Review - Dragon Age: Awakening

Much like the initial release of Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age: Origins Awakening snuck up on me. I came home after picking up dinner to find a little box from Amazon on my doorstep. Only at that moment did I remember that I even ordered it. Regardless of my awareness, I was pleased. So now that it's out, how does it stack up? Well, it's a lot more of the same. If you're like me  and you think Dragon Age: Origins was one of the best western-RPGs released in years, getting more of the same is not exactly a bad thing.

What's really interesting is that in this age of DLC, the number of legitimate expansions for games have sharply decreased. I'm sure many people out there are asking "Is this an expansion, is it a sequel, or is it simply overpriced DLC." I will say it is more than DLC and less than a sequel, so I think it falls squarely in the expansion range. I am over nine hours into the game and it seems there is still quite a deal of game left.  It has been reported that the expansion sports over twenty hours of gameplay.  If that is the case, this is way more than DLC.

One thing to note though, none of the items you collected in previous DLCs seem to work in Awakening. In the case of my character, I spawned into the expansion wearing only my underwear. You quickly find some decent items to replace them and by a few hours in you'll likely have even better items, but it just seems strange that Bioware's additional content wouldn't be compatible with... Biowares additional content...

The gameplay is more or less completely intact from the first game. Honestly, with the exception of the added skill lines I haven't seen much of anything change. The dialog seems to work the same, the combat is the same and all the menus are the same. This means that the flaws from the original are ever present and the same as well.

Maybe I am now spoiled by Mass Effect 2, Bioware's big release since DA:O, but some aspects of the game seem to go beyond depth and land in the realm of overly complicated. I never really had a problem with Dragon Age's inventory systems before, but maybe it's because I didn't know better. Even though you can easily expand your backpack, you will quickly find that even a capacity in the hundreds will have you getting the dreaded "inventory full" message. Team this up with a less than amazing way of organizing your inventory and an over abundence of junk you'll no doubt collect and you're looking at a digital episode of Hoarders. These are problems that have been present since day one with the series, so lets move on to some things that are unique to this expansion.

Some of the added skill lines are a lot of fun. As you progress, you will find some of the top tier powers are kill buttons. One of the mid tier warrior powers called "Peon's Plight" will give you a guaranteed kill of any non-colored enemy. While skills like this could completely break the game, Bioware is careful to make skills like this balance out by giving them longer cool downs and less damage on bosses and elite enemies. Of course, as always some of the skills aren't as good as others, but that is nothing new to RPG games and more often than not the skills are a lot of fun.

Now lets face it, many of you will play this game for the same reason you'll play any Bioware game... The Story. So how does this one stack up? Pretty good. As you go on, there are forces at work that you don't quite understand. The darkspawn haven't retreated after the archdemeon was killed and have continued to wreak havoc on the poor common folk. As the story goes on, you start to realize that you may not know as much about the darkspawn as you thought. The story as a whole seems to be a lot darker, if that is possible. No one in your party seems to be happy and are almost all brought to you due to misfortune. Also, for some reason, it seems that everyone in the land is committing suicide. Everywhere I turned, I found some poor asshole's remains and a note outlining that he killed himself over a woman or three. I am actually starting to worry about the mental well being of the Bioware writers...

You will be getting more or less a completely new party to adventure with as well. Some of these new comers, Nathaniel and Justice, have really unique and fun stories. Others... well... others seem to be a mash up of previous companions and are pretty typical RPG fodder. All the voice acting seems great and the characters are well written, but some of them are pretty unspectacular and lacking the dynamic story of other characters.

So in the end, Awakening provides the same core gameplay, same graphics and a story by the same developers. As logic stands, it would seem if you liked the Origins, you'll like Awakening. That is the case for me. There is enough content to keep you playing for a few days, new characters to meet and more phat lewt to collect. It doesn't really change a whole lot, but frankly, expansions rarely do. Is it a good expansion? I think so. Is it worth $40? Maybe if it lives up to it's reported 20 hour or more of playing. If it was in the $25-30 range, I think it would be perfect, but the pricing doesn't take away from the quality of the product. If you're a fan of Dragon Age, you will have to pick up the expansion eventually.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Review

The recent trend in first person shooter games has been a heavy focus on multi-player and RPG like experience/reward systems. With a market that is quickly becoming saturated with "the next Modern Warfare," it's easy to write off many of these games a shovelware. But EA's Battlefield series is no Johnny Come-lately. Will Bad Company 2 stand out from the crowd or disappear into the mist of mediocre games?

Lets just get this out of the way. Yes, Bad Company 2 looks a bit like Modern Warfare 2. Yes, they both take place in a more modern setting compared to both franchises firm past in WWII games. Yes, there is a leveling system in place that rewards you with ranks and unlockables. But despite these differences, the two games stand miles apart.

A prime example is Bad Company's single player game. The story for BC2 is a much more light hearted approach. DICE doesn't beat you over the head with ham-handed attempts at drama or attempt to illicit some sort of knee jerk reaction to shock and awe. There is no walking through a crowded airport gunning down innocent people, there is no taking the role of a soon to be executed political leader. BC2 instead focuses on the return cast of military misfits that are not fit to serve. While not quite the "brofest" that Army of Two was, you will get plenty of these guys telling jokes, calling their helicopter pilot a hippie and half-hearted requests for you not to shoot them.

Another area where Battlefield steps out of the giant Modern Warfare shadow is in environments. BC2's environments are more or less completely destructible, it's just a matter of finding a weapon powerful enough to do the job. This will cause problems for people not used to such a game feature. I can recount many times where I thought I was taking cover in a secure building, only to find myself completely exposed after a rocket propelled grenade does a little impromptu redecorating.

The destructible environments become even more prominent when multi-players vehicles are added to the mix. It's not unusual for a player in a tank or a helicopter to completely bring down a building. Have a sniper hiding in the trees? Well all you need to do is use a mounted machine gun like a chainsaw and cut those suckers down. Fences, concrete walls and crates are no match for the more powerful weapons in the game. All this adds to making BC2 a fast paced action-fest where there's no time to stand still.

The vehicles add a incredibly fun and add another level of depth to the game. You can use helicopters to supply air calvary support, drive in a tank to completely level the battlefield or even hop on an ATV to quickly move into enemy territory. The vehicles also encourage more teamwork, as all the vehicles have multiple seats allowing for gunners and secondary weapon firing.

The leveling system is fun, but slightly frustrating. You often find yourself having weapons much weaker than your enemy, making it near impossible to kill anyone without getting the drop on them. You sometimes also find yourself lacking the tools or skills to be a productive member of your team. A prime example is the medic class. As a starting medic, you will have no healing devices of any sort which seems to be the item that would define "medic" as a class. But once you do start unlocking items, you will find the classes get more and more distinct. Sticking with the medic class, as you level up you will work your way up from health packs all the way to defib paddles which actually revive a fallen teammate.

In the end, Bad Company 2 has a fun single player and offers up a multi-player experience with large destructible maps and an engaging leveling system. If you like shooters and aren't afraid of multi-player, this game just might be the one you're looking for.

Overall Rating: 4.5/5

Star Trek Online Review

Hardly a month into 2010 and we already have our first new MMORPG. Star Trek Online as a franchise has seen it's share of trouble. After being in the works for almost four years, it's original developer went bankrupt. It was now up to MMO veterans Cryptic Studios (City of Heroes, Champions Online) to step up and see the title to completion. In what might be record time, Cryptic assembled an Online game for one of the most cherished franchises of all time. Will it boldly go where no MMO has gone before, or will this one be mothballed like a Constitution Class starcruiser? Lets break down the game and see what this title has in store for players.

Lets get you up to speed Ensign

After a strange string of events involving the Borg and a field promotion, you will find yourself the captain of a ship. You waste no time and start recruiting bridge staff that will not only accompany you on away missions, but will help you by improving the abilities of your ship overall. Your bridge staff and general crew are all NPC which are at your command. There is no starting as chief of engineering and working your way up. You're sitting at the big kid table almost from the word go.

After a short tutorial, you're released onto the galaxy with your new crew and your newly inherited rent-a-wreck. You will receive missions from various officers at Starfleet that will require your attention. These missions will net you skill points, new items and sometimes even new bridge officers. Instead of traditional levels, you will have different ranks and grades. Each rank (Ensign, Commander, Captain) has ten grades before you earn a promotion which gains you access to a new tier of ship and skills. Lastly, as mentioned, instead of experience you are awarded skill points which can be spent at any time to improve your character.

When it comes to the actual gameplay, Star Trek Online is basically two games in one. The first being the ship based space end of things and the second being your away team missions on the ground. A majority of your time will be spent in your ship as it is your basic means of transportation in the galaxy and most of the missions center around the space combat part of the game. This is for the best as the ground missions, while sometimes fun, are pretty "mmo as usual."

The Final Frontier

Let's be straight. When you think of Star Trek, you think of the Enterprise. So with this in mind, you can imagine that your ship will play an important part in the Star Trek Online Experience. While your ship is your basic means of transportation, it is character unto itself. With it's own items, powers and stats, your ship is in all essence one of the two avatars you will control in the game.

Overall the space combat is very deliberate, and is most rewarding when you take the time to learn the strengths of your ship, weapons and abilities. Some of the more twitch gamer among us might not appreciate the pace of this combat, while the more run and gun of us might not enjoy the way teamwork really plays into some of the larger battles.

The easiest way to explain space battles is by comparing it to open sea battles. It's all about getting your ship into optimal position while keeping your opponent from getting theirs. A common example of a ship's weapon setup is a front and back beam array setup. With this setup there is a slight overlap in the targeting arc of the two weapons, so you can actually give the enemy your broadside in order to hit them with both front and back beam weapons. More powerful weapons such as disruptor canons and torpedoes have a more narrow firing arc which requires you to actually face your enemy. Weapons like these are better for the faster and more agile ships that you can choose to pilot after you outgrow your first starter ship.

There are basically three types of ships and they break down into typical video game stereotypes. The small, fast ship that can dish out a lot of damage but not take it. A big, slow ship that can do decent weapons damage but can take a lot of punishment. Then there's the ship that's somewhere in the middle on size and speed that uses special science skills to weaken the enemy or enhance itself and allies. There is fair amount of customizing to be had on the ships, but it is nothing compared to the customizing of your captain.

Oh Captain my Captain

One thing Cryptic has always been known for is the crazy level of customizing you can do to your character. When creating them, you are given a list of races and the typical "Make a giant headed freak" options. What this game has that is truly special is the "Unknown Species" option when you are choosing your race. This option not only allows you to physically create the look of your character, but allows you to pick from a list of racial bonus traits. This allows you to re-create lesser known species from the Star Trek universe if you're a fan or make your perfect super solider if you're a meta-gamer. This Captain will be your avatar for your hours of wandering around starbases looking for for Commander Sulu and for ground based away missions.

Anyone who has played a Cryptic game before will recognize the ground combat system as it is very similar to games like City of Heroes. Combat will require you to hit a button for every attack, as there is no automatic default attack. This will lead to a lot of spamming the 1 key on your hotbar trying to use the basic fire mode of your weapon. While this can become tedious and boring at times, it does allow you to feel more involved with the fight. There are some basic ideas such as a flanking position damage modifier and crouching to reduce damage taken while increasing damage given.

Another interesting addition to the combat system is expose and exploit weapon attacks. Each weapon has a special attack beyond it's standard firing mode. Ranging from sniper shots to full auto firing arcs, these attacks are usually higher damage attacks with a longer cool down. Also attached to these special attacks are either an expose or exploit modifier. An expose attack has a chance of leaving the target open to a skill with the exploit modifier. When an exploit attack lands on an exposed enemy, you can expect a huge damage bonus and most the time a one shot kill that leads to a very gratifying disintegration of the target.

Luckily, you will never find yourself alone on the ground. When beaming to another location, you will almost always have a party of five. So at any time you will have four other people to help you, and you will need that help. But don't worry if you don't have any friends. If you're playing alone, this party will be filled up with your bridge staff or generic redshirts. You can even take the time to equip weapons and other items on your bridge staff to help compliment your skills as a Captain.

Its continuing mission: To explore strange new worlds...

Now we all know it takes more than gameplay to make a successful MMO, so how well does Star Trek Online execute all this gameplay in a persistent universe? Are the missions fun? Does the story suck you in? Well, Cryptic does a great job in some areas and lacks a bit in others. One thing they do well is eliminating some of the pointless downtime and waiting that is still part of many popular MMOs.

Firstly, the game makes completing missions a very fluid experience. In most cases you will go to a mission's starting system and no other in game traveling is needed. If there is a change in mission location, it's typically as simple as pushing a button to warp to another planet in the system or to beam down onto the surface. Rarely will you be told to travel from one point to another for the sake of moving the plot along.

Another welcome step against downtime is how you actually manage missions. You will not have to actually fly back to a Starbase and have a dialog with an Admiral every time you want to turn in a completed mission or acquire a new one. In STO you simply hail Starfleet, pick the contact you want to talk to and then choose the mission you want to talk about. It's that simple.

Frankly, there might be some people that will feel as if everything is moving too fast. A motivated player will find themselves just running through entire chains of missions and multiple levels at a drop of a hat. While I don't think the elimination of downtime is ever a bad thing, Cryptic will have to be careful to find other ways to organically lengthen the time players put into the game or they will find themselves with nothing left to do after a couple months of playing.

One place that Star Trek Online falls short is their "Exploration Missions." Cryptic employs a system called The Genesis Engine to create randomly generated worlds for you and your crew to explore. Unfortunately, in it's current state, all these missions are rather repetetive and boring. It typically involves you either scanning 5 items either in space or on the ground, killing all of the randomly generated bad guys that are troubling the natives or simply delivering aid supplies to a planet through a dialog window. Maybe as the game goes on and Cryptic explores this feature it will become more exciting, but as it stands now, it falls flat.

A tale of two stories

Now the stories that binds all these parts together may be the best illustration for the overall feel of this game. There are moments when the story is truly inspired and other times when you have to wonder if the writers did more than look over Star Trek Cliffnotes. It's an amazingly bi-polar experience that isn't aided by Star Trek's already muddled canon.

For example, in one mission you find your enemy attempting to explain that you are being misled by a politician. You are then given no option but to fight the person reaching out to explain the situation to you. Then you find out in the end, that your enemy was right all along. This will sometimes leave you feeling like a stereotypical big, dumb jock that wants nothing more than to go around beating up nerds.

Then a few missions later, you are part of a plot that has you traveling through time and trying to protect your timeline from being altered. You meet the past version of the very person that you are trying to defeat. You also have the slightest of run ins with a very iconic ship from the Star Trek franchise. When it is all said and done, it was a great story and left you feeling like a true hero of the Federation. The swinging back and forth quality of the narrative can be jarring and might be frustrating to those players that enjoy a well told story.

Overall, fans of the politics, diplomacy and non-violent conflict resolution that was a staple in shows like Star Trek: The Next Generation might find the game a little too trigger happy for their taste. The game currently has no real option to play the diplomat and often times makes you feel like a gunslinger quick to anger. Though Cryptic has gone on record saying diplomacy is a large part of Star Trek and we can expect to see it play a larger role in the game as it evolves.

There is one thing that all Star Trek fans will be able to appreciate though. Both Zachary Quinto and the legendary Leonard Nimoy provide voice over for this game. Besides being an option for the voice of your bridge crew, both offer in game content. Quintos is actually the voice guiding you through the tutorial, while Nimoy provides narrative for the game's opening and offers insight into the Star Trek universe each time you enter a new zone. Nimoy's work can be especially chilling and overall brings a completely new level of class to the game.

All good things

So has Cryptic finally created the mythical WoW Killer? Not very likely. What they have done is designed a fun and engaging game that shows a lot of potential. While the game won't be for everyone, it's a unique alternative in market that is mostly comprised of fantasy titles. The ship combat is a lot fun, the ground combat isn't completely terrible and it's set in a universe that many people will find familiar and enjoyable. If Cryptic makes good on their promise of free episodic content releases and continue to fine tune the game, this could easily be one of the larger MMOs on the market providing players with fun for years to come.

Pros: Engaging space combat Streamlined mission flow Solid gameplay A lot of potential for growth as Cryptic continues to tune the game

Cons: Manic story telling Passable ground combat Repetitive (typical for an MMO)

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5

*Note* This game is an online game and all details given in this review are subject to change. This review is based on the very last build of the game during it's open beta cycle and may change in the retail release.

Left 4 Quickie

The Holidays are here, so I'm a little preoccupied. But I do have this to say...

I said on the show that the Ravenholm level of Half-Life 2 is one of the scariest and most nerve-wracking levels in all of video games (feel free to debate on the board). Now, imagine that, with real zombies instead of face-hugged mutants...and that's the whole game! Left 4 Dead will leave you breathless and sweaty from exertion, feeling like you really have pumped countless rounds into the walking dead while running across a city for your life and the narrow hope of escape. Like Carl said, the story here is survival, and that's really all you need. The different kinds of zombies suggest a science-based origin, but it's never explained, and that's alright. They all die the same, right?

It's a hell of a lot of fun to play single-player. I can't imagine what online-multi will be like.

Ryan's score: 7.5 out of 10.

Left 4 Dead? More like Left 4 Awesome!

So, I recently got a new computer for Christmas. I have been itching to get some games that would actually flex it's muscle some. I finally broke down and bought the Valve Complete Pack off of Steam. Included with that package is the amazing Left 4 Dead.

I will tell you, I am not usually a fan of anything that substitutes a number for a word, but I have to make an exception. This game is fried gold. The basic idea is that you are a member of a group of four (get it? Left four dead) survivors that are trying to make it to someplace you think is safe. In one mission it's a hospital, another is a boat dock and so on. Each level is broken into multiple acts that are broken up by save points known as "Safe Houses." Once at a safe house, you restock, patch up wounds and then make on your merry way again.

The weapons are pretty standard zombie movie and First person shooter stock. You get shotguns, machine guns, hand guns and rifles. Each has their own strengths and get an upgrade during the course of the level. You also get explosive devices such as pipe bombs and molotov cocktails to use, but be careful because you can only carry one such device and they are kind of rare. One neat little thing in the game is your ability to use items lying about in much the same way. For example, if you find a can of gasoline you can throw it into a crowd of zombies and then shoot it to cover them in fire.

The zombies themselves are more along the line of the modern "28 Days Later" variety. They are not always the slow shambling horde that will stumble towards you. These zombies will swarm you and cover the ground quickly, making the threat of being overwhelmed a true threat in any place that is open enough for not entry ways to be covered.

Add to that, there are special zombies. Each one has a special ability that will ruin your day. One has a tongue that will pull you away from the group, another will cover you in vomit that will attract all zombies in the area to you and even one that is pretty much a Zombie Hulk.

What story there is, is standard zombie faire, to the point that it's almost satirical if not for the grim and grisly events that happen in it. The game is very serious, but never to the point that it becomes melodrama. The characters in the game are also quick to make a joke.

One such example is when your characters pass a wall spray painted "God is Dead" one of the characters will shout "OH NO! THE ZOMBIES KILLED GOD!!!" The one liners aren't fast and furious, but when they show up I always find myself at least chuckling. Overall though, there is no real story to speak of and one isn't honestly needed. You are one of four people that are trying to survive. That's really all you need to know.

The game's most important part though is the group dynamic. You can play single player with the surprisingly good AI or play through each campaign with friends (or strangers) online. There is also a very fun versus mode that pits two teams of 4 against each other as survivors and special zombies.

Overall, this is a great game and I can't recommend it enough to FPS and zombie fans. Check it out on the PC or on Xbox 360. And check out this video to see what you're missing out on...


Click on the video to go to youtube and to see the higher quality video

Carl's Score: 9 out of 10

Fallout 3: The Review

So, I have been playing Fallout 3 now since release and am on my second play through. I find myself coming back to it all the time and often thinking about it when not playing it. It is not a perfect game, but it isn't too awfully far off.

The action is fast and over the top. Even with the VATS (Vault Assisted Targeting System) that freezes time and allows you to pick your target and then isolate a body part if wanted, it always seems nearly frantic. There are bullets flying, grenades bouncing and lasers just whipping around. The action is also very gory, and I don't care how much I sound like a thirteen year old boy when I say it, which is very satisfying in a primal way. It is nothing to see blood and body parts just shoot across the screen, all in an over the top stylized way. I actually blew the limbs off a raider with a BB Gun, so don't expect realism.

The game is HUGE. There are so many places to go, secrets to find and quests to complete. In my current play through, I am almost level 10 (halfway to the level 20 cap) and I haven't even completed the second mission for the main plot. I have spent the time searching for weapons, followers and other goodies I missed the first time. Luckily, there is a fast travel option that will be familiar to anyone that might have play Elder Scrolls: Oblivion. Every place you explore feels different and usually have a story to go along with it. You will find old police and military buildings with computer logs to read, notes left by those before you and many other things that will make you feel like this isn't just your world.

The story is brilliant. Set in an alternate earth where after World War II we actually made "The World of the Future" that people thought we would have in the 50s. That's why everything has a strange post-nuclear 1950's feel to it. The style just helps with the overall juxtaposition that is this game. You will feel compelled to seek your story and find out what is hiding in the backlog of this world.

The leveling system is a lot of fun. Each level you get to pick a perk. These perks will grant you special abilities that range from general stat increases, new abilities or even the ability to eat corpses to regain health. Yes, that is correct. If you don't mind being an evil person that people dislike, you can eat the dead. Some of the perks truly make the game stand out above all other games. Unlike other games, Fallout 3 is not afraid to give you the ability to be an uber character in this world. By level 20, you will find few creatures that can give you trouble. I don't mean this in a bad way either. By the time this game is over, you feel like you have come so far that it's only right that you can take someone's head off with a BB gun.

There are only a few complaints that I have and they are short. First, I would have like to have seen an actual weapons customization option. Adding scopes, silencers and what not to improve your weapons. In general, I just wish some events were a little bigger. Without giving any spoilers, some of the battles at the end of the game are really cool and feel epic, but I wish there were more of them. I really wish I felt like I was fighting with a band of people for a great good more often.

Overall, this was a great game and is a must play for just about any sort of gamer out there. It has something for everyone and the execution is pretty damn smooth.

Carl's Rating: 9/10
Ryan's Rating: pending

Fable 2: Final Thoughts

So, I finished Fable 2 a few days ago. Is it a better game than the original? Hmmmm...probably.

I'm not going to waste time talking about the original Fable. You've either played it and loved it, or you haven't played it and don't plan to. Fable 2 isn't necessarily a sequel, so there's no real story to catch up on. It takes place like 300 years after the first one, so the world of Albion is a familiar, but different place. You play an anonymous "Hero" who must change the world somehow. Along the way you meet colorful characters, see exotic locations, fight strange and terrifying monsters, and become more powerful, rich, and famous than you ever dreamed.

While it's true that how you play the game dictates how different actions will play out, it is still a fairly linear story. And it's a familiar story as well, but that's ok, because you'll have so much fun playing through it that you won't care.

Like the first Fable, however, Fable 2 does have some problems. Minor ones, sure, and not deal breakers, but problems nonetheless.
The camera is very loose. There is no zoom, and it tends to get caught behind set pieces.
The controls, especially for movement, are very loose as well, and there were a couple times when I just couldn't get to where I needed to go, and had to restart the game. Once, I got trapped in a barrel.
The targeting system is frustrating when used, so I didn't use it.
But...it does have it's triumphs. The quest system has been streamlined, as has everything else that used a card in the first game. Gaining renown, now much more of a necessity, is easier as well. I believe where Fable 2 really shines, however, is in the addition of your best friend: the dog. Just as nameless as you are, and just as important, your dog is your constant companion. He helps you fight, finds treasure for you, and never leaves your side even if you treat him like shit. I was worried that my dog would get on my nerves, but he never did. They really did well by including him.

To sum it up...Fable 2 is a great game. Yeah, better than the original Fable. A triumph, and well worth your play time.

Spore: End Game Thoughts

There's no need to warn of spoilers here. Spore only has as much or as little story as you give it. And it should be no surprise that the last stage of your creature's evolution is space. That's right, you take your creature further than our own race has gone.

There are a few different ways to go about this stage. You can go out and conquer other races, because there are many, many different races out there. You can establish trade routes and alliances, which eventually lead to you buying that particular star system. Both of these choices lead to earning badges, which fill a progress bar. Once that bar is filled, you can effectively call yourself Done. That's what I did anyway.

The other way to end the game, and I believe this one will take a much longer time to complete, is to make your way to the Center of the Universe, establishing colonies along the way. I say this is a longer way of finishing the game because in addition to your ship's physical movement across the cosmos, you'll probably end up playing the short game as well. I didn't do this part. My race has effectively conquered their small area of space, and I'm calling it quits. I can only imagine that reaching the Center of the Universe must be very rewarding and you'd probably want to have a party to celebrate. But I'm here to tell you, my friends, that I don't need a reason to have a party.

I don't have many gripes about this game, looking back. And the ones that I do have are focused squarely on the Space Stage. For one, your "fleet" has one ship. Apparently your race, as advanced as they are, can only make one ship for you. While it's true that other races can lend you their ships, putting the total number in your fleet to five, it would have been nice to have a xenophobic, Empirical fleet of just my own people.

And because your race can only provide you with one ship at a time, every time there's any sort of trouble at one of your colonies, you are the one they call to come save the day. Pirates, malicious rival races, or infected fauna are just some of the distress calls you get. Your allied races will call you with these same problems. Advanced as they are, they just can't take care of themselves.

It's easy enough to ignore these calls, but I wouldn't advise it. Every time you ignore them, and continue on your own business, you fall back a step in their opinion of you, which could lead to the loss of trade routes, alliances, or all-out declarations of war. So I saved their asses every time. And it kept me busy.

There are other things to do besides set up colonies and expand your empire. You can become a treasure hunter of sorts, seeking out new systems for artifacts which can be sold for a mint. You can help fledgling civilizations grow, and once they reach their own space-faring potential, you've got a new ally right off the rip. As I said, there is plenty to keep you busy in this game.

Each race also has their own religion, which is something to pay attention to as well. Certain sects are more aggressive, demanding tribute or attacking you outright. Others focus on commerce, and still others just sit back and let it all flow around them. Keeping the religions of your allies straight is important, because while responding to a distress call from one ally, I find that they are being attacked by another ally. What to do? Find out who's empire is bigger, then destroy the smaller one. Again, that's what I did.

Spore is a really good game. Not great, but very good. Incredibly high replayability. But take a while off from it before you dive right back in. When you finally do come back, because you will, you'll have a better understanding of what to do.

That said, it is pretty short. If you had a free weekend, you could definitely blast through it. Being generous, I'd say it's a 14 hour game.

I'ma give it 8.5 out of 10.

Next up for me, Star Wars Battlefront for the PC. And some WoW thrown in there too.

First Impressions/Review: Rockband 2

We'll make it no secret that we here at Kneel Before Pod are huge fans of Rockband. We're also huge fans of Harmonix in general. We loved the first two Guitar Hero games. After Harmonix left the franchise we kind of lost interest in the series, but found it's spiritual successor in their new series. So it is with a heavy heart, that I must say.... Rockband 2 ROCKS! Heavy heart? Maybe Heavy Metal Heart! Hells yeah!

Lets get down the the nitty gritty, there will be some people out there that will say this is more Rockband 1.5 or an expansion pack. They honestly wouldn't be too far off. I wouldn't say that it's a bad thing though. Unlike other games that will charge you $60, give you little to no new features and around 40 new songs, Rockband 2 delivers an all around better experience.

Lets just start off with the obvious. This title gives you over 80 new songs including the unlockable bonus tracks. Not only is this just a downright huge amount of songs, but they are also a wide range of genres. From Elvis Costello to Motorhead, Blondie to Panic at the Disco!, and even from Bob Dylan to Beck. There will be songs that you like on this disc. And I do mean that as songs plural. I promise you that you will find multiple songs that you like and fine even more that you enjoy to play even though you never heard them before this game.

Speaking of songs, do you own Rockband 1? Do you like the songs on it? Do you hate having to switch between discs just because your favourite song is on the old version of your music game? Well that need not be a problem any longer. With the latest update to Rockband 1 you can actually download the music content on your hard drive and use it with future versions of the game. All you do is pay a very small licensing fee (which goes towards paying the rights of the songs and is around $5) and you can play almost all your RB1 songs on RB2. Pretty sweet no?

Also, did you download a ton of DLC for it? I know I did (I'm looking at you Grateful Dead and The Who pack). Well, good news, that content all works on Rockband 2. So the tons and tons of money that you have sunk into the Marketplace for those song packs will not have gone to waste. This means with your back catalogue, the new songs from the RB2 disc and the weekly downloads, you will have nigh infinite replayability. Life is sweet.

So we have all the music covered, so lots talk about what's new. Well, the single player experience has changed a lot. The solo tour now plays like the band world tour in RB1. You form up a band using a name of your choice (which you can add people to later in multi-player) and start off in your hometown. You play gigs and choose different setlists whilst building up your stars and fanbase. As you progress you get bigger venues, more fans and more equipment. Overall, it is a much more entertaining process than the previous Rockband which pretty much just had you playing through a list of songs with no real progression with the exception of just going to a different town. There is also the inclusion of a new "challenge" system in place which gives you a setlist, if you pass it you unlock new songs and new challenges. So some solid and positive growth in the single player has occurred between the two versions of this game.

The biggest news for this title is that you can now play the multiplayer band world tour mode over Xbox Live. That means that if you and your friends don't always want to be forced to schedule a physical meeting or dedicate a whole night to Rockband, you can now just team up at your own home and play whenever you want. This is great for friends that are long distance or just have conflicting work schedules. Ryan and myself have yet to try this out, but I'm sure we will talk about it on the podcast once we do.

To continue on the multiplayer, the party game potential has been increased with an addition of a "no fail mode." When this is put into place, your band can't fail out of a song. This means that if you have friends with delusions of grandeur or friends that have never played a music game before, you can play without the pressure of ruining it for everyone involved. The game can be especially overwhelming for the new player and this will help bring in more of your friends into the experience, which is always a good thing.

Overall, this is just a great game. Rockband 1's gameplay was nearly perfect to begin with and Rockband 2 doesn't fix what isn't broke. The added features such as full online co-op, band vs band online competition, backwards compatibility, no fail mode, expanded single player and the fact that one created character can now play any instrument makes this a clear improvement over the previous title. Is it a true sequel? Though it can be debated, I personally feel it is. It has shown more growth than other franchises (looking at you Madden) and lot of added content. What I think everyone can agree on is that either true sequel or glorified expansion pack, the price is right and it's still the most fun you will have with a music based game.

Carl's Rating: 9/10
Ryan's Rating: 9/10
Overall Rating: 9/10