A few weeks ago I got a new phone that I have been enjoying and I finally got off my lazy ass to review it.

Behold the AT&T Tilt 2 (aka: Touch Pro 2). This phone is my favorite phone to date. It comes packaged with Windows Mobile 6.5, a 528 MHz processor, 288 MB DDR RAM, GPS, slide-out QWERTY keyboard and much more.


Many people may boo it for being a Window Mobile phone and in some cases I might agree with them, but Windows Mobile isn't half bad if you know.....

(Continued)

It is time for another TGZ Reviews.....


If you are an avid torrenter, you may already be aware of PeerGuardian and what it does to help protect you while you torrent. PeerBlock picks up where PeerGuardian left off. With many bug fixes and full install support for 64-bit operating systems (including Windows 7) PeerBlock has become one of the best free IP Blockers for Windows.

Continued.....

Wow! It sure has been a long time since I posted anything. For that, you have my humble apologies, and most sincere gratitude for understanding. I have been off playing MMORPGs, and fighting the good fight! Anyway, today I bring to you a movie review for The Covenant. I hope you enjoy it, and I promise to post again very soon.

-Necro

(Read the extended entry for the movie review)

I just remembered that I never posted about this. Back on August 23, 2006 my local Toys R Us received a shipment of Xbox Live Cameras. I had called the previous 2 days to see if they had any after reading that another location broke the street date. Then on the 23rd the woman said, "Hold on we just got a shipment in and let me see if we have any." She came back and said, "I have this Xbox Live Vision camera thing, is that it?" So I hung up and rushed to Toys R Us on my way to work and bought two of them. As she rung them up I looked and noticed they only had three left (so they only received five).

Be sure to click below to read the Review.

Is the Lite any better than the original? Is it smaller?

Check inside to get the full scoop on Nintendo's Revamped DS.

As with most sports games there is little to no replay value, few level innovations, and not much in growing game play. SSX On Tour sees no need to change the tradition. While the game is fun and entertaining in the early events, by the time you reach the semi-pro rank the game becomes another episode of “beat the dead horse”.

The controls are pretty straight forward and easy to learn, which makes the learning curve less irritating. However, don’t expect the controls and abilities to grow as the game goes on. But other than the difficulty of trying to start grinding a rail, the controls are pretty solid.

As for the game play, the game still needs work. Despite the varied types of missions, you’ll find yourself playing the same mission on the same stage doing the same thing over and over again. The only difference will be an increase in target parameters or a shorter time. As with most sports games, this is difficult to get around. And because it is a snowboarding game, the player will be constantly going down a snow side mountain that will begin to look alike no matter how many differences in twists and turns are added.

The game’s graphics and sounds are actually well done. Aside from the occasional questionable taste in game music, I have really no complaints about the game. Nothing blew me away either, but nothing looked hideous either.

As for most games go, SSX On Tour is okay. I’d suggest it as a rental only, since the constant repeat of similar missions makes it suffer the famous “beating a dead horse” syndrome that the Tony Hawk games suffer. But otherwise it seems that EA has at least created a game that didn’t make me cringe. Perhaps they just fail at superhero games.

As for 3d sonic games, they haven’t pushed the Sonic theme to the fullest. Be it Fishing missions, Treasure Hunts, or the lack of multi-paths, people have always had something to complain about with Sonic Adventure 1 & 2. Shadow tries to rectify this to a degree, but doesn’t completely succeed. While we are graced with another 3D Sonic game that doesn’t involve fishing for “Froggy”, the presence of find every something or other is evident on nearly every stage. While these missions are optional and not necessary for playing, they are needed to get all 10 endings and are thus required for the final cop-out boss fight. If you beat Sonic Adventure 1 or 2, then you know what I’m talking about. As for the 10 endings, they are somewhat entertaining but have nothing to do with the real ending and real story.

Gameplay: Aside from some camera issues and homing-jump errors, the game play is pretty good. The use of guns and vehicles is interesting and allows more of a choice in stage strategy, while the general on foot running still allows some sense of speed. Not always as fast as in Sonic Adventure 2, but still enough for some massive jetting. Surprisingly, the guns fit well in the game, though the alien weapons look like tumors. Now if only they would put more bosses in this game.

Graphics and Sound: Oddly enough, the voices seem pretty well done. The lip-synching is mostly exact with the voices as well. The cut scenes were the best I’ve seen for a Sonic game so far, too bad all of the story elements and endings are so jumbled that one can only trust the “Last Story” ending. The sound effects were typical for a Sonic Adventure game and the music was in the tradition of Sonic Adventure 2. So if you like Soft Hair Metal, go buy the soundtrack.

In the end, Shadow the Hedgehog is an okay game. Not a great game or an innovative one, but one worth at least renting. If you are a Sonic fan, you might as well buy this one and complete all 300+ story paths. You’ll still get the same 10 fake endings, but its something to do until the next sonic game comes out for the consoles.

Pros: Choose your own mission per stage is interesting for the story path, Great cut scenes, no fishing, room full of Chao to attack, lots of action and speed.

Cons: Treasure hunting missions, bogus endings that only confuse the player, Alien weapons look too much like cancer, camera sometimes cumbersome, homing attack needs adjusted further, too few bosses that are often reused again and again.

When EA decided to create a marvel game and involve the word imperfect, they were not kidding. Despite my joy of brawlers with destructible environments, this one fell flat. The character controls were irritating, especially with the flying and aiming. Plus any game that has Magneto play like a wimpy old man is pretty much wrong on many levels.

For a guy with a BFA in Sequential Art, I am not a big fan of many decisions Marvel makes story wise. Be it Jean Grey’s bi-polar power range, Spider-man’s his clone saga, or when the X-men started fighting aliens instead of discrimination. Rise of the imperfects takes the war of the worlds approach as aliens visited earth over a hundred years ago, abducted a girl who physically and mentally better than anyone in existence, and stuck around for seeming to be no apparent reason. Then either the girl or one of her many clones broke out and ran off to New York City. Being the intelligent and wise corporate aliens they are, they sent millions upon millions of robots/aliens to New York to find her. Of course the quickest way to find a scared and confused girl in a power suit with armed energy weapons is to just swarm the city with UFOs and start brainwashing heroes into becoming glowing green villains. Also, despite being aliens with vast amounts of space bound bases across the galaxy, they put their main factory for the girl clones under New York City. And to add the final nail in the bad storyline, the head alien has created his own group of warriors called the imperfects. Most of them have been put through tragedy after tragedy by the head alien himself, so he could turn them into super-powered freaks.

The game play is cumbersome and uninspired. Moving around is difficult and irritating with inaccurate swinging and awkward flying movements. Fighting gets especially difficult, at random moments, the computer will take a successful attack and turn it into a mini cut scene where the player loses control over their character and the can easily be hit by the non-frozen computer characters. The bosses also seem to randomly use an instant kill move on the players. Controlling where the players throw something is also irritating, with the aim not working well. Though there is a variety in moves, they all pretty much do the same thing. Many of the characters also seem to be just slightly edited templates, so even though the character looks different, there is really nothing new game play wise after the 5th or 6th unlocked character.

Graphically, the game is all right to a degree. There seem to be a shortage to level design, so players tend to destroy the Daily Bugles sign several times in one night. As well as players will visit the same location over and over again. Plus many of the high-tech environments look pasted together and too simplistic period. The music is overdramatic, but forgettable.

Ignoring my rant above about the bad plotline, the game did little to link up any sense of chronology or explain why they traveled to five different locations inhabited by no one except for when the alien-bots decide to teleport in front of the hero. The hero may start fighting on the city’s rooftops, be thrashing in the basement of the Avengers Mansion, and the go for a showdown in the subway ruins.

As for unlockables, there are of course the standard play to unlock more characters that fight exactly like all of the others, intro movies for EA fictitious villain group, and creepily narrated versions of the first issues of Ultimate Fantastic Four and Ultimate X-Men. The comics are especially out of place, considering that the Ultimate line is non-canon for the regular Marvel universe. But then again, we can only hope that the Imperfects are considered non-canon and this will never appear in any comics ever.

The game has bad plot lines, mediocre environments, horrible controls that make Digimon World 4’s aiming functions seem world class, and the bitter taste of a rushed cinematically driven game. I’m not going to bother with a pros and cons on this one, but I will advise that this game should be a rental only. The only good thing is that despite its lack of everything, it maybe longer than Ultimate Spider-Man. But a short bit of fun is always better than a long migraine.

So far, there have been no horrible Spider-man games, aside from the game where he teamed up with the X-men to fight Arcade. The side-scrolling fighting games were good in the early to mid 90s, the 3D versions for the PSX were very well done, and the Spider-Man 2 Movie game was extremely well executed. So how could Ultimate Spider-man follow such past roster? Apparently very well.

The game allows not only game play as Spider-Man, but also Venom. They made the characters act and play differently to create a variety of game play and storytelling. Though the story mode is a little short, there are enough extras to make the game last much longer. After all, if there is a special event that requires one to beat up Boomerang, you know the game has to be good. I only wish the story mode was longer and they answered a little more of the questions they created, instead of throwing in a random villain to face and fight.

The controls are pretty smooth, but the lack of an auto-lock can make things a little difficult. Also, sometimes Spider-man appears not wanting to shoot any webs when falling from massive heights.

As for the graphics, they fit the game, comic, and mood very well. The Cel-shading is done perfectly and looks like an animated comic. Plus the inserted panels create add to this and hint the players on actions that may be hard to see from 3rd person.

The music was very well done and fit the image and mood of the game. I know a lot of people hate techno, but it is fast paced and fits for battles against gangers, races with Johnny Storm, and the ever popular stop that car. But I would not buy the soundtrack though, unless I plan on listening it while web-sling across town or doing other super hero feats.

Is this game worth buying? Absolutely. It is well designed, very fun to play, and full replay value with all of the extras present.

Pros: Good controls, nice graphics, fitting music, full of replay value.

Cons: Story mode a little too short, some parts of the story mode seemed thrown together, no auto-locking on enemies.

When it comes to superheroes, I never really considered the Hulk one. In fact, I still don’t even after playing this game. While he does have superpowers and fights in unbelievable battles, Dr. Banner spends more time running away and trying to find a cure for the Hulk inside him than fighting villains or trying to make the world somewhat better. Considering the Hulk’s power and lack of control, it is no wonder that military organizations are out to capture or even kill him. However, it is still fun as hell to run up walls, use buses as skateboards, and knock out people just my running.

The game starts out with Dr. Banner trying to find a way to destroy the Hulk and the emerging third persona growing inside him as well. Because of military action, his research is destroyed and he is left to start his quest from scratch. However, he does have a little help in this game. Dr. Banner’s friend and psychiatrist, Dr. Samson, is using subliminal messages to give the Hulk mission objectives so they have at least a chance at stopping the military and gaining information and equipment to aide in his goal. As with all Marvel games, you soon fight off large mechanical suits and even other Gamma poisoned people gifted with various superpowers.

The game play is simple, fun, and versatile. The actions flow better than those in the Spider-Man 2 Movie game. Having a list to upgrade and gain new moves also proves helpful as well. The controls are very responsive and the adjustable camera also makes the game much easier. And despite being “the strongest there is,” the game is actually difficult in spots unless the player thinks about what they are doing. But the excess in healing items does make the game easier and more enjoyable. While playing, you shouldn’t think “what would the Hulk do” but rather “what will actually work”. For a comparison of game play, think GTA with superpowers and the idea of stealing cars by picking them off the ground.

The Graphics are pretty good as well. The character design and dynamics seem on par. The humans seem generic and small, but it is hard to stand out next to a big green monster. Still, there is nothing special about the sound or music of the game. Nothing is inappropriate and in need of using one’s personal music, but there is nothing worth buying the soundtrack. That is, if a soundtrack for sale exists. If it had the piano music theme from the old television show, then it might be worth it.

To be honest, I have no gripes with the game. It’s a fun fight fest in various locations. I highly recommend this game for all players, unless they prefer games that follow the lead of whining pretty boys with no proactive bones in their body.

Pros: Fun full range rampage, good graphics, and nice difficulty that requires players to think before fighting.

Cons: Nothing of real interest in the sounds department.