Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II

Starkiller is finally back and he’s coming for Vader for the second time around in this new installment of The Force Unleashed. Lightsabers, Stormtroopers, unbelievable new bosses, can this game get any cooler? Well, I’ll be the judge of that.

          I played the first game before and even own it to this day and it’s still a good game when you feel like cutting some heads off and get that anger out. The Force Unleashed II was a big riot when the news got out. Anybody who was a fan of the first game probably came in a sea of gamers into the nearest GameStop for a pre-order. If it was me, I would wait for the storm...trooper (sorry, couldn't resist) to pass.

          The good aspects of this game are simple. We get to see a few familiar faces, (i.e. General Kota, Vader, Juno Eclipse, and of course Starkiller) amazing battle scenarios, crazy force powers, awesome lightsabers, the game was totally stunning in that respect. However, there are some important things to point out.

          First, when you play the game the first time, it is very fun and exhilarating. However, playing the same game over and over is very tiring. Sure, stabbing Stormtroopers is maniacal and brings out your anger, making you go "YEAAHHHHHH!!! Take that!", but not everyone likes being crazy, besides me of course. The game could’ve been a little more laid back for my “needed on the game” list. A longer cinematic, maybe, in general, a few more interesting features would’ve been nice. The game really has an upbeat pace. No, maybe not “upbeat”, that’s not the right word. A word like “fanatic”, “crazy”, “way over the top”, may suit the category. I’m a huge Star Wars fan, but Starkiller, just take it down a notch at the least.

          As far as appropriateness goes, it’s pretty appropriate for a T rated game. I must point out that the Wii version of the second installment includes some mild blood. All other platforms are blood-free, fortunately. Next is the language, there only the d—n and h—l words in the game, so if you don’t mind these words in a movie, the game is nothing to worry about. No real sexual inappropriateness is in the game except for some cleavage from our own Juno Eclipse, a phrase concerning a rich life that includes women, and a (SPOILER WARNING) smack on the lips for our Star Wars lovebirds. So, if any of these things bother you to big extent, be on your guard.

          Starkiller and his crew truly came back with a crazy bang. Nobody has ever come back with such power and expectancy. The guys at Lucas Arts did a fine job. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II gets a 4 out of 5 stars.  

Mario Strikers Charged

Mario, Luigi, and the rest of the gang are back and they’re ready for more domination on the soccer field! This sequel to Super Mario Strikers ups the ante to a new level of soccer games. Let the game begin!

            First off, I must mention that people who own the original Mario Strikers game are going to be harder to convince to get this game since they own the original. The charged-up sequel is basically a remake of the first game, but with a few more fireworks added.

            What made Super Mario Strikers known was its famed “Super Strike” which was a powerful shot that doubled your score from one point to two. Well, this game brought it back and with reinforcements. The “Mega Strike” includes a better cinematic shot and up to 6 points available. Every single time I used those shots, I wanted to sit back and enjoy the show, but I kept on realizing this was a VIDEO GAME not a movie. Also, the graphics need a shout out, because, the Wii is more known for its “cartoony” style of artwork, and “cartoony” only applies to the gameplay not necessarily the graphics.

            Now it’s time to get into the game itself. Here’s how it goes down. First you pick which captain you want to be, in this case, the Mario star characters. Mario, Luigi, Peach, and others make the list, including an interesting choice, Bowser. I say this because Bowser was only in the game in the original when he was messing up players and the game as well. Nintendo made a smart move by putting Bowser in the standings, why? I found myself more often than not turning off the Bowser feature in the original game anyway. What a waste of graphics that was! A lot of people like being the fire-breathing King Koopa, anyways, whether he was Mario’s nemesis or not, it doesn’t matter to us.

            The gameplay was confusing as well. I’m more used to a GameCube controller rather than a Wii controller and a Nunchuck. It doesn’t necessarily matter because you just have to get used to the new controls. Like riding a bike, you probably won’t forget how to play using those controls.

            There are some new features that really make this game a very interesting game. One thing that I like about this one is the sidekicks. More sidekicks are in this game as well as new things about them. Choosing sidekicks is a little more complicated than that of the original game. You have to choose different people instead of a team of one person. For example, in the first game you picked your captain then your teammates, like Toads, Boos, or others. In this game, you pick your captain then pick the rest of your team, like this: I pick Luigi as my captain, and then I pick a Toad, a Monty Mole, a Birdo, and a Hammer Bro as my sidekicks. So, in this game, you really have to focus on who will do best on your team rather than whom you like best. Sidekicks also have their own, I like to call, “power strikes”, which are very similar to mega strikes, but on a smaller scale. Toad, for example, has a fire shot, or Birdo has an egg shot, or Dry Bones has an electric shell shot. This to me really balances out the gameplay in this installment. In the original, I always got my captain to do the super strikes and the sidekicks for less important shots. In this game, any character could be the hero. Also, there are more captains to unlock. I won’t tell who will join because I want the players of the game to be more surprised.

            Captains have their own power-ups as well. Every so often, the captain charges up his power-up and then can use it in different situations. Waluigi can use his “Wall-uigi” move to block other people from coming his way and executing his mega strike. Others include Wario with his gas mask move, Mario’s Super Mario move, Peach’s Freeze Frame, Donkey Kong’s Thunder Slam, and other impressive moves.

            Thankfully, there aren’t that many things to critique about the game’s appropriateness, gameplay, or other features except for one thing. When doing a Mega Strike with two people playing the game or you are on the end of the computer’s strike, you must execute a small mini-game to block the balls coming at you. The way to play is simple; you point your cursor at the balls coming at you and push A to block them. The problem with that is the transition between the actual game and the blocking mini-game. All you get are balls coming at you then a haze of red with balls coming at random speeds and stopping at different positions of the screen. This really confused me and will probably confuse you who haven’t played the game before. It’s really a matter of getting used to the whole situation after once or twice playing the game. Also, with the girl captains expose some midriff and leg on the body, so watch yourself.

            All in all, the game was a stellar sequel to Super Mario Strikers. The game is exciting after getting used to everything after a while. But the reality is that the game is a lot like the original and really needs some consideration. I, personally, would wait until the game was like $30 to $35, I wouldn’t get it for $40 or $50 unless some buy one get one free or half-off deal was going on for used games. “Charged” gets 4 Mega Strikes out of 5.

Portal 2

In 2007, a game called “Portal” came out on the PC. It was a success. Now, in good ol’ 2011, Portal makes a huge comeback. And when I mean huge, I’m not kidding around. Portal 2 comes back as the classic shooter puzzle game for all ages. Personally, this game HAD to be on the top of the market when it first came out. I’ve never played the original I must confess, but that just adds to the fun of the second one.

The game was a potential mind-blower when I first tried the game out for myself. Each and every puzzle was unique and fun in its own right. From staggering heights to racing against the clock, Portal 2 seemed to have everything…and possibly more. The game gives you two choices to start with. First, you can play by yourself in the single-player mode. The single-player mode makes you the classic portal-shootin’, rapid-fire-testin’, heroine as in the last game.

Now, you guys out there may be asking , “Hey, what’s the problem here? We can’t play a chick! What’s wrong with you people?!” I had the same sort of problem. But, the whole game is in a first-person point-of-view, so you don’t see the hero “chick” the whole time anyways. The only time you see her is when your portals are at a perspective that you see yourself walking in to the portal you made. Almost like mirrors that you can walk through. The synopsis follows. Don’t worry I won’t give you too much information. Basically, your character slept for a long while, in a coma, and the test facility you work in is in a pretty bad shape. Your arch-nemesis, although she’s not much of one, GLaDOS, wakes up after your first encounter with her. She wakes up and decides to work with you instead of trying to get the revenge on you for “murdering” her. Testing through different puzzles, or “chambers”, along the way, your robot friend, Wheatley tries to break you out. I can’t tell you the end part, because it’s just really cool, and you have to see it for yourself.

Whew, that’s a lot for a single-player mode, if I do say so myself. And yet that’s not the end of the game! My goodness, these people came up with just everything didn’t they!? Portal 2, the clue is that the “2”. Give up? Well, get ready for "2" times the fun. It also ihas a “2” player mode as well as a single player mode. I loved the fact that they did more than a one player mode. And the best part is the story is different than the single-player mode. So in science terms, 2 x story = more fun than before! 

I played the game with my father and he loved it! The game really made you think, but you don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure it out. To be honest, there are more pros than there are cons to this game. GLaDOS’ wry humor is fun to hear in every chamber. She’s so mean, but the funny thing is she’s so nice about it. The irony just makes you chuckle. And Wheatley, he’s as funny as GLaDOS! His stupidity and loyalty to our nameless heroine is what makes the game special. There are a few tidbits in there as well. Some turrets, GLaDOS’ henchmen I suppose, are malfunctioning and makes a funny thing for a gamer to see and hear. For example, turrets that go through a reaction test have to respond to a “template”. When one turret responds, “Hello”, the good ones make the same response, “Hello”, but when a bad turret comes up…well it goes like this.

Template

“Hello”

Response

“Hi, howya doin?”

That response catapults the malfunctioning turret to the incinerator room, with few responses such as, “Wait…wait…waitwaitwaitwaitWAIT!!!” or “This is RIDICUOULOUS!” This made me cackle loudly with laughter when I heard those tones of disbelief. The puzzles I couldn’t get enough of either. The mind-bending physics to the game were so unreal and looked so real that I was at a loss for words except for, “WAHOO!”

There are a few drawbacks though. The puzzles are fun and challenging at the same time, but after doing it so many times, it gets too easy to do. But, thanks to the different story modes, you might forget how to do one chamber and then go on trying to figure it out again. There were a few language problems I could see. A few d—ns, h—ls, c—ps, and oh my G—s are in the picture, and the thing is, this a rated E10 game for crying out loud! Anyway, the puzzles fun and the comedy in this game cover up pretty much all of the language anyways. Other than that the only critique is there’s nothing really bad about this game!

I have to be honest the best part, that was nice and funny was when (SPOILER WARNING, I think) GLaDOS sang a song of goodbye to our heroine. It was very nice to hear. I remember one lyric that reminded me of the people who loved and will love this game. “Go ahead and make some new disaster/That’s what I’m counting on”. To be honest, that’s what I’m counting on as well. Either that or we’ll be missing our robotic friends and tester at Aperture Laboratories. $60, for me is no reason for me to stop and think about this. If you’re a puzzle fan of any kind, this is your game. I can’t stress this enough, BUY IT! Why are you still reading this? GO! Portal 2 gets 5 portals out of 5, no questions asked.