It's been a heck of a year for gaming! Amazing games for almost every platform came out and amazed us! And, you gotta admit, 2010 was a pretty bad year for the mankind. The big earthquake in Haiti, snowstorms world wide that freezed many people to death, the recesion that is killing all of us very slowly since The Big Depression, the major killings in the brazillian Favela, the big society problems in my land Croatia, and God knows what else. 2010 was a year of intrigues and covert operations, which were most clearly showed by Wikileaks. The arresting of Assange showed us really all what the governments are alike, and what their interest is. But, then again, the love of people showed us that anything is possible. That we can all survive if we just keep being together in everything. My dear gamespoters, I wish to all of you a great, wealthy and a happy new 2011. We are all 11!

December 12th, 2010. 2 PM. A gaming store in Zagreb, Croatia. Me in it with 40 bucks in my pocket. 10 minutes later - Halo: Reach in my hands. God, it feels good. The shine of the box itself. The manual inside it. The disc. The package. The game. The life. This game wakes inside me a feeling that tells me: "You were right!".-"'Bout what?"-"Bout buying the mo'fukken console, that's what!". Damn', I must say, Halo is amazing. Although the graphics isn't perfect, the game..... Nothing more to say.... Expect a review in a few days..... Right now, I'm enjoying my new toy :D

I have 3 facts in my life that I can gaurantee with it for them:

-Spicy food is the only food that counts

-Richard Nixon "is not a crook"

-Epic Games knows how to make games

Well, I've been sitting for the last 9 hours (since I came from my job) and playin' my ass off on Gears of War 2 and, sh*t, everytime I play that game it feels the same way as the day when I first tried it (bought it, op.a. on Croatian). Absolutely amazing multiplayer and fantastic co-op leave me chilled everytime I turn it on. Wanna be nwked? Add me- gamertag: ChikaNiky.

And P.S. : This blog post was a warm up in this chilly days of winter. Yeah, you're right. Me and my reviews are back! :D

It's obvious that americans and the japanese have different taste of games. Ever since I bought my first PS console, back in 1999, most of the games I had were childish and funny (but then again, great) games, like Crash Bandicoot or Tombi Tomba. And so it goes on with the PS2 (Jak & Daxter, Ratchet & Clank). Microsoft has a lot more serious opus in games- sandbox crime games (GTA, Just Cause, Mafia), race simulations, fighting games, shooters, RPG-s... Although I love those childish PS games, once you try GTA IV or Mass Effect, you can't get rid of it. Comment and give me your opinion about your favorite games for both of the consoles! Expect my list soon! :D

The 6th episode (or should I say, 8th instalment) in the Tekken series brings us again next-gen graphics and a bunch of characters, 10 years after Tekken Tag Tournament. Amazing graphics, a lot of new characters and moves, great levels and level designs, and for the 1st on a Xbox console, Tekken 6 brings a whole new experience in your home.

LIKE

New characters- As in every Tekken, this one also brings us a bunch of new ones (6, to be exact). Bob, Lars, Alisa, Leo, Miguel and Zafina (Voldo copycat xD) make Tekken 6 interesting and a game you can never be bored with.

Graphics- Shaded water, thunder flashes, shadows, motion blur... All the new next-gen graphics make Tekken look more realistic then ever before!

Online battles- Finally! For the 1st time, over Xbox Live! (with a Gold Account, of course), you can show your skills with other players all over the world, and they DON'T have to be in the same house with you at the same console to play. Finally!

Character design- The characters look flashier and better than ever. Gold earned from the battles can give you some pretty cool fashion stuff to your favorite character, making him even more cooler.

Nicely payed Xbox achievments- Tekken gives you a lot of Xbox Live! gold for finishing it's achievments, which makes the extras at Xbox Live!-s marketplace faster available. Good call (at least for us, if not the marketers :D ).

DISLIKE

Scenario Campaign- The scenario campaign (story mode) is linear, boring and there's nothing new to it. Except the map at the beginning that gives you some hope that it's going to be interesting, when you play it, you close it 3 minutes later. Already seen in Tekken 3, 4 and 5 (Devil Jin story), it doesnt bring anything new to us, except the beginning character's prologue and epilogue.

CLOSURE

Although the scenario campaign mode messed up the game a lot, Tekken 6 is still a fantastic ride which you should not miss, especially the Tekken fans (like me) that have every game in the series so far (like me :D ). Great work, Namco (although it could have been a bit better, but Soul Calibur IV fixed that :D ).

Well, as you can see in the title, the day has finally come- I went deeper through my pocket and found some money that I used to buy the new, black and beautiful, XBOX 360 elite edition. From this day on, on my blog you will se X360 reviews, comments, expectations and many more. Feel free to comment whatever you like!

If you put yourself into my place, you will find yourself as a person that grew up on PSone and PS2 classic's like Final Fantasy, Alundra 1 and 2 and Dark Cloud 1 and 2 etc. D.Q. brings me back into the day's when I was a kid enjoying probably the best of the best from the fantasy RPG genre. It's 2010 and I'm still enjoying my PS2 RPG collection: FFXII, FFX, Dark Cloud 2, Okami and D.Q.VIII.

LIKE:
-Graphics: The first thing you see in the game is the great original graphics, made famous by Akira Toriyama, also the animator of Dragon Ball and Dark Cloud. It's cartoonish look and nice shading completes this games graphics in a lot of ways to the good.

-Story: You cannot compare almost anything in this game with the game story. It's funny, entertaining, interesting and yet the same, amazing.

-Combat : Although a bit same as in the FF series, still fun to play and to watch.

-Sound: The sound is absolutely great! Wether you're in a battle or talking with characthers, you always feel, hear and know how it is to play D.Q.

DISLIKE:
-Eats hours and hours: Although that's a good thing, you're gonna need hours and hours to complete this game... I dare to mention weeks.

CLOSURE:
-D.Q. VIII is a fantastic and entertaining game that brings you the good, old feeling of real RPG games on the PS. Definetly two thumbs up! :D

Just bought myself the new Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2... and you gotta love it!!! :D

Finally! It's been 4 years since the last Jak & Daxter came out and finally, the new one is here! And PS2 and PSP owners, also J&D fans are especially lucky, because it came out only for the PS2 and PSP! Now, for a skilled gamer, this game is arguablly great, but for J&D fans (like me :D) it's fantastic enough :D. FINALLY!

INTO GAME PROLOGUE

J&D IV (:D :D) is the first game from the J&D series that hasn't (I repeat, HASN'T) been developed by it's original game developer and "father" Naughty Dog (Crash Bandicoot series, Uncharted series). It's been developed by a company called HIGH IMPACT GAMES, a company known for buying the Ratchet & Clank series for the PS2 (Insomniac still owns the PS3 and XBOX 360 developing part). They "came out" in the world with Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters for the PS2 and PS2 (familliar?? :D), which was rated pretty good for debitants. Also, H.I.G. made the Secret Agent Clank game for the PS2 ad PSP (:D). Now, it's turn for the J&D series.

POSITIVE

Originality:- Jak and Daxter (and I mean literally :)) haven't changed a bit. Daxter's always weird and sometimes iritating comments bring the magic into the game since it first came out in 2001, and Jak's calmness and inteligence make them a perfect duo. Also, the game kept the same "sandbox" elements, which where best seen in Jak II: Renegade.

Graphics:- Although it has changed a bit (look at the animations and look at J&D), High Impact preserved the original graphics engine, making it a bit smoother and prettier in alignment with the year the game came out. Thumb up! :D

Story:- As in any J&D, the story is always interesting and tense, which make a perfect J&D game.

The MOD-Stick:- A new detail in the fighting sequence- the fighting MOD-Stick, which Keira modified for you at the beggining of the game. The Stick can modify on it self weapons, gadgets, etc. and uses you for fighting instead of your fists, which you used in the last games.

Keeping the PS2 alive:- As you can see at the bottom of my BLOG (lol :D), PS2 is literally suffering. The last good game for the PS2 was God of War II, released in 2007, and that was the last year when PS2 was in the GotY nominees. PS2 is living on games like Dynasty Warriors or some sports and movie games that come out during the year. J&D brings back the feeling you had 4 or 5 years ago when a new game for the PS2 was coming out, and brings you back the thrills.

NEGATIVE

Short:- The biggest problem on PS2 games- almost 75% of PS2 games are short. And so is this one!

Kinda slow:- Although it has some new fighting and flying sequences, J&D is kinda slow, but maybe I'm just drunk :S :D.

CONCLUSION

Jak & Daxter: The Lost Frontier brings us a whole new story and a whole new episode in the J&D series. High Impact Games 4th game suprises us very good, but still misses something the old new J&D's had. But we have to wait for other sequels. Maybe they will suprise us even more! Two thumbs up! :D :D

GRAPHICS: 9/10

SOUND: 8/10

GAMEPLAY: 9/10

FUN FACTOR: 10/10

THE BIG SCORE: 95/100

:D

J&D:TLF footage:

It's 2009 and we probably got the best Pro Evolution Soccer game in the PES series that ever came out. Although it's almost the same, the first name ofthe series was ISS (International Superstar Soccer), which some of us older gamers still remember fighting for the upcoming episode in the store and owning our enemies on the PlayStation 1 console. The first ISS came out in 1994., and I still have that same one in my "old games closet". The 1st PES was released in 2001 for the PS2 and PS1, under the name Pro Evolution Soccer (or in USA and Japan- Winning Eleven 5) and was the first next-gen PES.

A little more about PES history ;) : The first PC version of PES was PES 4, or Winning Eleven 8. This was the beggining of the PES fever and the PES and FIFA domination fight for the PS2 and PC. In 2005 came out, arguably, but very possible, the best PES (before this one :D) yet to come- Pro Evolution Soccer 5, or Winning Eleven 9. It had a new movements engine, and a new graphics engine, and one of the first PES games with many club licensces. But, let's talk about the new PEs now ;)

POSITIVE

Graphics:- Perfect graphics complete this great soccer game. Unbelievable compability with your PC (maybe one of the best on the market) make this game an everybody's enjoyment. The lights, the grass, the kit's.. everything... Two Thumbs up! :D

Movements:- New, harder to engage, but cooler and better moves, make this PES the first one to look very realistic and really make you think that you're watching, and in the same time, playing a soccer game. :D

Difficulty:- The first, challenging PES (after PES 5). You gotta have some serious skill to beat your opponent, even on regular! Talk about that!

Foreign clubs:- Under the Other Clubs section, you can find really a lot of clubs. From Russia, to Romania, from Norway to Croatia. Almost every european country has his representor here. Thumbs up! :D

NEGATIVE

Same game:- To be honest, it's like playing PES 2009 all over again. Nothing, but barely NOTHING new to play or use.

Lack of licencses:- Although it's great, KONAMI bought a s*?! load of licensces for foreign clubs, instead of buying a fewer for them, and more for the FA premiership or the German Bundesliga. Really a shame :(.

Super goalkeepers:- I dunno if this is real, but almost every goalkeeper is a super man! Impossible goal keeping chances and 100 % scoring chances 95 % go to the favor of the goalkeeper. I mean, WTF?!'

CONCLUSION

It's been 4 years since the last decent PES and I think we finally got one to enjoy and call your friends to play with. After all, it is better most of the time to use this kind of game into multiplayer and party use. So, call your friends, prepare some hamburgers and ribs, fix that barbecue and turn the heat on! TWO THUMBS UP! :D ;)

GRAPHICS: 10/10

GAMEPLAY: 9/10

SOUND: 9/10

FUN FACTOR: 10/10

THE BIG SCORE: 97/100

:D