Greg Noe's reviews and writings
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare features the best first hour of a video game I have ever played. It was 2007's best-selling game and received my 2007 Console Game of the Year award. The entire game is a must-play but the first hour is something to be marveled at. I was never personally a fan of World War II era shooters, so I was super excited to find out the Call of Duty series had moved on to a modern setting that really makes sense in today's world. There seems to be as much reality in this fictional war than what the previous games had presented to us before.Welcome to day three of the First Hour, as in the 49th hour of gaming. This is also the first review of my new site where you're reading this now after a few month break. Since my last review in June, I've moved into my first house and had a baby, it's been really exciting but also a bit overwhelming, I haven't even hooked up any of my consoles in months and just played my DS and PC sporadically. I'm ready to start writing about games again though, I'll try to keep them coming as consistent as possible (every Monday afternoon), but you never know what will happen.
Anyways, on with the review!
For my review on the whole game, please see my Call of Duty 4 review at Beyond the First Hour.
Day Two Recap
Forty-eight* games have been reviewed. Forty-eight hours have been played. Two entire days of gaming.
The First Hour is Ready
The first two days of First Hour content has been moved here along with all 20 full reviews! I have some great plans for the site but it's time to start rolling out some brand new reviews. I should be posting them within the next week or so, probably picking up my regular Monday schedule of posting new First Hour reviews. I've also beaten a few games over the last few months so I'll be catching up on Beyond the First Hour reviews.
Next time I post something, it will be a brand new review! Until then, check out the 48 First Hour reviews and the 20 Beyond the First Hour reviews.
Still working hard
Yep, I'm still hard at work on the First Hour. I have 48 First Hour reviews to migrate over to firsthour.net along with about 20 Beyond the First Hour reviews. This would generally be a quick cut and paste job but I'm creating a whole different review layout along with some other nifty extras that are slowing things down. It's important to me that I have every single old review available when this site is ready to launch with Day Three content.
Coming Soon...
I'm getting closer to launching The First Hour here for good. A lot of data migration and some site tweaking needs to be done, but I hope to complete it within the coming weeks. My life has been incredibly busy lately with a new house and a baby on the way, but I can't wait to get back to writing for this site. It all kind of reminds me of why I started The First Hour in the first place, I barely have time to play any video games right now, let alone bad ones, making the first hour of a game so much more important. Hook me in fast so I'll finish it that night! Well, that's what one game did recently, and it will be my first review when I get back!
See you soon!
Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures
Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures is a new adventure game in the same vein as Lego Star Wars. I've had great fun with the recent series of Lego games and since I've always been a fan of Indiana Jones, this is one game I'm excited to play. I've only played one other Indiana Jones game before and that was Desktop Adventures, a fun, randomly generated top-down computer game. Lego Indiana Jones supposedly does not include any content from the newest movie, which doesn't bother me, I thought it was pretty bad honestly. I will be playing the Nintendo DS version of Lego Indiana Jones.This is my last review for Day 2 of The First Hour. Another 24 hours of video gaming has passed and another 24 will begin soon. All reviews here on old domain will be moving to firsthour.net and all new reviews will be posted there. That site will consolidate my full review site into it also. I'm really excited for it and I plan to launch it this summer. It will probably be a few weeks though as I have just closed on a house and also have a baby on the way, so it's going to be a busy summer! I'm excited for the future though and still plan to review just the first hour of video games. Heck, that's all I have time for anyway.
Star Ocean: The Second Story
Star Ocean: The Second Story is an action RPG for the original PlayStation. The game allows the player to make many choices along the way, from what characters will be in your party to how difficult the secret final boss will be. Star Ocean is known for its fun and varied gameplay and its absolutely atrocious, but hilarious voice acting. It was released in the United States back in 1999 but since the first Star Ocean was never released outside of Japan, I'm not really sure how Enix expected it to performed. The game follows the story of two intergalactic strangers and their impact on the future of multiple planets. Let's get into the beginning of that story, as Star Ocean: The Second Story's first hour is about to begin.The World Ends with You
The World Ends with You is a new action RPG for the Nintendo DS released by Square Enix. Unlike their Final Fantasy or Kingdom Hearts series, The World is set in modern day Tokyo. Battles are fought at a fast pace and the game is ripe with Japanese pop culture, music, and style. This is a unique game and proof that Square Enix still takes chances now and then. It has rewarded them well too as the game is getting great reviews and I'm sure it is selling well. Enough talk though, let's get on with the review.Hotel Dusk: Room 215
Hotel Dusk: Room 215 is a point and click adventure game for the Nintendo DS. I reviewed the first hour of the game a few months ago and awarded the game a 4 out of 10 for its never-ending dialogue and slow gameplay. But that's just one hour of 30, how will the complete package turn out? Note the scores are out of 10.For my review on just the first hour, please see my Hotel Dusk: Room 215 review at The First Hour.
Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword
Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword is a new action game for the Nintendo DS. It features 3D graphics with pre-rendered backgrounds and the story is set six months after the events in Ninja Gaiden for the Xbox. I recently posted my first hour review of Ninja Gaiden and Ninja Gaiden and was inspired to try out the newest offering in the series. This was an excellent decision because Dragon Sword was a great game and plays perfectly on the Nintendo DS. Read on for the full review, but note, Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword is not to be confused with Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos for the NES or Ninja Gaiden II for the Xbox 360.
