Lego Star Wars Complete Colletion (Wii)

With all of the lego games as of late, most may not remember that when these first came out, it was kind of a big deal. It was a merger made between two of the greatest things from my childhood and I couldn’t have been more excited. The only problem was that the first game was built off the new trilogy and we wouldn’t see the original trilogy for another year or two. Fast forward to 2007 and they released both sets in one game.

Fun Factor:
This is one of those games that appeals to the child in all of us. It is a simple, no nonsense video game with easy pick-up controls and tons of fun (especially adding a second player). In a way, it reminds me of games used to be back in the NES and SNES era.
Grade: B

Gameplay:
Like I said, this game is as simple as they come. You go level to level, beat all the bad guys, fight a boss, solve puzzles, etc. And then there is the collecting. Not since banjo-kazooie has there been this much collecting. Unlike that games however, there is a reason to collect this. Some of the things you collect are lego studs (currency in game), red bricks, gold bricks, and mini-kits (white and blue). But what is the point of collecting if there is no point? You get to spend all your hard earned studs unlocking tons of characters, vehicles, cheats, modifiers, and hints. To give you an idea of how much extra there is to do in the game, you can beat the game through with minimal collecting and finish with a clear percentage of about 35-40%. That means over the half the game is collecting optional things. This is the ultimate game for OCD gamers.
Grade: B+

Replay Value:
This game can get tedious after unlocking a bunch of things and running through the same level 2-3 times. A second player, though, and it’s a different story. Now stuff is no longer tedious because there is a sense of competition. You can each go for high score in a level, see who can collect the most blue mini-kits, and step into the arena for some fighting. So if you add another player, you can play this game much longer than you can by yourself.
Grade: C(single player) B(multiplayer)

Overall:
If you haven't played a lego game before, then get this one for sure. It is the largest of the games with the best content. If you own the games already, you can pass this since there is not enough new content to warrant a second purchase.

Final Grade: Worth a $20

Oblivion (PC)

Oblivion came out in 2006. Early trailers and promo material looked amazing and I knew I couldn't wait to get it. Unfortunately, when it was released, my PC was not up to running the game.

Before I get into the review, I have one little disclaimer, I have had this game for a couple years now and I have yet to beat it.

The Sweet
When you first get out of the sewer and see the whole game world expanded out in front you will fill you with awe. The world just feels alive. There is so much to do and so much to see that you can't help but ignore the storyline and explore as much as you can. However, this where The Huh comes in as well (more on that later).

The Okay
The armor in this game looks great and the weapons all feel different from each other. I only give it an Okay score because there just isn't enough of them in the game. I remember in Morrowind, I would find almost a new weapon in each dungeon. Here, though, after a couple hours, you have seen most weapons and armor sets in the game.

The Huh?
After running around in the world for a while, you start to get feelings of deja vu. And by that I mean that all the areas look the same. There are maybe 4 kinds of dungeon areas; cave, Oblivion, tomb, tower. Some areas fare better than others in the way they look, but they all have that "samey" feel to them.

The Awful
This isn't really a bad thing, but it is awful. There is just too much to do and see in this game. After about half way through the main quest, I got completely distracted with the hundreds of other quests and forgot about the main one. I need to go back and finish this game, but the side quests are so much more interesting than the main one. So I call this awful because it prevents me from ever actually finishing this game.

I would also like to say that I personally hated the Oblivion gates in this game. After the first one, they become a chore to go through and I dread when a quest ends there. The oblivion gates epitomize the "samey" feel I get from the rest of the game because they are all nearly identical, epsecially once you get in the tower. There are dozens of oblivion gates all acrodd Cyrodiil and they all get closed the exact same way. Talk about repetitive.

Worth a $20
Of course it is. You get so much to do and see that this will easily give you so much on your investment. As of this review I have about 35 hrs on this game (I know child's play), so this has been a great deal for $20. You really can't be disappointed with this game as a whole.

The Conduit (Wii)

This game was super hyped as the best shooter the Wii has to offer, with amazing graphics, great online, and fully customizable controls. Even though they met those claims to a degree, the game received okay scores from initial reviews. They said the character models were great, but the scenery was bland, the online play was glitchy, and the controls were to difficult to get just right and other games (Metroid Prime) did better. Well those complaints are all valid when you spend $50 on a game, but what happens when you spend $20.

The Sweet
The weapons in this game are awesome. They have the typical, boring human weapons like machinge guns, pistols, and sniper rifles. The alien weapons on the other hand are awesome. They are very unique and fun to use. Each one feels like you are shooting with an organisms (Laser Cats anyone?).

The Okay
The level design is passable. Most levels are a corridor (hallway, sewer, street) without much open areas. It works, but I would have rather seen more open area.

The Huh?
The All Seeing Eye (ASE) is a strange device. You need it for most puzzles and to find unlockables, but it never feels useful. I think it may be in there just to show off some lighting effects.

The Awful
Enemy AI is bad. Not run into your bullets bad, but unpredictable bad. Sometimes you will mow down through enemies without any trouble. Other times, the enemies become Rambo and are impossible to hit.
Worth a $20
If you enjoy shooters (and specifically Wii FPS) then totally. Even with bland level design and strange AI, the game is still a blast to play. The online is workable as long as you don't get a bad connection in a game (but that can be said about all online).

Spiderman: Web of Shadows (Wii)

I have always had a weak spot for Spiderman games. I don't know if it because of the open world, flying through the city, or something else, there is just something inside me that goes crazy for this type of game.

The Sweet:
Zipping through the city is as fun as ever, if not more so. There is plenty of variety in the game when it comes to how to get from point A to point B. And along the way, you will be treated to some cool looking acrobatics from Spiderman.

The Okay:
The story is not a well written masterpiece, but it does start off with a great hook. Spiderman in his symbiote suit is walking through a ravaged New York and MJ is being protectd from Spiderman by Luke Cage. It definitely caught my attention right away and made me curious. From there, though, it gets a little old and a little rediculous, that is until Venom shows up again. Then the story is back in "full swing".

The Huh?:
Every boss fight feels similar and they really like you to use one move to take them out. It is the move when the boss is in there air and you lasso up to him by hopping along other bad guys. Yeah, it is fun to do it and nice to watch when done properly, but what were they thinking making you do that for every boss fight.

Also, there are only 3-5 mission types. Beat up # of enemines, rescue # civilians, stop big enemy, and stop # of cars. There are some other side type missions that you don't see often, but there really could have been more to do.

The Awful:
Fighting has never been a strong point of Spiderman games and WoS is no exception. Once you unlock a couple really powerful moves, you will only use those to dispatch of anyone. That is too bad really, since there are other more fun moves, but they just aren't powerful enough.

Worth my $20?
If you like Spiderman games and don't care about redundancy in mission structure, then by all mean go for it. It is still fun to swing through the city and the fighting doesn't get old until later int he game.