ShellShocked 2 Blood Trails

Really the only blood trails you'll see, will be on the way back to return this title. No that was too harsh. ShellShock2 has tons of potential. I feel the FPS category is just crowded and when you couple that with the continually over used backround of the vietnam war it just becomes plain. But wait lets toss some Zombies in there, that should fix it right up? It feels like they took the top 5 hot topics and mushed them into a typical playing field. I almost feel bad, because this really is an average game that totally gets overshadowed by the Call of Duty's, Far Cry's and Bioshock's. I do not want to discuss the storyline. It is fairly interesting but not worth writing here about. If I take away any of the story, then this game will be a bear to play through. The story is about the only reason to play this game to the end.

The graphics are sub par. Pretty basic stuff. Poor level shading and rough character casts lead the way. The upside is the super dark scenario's do set the stage for a few jump out of your chair scare tactics. But not enough to lift the game up. Over use of blood splatter, and gore for shock value leave you yawning. No map. Nothing, not even in the pause menu. This ultimatley leaves you wandering through the forests, caverns, and camps. Red flares sometimes point you in the right direction. One chance to ratchet up the graphics are the cut scenes that become all too repetitive by the third of the ten levels. These simple but unique cut scenes have button prompts to decide your fate.


The controls are basic but good. There is an issue with the tossing of hand grenades, but they are used so limitedly that it probably won't be an issue for most players. A small handful of weapons can all be located and used by level 3. A absolutley useless knife is available most of the time. A pet peeve I found is that you somehow always start the level with only a knife. The story line weaves a path that tends to leave you in a bad position, and relies on you to find and arm your self.
The sound department mailed it in on this one. They must have been tasked with 2 creative noises per level. They succeeded. I loved the crying baby in the backround but they never tied it in. A few zombie moans help set the tone, but they just leave you wanting more.


At least the Achievements come easily. They better because you will only play this game once, so you might as well get as many as you can. There is a achievement for playing through twice, which I guess is the publishers way of tourture. The AI is dumb enought that you could actually play through a second time and come in under 4 hours. With NO MULTIPLAYER, this game will be stocked in massive quantities at your local Gamestop. Pick it up for no more that $10 bucks. This game will be overlooked, and probably should be given a fair chance. It has been getting mixed reviews, but none have been over a 7 out of 10. If you bored during this slump of new releases RENT this game.

Stay tuned to Achievement Unlocked for later this week we will have the long awaited review of racially hyped Resident Evil 5. I now know why they had to play the race card. Find out!!??!!

The post heard around the world

Recently I had the oppurtunity to play WWE Legends of WrestleMania. I picked this title up mostly because I loved the WWF in the late 80's through the early 90's. I even attended a few live events at my local venues. With that said, WWE was a instant return to those days. The soundtrack is amazing. They match up well with the realistic opening sequences. Every wrestler that was featured in a Wrestlemania will be found somewhere in this game, and not only the wrestlers but also their managers. The game actually captures the personalities of the wrestlers. The game consists of a few different modes. It has your standard create a character, online matchups, and exhibition modes. What I found to be the most entertaining are the live re-enactments from Wrestlemainia. This is where the game shines, actual footage from live events set up the feud lines, background, and stages you to take control at Wrestlemainia. The very first thing I did was set up Hulk Hogan against Andre Giant. Damn right I slammed him. So we got a great sound track, awesome graphics and presentation, that leaves us controls. A friend mentioned the controls are terrible. I really didn't understand that statement until I played the game for about 5 hours. What he should have said is there are no controls. Basically this is a button masher. A and X are basically it. Hold A down a little longer for your power move. I find this strange, as THQ has produced the Smackdown Vs. Raw series of wrestling games, and they have slightly more complicated controls. I feel they may have dumbed them down expecting a wider range of audience to play this game. Just a feeling.

Once you get the basic controls down, the game really exposes it weaknesses. There is no challenge to this game. Yes I know you can tweak the settings and slide the bar all the way to the right, but again I feel they have dumbed down the diffuculty. Then there is the huge issue of wrestling outside the ring. Near the ring, basic controls work fine, but move to one of the outside areas and all hell breaks loose. A pop up appears on the screen, to press "A" to move to next area, problem is "A" is also the grapple button. The recognition is ridiculous, and cripples the fluidity of the game. Returning to the ringside area is almost impossible, as you tap "A" to return the computer character will dodge, block, or enter into a grapple. For what ever reason, it does not recognize the fact that you are trying to return not grapple. Simply frustrating. So lets get down to it. If you are a fan of late 80's early 90's WWF wrestling then RENT this game. If you find it for $20 bucks pick it up. The videos are worth $20 bucks on thier own. The lack of difficulty and low replayability, is the downfall of this game. The video clips and soundtrack leg kick this game out of a 2 count. It is no Wrestlemania, but it is a great Royal Rumble, which is a exhibition game type by the way.