O.H.G.R: Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty/ Substance

I cannot believe how much I actually enjoyed this game. I absolutely denounced the PS2 version of the game, but I found myself enthralled by the Xbox version. If I had to take a stab at why I prefer the Xbox version it’d probably be the controls. Though the Xbox controller lacks two more buttons on the top of the controller, and uses two small buttons on the bottom of the controller it all works out flawlessly.

From what I know you never use the white and black buttons. You use the the triggers to control the item and weapons menus. to shoot you hold the X button to prepare the shot then quickly press it again to shoot. The A button crouches down and and is used to crawl. The B button (Insert Demetri Martin joke here) is used to melee, and lastly the Y button is the Action button.

Metal Gear Solid 2 looks, feels, and sounds fantastic. The music and sound effects are outstanding, The game itself looks beautiful, and the game it’s self is out right fun. By that I mean you can have fun with this game while not even doing anything significant. For example knocking out an enemy and putting his body in a compromising position is hilarious, Purposely falling down the stairs by trying to roll up them is funny, and Raiden running around naked looking for his clothes made me laugh my ass off.

The amount of humor in this games makes me believe that Hideo Kojima and the rest of the team must have had a lot of fun making this game. It’s a little sad that the Xbox version of Metal Gear Solid 2 is not even recognized when people talk about it. There is nothing wrong with this version of the game, and I honestly believe it’s the shunning of this game by the Xbox fans and Metal Gear Solid fans that caused the Xbox , and Xbox 360 to not receive any of the others games in the series including Metal Gear Solid 4.

I remember about a month ago my nephew brought over The Guinness Book of World Records: Gamer Edition (or whatever it’s called) and I was browsing through the book which by the way is extremely flawed, and came across a section about the Metal Gear Solid series. On the left side of the page there was a section which indicated which consoles the games were released for. They indicated that the PlayStation, PS2, PS3, Nintendo GameCube, and Gameboy Color all had games from the Metal Gear Solid series, but what about the Xbox!? NO they didn’t even mention the Xbox version of Metal Gear Solid 2! WHY!?

What pisses me off even more about this shit fest is that they released a piss poor version of Metal Gear Solid 4 for the fucking iPod/iPhone WTF!? What was Konami thinking? Let us take away everything that makes Metal Gear what it is and turn it into a half assed rail shooter! That brings my piss to a boil; It’s horseshit. Does and Hideo Kojima and Konami dislike Microsoft so much that they release such a fucking piece of dog shit to their oldest rival the Apple corporation. Hideo Kojima is a dick. Konami you’re a bunch of dicks too! Just because one of your games didn’t fair so well you act like a bunch of pussy ass bitches and make shit to topple on more shit!(talking about the MGS game for the iPod)

You might be asking yourself two questions: Is this guy an Xbox fanboy? My answer is yes. And your other question is probably what about the PS3 version of Metal Gear Solid 4? I honestly have no beef with it. It looks like a great game, but I’ve never played it. If I can somehow summon $600 I’ll buy myself a PS3 and play it, but I think it’s ass that I can’t have a version for the Xbox 360. I don’t care how big the game is. If you’re to put it on 6 DVDs do it.

Now you’re probably asking yourself: Wait a minute what about the iPod Metal Gear game? You probably didn’t play it. And my answer to that is why would you want to play such an abomination! It’s not Metal Gear Solid 4! It’s more like babies first rail shooter, but with Solid Snake in it.

Metal Gear Solid 2 for either the Xbox or the PS2 whichever your poison is and always will be a great game. Though I think the guy and the company he works for are full of shit, they did a great job. This is the OHGR saying thanks for listening to my little spiel, and see you all Friday for another epic OHGR VS Nick. What will the subject be? Who knows. Comment, bitch I don’t need the flame shield it’s for pussies. If you have any constructive criticism that may improve OHGR then do so. With that thanks for reading and remember gaming is entertainment so…Why so serious? (This refers to myself too:P) 

O.H.G.R: Five more!

Please vote.

Spyro The Dragon (PS1)

Pariah (Xbox)

Star Tropics (NES..emulated T_T)

Super Robot Taisen OG Saga: Endless Frontier (Nintendo DS)

Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection (Xbox 360)

O.H.G.R: Soul Calibur

For the record the very first Soul Calibur I have played was Soul Calibur 2 for the Nintendo Game Cube, and from experience it was a fantastic game, but here I am several years later, and finally I have gotten myself a copy of the original Soul Calibur and a Sega Dreamcast to play it on. Again I would like to point out that I have played Soul Calibur before, but it was the XBLA version of the game. It was great, but that isn’t the version I’m reviewing today.

The reason I bought a Dreamcast was indeed because of this game. My eyes lit up like a small child on Christmas day when I seen it’s wonderful crystal CD case. I needed to have this, and now that I do I feel absolutely gracious that the gaming gods were shining on me that day.

The original Soul Calibur has to be the my favorite out of the series. It is the most balanced, and has tons of features. Unlike the newer games in the series which think we need BS like “clone” creation mode. Nope this games old school you’ve got your usual suspects and that’s all you’re getting; minus the newer characters such as Raphael, etc.

The game play is what made Soul Calibur what it is today, fast paced, strategically sound goodness. No you don’t get a crap load of different weapons to choose from, but who gives a shit? The weapons they use are already cool. So anyways you have your basic horizontal, vertical attacks, kicks, and special moves. All of which are fairly easy to learn, but hard to master.

The graphics are fantastic for what the Dreamcast offers, and to be honest they could probably hold up to today’s standards…unless you’re a total graphics monger; then you’ll probably flame me. “Sophie get the Flame Shield!”

The audio is very well done too. The announcer/narrator guy sounds awesome, and I find he’s a lot better in this then he is in the others. The music is orchestrated marvelously, and I feel that each battle is intense because of it.

My favorite part of Soul Calibur is the Museum. I love each piece of artwork that was put in; even the fan art. It was all done so well that I find myself more often then not browsing it then actually playing the game itself.

If you own a Dreamcast, and don’t own Soul Calibur I suggest you go pick it up. It’s a great game to play with your friends, or just kick back and kick some ass. If you own an Xbox 360 I also recommend this game; even though everything is already unlocked for you, it’s still a great game to play and has loads of replay value.(Well at least the Dreamcast version anyway :P) Soul Calibur is a must buy. Whether you own a Dreamcast or an Xbox 360 this is a solid well balanced fighter.

I’d like to thank all thoughs who voted, and the next five will be posted at a later date. For now so long, and remember games are for enjoyment not for hate.

O.H.G.R: The Next Five… Sorry I didn’t post the first one.

Sorry for making this short, but honestly I’ve got a ton of games to play and shit to do, so here’s the list vote, love, enjoy.

Metal Gear Solid 2: Subsistance (XBOX...Say what!?)

Otogi: Myth of Demons (XBOX)

Soul Calibur (Dream Cast)

Panzer Dragoon Orta (XBOX)

Redo of Star Ocean: The Last Hope (Xbox 360. I was extremely mad when I reviewed it the first time)

Comment to vote.

O.H.G.R: Elder Scroll IV: Oblivion, and Phantom Dust

Well since only two people voted, and they happened to be two different games I thought “Hey why not do both”. I’d like to thank those who voted and the next five will be posted later on this week.

When I first saw Elder Scrolls IV I immediately thought it was going to be awful. What a fool I was. Elder Scrolls IV is the metaphorical Grand Theft Auto, but only for Role Playing Games. The only difference here is that I fluidly enjoyed Elder Scroll IV.

The game play is fantastic, and is a definite improvement over it’s predecessor. The fact that I can actually hit a rat instead of mystically missing it is a step up. The only part of the game play I really have a beef with is the Stamina Bar. If I jump I lose a shit load of stamina, but then again I’m very early in the game, and I enjoy the fact that you lose stamina. It adds a huge amount of realism in a game full of fantasy and wonder.

The music in Elder Scrolls IV is another treat for the senses. From just wondering around to intense combat the music seems to flow with you in whatever situation you are in. While I’m talking about the audio presentation I should also talk about the graphical presentation; by all means is another tasty treat for the senses. The environments are absolutely breathe taking as well as the many people you will encounter in the game.

There is just so much fun to be had with this game that it’s hard to mention it all. Even just the little things make this game worth being in your collection. One instance being able to put your incapacitated enemies in perverted looking positions just tickles my funny bone.

If you have not had the pleasure of playing this game, please do so when ever you get the chance. This game is a buy.

The second half of this review is for Phantom Dust for the Xbox, and is not to be confused with another title for the same system Phantom Crash. Phantom Dust is a very strange game, but because it’s so strange it caught my eye. The game plays very much a card game mixed with magic and lasers :P. Instead of cards you collect orbs with different powers. A deck of these are called an Arsenal.

The game isn’t spectacular in any way, but is oddly addicting. It’s a game I’d tell you to rent, but because it’s fairly hard to find, and well it’s for the original Xbox which makes it harder to find; I’m going to say buy it. It’s hard to talk about the way the game plays out because it’s so unique and enchanting it should only be witnessed visually.

Phantom Dust is a fine game, and is definitely a worthy part of my collection. What’s so great about it is that it’s a totally unique experience; I cannot seem to compare it to anything I’ve played in my life time.

Well that’s it for me I know I didn’t give much insight on Phantom Dust, but I find it hard to explain this game. I wish I had my webcam setup because I’d love to show you all what it is like. Well like I said the next five will be posted some time this week for you all to choose. Bye for now, and keep on gamin’.

O.H.G.R: Introduction

Hello all whom read this I am Nick Raeburn a.k.a the One Handed Gamer, and these will be my continuing reviews. Of course this means I must have written something before and indeed I have. My earlier posts are on screwattack's website, and I must say they're a wonderful community.

I also made a group on facebook simply named O.H.G.R. I hope folks all over the vast interwebs will enjoy my little slice of opinion for the ages to come. If you want to take a peek at my earlier work I believe the easiest way would be to go through facebook, and check the group; it has the links to the blogs.

With that I wish you a good night, and have a pleasent tomorrow.