L.A. Noire

From the makers of Grand Theft Auto and Bully, comes a game with a unique twist. L.A. Noire stars newbie cop Cole Phelps as he solves case after case on the Los Angeles streets. The game was released on May, 17, 2011, but takes place in the 1940's. You can only play this game on the PC, XBOX 360, and Playstation 3.

FUN: This game is outstanding! People who love chase scenes, shootings, and detective stories and movies, will love this game. On top of that, the dialoge and graphics are fantastic! The controls are simple to use with even auto aim when shooting. FUN - 2.

REPLAY: Not much when it comes to replay value. You could do either retry a case for better score or just play free roam. REPLY - 0.5.

STORY: Cole Phelps just got back from serving in the war and feels that he could do some justice by joining the police force. Starting as a low class patrol officer, Cole works his way up the force's ladder, case after case. STORY - 2.

DIFFERENCE/ORIGINAL: Unlike other Rockstar Games titles, your score goes down when you do illegal things. There are three types of damages you need to look out for; City, Injuries, Auto. Everytime you hurt/damage any of these things, money that the Police Station has to pay for each type goes up (Final price is shown at the end of each case). Also, if you kill any of the good guys, it means an automatic failing of the case. DIFFERNCE/ORIGINAL - 2.

DIFFICULTY: Two words... Well Balanced. DIFFICULTY - 2.

TOTAL - 8.5.

There you have it, L.A. Noire! Thanks again for reading my blogs. Until next time, Nintendo Rater.

Okage: Shadow King For The PS2

Okage: Shadow King was released for the Playstation 2 on October 3, 2001. Okage was made by the developers from Zener Works. Okage: Shadow King is a RPG (Role-Playing Game) and is only able to be play by one player.

FUN: Everything in this game is entertaining. The music is fantastic and very unique. I have rarely heard a soundtrack quite like it from any other video game I have ever played (And believe me... I played more than anyone can count. This is why I have three blogs where I rate video games. The other two are www.nintendorater.blogspot.com and www.itsbythebook.blogspot.com). The dialoge is very funny and so is the plot. Let's face it... the whole game is great. FUN - 2.

REPLAY: The game has no replay value. However, this game was so fun, some people (Including myself) replayed it. REPLAY - 0.5.

STORY: An ordinary boy named Ari was living his quiet life with his family without much worry or care. However, when one night his sister, Annie, got cursed by a ghost, making her only speak in Pig Latin. In order to save her from being Comic Relief, his father decided to use a bottle that he just found that he thinks carries a kind and powerful spirit that can change destinies. But, when his father called upon the spirit in the bottle, the whole family (Except for Annie who is still in bed with the Pig Latin curse) finds out the Ari's father was only half right. Sure... the spirit was indeed powerful enough to change destinies, but he was not kind at all. The spirit was the decendent of the most powerful Evil King. There, Ari's father agreed to allow the Evil King (Stan is his name) to host one of them in order to save Annie from the Pig Latin curse. After Evil King Stan picks Ari as the host and cures Annie, the two start trying to take over the world. Soon after an event in Tenel (Ari's Hometown), the two finds out that Stan's powers have been spread throughout the world and is being used by Fake Evil Kings. Evil King Stan (The Real Evil King) decides to go and hunt down these Fake Evil Kings to get his powers back so he can take over the world. STORY - 2.

DIFFERNCE/ORIGINAL: Let's face it... the whole game is unique and original. I have yet to find a game quite like it throughout my 23 years of life. I will, though, tell you the main difference from other RPGs is that instead of all three people battling die to get a Game Over, only one does. If Ari, the boy with Evil King Stan processing his Shadow, dies, then its Game Over. My guess is Stan is important in battles (I guess he needs to be alive in order to absorb the Fake Evil Kings' powers), so if Ari dies, Stan dies with him. DIFFERENCE/ORIGINAL - 2.

DIFFICULTY: Okage is a very well balanced game. Not to hard, not to easy, just right. However, you do need to pay attention while playing or you won't know what to do next or you end up dead with a Game Over. DIFFICULTY - 2.

TOTAL - 8.5.

There you have it! Not bad, right? This is one of the most unique games I have ever played that I think other gamers should play. Give it a try. I bet you will love it! This is also the first game for this blog that I didn't copy and paste from It's By The Book blog (You can easily see that by the When The Old Meets The New post below). Please keep watch for new posts from all my blogs. Thanks! Nintendo Rater

When The Old Meets The New

There you go. I have posted the six games that I already rated in my older blog into my newer blog. That is all. Check in soon. Thanks!

Beyond Good & Evil

Beyond Good & Evil was released for the PC, Gamecube, Playstation 2, and XBOX in the year 2003. Playstation 3 and XBOX 360 re-released the game as a HD version years later. Beyond Good & Evil was made by our good friends from Unisoft and Michel Ancel, the creator of the game Rayman.

FUN: Beyond Good & Evil is entertaining from beginning to end. Even though most of the game involves sneaking from room to room with a few one-hit kill lasers, there are ways to get through each area without much sneaking. Each area has a small place where you can hide when you are caught by the guard's line of vision or just trying to get a stealth attack. Driving the hovercraft is a blast and so is listening to the dialog. All voiced. FUN - 2

REPLAY: Similar to the Zelda Series and many others... no reply value. REPLAY - 0.

STORY: Jade, a green lipstick wearer, is a journalist in a city called, Hyllis. Lately, aliens called DomZ have been attacking the city like crazy with no signs of letting up. The Alpha Sections should be doing something, but it seems people are going missing when the Alpha Sections arrive to help. After an attack on the lighthouse where Jade lives and takes care of the orphans, Jade gets a mission as a test to become a reporter for the IRIS Network. With her camera in hand and her pig friend name Pey'j (Uncle Pey'j to her), Jade tries to figure out the truth behind the DomZ and the Alpha Sections. STORY - 2.

DIFFENCE/ORIGINAL: Beyond Good & Evil is one of the few unique games that not many players know about. The fact that most of the game is sneaking around and taking pictures of proof. Unlike the basic stealth games (Like Metal Gear Solid and the Forsaken Fortress in Wind Waker), you don't have to really sneak. I figured out a loophole and killed a guard or more, ran and hid, and repeated the process. Once all the guards are dead and gone, nothing can alert the systems to bring more guards (If they were that smart. The guards go back to their posts even after they just saw their partner get killed by you) and to activate the one-hit kill lasers. Another original idea was the fact that you get paid to take pictures of each type of species and each time you finish a roll of film, you get a pearl which is needed for the Black Market that sells you hovercraft parts. DIFFENCE/ORIGINAL - 2.

DIFFICULTY: This game is not all that difficult. There are parts in the game where you are bombarded by a ton of enemies in a small space. There are also parts in the game where you have to think of a strategy instead of going head on into the area. But, like I said before, even the most novice sneakers (Which I am) can get through this game with little to no problems. DIFFICULTY - 2.

TOTAL - 8.

There you go. Great score for a game that was not well known during its time. Unisoft still is mentioning that Beyond Good & Evil 2 is still a working progress, but will be released. Signs are pointing towards the game being a Playstation 3 and XBOX 360 game. However, some people still think that is just a rumor. Until next time... thanks for reading my blog! Nintendo Rater.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was released in 2009 by Infinity Ward. It came out for multiple systems and is a First-Person Shooter. CoD: MW 2 was a best-selling sequel to a best-selling original. Many even said it was equivalent to a Bond movie. Since 2002, Infinity Ward has been working on this series, trying to bring it up-to-date and aim bigger.

FUN: Most gamers loves shoot 'em up games. As for me, I'm a well rounded gamer. I like almost any game made. I just don't like hard ones. The missions in this game are hair-raising and very intense. You can play by yourself or with a friend. With a friend, you can do missions or multiplayer. However, it's still a shooting game. I rate FUN - 2.

REPLAY: All I can say is that multiplayer and redoing missions on the same or different skill level can be fun. I know multiplayer is loads of fun for some people. I rate REPLAY - 1.

STORY: Even though I don't know the full storyline (I don't own the game), I know parts of it. However, I can't really figure a way to explain it. It's too confusing for me. However, I will rate STORY a 2.

DIFFERENCE/ORIGINAL: New missions, new ranks, new weapons, new storyline (I think), you know... basic stuff. However, it also has some things from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 1. I rate DIFFERENCE/ORIGINAL - 1.

DIFFICULTY: Easy, normal, hard, veteran, you name it, the game has it. Any level you want, you could play. I rate DIFFICULTY - 2.

TOTAL - 8.

There you have it. A rating for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Sorry that I couldn't give you much to go by, but I did my best to rate it fairly. Bye for this week, The Nintendo Rater.

Dragon Age: Origins

Dragon Age: Origins was released by BioWare in the year 2009. It was for the XBOX 360, Playstation 3, and the PC. It is a Role-Playing game as well as a 3D fantasy game. With it's grim themes, hallowing bleak quests, and of course, some side-spliting dialog (Along with the serious parts. Come on... we can't have just all laughter when doing quests. It's just not proper.), BioWare had created a huge hit with Origins and later other expansion packs.

FUN: There is many things in Dragon Age that makes it fun. First is the character creator. You can make almost any character you want. You can a male or female, human, elf, or dwarf, common, magi, or noble, and much more. However, if you pick magi, you only have one class... Magic. The great part is that you can make the character as good-looking/hot or laugh-out-loud funny ugly. Second is the dialog. The choices you can make, each with a reaction, makes a very entertaining thing to watch and listen. On top of that, your teammates talk to each other at random times. When they do that, just stop and listen. Lastly, is the gameplay. The story, quests, movies, skills, and everything else, all make Origins a fun game. I rate FUN - 2.

REPLAY: I believe from the walkthroughs and guides I read (Yes... I haven't beaten the game.) there is no replay value besides the fact that you use a different class. I rate REPLAY - 0.5.

STORY: Depending on what class you take, will lead the storyline in the game. However, they all end up into one plot, killing the Arch-Demon. The kingdom is being attacked by these orcish undead creatures called Darkspawn and they are all controled by the Arch-Demon. You join and become a Grey Warrden, a group of warriors that drank Darkspawn blood and lived. Using the blood, these warriors can detect when Darkspawns are coming. Your job is to form a army and head into battle. I rate STORY - 2.

DIFFERENCE/ORIGINAL: Heck! The whole game is the first of it's kind. It's the beginning for more from BioWare. In other words... everything in the game is new. I rate DIFFERENCE/ORIGINAL - 2.

DIFFICULTY: In my opinion, the game is very well balenced for both easy parts and hard parts. Some classes make it a little more easier than others (Like Mages.), but other than that, it's basic 50/50. I rate DIFFICULTY - 2.

TOTAL - 8.5.

There you have it, folks. Dragon Age: Origins had been rated by the Nintendo Rater. On a other note, I'm sorry that it took me so long to post something new. I have been very busy lately. I will try to update more often... when I can. I hope you check my blogs again. Many Thanks!

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is for the Playstation 2, XBOX 360 Live game store, and PC. Since the game's release date in 2004, Rockstar sold more than 20 million copies. San Andreas is the biggest-selling Playstation 2 game of the GTA series. In this version, you main character roams three towns: Los Santos (Los Angeles), San Fierro (San Francisco), and Las Venturas (Las Vegas). Rockstar is known for it's Grand Theft Auto series. If it's from Rockstar, you know it will have a free roaming game map.

FUN: Like I said before, it's free roaming. That means that you can go anywhere (Well almost anywhere... at least until you progress in the storyline) when you aren't doing missions. You can fool around as long as you want, only certain missions have time limits. Besides wasting time (Don't worry, I do it all the time), there are story missions and sub-missions. Story missions progress the game's plot, while sub-missions unlock special items or abilities (Like outfits and cars or being fireproof). The main part that's fun in all GTA games is the fact that you can kill random people and steal cars, two things you can't do in real life without going to jail or worse. I rate FUN - 2.

REPLAY: Once you complete every mission, unlock everything, and finish gaining every skill, that's it... the only thing you can do now is to fool around with the free roaming. If you like fooling around, then you will have fun. If not... oh well! I rate REPLAY - 1.

STORY: You play as Carl "CJ" Johnson, an African American and a Los Santos native. You have just returned for your mother's funeral after being in Liberty City for five years. Once you arrive, you find crooked, blackmailing cops, strange rivalies and split ups in your family, and your neighborhood falling to gang violence. You decide to stay and help his fellow gang members while finding the truth behind his mother's murder. I rate STORY - 2.

DIFFERENCE/ORIGINAL: Not much is different, it's a basic Grand Theft Auto game. Most of the GTA games are similar to each other. What is different is the fact that you main character is an African American. Also different is the map or world. Rockstar kept saying that San Andreas has the biggest world map than any other GTA game. They also said the map is four times bigger than GTA: Vice City. I rate DIFFERENCE/ORIGINAL - 1.

DIFFICULTY: All Grand Theft Auto games are a mix between hard and somewhat easy. The fact that you need to stay alive while staying out of trouble (Wanted Stars) can be quite annoying and frustrating. On top of that, some missions need you to keep you car alive or force a time limit to make you hurry and take risks. I rate DIFFICULTY - 0.8.

TOTAL - 6.8.

Well... there you go. You will be seeing a lot of Grand Theft Auto games in this blog. The book has almost every single one (Or maybe it does...) of the GTA series. Thanks and see you soon.

The Sims 3 For The PC/MAC

The third version of the series Sims. The Sims 3 was released in 2009 by EA (Electronic Arts). Just like The Sims 3 for the Wii, Which I rated on my blog Nintendo Rater at www.bennintendorater.blogspot.com, The Sims 3 for the computer is a life simulation game where you take care of people called sims (Get it? Sims = Simulation). This game is a member of the family of The Sims series (The Sims and The Sims 2 are the first two versions of the family). Just like each version of The Sims family, The Sims 3 has expansion packs that add new things to the gameplay. Each expansion pack is sold separately and needs the main game installed first. Since The Sims 3 is the latest version, expansion packs are still being made for the game.

FUN: Just like The Sims 3 for the Wii, you will need to take care of your sims' needs and wishes. However, the PC and Mac versions of the game gives you a set number of cheats like freezing you sims' needs. Along with caring of you sims, you can build their homes and buy them new stuff (Both if you have the money for it. Don't worry... there's a cheat for that). You have the choice to let the sims do things by themselves or to tell them what to do. You will only like this game if you like simulation games. I rate FUN - 1.8.

REPLAY: This game can go on forever if you turn off aging or if you sims' family grows a new generation (You know... the adults have kids and then, the kids have their own kids. Aw... the magic of generation after generation). You can keep creating new families, aka save files, after all your sims died or while they're still alive. Besides that... no replay value. I rate REPLAY - 0.5.

STORY: I will keep this quick and short. Newborns, toddlers, children, teens, young adults, adults, elders, and death. When young lives bring the new while they become old and history. I rate STORY - 0.5.

DIFFERENCE/ORIGINAL: Instead of wants and fears from The Sims 2, this version introduced wishes and lifetime goals. EA upgraded the type of sims we play with. Now, the sims are fully automated to do the dull stuff (Like eating, sleeping, washing, and doing their business) if you want. On top of those two items, The Sims 3 allows your sims to travel anywhere in town without any pesky loading periods. Your sims are free to roam for the first time! I rate DIFFERENCE/ORIGINAL - 2.

DIFFICULTY: I just have one thing to say... the more sims you have, the harder it is to keep them alive. However, only if you don't use cheats. I rate DIFFICULTY - 1.8.

TOTAL - 6.6.

Here you go! However, this is for the computer versions (PC/Mac). If you want to read how I rated The Sims 3 For The Wii, then go to my other video game rating blog called Nintendo Rater. The website address is at the top of this post. I repeat, I will not copy the version for the Wii into this blog. You will need to visit my other blog to read it. Thanks and visit soon!

Lemmings for the Sega Game Gear

Lemmings is a puzzle game about little green haired men trying to get from one place to another. It came out in the year 1991 from DMA Design. It all started when Mike Dailly was testing animation with characters in an 8x8 pixel grid. Programmer Russell Kay loved the little guys and thought they would make a great game.The first day Lemmings was sold, 55,000 copies flew off the shelves (Which was great at that time).

FUN: The point of the game is to get the lemmings from their entrance to their exit safely. Using a point and click interface, you give them skills to help them stay alive or to reach the exit. It's funny to watch these tiny people move and use their skills, as well as the many ways they can die. I rate FUN - 1.5.

REPLAY: The only thing about replay that's good is the fact that you can try different ways to get the lemmings home. The down side is that it only works for some of the levels. I rate REPLAY - 0.5.

STORY: I know what you are thinking... does a puzzle game have a storyline? Nowadays, some puzzle games have a storyline or plot. However, in the early days, puzzle games rarely had plots. This game is one of them without a storyline. I rate STORY - 0.

DIFFERENCE/ORIGINAL: Lemmings started the whole 8x8 pixel design. Also started the whole tiny creatures as the main characters in games (Like Worms and Populous). I Rate DIFFERENCE/ORIGINAL - 1.

DIFFICULTY: Lemmings is a pretty basic puzzle game... the farther you get in the levels, the harder the puzzles get in the game. I rate DIFFICULTY - 2.

TOTAL - 5.

There you have it... Lemmings rated by the Nintendo Rater aka Benjamin P. Parker. Please comment and visit soon. Thanks!

Even More Video Game Ratings From Nintendo Rater!

Here is my latest blog! Video game ratings that are not Nintendo games! In this blog, I will rate old and new video games that are for all the other systems. PC, XBOX, Playstation, and the rest! I will rate the game the same way as my Nintendo Rater and It's By The Book blogs; FUN, REPLAY, STORY, DIFFERENCE/ORIGINAL, & DIFFICULTY. Enjoy! Nintendo Rater.