-GAMES- Batman: Arkham City Review

"You want to know something funny? Even after everything you've done... I would have saved you."

Batman: Arkham City is the sequel to 2009's award winning superhero game 'Batman: Arkham Asylum'. Now, it's back with a better combat system, a new plot, and the same ol' Dark Knight.

The game was published on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC, and has a next one coming for the Wii U. A sandbox game game of its own, it gives the player the ability to freely roam around Arkham City. The classic stealth returns to give the player a sense of thrill. A better combat system returns, the Freeflow system, with new counters and better, wider range of moves for the Batman. New gadgets also arise which help the player in certain parts of the game, including fights with the enemies.

The plot revolves around Arkham City which was put in the center of Gotham, after the events of Arkham Asylum. Batman goes in to investigate, but he discovers even greater secrets, thus setting up the story of the game. The game features characters that weren't in the first game, such as Selina Kyle/Catwoman, Tim Drake/Robin III/Red Robin II, Dick Grayson/Robin I/Nightwing, Hugo Strange, Solomon Grundy, Ra's Al Ghul (he was in Arkham Asylum, but he was dead there), Talia Al Ghul, Azrael, Slade Wilson/Deathstroke, and many others. The game is actually quite easy, to be honest. The bosses have patterns which are easy to understand and counter. So if you're a new time gamer, don't worry. Do not worry at all.

Graphics are great too. While roaming around, you may get the chance to get a glimpse of Gotham which is absolutely breathtaking. When fighting enemies, attacks may be zoomed in and slowed out to show a finishing blow which is awesome. You can say that the graphics are a bit too "shiny" though.

I never really noticed to the music of the game. It's either it was too quiet, or I didn't really care at all. I could only hear it from time to time, but the most prominent time of it is when I fight enemies or I'm being searched for. Aside form the original musical score of the game, they also released a soundtrack with the songs pulling inspiration from Batman himself. Such songs are 'Deranged' by Coheed and Cambria, 'Drown in You' by Daughtry, 'Mercenary' by Panic! at the Disco, and 'Trophy Widow' by The Damned Things.

After or during the main plot, there are side missions that you could do. The side missions have a short story of their own. These can be completely quickly, but others may take some time, such as finding Riddler Trophies around the city. Speaking of Riddler Trophies, there are also Riddler Secrets which you need to find out. There are other skins you can use for Batman if you get bored. You can also use Catwoman, Robin, and Nightwing by redeeming codes. There are also some Challenge Maps to test your skills. But after all of these are said and done, you may get a feeling of emptiness 'cause there is practically nothing to do.

Batman: Arkham City may be an excellent game and all, but I couldn't shake the feeling that it could've been more. After seeing the ending of the game, I'm absolutely sure that the next game after this would be more than this.

-Mikey McMike

-GAMES- StarCraft Review

Hey guys! I am back for another game review, and it's about StarCraft for the PC.

StarCraft is a science fiction real-time strategy game developed by Blizzard Entertainment and was released released in 1998. It is one of the best RTS games of all time.

Starcraft is set in the 26th century, with the game having three races; Terran, Protoss, and Zerg.
The Terran is the Human race of StarCraft where they are trying to adapt into the situation. They use technology from Earth. They serve as the middle ground between the two other races. They have access on good military weapons, such as tanks and nuclear weapons.
The Protoss is the Humanoid race of StarCraft with advance technology and psionic abilities. Their psionic abilities have the advantage over their structures such as the unit's fire psy-like beams.
The Zerg is the insect-like alien race of StarCraft which is somewhat weaker. They rely on numbers and speed to overwhelm enemies.

The great thing about its gameplay is how the races are well-balanced, for example is how one race could counter the other or even counter its own when controlled properly. The balance of the game makes it strategically fun, using endless combinations of units to make endless strategies to defeat your opponent. If you've played games like Warcraft and Yuri, you'll be able to use your abilities here because you'll be building your base, conquer other places, and destroy bases of the enemy.

Each race has 10 missions on the single player Campaign Mode, for a total of 30 missions to complete. The great thing about the missions is that it could give you information about the units you are using which could help you make a good combination for good strategy.

Playing on Battle.Net, a gaming online service provided by Blizzard, or even playing via local area network, also known as LAN, are one of the greatest ways to play with friends using your personalized strategy and your friend's strategy to defeat one another.

Starcraft is an amazing RTS game because of its balanced gameplay, great multiplayer features, endless strategies to use, and with a great storyline mixed with great cinematics!

-BlueRose

*edited by musicgamer
*edited by Red Hood 02/19/12