Video Game Of The Month: Bionic Commando (2009)

Bionic Commando (2009)... The Video Game Of The Month For A Reason!

When I first got in to playing video games, the video game system that had been really popular had been the, 'NES'... (I know, practically the stone age compared to modern systems...)

Well, there was a lot of truly fun video games out there, rather you were an RPG fan, or a side  scrolling shoot 'em game fan (There wasn't really much in the way of first person shooter games then... with the obvious exception of, 'Duck Hunt'...)

Anyway, during that time, one of my favorite video games on the NES (and still is one of my favorite games of that era was,  Bionic Commando (1988)!

This game was so much fun... I am glad they made a sequel to it!

Well I recently discovered an updated version of this game, that as it turns out is a sequel to the classic NES game... That game being: Bionic Commando (2009)!

Now I do want to review this game eventually, so all I am gonna say, is this story is amazing, the graphics are kick ass, and the game play is easy enough... Ultimately it is just awesome!

For more information, check out this trailer for the game!

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Lego To Bring, 'The Avengers' And 'Jurassic World' To The World Of Lego Video Games

The Avengers are about to be turned in to Lego form again for this falls Lego video game, 'Marvel's Avengers'! 

Jurassic World (2015) & Avengers: Age Of Ultron (2015)... If you haven't heard of them yet... Well let me set your mind at ease... Both movies are the highly anticipated sequels to some of Hollywood's biggest franchises (i,e. Jurassic World, is the latest sequel in the, 'Jurassic Park' series, and Avengers: 'Age Of Ultron', is the sequel to the blockbuster 2012 movie, 'The Avengers'!)

But we here at Hellinspace have come to discover something kind of interesting... It turns out that LEGO is planning on releasing both, 'Jurassic World', and, 'Marvel's Avengers' lego video games... later this year!

Jurassic World maybe coming to the big screen soon, but the LEGO video game version won't be far on it';s tail!

That's right folks, according to: Gamesradar.

Jurassic World will be a lego form video game that will allow the player to play in a lego version of, 'Jurassic World', as well as all of it's predecessor movies (also in lego form)!

As for, 'The Avengers' this game it looks like thus far will be a family friendly re-creation of the original movie in all of it's true awesomeness!

Jurassic World is set to be released on: PC, PS3, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Nintendo 3DS, and PS Vita, some time in June, and Marvel's Avenger is set for release some time this fall!

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Injustice: Gods Among Us (2013) - Video Game Review

Official Score = 3 Devils

Now I know that in both the Marvel & DC Universes, that  the concept of parallel has at least to some extent kind of become a standard bearer for some of the story lines, as a matter of fact, I have discovered that sometimes there are universe crossovers... As a matter of fact, there was a crossover that I saw in an episode of one of the Justice League cartoons that was extremely fun!

But for me, with a few exceptions, I have only recently begun diving in tot he world of the, 'Parallel Comic Book Crossover', but I have to say that I have found that I really like it!

A great example of this in video game format is: Injustice: Gods Among Us (2013)!

The box cover art for: Injustice: Gods Among Us.

Published by: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment for the: Playstation 3, Wii U, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows, Playstation 4, Playstation Vita, iOS & Android, Injustice: Gods Among Us, tells the story of how:

In an alternate reality, the Joker destroys Metropolis with a nuclear weapon, killing millions of people, after tricking Superman into killing Lois Lane and their unborn son.  Because of this, Superman looses it, and along with the former, 'Justice League', forms a new repressive world order...

After being transported over to this world, members of the Justice League will have to fight to stop the Deadly Superman and the new world order that he has imposed, before the deadly Superman can essentially conquer everything!

Cyborg Vs. Wonder Woman... I mean how cool is that!

Now this game is done in a fun competitive fighting style, so you could end up fighting as one character, and fighting the alternate universe counterpart... Also, beside the story mode, you can actual play in the more standard competitive mode as well...

I am going to say that the graphics for this game are also a lot of fun, as well as the effects... The one thing that I did like, but also didn't, was the fact that there were far to many videos... Well made, but it cut in to my playing time, and frankly, after awhile it kind of got on my nerves!

Discovering The World Of Video Gamming And Their Consoles For The FirstTime... Again

Contra... A particularly violent game... Definitely one that boys enjoyed back in the day!

When I was a kid, one of the things that I discovered at a very young age (as a matter of fact, I think I may have been in either 3rd or 4th grade when I first discovered these, but till then I was still so young that I was still mostly playing with toys... That was till I discovered the world of video games!

The way this happened was... Well it was when I was in Elementary School or so... You see, one of the things that the Principle of the School let kids do on Fridays, was get off School a bit early and one of the kids would bring in one of their Video Game Consoles (back then we are talking, Nintendo... Sega Genesis... etc...) And all of us kids got to play...

Well in the end, this gave me the opportunity to dive in to the world of video games at a very young age... And I will say, that video games...  As a kid growing up, gave me loads and loads of fun, I got introduced to some very awesome video games, such as: Final Fantasy (1987), Contra (1987) as well as, Space Harrier 2 (1988), as well as so much more!

A truly classic game, and was one of the ones that I am happy to say helped me to truly enjoy the world of video games when I was a kid!

 Well... I hate to say it, but as time went on, I came to stop playing video games all together... Considering the fact that I developed a website that has to do with reviewing and blogging about video games that this might be a little odd... But it is true!

You see, I happened to be in Colorado with my wife a few years ago visiting the inlaws, and her brother (who fancies himself a bit of a, 'gammer',) introduced me to the world of the, 'XBox 360'... And well to say the least, I was hooked like I was back in the late 80s through the 90s!

Well when my wife and I got home, of course I wanted to get me an XBox 360... Couldn't do so at the time... (At the time, the XBox 360 was still a bit pricey...) The first system though I was able to dive in to was Microsoft's original, 'XBox' video game console, and the few games I was able to get my hands on when I bought the system and games from a friend of mine who was selling his!

The first, 'XBox' video game console that Microsoft released.

 The XBox 360... A video game console that was released by Microsoft, and is one of two of probably the most prolific video game consoles to have come in the 21st century!

In the end, I was able to get my XBox 360... And I have not looked backs since!

Now you might be wondering why I am writing this... Well if you are some one who has any doubt about the value of a kid's first video game system... Well let's put it this way, coming from a gammer of many years... Engaging in activities outside is important for everyone, no matter what age they are, and so... The reason that I write this, is that yes, it is a toy... But you never know... Some day your kids could do what I did, and turn their love of video games in to a worthwhile career!

The Evolution Of The Video Game Soundtrack: From Analog Music ThroughMovie Styled Video Game Soundtracks

A program used by Mac computers to create computer generated music.

Most people recognize that video game soundtracks in the modern day are becoming more and more like Movie or TV soundtracks... But before this really began to take shape, at the beginning of the world of video games... well as it turns out, most video games had computer generated music, and before that, Cassette or LP generated music.

Some of the music that has been computer generated... Well in the early days was pretty horrible, and well, if you really dig in to it, there are some truly fun scores (such as: Super Mario Bros. (Believe it or not, it is a fun soundtrack) and even Final Fantasy 7!)

To really understand this progression, lets really start with the progression of computer generated music (I mean after all, computer generated music is where video game music got it's start.)

In this case, the first computer to generate music was a computer called the, 'CSIRAC', (which stands for: Council for Scientific and Industrial Research Automatic Computer.) Now I can give you all the technical jargon if you want (but that is probably not much use for what we are working toward in this blog.)

The earliest known computer to play music.

To say the least, this computer (which is one of the oldest first generation electronic computers ever built,) was built in Australia in the late 40s by Trevor Pearcy & Maston Beard and which in the early 50s would be programmed by a mathematician by the name of Geoff Hill to generate music.

Since then, there has been many advancements in the programming for computer generated music, leading up to, and for our purposes, the first video game to ever play computer generated music...

Now before I continue on I should also mention the direct predecessor to computer generated music for video games...

Like movies, in the case of video games, early video game music was played on independent systems separate from the video game itself.

You see, in the 1970s, when arcades were really having their Golden Age, video game music would be played in analogue form (on cassette tapes, or on LPs.) Well to say the least this proved to be unworkable, and the age of computer generated music was born!

You see, it turns out that a more workable solution for this was to insert a computer chip that would create music from electric impulses created from the games code in to analog music.

Well to say the least, starting with Gun Fight (1975)... A game which proved to be one of the earliest examples of computer generated music for games, we find video games getting better and better computer generated music... Leading to (what I would say), would be some great early computer generated music from such awesome NES games as (well besides what I mentioned above,) such stuff as: Contra (1987), Mega Man (1987) & even Castlevania (1987), to name a few!

Castlevania... A fun game, with a fun computer generated soundtrack! 

And you know what? This music just kept getting better and better, with the passage from, '8 Bit' games to, '16 Bit' games, as well as the advent of the first Playstation, etc... I am going to go so far as to say that the height of singularly computer created music format for video games was with the advent of the first, 'Playstation.'

Don't get me wrong, there has been a ton of fun video game soundtracks to come out before this, but some of the video game soundtracks that came out with the first playstation were truly... Amazing! A great example again is, Final Fantasy 7! I mean the music for this video game was truly prolific , to the point where one could have been said to be a, 'Computer Generated Opera!'

Now I don't exactly know when the change first started occurring (I unfortunately had a bit of an absence from the world of video games,) but I did notice that as time has gone on, and leading (at the very least up until the XBox 360,) that video game soundtracks have become less computer generated, and more like movie soundtracks!

Crackdown for the: XBox 360 is a great example of a video game that has an almost, 'movie' like sound track to it!

I reckon that as long as video games keep getting better and better and the lines between movies and video games get more and more blurred, that in the end, the soundtracks will as well!

For more information, please check out these examples:

Halo: Reach (2010) - Video Game Review

[caption id="attachment_330" align="alignright" width="220"] Official Score = 2 1/2 Devils[/caption]

You know I hate admit it, but there was a lot of years in which I just kind of dropped out of the world of, 'Video Games'... Not really sure why that is... Just didn't have time for them I suppose...

The reason that I mention this is because a few years ago I ended up trying out the, 'XBox 360', and you know what? I found out that not only did I absolutely love it (and still do), but it got me back in to video games in a major way, and when my wife bought me an XBox 360 for our anniversary a few years back it came with a game that I found was a great way to get back in to the world of Video Games!

That game of course being: 'Halo Reach' (2010)!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="249"] A fun one, and well worth beating![/caption]

Developed by Bungie for the XBox 360, this game takes place before, 'Halo: Combat Evolved' but after the book, 'Halo: The Fall Of Reach' and tells the story of how in the future mankind is fighting the war against a group of Alien races calling themselves, 'The Covenant'. During the time frame in which Reach takes place, most of man's colonies have been destroy, and at the beginning of the game you start off as a new member of, 'Noble Team' on the last planet... This one is also in ruins.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="491"] In Halo: Reach you play as the newest member of, 'Noble Team' fighting the evil, 'Covenant'![/caption]

Through out the game you are fighting off Covenant forces, until you reach a ring world planet, and the events of, 'Halo: Combat Evolved' begins to take over!

Well hopefully I didn't give you to much of the story... The truth is though, is this game is a lot of fun, the graphics in this first person shooter are amazing, the sound track is spectacular, and fighting the enemy is a total blast... honestly the only problem I had with the game is the fact that I was still relatively new to the XBox 360, and if you have never played a game on that system before, 'Halo: Reach' may not be the one for you!

Other then that though, if you don't have a problem with the game play, then give it a try, I think you might find it to be a fun one!

http://youtu.be/-YQZ_-qUYWk

Video Gamming... A Next Generation Closer To The Holodeck

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="618"] The Holodeck... The next evolutionary leap in video games?[/caption]

I will admit that I am a major trekkie, and well... As a gamer going back to the days of the NES, I am still excited to see how the successive generation of video game systems seems to be bringing us closer and closer to the Holodeck!

Now for those of you who don't know what a, 'Holodeck' is... A Holodeck was a concept that was first introduced in, 'Star Trek: The Next Generation', as a fully interactive, game/tool for the Enterprise crew that was created to simulate the real world in some capacity or another, using life like looking and acting holograms that were given their solidity by special created shielding.

Sounds like fun right?

Well unfortunately we aren't quite to that level yet, but we are getting closer and closer as time goes on... What I mean by that is well... Look at what has been created with the, 'Wii' and, 'Wii U' special controllers that act and give the feel more and more like you are holding a, 'gun' or a, 'tennis racket'...

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="384"] A light sword controller for the Nintendo, 'Wii'.[/caption]

Or what about the XBox's, 'Kinect'... I mean I personally have not tried it yet (I made the mistake when I got my XBox 360 of not getting one of those with it,) but with it's motion sensing technology, you are pretty much controlling the avatar with out a controller at all!

In the end I guess what I am trying to say is that as a gammer, we are living in exciting times, and with each successive generation of video game consoles that are released, we are getting closer and closer to creating a real life, 'Holodeck'... And trust me, if you haven't seen Star Trek, and so haven't seen one in action, trust me when I say that the experience is one that will be well worth it when the time comes!

http://youtu.be/vZ7CGBM4JJo

Mortal Kombat Vs. DC Universe (2008) - Video Game Review

[caption id="attachment_330" align="alignright" width="220"] Official Score = 2 1/2 Devils[/caption]

Being a gamer from way back I have come to truly see the harmony in the diversity of popularity in games over the decades... Yeah I said it, but I am not talking about some sort of strange metaphysical, 'can listen to the Earth's song type of thing'...

No, what I am talking about more directly has to do with having seen one generation of popular game turn in to the next... A great example of this is that when I first started  playing video games, the style that everyone seemed to shoot for was RPG/2D shooter games... And going in to the 90s,  it was competitive fighting video games and RPGs... ( I have to admit that I kind of lost some time in between finishing High School. and starting Hellinspace,) but since starting Hellinspace, it has become primarily first person shooter games.

So it was with some delight when I discovered the cross over game, 'Mortal Kombat Vs. The DC Universe' (2008)!

Published by: Midway Games, this awesome cross over game had characters such as: 'Superman', 'Batman', 'Green Lantern', 'Wonder Woman' and a bunch of other superheroes and villains from the DC Comic universe, as they battle against the likes of the classic video game characters: 'Scorpion', 'Sub-Zero', 'Kano' and a ton of other great characters from the classic video game series, 'Mortal Kombat'!

[caption id="attachment_2729" align="aligncenter" width="450"] 'Superman' as he is taking down, 'Raiden'![/caption]

Now this game was developed for the XBox 360 as well as the Playstation 3... Unfortunately though, I haven't played the Playstation 3 version of this game yet, but I can tell you this about the XBox 360 version of this game... It has great graphics... Fun music... And well if you were a fan of both of these individual franchises before playing this game, then I think you will find it a lot of fun to play this as a cross over or just fighting one set of characters or the other!

The main problems with the, 'XBox 360' version of this game is that the controls are hard to learn, the fatalities are almost impossible to do, and after you beat it a few times, the game starts to get a little dull!

In the end though, the game was worth a once over, so give it a chance, it may not be the best game in the world, but it does have it's moments!

http://youtu.be/PcOoCxwJCzY

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2 (2010) - Video Game Review

[caption id="attachment_325" align="alignright" width="263"] Official Score = 3 Devils[/caption]

When I first got in to the new (well for me new at the time), XBox 360, one of the first couple of games I was able to get my grubby little mits on was, 'Star Wars: The Force Unleashed' (2008)...

And where as I have to admit that this game was really hard to figure out how to control, one of the things that I will say, is that I had an awful lot of fun playing it... I mean it had a great story that incorporated some of the elements of both the original movie series and the prequel movie series... It also had some great characters that were very well created and voiced... I mean all and all that game was a lot of fun!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="460"] The first, 'Star Wars: The Force Unleashed' was a blast, but the second one was even better... As seen above when the player is fighting, 'Darth Vader'![/caption]

The reason that I mention this is because when I got in to the sequel, I actually found it to be better... I know... I was shocked as well!
This sequel in my opinion was better developed story wise then the first one, I like the more intense character development and conflict in this one. I also liked that the universe for this one was drastically expanded... And last but not least, (I will admit that to some extent this is a little lame but it is true)... I thought the two lightsaber thing was real cool!

In the end, this game is a total blast, and if you get a chance to try it, I think you might find out why!

http://youtu.be/ChVXYSU89fs

Star Wars: The Force Unleased (2008) - Video Game Review

[caption id="attachment_330" align="alignright" width="220"] Official Score = 2 1/2 Devils[/caption]

I will admit that I spent some time away from the video game world... So coming back in to the world of video games I found that I was a little bit of a novice, but I got to say that I was really quite impressed! The X-Box 360 is an amazing system that has taken video  games to that point where it has come very close to being a sort of controlled movie! And one of the first Video Games that I played as a novice to the X-Box 360 Was the video game, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (2008)

Based on the Star Wars movie saga, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is a video game that was released by LucasArts for PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360 consoles and on the iOS, second-generation N-Gage, Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable, and Java-equipped mobile phone handhelds, and told the story of how just after the Emperor betrays the Jedi, Darth Vader decides to take on his first apprentice in the child of another Jedi...

Now this child's name is, 'Stakiller' and at first would ultimately do anything that his Sith master, 'Darth Vader' asked him to do, including infiltrate the newly formed Rebel Alliance... But while on this mission, the light side of the force so to speak begins to take hold and the longer he spends with the rebels, the more and more he ends up defecting to help the Rebellion... (You could almost say that he did what Luke could never do for Anakin in the movies! )

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="533"] The dark apprentice for Darth Vader is about to get a rude awakening to the truth about his dark master![/caption]

And in the end, Starkiller will end up going after the man who was his father and trying his best to destroy him!

In the end I played this game on X-Box 360, and so I can't really  say how the game was for the other systems, but I can say this about the X-Box 360, it took me a little while to figure out the controls on this one. As for the story, it was pretty awesome... (Although if we consider the fact that the whole reason that Anakin Skywalker went over to the dark side was to protect his family... Then why through out this video game did they not get mentioned?

As for the special effects, they were obviously pretty awesome! And as for the music... Well what can I say... They did a pretty amazing job!

In the end, the only other thing that I don't really understand is why non of the characters from the prequel trilogy were not more predominantly displayed?

This video game is a hard one to get used to, but if you really work on it, trust  me when I say that it is worth the effort!

http://youtu.be/asvKQOJZXcs