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Reviews by Twista
Need for Speed: Undercover Review
What up y'all, it's your boy Twista back at it again. Wanted to let y'all know about the newest Need for Speed, Need for Speed: Undercover . Some of you might know that I'm heavy on the cars, and so whenever a racing game comes out I gotta jump on it and try it out.
Last year NFS dropped Pro Street , which was different from what NFS had been doing until then. You had more track races in the game, and the whole driving around the city aspect of it was gone. But with Undercover they brought it back to the open world concept. Even though the open world is back in this game, there isn't much that's really open about the world. In some of the older NFS games you had to drive yourself to races to start them or could find random people on the streets to race, but with this game you really can't do that—you just hit a few buttons on the controller and you're transported right into a race, which isn't really using the open world set up of the game. In fact, the only time there's any point in actually driving around the city is if you've got a cop on your tail. Maybe if you just felt like pushing your car to the limit or taking a tour of the city you could drive around too, but that doesn't really make for anything exciting.
With older NFS games and even other racing games like Midnight Club the open world setup also means that you have to be able to keep on the right track and make the right turns as you race, but this doesn't happen in Undercover . In Undercover, once you enter a race by hitting a few buttons, you just enter a race where you can only drive in the direction you're racing, there's no making the wrong turn and blowing your entire race. While this may be good for the guy who just picks up the game for kicks, this will get old for him too and for real racing game fans this isn't gonna be something they'll like.
A good part of this game, though, is that it's real easy to learn the controls and get used to the game. If you're picking this game up for the first time you won't have too much trouble getting used to maneuvering your car. While it's cool to have controls that are easy to learn, it feels like this whole game is a little too easy. Most of the races aren't all that challenging, which means that after a few races you're going to get fed up with the game. Regardless of what kind of car you're driving and the cars you're up against, you can tear up the competition, which obviously isn't very realistic. There's a reason a Lamborghini is a Lamborghini , and a Nissan 370Z shouldn't be giving it competition in a race.
While there are issues with the car match ups in races, the car selection itself is pretty good. You've got cars like the Audi R8 , BMW M6 , the Bugatti Veyron , the Lamborghini Murcielago , Lotus Elise the McLaren F1 and the Porsche 911 Turbo . It'd be really hard for you not to find a few cars in the game that you'll like. It's hard to get to the cars though, and at times you'll have enough cash to buy the car you want, but you won't be able to because you haven't gotten to the driver level you need to get the car. I definitely wasn't really feeling this part of the game, and think that once you get the dough to get the car you should be able to get it. Even upgrading cars is a little odd because sometimes a quicker car will unlock before the upgrades for a slower car.
Compared to older NFS games there are more videos through the game, which I didn't really think added much to the game. The videos don't give you much information and seem added to give the game a greater sense of plot, but fail in the end.
The graphics in the game are only average. Midnight Club had better graphics and more detailed cars in my opinion. Even the city graphics aren't all that great. There are other problems with the graphics, but it's hard to really describe them. When you play the game you'll see that some things just don't seem right about the graphics.
Overall I have to say I was disappointed with Need for Speed: Undercover . EA 's Burnout Paradise is better and so is Rockstar Games' Midnight Club: Los Angeles. EA really needs to sit down and figure out what they're gonna do with the next Need for Speed to bring it back to the level it used to be at. Undercover overlooks several aspects of good gaming and doesn't offer much excitement.
The James R. Jordan X-Mas Jam
What up y'all. It's your boy Twista back at it again. I'm not letting loose the Need for Speed: Undercover review this week like I was going to, because I wanted to drop a little something about this X-Mas Jam we just had.
I've been working with Monday Night with the Kids out in Chicago, and we just had an X-Mas Jam for the kids at the James R. Jordan Center . My boys Ben One and Slique came through too, and we all hung out with the kids.
We had the Rock Band 2 and the Wii Sports popping off, and for the real litle kids we had some arts and crafts projects. There was a whole lot of food for everyone there and Ben One and Slique ended it all by singing a little bit for all the kids. Even my girl Lisa E from WPWX "Power" 92.3 FM in Chicago came out to support.
Much love to everyone who supported the event, especially Bacci's Pizza and Papa Luigi's for feeding us.
Click here for video footage of Twista at the James R. Jordan X-Mas Jam .
NCAA Basketball 09 Review
What up y’all? I just dropped the NBA Live 09 review recently, even though it was a little late, but I guess it all works out because Electronic Arts picks up the basketball action with NCAA Basketball 09 . For those of you trying to remember what NCAA Basketball 08 was, don’t worry because there was none. EA switched it up this year and redid their college basketball game ditching March Madness for NCAA Basketball , changing the actual game as much as the title.
I thought that NBA 2K9 had the edge on NBA Live 09 , but EA really brought it with NCAA Basketball 09 . The game is based around the NBA Live gameplay so it’ll feel a little more like it, but it has its own little additions to it too. When you start playing you’ll see that the way the players move and shoot in NCAA Basketball are a lot like Live , which makes everything look and feel a lot smoother than the March Madness 08 . You got a few different moves that the players do in the NCAA Basketball , but it’s hard not to notice some of the same moves from Live which make the game flow a lot better than March Madness .
While you got a little borrowing from Live in the game, there’s some new things that are just on the game and not on Live . College basketball has that whole different vibe to it than the NBA , and the game really tries to recreate the way basketball is in the NCAA . They got a whole new system in NCAA Basketball which lets you pick a style of play for your team. You got the up-tempo transition game, the halfcourt type game and then a balance between the two. Whatever tempo your team’s got, you gotta try to play like that because you fill up more of your tempo meter. When you have more of the meter filled your team just plays better. You’ll notice more of your shots will start going in, you’ll have more on point passing, and everything will just flow better for your team. This is a real nice touch, because if you watch college basketball you know that sometimes these teams can either really go crazy with it and be unstoppable or do the exact opposite. This really helps bring that aspect of the game in making it more realistic.
For those of you who are worried it may be a little too hard for you to get used to all this staying in your tempo stuff because you aren’t down with the game like that there’s actually in-game coaching. While you play you get advice on how to change up your game to make it better. This is real helpful, because there’s always those times where you just don’t know what to change up when you’re losing and you can get that little hint about what to do. There are times though where some of what the coach is telling you to do doesn’t really make sense but then it’s up to you to do what you want. But the tips help out every now and then and give you new ideas about how to run things. Along with the tempo and coaching, you can pick three parts of your game to focus on and if you properly execute on the three then your team will play well overall.
The graphics in the game are okay--not much different from March Madness . There’s something about the players that just doesn’t look right at times. Otherwise, the graphics are pretty good, a lot like the quality of graphics in the Live . Like with the Live , the crowd is much better. You actually have different looking people in the crowd and they aren’t all doing the same thing so it looks much more real.
A few things about the game that I wasn’t really feeling were that the substitutions are real messed up, there’s no online mode where you can play 5-on-5, and there’s really nothing new in terms of special game modes. The substitutions are real difficult to make because you have to pause the game and go through the players manually and you can’t even really tell who your starters are. Even during timeouts you can pick substitution packages but it’s hard to quickly swap a few players in and out. They got the old dynasty mode back and a new tournament set up but nothing really new and cool in terms of game modes.
Overall this is a cool game if you’re into college basketball. It won’t replace having one of the NBA titles but it’s a nice game to have along with one of them.
NBA Live 09 Review
What up y’all? I know this is a little late, but things been crazy and with the recent "Monday Night with the Kids" and all. This just got pushed back even more, but much love to EA and NBA Live 09 , which was a pretty good game overall. I had a chance to give this a run with my boy Tyrus Thomas from the Chicago Bulls and we pretty much thought the same about the game.
The first thing I noticed about this game is that it just plays slower than the Live 08 , and it plays slower than the NBA 2K9 . That’s really the best way I can explain it. The movement up and down the court was just slower and so it was harder to get a fast break while playing the Live . The cool thing with the game though, is that it’s real easy to call a pick and roll. So even though the game may not let you get as many fastbreaks, you can make up for all that by hitting up the pick and roll by holding down the left trigger.
But pick and rolls aren’t the only plays that are easier to call. Calling plays doesn’t cover up as much of the screen as it did before or still does in 2K9 . This is better, because you’re not leaving parts of the court totally invisible so you won’t risk getting a stupid turnover, because calling a play took you longer than you expected for whatever reason.
Live also got some new things on the defense. You can try to guess which way the other dude gonna try to go with the ball and hit that in on the stick, and if he goes that way it’s gonna make it real hard for them to make a shot. But if you guess wrong they’re gonna blow right past you and nail an easy one. This is pretty cool, because in real life you gotta make those kinds of calls. I know Tyrus was saying the same thing--that if you make the wrong call in the game, they’re gonna blow right past you, so Live definitely got it right with this. You gotta be careful using those when you’re out at the perimeter because then you can give up a real big play but you can take your chances when you’re in the paint.
On the ball handling side of things, the Live has these "ankle-breaker" moves which are now moves you can use to help freeze up the defender to make yourself an opening. The right analog stick will let you bust out some moves on offense when you’re not using the ankle breaker moves. Sometimes when you get past a defender though, he kinda just shows up again in your way, which is kinda weird but it ain’t all that bad.
The big thing with the Live 09 , is that their players really play like they do in real life. If the players do something in real life that’s unique to them, then they do it in the game. The players also change what they’re doing with their faces according to what’s going on in the game. If they think a call is a bogus you’ll be able to tell, and if they make a clutch shot they’re gonna be pumped. The player animations are real on point too, and they help make everything look real life-like. The sweat is real weird in the game though, because everybody sweats the same amount, no matter how hard they’ve been playing...that’s just a little thing I noticed.
The new Live also has 5-on-5 online play, so you can jump online with your friends and give them a good old ass whooping. The 2K9 got the online play too, but there’s something about the Live online play that I liked a little more than the 2K9 .
The thing that we really got hype about was the dunk contest. The dunk contest was just a lot more exciting in Live for some reason. The court just looked tighter, there were camera flashes in the crowds, the crowds were louder, it was a lot more energetic. The live also have the Dynamic DNA feature which updates the stats of the players in the game so they match their stats at that time in real life so they play more like their actual selves are which is pretty cool.
I liked both the 2K9 and the live 09 but the 2K9 got a little edge on the Live 09 still but the live definitely be catching up. It should be interesting to see what happens next year. Stay tuned for my special piece about the Wii next week and then my review on Need for Speed: Undercover . Chuuuucccchhhhhhhh.
Monday Night With the Kids
What up y’all? It’s your boy Twista back at it again. I know I was supposed to let loose the NBA Live 09 review this week, but we just had a special event that I have to talk about this week. On Monday we had a little event at the Cabrini Green Tutor Program in Chicago that we called Monday Night with The Kids . Jason McKie , fullback for the Chicago Bears , and Brandon Lloyd , wide receiver for the Chicago Bears , joined me in going out to the tutor center and spending some time with fourth and fifth graders, who are tutored at the center. We went out for a few hours and brought the kids some jumbo pizzas from Bacci’s Pizza and hooked up the Rock Band 2 , Wii Sports , and NBA 2K9 . The kids were definitely excited with the games, the pizza, and all that—and I know all three of us had a great time as well. The tutor center really be helping these kids out a whole lot.
Little kids all the way from 4-months-old up to first grade come to the center for daycare while older kids like these fourth and fifth graders come out a few nights a week to get help with their schoolwork. The center has volunteers who come out and tutor these kids and kinda see how they‘re doing in school and all. Some of the volunteers I talked to have been volunteering for years, helping the kids with homework and just talking to them about different things going on in their lives. The center really gives the kids a place to go and hangout so they’re off the streets. The volunteers really try to teach these kids how important it is to finish school and try to do your best at it.
The homie B Lloyd held it down on the Rock Band 2 with Jason , and the two really worked with the kids on getting their guitar and drum skills up. You can see little clips of the two upping their skills with the kids in the video. A lot of the kids at the center were Bears fans, and when they got a chance to chop it up with B Lloyd and Jason they were excited and had lots of questions for the two.
We had the Nintendo Wii hooked up for the kids who were real hype with the bowling. The cool thing is that even the kids who haven’t played it before picked it up real quick, so everyone was able to tear it up on the bowling. There were a few kids who hit up the tennis too but most of the time we stuck with that bowling which is one of my favorites on the Wii sports along with the boxing.
We also had the Rock Band 2 going with the guitar and the drums. A lot of the kids hadn’t played the game before but with help from B Lloyd and Jason the kids were becoming pros at the game and really getting into it. The cool thing was that the kids didn’t even care about whether they were on the guitar or drums because they were getting into both of them real heavy.
Have to throw it up to Bacci’s Pizza for donating some jumbo pizzas for the event because the kids definitely enjoyed the pizza. The tutors and all of us had to hit up the pizza, because the city is known for pizza and Bacci’s definitely be holding it down on the pizza tip. If you in Chi town and you haven’t hit up Bacci’s you gotta go out and get yourself a jumbo slice.
We also had a lot of video game companies show us love too. Sega , 2K Sports , Electronic Arts , and Ubisoft all showed us support by sending games for the kids who will be getting games as part of their Christmas presents from the center. The cool thing was that the kids had just finished writing their Christmas wish lists earlier on Monday and lots of the kids had games on their lists so the games will definitely be able to make the kid happy so definitely have to say thank you to all the people who sent games for them.
Be sure to check out the video of the event, and after this be on the lookout for the NBA Live 09 review and a special little console review about the Nintendo Wii . And for everyone out there waiting for new tracks, don’t worry because I be in the studio most of the day—just because I be doing some other things doesn’t mean that I’m not in the studio. We got some big things in the works for the next album and all you Adrenaline Rush fans are going to be real happy with it. Leave your comments y’all. Chhhuuuuuucccccccchhhhhhh…
NBA 2K9 Review (feat. Tyrus Thomas)
What up y'all? This is your boy Twista back at it again. I hooked up with my man Tyrus Thomas of the Chicago Bulls a few weeks ago to review NBA 2K9 and NBA Live 09, and so this week I'm letting loose the NBA 2K9Live 09 review and next week I'm gonna let out that review. I know it's been a few weeks since the games have been out, but that's why it's even better. So for all of you who still haven't picked one up, you can get a little more info on which one to get, or you can get your mind set on getting one at all.
Before I get into the review I gotta throw it up to my Tyrus Thomas for coming out, even though he had practice the next morning. Much love, and I gotta mention that he tore it up in the first regular season game the Bulls played-you know he's gonna go real hard this season and stick around in our starting five. I Also gotta say the lighting on the video a little low, because we forgot the lighting system this time, but it gets better a little less than halfway through. Big shouts to Don Julio for coming through with bottles for everyone in the place to enjoy-and for me to take home. Y'all better have your tequila game right with that Don Julio, and if you don't better step it up.
For anybody with a PS3 or XBox360, you gotta have an NBA game, and in the past the 2K Sports people have really been doing it big with their games. The 2K9 took it even beyond the 2K8 and made it better, even though lots of people didn't know if it was possible. An improvement over 2K8, which is real easy to notice, is that it's easier to make layups and shorter shots now. Before, you would go up for a wide open layup and miss for no reason, but in 2K9 that doesn't happen anymore. You also have more realistic shooting in the game overall. You won't be nailing threes with Yao Ming or Shaq, because the players shot percentages were all factored in when the game was made so that the players in 2K9 are shooting like the players do out on the court. With the defense, you'll notice that the lock-down defense is a lot more realistic too. You won't be able to guard quicker players with your big men anymore, so the matchups you pick are more important now. And to go along with all these changes, 2K also made it a little easier to call plays like pick and rolls and kept the controls real simple.
The graphics are real nice in 2K9. The players look real lifelike, and we had a few people thinking we were watching an actual game. But 2K didn't stop with the players, because even the coaches look real. The animations for when the players dribble, shoot, and just walk around are on point and really look like those from real life now too. There are a whole bunch of different animations they got in the game for when you go for a layup or dunk, so you might be able to do a little 360 with T-Mac and stuff like that. The courts are done real well too in the game, with even the light reflections off the court looking sharp. The crowd is better too now, ‘cause they do different things rather than every person in the crowd moving the same way all the time.
The 2K9 still has the franchise mode with NBA Association, and while you're going through your season you'll get all these updates and stats that really make it seem like it's an actual NBA season. You can look at the headlines to see how other players are doing, and then when you get to go up against them you're gonna have to think about how to stop whatever you read they're really doing good.
You've still got the practice mode in the game to go and practice calling plays, free throws, layups, or whatever you want to get your game tight. I really think the practice mode is important, because the players really shoot differently in the game from each other, so you gotta get used to each player's motion to get to know when to let go of the ball. There's also the 3-point contest and dunk contest like in the past.
You can also play online, and they got it so you can play 5-on-5 this year, which is a big jump from last year.
For those of you who keep your console hooked up to the Internet, always updating the 2K9 will update the stats of all your players. If you want, the players will play like they're playing at that time in real life. This is a nice little feature to play around with and makes everything even more real.
2K brought it with NBA 2K9. From the players' tattoos, to the way stats are presented they really nailed it and made it seem real. Next week I'm gonna have the NBA Live video review for y'all, and my final decision on which of these two games I think is the one you need to get.
Be on the lookout for the Get Money Gang compilation, Who$ Got Next coming out November 11. And I'll be sure to let you know that I'm in the studio coming with that heat to bless y'all with early next year. Chuccchhhhhh....
Dead Space Review
What up y’all? This time I reviewed a game some of you might not have expected me to. It’s Dead Space which comes from Electronic Arts. Dead Space is a shooting game and is somewhere in between horror and sci-fi. The horror aspect was real cool because I haven’t played too many games with it in there and I am a huge fan of the Jason series and do think I’m the black Jason of rap.
The game happens in the future, and you’re in space after everything on Earth has been all used up. One of the spaceships just goes quiet all of a sudden and so your character, Isaac Clarke, and a few others are sent out to figure out what went down with the ship and all. When you first start the game, you don’t have any weapons or anything. You gotta find everything on your own while you’re on this ship, which has been all torn apart by these creatures. A lot of your team gets killed and you’re separated from them, so you gotta hold it down on your own.
The game is a little different from a lot of shooting games out there now, because you aren’t looking through the eyes of your character. You’re actually getting like a camera view where you can see your character entirely. Even though this is different, it’s fresh and actually helps the game. It’s real easy to learn how to control your character, because the controls aren’t that hard to learn. You can really get into the game kinda quick. Another cool thing in the game is that your character can actually fix things up and use them as weapons or even fix his weapons, so they can hold more bullets or shoot with more force.
The creatures you’ll be fighting aren’t all that easy to beat down. You gotta go after their arms and legs to get ‘em, and it can take a little bit of time to get them down. They tried to get that horror feel in the game, and everything in the game is made to give you that feel. Even things just lying around the ship as you go through it are made so you’re kinda like, “Oh shit, something really messed up going on here.” You’ll see blood all over the ship, and there’s things growing all over the ship which just gives the whole place this weird vibe to it. When you got all that and the creatures just jumping out at you, you’re definitely gonna be get a little jolt at times.
Another little thing about the game that is real tight is that all the information about your character, like the health and how many bullets he got left, are showing like a holograph instead of just kinda being on the screen. This makes it look a little more natural and all.
I noticed a few little things with the game though that weren’t all that hot. At times the camera doesn’t switch the view up quickly enough, so a creature will come at you and you won’t even see it. It’s really hard to go after one of ‘em if you can’t even see them. That’s a problem they gotta work out if they coming out with another one. I also noticed I was walking past the same places at times, which isn’t always bad. But I’d rather be going through new parts of the ship as I go through the game than have to go through parts that I’ve already seen. When you’re going through parts you’ve already seen, you’re kinda like, “Okay, I feel better about this. I’m comfortable, and I’ve seen this before.” You don’t want that with a game like this— you wanna have people jumping out of their seats and all.
The graphics in the game are real cool. They got all these little details to everything and the ship look real nice the way they put it together. The way that you be getting at the creatures is tight too because they got arms and legs flying off, blood and everything.
This game was real cool, and it does a good job of getting your heart going a little while giving you an interesting game to go through. If you’re into the horror shooting games, you definitely are gonna want Dead Space.
We got our NBA 2K9/NBA Live 09 video review coming soon too. We just had to take a little more time to get it just right. Also, be on the lookout for the GMG compilation album Who Got Next coming out Nov. 11. Chhhuuuuccchhhh…
NHL 2K9 Review
What up y'all? This is your boy Twista, coming back at you with another review. Most of the time you don't have rappers messing with hockey, but this time I decided to flip the new hockey game from 2K Sports, NHL 2K9. Also, I been reading the comments some people been leaving, so I tried to make this a little more grown for those who was hating.
We hooked up with Chicago Blackhawk, Dustin Byfuglien, to review the game over at Spoon in Chi-town and definitely had ourselves an interesting night.
Right when you put in the game and start playing, you'll notice that the controls are basic and real easy to pick up. There are three different control setups, so you can pick which one you wanna use depending on your skill with the stick. There's basic, pro stick, and hybrid. Once you move up into the more complex control setups, you'll be able to flip a buncha different moves on the ice to help you get past defenders and shoot more accurately. But for all y'all picking up the game for the first time, the basic controls are easy to learn just to have fun and have a go at the game.
Graphics in the game are straight too. Even the people in the crowd be moving and have different faces, which is something I haven't been noticing in other games too much. The player's faces seem pretty real, which is tight too. But the biggest thing with a hockey game is the ice. In 2K9 the ice looks pretty real. The lights and all reflect off the ice, and you can even see the shadows of your guys as you're skating around. The animations as you're playing are tight too, and your players be doing all kinds of moves. It all seems natural. You don't see any randomly twitching players or messed up animations. The intro with the players all coming on the ice to start the game is real detailed too, which is another thing that 2K9 has over NHL 09.
Scoring goals is easier in this game than in NHL 09 and gameplay is exciting and all, but not at the level it is in NHL 09. The fighting in 2K9 is much better than in 09 though. You gotta throw multiple punches in 2K9 to bring down the other player, but in 09 two punches will take the other guy down.
2K9 has mini games as well like pond hockey and driving the Zamboni, which are fun to get at as well. Dustin has some stories of each. Dustin was telling me that growing up, pond hockey is what he and his friends did and it’s how kids play hockey on the block when the ponds freeze over. I guess pond hockey is like rapping in the basement or battles were for me. As for the Zamboni, Dustin told me about how they used to sneak on it when they needed fresh ice to practice on. You’ll see him tell his Zamboni stories in the video too.
Bottom line is that if you're looking for quick fun then hit up the 2K9. If you're looking for the more detailed hockey simulation then get the 09.
On October 5th I'm going to be reviewing NBA 2K9 and NBA Live 09 with Chicago Bull, Tyrus Thomas, at Junior's Sports Lounge. Be on the lookout for that here too.
Twista NHL 2K9 Review from HipHopDX on Vimeo.
Soul Calibur IV Review (Video)
Soul Calibur IV Review
What up y'all. People been hittin' me up about Soul Calibur IV and so even though it's been out for a minute I thought I'd come through on a review for it.
I'm definitely a fan of fightin' games so when Namco broke us off with a copy of SC4 we were all excited. We were all playin' SC1 while workin' on Adrenaline Rush so the game definitely be bringin' back old memories.
The first thing I noticed with SC4 before I even opened it was that they have Star Wars characters off in it. You got Yoda and The Apprentice for the Xbox 360 and Darth Vader and The Apprentice. You gotta unlock The Apprentice by achieving certain things in the arcade mode includin' beatin' The Apprentice with either Yoda or Darth Vader which ain't all that easy. Yoda can get crazy with it cause he all small and he be jumpin’ around swingin’ that lightsaber of his. But if you put Yoda up against Mitsurugi or some others Yoda not gonna do all that great. I ain’t mess with the PS3 version so I can’t say anythin’ about Darth Vader and I didn’t unlock The Apprentice yet but I hear that he definitely holds it down and is hard as hell to beat so he be tearin’ it up. You also got Star Wars levels that you can fight in as well with our without the Star Wars characters.
SC4 has the other characters as well from SC3. You got Voldo with the katars on his hands which are like blades, Siegfried with the Soul Calibur sword, Astaroth with his ax, and a buncha other characters. One of the characters I was excited to see again cause I used to play with him back in the day was Cervantes. Cervantes got two swords, a long and short one and you can fight like mad with him once you get used to it. Besides the old characters and the Star Wars characters you got some new characters in there as well and those are Algol and Hilde. Hilde be all covered in this armor and she got a long sword and a spear so she can really tear it up when she’s far or close up so she can be fun to fight with and all.
If you ain’t feelin’ any of the characters in the game one day you can go ahead and make your own character with the character creation mode. They had this in SC3 too but now it’s a little different. In SC3 you could pick a totally unique fightin’ style for your character but in SC4 you kinda build your character off of a character already in the game and you grab that character’s fightin’ style too but it changes as you play with your new character. You can’t build your character around the Star Wars characters or the homie Algol either. You can pick your character’s mask and weapons and a lot more and the weapons you pick for your character actually affect the damage it makes and its health and all so they really worked everythin’ together on this one. You can even change up your character’s voice which ain’t somethin’ you be seein’ in lots of games these days. You can go ahead and load up your character in any mode and you can even unlock more weapons and armor as you play with the character and get more points. If you play with your new character in the story mode you’ll even see your character in the little story videos which is real hot.
You also got special finishin’ moves up in SC4. When your character’s soul gauge is empty and the soul gauge is flashin’ red you just tap the left bumper button when your opponent goes back and his armor comes flying off and you’ll get to pull off the critical finish for your character. The video got me pullin’ off the critical finish with the man Nightmare. It’s hard to actually get a chance to do critical finishes when you playin’ but if you go to the trainin’ mode then you can go ahead and check out the critical finishes.
The one thing that ain’t so hot about SC4 is the story mode cause you can finish up a character’s story mode in like 15 minutes but then each player got their own story. I still wish that each character’s story mode would be a little harder though cause you can really just blow through the story mode and not even have your skills tested. The little story scenes are tight though and they do tell you a little but more about the story of the game but I really think that the story mode coulda been worked up a little more.
But along with the story mode you got the Tower of Lost Souls mode in which you can either go up or down this tower and all while you do you be fightin’. If you decide to ascend the tower then you can pick different levels of the tower where you’ll have to fight other characters who usually got power on their side over you. If you decide to descend the tower you pick two characters and they kinda tag team in a bunch of fights. Either way, and in the story mode, you can pick up points which you can use to buy new weapons and armor in the game. You can unlock characters too as you do different things in the different modes.
The sick thing about SC4 is that there’s a buncha moves you can do with your characters. It takes a minute to get used to the moves and learn ‘em all but when you do you can really start tearin’ it up with that character. You’re gonna have to be pressin’ all them buttons real quick though so you better be quick with the controller or you ain’t gonna be doin’ too hot in the game. The graphics in the game are sick too and so everythin’ really comes together to make for a real tight game. The online mode is tight too and adds even more to the game.
If you into fightin’ games definitely check SC4 out. SC4 finally brings Soul Calibur up to the level of Tekken. The Star Wars character really add to the game and let you take a break from the older characters while the character creation lets you make your own. We definitely gonna be playin’ this for a hot minute and you should too.
I want to let everyone know that we about to start doin’ reviews up at a place where people can come in and chill with us and even get a chance to play against me and my homies for the reviews. We figurin’ out where and when this all is gonna go down but if you in the Chi be on the lookout for that so that you can come get yourself some drinks and get down with the whole review thing. We got a special setup to compare NHL 2k9 and NHL ’09 with my man Dustin Byfuglien from the Blackhawks so when we get a place and time for that I’ll let y’all know but you know Twista gonna be the first with both those games so be on the lookout. Chuuuuuccchhhh….
Twista Reviews Madden '09
What up y’all. I’ve been hooked on this new Madden, the Madden ’09. Got the game about two weeks ago and there was a video with me opening up the game and we got over a million views on that so I know y’all be holdin’ it down for Madden and your boy Twista so that’s love.
This game is still Madden and so if you liked the older ones you’re gonna like the ’09. One of the new things I really like in the ’09 though are the virtual training modes. They got a little trainin’ mode for passin’, rushin’, pass defense, and rush defense which lets you get your advance on in all these parts of the game. It’s real tight cause you can actually find what it is you ain’t doing right when you playin’ the game and then come into the trainin’ mode and fix it. In fact right after you finish a game and your new Madden IQ shows up it picks the one part of your IQ where it thinks you need the most help in and asks you right then if you wanna go into the trainin’ mode for it. If you really wanna become good at the game and be able to whoop on your friends in ’09 you’re gonna have to spend some time with the trainin’. I really like the rushin’ one and you’ll see me in the rushin’ mode on the video and then I had my man Ro get on it. I got the whole 10 and he only got 8 so don’t think that Twista ain’t holdin’ it down when it comes to the Madden.
The play callin’ is about the same in ’09 as it was in ’08 but you got different colors and the screen of where you pick plays is different too. When you pickin’ a play on the right side of that screen you got these Madden tips that show up along with other things you can scroll through. You can get stats, the tips, replays, and a few other things all right there while you pickin’ a play. With play selection if you playin’ your homie you can hide the play you’re picking by usin’ the left trigger button which just tells you what button to press for a play rather than havin’ that box they can see around the play you’re pickin’. You can do some new stuff on the audibles too. When you decide you wanna do an audible now you can actually do shit that is for that formation you already in, it doesn’t have to be pickin’ a random new play that takes you outta the formation you already in. You also got this new smart route option which is a little play off of the hot route option cause it’s really hot route but it makes sure that the route your player takes is past the first down marker. The slide protection is back now too for the offense in ’09. You can slide your offensive line how you need to get better blockin’ for the play you pick which is real tight when you pick runnin’ plays. With the play callin’ you also got different levels like basic, intermediate, advanced, and hardcore. With advanced you can pick your play on your own or get the plays Madden thinks you should go with but in the hardcore you gotta pick your own play.
You also got backtrack and rewind in the ’09. Backtrack is when a commentator goes through your play while it replays the play and it tells you what you done wrong in the play and what you could have done different. This is tight cause the game actually tellin’ you things you doing wrong so you can learn from the game and fix things up. There’s a rewind option too which lets you replay a play. I don’t think anybody should really be replayin’ plays but if you just playin’ to learn the game then this could be a hot thing to use but I ain’t ever used rewind.
The game is just more realistic now with how you play and all. You can’t be throwin’ crazy deep passes that easy and runnin’ ain’t easy either. You really gotta know what you doin’ now to break a long run or get a deep pass in ’09. You also got the Madden IQ which replaces the difficulty levels if you want. Instead of pickin’ All-Pro or All-Madden, cause no one should be playin’ on nothin’ else, you can have the game be set to your own skill. You go through a test of your playin’ and then it gives you a score and as you play games it changes it accordin’ to how you played in the game. If you goin’ crazy on the passin’ it’ll make passin’ harder for you but if you slackin’ with your runnin’ game then you gonna have a little easier time runnin’ the ball.
While you playin’ the game you’ll also notice that you got more commentators in it. You got Madden in there every now and then but you got a few people that be givin’ their comments. If you keep runnin’ the same play the commentators also gonna say somethin’ about it so if you playin’ someone else they gonna get a little hint to what they should be doin’ so the commentators really be changin’ how you play a little too.
I like the mobile quarterbacks myself so I may go with the Philadelphia Eagles for the boy Donovan McNabb or even go with the Minnesota Vikings cause the boy Jackson got a mean scramble too. But my heart always really be with the hometown Chicago Bears but gotta switch it up for the Madden even though the Bears got a monster defense and got that boy Hester just waiting to run that ball back for a touchdown.
Madden ’09 tearin’ it up for real and the game is even better than all the other Maddens because they got new stuff in it this time around and they made it even more realistic. If you got that Xbox 360, PS3, or that WII definitely pick this one up. If you got a system and you into video games you gotta have this game. Shouts to Electronic Arts for hookin’ the boy Twista up with the ’09 before it even came out. Chuuucccchhhh…..
Twista's Intro
What up y’all. This is your boy Twista holdin’ it down with hiphopdx.com where I’m gonna be flippin’ video game reviews and lettin’ y’all know what you need to get and not get for your Xbox 360, PS3, or WII. Whatever you got I’m gonna try to hook you up with what you need to know about all the games comin’ out there whether it be that new Madden, Tekken, or anythin’ else I love video games so this is definitely somethin’ I’m glad I can kick for y’all and trust me when I say I can go as fast on that controller as I can on the 16s. For an artist like me who’s on the road a lot video games give me something to do and help me pass time.
I was about 12 when I got my first system and it was one of those Atari 2600s. I used to be hooked on this one game Pitfall Harry. For everyone that may not know the game you had to control this guy who was explorin’ the old ruins somewhere and you had to dodge frogs and bats and all kinds of other stuff. I ended up gettin’ the Atari 5200 next and I was heavy on the Pacman then. Pacman is just one of those classics though cause no matter how old it is it doesn’t really get old.
After the 5200 I got a Colecovision and a Sega Genesis. I’m not sure how many people still remember the Colecovision but it had these two big ass controllers on it that had this cord that would stretch out from the system and you could get other controllers for it too if you wanted, like a joystick and some other ones. I had that Sega Genesis too but I can’t really remember what I used to play on that though.
Next I got the Playstation and then the Xbox. I was playin’ both of those at the same time too cause I was still playin’ the Playstation when the Xbox came out. I didn’t fuck with Nintendo ever though. I didn’t have nothin’ against it but I just never fucked with it like that.
Now I’ve got an Xbox 360, that PS3, and the Wii. I really think the Wii is tight cause it’s a representation of what’s coming in the future. Its next level shit. You may not have some of the features you got with the 360 or the PS3 but it’s one of those things I think really shows what directions things are going in. I really like that boxing game. Man, it really gets you movin’ and workin’ out. That boxing game is real tight.
One of the main things I look for in a game and am gonna definitely let y’all know about is the graphics. Games gotta have great ass graphics and effects that make things more lifelike. That’s the main thing to me. If it’s a boxing game I want it to be as close to boxing as it can get.
I really like all kinds of games whether they’re sports games, fighting games, or those first person shooting games. My favorite games though gotta be Madden and Tekken. I used to kick ass with Nina and Yushimitsu. I used to be able to get those 5 stab combos with Yushimitsu easy. I love the fighting games and the sports games cause you can play other people and I like that. People get real serious about sports game too. I like the Tekken and the boxing cause there’s different styles with different players so you gotta figure out the character’s fighting style and try to get used to it. There’s a certain style of play which each character in Tekken and you just gotta figure out which one you can control the best.
Everyone stay up on this and let me know what y’all think about the games and what you wanna see me review. I’ll try to hit up some comments each week and respond too. I wanna start this off in a big way with a game I’m really waitin’ for so next up has gotta be that Madden ’09. Chuuchh….