New Games Confirmed at E3

Scouring the list of scheduled games for E3 is yielding some interesting titles that should be making an appearance. Right now, there are listings for Kid Icarus Wii, Doom 4, Alan Wake, and Half-Life Episode 3. Kid Icarus, game that hasn't really had a great deal of time in the limelight, with it's prequel comming out in 1986, Kid Icarus is sure to sell for the Wii. We also have a new DOom title, the 4th one in the making. Alan Wake, an Action Thriller title. Alan Wake has been in production since last generation, and is about a writer who's wife goes missing, gets insomnia, and then all hell ensues as he finds out that what he writes in his horror novel is comming true. Half Life 3 should also be a big hit with all of the hardcore fans, but I'm not too sure about newcomers to the series. They'll all just have to pick up the Orange Box and play the prequels. We knew there were already going to be some great titles showing up, like Little Big Planet and Gears of War 2, but these ones definitely bump the excitement up a notch. I hope that Half-Life listing means that they’re releasing it sooner, rather than later. E3 is already looking to be a pretty exciting time for gamers everywhere. Tune in to our Next Podcast, and please email us on any questions you'd like us to answer in our next podcast, keeping in mind that E3 is just around the corner.

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Metal Gear Solid: The PS3 Seller

Anaylysts were surprised when Grand Theft Auto 4 failed to translate into hardware sales for both Sony and Microsoft. However, with the help of myself, this was not the case with Metal Gear Solid 4. A game that received the Forest's first first perfect score has sold three million units worldwide in its first two weeks. Hardware sales for the PS3 had increased significantly leading up to the release and will continue to sell for quite some time.

The Face of the PS3

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Guitar Hero 4: World Tour

Following a series of rumours announced just last week Activision has decided to let out a few of its secrets pertaining to the next Guitar Hero. To couple the announcement of the unique drumset which will feature two cymbals a brand new guitar was also announced. This new model will feature a "touch strip" neck which will make finger tapping solos easier to perform. A distortion effect will also be added to have the same purpose of the whammy bar. Some now confirmed bands within the game are the Foo Fighters, Billy Idol, Sublime, Linkin Park, Van Halen and the Eagles. Forest of Illusions will bring more coverage when the game is shown off at the quickly approaching E3.

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Podcast 6/19/2008

In this podcast we have the usual energy drink taste tests, discussions about Metal Gear and of course your questions are answered. Also David Hayter drops into the office so give it a listen!

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Metal Gear Solid 4 Review

From Metal Gear Solid on the Playstation to Sons of Liberty and Snake Eater on the PS2 the MGS franchise has always been one of the most highly regarded in the video game industry. With this franchise came unique gameplay, amazing storytelling and top of the line visuals. But how do you end a series that is beloved by so many? You do it in style and Hideo Kojima with his amazing development team have proved once again how great this series is. You will be absolutely overwhelmed with emotions as you take Solid Snake through his final mission. Our review after the jump.

The storytelling from the Metal Gear Solid franchise is one of the most complicated in the industry and so much emphasis has been placed on it throughout its twenty one year history. The experiences within the games could be compared with some of the best films out there. This may set some people off as minutes of gameplay can be sandwiched into hours of cut scenes, but that’s what the franchise is all about. Obviously if you weren’t a fan of that in the past than your opinion won‘t be changed this time around. Not to spoil anything but besides the ending cinematics there were several that advanced the one hour mark one even closing in on eighty minutes. The thing is though if you don’t know the storyline of this franchise or if you decide to boycott it in this game than you’ll only be having half of the experience. Of course Kojima along with his writers put a lot of effort into closing up the many plot lines in this series all of which should be satisfying to fans. Not to be bias but this is definitely the greatest story in any video game I have played thus far and I couldn’t be happier with the final result. Of course to tell this great story the cinematics must be amazing, and they are. To tell the truth the transitions from cinematic to gameplay are unnoticeable and the gameplay and story just compliment each other so well. All of your favourite, or not so favourite, characters return…cough…Mei Ling. Playing the game has a real purpose to it as you dwell deeper into their storylines and you really start to feel for the characters. Thankfully closure is brought to each of them. Overall the plot from the Metal Gear franchise has always been so deep and riveting and enough can’t be said about it in Guns of the Patriots.

As I mentioned before the gameplay within the Metal Gear franchise is one to its own. The emphasis throughout the series has been placed on stealth action rather than straight combat action. Besides a few occasions here and there you could essentially go the entire game without killing anyone. On the other hand though the game can be played essentially like any other FPS. This time around the latter experience has improved with more weapons and customizability being added to the gameplay. There are a huge variety of weapons that you can gain around the battlefield or from a man called Drebin. You can sell, buy and upgrade your armory straight from the start menu. This takes some difficulty out of the game as you won’t be hunting for or conserving your ammo. The storyline will essentially take you through five acts each with their own unique setting. These settings and environments vary greatly as you traverse through the ruins of an Middle Eastern town, to the jungles of South America or even to a nostalgic island covered in snow. The boss battles in this game are also terrific each of them being unique from the other and each of them a load of fun to play. From fighting a mutating creature in a laboratory to a mechanical wolf in a howling blizzard each of them is stunning. The stealth movements in this game also feel as real as ever. The addition of the OctoCamo suit is really great as you can blend into the environments around you. So overall its nice that you can take either route, advancing through the game in a stealth or combat oriented fashion. There are so many new gameplay moments that are added into this game that wouldn‘t be associated with the franchise. Whether it be the superb car chase through a European town or the fight between Metal Gear Rex and Ray, these moments are abundant and superb. With the success of online in Subsistence it was no question that it would be included in MGS4. A variety of modes with up to 16 players can be utilized. It seems like every game these days has to have online and its good to know that Metal Gear is pretty good and has set itself apart from other online games. When it boils down to it the Metal Gear franchise is the best stealth action series out there and you won’t be disappointed this one last time.

Guns of the Patriots is probably the greatest technical achievement in video game history. The Playstation 3 is pushed to its limits and every character, scenery, and explosion is perfect. The motion capture and combat is all so realistic and it is an amazing experience. Its hard to explain the graphics in this game but to put it simply Guns of the Patriots sets the bar and will probably go untouched for quite some time. The music in this game is quite good containing pieces from all previous Metal Gears to some new works as well. The music really sets the tone in the game whether it be a high adrenaline situation or some important dialogue. The voice acting is this game as usual is amazing. David Hayter provides some of his best work yet as he is also supported by an array of familiar characters. Metal…Gear!?

The fact of the matter is if you’ve never enjoyed the Metal Gear Solid franchise than your crazy. No just kidding but you won’t like this game as if follows the same road. That said though you’ll only be having half of the experience if you haven’t played any previous titles in the franchise. Questions that have gone on throughout the entire franchise have been answered. Solid Snake is one of the most legendary heroes out there and MGS is one of the most legendary series as well. To bring this series to a close and do it in such an amazing fashion speaks leagues about Hideo Kojima and his development team.

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Amazing

I am being completley serious when I say that Guns of the Patriots is my favourite game of all time...and I'm not even finished. On another note there was an eighty minute cutscene! I didn't even realize it until I started playing it again...it was like wow when was the last time I played?

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WOW Addiction More Shameful Than Porn

Are addicted member at the office should probably look at this: Article Here

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No Midnight Release

So we didn't get our advanced copy of Metal Gear, instead we have 22 copies of Conan. Our local EB Games isn't having a midnight release......

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Red Rings of Death.

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Are You Ready?

All I can say is I am SUPER hyped about Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. I just recently went back and played the original MGS for the Playstation and it just really had me thinking about Sons of Liberty and Sanke Eater and how this is one of the greatest franchises in history. Hopefully thursday night there may be a midnight launch and I'll post some early impressions going into the weekend.

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Super Smash Bros Brawl Review

Super Smash Bros for the N64 and Super Smash Bros. Melee for the Nintendo Gamecube, two of the greatest multiplayer games of all time, both still extremely popular to this day. Brawl? Greatest multiplayer game of all time.When the trailer for Brawl was first shown at E3 2006 it was pretty exciting. Seeing those new characters and the much improved graphics brought a lot of hope plus the addition of third party characters brought great potential. Well its been almost two years later and after two typical Nintendo delays its here. So how good is this game…well if you liked Melee than you might like the addition of some new characters such as Snake, Sonic, Pit, Meta Knight, King Dedede, Olimar, Ike, Wario, Diddy Kong, R.O.B, Wolf and more. Or maybe you'll like the addition of online, more stages, better graphics, the greatest soundtrack of all time, an eight hour adventure mode, more unlockables and even more ways to customize your battle. More of our thoughts after the jump.

The gameplay in this game for the most part remains the same. Obviously you can customize almost anything in this game whether it be stock, time or coin match, speed size and controller options (stick with the Gamecube controller). One of the new feature to this game is the smash ball. This item essentially has a different effect for each character giving them an extremely poweful move. Whether it be Donkey Kong breaking out his drums or Fox crashing in with his landmaster. Overall the smash ball adds a lot of depth and makes the game that much more fun. The other new addition is the Subspace Emissary. Its a lot better than Melee's adventure mode in that it lasts eight hours and it has tons of beautiful videos to further enhance the experience. It gives the game a decent story and just simply adds more unlockables. Another cool edition is the stage builder. It could have been a lot better but what this adds to the game is a way to create neat stages suited to your playing needs, you can even send them to friends or have the chance of Nintendo choosing them and placing them up on Wi-Fi.

Online, Brawl has online? Sounds like a great idea and with friend codes it's just as if you were playing with them in your own living room. I haven't tried it much myself but I hear there are a few problems which will hopefully be worked out. Other great features from this game are trophies, returning from Melee, stickers and masterpieces. Masterpieces are demo versions from classic games enabled by the power of the Virtual Console. Super Mario World, Super Metroid and Ocarina of Time are among the titles that you can try out.

Enough can't be said about this soundtrack with a team of some of the greatest musicians working on this project. Some of Nintendo's greatest songs are in here whether they remain the same or are given a unique remix. All the great songs from the Mario franchise to the Legend of Zelda and all the way to the Wii Shop Channel music are included in this game and their all great.

The best thing about Brawl is that its so accessible, almost anyone who has ever played Smash Bros has loved it and yet there is a monstrous amount of depth that you can play this game for years to come as seen with Melee. Great with friends, great by yourself and just overall an amazing experience. In conclusion this game is for everyone, whether you be a die hard Nintendo fan or someone just getting into gaming, you owe yourself to play this amazing game.

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Burnout Paradise Review

In this thrilling new open racing world, you'll smash, crash, and destroy your opponent's hopes, dreams, and cars. With around 70 cars to race with, you'll find yourself using anything from a Compact car, to an F1, to a Dirt racing truck. Read the rest of the review after the jump.

The idea of 3 types of cars is very cool. Players choose from either Speed, Stunt, or Aggression type. Each type has different rules and priorities for earning boost. This can really help to decide which kind of car you'll use in event, though you really could do a race with an aggression type if you wanted.

I really felt that this game could've used some better music, as the soundtrack is pretty tasteless.

Sometimes you really do wish there was a menu, as some races may become difficult. You may find yourself doing a long race, lose, and then have to drive all the way back to the event to retry it.

I am actually a little disappointed in the crashes in this game though, as they are fast, vicious, and the damage effects leave your car with the imprint of that wall you just smashed into, but, I liked it better in say, Burnout 3, when your opponents would fly up as high as a 25 story building. Sometimes the crashes occur too easily and it leaves you frustrated
The speed in this game is very fast, probably the fastest game I've ever played, and yes F-Zero, that includes you too.

You'll lose yourself for hours in this gigantic city, finding races, and enemy racers you can smash and take their ride. I found that i had beaten the game, technically, but after the game was finished, there were still around 100 races I hadn't completed. You only need somewhere in the range of 60 races. I also still have about 7 or 8 cars left to unlock. There are also all the jumps I need to complete, the Smashes left, and the numerous Billboard you get a kick out of diving through.

Overall I gave this game about an 8/10 because, it has impressive visuals, and a vast open city with many races, but i was disappointed in the soundtrack, lack of being able to restart a mission/ quit a current one, and the crashes didn't seem worth it

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Play Beyond

So today the Forest of Illusions acquired a PS3 for the office. Okay we don't have an office, but I, RevolutionLink, just bought a brand new 40GB Playstation 3. My reason is simple; Metal Gear Solid 4. MGS is one of my most beloved series and I couldn't miss the final mission of Solid Snake, if it really is to be his final mission. For now though I have no games so she will sit until Thursday when Guns of the Patriots is inserted.

In other site news I have changed the look of the site, adding a few images here and there and also setting up a podcast and review archive so the site can be navigated more efficiently. This site will now have coverage for all three platforms; Wii, Xbox 360 and PS3.

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Podcast 5/31/2008

Sorry that it took so long but here is our podcast for May 31st. Were having some difficulties hosting it on a podcast site so for now its on...Gamepot. We hope the next one won't have any problems hosting.

Part 1:http://www.gamespot.com/users/gta_bandit/video_player?id=JXVgkTP55b0IuDDe

Part 2:http://www.gamespot.com/users/gta_bandit/video_player?id=J3E1w2Hw5b0IuDPX

Part 3:http://www.gamespot.com/users/gta_bandit/video_player?id=dyBhkmT-5b0IuDDa

Part 4:http://www.gamespot.com/users/gta_bandit/video_player?id=JCc2ljrx5b0IuDDb

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No More Heroes Review

Describing No More Heroes is not the easiest thing to do, but to put it bluntly its an untraditional Wii game. Suda 51, the man behind Killer 7, has come out with some of his best work yet in this combination of insane blood work, light sabers, and Mexican wrestling. To be honest No More Heroes is just the game that the Nintendo Wii needed; one that’s suited to the hardcore and one that’s actually coming from a third party. Our review after the jump

You play the role of Travis Touchdown, the eleventh ranked assassin in Santa Destroy as you make your way through the ten assassins above you to become number one. Obviously he has some motivation, in the form of Sylvia Crystal who watches your progress through the rankings. Taking out these assassins results in incredible boss fights all having their own style. Whether it be simply slashing away or trying to avoid a huge laser beam these boss fights are some of the best. Obviously this brings us on to the combat which is one of the best aspects of No More Heroes due to its great creativity. Travis carries around his blood berry, a simple light saber, that can be upgraded into faster and more powerful version as you progress through the game. He also gets a combination of fighting moves, most notably Mexican wrestling moves. The number of moves you can perform increases and they all involve using the Wii’s motion functionality. The combat works out great and is one of the strong points in this game especially as you decapitate your victim with a swish of the Wii-mote. Some of this combat is played to death though, usually before a boss battle you’ll be met with a continuous swarm of enemies as you hack your way through, essentially using the same moves encountering a few frame rate issues along the way. Overall the combat is some of the most impressive on the Wii due to its originality and awesome use of the Wii-mote.

There are many other things to do in Santa Destroy besides going through the story line. Your given a sandbox style city that is extremely small in comparison to other sandbox titles and what you can do is also limited. There are a few neat assassination mission and random tasks you can complete but the majority are not memorable. The free roaming aspect is to the most part not justified as it feels as if it doesn’t fit well with this game. The game would have been better off focusing on its unique combat and boss battles and not spend its time with a meager free roaming aspect.

Visually No More Heroes is one of those Wii games that can’t be seen as a great technical achievement but more of an artistic one. The artistic look goes great with this game with a good combination of cell-shading techniques and colour. There are a lot of rough edges, more noticeably in Santa Destroy away from the main story line. The cars look down right pathetic, but again that’s not the focus of the game. No More Heroes doesn’t try to push the Wii’s hardware and nor should it, the look goes great with the game and makes it a memorable experience. No More Heroes supports a pretty small cast of characters, essentially Travis and Sylvia give the best dialogue in this game with a few of the bosses having their own twisted story. Some of the minor characters throughout the city can’t even be understood, either by poor recording or poor translation. The music, a combination of modern and old video game styles, is pretty neat has a uniqueness to it that stays fresh through the entire game.

The main pull for No More Heroes is its creativity. The amazing boss battles, unique and addicting combat, along with a look that no other game really has makes No More Heroes the best third party and mature rated game on the Nintendo Wii hopefully setting the bar for future action games to come.

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Forest of Illusion Art

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