In Depth Review: Jaws: Ultimate Predator for the 3DS (with Pics)

 Prologue:

     So, I’m at the Toysrus register picking up the only copy of Jaws: Ultimate Predator. I’m thinking to myself that I’m not surprised that they only ordered one copy. Just then, the guy at the register interrupts my train of thought to ask me if the game’s supposed to be any good. He tells me that lots of people have been picking it up. This review is for him and all the other people who have yet to pick up the latest Jaws opus. 

The Shovelware Challenge:

     I guess the real purpose of this review isn’t really to find out if the game is worth getting. I think we all know it won’t be worth the money we spend on it. This review is to find out if Jaws is the kind of flawed yet fun game that fans can get enjoyment out of (like Hellboy: Science of Evil) or if it’s the kind of flawed yet more flawed game that even fans can’t find pleasure in (like Todd McFarlane’s Evil Prophecy). In short, is Jaws shovelware?

Playstation 3D Display: An in-depth review

The Playstation 3D display review:

 The world’s first truly in-depth review of Sony’s new 24inch 3D display.

Forward: 

     First things first. This is NOT a TV. This is a display. It does NOT have a TV tuner from which to receive channels from. If you have a cable provider this won’t be a problem. If you don’t watch much TV (like me), this is also not a problem. If not having over-the-air television is a deal breaker, you’ll need to pay for cable, buy a tuner with component/hdmi output, or buy a different gaming monitor.

Prologue:

     I read quite a few reviews of Sony’s new display before deciding to finally pick one up. After reading said reviews, I was prepared for a few things off the bat. I knew the display wouldn’t have the brightest screen out there and that there would likely be a lot of glare. In my time with the display, I have learned quite a bit more.

Metal Gear Solid HD Collection Limited Edition Review (with pics)

And here she is...

The following is a review of the Limited Edition of the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection. This is not a review of the actual game as you can likely find many such reviews all over the internet.

Picking up the Game (skip past the italics if you just want to read the review): 

A funny thing happened on my way home from work. I went to the local Gamestop to pick up my fully paid off pre-ordered copy of MGSHDLE (pictured above) and I was greeted by a parking lot that had been taped off to make room for a line of people waiting in line to buy Modern Warfare 3. This was no midnight release either. It was regular ol' release day at around 4pm.

Well, the last thing I wanted to do was wait what could have been up to an hour in line behind a mass of parents buying a mature rated game for their middle school aged children. Luckily, rumor in the line was that as long as your pre-order was paid in full, you could cut to the front of the line. That's right, the line was long enough to have rumors.  Thankfully, the rumor was indeed true. I cut to the front and showed the employee my receipt and said, "It's not for MW3." He smiles and says, "Thank God." He then takes a look at the receipt and tells me that MGS is the one he's going to pick up today too. Such exchanges are why I love my Gamestop store.

Uncharted 3 Collector's Edition Review

     To start with, this will not be a review of the actual game. This will only be a review of the U.S. Collector's Edition. Other things to keep in mind. In the background of some of the pictures, you may see my crazy glue (used on base of figure) and my x-acto knife (used to open the package). You will also see, in most photos, a PS3 pad. This is intentional and is used for scale.


The Poster (a Gamestop Pre-Order exclusive bonus):

     A while back, Gamestop was offering an Assassin's Creed Revalations Pre-Order Poster. Like this poster, the art was done by Penny Arcade's Jerry Holkins. Unfortunately, the comparisons stop there. Jerry's Assassin Poster was far better in terms of the art asset used. In this poster, I do not really get the Uncharted vibe and the image comes off looking more like random fan art than a professionally done poster. The size of the poster is also much smaller than the AC poster and, unfortunately, the paper stock used is much thinner as well. Whereas the AC poster is right now framed and hanging on my wall, this one will likely find its way to a poster tube. All in all, I'm disappointed in this poster. It is, however, free. And for a free poster, it's quite nice when not being compared to the far superior Assassin's Creed Gamestop poster.

Trioviz's Inficolor 3D glasses: Review (with pics)

     I recently picked up Wal-Mart's excellent Arkham City/ Arkham Asylum GOTY 2-pack for the PS3. Arkham City comes with 3D for 3D enhanced TVs and both versions come with anaglyph (2-color glasses) 3D options for gamers that lack an expensive 3D TV. The tech is by a company called Trioviz. There are paper glasses for their 3D implementation included in the GOTY Asylum pack, but in the Arkham City box, there is a catalog that shows a more robust plastic pair that can be ordered from their web page.