Castlevania Dawn of Sorrow Review

I have been playing through the game, Castlevania Dawn of Sorrow for the Gameboy DS (via the 3DS) and I thought that I would share my take on this innovative installment of the Castlevania series.


Picture of Castlevania Dawn of Sorrow for the Nintendo DS

Brief Reviews of the game:

Overall Grade in my opinion: A

Pros about the game
+ Huge map and storyline.
+ Soma Cruz's soul system is pretty revolutionary for the castlevania franchise as you can steal enemy abilities and use them to your advantage (similar to how it is in Mega Man games where you can copy abilities of bosses).
+ Expect many huge boss battles throughout the course of the game.  Also, the game does make use of the stylus system that the DS offers in various ways (such as drawing symbols when you are about to defeat a boss.
+ 3 possible endings.  By the way, you can see all 3 endings in one play though.
+ Great replay value: once you beat the game as Soma (or at least get the 2nd ending) you can unlock Julius mode where you play as Julius Belmont, along with Yoko Alucard which follows along an alternate timeline that assumes that Soma becomes "Dracula"
+ Nice storyline too
+ It is also worth noting that DOS is one of one of the few modern Castlevania games that brings back remixed versions of some of the music from some of the classic castlevania games (especially when playing on Julius Mode), such as the "Vampire Killer" theme in the "Silenced Ruins" level of the game.  Also (***spoiler alert***), if you are playing on Julius mode, the final boss fight against Soma plays out much like a typical boss fight against Dracula (teleportion, beast form, etc) from Dracula X and similar games and even has the classic "Dance of Illusions" theme song there.  Many current Castlevania games don't have music from the classic castlevania games (Portrait of Ruin for example, did not have them, neither did Lords of Shadow too for that matter), so it is worth pointing out with this title.

Cons:
- The stylus system can make some of the boss fights harder than normal, especially some of the later ones.  Also the symbols do change periodically too and become more and more complex as the game goes along.  You will definitely need to practice your drawing to make some of the boss fights much easier (at least when it comes to using the "magic seals" to defeat the bosses).


Overview of the game / Story:

Castlevania Dawn of Sorrows is definitely one of my favorite Castlevania games (being a veteran Castlevania player myself) and is on par with Symphony of the Night, Portrait of Ruin and Harmony of Despair.   Dawn of Sorrow is the direct sequel to Aria of Sorrow (for the Gameboy Advance) and continues the storyline of Soma Cruz.  Basically in Aria of Sorrow and Dawn of Sorrow, the storyline assumes that the evil Count Dracula (the "evil genius" of the castlevania series) has been defeated "for good" by Julius sometime during the 2000's.  Ironically while Dracula never makes a formal appearance in Aria of Sorrow or Dawn of Sorrow, apparently his spirit still lives (kind of like how it is with the Sigma virus system in the Mega Mega Man X series where Sigma always manages to come in one form or another no matter how often you defeat him) and wants to use someone to posess and use in is ongoing schemes for world domination.  Soma Cruz is a convenient target for Dracula and he tries to influence Soma through the soul abilities system and turn Soma into the Dark Lord.  In Dawn of Sorrow, Soma is sent to investigate a shadowy cult lead by an evil lady named Cecila, along with her minions, Dario and Darus, who want to basically want to revive the evil Count Dracula and it is up to Soma to stop Celia's schemes (much to the dismay of Julius Belmont) while also battling his own inner demons that want to turn Soma into the evil Dracula.  The cult hideout is pretty much another incarnation or Dracula's castle and plays out much like Dracula's castle from Symphony of the Night and similar castlevania games, filled with ghosts, gouls, monsters, demons, huge and hideous bosses and other enemies for Soma to defeat.  The game does have 3 possible endings and it is possible for Soma to lose to Celia or even turn into the evil Count Dracula.  (see spoiler section for ending details). 

Julius Mode:

As with Portrait of Ruin and Order of Ecclesia, after you finish the main game, new modes open up and one mode worth mentioning is Julius Mode.  While in many similar castlevania games where the extra modes (such as Richter Mode in Portrait of Ruin) tend to be a bit bland, Dawn of Sorrow does add some unique twists to Julius mode.  Some of the twists include:
- Alternate storyline, which basically assumes that Soma turns into "Dracula".
- While initially you assume the role of Julius Belmont, Yoko and Alucard (yes Alucard does make an appearance in Dawn of Sorrow, perhaps a first since Symphony of the Night) join in Julius' quest to defeat Soma (aka "Dracula") and become playable characters as well, and so you will assume a trio of characters, each with their own unique abilities, skills and personalities.  Julius is a classic whip user and uses his whip and sub weapons to defeat enemies.  Note: Julius automatically has all of his sub weapons equipped (unlike in other castlevania games where you have to find sub weapons in candles) and you can switch between them (including he throwing knives, cross boomerangs, a cross crush attack, holy water bombs as well as throwing axes.  Yoko is a magic user and wields 3 different kinds of spells that she can use against enemies and bosses (such as ice bullets that shoot almost every direction, lightning balls, as well as a fire bullet attack).  Also, whenever she hits enemies with her staff weapon, she steals the enemies' health (which you can use to help restore the trio's hp bar).  Alucard is a tonned down version of himself from Symphony of the night and wields his signature alucard sword and shield.  He can also shoot the hellfire fireballs at enemies (the they shoot out in 3s) turn into a bat (great for reaching high places), jump really high (by holding the dpad up and pressing the L button) and do the backstab attack (where he teleports behind an enemy and attacks him/her from behind with his sword).
- The background music does change in some of the maps.  By the way, old school Castlevania fans will like the fact that DOS is one of the few newer Castlevania titles that does offer remixed versions of music from some of the classic castlevania games (namely, Vampire Killer. Bloody Tears, and "beginnings" if you are familiar with those songs).
- Different final boss fight.  Instead of fighting Menace, you will fight a Dracula version of Soma which plays out much like a typical Dracula boss fight from Dracula X and Rondo of Blood (even has a remixed version of the "Illusionary Dance" boss theme for those of you who are familiar with it).
- The map is not as linear as it is for Soma (especially once Alucard joins the trio) and you can change alter the route and boss fights you can take on (note: the Mine of Judgement section still does not become available until after the Aguni boss fight). 
- Note: unlike Soma mode, the trio cannot heal themselves with potions and food.  Instead Yoko can steal health from enemies and bosses when she hits them with her staff (though the healing process is slow, especially early in the game), which makes this mode more challenging and does mean you will need to save more often too as you pass through the various save points in the game.

Soul System:
 
If any Castlevania game were to take after a typical Mega Man style game, it would probably be Castlevania Dawn of Sorrow (Aria of Sorrow too for that matter).  You know how in most (if not all) Mega Man games, whenever you defeat a robot master boss, you get to steal that boss' abilities (such as their weapon).  Dawn of Sorrow has a similar system where whenever you defeat a monster, ghost, boss or whatever, there is a chance you will receive their "souls", which is essentially their abilities and weapons.  For example, if you defeat an Axe armor and get their soul, you can hurl axes at your enemies.  Or when you defeat Gergoth (one of the bosses in the game), you get to shoot a huge laser that kills enemies in your path rather quickly.  Some abilities will let you fly, have enemies forced to become allies (such as summoning Gaibon to follow you and charge at enemies he encounters), move around in water, etc.  Obviously some enemies have better soul drop rates than others, but there are incentives to getting more souls, such as getting stronger, having more abilities and skill, plus if you get all of them, you can get a special ring (Chaos ring) that gives you almost unlimited MP points.  Obviously some souls (abilities) are better than others, while others can be worthless.  My favorite abilities includes: the flame demon's fireball attack, summoning a pet gabion (he charges at enemies at random), the final guard's shield abilities (great for blocking otherwise hard to avoid attacks and is great against bosses), magnora, bat company's flight ability (lets you fly, plus if you have flame demon's fireball attack, you can shoot fireballs at enemies while flying) as well as abaddon's locust attacks.  Bosses always drop souls when you defeat them while other enemies will not always drop them (which meiceans that you will have to defeat them multiple times to gain their souls). 

Boss Fights and Magic Seal system:
Watch the youtube video below for a sample boss fight against Abaddon (this also shows the magic seal system in action)
Like just about any castlevania games, Dawn of Sorrow has plenty of huge and goulish boss fights each with their unique patterns, weaknesses and difficulites.  Some of my favorites were Puppet Master (the spider like monster that tries to kill you by placing voodoo dolls in iron maidens), Paranoia (a mirror monster you fight), Aguni (a huge fire demon monster), as well as Menace (the huge final boss at the end of the game).  Unique to Dawn of Sorrow (both Order of Ecclesia and Portrait of Ruin has this) is the magic seal system.  This is a unique system that utilizes the stylus that comes with the Gameboy DS / 3DS system and it is essentially where whenever you are about to defeat a boss (with the exception of a few boss fights), a huge circle appears and you have to draw symbol correctly and quickly in order to defeat the boss.  The symbols start out simple (with the first one being a "V" shape), but they do get more complex and trickier to complete as you progress through the game.  If you draw the symbol correctly, the boss gets defeated and you move on.  Get it wrong, the boss regains health and the fight continues with the magic seal prompt popping up periodically again and again until you get the symbol right (or Soma dies).  This system will likely be either a blessing or a curse for people playing Castlevania Dawn of Sorrow.  The magic seals were not too difficult for me to master, but I am sure that some people will have it easier than others.  By the way, the game does offer a mode that lets you practice drawing the magic seal symbols at your convenience (which you can use to practice and master the symbols you are struggling with) and it can definitely be frustrating for some people, especially if you are fighting one of the more difficult bosses in the game (such as the Puppet Master or Gergoth) and you can't defeat the boss since you are not able to draw the magic seal symbol(s) correctly. By the way, you will need a stylus for Dawn of Sorrow, if you don't have a stylus you will definitely need to buy one (I am not sure how you can use the magic seals system otherwise).  Note: the magic seals do not apply to Julius mode and Julius, Alucard and/or Yoko will automatically defeat the bosses they fight once their hp runs out.

Final thoughts of Dawn of Sorrow:
DOS is definitely one of my favorite Castlevania games ever.  It is a fitting sequel in the symphony of the night era castlevania games.  The soul system is fun to have it gives Soma plenty of useful power ups, abilities and skills to use.  He can also equip weapons like swords, guns, staffs, spiked knuckles and even Death's Sythe to defeat foes as well (my favorite weapons are probably the Valamway sword and the Death Sythe) and he can be customized to your fitting and likings.  The soul system does offer Soma extra skills, abilities and even sub weapons he can use, such as shooting fireballs at enemies, summoning monsters (such as Gaibon) that attack enemies, improve his luck (useful for finding rare items and soul abilities), shooting laser beams at enemies (obtained from Gergoth), or even transform into some of the monsters he defeats (like Barbosa which is invincible and charges forward and defeats enemies as he runs into them). Dawn of Sorrow has just about all of the elements that any castlevania fan would like, including all of the signature monsters from the series, Halloween style feel, huge boss fights and even remixed versions of some of the background music from the classic castlevania games (one area in the game even pays tribute to some of the earlier castlevania games complete with a retro feel, a bat creature boss as well as "vampire killer" playing in the background).  I also like the alternate storyline that Julius mode offers, which is a change of pace from typical castlevania games where alternate modes tend to be mediocre in comparison to the main story line.  Dawn of Sorrow does have a few flaws though.  The magic seal system for example, while innovative will take some mastering to do and may be a frustration to some players (especially if you have poor drawing skills).  Also, Soma does start out weak which adds to the challenge, though he gets a lot stronger as he levels up and gains more abilities and skills.

Overall Grade: A

 Spoiler Section: (note: this section assumes you have either played through the game or don't mind spoilers)

Endings: Castlevania Dawn of Sorrow has 3 possible endings.

Ending 1 (bad ending):
in the pinnacle level of the game, you will fight Dario a second time (the first confrontation with him takes place in the Garden of Madness level).  To get the first bad ending, ignore Aguni (the fire demon boss that you can see in the mirror behind Dario which you can only reach if you have Paranoia's ability that lets you enter mirrors) and simpy defeat Dario.  The fight plays like a watered down version of a typical boss fight against Dracula where Dario teleports around, shooting fireballs and other spells against Soma.  Eventually Dario will go down and gets killed by his inner demon (Aguni).  Then in a cut scene, it shows Soma leaving the Castle with Genya Arikado (with Celia no where to be found) and Soma suffering mysterious symptoms (probably after his fight with Demitri earlier in the game in which he accidently absorbs Demitri's "soul") and Genya refers Soma to the church for examination.  The ending is pretty bland and implies that he lost to Cecilia and is at risk of becoming "Dracula".

Ending 2 (worst ending):

  To get this ending, when you get to the second boss fight against Dario (in the Pinnacle Level), make sure you have the Paranoia ability equipped and defeat Aguni (ignore Dario).  After that, there is are some boss doors a bit early in the garden of madness level (the one that is guarded by a giant snail monster) that you couldn't get into area earlier in the game.  Go in there without Mina's Talisman equipped and watch the cut scene.  Long story short, Cecilia basically provokes Soma into a rage by killing a fake version of Mina (Soma's girlfriend) and Soma succumbs into becoming the Dark Lord (Dracula).  It also shows Julius, Genya Arikado (who is really Alucard) and Yoko going into the castle to defeat Soma (who is essentially "Dracula" at this point).

Ending 3 (best possible ending): Note - the video below also contains the final boss fight

Equip Mina's talisman before the cut scene with Cecilia (see Ending 2) and the game will be extended considerably longer (it won't end with Soma turning into Dracula). Continue to the Mine of Judgement and later the Abyss levels and defeat the final bosses of the game (namely Death, Abaddon and Menace).  In the ending, Soma puts a stop to the cult's schemes, avoids turing into Dracula and is reunited with his girlfriend.

Other spoilers:

-As mentioned in Ending 2, Genya Arikado is really Alucard from Symphony of the Night (though this fact is not fully revealed until Julius meets up with Alucard in "Julius mode").  
- For old time Castlevania games, Dawn of Sorrow is one of the few newer games in the series that features classic bgm titles, namely: "Bloody Tears" (plays in the background during the Dark Chapel level of the game on "Julius Mode"), "Beginnings" (plays during the Lost Village of the game on "Julius Mode", "Dance of Illusions" (plays during the boss fight against Soma at the end of Julius mode) and Vampire Killer (plays during the Silenced Ruins level of the game on both modes).  Note: Bloody Tears and Beginnings do not appear in the main story mode, so you will have to play on Julius mode (which should open up when you get Endiaeng 2 and / or 3) in order to hear those sound tracks (the music is considerably different during the Lost Villiage and Dark Chapel levels in the main story mode).
- If you get all of the possible souls in the game (will take time, skill and patience to accomplish even with the soul eater rings equiped), the chaos ring will appear in one of the sections of the Abyss level and basically gives Soma almost unlimited MP (makes it easier to use bullet, guardian and support souls that would normally drain Soma's MP bar and basically gives Soma an unfair advantage when fighting enemies and bosses).
- Soul eater ring: if Soma has enough gold, he can buy at least one or 2 soul eater rings (they are expensive to buy) at Hammer's Store (which is located across from Yoko's shop in the Lost Village level) and basically increases Soma's chances of obtaining souls (especially rare ones).  Note: the Soul Eater ring does not guarantee that Soma will obtain rare souls since enemies do not always drop souls even with soul eater ring equipped, but the chances of obtaining the rare souls should increase a bit with those rings.

 Optional Bosses (though necessary for the best ending):
 there are actually 2 "optional bosses" in the game.  Note: While you don't have to fight them if you don't want to and are satisfied with the bad ending (see ending 1), you will eventually you want fight them, especially if you want to extend the game and go for the best ending of the game (after all, Dario is not really the final boss of the game you know).
1) Paranoia - this is a 2 part boss battle lurking in the top of the Demon guest house level (the Demon Guest house is unique in that it actually has 2 boss encounters instead of one like most of the levels have in the game). In the demon guest house level, there is a huge tower you can climb (with the top area closed off until you have made it to the Pinnacle level of Dracula's Castle (there is a switch that you can access when you enter the demon guest house level via the Pinnacle that lets you access the top levels of the tower), and near the top of the the tower there is a passage that leads to the boss door for Paranoia.  It is a 2 phased boss fight (a small version of Paranoia followed by a larger version of him) where you fight a monster that lurks inside a mirror (look up the Paranoia boss fight on youtube to see what I mean) that has wiered mask.  By defeating Paranoia, you will gain the ability to enter mirrors (if you explore Dracula's castle, you will find areas with mirrors and with Paranoia's ability you can enter the mirrors and access hidden power ups and items with it) as well as access the Aguni boss fight.
2. Aguni - When fighting Dario in the Pinnacle level, you should notice a mirror in the background with a fire demon monster (not sure how else to describe aguni) lurking in it.  If you have Paranoia's ability that lets you enter mirrors equipped, ignore Dario and enter the mirror.  You will now be fighting Aguni instead of Dario.  Obviously Aguni is a much more formidable foe than Dario is in many ways. 

That is all for this post.  Have you played Dawn of Sorrow (or Aria of Sorrow for that matter) and have your own take on the game (or have comments you want to add)?  Feel free to leave a comment below.

Thinking about getting Dawn of Sorrow?  You can get yourself a copy either at your local game store (such as Gamestop) or buy one online at Amazon.com. 


Note: You will need either a Gameboy DS or 3DS in order to play this game.  Note: I use a 3Ds which is the latest system from Nintendo and Dawn of Sorrow plays perfectly on the 3Ds.  Note: there is a secret rare ring item (along with several other easter eggs you can find) by inserting aria of sorrow into a Gameboy advanced slot on the Gameboy DS, but there doesn't seem to be a Gameboy Advance slot on the 3DS and so you will need a DS if you want to use the Aria of Sorrow cartridge or even play Aria of Sorrow.

Note: I also just recently played through Portrait of Ruin as well as Order of Ecclesia as well. I will post reviews for those two games when I get around to it.

Similar Games you might like (from Amazon.com):
- Castlevania Order of Ecclesia. 
- Portrait of Ruin.
- Castlevania Aria of Sorrow (Gameboy Advance).  This is he official backstory to Dawn off Sorrow.
- Castlevania Harmony of Despair (Xbox 360), which you can download on Xbox 360 live and seems to be the direct sequel to DOS, OOE and POR.
- Castlevania Dracula X Chronicles (PSP).  I haven't played this game, but it seems to be a remade version of both Castlevania Dracula X (SNES) and Rondo of Blood (neo geo?).

Super Hero costumes at Seattle Emerald City Comicon 2013

Have you ever wanted to see your favorite super heroes, star wars characters, etc?  You get tons of people in costumes at the comic con and here is a video showing off a bunch of people dressed up.  By the way, who is your favorite character?

The xenophobia ironed a pancake

Emerald City Comic Con 2013 recap

Hey everyone.  Have you ever been to a comic con?  I have been to the Emerald City Comic Con 2 times now and went to the comic con this year back in March.  I was there for most of the day, took pictures, saw celebrities (such as Adam West from the Classic Batman movie), got pictures of people dressed up as super heroes, and others. Below are a bunch of the pictures I took (using my Windows phone).

2 Boba Fetts Posing for the Camera (including a white Boba Fett)

Me Posing with "Captain America" and a random imperial moff

Battle Droid?

Michael Rooker and Danai Gurira from "Talking Dead" Panel discussion.

Here is a funny picture of 2 business men posing as Darth Vader and Boba Fett

Darth Vader "force choking" (not really of course) a random jedi character

Random booth at the comic con

It's gumby

Justin with a random person dressed up as a robot (he got a bunch of pictures too)

Isn't this impressive: a huge lego castle.  The person who built this  definitely has talent.  I wouldn't know how to do something like this myself.

Natalia Tena at the Comic Con.  She is one of the support characters from the Harry Potter films.

Star Trek Improv.  Yes, there was an entertaining Star Trek Improv at the Emerald City Comic Con.  Pretty funny too.  

Adam West and Burt Ward at the comic con.  If you are ever looking to   see celebrities in person, comic cons (like the one in Seattle) are a good place to look.  You probably won't meet them in person unless if you pay to get an autograph with them, though.

Here are some people posing as Batman (pretty authentic costume if you ask me), Loki (from the Avengers and Thor), and Hallie from Batman

There was a section at the comic con where a bunch of the Star Wars characters congregated., such as  Darth Sidious (aka Emperor Palpatine), a Storm Trooper, tuskan raiders, etc).

It is Darth Maul and a random female Sith (not sure who she is trying to portray)

Galactus Posing for the camera.  Can't you imagine if Galactus was real?  No planet would be safe from his ravenous appetite (including Earth).  

Add caption

Justin posing with Super girl.  Like in this picture, Justin taught me that comic cons can actually good places to meet people (especially people of the opposite gender) as he was able to meet some cute (not sure how else to put it) women this way too.  I will have to try that out myself next year.

Justin and Wonder Woman?  

It's Luigi and Zelda!  Link and Zelda probably gone together better though in my opinion.

Random Lady posing with R2 (the R2 unit looks pretty authentic).

Hey, do any of you like the power rangers?  At the comic con , there were a group of people who were dressed up as the power rangers.  They looked almost like the real thing too (costume and all).  Note: this picture can also be found at www.rangerboard.com.  I actually got a picture of them too before leaving the comic con (they were posing close to where some of the celebrity panels were) on Justin's camera, but he forgot to post the picture, but this picture will do.  By the way they look almost like the real thing from the TV shows (though I doubt that they are the same actors, though I did not see who was behind the masks either).  By the way, I have been watching some of the episodes from the original power rangers series for old times' sake, so getting a picture of them was pretty cool.  By the way (especially to you fellow guys), who all used to have a crush on the pink ranger?  I know I did back in the day.

Those are a bunch of the pictures from the comic con (not all inclusive, but I am sure you can find more pictures and videos from others on the net).

Overview of the Emerald City Comic Con

I went to the comic con with Justin (my brother) on Saturday (back in March) and we were there for almost the whole day (longer than we were last year).  It was a fun filled day and we did quite a bit.  We walked around, took pictures, saw all of the different booths and stations people set up.  We also sat in several panel discussions, including: one that offered tips on dating and relationships (I probably could have benefited from it myself considering that I am still single, at least at at the time of this posting, will update you if that ever changes of course), a star trek improv (which was pretty funny skit where a bunch of dudes pretend to be from the original Star trek series and venture to worlds that visitors come up with and they do a star trek style episode), various celebrity panels (such as Natalia from Harry Potter, Adam West / Burt Ward, along with several others).  We did quite of other things too, including trying out a new mech warrior style game coming out in the near future (can't remember the name of it), took pictures of people dressed up as super heroes, star wars characters, etc.  By the way, there were some celebrities at the comic con I did not see, including Patrick Stewart, the guy who played "Alpha 5" from power rangers, Billy Dee Williams (Lando from Star Wars Empire Strikes back), Will Wheaton, the lady from X-files, and several others, but I am sure you can find them on youtube and elsewhere on the net.  By the way, when I saw the "talking dead" panel, it was originally supposed to be a panel for Carrie Fisher (Leia from Star Wars), but she was a no show (unfortunately).

Highlights of our visit includes:
- Watching a panel discussion on meeting women for nerds (at least from male perspective)
- Watched a Star Trek improve episode
- Saw several celebrity panels, including Natalia Tena (from Harry Potter), Burt Ward, Adam West, Michael Rooker and Danai Gurira
- Checked out the many different exhibits and booths
- Tried out a new mech warrior style game coming out in the next few months (online based)
- Took pictures of a bunch of people in costubes (like the ones in the pictures above).  There were a bunch of other people in costumes too and I wish I could have gotten them all, but I am sure you can find more cosplay pictures on google and bing.
- Along with a bunch of other things.

This year, I did not dress up, but next year, I probably will try to dress up.  Some ideas I am kicking around includes:
- Spiderman
- Deadpool
- Nick Fury (btw, before Samuel Jackson's version of Nick Fury, he wasn't always protrayed as an African American as was the case, for example in Marvel Ultimate Alliances 1 and 2).
- Power Ranger character (probably the red ranger), though I bet those costumes would be expensive to buy.
- Superman
or whatever.

Well, that is all for now.  Were any of you at the comic con?  Feel free to share your experiences.  Also, feel free to like and share this post with others and your support would be most appreciated.

Microsoft confirms E3 2013 media conference | Xbox 360 News at New Game Network

Microsoft confirms E3 2013 media conference | Xbox 360 News at New Game Network

Spider Man Shattered Dimensions (Xbox 360) - Definitely an excellent game for Spiderman fans and super hero lovers. Official Review of Spider Man Shattered Dimensions

Hey everyone, who likes super heroes?  I know I do (been watching shows like Spider Man and Power Rangers lately) and today I am going to talk about the game Spider Man, Shattered Dimensions for the Xbox 360.

My Rating: A-

Overview  / Story-

Ah, Spiderman has been around for a long time (at least since the 1960s) and one of my favorite spider man series was probably the one shown on Fox Kids back in the 1990's (I was sad to see it go), and recently I have gotten my hands on Spider Man Shattered Dimensions and did at least one round through already and it reminds me of the 1990's style Spider Man cartoons (at least in a way) with all of the classic voice overs, characters and elements.  In Spider Man Shattered Dimensions, the game starts with Amazing Spider Man confronting the evil Mysterio (the game's main evil genius) who manages to steal a mysterious fragment that can give people supernatural powers and abilities.  To make matters worse, the fragment shatters and is sent across 4 different spider man dimensions and falls into the hands not only of Mysterio, but many other super villians as well and  a lady named Madame web (she watches over Spiderman) literally recruits 4 different Spiderman (from 4 different realities) to track down the shattered pieces of the mysterious fragments and stop the super villians before they can use them and bring about chaos in each reality.  The game is 13 levels long (with a 4 part final confrontation with Mysterio at the end) and is divided into 3 parts (consisting of 4 levels each).  You also control all 4 of the different spider men (one per level) in their own unique dimentsions.  The 4 different realities includes:
1. Ultimate Spider Man (present day and has Peter Parket donning the dark symbiotic suit, though he seems to be able to control it).  In this dimension, Parker is up against the Sandman, Deadpool, and Carnage (who manages to take over a S.H.I.E.L.D base).
2. Noir Spider Man - this is supposedly Spiderman from the 1930s and the levels here take on a black and white feel to them and brings back memories from the 1930's.  Noir is pretty unique in that it feels a bit like Splinter Cell or Perfect Dark Zero, where your character is supposed to sneak around, take out enemies when they are not looking, rescuing people in danger, as well as taking on super villians such as Hammerhead, the Vulture and later a classic version of Norman Osborn (the green goblin).
3. Amazing Spiderman.  Similar to Ultimate Spider man, but somewhat younger and has less abilities than Ultimate.  He is up against the likes of Juggernaut, Kraven the Hunter, and Electro.
4. 2099 Spiderman - takes place in the distant future and is the only spider man not played by Peter Parker (I think his name is Miguel).  This version of spider man has a New World Order (global dictatorship) feel, Miguel is not only up against evil super villians (Hobgoblin, the Scorpion, and a female version of Dr Octopus), but he is also up against a corrupt global government that wants to capture and/or kill spiderman (I guess they don't like super heroes).  One cool thing about this spiderman is the slow motion mode that you can activate if needed (which reminds me a bit of how it is on the Matrix, slow motion and all) and makes it easier to take on villians and corrupt agents alike.

Things I like about Spiderman Shattered Dimensions:

1. Feels almost like some of the Spiderman cartoons and tv shows you see.
2. Great villian line up, just like in the comics.  Almost all of the villians in the game are pretty well known in the spiderman universe (not sure if Deadpool is or not).
3. Great voice acting (almost like the Spiderman in cartoons).
4. Excellent comic book style graphics
5. I liked the variety in the levels.  Better than doing the same old thing over and over again.
6. Lots of cut scenes and videos
7. Epic final boss (Mysterio is huge and almost like a god in the final confrontation.
8. Good length too (not too short, and not too long either).  Each level is pretty long too (usually took me at least 2 hours per level on averages).
9. Challenges too.  Adds replay value (for example finding hidden spiders and emblems will definitely appeal to diehard fans).

Downsides to Spiderman Shattered Dimensions:

1. Some redundancy (the level patterns are somewhat similar)
2. I thought that the controls were a bit choppy.  For example, I remember one level where you were going up against Deadpool and you had to get across several dams (with Deadpool sending deady tidal waves against Spiderman) and it took several tries partly due to the choppy controls (for example the web swing and double jump abilities did not always work properly).
3. Cartooney look - appeals more to younger audiences.  Older crowds might not like this as much.  I liked it though.

Final thoughts:

Personally, I was a fan of this game and I've always been a Spiderman fan myself and this game will definitely appeal to spiderman fans and super hero fans in general alike and makes for a pretty good super hero game. I also liked it more than edge of time (which is another spiderman title I have, though I will save that game for another review).  Now, some people might be turned off by the cartoony feel to the game (especially older crowds), but this will defintely be very appealing to younger audiences (especially people that like Super heroes).  I definitely recommend this game to just about any superhero fan out there. That is all for now.

Have you thought about getting Spider Man Shattered Dimensions (or similar games)?  You can probably pick up a copy for pretty cheap at Amazon.com or Walmart.

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SPIDERMAN:SHATTERED DIMENSIONS-NLA

Spiderman Shattered Dimen (Xbox 360) - Pre-Owned
Have any of you played Spiderman Shattered Dimensions before and want to add your take to the game?  Please be sure to leave a comment below.  Did you agree with my review?  What did you like about the game or didn't like about the game?  Feel free to share your thoughts below.  By the way, there is also a version of this game on the Playstation 3, but I haven't tried that version yet (though I am assuming they are pretty much the same game).

Hey, what do you all think of the new background for my site? I think it is awesome myself

I just changed the layout and background for this blog.  It now has a Halo themed wall paper and will make it look much more video game oriented than a generalized video game blog. I think I will keep the halo themed background for the time being (at least until I come up with a better one).  I will also updating my tabs, pages and ads on the site (such as making the affiliate offers on this site beg more related to the video game niche, like he Amazon.com ad I have for the Xbox 360. Stay tuned for more updates.

Just merged this site with my Xbox 360 fan site

Hey everyone, in case if you have not noticed, I decided to merge this blog with my Xbox 360 fan site (formerly at www.xboxfreak.ws).  It has proven to be difficult to maintain both sites and both this blog and my Xbox 360 fan site pretty much cover the same kind of niche (video games, xbox 360, etc) and so I decided that merging the two websites into one site would be the best way to go.  By the way, I did transfer some of the content from my other site (such as the links page from my original site).  I will also rewrite my reviews of the Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, and the Kinect as time allows.  Also a nice thing about having a blog is that it is easier for people to comment, share content, as well as subscribe to the feed on my site.  Stay tuned for more posts. 

Mass Effect 3 - is it worth playing? Ryan's Review of Mass Effect 3

Well, the epic finale to the Mass Effect series is here and assuming you have not played the game, or maybe you have but want a different take to the game, you are in luck.  I will share with you my experience with playing Mass Effect 3.

 

Overview / Story of Mass Effect 3

Ah, it is officially War of the Worlds, Mass Effect style.  I got Mass Effect 3 about a month after it came out and I was definitely looking forward to the game, especially after beating Mass Effect 2 twice not long before Mass Effect 3 came out and so I still had Mass Effect 2 still fresh in my memory when playing ME 3.  Storywise, as it turns out the first 2 games in the series seemed to have served to set the stage for the events in the 3rd game.  Saren from Mass Effect 1 and the Collectors from Mass Effect 2 were merely pawns of the reapers, which is an evil alien race basically bent of a genocidal war against the human race and other races they don't like and now in Mass Effect 3, the reapers have arrived and have launched a full scale war across the galaxy (which will definitely remind you of movies and books like Independence Day, War of the Worlds and even Power Rangers, where you get evil alien races trying to conquer the universe), and even Earth is facing possible destruction by the reapers.  Initially commander Shepard was relieved of his duties and was grounded on earth after the events of Mass Effect 2, as well as the expansion pack "The Arrival", namely his temporary alliance with Cerberus (the Alliance did not take kindly to Shepard's involvement with Cerberus) as well as an incident where he destroyed a warp drive in the Batarian sector of space and accidently killing Batarians when trying to keep the reapers from entering the Batarian sector and wreaking havoc early on.  However, once the reapers invade Earth, Shepard is once again called back to duty and it is basically up to him to amass a huge army of all of the races across the galaxy and create the ultimate weapon known as the Catalyst that can be used to stop the reapers.  To make matters worse, Shepard's former allies at Cerberus have gone rogue and the Illusive Man (who was possibly indoctrinated by the reapers) has launched a scheme to control the reapers as well as hinder Shepard's efforts to unite the galaxy against the reapers, forcing Shepard to both take on the Reapers as well as Cerberus (though luckily some Cerberus agents like Miranda and Jacob do remain loyal to Shepard).

 Highlights of the game includes but not limited to:

- Curing or sabatoging the genophage, thus drawing Shepard into the middle of a lenthy conflict between the Salarians and the Krogan races.
- Defending the citadel from attacks by Cerberus
- Regaining the trust of Ashley/Kaiden (their trust of Shepard had been shaken by Shepard's tenure at Cerberus during the events of Mass Effect 2) and Shepard maybe be forced to kill Ashley/Kaiden if he fails to regain their trust.
- Getting involved with the conflict between the Geth and the Quarians
- Lots of side missions too, including defending a biotic academy from Cerberus, diffusing a nuclear bomb on the Krogan homeworld, and many others
- Romance options.  In my renegade game, my guy dated Tali, but it is also possible to strike up a romance (at least from male perspective) with Liara, Miranda, Jack, Ashley, and some of the other female members of the crew.  Also, if you have dated 2 different people during the series, jealousy does ensue too and Shepard is forced into a love triangle.
- Massive Multiplayer mode (by the way, playing multiplayer can help improve your readiness rating.

General review of Mass Effect 3

 

The good:

1. Great storyline.  It is also darker than the previous two installments and is much more epic too.
2. I like how you can make choices in the game and how they impact how things play out.  By the way, the Mass Effect series is very unique in a way that choices you make in Mass Effects 1 and 2 can have a profound impact in Mass Effect 3 too .  For example, if any of your squad mates die in the first 2 games, they are dead for good and do not return in Mass Effect 3.  In Mass Effect 1, Kaiden or Ashley will have been killed off (if you played Mass Effect 1, there was a point where you had to save one or the other, but you could not save both) and the surviving character will appear in Mass Effect 3 (ultimately as a squad mate).  It is also possible to have Wrex killed off in the first game too (he will be replaced by his brother Wrev in that scenario).  In Mass Effect 2, characters who die in the suicide mission (btw, it is possible to keep everyone alive in Mass Effect 2 depending on how well you prepare for the suicide mission and how you did choice wise on the final mission, such as choosing the right specialists for the missions, upgrading weapons, shields and engines before launching the suicide mission as well as how well you were able to keep the loyalty of your crew).  By the way if you want to have romances in Mass Effect 3, for some of the characters, the relationship will have to have been started in ME 2 (such as Tali and Miranda).  Choices can also impact how people perceive you (were you a total jerk or were you a nice guy), who is on the council, and ultimately how the game plays out.  You also have big choices to make in Mass Effect 3 too that will also dictate how things play out too (one example is when you get involved in the war between the geth and the quarians, and at the end of that mission, you can either choose to bring peace to the two races or anhilation to one of the two races).  I've never seen anything like the choice system from the Mass Effect series where choices from one game can affect the other (even the Star Wars Knights of the Republic games did not have this).
3. The game is pretty long too.  Seems to be a little bit shorter than Mass Effect 2 and you don't have nearly as many side missions as you did in Mass Effect 1 or 2, but the story line will take you several days to play through.  By the way, there are expansion packs and additional missions that you can download from Xbox live, but it does cost extra to use them, but they can extend the game quite nicely.
4. Smooth controls
5. Multiple difficulty levels.  Casual players will probably like the easy mode difficulties, while more advanced players and diehard gamers will probably like the harder mode difficulties. 
6. Great voice acting.  I thought that the actors did a pretty good job portraying their roles
7. Lots of suspense and the game will keep you on edge. 
8. I liked the final showdown against the reapers as well as Cerberus.  Even the final confrontation against the Illusive man was pretty cool.
9. Great shooter elements too.  I like how you can customize your weapons as well as the selections of the weapons and abilities you can use.  I remember in Mass Effect 2, the selection was a bit more limited.
10. Excllent Grapics too - just as you would expect from an Xbox 360 game

 

The Bad

1. Like others, I thought that the endings could have been better, though the extended cut expansion pack does make them better and expands on each of the endings. Also I do have to admit that the final confrontation against the Harbinger and the Illusive man were a bit anticlimactic, a good final boss battle would have been awesome.  It would have been awesome to take on the Harbinger in an epic boss battle as well as the Illusive man being turned into a reaper monster that you have to fight.
2. This game might be too dark for some people.  If you thought that Mass Effect 2 was dark (especially during the final mission when you take on the collectors), Mass Effect 3 is significantly darker.  Even towards the beginning of the game when the reapers invade earth, it was pretty much "hell on earth" (much like a scene you would see in the game, Saving Private Ryan with onslaught from the reapers) and there is a scene where a kid (who Commander Shepard tries to help) and a bunch of other people try to escape in a shuttle only to be shot down and destroyed by one of the huge reaper machines (and that is just the beginning of the game).  Also, the entire galaxy is one giant battlefield.
3. I remember having to change disks frequently.  I liked it more in Mass Effect 2 where you only have to change disks twice (once after the horizon mission and once just before you start the final mission).
4. The multiplayer missions do get redundant after a while I know some people will probably like playing alone more.

Final thoughts about Mass Effect 3:
All and all I think Mass Effect 3 was a great game and I bet most if not all fans of the Mass Effect series will enjoy the third and final chapter of the series.  Obviously one can't make everyone happy and there are some downsides to the game too, such as the fact that the game is significantly darker than the previous 2 entries of the series, and the fact that the endings could have been better, but the game definitely has a lot to offer and makes a pretty good conclusion to the series in my opinion.  I found my self playing through the game twice myself and there are several incentives to do multiple playthroughs, such as trying to see how the outcome changes based on the choices you make, having Shepard get in relationships with fellow squad mates (my guy dated Tali in my second playthough, and I thought that was pretty cool).  The game is pretty long too and it will definitely keep you busy for hours if not days. 

Thinking about getting Mass Effect 3?  You can pick up a copy at Amazon.com here!

Mass Effect 4 Sequel? 
I have thought that Mass Effect 3 was the final game in the series, but it seems like there might be another game in the works (at least I have seen articles and rumors on it).  Not really sure what the next game will be about or whether Commander Shepard will be in it, but I suppose there are some sequel ideas I have:
- Prequels trilogy.  I know the Mass Effect series has an extensive back story (such as the story behind the protheans, who fell victim to the reapers long before the main games take place).  Also, the Krogan rebellion would make an interesting game.  There also seem to be events that take place between the games (such as Cerberus taking over Omega sometime between Mass Effects 2 and 3).  I suppose they can also do a "next generation" version of Mass Effect that takes place a whole generation or 2 after the events of Mass Effect 3.  I suppose only time will tell, but I guess we will find out soon enough about upcoming games.  By the way, I don't work for EA games or Bioware, so I have no idea what they are planning so I can only speculate for now.

Ryan Jones
Fellow Xbox 360 Gamer and Amazon.com Affiliate
Want to check out more games?  Be sure to visit my Amazon Associate store.  Here are some hot offers from the store below
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What do you think about Mass Effect 3?  Feel free to share your experiences in the comments below.

Ryan's Review of Metal Slug XX for the Xbox 360

Hey guys, today I am going to be posting my review on the Xbox Live game, Metal Slug XX (also known as Metal Slug 7).

Overall Score (based on my experience): A-

By the way, here is a short video from Youtube showing off the first 2 levels in the game.


Overview and story (warning, this section contains spoilers, as I have played the game already and don't know if you have or not) -

Side by side comparison: doesn't General Morden from the Metal Slug Series look eerily similar to the former dictator, Saddam Hussein (long before he was executed several years back)?

Picture of Saddam Hussein (found on Flickr) Stock Photo of General Morden from the Metal Slug Series (picture found at http://www.gamekult.com/blog/bigbossff/)

Metal Slug XX (aka Metal Slug 7 for the Gameboy DS system) is the latest addition to the hit Metal Slug series and presumably takes place after the events of Metal Slug 6 (which was featured in Metal Slug Anthology for the Playstation 2 as well as the Nintndo Wii).  In Metal Slug XX, the evil General Mordin (the Saddam Hussein look alike that is the main antagonist of the series) is back and is up to his old tricks again, and even recruits soliders from the distant future to his cause and it is up tp Marco, Fio, and all of the other Metal Slug crew to foil Mordin's schemes once again.  Unlike many of the previous installments of the series, were Mordin is merely a pawn of a more sinister plot (such as the alien invasions that took place in Metal Slugs 2, X and 3, a corrupt business man in Metal Slug 4, a shadowy terroist organization in Metal Slug 5, and now mutant man eating insects in Metal Slug 6), Mordin is officially the main villian once again and will also fuction as the final boss character you fight (a first in the series since the first Metal Slug game).  It is also worth mentioning that the super solider, Allen (the Mr T look alike from Metal Slugs 1-4 that you fight) is back and will once again challenge the heros in a fight to the death, this time in a mech warrior style duel in one of the levels of the game.  Also, like in Metal Slug 6, there are several players available (along with a downloadable character if you are willing to pay a little extra) and each of them have their own unique moves and abilities.  Marco can shoot 2 handguns machine gun style when you hit the y button (based on default controls).  Fio (the lady with the orange hair and hat) is automatically equipped with a machine gun instead of the regular hand gun and can't lose the machine gun whenever she dies like the other characters do whenever they die in the game.  Eri has an extra arsenal of grenades and can throw them in almost any direction (up, down, diagonal, straight, etc) and can be extra useful against tough enemies (like boss fights, especially the one at the end of level 4 as you will find out as you play the game) as well as crowd conrol (and there are plenty of times where you will be outnumbered).  Also, the game is 7 missions long (which is actually longer than the average Metal Slug game, which is usually 5 or 6 missions long, which varies by game throughout the series) and it does come with a built in level select feature, which can be useful if you don't want to (or can't) play through the entire game in one setting (which is roughly about 2 hours along if played on the medium difficulty).  Like previous reviews, I will rate this game in a letter grade format (where an F is the worst and an A is the best) and you are free to agree or disagree with me.

Gameplay - B

Metal Slug XX plays out much like any other title in the series.  The game is a classic 2D style shooter that plays out much like a typical Contra game, where it is a side scroller shooter where you you go through the levels, shooting bad guys, avoiding bullets, as well as using special vehicles (scattered in various stages) as you play through each level (mission).  Most of the missions are big and fairly long and have a huge boss or boss machine that you have to fight at the end.  Like all Metal Slug and Contra games, one hit kills you (unless if you are driving one of the many vehicles in the game, in which case it usually takes several hits to kill you) and you do get 3 lives before you get a game over (though the game does come with a continue system).  You can also do 2 players and the Xbox 360 version does come with an Xbox live mode as well (though I haven't played it yet).  The game also comes with a "combat school" where you replay through the different missions of the game and try to meet certain goals (such as getting 100% accuracy when shooting enemies, not gettign killed, etc) for extra achievements and bragging rights.  By the way, I have read other reviews for this game, and I am actually surprised that some people find this game to be too short, even though it is actually 7 missions long (most Metal Slug games are only 5 or 6 missions long) and does take a little while to beat.  Of course, if you are looking for a much longer game, you might try other shooters like the Mass Effect Series, the Call of Duty series, etc). 

Difficulty - C

If you are a typical player when it come to games like Metal Slug and Contra, you will probably die ALOT in this game, even on easy mode.  Like other games in the series, one hit usually kills your character (btw, if you play as Ralph, you can usually take 2 hits before dying) and the levels do get progressively harder as you play through the game, especially levels 4 - 7 where death is nearly impossible to avoid unless if you have extremely good reflexes and can predict the enemies' movies (though I have seen Youtube videos of people playing through games like Metal Slug XX where they never die, let along get a game over, which is definitely an impressive feat to accomplish).  And there are places, where you are bound to die alot, especially in a section in level 4 where you battle man eating plants, soldiers and overhead man eating plants at the same time.  Also, I found the final level to be extra challenging, especially towards the end. By the way, if you have special weapons, you usually lose them when you die (with the exception of Fio's machine guns).  Luckily, when you almost inevitably run out of lives, the game does come with a continue system where you can continue in the mission and you do get infinite continues in the game as far as I can tell (which can be a good thing or bad thing depending on how you look at it).  Obviously, if you are looking for a much more challenging Metal Slug game, I recommend you get yourself a copy of Metal Slug 3 for the original Xbox (now that one is extra brutal as far as lives and continues are concerned, especially on the final mission) or even Metal Slug Anthology and turn off the unlimited continues mode (which is on by default, at least in the Playstation 2 version).  Anyways, the game is challenging, but it is definitely beatable (though you will probably go through lots of lives and continues by the end of hte game).

Sound-  A

Personally, I loved the sound and background music in the game.  Also, like in many of the newer installments, the boss music has changed again (at least for the regular bosses), though they did bring back the classic final boss theme at the final boss (the one from Metal Slug 2 when you fight the mothership).  Also, the voice acting and narrating is pretty nice too.

General - A

Personally, this game was pretty fun for me and where there are some things I didn't like, I definitely recommend this game to any of you who are into arcade style shooters and are a fan of the Metal Slug series.  Also, old time fans of the Metal Slug series will be pleased to see some of the recurring themes this game has to offer, including:

1) General Morden returns and is the main villian this time around.  Also, for the first time since Metal Slug 1, you will fight him as the final boss, and this time it is a much more epic boss fight and comes in 3 stages (unlike the anti-climatic battle against him in the first Metal Slug game).

2) Allen is back for the first time since Metal Slug 4.  If you missed him from Metal Slugs 4-6 you will be delighted to hear that he is definitely back and once again he will challenge you to a fight to the death once again (this time in a classic mech warrior style boss battle).

3) The final boss music from most of the Metal Slug games is back as well. 

Anyways, that is all for now.  You can find Metal Slug XX on Xbox live if you are looking for it and it is relatively cheap to download.  By the way, I have not played Metal Slug 7 on the Gameboy DS yet, so I don't really know how the two versions compare, though if you have played the other versions, feel free to share your experiences with them.

Things I like to see in the sequel (assuming they make another Metal Slug game):
1) Some next gen elements (such as 2.5D graphics and comic book style feel similar to that from Mega Man X8 and Castlevania Dracula X Chronicles).
2) Cut scenes and voice acting (that would be cool, especially if they have good voice actors for the characters).
3) 10 levels would be ideal
4) Some roleplaying elements might be cool as well (kind of like how it is in the Mass Effect series).
5) They should also have more stages with alternate routes and exits (like how it was in Metal Slug 3 where most of the levels had alterate routes that yu can take for some extra variety and replay value).
6) Aliens would be nice to have again, like the ones from Metal Slugs 2 and 3.
7) Cater to both casual gamers and hard core gamers (such as making so people can choose to have limited continues or unlimited continues as was the case in metal slug anthology).




Comments? 
Have you played Metal Slug XX yet?  Feel free to share your experiences in the game.  Did you like the game, did you not like the game?  What would you like to see in Metal Slug 8 (whenever they release it) and no I don't work for SNK, so I wouldn't know anything about the sequel, though I am assuming another sequel is in the works.

Other games you might like:
Metal Slug 7 for the DS - this is the gameboy ds version of this game
Metal Slug Anthology (Playstation 2) and Metal Slug Anthology (Nintendo Wii) (there is also a version for the PSP as well).  Metal Slug Anthology is definitely a must have fore Metal Slug series fans (though sadly they did not make a version for the Xbox 360, so you will have to get a Wii or Playstation 2 if you want to play that game) and features Metal Slugs 1-6 along with Metal Slug X (which is basically an alternate version of Metal Slug 2), and also has special artwork and interviews that you can unlock as you play the game.  The game collection also caters both to casual players and hardcore gamers with variable difficulty modes, variable starting lives, as well as the option to either have unlimited continues (which is on by default) or limited continues (up to 20 continues) if you think you are up to the the challenge.

Mass Effect 2, a must have sci fi adventure on the Xbox 360

You know, I think it is time for another game review.  Yesterday, I talked about Castlevania Harmony of Despair, and today I will talk about Mass Effect 2.  By the way, I did play through Mass Effect 3 twice, though I will talk about that game on another post (by the way, feel free to submit game reviews if you want as realistically I will probably not get to every single game for the Xbox 360 due to time and budget restraints).  Mass Efect 2 has been out for a while and I do have to admit that I am a fan of the game and series.  This game is definitely a must have if you are into science fiction games and films (like Star Trek).  Like in the last game review, I will rate this game under a letter grade ranking system (with an A meaning that the game and features are perfect, while an F means it is lousy).

Above is the official launch trailer for Mass Effect 2 posted by EA on Youtube

Overview / Story - A

If you like science fiction fantasy games and films (i.e., Star Wars, Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, Knights of the Old Republic, etc), you will probably love Mass Effect 2.  This game was the official sequel to Mass Effect 1 and is the second of a 3 game series created by Bioware/EA Games.  In this action packed sequel, the game continues the story of Commander Shepard in his quest to ultimately stop the reapers from destroying the galaxy as we know it.  In Mass Effect 1, you played as Shepard (along with his crew) as he/she stopped the rogue specter Saren (who was posessed by a reaper called Soverign) from taking over the galaxy (for more information about the first game in the series, you can either buy the game here or read the article on the game on Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_Effect_(video_game)). Of course, little did Shepard know is that the story is far from over.  In the prologue of the game, the Normandy (Shepard's ship) gets attacked by a mysterious race called the collectors and was apparently killed during the encounter.  2 years later, Shepard gets resurrected by Cerberus, which is a shadowy organization headed by the Illusive Man which wants to establish human dominance across the galaxy (a spinter group from the Alliance).  Although initially branded as a "terrorist organization" by the Alliance (some of the side missions in Mass Effect 1 even had you fighting Cerberus operatives), Ceberus sets aside their hostilities when entire human colonies begin to "disappear" as a dangerous alien race known as the collectors basicallhy begin launching a genocidal war against the human race by abducting and killing human colonists across the galaxy.  Shepard is forced to forge an uneasy alliance with Cerberus (even against the wishes of the Alliance), recruit a whole new set of squadmates and launch an epic and very survivable suicide mission against the Collector base (which is located literally at the center of the galaxy near the edge of the massive black hole at the galaxy's core).  Some squadmates from Mass Effect 1 (like Tali and Garrus) make their returns as squadmates (though you will have to "recruit" them once again), while others (like Liara, Ashley/Kaiden, and Wrex assuming he survives Mass Effect 1) return as NPC characters and so you will have a whole new set of squadmates this time around, including:

1) 2 Cerberus operatives: Miranda and Jacob (who join your party towards the beginning of the game)
2) A mercenary called Zaeed who was a former Blue Suns gang member and is an expert at combat
3) A salarian doctor/scientist named Mordin
4) A biotic convict female called Jack who was imprisoned on a huge prison ship headed by the Blue Suns who seems to have a grudge against Cerberus.
5) A justicar named Samara who is initially stationed at Illium (a huge Asari colony).  By the way, if you are going evil in Mass Effect 2, you can also replace her with her "evil" daughter named, Morinth , who is like a succubus (she has a reputation for killing people she mates with including Shepard if you decide to romance her).
6) A drell assassin called Thane
7) A prototype Krogan named Grunt
8) A "friendly" geth named Legion
9) A sophisticated female thief named, Kasumi (comes with the "Stolen Memory" DLC that you can buy and download on Xbox live).
10) Tali (who was initially on a pilgrimage) and Garrus (who was going by the alias of the archangel and is initially being hunted down by thugs on Omega (a huge space staion on an asteroid that doesn't have an official government and an Asari crimelord named Ari acting as the leader of Omega).

The game is divided into 3 phases, with several intermissions in between. In phase 1, you recruit your squad mates.  Phase 2 has you doing their loyalty missions (while the loyalty missions are optional, it is recommended that you get your squadmates' loyalty for best results on the suicide mission and plus it extends the game significantly as the game will seem extra short otherwise) along with optional side missions known as N7 assignments (these are pretty much random side missions you can do and have you do various miscellaneous tasks like doing "treasure hunting" on various worlds, fighting pirates, salvaging ships that have crashed, etc).  Phase 3 has you doing the climatic suicide mission against the Collector base.  There are also several extra storyline missions, including 2 where you have to investigate human colonies on Freedom's Progress and later on Horizon, as well as 2 where you have to do some covert ops on collector/reaper vessels.  Personally I liked the storyline, videos, and voice acting.  By the way, if you haven't played through Mass Effect 1, I do recommend playing through that game before doing Mass Effect 2, and there are several benefits of doing so:

1) You get the full backstory for Mass Effect 2, including the story with Saren, Soveriegn, planets you visited in Mass Effect 1 (such as Zhu's hope, Virmire, etc).
2) Choices you make in Mass Effect 1 do effect how Mass Effect 2 (and Mass Effect 3 for that matter) plays out.  Several key choices from Mass Effect 1 includes: did you save Ashley or Kaiden on Virmire (there is a situation where both of them were in dire situations on Virmire and you are forced to save one or the other, but not both) and by the way, while the choice doesn't have much effect on Mass Effect 2 (besides who returns), both become romance options in Mass Effect 3 (for example, if you are male shepard and want to romance Ashley, she will need to have survived Mass Effect 1 for you to play as her).  Other key choices will be Wrex's fate on Virmire (it appears he can be killed off on Virmire too) and if he dies, he will be replaced by his brother Wrev in Mass Effect 2, whether or not you save the council at the end of Mass Effect 1 when the citdel gets attacked by Sovereign, (the council will be more suspicious of Shepard if you didn't save them in the first game), whether Captain Anderson or Udina are the human councilors.  Also, it appears some NPCs do make appearences on Mass Effect 2 if you played Mass Effect 1 (such as Conrad Verner).  By the way, if you haven't played Mass Effect 1, those choices will be made for you (whether you like them or not) though there does seem to be a DLC add on (Genesis) that lets you make the key choices from Mass Effect 1. 
3) Imported Shepards do have their benefits, including extra experience points and power ups, free credits, free resources for upgrades, etc.

Finally, like Mass Effect 1, ME 2 does have a "choose your own adventure" style format where you have control over the conversations, Shepard's actions, etc.  You can either make your guy an "angel" or you can make him a total jerk too.  In mass effect 2, you also have new interupt options that appear on certain conversions, with paragon interupts being where Shepard trys to help or comfort the person he is interacting with, while renegade interupts has Shepard pulling more aggressive responses (such as shooting/threatening someone during arguments).  Also, some of your choices will have an impact on Mass Effect 3 (for example, squad mate who die on the suicide mission will not return in Mass Effect 3 and will usually be replaced by someone else).  By the way, Shepard can enter into relationships with certain squad mates.  As male Shepard, for example, you can enter into relationships with Miranda, Jack, Morinth (though she literally kills your character if you decide to go that route, though it is somewhat funny too), Tali and your first mate, Kelly Chambers.  As female shepard, it appears you can have relationships with Thane, Garrus and Jacob.  Finally, the game does have several possible endings, and it is possible for Shepard and his/her entire crew to die on the suicide missions (it is not supposed to end that way, but it is possible for Shepard to die at the end if you made poor choices both before and during the suicide mission, though personally, I found it much easier to survive the game's final mission than to get everyone killed off).  The only thing I didn't really like about the story is 1) the repuation bars do fill up slowly, and 2) some conversation options pretty much require you to max out your reputation bars (either renegade or paragon).  For example, I remember one part in the game where Miranda and Jack get into an argument about Cerberuse and Shepard is called to break up the arguement.  If you want to keep the loyalty of both crew members, you have to choose the paragon/renegade options, otherwise you will have to side with one of them at the cost of the loyalty of the other crew member, and yet sometimes the paragon/renegade options are unavailable even if you have a high paragon or renegade score, so you would have to commit to either going fully paragon or fully renegade early on in the game if you want to be able to use the extra conversation options (I remember on the Shadow Broker mission too, where in one of the conversations, the paragon/renegade options were greyed out even when I "maxed out" my paragon gauge).. 

Replay value - B

Chances are, you will probably find yourself playing through the game more than once.  There are several possible endings to the game: 1) everyone survives the suicide mission, 2) everyone (including Shepard) dies on the suicide mission, 3) some people survive/die during the final mission, and plus you can get either a parogon/renegade ending too (mostly depends on what you do to the collector base at the end, whether you decide to destroy the base or give the base to Cerberus, though that decision doesn't really seem to affect Mass Effect 3, so it doesn't really matter either way).  Also, there are lots of variables at play (especially if you played through ME 1) and they do affect Mass Effect 3 (for example, if you want to enter in a relationship with Tali or Miranda, you have to romance her in Mass Effect 2, otherwise you will miss out).  It can also be easy to miss things the first time or so around too (such as items you missed the first time).  Also, if you decide to romance squad mates, I found it easy to mess up and miss the opportunities (as the opportunities to get into relationships are limited and usually only come in short windows, where you have to pick certain conversation options for it to work, and you don't always get a second chance at it if you mess up the first time).  Also, unlike Mass Effects 1 and 3, Mass Effect 2 seems to have the most DLC content of all of the Mass Effect games, with extra missions you can download and play (such as the full version of Liara's quest to stop the evil shadow broker who wants Liara dead, as well as a mission that aims to fill the gap between Mass Effects 2 and 3 where Shepard has to do a covert mission on the batarian homeworld and later must make a tough decision to stop the pending reaper invasion, which also serves as a precursor to the events of ME3).

Sound - A
I didn't really notice anything I didn't like about the sound, music and voice acting.  Also, the cut scenes play quite nicely too (by the way, you can usually skip conversations and clip scenes if you want too, usually by pressing the b button, though sometimes that can cause you to automatically choose dialogue options during conversations too, whether you meant to choose them or not).

(to be continued later)