Today is the day the Xbox  fanboy died.    The term “fanboy” will never be uttered again here on SDF.  Why?  Uncharted 2 has destroyed the Xbox fanboy forever.   They no longer have any ground to walk on, no standing in society and no argument to cling to.  They are finished.  Destroyed.  Mutilated.  Anyone who chooses not to play this game, no matter the reason, is an Xbox fanatic.

The dawn of a new era begins with Uncharted 2.   Never before has the gaming world seen such a complete package that both Naughty Dog and Sony have delivered.  We here at SDF don’t even know why this game should even go through something as trivial and petty as a “review process.”    It’s perfect.  There are no flaws in this game.  To deny that makes you an Xbox fanatic.

Sony started a revolution with Killzone 2, they marched onward with the Slim Effect™ and now, with Uncharted 2, the Sony PS2-era global domination is back.  The year of the PS3 may be drawing to a close but Sony is only getting started.   Disagree?  Then you are an Xbox fanatic.

Uncharted 2 Score Breakdown:
Graphics:  perfect / 10
Sound: perfect / 10
Gameplay: perfect / 10
Free Online:  perfect / 10

Overall:  10/10 (not an average)

After a solid week of playtime I feel the Forza 3 Demo is ready for review.  I’d like to start off with the bad because I want this review will be generally positive and free of bias.

The Bad:
- The graphics have not been upgraded at all from Forza 2.  In fact I had to double check and make sure I didn’t download the Forza 2 demo by mistake.
- The UI is actually worse in Forza 3  as it’s much, much more cumbersome and takes awhile to get used to.
- The driving model is far more arcadey than I’d like for a sim game and it felt very stiff and sluggish.  Imagine playing Rad Racer for the NES but all the cars were underwater and it looked like a Saturday morning cartoon.
- The much hyped “tire physics” left a lot to be desired.  And by “a lot to be desired” i mean non-existent.
- Only 8 cars on screen all of which have very, very low polygon counts.
- Aliasing and shimmering across the board.  Think Forza 2 but with a more stale color palette.
- Sounds are muddled and not realistic at all.

The Good:
+ It was free.

The Conclusion:
Perhaps the final game will come with an entirely new graphics, physics and sound engine before it’s released.   If not, Turn 10 has still built a very competent Xbox 1-era sim racer but I’m not sure if that’s enough anymore.  With GT5:Prologue (PS3) and NFS:Shift (PS3) out right now it’s hard to even justify the free download.

SDF Score:  1/10

In this day and age there are very few things worth noting.   No one expects miracles anymore, only the normality we face each and every day.  Well today, on this day, Killzone 2 has changed this, not just for me, but for everyone.  Gamer, non-gamer, young and old Killzone 2 will leave an immense and earth shattering  impact in it’s wake.

I can only think of three historical events that will forever be passed down through the generations.  The creation of the universe, the evolution of mankind, and the release of Killzone 2.   You will forever remember where you were this day and will share this moment with your children and grandchildren.  There will be school textbooks and college courses that cover all aspects of this game.  Today will become a holiday celebrated across the world.  There is no going back folks, things have changed forever.

Let us not forget one other aspect of this truly historic event.  The day it truly began for the Playstation 3.  It is now the Bible of video games.  To call it anything less than that is a disservice to both the Playstation and Killzone 2.  The tides have turned my friends, make sure you are riding the right wave in.

These are my impressions based on playing through the first level and I may have a full review up someday.  Though I’m not sure how I could possibly give this game a review score.  Even a 10/10 would be an injustice to what this game truly represents.

Stay tuned to SDF for more information on this historic event.

It doesn’t seem all that long ago that Peter Molyneux was perfoming his song-and-dance routine in front of a mob of lapdog journalists, talking up the wonders of heroes aging in realtime, a world that reacts to the players choices, and growing trees from acorns. Fast forward to 2004, and we were left with was perhaps one of the greatest disappointments of the past generation, second only to Halo 2. Instead of a grand, lush world to explore, we were stuck on roads. The main story was absurdly short, with dramatic encounters and whole chunks of the world chopped out at the last minute. Eager gamers were left stunned by the sheer smallness of it all, and lashed out at Molyneux himself, forcing him to make a public apology.

I had once entertained the idea that perhaps if Fable had been made on a more powerful platform (at that time, it was PC) instead of being constrained by the relatively meager Xbox hardware it would have fulfilled at least some of the potential Project Ego had. Now, four years and a generation later, I find myself thinking the same thing about Fable 2, both in terms of it’s status as second most disappointing title of the generation behind Halo 3, and wondering what could’ve been achieved on the vastly more powerful PlayStation 3.

Fable 2 is a textbook example of what happens when ideas are larger than the media format used to express them. From the poor visuals, constrained world, and technical shortcomings it’s difficult to decide exactly where the blame for Fable 2 lies, with the incompetent developers at Lionhead, or with the underpowered, last-gen media constrained Xbox 360. Installed on the Xbox 360′s hard drive (if you’re lucky enough to have any room on that $100 20GB HDD, that is) Fable 2 takes up only 6.8GB of space. Just indulge for a moment, and imagine if they had a Blu-Ray disc with a full 25GB to play with. Close your eyes and imagine the textures, so real you might reach out and try to touch the screen in disbelief. Let the soaring sounds of 7.1 lossless audio fill your ears and lift your soul. Now wake up.

Glitches and game-stopping bugs pop up left and right. Forums are rife with complaints about broken quests, graphical problems, and general malaise. Just opening the ingame menu is a stuttering, nausea-inducing experience. Technically the game is a mess at best, at worst it may actually be a danger to you. The Xbox 360′s DVD drive is working overtime on this game, so much so that several times I feared the disc might break apart, causing injury or death. Additionally, the decibel level put out by the drive when playing Fable 2 may cause hearing damage, so be sure you have earplugs and sit at least 15 ft. away from the console at all times. Here at SDF your health and well-being is a major concern to us, and I could not in good conscience recommend playing Fable 2 with anything less than a sheet of bulletproof glass between you and the console (you might consider investing in a pair of nice safety goggles as well, one can never be too cautious when dealing with such poorly made hardware).

With respect to the actual features of the game, once again Peter Molyneux’s inflated sense of self-importance gets the best of him. You may recall the dramatic and tantalizing revelation of one “innovation” after another, all seemingly poised to revolutionize the gaming landscape as we knew it. Fool me once Peter, shame on you. Fool me twice… well, I wasn’t fooled this time. He’s as full of hot air as the space inside the Xbox 360′s cheap plastic casing, only his hot air comes out the front instead of the back (he’s also guaranteed to RROD).

The much ballyhooed dog companion is little more than an annoying device to point out “hidden” treasures, even when they’re in plain sight of the player. This should tell you just the kind of audience Fable 2 is made for; dimwitted man child Xbots and actual children who need the obvious pointed out to them. There’s never any emotional attatchment to the dog, so you won’t really care when he’s killed in the end. Whoops, was that a spoiler? Sorry about that. You can bring him back to life though, so don’t worry. Damn, that was another spoiler. Sorry again.

The highly anticipated and ultimately highly gimped co-op feature ended up being more a source of discontent among players than enjoyment, who were angered over being promised one thing and given another. Originally a friend was supposed to be able to bring their unique hero into your game world and quest with you with their own clothing, weapons, and look. What we got was downgraded to being able to select from a set of premade characters and join in as a generic henchmen. Your co-op partner is also denied their own dog because of “framerate issues” according to IGN. The Xbox 360 can’t handle two dogs onscreen at once before being brought to it’s knees? What generation is this again?

The shallow sim-like social aspects are much the same as the previous game, i.e. they’re a waste of time. You can influence the poorly-modeled copy/pasted NPCs’ perception of you in the most simple and moronic ways; fart at them, give them a ‘thumbs up’, etc… you can woo a spouse in about ten minutes. It took me all of that ten minutes to get completely bored of it. There’s also a crude economic element to the game – you can buy property and rent it out, or buy and sell items to try and make a profit – again much the same as in the original Fable, and just as boring to get involved in. What is new is that now your ingame hero can earn money even when your Xbox 360 is turned off. I haven’t turned my console on for weeks since I’ve last played the game, so should I ever find reason to turn it on again I’ll have a fortune.

Visually the game looks eerily reminiscient of it’s older Xbox cousin, with low resolution textures everywhere, polygon-starved NPCs, and flat lighting. Sometimes there are shadows, sometimes there aren’t. Even with all the compromises Lionhead had to make to get the game running on the overheating Xbox 360 hardware, the framerate still manages to drop time and time again, even when playing the silly minigame jobs where it’s only the main character onscreen. I won’t even get into the animation. Let me just say the first time I dove into the opaque polygon plane crudely representative of water, I thought the game stalled for a few moments and some frames of animation had been skipped. Nope, that’s just the way it was animated. Just to compare it with a game in a similar vein on PlayStation 3, the upcoming PS3 exclusive White Knight Chronicles outclasses Fable 2′s visuals in every way, with a true four-player online mode to boot.

Double the graphical fidelity, double the number of players online. This seems to be a recurring theme.

I won’t go into describing the succession of events that loosely approximates a “story” in Fable 2 (calling it a story would be an insult to geniuses like Kojima), not out of a philanthropic desire to let you, the reader, experience it’s highs and lows with virgin expectations, but because it was so utterly forgettable I can’t recall a single thing about it.

Ultimately Fable 2 is just the latest in a line of Microsoft-funded first party efforts that fail to live up to the high standards set by Sony and the PlayStation 3. Failing to even live up to the 2001 promises of Project Ego, it has left gamers angry, confused, and disappointed. What will it take for an Xbox 360 game to live up to next-generation expectations? The answer is that it will take next-generation hardware, and the Xbox 360 doesn’t cut it. For all of you who purchased Fable 2 before reading this review and were left with a hollow feeling upon realizing that you’ve been taken by Peter Molyneux once again, there is a small consolation coming in the form of a downloadable island to visit that they couldn’t fit on the retail DVD. Called Knothole Island, you’ll be able to travel to the snowy land and make the same expressions at the same copy/pasted NPCs, get a few new outfits you won’t be able to use in co-op, and button mash your way through the same enemies from the regular game, all for the bargain price of $10.

SDF Score (Not an average) – 1/10

A few weeks ago, Sony Defense Force had the pleasure to entertain an opportunity of a lifetime. We were personally invited to Kojima’s luxurious resort in the mountain village of Nasu, Japan in order to play through the entire final version of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. Sound incredible enough? Wait until you actually play through the game for yourself when it releases on store shelves on June 12, 2008.

Before we embarked on our adventure, we were a bit skeptical of how Metal Gear Solid 4 would turn out; after all, Sony Defense Force is world-renowned for its critical eye regarding the gaming industry – Sony included. MGS4 is a title that has received numerous delays and is releasing after Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3 failed to live up to our high expectations. Would MGS4 live up to the hype and deliver a ground breaking title we’ve been waiting years for?…

With this in mind, we kept an unbiased and critical perspective when we checked into the main Konami offices that boasted a beautiful Zen garden for our introductory get-together. The check in process was fairly awkward – we had been informed that we needed to change our clothes to something more comfortable. Konami provided us with silk pyjamas which would be our attire for the entire duration of our three day excursion. After being fitted for our proper playthrough garbs, we now had the chance to meet the famous Hideo Kojima. When we walked into his office, he sat atop a throne of gold and was currently in the process of deep meditation as the Metal Gear Solid 4 Soundtrack played in the background. Never wanting to disrespect a master at work, we quietly made our way out of his office when Kojima abruptly eased our fears and told us to stay. Four personal female assistants then carried Kojima off of his throne and placed him on a couch clothed in leopard skin. We had never been so amazed in our lives. Kojima resembled a deity.

After Sony Defense Force exchanged a few comments with Kojima, we were then whisked away to our resort hotels which overlooked a relaxing volcanic hot springs. However, very little time was actually spent in our hotel room as we spent our entire allotted time to devote strictly to MGS4, which we played on a huge movie theater sized projection screen accompanied by full 7.1 surround sound speakers that provided the amazing sounds and score in uncompressed lossless audio while one of Kojima’s beautiful female assistants fellated us during our playthrough (we never realized just how friendly Japanese culture truly was).

But enough of the discussion about our trip (I’m sure you’re jealous enough as is), let’s discuss the actual game of Metal Gear Solid 4. Here at Sony Defense Force, we’re not prone to projecting exaggerated comments about videogames. However, there are times when blanket praise is simply unavoidable. The greatness of Kojima’s latest installment in the Metal Gear Solid franchise cannot be faithfully represented without hyperbole: Simply put, MGS4 represents the greatest leap in gaming the industry will ever see. It’s a title that represents such a tectonic shift in the way gamers and critics will look at games that they will no longer be perceived as titles that only children play casually; rather, they will be looked at in the same respect as some of the greatest movies, novels, and artistic compositions. Unlike lesser titles such as Halo 2.5 and Gears of War that look and play as though they were catered towards children with attention deficit disorder, currently on rehab, and huge fans of the “Insane Clown Posse”, Metal Gear Solid 4 represents true cinematic quality that can be appreciated by the sophisticated gamer. Halo 2.5 and Gears of War could only wish to be likened to B action movies, while MGS4 is an oscar worthy performance that stands up against among the best that Hollywood can produce. At times it’s action packed, and at others it’s incredibly touching. You will most certainly cry a few times throughout your playthrough.

Graphically, it goes without saying that this game is only possible on the vastly superior Playstation 3 hardware. The game is packed with so much content that a 50 GB Blu-Ray disc was barely able to contain its greatness. When playing through the game, I was repeatedly reminded that Next-Gen not only starts with the Playstation 3, but it also only truly starts with Metal Gear Solid 4. The Xbox 360, in comparison, seems so outdated that it almost reminds me of the Nintendo Wii. What Metal Gear Solid 4 excels at is conveying an emotional experience through the high quality character models and animation. No other game features such stunningly high polygon representations of its cast and Kojima has certainly pushed boundaries in terms of animation both in-game and during cutscenes. One fear of many fans is that the game would not feature diverse locations and settings. This is definitely not the case, as you will travel from the Middle East to Eastern Europe, South America, and yes, Shadow Moses with each location remaining fresh and unique.

Similarly, the soundtrack also breaks new ground with compositions written by Harry Gregson-Williams and Nobuko Toda that rival any of the greatest Hollywood productions. Luckily you will also get to enjoy these tracks in uncompressed, lossless format which is afforded by the superior Blu-Ray technology that is standard with the vastly superior Playstation 3 hardware. The only way to experience MGS4 is with a proper surround sound setup.

In terms of gameplay, Metal Gear Solid 4 sets a new standard for action games. The game is brilliantly paced, and every scenario the title throws at you seems distinct and refreshing. Long moments of intimate, more stealth based scenarios conclude with incredibly large battles. The game also offers substantial variability in terms of individual play style. Fans of stealth can predominantly play the game in that fashion, while run and gun fans can play this title as a pure action extravaganza. The addition of Drebin points (which you gather and collect from weapons you locate on the battlefield) allows gamers to customize their weapons and is incredibly deep and rewarding. Further additions to the series includes stress meters which will impact the player’s ability depending on the situation on the battlefield. Controls have been greatly refined in the series, which is a gigantic leap over its predecessors. One of the many complaints regarding MGS2/3 was the camera system which was normally always at an over the top perspective. MGS4 has replaced this camera system with a much better perspective that is similar to what you’ve played with Resident Evil 4. The truly amazing aspect of Metal Gear Solid 4, outside of the solid and refreshing pacing, is the set pieces. They’re simply unmatched in any game. You will encounter some of the best boss battles and epic war scenes that intertwine perfectly with cut scenes that allow you to catch your breath. Fortunately, we will not go into detail regarding these scenes in order to not spoil anyone in this review.

Ultimately, Metal Gear Solid 4 offers an amazing experience regardless of your disposition; new fans to the series will easily be able to follow the game, while long time fans will be able to appreciate all of special nuances that make the Metal Gear franchise so special. Metal Gear Solid 4 will take skilled players between 25-30 hours to beat and you simply will not find a better game to utilize that time towards. The combination of engaging and continually refreshing gameplay along with superlative pacing and cinematics represents a quality package that has never before been seen in gaming. Everything Metal Gear Solid 4 tries to accomplish is significantly better than any other game before it. It is quite simply the greatest game ever made. Yes. Better than Mario. Better than Zelda. Way better than Halo (I’m only listing this game to appease Xbox fans, because anyone with decent taste would realize Halo does not deserve to be ranked amongst the best games ever). Better than Gears of Bore. Better than everything. So given how much we love Metal Gear Solid 4, what do we score it? Behold…

So this presents the question: Does Solid Snake finish his mission to destroy the Xbox 360? Without question, yes. If I were Microsoft’s Aaron Greenberg, I wouldn’t be looking so green these days. The Playstation 3 has outsold the Xbox 360 for 2008 in North America, Microsoft’s strongest market, despite cosing significantly more than its competitor. The Playstation 3 is already killing the Xbox 360 in Europe and Japan. What’s worse is that it continues to sell at round parity with the Xbox 360 in North America despite massive shortages of the 80 GB PS3. With the incredible hype and pent up demand for the 80 GB SKU, you will see June sales of the Playstation 3 skyrocket and the Xbox 360 simply will not be able to recover. Combine that with firmware update 2.4 which will give Playstation games everything (and more) that Xbox Live provides but at no additional cost, and Microsoft must be sweating bullets right now (hopefully doing so on top of their overheating Xbox 360s). The release of the most groundbreaking title in the history of gaming as a Playstation 3 exclusive will push the PS3 to record heights and leave the Xbox 360 red ringing in its dust. Thank you Solid Snake. The battle was fierce for a year or so, but luckily you have killed the Xbox 360. On June 12, 2008 it truly begins.

Only scientific notation can accurately express the brilliance of Metal Gear Solid 4 — Final Score: 10x10¹⁰

SDF is calling it right now… Haze is the real deal. After having just completed the game, we can safely say that Haze is Free Radical’s best game yet, showing Microsoft how Halo 2.5 and Perfect Dark Zero should’ve been done. A fantastic next-gen shooter that no PS3 owner should be without. With this and upcoming FPS greatness such as Resistance 2 and Killzone 2, there’s no doubt that the PS3 has already established itself as the system of choice for FPS fans.

Set in the year 2048, in a dystopian region of South America ravaged by war, you play the role of Shane Carpenter, a military sergeant working for the world’s leading PMC, Mantel Global Industries. As a Mantel warrior you have the possibility to greatly enhance your senses and fighting abilities by consuming a drug named Nectar, turning you into a ruthless killing machine. Obviously, as you and your comrades are hunting down guerrillas led by the nefarious “Skin Coat”, you progressively realize that all’s not as sound as it initially appears. After a series of ingenious plot twists, Carpenter ends up leading the rebel resistance against Mantel. Haze is a thrill ride filled with some of the best set pieces that the genre has seen in years, awesome campy humor, voice acting and dialogue, and perfectly crafted mechanics that will keep you craving for more.

Haze delivers revolutionary FPS play in spades. From its glorious HD visuals to its beautifully crafted storyline and artwork the game oozes class from every pore. In fact, everything Halo 2.5 should have been.

Unshackled by the limitations of the N64, the talented Goldeneye team have put together some of the most enthralling and mesmerizing moments of gameplay we at the SDF have had the fortune to experience.

Pros:
Awesome graphics
Splendid level design
Great pacing
Great soundtrack
Great story
Great multiplayer and co-op play
Excellent voice acting
Excellent social commentary on the horrors of war
High quality enemy and ally A.I.
Captivating gun fights
Tight controls
No loading screens in-between levels

Cons:
The main campaign is too short. We’d really want MORE of this!

Score: 10/10

Special award: FPS of the year released in May.

As a trivia aficionado, I’ve spent a lot of time trying to find the best places to enjoy my competitive trivia-playing passion. From playing quizzo at the local bars, to buying any number of board games that purport to feature finely-crafted trivia, my friends have become accustomed to my passion for playing (and generally winning) trivia games of all sorts. Buzz! Hollywood Trivia for the PS2 offers a novel way to indulge my trivia addiction. With questions themed around Hollywood and the movies, almost anyone can play. Everyone loves movies; everyone has seen movies. This game skips right over the arcane trivia of European History and Geography and gets right into subjects about which everyone has knowledge. And if you don’t know the answer, you can always guess!

As for game play, the game comes with a set of 4 game controllers designed specifically to serve the purposes of the game and allow it to live up to it’s “Buzz!” name. The game is set up like a TV-based game show instead of the boring and flat board-game type trivia game. Players choose a contestant and buzz-in sound to represent them (I’m partial to the belch); all of the possible contestants are silly and make for ridiculous between-round animated antics. Questions are either text, picture, or film-clip based, and run the range of Hollywood movies–from the classics to recent releases. The game even makes use of your eye toy (if you have one attached) to increase the silliness of play and encourage your friends to work on their impersonations.

All-in-all, I give this game a 9 out of 10. It makes for a lot of fun evenings competing with friends over movie knowledge. (And what gamer doesn’t enjoy competing, even on a knowledge-based plane.) Too bad Microsoft, in it’s infinite wisdom, has only chosen to venture into the trivia market with Scene It? (a game notable only for two things–it’s colossal failure and the derivative nature of it’s entire existence). Although, I suspect the adolescent Xbot audience could find little use for a game that makes you want to actually interact with real life friends and create social connections. Buzz! Hollywood Trivia is obviously a great game choice for any individual possessing friends, family, or anything other than a Halo-based reality.

Click to read SDF’s unbiased review of GTAIV

As I’m sure many are well aware, the GTA4 review embargo has been lifted and Sony Defense Force has been working overtime the past few weeks to provide you with the most indepth, unbiased impressions you will find on the internet. While lesser sites like IGN, 1up, and Gametrailers have skirted the issue regarding the galactic divide of the vastly inferior Xbox 360 version of GTA4 relative to the masterpiece showcased on the PS3, Sony Defense Force is proud to provide you with two completely separate reviews for each version. No singular scores will be given blanketly for both titles as has been done on other websites. We will be brutally honest in our critique of what could be regarded as the game of the generation (well…on the PS3 atleast). Without further ado, let’s go straight to our impressions of the Playstation 3 version.

Playstation 3 Version:

Simply put: This is one of the best games you will ever play. You take the controls of Eastern European immigrant Nicola Belić throughout the vast and immersive landscape of Liberty City. Literally fresh off the boat, Niko finds himself in the company of his cousin Roman, who serves as a central character throughout the remainder of the narrative.

Gameplay is summed up as a series of mission objectives that involves traditional gun fighting and car chasing throughout the game’s vast city. Fans of the franchise will instantly recognize the gameplay, which features an added layer of immersive nuances that have been improved over the PS2 title in the form of environmental details, pedestrian reactions, and enhanced physics. The main improvements that directly affect gameplay, however, deal with the game’s newly designed cover system. If you were a fan of the Playstation 3 masterpiece Uncharted, you will be instantly familiar with this system and how engaging it can be. Previous GTA titles had clunky mechanics which proved to be the biggest downfall of the series. Luckily, Rockstar has copied the mechanics that Uncharted revolutionized the gaming world with, and as fans of the series we could not be more pleased.

Graphically and aurally, the game is solid, though leaves much to be desired as it does not take full advantage of the Playstation 3 hardware. The game boasts of absolutely zero pop-in, framerate drops, or aliasing; however, it could be argued that the game runs a little too well. The title feels like it isn’t pushing the Playstation 3 hardware enough in many aspects, which is no doubt the result of the inferior Xbox 360 holding back the system. Because Rockstar developed the title with the Xbox 360 in mind, they had to make sure not to be overly ambitious with their project, and this clearly shows as the game isn’t anywhere near the best looking title on the PS3 (though, it certainly is on the Xbox 360). One particular aspect of the game that we enjoyed is the image quality: anti-aliasing is present with the added bonus of advanced Depth of Field effects. Indeed, SDF unanimously agrees that the Playstation 3 version has a subtle, soft warmth to it that is preferred over the vastly inferior Xbox 360 version.

The sound could have also been improved. The soundtrack is great, yet due to the limitless expanse of the Blu-Ray optical medium, it could have been even larger. Worse is the fact that the title doesn’t boast of 7.1 lossless uncompressed audio that Playstation 3 fans are accustom to. Again, this is unheard of on Xbox 360 games, and it is our belief that Rockstar made compromises in order to fit the game on the vastly inferior Xbox 360 DVD release.

Multiplayer is an absolute blast. The Playstation Network offers dedicated gamespy servers at no additional cost to the PS3 consumer. We had no problem setting up a game in Liberty City’s humongous world with up to 16 people with no lag or downtime whatsoever. It’s simply amazing that we can experience such a superior service with no additional cost. The free multiplayer in Grand Theft Auto 4 (PS3) is so good that I wish I could give Sony some money for their amazing efforts.

Overall, the game is a worthy addition to the series and deserves its place inside your Playstation 3 on release day. Though not perfect, and certainly not taking full advantage of the vastly superior Playstation 3 hardware including the Cell microprocessor, RSX, Blu-Ray, or Standard Hard Drive capabilities, the game does impress and provides for an amazing experience. We spent over 60 hours playing the single player component, and well over 500 hours when you add in the multiplayer. It goes without saying that this game is so superior and definitive on the Playstation 3 that downloadable content isn’t needed whatsoever. It would simply be too much, and may have degraded the overall quality of the disc release.

Presentation: 9.0

Graphics: 8.3

Sound: 7.0

Gameplay: 9.8

Lasting Appeal: 10

Overall (not a weighted average): 9.4

Xbox 360 Version:

We knew the writing was on the wall when we saw the Grand Theft Auto 4 press swag for the Xbox 360 consisting of hundreds of dollars in promotional items, most likely as a bribe in order to inflate review scores of the Xbox 360 version. Very similar to what happened with Halo 3 when it received inflated scores by members of the biased Xbox 360-centric media, it looks like GTA4 may be receiving the same level of attention. Preemptive damage control at its finest right here, folks.

It is an absolute understatement to say that this game is nearly unplayable on Microsoft’s system for various reasons, chief among them are the graphics. Simply put, the game looks and plays atrociously. While cruising around Liberty City, you will witness windows, tress, and even buildings themselves appear and disappear as you rotate the camera around your vehicle. In one instance, SDF ran directly into a tree that appeared out of nowhere a mere few feet in front of our car. How this passed the QA stages at Microsoft is beyond me, perhaps Microsoft felt that their viral marketing and “EXXXXCLUSIVE DOWNLOADABLE CONTENT!!!” would be enough to sway the hordes of braindead xbox fans despite the terrible shortcomings of the 360 version.

Not only does the terrible texture/geometry pop-in affect the gameplay dramatically (thanks to the inferior Xbox 360 hardware that doesn’t have a standard hard drive), but the framerate drops are so significant that we cannot even manage to run the game without it turning into a slideshow. Compare this to the vastly superior (definitive) Playstation 3 version, which has nonexistant framerate issues, and it’s easy to see how the title falters for the vastly inferior Xbox 360 version.

Our play session with the Xbox 360 version was very brief, unfortunately, and it wasn’t because the game was so unplayable due to the graphical shortcomings. We tried to play as much as we could inspite of these drawbacks, but something much worse happened — Our Xbox 360 promptly died in a burning rage of RROD fury after only a mere two hours of gameplay. Yep. This is the seventh time SDF will have to send in our Xbox 360 to Microsoft for repairs. Additionally, we had just received our new Xbox 360 right in time for GTA4. It’s amazing that GTA4 — a title that relies heavily on all components of the Xbox 360 due to streaming — managed to kill our Xbox 360 in record time (post in our comments section if you have had a system that has died sooner — we’re interested in hearing). We at SDF expect Grand Theft Auto 4 to cost Microsoft an additional $1 billion dollars in damages due to the increased RROD activity. Perhaps Microsoft should have thought twice before they allowed Rockstar to develop on their shoddy hardware.

Moving onto the multiplayer play. Again, we had limited playtime with it, but we tried out a few matches before we were promptly kicked out of the vastly inferior Xbox Live service. Just as CoD4 killed Xbox Live last December/January, we expect massive outages for the service upon release of GTA4. We already experienced it during our playtest when we witnessed numerous players transporting all over the maps while losing control of their character. Xbox Live gimps the online play significantly from the Playstation 3 service because it relies on p2p matchmaking. It’s unfortunate that Microsoft’s customers have to pay for the gaming equivalent of Napster — a service long forgotten by other superior methods of connectivity. Once again, Playstation 3 sets the trend for the superior online service with its Playstation Network which never has any downtime and provides for a seamless online experience.

To say that the vastly inferior Xbox 360 version is vastly inferior seems to be a bit redundant but is certainly worth emphasizing: this title should not be played in any shape or form on the Xbox 360. Grand Theft Auto 4 is worth the $460 dollars it costs for a Playstation 3 — do the right thing and purchase a Playstation 3 if you want to play the title at all. If you are a current Xbox 360 owner and want to preserve your hardware for as long as possible, avoid the 360 version at all costs. Not only will you be getting the vastly superior version on the Playstation 3 that will at least render the title playable, but you will also not have to worry about your Playstation 3 dying in the middle of your 500+ hours of playtime.

Presentation: 4.0

Graphics: 1.5

Sound: 6.0

Gameplay: 2.0

Lasting Appeal: 0 (Your Xbox 360 will die within hours)

Overall (not a weighted average): 3.5 — It’s just not quite GTA4.0….more like GTA3.5

And for those of you hard of reading here’s a quick summary of our points and final scores:

Never before have I seen a title of such great importance continue to fall from grace with each successive installment. We all have glowing memories of playing Mario 64 at a Toys R’ Us kiosk back when the revolutionary title released alongside the Nintendo 64 in ’96, but like Super Mario Sunshine before it, Mario Galaxy represents a significant regression for the franchise.

While other publications are being handsomely rewarded for their stellar reviews of Mario Galaxy courtesy of Iwata himself, Sony Defense Force is not paid or endorsed by any commercial interests. This is the only website where you will find genuine, unadulterated impressions of the year’s most hyped titles. Unfortunately, Mario Galaxy is marred with numerous gameplay decisions that ultimately have me questioning what Nintendo was doing for the years they spent developing the title.

One of the primary faults of the game deals with the simplistic gameplay. Mario Galaxy’s formula for game design can be summed up as follows:

1. Randomly place normal items (apples, jars, bugs) in outer space.

2. Have mario waggle his way from each small planetoid by either collecting one of five items, destroying all the enemies on the planet, or finding a way to unlock a star pad.

3. Eventually you will manage to waggle your way to the end planet, where you will have to perform some simplistic task in order to attain a star.

Repeat this process 120 times, and you have Mario Galaxy summed up quite well. While Mario 64 boasted of large, expansive environments, Galaxy mainly has Mario traversing the smallest land masses imaginable in a very linear fashion. After the first few stars, the average player will get tired of this repeated gameplay process. It must be noted that the game appears to be limited by last-gen hardware. The Wii/Gamecube just simply isn’t capable of rendering large, open environments in HD. Perhaps if Mario Galaxy were on the PS3, they’d be able to create a truly next-gen mario because Galaxy looks marginally upgraded from 64 which was released over 11 years ago.

Another flaw is that the combat mechanics are also in desperate need of revision. While games like Uncharted are making the combat an engaging experience, Mario Galaxy’s combat involves jumping on enemies heads or waggling your waggle-stick for a waggle-attack. Perhaps this would work well if the core gameplay itself was challenging or difficult; but it’s not. The game appears to be designed for a 4 year old. It’s easier than the original Mario on the NES.

Overall, to say Mario Galaxy is a disaster is an understatement. If you’re an easily amused child with a hard-on for nostalgia, pick up Mario Galaxy. Otherwise, if you’re an intelligent gamer that is interested in a real videogame experience, pick up a Playstation 3 and have a turn at Uncharted, easily this year’s best.

The Good:

• Shooting and platforming gameplay is fun.
• Lots of different and useful weapons.
• Beautiful, colorful visuals.
• Tight controls.
• There’s some good humor in it.
• The Story is interesting.
• Amazing ending.
• Wealth of gameplay variety gives the game compelling identity.
• Perfect gameplay difficulty.

The Bad:

• None

Over the course of five years, Ratchet and Clank has crafted its own identity and has gone on to sell over 13 million titles world wide. It’s no surprise that the Playstation 3′s first outing continues this tradition by expanding upon the epic storytelling elements and caters to a broad audience. The title’s core gameplay is better than its predecessors and is amplified by countless interesting minigames and diverse gameplay mechanics. These issues put Ratchet and Clank clearly above its predecessors and represents the best title on the Playstation 3.

A good story would have been nice, and this is precisely what Insomniac has delivered. In fact, one of the strongest aspects of Ratchet and Clank is its story. You play as Ratchet, a Lombax on a mission to find his own origins along with his robotic sidekick, Clank. The game’s script, humor, and artistic direction rivals that of a Pixar movie and establishes Ratchet and Clank above all other titles of the genre. Without spoiling the title, the game ends magnificently and sets up a sequel perfectly.

The gameplay is a mixture of platforming and shooting which allows players a wide breadth of weapons at their disposal. This only solidifies Ratchet and Clank as a title with tremendous gameplay diversity and identity, something Insomniac is known for while lesser developers have been lacking over the recent years. Even more than platforming and shooting, the gameplay presents a few unique and diverse elements that spruce the experience up even more, especially with the spectacular space shooting sequences that bring back memories of Star Fox.

The visual package of Ratchet and Clank exceeds any other title released so far for next generation consoles. Sony made a promise to deliver Toy Story graphics on the Playstation 2, and while they came extremely close, they’ve satisfied this promise on the Playstation 3 with R&CF:ToD as it is indistinguishable from hollywood’s greatest CG movies. Ratchet and Clank’s audio is not only solid, but it is also remarkable and features an outstanding score that will keep you deeply engaged.

Try as it might, Tools of Destruction vastly exceeds the level of greatness exhibited by its predecessors. It’s a perfect difficulty, the story is epic and engaging, and the “throw everything including the kitchen sink” style of gameplay is a stellar combination along with the platforming and fun combat. That said, the gorgeous visuals and fun gameplay are enough to make Tools of Destruction receive the highest score in Sony Defense Force history, a well deserved 10.5/10.