that and Resistance puts it all together nicely.

The graphics are dated, I wont lie there, but not in the most obvious way. Theyv'e got great textures, the polygons are done well, the maps are open, and the physics engine is great. I found that it didn't have the typical shine, and over-bright, and reflection that we expect, and I'm not sure when exactly that became the norm.
The thing is, I'm not sure if that was on purpose because of the time this game takes place.
Moving on...
The weapons are smart and innovative, and there is nice flow to the weapons as well, you don't get a multitude off the start and just choose your favorites. You slowly but surely find (get handed) new weapons that will help you kill the baddies, and make your way through obstacles all that much easier.

I will admit Ive had some near controller tossing moments, but they were mainly in the first chapter of the game. I'm not going to tell you why that part is exceptionally difficult, because if your one of the very, very few people who have yet to play this game it may...
OK, I'll be honest, your health doesn't regenerate. there I said it. After the first chapter, however, it does. That's as far as Ill take it.
The controls are tight and everything handles like a dream. It delivers constant Frames/Second, and still looks great.
I love the story and Its twist on historical events. Especially the fact that America took forever to join another world war!
Online play is still full of people, and its 40 player maps work great, very little lag, which I couldnt say was true about that FPS on the 360... cough*halo3*cough ...which had deal breaking issues last I tried (couldn't connect to friends in the same town!)
The online maps are free now too, a definite perk to playing a launch title 3 years after launch :S

For Byronic Gaming, I give this title
4.0 Chimeran Skulls out of 5

Wii - No More Heroes

Reviewed By: Mindesyn, Byronic Gaming, Canada

No More Heroes for the Wii is the brain child of video game designer Suda 51 whom is also responsible for other titles such as Killer 7 for the Gamecube and Moonlight Syndrome for the Playstation.

This mature rated title for the Nintendo Wii stars the protagonist Travis Touchdown (voiced by Robin Atkin Downes) who is a 27-year-old American assassin and stereotypical otaku – his motel room decorated with professional wrestling and anime collectibles – living in near poverty in the motel "NO MORE HEROES" of Santa Destroy, California accompanied by his kitten Jeane (most likely named after his long lost love). He appears to have interest in Lucha Libre icons, as well as a moe driven anime series called Pure White Lover Bizarre Jelly; his apartment is filled with such mentioned merchandise. After winning a beam katana in an Internet auction he becomes a hit man. When he runs out of money to buy video games he accepts a job to kill Helter Skelter, also known as "the Drifter," which earns him rank 11 by the United Assassins Association, a governing body of assassins. Realizing that he has now made himself a target for aspiring assassins, he sets out to secure himself as number one in the UAA. He gets around on his exaggerated motorcycle, dubbed the "Schpeltiger." Located in the city of Santa Destroy where all the locations are named after pro wrestling moves.

This psychotic, over the top, action packed video game, was something I felt the Nintendo Wii needed to attract that 'hardcore gamer' audience. With all the blood and gore, crude humor, intense violence, sexual overtones, and strong enough language to get your TV banned by the authorities. It caters to even the most discriminating gamer. If you think the Wii library of games is for little kids and casual gamers, I suggest you pick up this title developed by Grasshopper Manufacture.

The graphics have a cell shaded style, that I think looks real sharp, combined with the cell shading, are blocky 8-bit style components such as the health bar, in-game menus, and the over world map (Which was troublesome at times)

The characters and the voice acting was superbly well done. I personally enjoyed every character in the game and Travis Touchdown's short yet humorous encounter with each one. Every assassin proves as the boss of a particular location, and each boss fight is diverse and interesting. Always working sarcasm into the violence of each fight kept the feeling light hearted yet intense enough to start sweating during the battles. Difficulty levels were about the right level 'Sweet' was Easy, 'Mild' was Normal, and 'Bitter' was Hard.
Sound effects were well done, the musical score was unique and memorable.

Control was one of the things that stood out for me, a lot of developers feel the need to force 'waggle' controls and use the motion sensing technology in ways that really makes the Wii look like a gimmick opposed to a respectable game console. No More Heroes, did it right, you swing the beam katana by tapping the A button, and when you want to finish off said opponent, a direction icon will appear, swing the Wiimote in direction showed on the screen and viola! Chances are you just decapitated a bad guy.

The entire game has a tongue in cheek, smartass approach to things, when you save the game, you save on the toilet (which made this gamer use 'save my game' as code for going to the bathroom) when you batteries die in your beam katana, you furiously shake it up and down (including the gamer shaking the Wiimote) in the fashion of masturbation. One of the most inventive and neat uses of the Wiimote was when you receive a phone call on your in-game cell, you put the Wiimote up to your ear, and the speaker acts as a phone where you can hear Sylvia give you advice on the boss. No More Heroes is always true to its own perverse logic - always proud to be a video game, always stealing liberally from the best of other genres, always loud and obnoxious. The mishmash of visual styles, music and the world’s most flamboyant dialogue has no comparison to anything else; it’s impossible to put the game in a box, except to say that it is unquestionably, undeniably, unequivocally No More Heroes, and you have never played anything like this before.

Santa Destroy has alot to offer when you aren't in the mood for mindless killing or advancing the plot. Its a GTA styled sandbox style, you can shopping and buy new clothes for Travis to wear, go to the gym and improve your stats, with his mentor Thunder Ryu. Go collect Lokitov balls scattered all over the map and take them to a drunk Russian who teaches you new moves. Do mini games, and missions at a place to work, or hang out in the NO MORE HEROES motel where Travis lives.

No More Heroes has minor flaws, some might say the game play is repetitive and the frame rate can get sloppy when you are hauling ass on your motorcycle, the graphics can look jagged and rough. Overall though, the cut scenes, and just the overall experience should be more than enough to make up for any small flaws the game regrettably has.

For Byronic Gaming I give this game 4.2 beam katana decapitations out of 5.