If you have enjoyed the Current Pixar CGI masterpiece WALL-E in the theater, you can now also enjoy the game in the comfort of your own home! We here at the Pickering Public Library have copies of the game for all current generation gaming systems. And don't forget, you can place a hold on the game if all of our copies are checked out!
Wii
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Xbox360
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Playstation 3
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The drought of new titles for you gamers seems to be lifting with a monsoon-like deluge of game goodness. We just received a massive amount of new titles and copies, so you should check out the following list:
- Wii
- Super Smash Bros. Brawl
- Mario & Sonic at the Olympics
- Kung Fu Panda
- The Incredible Hulk
- Death Jr.:Root of Evil
- Mario Strikers:Charged
- Lego Indiana Jones:The Original Adventures
- Prince Caspian
- Xbox360
- Grand Theft Auto IV (more copies!)
- The Incredible Hulk
- Viva Pinata:Party Animals
- Ratatouille
- Quake Wars:Enemy Territory
Well, we now have Grand Theft Auto 4 here at the library. Unfortunately we only have it for Xbox 360 right now, but we have ordered it for PS3 for those of you with that system.
Remember, if there isn't a copy checked in right now, you can always put a hold on the game and you will get your turn with it eventually.
Furious sword and sorcery action, rocking tunes, and, well, making a town for big-headed weirdos. All this and more at your pickering public library.
To start with, Conan has arrived for both PS3 and Xbox360.
Take on the roll of Conan as you hack, slash, loot, and generally make a nuisance of yourself through the world of Hyboria. This game is pretty bloody, so it is not for the kids, there is an M rating on it for a reason!
This marks the second PS3 game in our collection. Hopefully more will be trickling in over the next couple of months.
Next up on our list is Guitar Hero Encore:Rock the 80s. With such monsters of hair metal as Dio and Limozeen, you can rock out with your Flock (of Seagulls) out!
Finally for the Wii owners in the crowd, we have My Sims, a simplified version of The Sims for PC. Direct the lives of bobble headed inhabitants of a town. Build the town, build the beds, build it all with a (literal) wave of the hand!
That's what's new with games. Come in and check out some of our other titles as well, and don't forget you can put a hold on games if they are checked out. When the game comes back in, you will get a call to pick it up.
Wow did we get a giant pile of games in this week, so many that I am going to resort to the magic of the bulleted list in order to draw attention to the sheer magnitude of great titles now available. BEHOLD THE POWER OF THE BULLETED LIST!
Playstation 2
- Teen
- The Simpsons Game
- Naruto:Uzumaki Chronicles 2
- .hack//G.U. Vol.3 Redemption
- Warriors Orochi
- High School Musical:Sing It!
- Junior
- Digimon World Data Squad
- Hot Wheels: Beat That!
- Surfs Up
- Metropolismaina 2
- Cars: Mater-National Championship
Xbox360
- Adult
- Stranglehold
- Beautiful Katamari
- Kengo: Legend of the Nine
- Vampire Rain
- TimeShift
- Kane and Lynch:Dead Men
- Mass Effect
- Call of Duty 4:Modern Warfare
Wii Games
- Adult
- Pool Party
Mass Effect
ESRB Rating:M
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Mass Effect, there are many, many, MANY reviews of it online already, but hey, I have to make blog entries anyway, so why not add my 2 cents to the mix?
The best way I can sum this up is that I have played for about 4 hours, and even now the fact that I am sitting here at work and not playing fills me with a rage that I fear will lead to a brain aneurysm. The game is awesome, the conversation system is everything it is promised to be, and I care about discovering the story, not just getting to the next group of npcs that I need to shoot in the face.
The annoying technical issues mentioned in other reviews are a bit of a distraction, but they pale with the high quality of voice acting, story, and "world" elements that draw you into the game. I care about the people I talk to, and want to hear their stories, from the floating jellyfish prophet, to the hazard suited ammonia breathing banker.
One thing that really impressed me is that Bioware took pains to include humans from diverse backgrounds and ethnicities in the story, not just White North American types, and even more impressive, these ethnic groups are people, not cardboard caricatures.
Combat is a bit of a trick to learn at first, but once you understand the "rules" then it becomes a fairly simple process.
This game was everything I had hoped it would be, and I give it my highest rating, one galactic singularity of mass up!
We don't have it in quite yet at the library, but we do have it on order. You can put a hold on it through our online catalogue. No holds on it when I wrote this, so be first in line to get this great game.
Splinter Cell: Double Agent
ESRB Rating:M
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Sam Fisher continues his adventures in this third installment of the infiltration Splinter Cell Series.
This review pertains to the xbox360 version, which I have played. There are actually two versions of this game, with the Xbox360, Playstation 3 and PC versions differing significantly from the Playstation 2,Xbox, Gamecube and Wii version.
Plot wise, Sam Fisher is infiltrating a domestic terrorist Cell after the death of his daughter who is killed by a drunk driver. Don't want to reveal too much, so moving on to gameplay.
The game is beautiful, with well thought out levels that provide good background and many options when sneaking around.
I found the game fairly difficult, even on the "Easy" setting, this is definitely for gamers who really enjoy the subtle approach, if shooting is more your thing, try HALO or Call of Duty series.
Parents, this game is NOT for kids, or even younger teens. IT is rated M for the violence, and there is a lot of violence, including a fairly disturbing scene where you have a choice of executing a prisoner, who has been severely beaten. There is a moral choice there, but it is for a more mature crowd.
While this is not my kind of game, it is well done, and worth checking out if you like spying and sneaking.
I give it 4 nightvision visors!
Gears of War
ESRB Rating:M
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Well this game is older so most of you probably know about it, but for those who don't as well as parents checking things over for their kids here is my review:
Gears of War is a fairly straightforward shooter with one special "twist": Cover is vital in this game. If you aren't in cover you die, quickly. This is not a last minute addition, but the levels, controls and gameplay are designed around this feature. This makes for a more tactical slant to fights, especially as you have a squad of friends to back you up during fights.
Graphically the game shows off what the Xbox360 is capable of, with great looking character models and environments to fight through.
The boss fights are imaginative and different, leading to memorable encounters.
The voice acting and portrayals of the characters is also well done, with my favourite being Augustus Cole, aka "The Cole Train", who has some of the best dialogue lines.
The plot leaves something to be desired, with some very inexplicable moments; "Why are we doing this? Who is this guy? WHATS GOING ON?" were some of the things shouted at my TV screen while playing through. This was something of a distraction for me as it was jarring to just end up in a place for no reason whatsoever.
This game is definitely not for kids, there is a lot of blood and gore, as well as some very harsh language. Parents, you have been warned, sorry kids.
I give it 5 Gears for technical aspects, but 2 for somewhat incomprehensible story.
Bioshock
ESRB rating:M
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Welcome to Rapture! The freaky underwater Art-deco "Utopia" that is now filled with a horde of mutant "splicers" flying death helicopter-bots and enough "Big Daddies" to make you quake in fear.
I have put about 16 hours into this game since I got it on Tuesday and it lived up to all the hype and expectation (on the Xbox360 at least.)
The atmosphere is great, the art-deco Ayn Rand inspired world of Rapture is done to such high quality and with attention to detail that you lose yourself in it. The constant loudspeaker announcements and the audio diaries you find throughout bring creepy audio to match the visuals. My favorite so far is an engineer telling a doctor to heat his pipes, the idiom and use of language is amazing.
The story is really enjoyable with a couple of really good twists. I won't even hint at what they are, but trust me, it is really, er, well, twisted!
So, if you haven't bought this game yet, borrow it from us.
(Sadly we haven't received it with the first load of Adult games, but hopefully soon, keep checking the catalogue!)
5 out of 5 Big Daddies.
Dead Rising
ESRB Rating:M
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Dead Rising, the story of a reporter Frank "I've covered wars" West and a mall brimming with zombies. This was the game that convinced me to buy my first Xbox360, and kept me coming back despite multiple RROD.
The great thing about this game is fighting zombies, with anything you can find in a mall. Want to stab them with a knife? Bah! Uncreative! Instead stick a painting over their head and smash them with a guitar.
The story is pretty good, with enough mini-boss fights and objectives to break up the zombie slaughter. In fact you don't actually need to kill any zombies, you can wait out the three days of the games timer in the security room waiting for rescue if you like.
The save system is a concern for some people, as you only have one save and the mission timer, requiring you to be at certain places by certain times means you can save and leave yourself with not enough time to get to the next mission. I personally did not have a problem with this, as you can restart the game at the same experience level and try again, but it could get frustrating if you have progressed far in the game and have to start from the beginning.
A warning, if you do not have a big screen TV prepare for some eye strain as you try and make out the tiny tiny text.
I give this game 4 zombies out of 5.
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