Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise

Viva Pinata sounds like a strange name for a video game but what is even stranger is the premise. You basically create a garden to attract pinatas in hopes to breed them and attract more. Even stranger then the name and premise of this game is how you will get so wrapped up in your garden and addicted to getting new Pinatas (just ask my wife).

Trouble in Paradise is supposed to be a sequel to the first Viva Pinata but I see it more as an expansion pack. In TIP there are a slew of new Pinatas and gardens to cultivate. Some new gardens take you to different environments like a snowy place and desserty place. Along with these new climates there are new Pinatas to go along with them. After that the game is basically the same as the first.

Its not a bad thing that they didn't change things but there are few things that still annoy, for example the camera. I would enjoy this game so much more if you could zoom way out and get a full look at your garden and be able to travel anywhere in it quickly. Instead you have to scroll all the way across your garden to smack a bad guy just to go all the way back across to water a tree.

Graphics and sound are again the same as the first game. My wife popped the game in for the first time and I said to her "Isn't this exactly what we already have?" But to her credit she probably says the same to me every year I buy a new Madden. Anyway the controls work pretty well other then navigating to far corners of your garden.

By far though the best part of this game is the Pinata collecting and trading. Its so satisfying to get a new variant or discover a new species. The first time you see a new Pinata visit your garden is always exciting. Theres also always a sense of glee when Seedos drops you a mystery seed. So don't let the silly nature and cartoony graphics push you away because this game in many ways is a diamond in the rough.

Pros: Great family game

Collecting is fun

New Pinatas and gardens

Cons: Camera issues

Professor Pester

As a Christian playing this game its great, theres nothing to worry about. No swearing, violence or anything of the sort. The only thing is that it can be hard to put down sometimes but as long as time limits are monitored there should be no problem.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Would Jesus Play this Game: Yes

NBA Live 2009

Another basketball season is here and that means another NBA Live game. Usually I am a fan of the 2k sports games, especially when it comes to basketball. Although I picked this game up because of its 30.00$ price tag on black Friday and so far it has been a good investment.

The gameplay is really nice, the controls pretty much work like they should except I think the juke stick is a little out of whack. There are some issues with your teams A.I. for example getting rebounds and loose balls. But overall I don't really think I have lost a game because of that. The opponent A.I. can be dumb sometimes but mostly is pretty tough. Gone are the days of just driving straight to hole and dunking it every time, now you are forced to run plays or pass the ball around (like any good real team does).

This year is back with the dunk contest and 3 point contest. There is also a world basketball competition thing. I found that these modes are great distractions and are really fun to play with another person. Online multiplayer features a 5 on 5 game where every person on the court is controlled by an actual person, sounds good on paper but very difficult to do. I know I have mentioned this in previous reviews but always be careful letting kids get online just because of they offensive crazy things that people say.

Overall EA has gotten some things right this year and I think they have done a great job on this game. The A.I. might not be where it should but its close enough to where you won't be throwing your controller at the wall or not playing because its too easy.

Pros: Graphics are smooth

Lots of game modes

More realistic than previous Live game

Cons: Load times are brutal

Questionable A.I.

On line weirdos

From a christian perspective this is .... basketball. Nothing to be worried about here unless cheerleaders that dance like zombies are to risque for you. This is a fun game to play with anyone in the family and you might not ever stop playing the 3 point competition.

Rating: 8 out 10

Would Jesus Play this Game: Yes

Lego Indiana Jones

Who would have ever thought that Lego would be making really fun video games? Not really being a Star Wars fan I played the Lego star wars game and I had a lot of fun with it. That being said my hopes were high for Indiana Jones because I enjoyed the movies as a child. The Lego games have a really fun kind of humor where they poke fun at the movie but also stay true to the plot. All of the iconic movie scenes are here and even though you know whats coming next (assuming you have seen the movies) you still want to see it because you know something silly is going to happen.

The gameplay is basically beating up Lego bad guys and then collecting a bunch of Lego pieces and completing some puzzles along the way. Collecting pieces and building stuff is lots of fun and I find it to be rewarding and it also makes you play the game over to get everything you couldn't get with the default characters. I think that makes Lego games fun and really extends the replay value of the game. Some of the puzzles are annoying and driving stuff is a pain in the rear. I found myself mostly punching bad guys instead of shooting them mostly because I think the aiming system is way off.

Multiplayer is where Lego games are the most fun. Nothing is like collecting Lego blocks and solving puzzles with a friend. That being said playing alone can be a downer sometimes. Your own screen partner is constantly dying and is mostly useless when it comes to fighting baddies. You will probably find yourself doing a puzzle and jumping a million times to get somewhere just to switch characters and the guy you were just controlling jump off the place you just spent an hour trying to get to. Read that a few times and you will understand how frustrating that can be.

The tone and overall nature of this game is playful and definitely directed toward children, although I think its suitable for any kind of gamer. You will find yourself humming along with the classic Indy themes and laughing at classic moments of the movies. Playing the game a second time with any character is fun and doesn't feel like a chore. If you enjoy Indiana Jones or Legos or even just a fun clean game then this one is for you.

Pros: A fun light hearted game

Collecting is great

Silly classic scenes

Cons: Frustrating partner A.I.

Gun wielding is wonky

Jumping is painful

From a Christian point of view this really is a great game, there is nothing to worry about here. The gun shooting is not really violent because its just Lego guys and there is no blood. Unless you have a problem with the Indiana Jones movies than you should be alright with this game. Its really easy to pick and put down, it's not necessary to invest hours and hours in this game.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Would Jesus Play This Game: Yes

Madden 2009

Let me start off by saying that I am huge fan of Madden, not as big as some but I play about 1 or 2 games a day. That being said I will try not to be biased during this review. The content in this game is great for anyone, there is no cursing, killing or zombie cheerleaders in this one. As long as you don't think that "Foolsball is the devil" you should be good letting your kids play this one.

From a gameplay standpoint this game is great. This years Madden is much faster then previous years. For the most part the controls are great, I think that the hit stick still needs some work and I dont really like the hit or miss highlight stick. Running the ball is pretty tough if your using this years new feature the "Madden I.Q." When you start the game you go through a kind of madden test to see how good you are at certain things. Lets just say that I think my 2 year old daughter could get a perfect on the rushing test. This means that your rushing offense is going to be so jacked up that it is almost impossible to get over 100 yards in a single game. I'm torn with this though, I somewhat like it because it makes it more realistic but it is also annoying because sometimes you just want to run like O.J. and feel good about yourself (pride thing I guess). Anyway for the most part gameplay here is tight.

I love the franchise mode but I'm not really sure why. Its very bare boned and limited in things you can do during the regular season and especially the off-season. But for a franchise junkie like me I can't stop playing it. On the other hand I hate the superstar feature, controlling one player is lame especially because you can not call your own plays. On-line is fun but tough and I wouldn't let my kids get on there just because of other peoples potty mouths.

Graphically this game is very nice. Animations run smooth and there are a bunch of new ones. The commentators are okay the first 5 games you hear them but after that you can pretty much quote what they will say next. The music in the game is annoying but I just like to turn off the default music and put on the NFL films music (much classier).

Pros: It's Football

Gameplay and Graphics are the tightest to date

Great for anyone

Cons: Bare bones franchise mode

Comeback A.I. is brutal

On-line weirdos

From a Christian perspective this game is harmless. The only thing to be concerned about is its addictive nature and the online wackos. Like I said in the review unless you think football is evil this game is great.

Rating: 10 out of 10

Would Jesus Play this Game: Yes

NBA Ballers, Chosen One

So it has been a while since I posted and I must apologize. I experienced the "red ring of death" so I was sort of out of commission for a little while. I was so excited to get my 360 back and jump back into things. Then I played this game. NBA Ballers. Chosen One. This is the first ballers title I have played so I didn't know what to expect. I was kind of thinking that it would be more or less like NBA Street. Well I was wrong. Where NBA Street does so many things right and fun this game does so many things wrong and evil. On more than a couple occasions I felt myself getting so frustrated by this stupid game.

Lets start off with the controls, probably one of the biggest issues for me. They make no sense, the button layout is confusing, there is no way of telling what move you're going to do next. I couldn't even perform a level three dunk because I had no idea how to do it (which put a halt to my story mode progress). The menus are terrible, which is not usually a big deal but they are just funky.

Game play wise Ballers is slow, clunky, and unresponsive. The story mode is weird and seeing live action cut scenes to introduce the episodes was actually kind of awkward. I played through a couple episodes and I kept unlocking the same things every time I won a game, and you are supposedly able to get like jets and cars but I must have missed them.

Graphics are sometimes okay, they won't blow you away by any means. I find it annoying when a game is so over the top and then they try to make the game look so real. Thats why I love NBA Street it kind of embraced its cartooniness, it knew it was over the top and it was actually fun to play. While playing Ballers I just kept having the feeling of "why am I playing this" there is just no worth in this game. One last thing there are the most obscure and non street ball players in this game. You will find yourself playing against NBAers that you probably never even heard of. In one episode entitled "The legend of Larry Bird" I thought I was going to face the Bird himself, instead I get a lame 3 point challenge.

Pros: There are achievements in this game

Cons: Everything else

Other then being a bad game there is nothing here offensive. Its a hip-hop inspired, get all the cool stuff you can, street ball game. Just pass this one up and go get NBA Street.

Rating: 1 out of 10

Would Jesus play this game? Yes, for about five minutes.

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass

Phantom Hourglass is the first Zelda game to hit the DS. The game is a sequel to it's cell shaded partner on the Game Cube, Wind Waker. Fans of Wind Waker will be familiar with the style of game and the characters. Going into this game I was very nervous, I feared the controls. You control everything with the stylus and touch screen. I was convinced that this just wouldn't work, until I played it...

The controls in this game are perfect. They fit this game to a tee, it's a lot of fun controlling young Link with the touch screen. To attack you just tap the screen on the monster you're attacking, it's that simple. Moving around feels smooth, sailing is fun and throwing the boomer rang is really neat. Being able to draw on the map on the top screen is a nice addition, it makes for dungeon searching a bit easier.

Graphics in this game are just great, Phantom Hourglass pushes the DS to it's limits. Scenery is unique, dungeons aren't repetitive, and the ocean is vast. Creatures and bosses are oddly cool looking and the whole cell shaded art thing really works. Sounds in the game are fun and the music is stellar. The plot is another great story in the legend of Zelda.

This game is fun to play and will keep you busy for a while. For any Zelda fan this is one you've got to play.

Pros: Great Graphics
Great game play
Come on, it's Zelda

Cons: May cause you to become addicted

From the Christian perspective you don't have anything to worry about playing this game. This is one that both kids and adults will enjoy. There's some monster killing but other than that no language or other questionable stuff. And hey whats wrong with a little monster killing any way, right?

Rating: 10 out of 10

Would Jesus play this game? Yes

Skate

For so long Tony Hawk has ruled the skateboarding video game genre, now we're finally getting some competition. Skate is a lot different then the competition, it takes a more realistic approach to the sport. Where Tony Hawk goes the way of huge combos and over the top skating, Skate involves doing things that you would actually see people doing in real life.
First let's start with the graphics, they are great. The world looks really cool, it's very detailed and feels like it's alive. The skateboarding animations are very well done. Doing an ollie or grind or even when you bail, every thing looks different and the physics are great. I personally liked having everything done with in game graphics, for example in Tony Hawk you get skate videos that are actual demo videos but in Skate real life skaters' videos are virtual. I think that this is something that immerses you in the world of Skate. I've got to say that the very first scene of the game is really funny and entertaining to watch.

Now let's talk about game play, it takes some getting used to. As a player of Tony Hawk it took a while to get used to the control scheme of Skate. Everything is done with the analog sticks, when you want to ollie you've got to move the stick a certain way then move it another way to do tricks and so on. While this is frustrating at some points it is kind of cool once you get the hang of it. This game really takes some skill to pull off big combos and tricks. Missions in the game are just like Tony hawk games in which you do certain tricks or compete. I did like the filming missions and the film editor thats in the game. Although I didn't do much with the editor I like being able to cut and edit segments of my run and even add effects. One thing that was constantly annoying was not being able to get off my board and running into curbs or walls (why can't I just hop off and switch directions?).

Multi player is just the same old skate boarding game multi player, which isn't a bad thing, it's just stale. The customization in the game is really nice, just about everything about your skater can be changed. Boards and clothes can also be edited which makes it another thing that immerses you into the world. The soundtrack is nice and the sound effects are very realistic, theres nothing like hearing your bones crunch as you bail a grind or get hit by an oncoming vehicle.

Pros: Innovative controls
Great graphics
Unique experience

Cons: Huge learning curve
Frustrating controls at times
Stale multi player

As a Christian theres not much to be scared about here. There are a few curse words here and there buts its no GTA. And unless your worried about being subjected to your skater falling and breaking lots of bones then you should be fine. If you're a fan of Tony Hawk then you should try this game, if you're more of a beginner then stick with Tony Hawk.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Would Jesus play this game? Yes