Mirror's Edge review.

So, due to some technical issues I am having with my capture device (and my computer in general) I'm going to do a regular text review of Mirror's Edge, as opposed to the video review format I usually use.

Reality doesn't look this good..

Mirror's Edge is a platforming adventure like no other. As opposed to the tried and true 3D platformers like Prince of Persia, Mirror's edge features a true first-person perspective playstyle, where even the simple act of looking around with the camera literally changes the character actions.

The control scheme is also rather unique, and to begin with, it feels a little strange, using the left bumpers for jump and crouch/slide, with the right bumpers for attack and quick 180 turn, but by the end of the tutorial level, it starts to feel pretty natural.

Having some technical issues.

I'm presently having some technical problems. My computer is basically FUCKED.

A quick word, I've joined a band.

Ok, so I realise that it has been a little while since my last review, and some of you may be thinking: "HURRY THE FUCK UP" and I could surely understand that perspective.

Something I should probably share is that I have just recently joined a new band, and getting up to speed with all of their material requires a lot of my attention. They are a technical metal band, and the music is quite demanding! Be assured that I have not forgotten about my game review series, and will surely soon be uploading my next review. That being said, please understand that performing competently in the band is very important to me, and may go some way to explaining the lack of a recent upload.

The band is called "Blood Luxury", and you can find them on facebook HERE.

A design concept for a white band T-shirt

Viking: Battle For Asgard

Aha! It is here! As previously promised, here is my full video review for Viking: Battle for Asgard. The game is pure awesome and metal as metal can get without actually having a metal soundtrack. If there was any such thing as heavy metal music in Midgard, Skarin would be the god damn king.

Viking, the absence thereof

Ok! so, I know I promised a video review of Viking, and I am here to assure you, I still intend to do this! Unfortunately, I have been experiencing some technical difficulties with my computer, and I want you to know that I am working on a fix, and the review should be up soon, hopefully in the next day or so, and if we are extremely lucky, perhaps even by tonight.

So, please don't fret, your Viking review is coming soon! To those who might ask the question: "Hey, Colin, why are you reviewing old games, I'd be lucky to even find a copy at my local game store!" I answer: "I am reviewing games that deserve to be reviewed! Games that deserve your attention! Games that ought not be missed!"

So, the review is coming up soon, and many more to follow.

"Blades of Steel in either hand, it falls to me to save this land."

Shadows of the Damned

So yeah, Shadows of the Damned.
It's basically the video game equivalent of a B horror movie. You'll either love it or hate it, and your feelings may be entirely contingent on the art style and the writing, and voice acting.
Garcia comes across as a guy who takes himself way too seriously, and his girlfriend is clearly a straight up psychopath. Well, what else can you expect from a girl that you find in a dumpster?

Watch the vid :D

Quick update

So, I added a few content sites, the basic review content + some random funny stuff is up on http://kungfucolin.tumblr.com and and my full music catalogue is up on http://soundcloud.com/kungfucolin

Gaming with Mack

Mack is a friend from gamefaqs.com who is currently doing a series of videos on FPS: Gotham City Imposters. He talks at 100 miles an hour and is a fucking riot to listen to. You should check his shit out!

SSX 2012

Instead of freestylin' it, I actually wrote this whole review first. Considering the effort involved, I'm not sure I'm going to use that approach again, because honestly - although the information works quite well for the game, there is a definite difference in the audio - the sound of audio that is being read just has a completely different feel to it than the more spontaneous style, and not completely an improvement. It also makes any attempts at humour sound completely contrived (since they WOULD be completely contrived) so instead I just tend to avoid it - once again, taking something away from the overall style of the review. I'm planning on doing Shadows of the Damned next, maybe tomorrow, maybe the next day.. we'll see.

Sine Mora

My first XBLA review. I chose Sine Mora not only because it is new and fresh, but also because it represents the best of what is available on the arcade. Not only that, it is what you could call a TRUE arcade game at least stylistically, despite not actually existing in cabinet form - the game was designed from the ground up to play well on new technology and in the widescreen format.

Darksiders

Definitely one of my favourite games this gen. Excellent blend of puzzle and action, and the action itself is really really great. By the end of the game, your character has acquired a whole shitload of abilities and equipment, and the stakes continually escalate.

Did I also mention that this game is set DURING the apocalypse? That's fucking SWEET.

Vanquish

Vanquish is a fucking awesome game. The extremely fast pace is masterfully offset by the slowdown mechanic, basically letting you take the most difficult hair-trigger reflex situations, and turning them into something tactical. In this review, I use a little more slang, still trying to find a review style I'm comfortable with.

Nier Gestalt

Finally starting to get into a groove. Nier is an ARPG that will likely be long remembered, despite not actually getting much press. It's reasonably small for an open world game, but there are some really dramatically different styles of gameplay, and the boss battles themselves are really epic. A worthy entry into the 'hall of fame' titles I've chosen to review.

Rise of the Argonauts

ROTA is a bloody good RPG, with plenty of RP to the G. This was my second game review, and I tried to do a better job of matching the imagery to the commentary.

Wartech: Senko no Ronde

So, Wartech: SNR is a japanese title, a fusion of fighting game and shootemup sensibilities to create a unique one on one battle experience. If you are especially fond of shootemups, 'shmups' you will probably enjoy this game immensely.

Or, maybe you won't, and the crushing difficulty and campy storyline will grind your brain into a mush. Watch the vid.

Introduction

Ok, so the main reason I'm putting this together is for the shameless and tech-savvy reason of creating back links. ie: I consider youtube as my main outlet for my video reviews, and it just seems sort of responsible to try and collate that information into a blog page.

I'll try and keep wall-o-text to a minimum, which is to say I'm too damn lazy to type much. We'll see how it goes. You either know who I am or you don't, and I'm going to assume you don't for this next sentence:

I'm an unremarkable guy who likes to play music and video games, and when I'm especially enthusiastic, I like to play martial arts, too. The username kungfucolin has persisted for over 10 years now, and it is more of an inside joke that only a few people will get, but since the name has been around so long, I don't really want to change it, although if I were to REname myself to try and reflect something current about my personality or characteristics, I would probably call myself: "The bearded gamer" or "The fat guitarist" so yeah, you get my drift - not much kung fu involved here, it's just the name I chose a long time ago, in another life.

So yeah, catch me at http://www.youtube.com/kungfucolin or whatever.