January 2006 Issue

[rsstites]

The writers of the Gaming Chronicle will add their video game impressions, reviews, previews, and general opinion colums below this post.

(If you are interested in writing for the Chronicle, then click on the groups link in the header. Then chose the Chronicle usergroup, and then click join.)

[Hockeydude121]

Review for Guitar Hero
By: Hockeydude121

I find myself questioning if there could be a cooler concept that playing a guitar in a videogame. I'm still thinking no. Overall this was an excellent game. It was a lot of fun, it was different, and I thought that it really helped me improve my reflexes. I liked how it was reasonably price($70), because the controller was fairly amazing. It was almost full size, it felt like a real guitar, and the strum bar actually felt like you were actually strumming a guitar. Don't get me started about the songs, the songs in this game were spectacular. Had the songs been bad I don't think I would've had as much fun playing.
Advantages
One thing I truly enjoyed with this game was that you didn't have to know how to play the guitar and even though in the beginning it was impossible to figure out how to do everything, there was a tutorial that helped you to learn all of the different aspects of the game. I found that after beating the game on easy mode, I slowly progressed and became better at the game, something that most games don't offer. Another spectacular thing about this game was that if you got pretty good at it, there was always a level higher.
With four difficulty levels including Easy, Medium, Hard and Expert; There was always room for improvement. I found myself beating Easy in a day and then spending two days slaving over medium. Once I got to hard I found the game to become very fun and addictive to the point where I just had to get better. I thought the difficulty levels in this game were perfect. In Medium and higher levels you were allowed to spend money that you earned for beating each song at a shop. I used all my money on Medium on the new songs and I found myself disappointed. Even though all of the original game songs were good, the bonus songs were less than desired, but its still fun to play a guitar.
Multiplayer
There was multiplayer in this game and i tried it with my controller and my SG(the guitar hero controller) and I liked it. One problem I had with the multiplayer in this game is that in order to really play it you had to buy a new guitar, which was expensive($40 US). Considering the game alone was hard enough to find, I thought I wouldn't even bother to try to buy an extra controller.
One thing I was almost sure they could've done with this game and didn't, was give it online support. Had they added online support, they would've been able to add extras such as new charecters, songs and guitars whenever. I also think if they'd have put it on Xbox Live(if it were on the Xbox), the game would've been a better buy.

Songs
Another cool and good thing about this game was that it had good songs. My favorite song on the game was Fat Lip by Sum41. Other songs were Iron Man, Spanish Castle Magic, Ace of Spades, and a ton of others. I thought the songs played a crucial role in this game and I thought they had captured it 100%.
Some annoying things in this game were there were some long parts in these songs were you weren't playing and then they'd cut out part of the song because of time constraint. I still found some songs to be very long and it got annoying when you'd have to play a long and boring song to pass on to the next venue(or as I like to call it, stage, where you'd get new songs).
Disadvantages
Something else that bothered me about this game was that it was exclusive to the Playstation. However, I think it played a crucial role for Playstation because it was somewhat of a selling point. I think they would've made more money by making it for the Xbox and Gamecube but it would've been rarer to find in stores because it was already hard to find.
I also felt throughout the game that I was playing DDR, maybe its because the company, RedOctane also makes a dancing game known as PumpItUp. I think this made the game neutral, I think it was bad because if you're good at their dance game, then you could pick up on it easier. But, good because you knew the product would be good and because they clearly knew what they were doing when they made the game.
Overall excellent game. I give it a 9.1 out of 10. I definitely recommend picking this game up, especially if you can find it. It was fun, addictive and best of all, it had Iron Man.

[danizduhman]

Well, the time has come for the second edition of the fantasic Star Wars: Battlefront. This sequel has alot to live up to. How could a game where you fight in classic and new Star Wars battles get any better at all? Well this game simply improves it alot, although it is just mostly featrues that they add and improve on.

Features
One of my favorite parts of this game are the new space battles. There are two warships usually above a planet, one of which is yours, one of which is your opponents. Your mission in space battles is to disable the other one before they disable yours. This involves destroying it from the outside, or going in and destroying it from within. Either works, but you get more Player Points for going from within. Anything to destory your enemy. But the biggest and most well known feature is the ability to command your troops as a Jedi-type character. Depending on when and where, you will play as one of the many Jedi from the movies. Jedi include the famous Darth Vader, the valiant Obi Wan Kenobi, the traitorious Anakin Skywalker, and even Yoda and the Emperor. This is the biggest thing to change, because being these characters, although only able to be used by one person per side, per battle, is an enormous advantage. Which person you use can get you different Force powers. For example, Yoda can do Force Push and Pull, while the Emperor can do Force Choke and Lightning. There is a mode called Hero Battle, where you take two sides of Heroes and battle. No regular troops are used in this. The only problem is that this is only available at the map on Tatooine. While this is quite interesting, it does get old after awhile, with only one map to use the special battle on. These special players granted the power to be a Jedi can change the course of a battle, and this plays a huge part in online play.

Online
The online for this game is very similar to Battlefront I, you do a search of rooms and you can choose when and where to play. These battles are always fun, and you can choose which types of settings and rules you wish to use. The only issue with the online play I have had is that it seems like there really aren't too many players playing. Or at least creating matches. I did a search and found a mere 3 or 4 games being played. That was in every kind of gameplay, regardless of settings and rules. But, if you can start up a game, and get people to join, this is an amazing online game.

Single Player
Single player is again excellent, with Instant Action and Galactic Conquest making combacks. Galactic Conquest is much easier now, and more interactive. It is much more player friendly, and you do have to have commonsense playing the AI, on any difficulty. There are many bonuses you can purchase to give you a slight edge you need in a battle, ranging from Hero(Yes, you have to buy it in Conguest) to Bacta Tanks(healing) extra troops, and many more. The basics of the game is a Galaxy is displayed before you, and with your fleets, you take and cpature worlds, while also defending from you opponent. Once you have chosen a world to invade, you select a bonus, and then off to war! Much better in this game, more fluid, and moreover, more fun!

Time for the Pros and Cons:

Pros

*Play as a Jedi, what could be more fun?

*Single Player will keep you coming back for more.

*Online usually non-laggy.

*Reinact Star Wars battles! My wish was granted!

*Well put together and overall just a great game.

Cons

*$50. Kinda pricy, but the price I do think is supposed to go down soon.

*During online play, it is very difficult to become the Jedi, and when you become it, you don't last long.

*Depending on the Host, the game can get laggy, but no for the most part.

*Graphics are average, bodies often land in the same postions no matter what happens to them.

*Thats about it.


Final Word

If you are a FPS, Third Person Shooter, or a Star Wars fan, or even own an xbox, this is the game for you. It has lots of great gameplay that can be played over and over again, and the online is great. Spectacular game.

Rating
9.8/10

[danny12]

In my opinion Star Wars sucks. I rented it out recently and the game is so repetitive its unbelievable. I cannot believe how easy it is either. In the three days i had it i managed to complete Rise of the Empiere and the first two modes of Galatic Conquest.

My Score 5/10


PSP Review
GTA: Liberty City Stories

The first of its kind on the PSP GTA Liberty City Stories basically follows the story of Toni Cipriani from GTA3 and his rise in the Leone family. This game is based on Liberty City, the city from GTA3. The game is set before GTA3 and ties up the loose ends from GTA3.

Gameplay is the same throughout all GTA games but considering that this is on a handheld console i was surprised at how easy it was to control and how extremley lifelike the graphics are from the PS2. ALso the usualy side missions are there with LOADS of extras like SlashTV, Fireman Rampge, 10mm Gun contests etc.....

The graphics are almost similar from GTA3 except for things like the Callahan Bridge which isn't actually ready at this time (the bridge is finished for GTA3) and things like that. Because this is a handheld console and the graphics are almost the same it is a huge achievment as the PSP is disadvantaged compared to the PS2.

Replayvalue is unbelievable huge. Things like extra mission, the packages, rampages, special jumps and so on make some great replay value. The standout point of this GTA is that it has a multiplayer mode the first in the history of GTA. I would comment on it but i don;t have wireless access.

For a handheld console this is a landmark game. Excellent graphics, gameplay and replayability make this the best game for PSP so far.

My Score 10/10

[danizduhman]

[danny12]

I was playing on a high difficulty. I must admit however the jedi battles and how the jedi worked was excellent. Also the space battles were good.

EDIT ok lets not get off topic, if u want to discuss the game plz do
so in the game section TY-HOCKEYDUDE

[rickjames]

Learn how to do the superjumps on Acension.


http://forums.heroesofgaming.com/viewtopic.php?t=1343

[wolf]

Edit:

Please save these posts for a game section.

-coolgreen44

(So you know wolverine)

[Holymonkey]

PS2 Review:
True Crime New York City

Well its time to continue a gaming series, the True Crime gaming series. If you have played Streets Of LA then you will know how good this series is. True Crime dosen't continue any story from the first series meaning the developers could bring in a whole lot of features.

The story begins as you being a gangster called Marcus Reed. In the beginning he has been betrayed by his gang and so seeks revenge on the gang leader who betrayed him. Lets just say there is no happy reunion. After this part of the story five years passes where you are now Marcus Reed, Detective sent out to clear up the streets of New York...

PROS

In this game there is a lot more hand to hand combat than the original.

If you remember from the first game when chasing a car the police would follow behind you. Not this time. The police set traps, ram cars off the road etc etc.

There is a huge landscape with lots of space and extra exploration. You can walk into all shops.

You also have a bad side. Instead of arresting people you can accept bribes from them, extort shopkeepers etc.

There is also a police hierarchy. If you do to many bad things then you are demoted. If you do good things you are promoted.

There are a lot more diffrent gangs to overthrow, each gang with its own story.

A lot of undercover missions to get to heart of crimes.
CONS

You cannot quit missions once you accept them.

Police shoot you if they don't recognis you has a cop during a bust.

Graphics sometimes become a bit fuzzy making it hard to see.

Its much easier to be killed than in the first game.


The game in my opinion is worth the money if you can overlook the minor glitches. You can spend hours of gaming time without getting bored. The large area and high exploration allow you to find many different things some which are quite interesting.

The Holymonkey rating: 8/10[/list]

[danny12]

PS3 News


Hideo Kojima has released new deatils of his new game MGS4 in a recent press review. From what i have read of it Hideo plans to have a new vamped up system of stamina but as he says in the review "there are no frogs or bunnies to shoot in the battlefield". Also snake gets a new toy called Snake Eye attached to his eye. It basically is a codec, thermal and night vision goggles and scope all in one. He also said that all the weapons should have certain modifications added to them. Watch this space folks.

[rickjames]

PSP News:
Two new and only MMORPG's are in the works for the PSP due out in 2007. This will be cool because of the WiFi capabilities of the PSP and even cooler if it's free.

[danny12]

Nice one rickjames keep up the good work. Have you joined the Chronicle through the Usergrups yet?