After months of Development ‘GameinaBottle‘ is proud to annouce the release of GemCraft Chapter 0.  (Trust us when we say, “It was well worth the wait!” )

If you enjoyed the game, help support the Developer by DIGG’ing it.

DIGG IT!

Before I get ahead of myself, I think it’s generally important to indicate that I’ve been an avid Burnout player since Burnout 2. Going into this game I felt like there was a lot to live up to. It’s not just matter of living up to its forefathers but moreso the ability to add something new to an already complex and branched formula. Luckily Burnout Paradise clears the bar with some room to spare.

Burnout Paradise is a racing, stunt-driving, free-for-all sort of game that banks on a player’s ability to deal with high-speed maneuvering coupled with traffic and obstacles. The game is made up of several different event-types that challenge the player to reach certain stunt scores or win a race in first place. Winning events advances the game into harder modes, just like any other racing game. But what is non-standard in the Burnout is the idea of boosting/taking down opponents. By taking risks in the game (such as driving down the wrong side of the road or weaving through traffic) you accumulate boost, which is a trigger-happy way to hurl yourself even faster down the road. The whole experience is exhilarating and over-the-top fun.

The game takes place in a giant city and country landscape called “Paradise City”, which has a very pleasant sandbox feel; the whole city is at your fingertips. Instead of waiting for a race to load in some random location, you drive to that location. All the events take place in the very world that you drove to, so everything becomes familiar over time. A huge plus to the game is that there is rarely a loading bar and the cityscape loads as you go. While this was a major pain for previous Burnout games, this game excels in keeping the game going at all times.

Multiplayer mode is also a great addition to the game. There are over 300 events to play with your friends, most of which are exciting and not offered in the single-player version. For example, one event-type requires you to simultaneously jump from different sides of a broken bridge and crash mid-air to win the event. I can’t imagine anything more awesome to include in a racing game.

Not to say that this Burnout experience was flawless, however. The game stripped a few mechanics from the previous games that made it somewhat frustrating to play. For example, one of my favorite now missing event-types was causing as much damage as possible to rack up dollars worth of damage.  Also, the game’s general forced viewing of the slow-motion crashing without any sort of control over the crash was annoying, especially since the previous Burnout titles had the ability to score extra Takedowns while you were crashing in “bullet time.”  Since crashing occurs a lot in Burnout and controlled crashes were nixed, I felt like I was wasting time.

The learning curve on this game was the toughest challenge of all. The game throws you on the street and expects you to have a grasp on mechanics and gameplay from the get-go. While I did have previous Burnout experience I was still caught up in trying to deal with speed and timing. I almost put down the game for good once because it was so hard to get used to the game. While racing the game gives you little time to react to the driving direction it gives you. I equate it to your GPS system screaming at you to turn right at the last minute while barreling down a city street in the far left lane.  But after you get the hang of things (which is a good 10-15 events) things start to become clear.

Overall this a great game to get, especially if you like alternative racing games such as Mario Kart but don’t like to get dragged into “true” racing games such as Gran Turismo or Forza Motorsport. It’s a tough ride at the beginning, but what you get the hang of it you’ll definitely be yearning for more. The game’s endless sandbox of jumps, billboard crashes, and fence smashing will keep you going even beyond the game events offered, dishing the game perfectionists a good challenge. Overall, Burnout Paradise is a tight package that definitely delivers.

90/100.

As a new feature to the blog, we will be reviewing games that we played and liked. We won’t really feature or talk about terrible games, because we don’t want to waste your time… but the ones that do something interesting or are exciting to play will merit a feature. We will cover all types of gaming, even Flash games!
I just got finished playing LOST: Via Domus last night. I have to say I was mildly impressed by the popular television show’s first (and probably not last) video game. Typically the quality level of film/television game adaptations are pretty horrific, but LOST: Via Domus manages to square away a good game with only a few setbacks.

You play the role of a survivor from Oceanic Flight 815, which has crashed down on a mysterious island. Your memory was lost from the impact, and to regain your memory you play through a series of flashbacks and quests. Talking to Jack, Sawyer, and other survivors leads to more memories being uncovered and the shroud of the island being pulled back. A large part of the game is spent traveling from location to location to interact with people and places. As you gain more information about the island, more areas unlock and more is learned about where you crashed and who the island’s other inhabitants are.

The storyline is similar but more of a parallel to the actual show. Many parts of the original show are playable as your character but the game’s plot has conflicts with the show’s plot, which make this game not a true sequel or addition to the show. But it does bring some very interesting points and solutions to many of the secrets and mysteries of the island, including a very viable explanation for why the island exists in the show.

The game relies on quests to be performed to move the plotline. Because each of the quests are different, the quality of gameplay seems to be all over the place, ranging from completely awesome to just okay.  The quests that really excited me were the circuit puzzles which required fuses to be placed in the right order in different fuse outlets to correctly route power.  The quests that irked me the most were the Metal Gear Solid style moments in which you have to sneak around the jungle while avoiding the security system, which was frustratingly difficult.

The gameplay is greatly enhanced by the beautiful environment design and detailed models of the characters from the show.  The graphics were stellar for a game of this magnitude, and you can really tell quality went into the design.  The jungle was especially remarkable, making the lush landscape so dense and detailed that I was actually getting lost in the map.  The loading times between areas was short and sweet.

Quite frankly, I doubt you would like this game if you knew nothing about LOST. The game takes a lot of cues from the show which would make the game extremely awkward to play if you knew nothing about the characters. But if you are an avid-follower of LOST or you have experienced several shows before, then this game will be the frosting on the experience. It is nearly as cinematic and exciting as a decent episode of LOST.  Sadly, the duration of the game is extremely short; I earned every achievement and beat the game in about 6-8 hours.  That’s a hard sell for $60, so it’s probably best to rent or get used.

Overall, its a fun little game.  It does what it sets out to do, which is make a really good television game.  If you have been betrayed by terrible movie/television adaptations in the past, this is definitely a fresh new look into the future of commercial games.

LOST: Via Domus is available on Xbox360, PS3, and PC.