Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light

Square Enix
Crystal Dynamics
Adventure
Release: Sep 28, 2010

The creators from Square Enix decided to take a different turn in Tomb Rider franchise by releasing The Guardian Of Light. This is not typical third person adventure as we were used to see starting with series for PS One. This one reminds me the upcoming title Diablo III which will be released.... someday I guess. 

This game is best played in cooperative multiplayer mode with a friend but you won't be disappointed playing it alone either. After all, it's all about shooting zombies in a face and puzzle solving winch you can do all alone.

It has a support for a game pad so you can play it with simulation software if you don't have one made by Microsoft. I had some issues with D-pad when using inventory so I had to use mouse from time to time. I am not sure if it's a bug but this small issue did not ruined my experience and I completed this game in  a few days.

Score: 8/10

http://rapidshare.com/files/414240487/xbox360cemu.v.3.0.rar

Darksiders

THQ
Vigil Games
Modern Action Adventure
Release: Sep 23, 2010
ESRB: Mature

Well that is a really well balanced game between slicing your foes with a large variety of weapons and mind bending puzzle solving. 

This game has so much to offer. It keeps you interested all the way to the end by introducing more gear and equipment as you progress. This new variety of gadgets not just gives you more ways to kill your enemies but also unlocks new hidden paths which were unreachable earlier. You will probably want to to travel back to earlier stages of he game and collect that stuff.

I managed to finish this game in about 18 hours but you can prolong it if you decide to find all artifacts and secret chests. You can also rush this game but I strongly recommend not to do so.

This game supports Xbox 360 controller as well as emulation software for that purpose.

Evaluation: 9/10

http://rapidshare.com/files/414240487/xbox360cemu.v.3.0.rar

R.U.S.E.

Ubisoft
Eugen Systems
Historic Real-Time...
Release: Sep 7, 2010
ESRB: Teen

I decided to try this one out just because it supports Xbox360 controller. I've never played RTS with a game pad before, actually I could not imagine playing one without mouse/keyboard. To tell the truth I was really surprised. Well it takes time to adapt to such control method but after an hour or so you'll be playing it like other games that uses game pad. There is no doubt that you'll never be as good as playing with mouse and keyboard but for a campaign mode this suits perfectly.

Game runs smoothly on my system, haven't  encountered any problems yet. Just make sure you have the latest drivers installed (video, directx, physx, visualc++). The download link for Xbox360 emulation software is here below this post  as well as at the software  section of this blog.


Evaluation: 7/10

http://rapidshare.com/files/414240487/xbox360cemu.v.3.0.rar 

Mafia II

2K Games
2K Czech
Historic Action Adventure
Release: Aug 24, 2010
ESRB: Mature

Well that is a really good game and it runs problems free on my system  (considering it is 3 years old). It has support for Xbox360 controller so you can get i work with a simulation software if yours game pad is anything but Xbox360 controller.

This game is a linear type although it might seem different at the first glance. There is nothing to do besides main story (no secondary objectives) but the game itself is pretty long. I've been playing it for 15 hours already although only at 60 percent in progress. That's a bit strange considering that it is only 5 GB game with no alternative game play what so ever.

To end with I am looking forward to complete this one. It has everything you need for good entertainment: strong storyline , nice graphics and excellent game play...

Evaluation: 9/10

http://rapidshare.com/files/414240487/xbox360cemu.v.3.0.rar.html

Guitar Hero World Tour

Activision Blizzard
Neversoft Ent.
Rhythm / Music
Release: Jul 26, 2009
ESRB: Teen

Well I always wanted to try something from Guitar Hero series and now I was lucky to find such game for PC. 

To tell the truth I was quite disappointed. I only found 2 good songs to play and keyboard/mouse controls looked confusing to me. I could not manage to get i work with game pad as well. The best option would be to play it with a program called xpadder but it takes time to configure it properly. After all, it's easier to download some good mp3 than messing around with this one....

Evaluation: 4/10
 

http://rapidshare.com/files/414240571/Xpadder__5.7_.rar.html

Spider-Man: Web of Shadows

Activision
Shaba Games , Treyarch
Action
Release: Oct 28, 2008
ESRB: Teen

The last time I've played Spider-man was on my PS one. I actually enjoyed it at that time, like almost every game for that console.

I think this is the latest one in the sequel and "Shattered Dimensions" should come out any time soon (not sure if its going to be console only). Anyways, Xbox 360 emulation works fine but right stick (camera) seems to be too sensitive and there is no way to adjust it (not that I know of). So i haven't played much of it because of this sensitivity issue, gives me a headache after an hour or so. After all you can always choose keyboard / mouse controlling method and this should work just fine.

The game play seems pretty solid, swinging around the town looks fun (like Bionic Commando) so it should entertain you for a while.

Evaluation: 6/10

http://rapidshare.com/files/414240487/xbox360cemu.v.3.0.rar 

Overlord II

Codemasters
Triumph Studios
Fantasy Action Adventure
Release: Jun 23, 2009
ESRB: Teen

I am not a big fan of cartoon style games but this one looked promising to me. It's quite entertaining, at least for a while. It is really worth trying just because it is so different from traditional action games. Trying something new is always a good idea.

I found it a bit laggy game even for my PC. You will probably have to lower settings for this one in order to play smoothly (unless you own up to date system).

It detects my game pad but the control scheme is weird. In order to get it work properly you will need Xbox360 controller emulation software. Download link is here. Place the content near your game's executable.

Evaluation: 5/10

http://rapidshare.com/files/414240487/xbox360cemu.v.3.0.rar.html

Damnation

Codemasters 
Blue Omega
Sci-Fi Shooter
Release: May 26, 2009
ESRB: Mature

Despite really bad reviews for this game I decided to try it. If critics give a low score for some game it does not mean that it is useless. They are professionals and usually look into  specific details. For me the fun factor is most important so I can not judge it without trying. 

However this one should be avoided. I stopped playing it as soon as I found out that it does not use any covering system, you can not hide from bullets properly and so on. Voice acting is also very weak. Game looks bad from all perspectives.  I did not expect this from "Codemasters". 

I did manage to play it with Xbox360 game pad emulation software. Just copy the content into the games installation folder where the executable is located and you are good to go.

Evaluation: 2/10

http://rapidshare.com/files/414240512/xbox360cemu.v.3.1.4.0.rar.html 

Bionic Commando

Capcom
GRIN
Sci-Fi Adventure
Release: Jul 28, 2009
ESRB: Mature

I've just finished this game and it was pretty good. The only disadvantage is that video settings can not be adjusted and everything is done automatically. Vertical synchronization is off by default and I could not manage to turn it on. Forcing it through control panel however does not help because game becomes jerky and way less playable than without it. Forcing anything is not an option.

I used my Rumblepad 2 but it took me some time to configure it properly. I made a logitech profile for this game which you can download from this link below. I also included Logitech's gaming software which you will need to use with this profile. Just install this software first, then import the profile from the program's menu, select the game's executable when asked and it's done.

Evaluation: 8/10

http://rapidshare.com/files/414130158/Bionic_Commando_Rumble_Pad_2_profile.rar.html

http://rapidshare.com/files/414307983/lgs504.exe.html

Introduction

Hi,

This is my first time I try to do something public like writing a blog. My  English isn't perfect so forgive me if I make some grammatical mistakes or my sentences won't make sense at all. After all I am sure you'll get the idea of what I am trying to say.

As you can see from the title, this blog will contain information about PC games, problems running them, how to make them work with a game pad and other useful stuff.

My current PC is a bit old but I am still able to run newest games problems free. For those who are interested in specifications of my hardware here you go:

CPU: AMD Athlon64 X2 Dual Core 6400+
GPU: HD 4870
RAM: 4 GB
OS: XP SP3

Well it's 3 years old rig and I am thinking of upgrading it. In my opinion, you should upgrade your hardware at least every 3 years or so if you want to keep up with latest games. But still my PC handles most of the games quite well.

I also own Logitech Cordless Rumblepad 2 game pad so I'll try to give info of how to make it work with games.

Giving fresh information about the newest games is not the purpose of this bog. It's about the games that I decide to check randomly, problems I encounter playing them and of course the solutions that I manage to find. However,  I always keep an eye for new releases so do expect them to appear in this blog.

Good reading!