« Home
I usually don't play strategy games and especially turn-based strategy games like Advance Wars: Days of Ruin is because I don't like to think so hard, but once I pick up the game to play it, I will...think hard that is. I'll also take a long time to think before making a move. It's like chess to me. I didn't play online that much because I'm a nice guy and wanted to spare the people on Nintendo WiFi Connection from using their precious time to wait for me to make a move. Trust me, I can take more than five minutes to make a move. People have complained about me in card games.
Although I don't normally play strategy games, I decided to give Advance Wars: Days of Ruin a shot because so many people were praising it and game sites were giving it good reviews. I thought 'what the heck' and decided to give this game a chance and maybe I'll like it too. I was pleasantly surprised. The game moves along at a good speed and the buttons and menus react instantly to the touch or push. You can quickly skip over animations to get straight to the action by pressing A. It's like they knew I was going to play this game and already felt compassion for my opponents when they made this. It's a good thing because I do take a while to think.
Well, just as I thought, Advance Wars: Days of Ruin is like chess, but more advanced and complex (from a non-expert chess player's point of view, so please don't get mad at me if you're the world champion chess player). You have to take a lot of things into account when you plan your next move. Some units can only move a certain distance depending on the wheels and terrain while others like the infantry and mech can get on mountains. The limitation on movement of the units plays a big part in planning your strategy. Sometimes you'll want a certain unit to be somewhere important, but it may not get there in time for what you want to do.
Different units also have different firing ranges. Some can shoot from a distance while others have to be directly next to the target. The infantry, mech, bike, recon, tanks, boats, anti-air and planes have to be next to a target while the battleship, missile, rocket, artillery and anti-tank can hit their target from a distance. The units that can shoot from a distance also have different firing ranges and attributes. For instance, the rocket can hit targets five squares away from it, but not the two squares in front of it. These little differences make the game interesting and chess like because you're required to carefully plan where to place your units and what units to place together.
You also have to take into consideration what units the enemy is using when producing your own unit. Some units are weak against others like the infantry is against tanks while some are deadly like the bombers are against tanks. Then there are some units that can't touch other units like the bomber can't attack other air units even though it's strong against ground units, but at the same time, other air units can attack the bombers. This also makes Advance Wars: Days of Ruin a more advanced and complex game of rock, paper, scissors (from a non-expert roshambo player's point of view, so world champs, please don't get mad if that offended you although I believe I'm pretty darn good at it myself.)
In order to produce more units to increase your army size, you'll have to capture factories for ground units, airports for air units and sea ports for water units. Capturing cities will give you more points each turn to produce more units. Only infantry, mechs, and bikes can capture buildings. This means you can't forget about producing these weak little units in a battle because you'll need them to increase the size and power of your army.
In one player mode, the computer is not too hard, but it is no pushover neither especially if you're new to the Advance Wars series like I am. I would say the game is at medium level difficulty so it's not too hard to the point where you want to give up even though it feels like it sometimes at the beginning of a level. Once you put some thought into it and familiarize yourself with the maps and units, you should be ok.
There is a story mode to the one player campaign. The story in Advance Wars: Days of Ruin is wild, crazy, twisted and has a dark feel to it. It's kind of like what the movie Terminator would be if humans actually lost. What happened is that a meteor struck the planet so hard that it left the world in a post nulear-ish state during a war between two countries. It was enjoyable and I followed the storyline all the way to the end.
The graphics are simple and clean. Strategy games like this don't require awesome 3D graphics to get it working. As long as the pictures are clear enough to tell apart the units then it's good enough. You can also zoom in on the screen if you want a closer look at your units with bigger and better graphics, but I mostly played the game with the screen zoomed out so I can see more of the map and more of my enemy.
So will Advance Wars: Days of Ruin ruin your days? It can if you get addicted and play for too long and lose attention to reality. There were even days that I played until 4 am, but I was playing to review so it's ok ;) Time flies by quick with this game and it flies by even faster when it takes you 5 minutes to make a move. This game is definitely fun and should be given a chance even if you don't like strategy games. Since Tetris, I've never played a handheld game for so long in one sitting. Advance Wars: Days of Ruin is a must buy.
More Information on Advance Wars: Days of Ruin by http://www.nhotspot.net - A Nintendo WiFi Connection Games Site
AP - Shoppers, who had snapped their wallets shut since September, turned out in force Friday to grab early morning deals and hard-to-find items like Elmo Live and the "Wii Fit" exercise game, but many said worries about the economy have them focusing on fewer gifts and less expensive, more practical items.
Posted by frankvgmgzny | 9:09 PM | 
The recent release of Grand Theft Auto IV has undoubtedly helped move both PlayStation and Xbox 360. However, there is another game, Metal Gear Solid 4 (MGS4), is being anxiously anticipated by faithful game fans all around the word.
Somehow, MGS4 is the reason that many forward-looking gamers chose Sony's console over Microsoft. Konami's PS3 exclusive lets PS players once again reprise the role of Solid Snake. The game takes Snake over different locations all round the world including the Middle East that has been shown in the trailers.
Released worldwide on June 12, MGS4 features the Beauty and the Beast Unit, in the tradition of Outer Heaven Mercenaries, the Zanzibar Mercenaries, FOXHOUND, Dead Cell, and the Cobra Unit. The bosses are ladies suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. As the player, you have the choice whether to save or kill them when the opportunity arises.
But what about those gamers who still haven't taken the next-generation plunge? The MGS4 PS3 bundle is sold on Amazon, and will soon be available at Wal Mart this month.
There is an interesting incident: MGS4 PS3 (80GB) bundle went on sale at Amazon at 1:00 AM EST on June 6. Thousands of PS3 fans swarmed the site and got rid of the inventory in only a few minutes. As a result. Amazon PS3 sales increases by 266,000%. Sales ranking goes from 2,661st to No.1 in less than 7 minutes. Coincidentally, a few minutes after Amazon began selling the MGS4 PS3 (80G), the Amazon website went down for over two hours because of "system problems." Good job folks!
There are two versions of MGS4 PS3 bundles available today. The limited edition bundle includes a 40G PS3 in metal gray (not compatible with PS2 games), a DualShock 3 rumble controller, a copy of the MGS4 game, a CD soundtrack and a behind-the-scenes disc. This limited-run model is priced at $600.
The other one is "PlayStation 3 Metal Gear Solid 4 Pack". I personally think this mainstream version is the winner out of the two, which includes a 80G PS3 model in black compatible with PS2 games, a DualShock 3 rumble controller, Metal Gear Solid 4 game, and a voucher for a free download of the Pain game. So you will get a better PlayStation model (80G) for $100 less than that limited edition bundle.
For anybody who's been on the fence as to whether to buy a PS3, the new MGS4 bundle could well be the tipping point. What do you think?
Wilson Snyder
Learn more about playstation 3 and MGS4 bundle at Playstation for Sale
AP - The Federal Reserve boosted its lending to commercial banks and investment firms over the past week, indicating that a severe credit crisis was still squeezing the financial system.
Posted by frankvgmgzny | 9:02 PM |
It's been a while since I've played Rainbow Six Vegas (the first one) on my PC. I was still using my old video card, GeForce 6600GT back then with low to medium graphics settings :) It was quite a cool game but got repetitive afterwards. Find an enemy, hide, and shoot from your hide-out. Go to the next room and repeat. So I was quite excited that they've made the second one. While Rainbow Six Vegas 2 has the same kind of formula, it's an under estimation to say Rainbow Six Vegas 2 is the same like its predecessor. Rainbow Six Vegas 2 is an FPS (First Person Shooter) game. You are the leader of a small team (a 3-man team) of an international special force organization called Rainbow Six.
You can issue simple commands to your team (Go to a certain location, stacking up on doors preparing for an entry, throwing grenades at a certain point, etc) but it will be very minimal and if you really up to a challenge, you can simply ask your team to "Hold position" and do your mission Rambo-style. As you may have noticed from the title, Rainbow Six Vegas 2 is played on...Vegas. Well luckily, not all of the time though. You'll be hopping from the casinos to an airstrip, so be prepared for both close quarter combats and long range combats.
A.C.E.S and Ranks
Rainbow Six Vegas 2 offers new features such as the A.C.E.S points and Ranks. You'll gain experience from killing enemies and when you complete an Assault, a Close Quarter Battle (CQB), or a Marksman level. Once you gain experiences, you can be promoted to the next rank of military (sergeant, lieutenant, etc). Being promoted to higher ranks will open up new armors for both appearance and protection. By gaining ranks in Assault, CQB, or Marksman, new weapons will be available for you to play around with. Each weapon will be available once you've completed a certain rank of a specific area. So for example, obviously, to get a better sniper rifle, you'll need to complete a certain rank of Marksman, etc.
Depends on how you kill the enemy, you'll gain these points accordingly. For example:
You can find out how to get these points from the main menu. Your character will "level up" RPG style and although you won't be gaining any attributes, you'll gain more arsenal for some killin' frenzy. Sadly though, when you unlock new weapons, they don't necessarily better than your old ones. It'd be great if the newer weapons are all better than the one that you are currently using, but some do and some don't.
Character Customization
After you have access to new armors, clothing, and weapons, you can customize them in-game or on the main menu. You'll see this on your character in-game, so it's quite fun actually to customize your character a bit.
Storyline
Nothing much to tell, apart from a big-bad terrorist trying to wreak havoc in the city by taking hostages and bombing stuffs. Very old school and very predictable. However, fun is the key in this game, not the storyline.
Gameplay
Fun is what this game is all about. It's fun to play, especially once the action starts. Hiding behind covers, throwing grenades, breaching a room, playing it as if you really are in a special force team, are all fun to do. There are 3 difficulty levels in the game, but I wish there were 4. The realistic mode (the hardest) can get on your nerves as the enemies are more accurate when they shoot. While it can be fun and challenging, sometimes I had to repeat 5-6 times of a certain sub-level (Your game will be saved automatically on a certain checkpoints during a mission, so, No, no quick-saving and loading :)). If you've been playing some FPS games, I'd suggest to use the hardest level (Realistic) but when you get frustrated, tone down the difficulty a bit (You only need to repeat that mission and not the entire game!). I think I've repeated about 10 times on the final boss (at the end of the game) lol. Or maybe I'm just suck. The medium difficulty however, is kind of a joke, as you can have 10 grenades instead of 4 and also unlimited ammo :)
A.I
The A.I is okay, I guess. It's not dumb but it's not the best, either. Your teammates are good on their own and won't block your path. They'll find their own cover when the shooting starts. This goes to the enemies too. They'll find somewhere to hide, shoot behind covers, keep hiding when being suppressed, and will try to flank you sometimes. It's kinda funny though when you start putting your silencer on. It feels as if you are turning on a cheat mode. It's kinda cool to play stealthily on certain areas and you'll find that the enemies are dumb enough not to notice your presence. Once you take out that silencer however, one shot from you will invite the whole cavalry.
Conclusion
Rainbow Six Vegas 2 offers a new ranking and points system to its predecessor. It also improves what was offered before on the first series. I found that Rainbow Six Vegas 2 single player campaign was quite short (probably as short as Call of Duty 4?). So if you want to buy it, do so but make sure that you'll play it online too. If you haven't got Call of Duty 4, it will be a tough decision to choose between the 2, but Call of Duty 4 has a more variety of missions to play, compared to Rainbow Six Vegas 2. The fun factor is different, though. One word to describe them: Call of Duty 4 is "cool" where as Rainbow Six Vegas 2 is "fun".
Michael Aulia
http://www.michaelaulia.com/blogs
Read on more up-to-date technology news & personal reviews on my blog.
AP - A father and his teenage daughter from a Virginia community that promotes a form of meditation were among those killed in the terrorist attacks in India, a colleague said Friday.
Posted by frankvgmgzny | 8:36 AM |
According to the CDC, childhood obesity has been on the rise for two decades. It has currently topped out at approximately 18%, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association. At the same time, approximately 75% of U.S. adults are overweight. While some of this can be attributed to higher consumption of fatty foods and soft drinks, the bulk probably has more to do with inactivity.
When Generation X was growing up, they were expected to play outside with friends and participate in sports. That quickly died out with Generation Y. In this day and age, children are going outside less and playing video games and using their computers more, becoming less active than children their age several decades ago. Until now, video games have largely been a fairly passive activity, resulting in few calories burned.
Nutrition has also declined, with fast food and sugar consumption on the rise, largely due to more and more demands being placed on our time. Burning off calories while playing traditional video games is next to impossible. Until now, enter the Wii.
Now for the first time you can combine video games with a high degree of activity, resulting in more calories burned and healthier kids. Wii is the new interactive video game system from Nintendo. Rather than sitting down with a remote control, the user must stand and mimic the actions that he wishes to complete on the screen. New studies are showing that Wii games such as boxing, aerobics, bowling and tennis, are helping users to get much needed exercise while still enjoying video games.
Traditionally, video gaming systems are expensive, as are the games that must be purchased separately. In today's economy, setting up a Wii system can be a burden on a family's pocketbook. However, there are sites out there that can help you set up your Wii exercise system for relatively low costs so you can turn the tables on obesity in your home. For more information on Wii Products and Obesity, visit www.markdownmall.com
Christian Chapman hails from Indianapolis, Indiana and currently resides in Tampa with his wife, daughter and four cats. Christian is a Purdue graduate (with honors) and served four years as a Naval officer on the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy. Christian currently works in retail management. Contact Christian at gordy72@tampabay.rr.com or visit him on the web at http://www.markdownmall.com
E! Online - Details, details.
Posted by frankvgmgzny | 8:27 AM |
