I’m done withThe Bourne Conspiracy and Contra 4. As you may have noticed, I’ve already finished Jason Bourne’s PlayStation 3 game. As for Contra 4, I don’t plan on touching it for at least a year.

You know, I always develop an overwhelming urge to throw my Nintendo DS against the wall while playing Contra 4, and it’s not just to see if the game cartridge would survive the impact.

See? Violent video games don’t turn people into homicidal maniacs. Frustrating video games do.

I’m looking forward to finally picking up Killzone: Liberation and Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror for the PSP this weekend. If time permits, I’m also planning on finally getting some quality time alone with Mass Effect’s new DLC titled “Bring Down the Sky.”

So what are you playing this weekend?

Image for Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror is courtesy of Sony Computer Entertainment.

Post from: EveryJoe

What are you playing this weekend?

I’ll try to keep this short. After all, I’ve already given my impressions on Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Conspiracy when I first played it in early July. Finishing the game didn’t exactly change the way I felt about it. Here’s the skinny:

No matter how you put it, The Bourne Conspiracy is fun. It may not have depth, it may not require much brain power, but it sure is a blast. The violence that comes with shooting people in the face, smashing faces in using protagonist Jason Bourne’s deadly fists, or hurtling down the street in a small car while being chased by dozens of police cars is immensely satisfying.

The combos for melee fighting are easy to learn but its simplicity borders on button mashing. Interestingly, resorting to button mashing would work against players because opponents, particularly bosses, are quick to learn one’s favorite moves. Mixing attacks is the best way to go, but there’s not a lot to mix in the first place.

Shooting is standard fare, reminding me of Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, Dark Sector, Kane & Lynch, or any other current-gen third-person shooter/action adventure game. For what it’s worth, the shooting proved to be more enjoyable than the melee because of the destructible environments. Half the cover available gets wrecked, so I had to keep moving to survive.

Driving around in Paris may be fun, but the car physics feel pretty loose. The visuals in this stage look a bit overdone, thanks to the crazy road textures. Strangely, I had to look at the game’s Wikipedia entry to find out that the level was set in Paris because it looks nothing like the real thing. The buildings look like they were merely copied and pasted.

The game is visually and aurally appealing, I’ll give you that. Explosions, blood spatters, and takedowns look and sound particularly nasty. But when the smoke clears, there’s nothing in The Bourne Conspiracy that compels me to play it again. What’s worse, the first (and only) romp is good for only six hours, tops. Jason Bourne’s console adventure is fun while it lasted, but it certainly doesn’t deserve the $60 tag. A rental is more likely.

Image of Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Conspiracy is courtesy of Vivendi Games.

Post from: EveryJoe

Review: Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Conspiracy

I promised myself to finally finish The Bourne Conspiracy, but I still can’t say that I would be able to do so this weekend. Despite its visual flair, the game doesn’t attract me much so I don’t feel the push. I might try to work on Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth once I’ve gathered enough courage.

You see, all this macho stuff related with shooters is misleading. I’m a complete sissy when they take away my big guns and have me sneak around scary places with no weapon whatsoever.

Having no quicksave is another story.

When I’m not facing my PC or TV screen, I plan to get some coop action on the DS with Contra 4, which I haven’t finished to this very day. I consider Contra 4 a contradiction of sorts—I hate its punishing difficulty but I can’t seem to put it down. Strangely, I enjoy the self-inflicted anguish of being challenged yet not progressing despite my best efforts.

How about you? What’s keeping you busy this weekend?

Image of Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Conspiracy is courtesy of Vivendi Games.

Post from: EveryJoe

What are you playing this weekend?

The toughest part about Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Conspiracy for the PS3 isn’t the game itself, but the problems in running the game. If the opening screen loads without a hitch, then it’s your lucky day. When loading levels, there’s always the danger of stalling that even a 30 million dollar agent can’t fix.

The game itself is rather entertaining in a big-budget, brainless, summer-Hollywood-flick kind of way. Aside from higher difficulty settings, don’t expect anything beyond your first romp through Jason Bourne’s amnesia adventure.

Shooting in The Bourne Conspiracy brings to mind your standard third-person shooter with cover mechanics, only with more destructible environments. The gun fodder isn’t exactly that brainless either since they’ll attempt to dodge the bullets that you send flying at them.

The melee combat isn’t too shabby either. It’s simple, easy-to-learn, effective, and looks really painful. Depth in hand-to-hand combat is something to be desired, however. Some fights might devolve into button mashing basic three-hit combos, since opponents are quite skillful in blocking and there are not enough moves to execute.

Another gripe: It’s a bit of a shame that the game is a bit inflexible in allowing players to switch between using fisticuffs and guns. Once you’re fighting mano a mano, there’s no option to pull out a gun even if one of the enemies surrounding Bourne is trying to shoot his head off.

I was able to reach Bourne Conspiracy’s last level in one sitting—showing us just how short this game is. Expect my verdict when I finish the game this week.

Image for Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Conspiracy is courtesy of Vivendi Games.

Post from: EveryJoe

Now Playing: The Bourne Conspiracy

Frankly, this trend towards “cover dynamics” being placed in third-person every shooter is getting rather tiresome. Remember when every game developer started ripping-off Grand Theft Auto III? Looks like cover dynamics is the new buzzword, slowly replacing “sandbox.”

Post from: EveryJoe

Surprise! The Bourne Conspiracy is coming to consoles