Bad Game Reviews - Fast and Furious: Showdown

Alright, so I know of a few people in person, and even more on the internet that bought this game and are upset with it.  Well, you bought a game based on Fast and Furious that started at $40. What were you expecting?

Fast and Furious: Showdown is a typical Need for Speed copy game, with a few added twists.  Now, to be clear, I only played the story mode, I never tried any of the challenges of co-op gameplay.  There are a variety of different levels throughout the game, typically similar levels are spread out enough to help prevent too much repetition.

All of the missions are very much movie themed, some of them straight out of the films.  There are a few basic "racing" levels where your entire goal is just to get in first place, as well as variations of that such as elimination runs.  They all are from the movie, or star characters from the movies.

For example, a few missions are simply just "outrun the cops" missions.  During the fifth film, they pull a giant safe with a car.  You get to do that while running from the police.  It is actually kind of fun.  There are other combat style missions.  One person drives, the other shoots.  There is a small variety of weapons, but I felt there were enough to keep it interesting.  Also, there are two missions featuring the vehicular combat cars from Fast and Furious 6.  I don't know what to call them, but they are the ones that flip cars into the air.  those missions are pretty great actually.

If you are craving a racing game, there is literally nothing here you aren't going to find elsewhere done better. However, if you are really into the whole "Fast and Furious" thing, this is probably for you.  It builds a little more on the characters and is a great introduction to the sixth film.  Also, every level is built to be played with two people.  There are always either two cars, or one shooter and one driver.  I didn't get a chance to play co-op, but I can't see how it wouldn't increase the fun of this game tremendously.

Like I have said many times before, it isn't a perfect game, but that is what Red Box is for.  I beat the entire story mode in under six hours.  I got off work around 9:00 PM and was finished with the game well before 4:00 AM.  It costs me $2 and it was totally worth that.

I don't recommend it for the full price, but it is going to drop really fast really soon.  I do recommend it to any die hard fans of the series, and I know you are out there.  It's got a fun story for fans of the series and familiar characters.  I would recommend it for the $10-$20 range.

Something just seemed off about my new DC Injustice: Gods Amongs us figures...

Ha, sorry, I couldn't resist!

Here are some real shots of Wonder Woman and Solomon Grundy.

Here are some real pictures of Green Arrow and Deathstroke.

DC Injustice: Gods Among Us Green Arrow and Deathstroke Figures

Here we have a much more human DC Injustice: Gods Among Us two pack.  This pack includes Green Arrow and Deathstroke.  Here are my shots of Solomon Grundy and Wonder Woman.

Deathstroke isn't too bad.  He suffers a little from being able to hold his gun normally.

Green Arrow looks great.  His bow is literally the best bow I've ever seen in this scale.  Like Deathstroke, it's a little weird to get him to hold his bow in an "attack" stance.

Marvel Universe Greatest Battles Deadpool

Marvel Universe First Appearance Wolverine

Deathstroke is a little short.  Deadpools legs are pretty spread out here, so he looks shorter.  Deathstroke is barely bigger than Wolverine.

Maybe Deathstroke is short, I haven't read much with him in it, but I don't feel like he should be this short.  Nothing major though.

These figures are very detailed, as are their accessories.  A sword for Deathstroke would be nice, but I have plenty running around.

Here are all my Injustice figures so far; Wonder Woman, Green Arrow, Deathstroke, and Solomon Grundy.

Marvel Universe Ms. Marvel

Marvel Universe Secret Wars Hulk

Marvel Universe Thor

Overall, I think I liked the other two pack more, but this one is still pretty great.  I love their accessories, but Deathstroke feels a little short.  Nothing bad though, height diversity among these figures is great.

Recent 1:18 Scale Posts:

• DC Injustice: Gods Among Us Wonder Woman and Solomon Grundy
• Marvel Universe Nick Fury
• Something seemed off about my new Injustice figures...

DC Injustice: Gods Among Us Wonder Woman and Solomon Grundy

 

These arrived a few days ago, I finally got around to opening them.  So far, I have the DC Injustice: Gods Among Us Wonder Woman, Green Arrow, Solomon Grundy, and Deathstroke.  Here I will be talking about Solomon Grundy and Wonder Woman, Green Arrow and Deathstroke to follow.

There aren't bad!

As you can see, Wonder Woman suffers from a little pose-ability problem.  She looks great, I just can't get her to stand and look normal.

Due to the size of his feet, Grundy has absolutely no problem standing on his own.

After some trouble getting her to stand, I tried to adjust her feet...it snapped off immediately.  These figures kind of seem fragile.

Still not normal, but better.

Solomon Grundy has all these knives jammed in his back.  It is a cool effect, but one came off right out of the package.  A little glue would fix it immediately, but still.  These were $30!

Marvel Universe Secret Wars Hulk

Solomon Grundy is just barely taller than this Marvel Universe Hulk.

Marvel Universe Ms. Marvel and Bleeding Edge Iron Man

Wonder Woman suffers from this "female body" that about all female figures have.  They are inherently much smaller than all male figures.  Size-wise, she fits in well with Ms. Marvel.

Marvel Universe First Appearance Wolverine 

Solomon Grundy comes with a knife (or sword depending on a figures size!).  A sword or lasso for Wonder Woman would have been nice, but I can overlook it.  If she needs a sword, I can find one somewhere.

Marvel Universe Fantastic Four Team Pack Thing

Marvel Universe Thor

This picture makes Thor look a lot smaller than he is, Grundy is taller, but not much taller.

Marvel Universe Fantastic Four Team Pack Invisible Woman

Overall, I'm liking these figures.  For $30, it appears they are more collectibles than toys.  They are also quite fragile, Wonder Woman more than Solomon Grundy, but still.  The few breaks I have had don't make me regret buying them, nor will it stop me from buying more.  The first few waves of Marvel Universe figures were pretty awful.

Recent 1:18 Scale Posts:

• DC Injustice: Gods Among Us Green Arrow and Deathstroke
• Marvel Universe Nick Fury
• Tales from the Mojoverse #2

Recommended Resident Evil Playing Order

Resident Evil has become the example of the survival-horror genre.  The game has some strange numbering at times, and numerous spin-offs and unrelated titles.  This is my recommended playing order, but not necessarily the best or in release order.

1. Resident Evil
2. Resident Evil 0
3. Resident Evil 2
4. Resident Evil 3: Nemesis
5. Resident Evil Code: Veronica
6. Resident Evil Gaiden
7. Resident Evil 4
8. Resident Evil Revelations
9. Resident Evil 5
10. Resident Evil 6

Resident Evil (1996)

It would be obvious to start with the first one, right?  While technically it takes place second in the storyline, it would make vastly more sense to start here.

In this game, you play as either Chris Redfield or Jill Valentine.  They are both members of an elite police squad, STARS, and they are dispatched to investigate some killings that have occurred.  Bravo team has already been sent in, but nobody has heard from them.  Alpha team is dispatched and attacked by dogs, and runs into a nearby mansion...

Other Resident Evil 1 options:

• Resident Evil Director's Cut (1997): The Director's Cut is the same game with a few items and enemies moved around.  There are two versions of the Director's Cut, one with dual-analog support and one without.
• Resident Evil (2002): This is an enhanced remake for the Gamecube.  the graphics are far greater, controls are better, and each character now has their own extra weapon.  The game also slightly changes the story to mention some future game characters.
• Resident Deadly Silence (2006): This is a remake of the first game for the Nintendo DS.  It has some new gameplay mechanics and features inspired from Resident Evil 3 and 4.
• Resident Evil is available on the PSN as a PSX Classic.
• The Gamecube version of the game was ported onto the Wii.

Resident Evil 0 (2002)

Now you might think this game should come first, as it is a prequel to the first game.  I really think it works better after Resident Evil 1.  While the gameplay mechanics are going to be much better than the next few games on the list, the game is going to be the most relevant after finishing the first one.

The story is about Rebecca Chambers, a medic from the first game, and Billy Coen, an escaped convict.  Rebecca was part of the first team that went missing in the mountains before Alpha team arrives.

Other Resident Evil 0 options:

• The game was released on the Wii.

Resident Evil 2 (1998)

This is probably considered the best "classic" Resident Evil game.  It takes place shortly after the events of the first game.  To keep this spoiler free, the mansion from the first game had some zombies in it, they got out and found their way to Raccoon City.

In this game, you can play as either Leon Kennedy or Claire Redfield.  Claire is the brother of Chris in the first game.  Claire comes to town looking for her brother, not knowing their is a zombie apocalypse occurring.  Similarly, Leon is on his way to town for his first day on the job as a Raccoon City police officer. The game features two storylines, one for each character.  Their stories are taking place simultaneously, typically at different sections of the game.  The majority of the game takes place in the police station and surrounding areas.

Other Resident Evil 2 options:

• The game was ported to the Gamecube.  To my knowledge, it is no different than the original release of the game.  It's not like the enhanced version of the first.
• Resident Evil 2 is available on the PSN as a PSX Classic.

Recommended DC Comics Based Games

Last week I did a list of my recommended Marvel Comics based games, so I figured I might as well do a DC one too!  I admittedly haven't played that many DC based games that I have enjoyed, but I'll go ahead and list the ones I found memorable.

The Adventures of Batman & Robin

This was the first DC game I ever played.  I had this for the Sega Genesis, and apparently is different on the Sega than it is the SNES, so this is for the Sega version.

The game is based on Batman the Animated Series and has matching art styles.  It is a side-scrolling "shooter".  You run from the left of the screen to the right shooting batarangs at enemies.  If they get close, you punch them, but it's mainly a "run and gun".

Honestly, it isn't a perfect game, but I would play anything related to the animated series.  It is very difficult though, I just recently got passed the first level, and I've been trying for years!

Superman 64

Hahaha, no.  Just kidding.

Justice League Heroes

I played the PSP version, so I can't speak about the console version, but the portable version was great.  In each level, you battle a number of villains and henchmen, all Justice League themed of course.  You are partnered up with another Justice Leaguer and can switch between then at any time.  You have seven characters to chose from in the beginning:

1. Batman
2. Superman
3. Green Lantern (John Stewart)
4. The Flash
5. Wonder Woman
6. Zatanna
7. Martian Manhunter

Bad Game Reviews: Lord of the Rings Conquest

Assuming most people played Star Wars Battlefront, you should theoretically enjoy this game, right?  The basis of the game is simple, fight off the enemy and hold locations.  You have multiple classes to choose from: archer, warrior, mage, and scout.  Each class has their own powers and abilities.

The game made from the creators of the Star Wars Battlefront series, and plays just like one. While I had heard horrible things about this game, I'm thoroughly enjoying it.  This is the closest to a current generation Battlefront game as we can get.

The game really has the large scale battles you would imagine it having.  The game has all the battlegrounds from the game you would think, plus a few others such as Rivendell and the Shire.

The game really lacks in combat, which is probably the most important part of the game.  At times, the sword swinging feels sluggish, but I do think it brings a degree of realism.  It's tough to take down more than a few guys at once, I often feel overwhelmed.

The game also has "vehicles" like Battlefront.  Wargs, horses, ents, trolls, catapults, even Oliphaunts.