Jeff Talks Games

Marvel Pinball Review is up!

2010-12-07T16:16:00.000-08:00

Channel your inner deaf, unable to speak or see child starting tomorrow! Also, see if you can knock me from the top of the leaderboards! I'm sitting pretty with 156 MILLION points on the Spiderman table...make that fall suckers!

http://www.dailygame.net/news/archives/009756.php

What's with all the silence?

2010-11-05T15:16:00.000-07:00

My apologies to the half dozen constant readers out there for the lack of updates, but I've been doing a lot of work for a local entertainment web site lately, and have been offered a long term gig there. So I plan on doing a majority of my review work for them, Dailygame.net - feel free to pop on by for my gaming reviews as well as all the D-Box reviews, Blu-Ray reviews and other gagdets that the site covers.

There will still be some action over here I hope - with some smaller content and likely some additional thoughts on the reviews I write up for Dailygame. See ya there!

Who wants to play Super Meat Boy?

2010-10-18T16:06:00.000-07:00

OK readers, I've got not one...but TWO codes for Super Meat Boy (review at that link) to give away this week. For your chance to win, all you need to do is list below your favorite method of cooking red meat (Vegetarians, I will accept tofu based entries as well). I'll pick the winner on Wednesday AM (Pacific time) and assuming you've left an email address in the entry, or it's in your visible profile. No method to contact you means you can not win.

But wait! There's more! Want another chance to win? Tweet the following and post the corresponding link in your entry below (same one as above entry please).

'I want to win Super Meat Boy! Follow @paramchuk and visit http://bit.ly/9AMeXL for your chance to win. #GimmeMyMeat #contest'

Comic Jumper - the review

2010-10-05T10:44:00.000-07:00

What makes a game fun? Is it the way the game feels as you control it, like the easy at which we can maneuver Mario? Or is it the way a game looks, like how much depth and realism titles like Uncharted 2 have? Or maybe it’s shooting the shit out of things in a post-apocalyptic world, a la Gears of War? Or maybe fun is causing massive amounts of mayhem and bloodshed like God of War? But a lot of that is purely visual and emotionless – so can you have fun without visuals sure you can as reading a book can be a lot of fun. Fun and enjoyable can be used interchangeably but after making my way through the latest from Twisted Pixel called Comic Jumper – I’d like to propose that these words no longer are used interchangeably.

Comic Jumper was fun. Metric shitloads of fun – but it wasn’t that enjoyable. Bullshit you say – it’s the same thing. Wrong. It’s not. I had a blast listening to Captain Smiley and Star interact with one another. I laughed almost every time I died because of the things the Cap’n would shout out “You Suck…uck…uck.” and “Hope you didn’t have any drrrreeeeaaaaammmmmssss.” But that doesn’t mean I enjoyed the ride on the way.

Sure it was awesome to go through the four different comic styles, and it was a hoot to see the Arnold impression in Nanoc, and the blatant sexism and racism of the Improbable Paper Pals was tough to stomach, but funny in the same way that Daniel Tosh is – you can’t believe they just said what they did and on top of that, are getting away with it. The manga level itself was a funny enough, with the art style and the insane characters, not to mention Hent High home of the Fighting Tentacles – but this level was chocked full of things that should annoy every gamer out there. Sure manga is supposed to be insane and full of strangeness – but a giant floating chubby kid’s head that shoots snot at you? Please. Pling Pling on the other hand is a character that should get its own game. It’s the polar extremes of this title that prevented me from actually enjoying the game.

Technically speaking, this game is fantastic. The worlds are all so unique, vibrant and full of life that it’s impossible to not *gasp* enjoy what was on screen. My only nitpick with the levels is that the manga was tough to see some of the action that was onscreen as everything in it was black and white. Twisted Pixel did add a flicker to bullets and enemies to help them stand out, but even still it was quite chaotic. If you’d played ‘Splosion Man then you know these guys are great at the audio portions of a game, and Comic Jumper even exceeds ‘Splosion on that level. Packed to the nuts with one liners, excellent banter, and quirky character interactions the voice work in CJ is some of the best I’ve seen in pretty much any game I’ve played in recent memory. Along with the voice work, the background music and sound effects are also among the best around – and it changes from comic to comic, so you’ll never get to tired of listening to the same soundtrack.

My biggest and the most glaring and enjoyment sucking flaw in the game is the core gameplay itself. Similar to many old school side scrolling action titles, like Rush ‘N Attack or even Contra a large portion of the game you’re simply running left to right shooting at the bad guys who seem to take a ton of punishment. The joy sucker here is that Smiley always seems to be running through a bog of near frozen molasses, unless he’s jumping. Gameplay styles do switch up at quite refreshing regular intervals however, so you’ll see yourself in a Cabal style shooting gallery or flying a jetpack in space or even waterskiing at one point in the game. Even here though, the same shoot until you can’t shoot no more gameplay degrades the experience to a chore. Perhaps playing the game in shorter bursts would make it more entertaining in the long run, but after running through it in short order it’s hard to put a shiny glow on it.

I have faith that this title will sell very well, thanks to the plethora of high review scores out there combined with the prestige that Twisted Pixel has earned in the gaming community (Guess what gamers?! They worked on Blitz II – The League! Takes some shine off eh?) My hope I that people will look at the game as a whole, and not just rave about it because it’s funny or because it’s entertaining – but judge it on the gameplay as well. I think that Comic Jumper had the potential to be something stellar, but what we ended up with was a mediocre shooter wrapped up in one of the best skins and featuring some of the best writing to hit the XBLA. I suggest downloading the demo of the game first, playing that for a solid hour then make your call on if you want to buy the game – but, who am I to judge. I bought Lost Via Domus for full price the day it launched.

Oh – you want a score? Three Hundred and Fifty out of a possible score of Five Hundred.

Some thoughts on Metroid Other M - and a review

2010-09-28T20:59:00.000-07:00

Seeing as I reviewed this title for DailyGame.net - visit the site for the review as well as help support a local (to me anyway) gaming site. But here are is a quick thought I didn't quite discuss in the review proper because it didn't really fit.

The cutscenes in the game are too damn much, I mean there were times where I sat staring at the 480p (upscaled to 1080p thanks to my receiver) and thought to myself that surely the movie I was watching was at one point a game. I almost wanted to double check that this wasn't some new take on Metal Gear that Kojima snuck onto the Metroid disc I was playing. Talk about removing ones self from the entertainment. One second I'm blasting away at Space Pirates (what?!) then all of a sudden I'm watching some cut scene that shows youthful Samus giving a thumbs down to her commanding officer. Yes, in the grand scheme of the game those dreadfully long segments did make sense and help form a more cohesive story, but was it necessary? Not really.

Other than that huge issue that I had, this was a very enjoyable game. I know that there are people out there who eat, sleep and shit Samus Aran so I am sure that they'll appreciate the backstory - and sorry to all those fan-fiction writers out there. This story is real, yours continues to be strange erotica that perhaps you should seek some help for.

Dead Rising Case:Zero Review - The Shape of Things to Come

2010-09-20T17:15:00.001-07:00

We’re a week away from Dead Rising 2 being released, so why am I just covering the pay-for-demo now? Because I am, that’s why. It’s going to be short and sweet – because the review can be summarized into the following blurb; If you liked Dead Rising, then you’ll like DR2. More blood, more zombies, and better weapons to slice, behead, sever and disembowel hordes of the undead are contained within (this prologue.) The approach of grab almost anything make it a weapon still permeates the title, only this time you can customize your weaponry. Not content with simply stabbing a zombie with a drill or smacking it with a bucket? Why not head over to the workbench and combine these items into a drill helmet, or that box of nails and propane tank can sure make a nice IED. These combined items not only make kills bloodier, but they also increase the Prestige Points you earn allowing you to level up quicker, which in turn makes the game that much more enjoyable.

I was one of the relatively few who weren’t overly perturbed by the save game mechanisms of Dead Rising when it came out back in ought-six, and it looks like it’s back in full force this time around but with a slight twist. Gone is the single save slot that so often confused gamers and caused them to restart a game (with a leveled up Frank West), this time around three slots are available to save and backup Chuck Greene. Yes, it’s still possible to level up your character then restart the game with an even more powerful Chuck, and I’d imagine once DR2 complete comes out, this will be an essential way to help beat down any psychopaths that get in the way. It’s worth noting, that you can carry five levels over from this Case: Zero into the full retail game – so it’s a nice way to get a jump on the zombies.

Case: Zero has Chuck in a small desert town on the hunt for some Zombrex to save his daughter, who has been afflicted with the terrible disease. Zombrex needs to be administered every 12 hours without fail – or the consequences become gory. These 12-ish hours are spent in the town, saving survivors and attempting to build a bike to get the hell out of Dodge before the military makes it there and realized that your innocent little girl needs to be quarantined. As with the first Dead Rising title, there are multiple endings even in this ~~demo~~ prequel, each with a new twist and rating of how you played.

At only 400 MSFT points, it’s no wonder that it’s been downloaded over ½ million times, and it completely fits the bill that Dead Rising gamers are looking for. Oodles of blood, creative zombie kills and over the top gameplay where pretty much anything goes. This is 400 points that anyone who’s a fan should be willing to part with, as it delivers on pretty much everything we want the sequel to. Bring on the full game!

Feel like playing Marvel Vs Capcom 3? Live in Chicago?

2010-09-15T13:02:00.000-07:00

Sure the Midwest gets a bum rep, and Chicago lately has been bogged down with some issues all unto themselves, but that's no going to stop Capcom from previewing Marvel Vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds. Check out the add, and check back at the link below for the address which will be revealed later this week.

Check this link for the address reveal later this week.

Ivy the Kiwi? The Review?

2010-09-14T11:51:00.000-07:00

Talk about a little title sneaking under the radar of a lot of gamers, likely due to it's cute premise, darling little protagonist (the Ivy of question) and all too bubbly soundtrack - this game created by Yuji Naka of Sonic the Hedgehog fame is one that people should definitely be on the hunt for, as it's a perfect title to help pass a little time, and one that can be played over an over again.

So what's the deal? Well, an egg falls from the sky, hatches and the little bird inside looks around and can't fine her mother...so like any other good bird, she heads off at full speed to try and find her and it's up to you, the gamer to help Ivy get to the goal on each level. The kicker is, you can't control her directly. Rather what you can control is the growth of some vines via the Wii remote - simply point click A and release to help a vine grow and stretch, allowing you to safely guide Ivy over spikes, through small passages and up onto the goal at the end of each short, yet surprisingly entertaining level. Even with the 100 levels to play, the game is a quick romp for any skilled gamer, but the challenge that comes with collecting all the feathers on a level and beating your old time make the game chocked full of replay value.

This is an absolutely gorgeous game to see in action - and you owe it to yourself to at least check out this video to see what it looks like in motion. With it's hand drawn charm, the game seriously pulls in even the most jaded High Definition gamer and will keep you entertained. To go along with the stunning art in the game, the soundtrack is a delight on the ears - but almost too bubbly and light. After an hour or so with the game the soundtrack will be stuck in your head - but it beats the drone of machine gun fire or some other terrible speed metal soundtracks we've all slogged through.

Yes, it's a kids game - but an adorable yet challenging one at that. With the collection aspect, completionists will have something to strive for while other gamers of any age will be able to simply play and enjoy the action onscreen. It might be a little challenging for the younger set, but they will get a kick out of watching you play as it's literally a storybook come to life. Do yourself a favor, check out Ivy the Kiwi if you like platform titles with some puzzling twists. From what I understand, a Ivy the Kiwi Light version will be appearing on WiiWare sometime this fall, with fewer levels however. It's also available on Nintendo DS, but after playing it on the Wii and seeing how easily it controls, I'd not want to play it on a handheld - but that's just me.

Plants Vs Zombies - XBLA review (plus your chance to win a copy!)

2010-09-10T14:26:00.000-07:00

Plants Vs Zombies was a smash success for PopCap Games, and when it’s catchy little ditty sticks in your head for days at a time it would be a damn shame if the game didn’t back it up. I never played PvZ prior to its release on Xbox Live Arcade; seriously. So all the talk of sunflowers and Wall-Nuts was lost on me. I had seen videos and thought ‘Well Gee Mr. That’s a swell looking take on a tower defense game.’ Little did I know that these damned zombies and ‘plants’ would be permeating my head for days on end.

The premise is simple. Zombies are in your yard, trying to get to you while you sit idle inside your house and the only line of defense you have is a series of items loosely based on plants and fungi (and even algae which technically speaking are plants). Resource gathering and allocation are the backbone of any tower defense game, and here you need to collect sunshine in order to allow your weaponized plants to take root. Ranging from simple pea shooters which shoot anywhere from one to four peas in a straight line to some that will shoot across multiple lanes, to spiked plants which will help pop the tires on Zombonies. That’s right, gone are the simple shuffling zombies here you’ll face zombies on skates, wearing football and scuba gear, ones who pole vault and others which dance their way into your living room. It’s going to take some strategy, some luck and a good amount of planning to clear these suckers off your lawn as you make your way through the levels.

As you progress, you unlock more plants which bring on more zombie types some of which will start to drop cash that you collect and then sell at Crazy Dave’s shop. Here you can buy new plant types, additional slots for taking a more varied group of flora into battle, and other offensive and defensive items. Also as you keep decapitating your way through the levels, you’ll unlock additional modes of play like survival mode, versus and co-op and a slew of mini-games to keep you entertained. The mini-games range from Wall-Nut bowling to Whack a Zombie and even a level that features tons of Zombonies and the accompanying bobsled zombies. Good times.

Most who played any of the previous iteration have asked my how easy it is to collect sun in the game, because apparently it needed to be clicked on or tapped to collect it in the PC or mobile versions. I can safely say that collecting sun and cash here is as easy as moving your cursor in the vicinity of the item. It’s as if the developers put in some magnets (how do they work?) in your selection box and items are drawn towards it as you get within a specific radius. Also, the speed at which the cursor moves is fast enough to not induce frustration, but just slow enough that complete control is yours – I’d imagine a good amount of tweaking went into perfecting this action.

So is Plants Vs Zombies worth your hard earned Microsoft Bucks? You bet your sweet ass it is, but if you’ve played the game to death on other platforms there’s not a whole lot here to justify you get it again, outside of the fact you get to play it sitting on your couch and looking at a 50+ inch television rather than some 4” mobile screen.

Contest Closed! Congrats to the dude in the #6 position, BRENT!

With that I’ll give you a chance to win a copy of the game! Simply post in the comments section your favorite zombie type in the game and I’ll randomly select a winner, so your account must have an email address visible in order for me to send you a code. Winner will be drawn on Sunday, Sept 12th around noon pacific. Need not be present to win.

Reviews on the list...

2010-09-05T15:44:00.000-07:00

Just a little blurb to mention what I have in the pipeline right now, and what you'll be seeing soon.

Metroid Other M - is coming very soon, but that will not be posted here. It's for one of my gigs with DailyGame.net.

Ivy the Kiwi - Nintendo Wii. This little title has a great look, but what about the rest of it?

Mafia II - This is coming, but since it arrived after launch, it gets bumped for titles that are here earlier.

In the near future, look for Guitar Hero Warriors of Rock. Can 2112 save the franchise from itself? I sure hope so. Also coming up soon, DJ Hero 2. The first one caught all the right things, and from what I'm seeing of the sequel lightening might just strike twice.
And of course, Rock Band 3 should be coming up very soon. I'm very excited about the keyboard peripheral, let's hope it's more than just a gimmick - but with the pedigree these guys have, it's looking like it's here to stay.

Valkyria Chronicles II review - Finally another reason to charge up the PSP

2010-08-31T16:38:00.000-07:00

Valkyria Chronicles was a game that few played in the West, but most who did really loved the game. With its anime inspired visuals, great storytelling and challenging combat, it was a pleasure for western fans of the genre. With great joy, the follow-up was announced, but rather than be on the PS3 as its predecessor Valkyria Chronicles II was destined for the PSP – where gamers were sure that the visuals would suck, the story would pale in comparison and the challenge would be removed. Thankfully, I can report that this isn’t the case – but some modifications to the game were made due to system constraints, but the game is just as engaging and just as challenging as the first title.

Taking place two years post Valkyria Chronicles, you take control of Avan Hardins a slacker in the small European nation of Gallia which is in the midst of a war with local rebels intent on taking out the Darcsen race of people. Think of it as a retelling of the atrocities of WW2 or any other ethnic cleansing that our world has unfortunately seen. Avan gets a visit from a teacher from Lanseal Military Academy, and is informed that his brother who was a very gifted man was killed in action. With no other details, Avan rushes to enroll in this school to track down some details – and along the way meets many people, friends and adversaries alike – and helps fight in the war that’s plaguing his nation.

Taking place over a year of game time separated into month long increments, VC2 contains a ton of content. Boasting 200+ missions when all is said an done, a speed gamer can complete the title in just under fifty missions. Completing three Key missions per month are required to advance the story and unlock a story mission; while other Free missions, including adhoc co-op and versus mode can be done at any time with no impact on story advancement. However, doing these free missions will increase your experience, income and parts finding – allowing you to upgrade all team members, their weapons, the tank and even unlock new marching orders from a character who makes an appearance from the first Valkyria title. So yes, the game features all the customization that we wanted to be carried over from the first, and a slight change made allows you to change your main character’s class in between missions. So if you’re tired of being a scout and want to become a sniper (once that class is unlocked) then you can do it. Changing character’s classes not only allows you to explore other methods of play, but also unlocks new Potentials (in level modifiers) for each character, as a class has unique Potentials and these will persist as you change classes. So it would behoove you to try out many classes to enhance you character and get access to as many of these Potentials as you can as you make your way through the months.

In a fairly standard method of Japanese RPG gameplay, there is a lot of story in the game that doesn’t necessarily have to be viewed or experienced to get the enjoyment out of the title. But spending the time in between racing towards the story missions and visiting other students and shops can turn out to be a very rewarding investment. Tips on student compatibility which can impact the Potentials you unlock and even entire missions based around a specific student are yours to find, and again each mission completed allows you to customize weapons, tanks and your squads experience levels so it’s worth the time.

The graphical style of the game is pretty much kept intact, the hand drawn cut scenes are not as animated as VC’s, instead the images are generally static with some minor movement to them to help convey emotion. There are some fully animated scenes mixed in however when something of great consequence is going down – and it looks great on the PSP screen. In game action still maintains the look and feel of the first game, but at a slightly lower resolution, but really – I doubt that anyone would complain about it after playing the game for any length of time. One thing gameplay wise that has changed is the size of the maps where the action takes place, a single mission can be spread across multiple locations and your squad moves between them via a gateway camp system rather than the larger fields of the first game, and this makes things seem a little more manageable.

Music and voice work in the game are solid – but I really would have liked a little more variation from the one liners that teachers and students. Generally, the entire conversation is not recorded voice, but only small quips or laughs from a character; so after a few hours of this it’s pretty tiresome hearing “Yo!” or “Listen Up!” before each block of text. This is most likely something to do with the limited space that the UMD provides, so chalk that as well as the abundant loading screens up to the format.

Having not fired up my PSP in what seems to be a very, VERY long time I was very pleased to be able to pop Valkyria Chronicles 2 in there. It’s a game that is sure to challenge even veterans of the first game thanks to the consistent feel that the game has, and it's sure to please any fan of the series. Here’s to hoping that we’ll see a part 3 on Western shores, and now I won’t be one to complain if it ends up being on the PSP.

Scott Pilgrim Vs The World The Game - The Review

2010-08-28T12:31:00.000-07:00

So, it’s been what – two or so weeks already since Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World was released on the PSN – and we’re still hearing about it? That’s gotta be good right? The news is mostly due to the onslaught of Xbox gamers who’ve finally got the chance to check out what quite possibly will be the year’s best beat-em-up title.

For those who don’t know who, or what Scott Pilgrim is – head on over to the Wikipedia or check out the comics to get some back story, because I’m not speaking about it much in this review. Firing up the game, you’ll immediately be noticing something is awry with the company logos, yes – they are pixilated because graphics are a throwback to the old 8 and 16-Bit fighters of yesterday and what better way to get you in the mood than to start the game with some blocks!

Featuring co-operative play for up to four local players (No online play) players select one of four initially unlocked characters from the Scott Pilgrim books (with character specific endings) and at least one other unlockable character after you complete the game. Without any cheats, players cannot choose the same character, but with a quick web search you can unlock the ability to choose the same character, along with a couple other fun little cheats.

The basics of the story are you must traverse the sometimes icy, sometimes haunted, and other times downright fierce streets of Toronto to beat down the seven evil ex's of Ramona Flowers, the girl Scott falls in love with. The game will take you through seven levels each varied in theme and enemy type, but the basics are the same. Kick, punch and throw crap at anyone that moves - then collect the cash they drop. Picking up the Loonies and Twonies not only serve as score, but are used to upgrade your stats. While Scott (or your character of choice) does level up as you play, only by purchasing items do you actually gain strength or defense skills. It seems the leveling up only applies to unlocking new moves. The game can be a grind early on, as you move slowly, are weak and get your ass kicked regularly so purchasing power ups is essential, and replaying some levels is a good idea before taking on the end of the game. Just a little heads up out there to the whiners who are used to the insane amount of handholding that games these days have, Scott Pilgrim doesn't do much of that while in game. The descriptions on items in the store are vague, sometimes not even hinting at what kind of power is contained within, so it will take some wasted cash to find the right things to buy. It's not broken gameplay, it's not hard for the sake of being hard - it's just an old fashioned game.

You want to know if you should buy the game right? Well, my answer is a scream at the top of my lungs Hell Yes. If you're on the fence, pick up the demo and prepare to be amazed at the awesomeness of it all. This is 800 MSFT points that you'll want to spend. Or $10 on PSN - where it was first.

Kane & Lynch 2:Dog Days review - it's a mangy couple of days

2010-08-25T23:35:00.000-07:00

It’s a little strange playing the followup to a game that was a critical misfire, and panned by a lot of gamers (that I know) – but I oddly had high hopes for it leading up to the release. So, it was with some slight excitement that I fired up Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days – only to walk away from it just over four hours later having completed the story mode, feeling dirty, and frankly a little ripped off. There are a good amount of things that I really disliked about the title, but I do want to mention the pluses to the game first.

Much like the first Kane and Lynch game, the multiplayer is where this title has the most potential for play, specifically the Fragile Alliance mode and its two new variations. The basic method has you in the shoes of a bad guy, who’s out to rob some location be it a subway or a group of people – then make it to your extraction point. The kicker here is, the guys you’re running the job with or you can turn at any time and try to take out the other guys to take their share of the loot. Doing this however flags you as a traitor, which means you’re fair game for other teammates to take out. Die in this mode, and you’re converted to a police officer to attempt to stop the players. This adds an interesting dynamic as you progress through the quick rounds of a match. Do you turn on your teammates early and give up your position and cause them to not trust you for subsequent rounds? Or do you stay patient and turn on them after some trust has been built? Other modes are a Cops & Robbers, making the game a team based battle, not unlike any other Counterstrike clone out there. The third mode called Undercover Cop selects one player to be an undercover officer, and your task is to stop the gang from actually pulling off the heist. There is some fun to be had in these modes – and for those who can’t or won’t play online, and arcade mode is essentially an offline version of these games that can be played with AI in place of the missing human controlled characters.

Some will argue until they are blue in the face that a game must be long to be good – while I fall into the category of gamers who tire of games that last more than 8-10 hours; because quite honestly there are a ton of games out there that I want to play and just don’t have the time to invest 80 hours. I will qualify this that for a game to only take just over 4 hours to be worth it means the game must be of stellar quality, amazing storytelling and/or feature some compelling characters. Sadly none of this applies to Dog Days, but I was gracious for the short playtime in fact, there was a line from either Kane or Lynch that said something along the lines of "When the fuck will this end?" My thoughts exactly.

So wait, Kane or Lynch? Shouldn't I know who who said it? Well I sort of did, thanks to playing with the subtitles on. Sadly, even the decent voice work by the two main actors wasn't enough to convey a sense of individuality from either main character. Through the majority of the game - specifically all but one level, you play as Lynch who brought Kane to Shanghai to complete the One Last Job, but even then it was difficult to know, let alone care about who was who. The voices seemed to always be disembodied, and I never really felt like I was playing the character but simply following them through some sordid activity gone wrong. The camera this time around is something that people are going to either love or hate, with little room for indifference. The game feels like your watching footage of a gang hit gone wrong, with extreme shaky cam effects and some lens flare that would make JJ Abrams jealous. The shaky camera can graciously be turned off, but the filter effects such as the lens flare, massive intentional pixelation and occasional unintentional screen tearing cannot. I'll admit, I did smile slightly at the initial moment when a headshot caused the victim's face and head to be blurred out, which implied some gory violence, but it didn't take long to find this cute effect grating my nerves.

One of the biggest complaints I have is that the story mode happens, yet nothing seems to take place in the game. You move from one point to another, taking on wave after wave of enemies and police officers only to find out something else has gone wrong and you need to blast your way through more baddies. The conclusion to the game is one of the most frustrating and disappointing moments I've had the pleasure of experiencing; Even worse than the misspelling of 'Congratulations' in the classic NES title, POW. Needless to say, I will have a very tough time even recommending this title as a rental to most gamers. But, just like people who continue to watch the Twilight movies, it takes all types to make the world go around. I'm sure there will be people out there who will enjoy the hell out of the short single player campaign, and who will adore the multiplayer (and co-op); but I did not.

This review was based on the PS3 version of Dog Days.

Official Rock Band 3 Setlist Officially Official.

2010-08-25T11:46:00.000-07:00

Yes, this is old news. And yes, we all know about it. But I'm a certified Rock Band geek. I paid FULL PRICE for the Rock Band Stage Kit and got giddy when the first drum roll synced up with the strobe light and fog machine; so just deal with it. Here's the awesome set list and I'm really pumped to play pretty much all of it, and I really cannot wait to get my hands on the keyboard. I'll admit, I was a little disappointed at the lack of Wolf Parade being on the soundtrack because of their keyboard awesomeness and rock sensibilities - but there's always DLC.

Enjoy!

2000s:
·         Amy Winehouse, “Rehab”
·         At the Drive-In, “One Armed Scissor”
·         Avenged Sevenfold, “The Beast & the Harlot”
·         Dover, “King George”
·         The Bronx, “False Alarm”
·         The Flaming Lips, “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Pt. 1”
·         HIM (His Infernal Majesty), “Killing Loneliness”
·         Hypernova, “Viva La Resistance”
·         Ida Maria, “Oh My God”*
·         Juanes, “Me Enamora”
·         Metric, “Combat Baby”*
·         Paramore, “Misery Business”*
·         Phoenix, “Lasso”*
·         Poni Hoax, “Antibodies”
·         Pretty Girls Make Graves, “Something Bigger, Something Brighter”
·         Queens of the Stone Age, “No One Knows”
·         The Ravonettes, “Last Dance”
·         Rilo Kiley, “Portions for Foxes”*
·         Riverboat Gamblers, “Don't Bury Me...I'm Still Not Dead”
·         Slipknot, “Before I Forget”
·         The Sounds, “Living in America”
·         Tegan & Sara, “The Con”
·         Them Crooked Vultures, “Dead End Friends”
·         Tokio Hotel, “Humanoid”*
·         The Vines, “Get Free”*
·         The White Stripes, “The Hardest Button to Button”*
1990s:
·         Faith No More, “Midlife Crisis”*
·         Filter, “Hey Man, Nice Shot”
·         Jane’s Addiction, “Been Caught Stealing”*
·         Maná, “Oye Mi Amor”
·         Marilyn Manson, “The Beautiful People”
·         The Muffs, “Outer Space”
·         Phish, “Llama”
·         Primus, “Jerry Was a Racecar Driver”
·         Rammstein, “Du Hast”
·         Smash Mouth, “Walkin’ On The Sun”*
·         Spacehog, “In the Meantime”
·         Stone Temple Pilots, “Plush”
·         Swingin’ Utters, “This Bastard’s Life”
1980s:
·         Anthrax, “Caught in a Mosh”
·         Big Country, “In a Big Country”
·         The Cure, “Just Like Heaven”*
·         Def Leppard, “Foolin’”
·         Devo, “Whip It”
·         Dio, “Rainbow in the Dark”
·         Dire Straits, “Walk of Life”
·         Echo & the Bunnymen, “The Killing Moon”
·         Huey Lewis and the News, “The Power of Love”
·         INXS, “Need You Tonight”*
·         J. Geils Band, “Centerfold”
·         Joan Jett, “I Love Rock N’ Roll”*
·         Night Ranger, “Sister Christian”*
·         Ozzy Osbourne, “Crazy Train”*
·         The Police, “Don’t Stand So Close to Me”
·         Roxette, “The Look”*
·         The Smiths, “Stop Me if You Think You’ve Heard This One Before”
·         Tears for Fears, “Everybody Wants to Rule the World”
·         Whitesnake, “Here I Go Again”*
1970s:
·         The B-52’s, “Rock Lobster”*
·         Blondie, “Heart of Glass”
·         Bob Marley, “Get Up, Stand Up”
·         Chicago, “25 or 6 to 4”
·         Deep Purple, “Smoke on the Water”
·         Doobie Brothers, “China Grove”*
·         Elton John, “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting”
·         Foreigner, “Cold As Ice”*
·         Golden Earring, “Radar Love”
·         John Lennon, “Imagine”
·         Lynyrd Skynyrd, “Free Bird”
·         Queen, “Bohemian Rhapsody”*
·         Ramones, “I Wanna Be Sedated”
·         Steve Miller Band, “Fly Like an Eagle”
·         T. Rex, “20th Century Boy”
·         Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, “I Need to Know”
·         War, “Low Rider”
·         Warren Zevon, “Werewolves of London”
·         Yes, “Roundabout”*
1960s:
·         Beach Boys, “Good Vibrations (Live)”
·         David Bowie, “Space Oddity”
·         The Doors, “Break on Through (To the Other Side)”*
·         James Brown, “I Got You" (I Feel Good) – Alternate Studio Version
·         The Jimi Hendrix Experience, “Crosstown Traffic”*
·         The Who, “I Can See for Miles”
*Songs available on Rock Band 3 for Nintendo DS

Lara Croft: The Guardian of Light review time...get your points ready

2010-08-17T16:42:00.000-07:00

I never really got the appeal of Lara Croft. Sure, a buxom brunette with large mammories, a ponytail and a penchant for Daisy Dukes running through jungles and tombs seems like something every male under the age of dead would love; but I never got into it. I tried to play the first game on the PS1 back in the day, and just couldn’t get into it – even after killing a tiger. I tried again with Tomb Raider Legend and had a much more enjoyable time, but nothing that would make me a rabid fan of the series. So when seeing the change to the isometric view of Guardian Of Light, I was a little intrigued. The game looked very sharp in the preview images and thankfully looked just as good once downloaded(and at a 2Gig download, it better be.) I’m guessing a good chunk of the data file size comes from the well done voice work in the game, as Lara, her cohort and Guardian of Light Totec and super baddie of the game, Xolotl are all fully voiced in cut scenes throughout the game.

The story is presented pretty much all up front – Lara is in Central America searching for a lost artifact, the fabled Mirror of Smoke which contains the soul of the evil Xolotl. If Xolotl can hang onto the artifact until dawn, the world will be doomed – so it’s up to you as Lara and a friend (local only until the patch comes) who takes on the role of Totec to stop him. Spanning levels ranging from the interior of giant temples to poison plant infested jungles and the always awesome lava level, the environments in Guardian of Light are pleasantly varied for a downloadable game such as this. Each level contains a slew of artifacts and relics that can be found, and some only when specific conditions are met such as getting a “hole in one” with a giant spinning rock or for clearing the level within a certain par time. These additional challenges will really open the game up for speed runs or point collection runs, as that’s the only way to fully collect every item in the game. The first run through of the game likely will take a player about 4 hours, and speed runs will be much, much less than that – as par times on some levels clocked in around 6-8 minutes while I was completing them in 20-25 minutes.
One must expect both action and puzzles in a Tomb Raider game, and this one has it in spades. First up, the shooting mechanism is handled via the right thumbstick for aiming, and a trigger pull for actually shooting your weapon of choice. The basic gun set of Lara’s and the spear that Totec gives you both have unlimited ammo, while found weapons such as the flame thrower and grenade launcher have a limited supply - but you’re never far away from a refill. The isometric view gives a nice, generally clear view of the battlefield yet there are times where your character is obscured and as a result shots are missed, traps can be triggered and jumps can be mistimed. This happens relatively rarely, but still is a frustration. Luckily the only real downside to dying is a drop in the points you’ve earned on that level – which as you may have guesses is also tied to unlocking some neat little relic or weapon.

So, let’s just run things down here in a checklist sort of fashion. Game looks great, game is very fun to play, combat is satisfying, playing with a friend on the couch is probably pretty fun but sadly, I can’t generally wrangle my wife into playing much anymore. So the biggest downside to this title in my opinion is the lack of online multiplayer which has already been promised to Xbox 360 owners once the game comes out on the PS3. The problem there in my view is that by that time, most gamers will have moved on to something else – because we all have a form of ADD. If a game comes out and doesn’t get an update for a few weeks – there’s no guarantee that many will be playing it once the game becomes complete. Whining aside, I had an absolute blast playing this in single player mode. The levels were just long and varied enough that even though it was late at night and there was a 99% chance of me being awakened in mere hours by a fussy baby, I still wanted to play through the next level. I just hope that once the already announced DLC and coop patch are released that at least a couple guys on my friends list will be playing it. Make sure to at least grab the demo, I have a feeling that it will be satisfying enough to encourage you to buy this game. I rate it 1100/1200 MSFT Points.

Jeff Talks Games gets it's own domain!

2010-08-09T09:18:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all your support, I've been able to translate ad clicks into enough revenue to register JeffTalksGames.com. Many thanks to all the readers, and with this change I plan on having even more content in terms of reviews, previews and random gabbing, and of course more giveaways (both here and on twitter). Thanks to all the readers, and we love to get comments - so if you read something you like, drop a quick note letting us know.

Little League World Series 2010 review - Short answer, I like it

2010-08-06T17:01:00.000-07:00

Some might find this hard to believe but I actually have played Little League World Series 2009 on the Wii, and I was actually a little excited to try out the 2010 version to see how it makes the transition to a controller based title. Sure it might lack the highly detailed environments and near photo-realistic baseball players of The Show or MLB 2k10, but what Little League lacks there it makes up in fun factor. I had a blast playing a more simplified version of baseball and I am sure that there’s a market for this type of sports game outside of the Wii, but sadly I imagine a large number of gamers will skip over it due to the Little League moniker. Their loss.

When I say simplified, I mean totally simplified. From the character models to the ballparks, the graphics remind me of playing RBI Baseball on my NES – not because of the lack of detail, but because the focus was on the simplicity of the game, and not the showmanship. The streamlining also lends to pitching, batting and fielding; There’s no need to adjust a three dimensional box to attempt and hit a ball, simple press the R2 button (on PS3) to swing, or charge it slightly to hit with a little more oomph. You can still control the ball somewhat with forcing of grounders or fly balls, and the swing timing does dictate a push or pull of the ball – so it’s not all easy. Pitching is equally as enjoyable, select a pitch type and location them press and hold R2 to find the sweet spot to throw the pitch. No 100mph fastballs will be thrown here, remember these guys and gals are all Little Leaguers. Wait – gals? Yes indeed – this is a game which doesn’t discriminate so your star player can have just a good a chance at being female as male. Fielding too is quite easy, you can let the fielders take total control by not touching the controller or you can step in and override the characters. In something that is totally shocking, you can press the R2 button to perform jumps or dives to make that one big play or throw a serious heater to make that double play.

Making great plays, striking out players and getting hits build up a talent meter which can be activated when batting or pitching to enable a sort of overdrive mode. Pitches get thrown faster, balls get hit farther – and I think even a guaranteed home run can be made when a solid connection is made when the talent meter gets to level three. That or my skills are quite high.

The modes of play are quite limited but that’s because there’s really no reason to have a manger mode or a franchise mode in a game about little leaguers. You get a basic Exhibition game, full Little League tournament complete with round robin play, and a set of minigames and training to help improve skill, and to unlock cards that can be used during the game. These cards are taking into each game and can have specific effects – such as adding an extra inning if you need it, or upping every player’s batting skill. Some are defensive such as force a pitcher to low stamina or to throw only a certain type of pitch. While not official in real baseball, they are a neat little touch in the context of this title.

The minigames range from the always included Home Run Derby to a dunk tank and bowling while pitching. These are fun little diversions and for most players not really worth the time, but achievement and trophy junkies will be in here for a little while trying to unlock the respective ego boosters depending on which system you’re playing.

If your interested in playing a game that can be played relatively quickly, thanks to the six inning format and if you enjoy your baseball light on the stats – then Little League World Series 2010 might just be up your alley. It’s definitely not aimed at the crows that would normally spend their time stat crunching, but for those who enjoy playing the sport but haven’t watched or followed the game since Jon Olerude was a Blue Jay just might have a good time. Just ignore the Little League name, it’s still baseball.

Castlevania: Harmony of Despair - 8-Bit Nostalgia That Doesn’t Disappoint (too badly)

2010-08-03T09:38:00.000-07:00

Another guest reviewer today, Thanks to Nick Irwin for covering this.

If you’re like me, the first console you really sunk your teeth into as a kid was an NES. One of the classic titles for the NES was Castlevania, and it’s just as revered as Super Mario Brothers or Mega Man, which have seen retro incarnations recently. So when those titles are able to go back to their hardcore 8-bit roots and find success, so to should Castlevania, and why not? Castlevania was a great game, you could revisit the original today and find it just as enjoyable as when you were a kid. Some games age gracefully and others don’t, Castlevania is one of the former. I remember many wasted days with my trusty whip; candlesticks and skeletons were no match for me!!

So why bother making this game in and 8-bit fashion when the old one holds up so well? In this generation of consoles people are coming to expect online play, both competitive and cooperative. If you can take old school Castlevania and add those elements you’re sure to have something special. Konami has done just that and for the most part they’ve succeeded.

The premise is pretty straightforward, a maze-like map and a boss to find and defeat. The game has no story whatsoever, which may be a huge negative for fans, but personally it didn't bother me at all. There are six maps available in the full package and are all variations of previous castles from the franchise. The presentation is pretty slick, albeit a bit confusing to begin with. You can see the entire map, which will help you plot a course for the level’s boss. A click on the left thumb stick zooms you in to a single room view and very 8-bit graphics. While zoomed you can still use the right thumb stick to look at the next room by pushing in the direction you want to look. You can choose between six character models, many of which will be familiar to veterans of the franchise each with their own special abilities that can be enhanced through the in-game shop. In the shop you can also buy other gear such as swords, boots, capes etc., you get the idea. Any items you buy will be kept in your inventory to be used in the future. You can also change your load-out on the fly by utilizing books that are strewn throughout the map that act as mini checkpoints.

I found the difficulty to be fairly steep in the beginning, and to really burn your way through a level, you’ll definitely need to upgrade your weapon. I died half a dozen times with my standard gear on the first level of the game. Don't worry though loot is plentiful and you can sell it at the store which can earn you more coin in a flash. Once upgraded, I found the first level to be almost too easy, save for some annoying double jumps. I can’t see revisiting this first level too often unless I want to beat my best time or play through cooperatively. Rest assured that the difficulty ramps up with the second level in the game, which also hosts mostly new enemies.

It was on the second level where I noticed the co-op potential. There are segments of the map that cannot be accessed unless you have another player along with you. That’s not to say you can’t beat the level on your own, it’s just that you can’t get all the loot. Unfortunately not many people were playing at the time of my review. Still two days before the actual launch of the title there were no matches to be found to play cooperatively or competitively. I can only speculate that the replay value will be greatly improved by the multiplayer modes. I was disappointed, but I’ll be coming back to try the multiplayer once the title hits Xbox Live Arcade.

This may not be the Castlevania you've been waiting for and if you haven't played the numerous DS titles available, I would suggest playing those first. But for those die hard fans this is a fun game worthy of the title, and playing cooperatively with a friend will definitely make for a good time. At 1200 Microsoft Points I tentatively recommend Castlevania: Harmony of Despair for those who know little about the franchise but, highly recommend it to dedicated fans.

Hydro Thunder Hurricane - Summer of Arcade Review

2010-08-02T15:57:00.000-07:00

There’s nothing quite like going to a place that has beer and video games. Whether that be your own home (thank you homebrewing equipment) or a place like Dave & Busters. It’s here where competitive racing games seem to always get my attention, and rarely anywhere else. Racing at breakneck speeds on any motorized vehicle generally isn’t up my alley in terms of games I’d seek out, but when booze and tokens collide – Hydro Thunder usually was usually a target. Now, I get to take this racing action home and speed through 8 specially designed courses full of shortcuts, hazards (Giant Axe anyone?) and more jumps than you can shake a stick at – all from the comfort of my couch and beer that costs less than $3 per pint.

Hydro Thunder Hurricane is a very tight little racer, that packs in more features than the standard arcade version would. Yes, you get to race around, through and above the water in each of the tracks against up to 16 other boaters through the aforementioned 8 fantasy tracks ranging from the Lake Powell opening track to one based on Area 51. All tracks feature some great obstacles and interactions, ranging from the aforementioned Giant Axe to UFOs and some long lost monsters popping out of the water. These not only are meant to distract you or cause the water level to fluctuate, but they can also point you towards shortcuts or those ever illusive hidden packages.

As you progress through the game through the race mode, you unlock Ring Mode (race through rings), Gauntlet Mode (time attack with exploding barrels) and Championship mode which is a series of events that pull in from existing unlocked events. Fairly straight forward for all of these events, and one great little feature that I love, especially in arcade titles, is the leaderboards are displayed as you are on the selection screen so you can see your friends’ score on a given track. Even during the races as you cross checkpoints the split time will be displayed in the corner between yourself and your closest ranked friend. Nice touch.

Multiplayer is where the fun is to be had, and aside from the standard chaotic race mode – a Rubber Ducky mode is here which divides the players up onto two teams, and one lucky racer gets to drive the Rubber Duck. It’s up to the teams to work together and get this duck across the finish line, or not depending on which team you end up on. A nice little diversion, but the majority of players at this time are in the standard races.

The game looks and sounds pretty decent for an XBLA title, but it’s not going to win any awards for standout content. Even that being said – the game runs quite smoothly and the generic music merely exists to help convey the arcade atmosphere, and combined with the ultra cheesy announcer make for a fun little downloadable title. The second week of the Summer of Arcade is a loud and action packed title that follows the beauty of peaceful chaos that was Limbo, and if arcade style racing is your bag – then Hydro Thunder Hurricane should hit the mark.

Alan Wake - The Signal review. It's worth the price of admission

2010-07-26T15:54:00.000-07:00

Did you buy Alan Wake and enjoy the shit out of it? Did you have to re-watch the ending cinematic three times to even figure out what the hell was happening? Well, get ready to ‘Scratch’ your furry little head for a couple more hours as The Signal, Special Episode #1 makes its way to the Xbox Marketplace.

Picking up with the always enjoyable recap of the game (which translates to finish the game BEFORE starting the DLC), The Signal puts you in the head of Mr. Wake so you too can feel and experience the Dark Presence and witness first hand how it can wreak havoc. You’ll travel through some familiar locales which can be twisted on a whim, creating a sense of unease as both a gamer – and fear for Alan and what’s really happening to him. Similar to the short sequence near the end of the game where words hover in the world and only the flashlight can clear them – words from the manuscript are all over the place here. Need equipment? Look for some tools, you’ll need it.

I found the difficulty level somewhat amped up this time around in the form of less frequent ammo supply drops, however there are many times where you’ll be using light as a weapon in a very interesting way. Explosions and fire bursts are at your fingertips, without even firing your weapon.

Not straying too far from the collection aspect, this time around you’ll be on the hunt for ten alarm clocks (hint) and some cardboard cut outs of people from the town. Using your ears is going to be as important as the light to find all of these, but when you do you’re treated with some new achievement points. 250 points are scattered through eight achievements – some of which might take you a couple attempts to earn – but given the roughly 2 hour gameplay that’s not a bad thing.

Rest assured, this special episode is nothing like you’d see on any after school special, so you won’t be subject to a preachy soliloquy from any of the Kids of Degrassi Street. People who bought the game new receive this DLC for free and should absolutely be sure to download and play the title, for those who opted to go the used route you still should be able to use that code if it’s in the game box (at least if you bought the game before July 27th) otherwise you’ll need to throw down 560 MSFT points to play this chapter (and possibly bridging storyline) in the Alan Wake saga. Say hi to Zane for me, wouldja?

Limbo Review - want to see what's on the other side?

2010-07-19T09:55:00.000-07:00

The Summer of Arcade kicks off with a bang this year, with Playdead Games bringing the beautiful Limbo to Xbox consoles this week. As an independent studio, Playdead makes its first appearance a memorable one, albeit short and quite possibly overpriced (blame Shadow Complex for this). For those who don’t bother reading about a game prior to playing it, Limbo would essentially have zero story. But, we’ve been told that a young boy follows his sister into Limbo, which sets the background for the who, what, where and why. Your character wakes up in a marvelously dismal world completely rendered in grayscale, fog rolls, fuzzy shadows obscure characters and the game is played with a heavy emphasis on silhouettes. Physics also rule the game as ropes swing, characters move and objects all have a weight behind them.

Controlling the unnamed boy is very basic and the game excels in its simplicity. Two buttons are needed to make it through the game – jump and interact. Don’t let the simplicity of the controls make you feel this is going to be a walk in the park, as the game is as gruesome as it is beautiful. Moving through the hazy landscape with nothing but the sound of the wind and your footsteps can make a person feel at ease, but at any moment your little boy can meet an untimely death (in Limbo?). Blood will fly, heads will be impaled, arms and legs will be shorn from your little body. But fear not, the auto-save is a very forgiving ally, and you’ll rarely be sent back more than 15 seconds away from the puzzle that just destroyed you. Death is almost everywhere in the game - almost unnervingly so. Shadow figures hang from ropes, some crawl to their own death in pools of water and even the ones who pursue you are not immune to the traps that are spread around. To see such small childlike figures die in manners such as this is disturbing, but really sets the tone. Again, the sparse audio only adds to the atmosphere – and is punctuated at moments very appropriately.

The traps and puzzles in the game are a sometimes easy to figure out and sometimes in direct competition with the simplicity of the controls. I can honestly say that for every puzzle that confused me, or required multiple attempts to figure out – they are all very solvable and when solving them the satisfaction level is so high that a smile came to my face many times. Be prepared to flip switched, set traps, run and jump and even play with gravity itself during your short stay in Limbo.

Wait –short? Yes, unfortunately the game isn’t very long at all – and on second play through the game gets even shorter due to the puzzles no longer being new and requiring trial and error. I think an initial play took me roughly three and a half hours of game time which included a fair bit of death, both intentional and accidental due to exploration and also just trying to figure things out. But will the game be as entertaining on a second or third run through? Possible, if you enjoy the atmosphere and setting – but obviously the challenge will be significantly lower. So when priced at 1200 MSFT Points, it’s going to be very hard to highly recommend that people pick it up. It’s a fantastic game, there’s zero doubt about that and I wouldn’t hesitate to buy it at 800 Points. But that extra $5 for something so short does hurt a little.

Naughty Bear review - it ain't gonna be pretty

2010-07-15T17:13:00.000-07:00

I’ll admit, I was sort of excited to see the latest offering from A2M (Artificial Mind and Movement you pervs) when I first heard about it. I mean, a stuffed bear who roams around terrorizing his fellow Teddies by setting traps and maiming them. Sounds like it has potential right? I thought so too, for the first hour or two of playing Naughty Bear at least. So why the change from excitement to dismay, I’ll try to outline my thoughts as we go along – but let’s just say this turned from one of my potential highlights to a stinker in a fairly short amount of time.

First of all, when you have a premise like this some actual story line would really go a long way, you know even place the characters on the Island of Misfit Toys or something. Instead we get relatively short standalone episodes where bears you’ve previously burned, electrocuted, stabbed, slammed, or forced to commit suicide are all back alive and well only to be set up for death again. After playing through each episode and meeting goals set out in them, which range from Kill Chubby the Bear and Don’t let Daddles Escape to Get XXX amount of points four additional challenges are unlocked for each episode. The challenges are a little more fulfilling then the episodes themselves are, as they force you to accomplish the result with some limitations, such as you can only scare the bears and not hit them with weapons or kill them. Sadly, the environments in the challenges and the episodes are all very basic and bland, and basically carbon copies of one another.

The controls of your bear, Naughty, aren’t really much to write home about either. Whether bashing in the fluffy skulls of the other bears or attempting to set traps for them, the game just seems off. The hits never really pack a punch and make you feel like you’re doing any damage – or taking damage (the HUD isn’t much better at indicating this either), and the initially cool animations of snapping a stuffed bear’s neck get old very quickly, like by the time you finish the first challenge, you’ll be tired of them. Even things that should be awesome aren’t. Setting traps and sabotaging equipment and environmental items is clunky, even if it’s done by hitting a single button. The on screen prompts are too slow for you to be able to run up to something, quickly booby trap it and then slip back into the woods to wait and ambush your opponent. Chances are high that you’re mark will inevitably catch you in the act of setting something up forcing you to resort to a simple beat down. Part of this issue comes from the shoddy camera work – which A2M did a much better job of in Wet, but even there it needed a little more work.

The title really tries to set conventions on their heads with the stuffed cute animals fighting for dear life, and the overly cutesy British accented voice over narration became tiresome. Sure it was there to add a sense of sophistication to the otherwise grim sights of toys killing one another, but it just doesn’t work for this gamer. I actually felt even more dirty playing this title than I did when I first played Manhunt and listened to Brian Cox whisper about death and murdering people in my ear. If that was the intent, then great work A2M – mission accomplished! To see that the ESRB rated this Teen really makes my bowels shake, as this game is even more violent and disturbing than almost any M rated game out there. First of all it is marketed straight at youth given the toy angle, then the violence is pretty much the most extreme that I’ve seen in a game. Oh, but because it’s a toy that makes the violence Ok. The ESRB is one fucked up rating system, and this game only helps prove that.

Here’s how I feel the game should’ve been marketed – as a quick download on the XBLA or PSN stores, with one or two levels and the otherwise useless multiplayer included. That way people would be able to fire up a quick demo of the game to get a feel for it, and then pay a discounted price for it if they felt that it was solid enough to pay $10-$15 for, which is pretty much all I would think that this game is worth. Sorry to say it A2M, but Wet was a much better game than this is – and even that had some issues.

SHUMP Fans rejoice, it's Gundemonium Collection review time!

2010-07-14T10:09:00.000-07:00

Guest Blogger time! Leroy PixyJunket Capasso lends his expertise on Shumps.

Gundemonium Collection is a collection (duh) of three Japanese doujin
shmups developed by Platine Dispositif. Doujin is a Japanese term
commonly used to describe self-published works, anything ranging from
comic books, music, novels, dolls and of course, video games.
Basically, they’re what we call indie games over here. Shmup is a term
coined in the 80’s for “shoot ‘em up” games. The term picked up steam
recently as “shooter” became the blanket term used to describe the
monster onslaught of first-person and third-person shooters that have
become popular over the last two generations.

All three of these games have been ported from their original PC
platform to the PS3 rather well and all have online leaderboards,
trophies and remote play. You’re able to customize standard options in
each game such as screen size, volumes and most importantly, button
configurations.

Gundemonium Recollection is the first game in the series and the most
basic. You have a basic shot, a special shot/skill and a bomb attack,
all which vary upon which character you’ve picked. The character
graphics are rather large, which makes the entire game screen feel a
bit crowded. Your hit box is still rather small so intricate dodging
between bullets is still done much like other bullet-hell shmups. You
can chain kill enemies and graze bullets for added score and destroyed
enemies (and sometimes their bullets) will leave additional bonus
gems. You can go into an overdrive mode (which triggers a temporary
spike in difficulty) for bigger scoring opportunities. The game has a
system that adjusts the difficulty level the better or worse you are
doing, so score harder and play harder.

GundeadliGne is the second game in the series and probably the most
accessible game in the collection. I actually beat it without
continuing on my second attempt on the “Normal” difficulty. GG is
pretty much an extension to GR and if you were to screenshots of the
two, it may be hard to even distinguish them. However, the mechanics
have been improved upon a lot and even though I found it a lot easier
to just plow through, the added depth makes it a lot more fun. One new
thing is that you can turn around and fire in the opposite direction.
You have to hit a button to turn around, which is a bit of a sore spot
when one button could have shot left and the other shot right. In a
lot of ways, it’s pretty similar to Gundemonium Recollection.

Hitogata Happa was the game in the collection I was most interested in
at first. However, I had to do some homework to even figure out how to
play the game and that is a HUGE no-no to me. As previously mentioned,
the “How to Play” sections of these games simply note what buttons do
what and for HH, it (sort of) explains the game’s suicide bombing
mechanic. This single screen mentions checking “Gundemonium Online”
for more tips and tricks but that yielded nothing helpful. I had to
search for a few videos on YouTube to see how to beat the game’s intro
stage boss. You have to suicide bomb the boss’s individual parts
(which will use at least three of your lives). There’s no indication
in the game that this what you need to do and as the goal of every
other shmup, nay, pretty much every other video game in existence is
to NOT DIE, it’s a very poor design decision to not indicate this
unusual mechanic in the game’s intro level. As the boss is unbeatable
otherwise, I can see some players just giving up at this point not
going to the lengths I went to find out what I was doing wrong.

Once you get past that, the game IS the most solid of the collection.
The vertical scrolling orientation just works better for the genre,
first of all. Your character is much smaller, so you have more room to
move around, thus the levels feel much more open. A strange aspect for
a bullet hell shmup, your hitbox encompasses the entire character so
you’ll need to adjust from playing the previous two games. An
interesting aspect to this game is that you buy your lives for the
next level with the gems collected in the previous level and there are
twelve different characters, so you basically get to customize how you
want to play. You’ll want to play a few games to test all the
characters out and find out which ones work best for you or for
certain situations. You can select which character you’ll use next
too, in case a certain area needs a certain skill to get through
easier.

Overall, this is a pretty good collection of shooters for the price.
They’re also the best in the genre on the PS3, with their only direct
competition being the mediocre (but very pretty) Söldner-X games. They
definitely feel like indie games though and are not as polished as
recent games from bigger developers, but the price is right and they
are definitely pretty solid games on their own. With three games to
choose from, most shooter fans are likely to find one or two they’ll
want to stick with and aim for higher and higher score. They are aimed
at a more hardcore audience though, so more casual players may be
turned away by the intense difficulty, even on the easier modes.

If you have an interest in the genre and have (or eventually get) an
Xbox 360, do check out the great selection of games over there,
including Ikaruga, Omega Five, Trigger Heart Exelica, Raiden Fighters
Aces and Death Smiles, to name a few. If you can spare a few more
dollars, Mushihime-sama Futari and Espgaluda II are Japanese imports
that WILL play on a US 360 and are both amazing games, top in their
genre.

Want to talk shmups? Leave a comment and let me know what your favorites are.

Today's review is brought to you by die hard shump fan Leroy Capasso, also known by his alter ego PixyJunket. Check out his Facebook page for detail on his other gig - music created on his Game Boy

Xbox 360 Stubby - my thoughts after screwing around with it

2010-07-12T12:54:00.000-07:00

Are you thinking of upgrading to the new Xbox 360 S (I call it the Stubby)? I was one of the apparently many, many gamers who took advantage of the trade in deal that Gamestop had going on when the Stubby was announced which allowed me to trade in my existing console, and any accessories I didn't want anymore (so long useless piece of shit Xbox Vision Camera! - $4 trade credit). So I figured I'd run through my experience getting it set up, and talk about how different (or not) it really is.

First up, the console itself is a shiny black sleek box of goodness. And yes, it's smaller than the Pro/Elite/Arcade that you might have been running up until now, and yes it does consume a good deal less power for those economically inclined folks. The box has ample USB ports to support charge kits (2 on the front) and some on the back, but since I disconnected my useless HDDVD Drive and wireless adapter (its finally built in)I didn't even bother to care - but there are ports there. For those who use an optical cable for audio, you will be pleased to note that it's no longer embedded on the AV cable anymore! It's it's own sleek port on the back of the unit. And honestly, I didn't bother trying to see if the old hookup method still works because I use HDMI out to my TV and Receiver - sorry, this isn't a review, just my experience.

A big talking point for the new Stubby is the Kinect ready design...what this means is that when Kinect is launched that you will not need an additonal power supply to power it when you use this model of Xbox. For those who chose not to upgrade, you will need yet another power cable to dangle behind your entertainment unit to collect dust and give the dog something to trip on when she runs around like a freak when you are looking spastic playing Kinect Adventures.

Setup of the console was a very painless thing to do, and I was very happy to finally have a QWERTY option for the on console keyboard. Perhaps this was added a long time back, but who really goes through the settings on their box that often? I sure as hell don't. Data transfer from my old hard drive to the new was almost painless too. The licensee transfer tool worked really well online and the tool attempted to re-download some of the files to allow me to play the game when Xbox Live inevitably goes down and the validation of the games can't be done. The downside is that only 30 items were selected by the tool, which really sucked because I've got 11+ gigs of Rock Band content in addition to any XBLA games I've got. So, it took some time to sit there and add things to my download cue from the Xbox.com site while it downloaded each item again. OK fine, it didn't really download each item - but did download the license file so things went quickly.

The system itself is very nice and quiet, and I really love the touch sensitive open/close button chime that sounds when you brush the button. It's a neat little thing that isn't as annoying as I thought it might be. The system itself seems to run a lot quieter than my old Arcade unit was running - even with a disc in the drive. When a game is installed to the built in 250G hard drive, the unit is actually quieter than my PS3 is when playing an installed game; So that's a plus.

So is this a worthy upgrade? I'd say if you can take advantage of the Gamestop deal - then yes, it's a hell of a deal to get a new, quiet system with the largest Xbox hard drive available. Or, if you're in a situation where you're thinking of buying your first Xbox, or an extra one for another room - then I'd also say it's worth the upgrade if you can handle the $299 price tag, and the fingerprints that will likely be all over it once your hands touch it.

Green Day: Rock Band review ahead. Is it worth picking up, or is it just a pile of Dookie?

2010-06-17T22:26:00.000-07:00

It's going to be tough to review Green Day: Rock Band without the obvious comparisons to The Beatles: Rock Band(which can be had for very cheap now), seeing as that title set the standard to which all band themed titles should follow. I know that I truly shouldn't hold this game up to the amazingly high standards that The Beatles set forth, but when a rhythm games comes out of such high caliber changes thing. Harmonix has their work cut out for them with Rock Band 3, but from the looks of things - they are making some great changes that are sure to please even the most jaded gamer. So let's look at Green day without any callbacks to The Beatles, unless they are similarities or enhancements.

My first introduction to Green Day was in 1994, along with most people who weren't hip to the scene and knew of this small band from California. This also was the year I obtained my drivers license, so naturally I have very fond memories of driving around in my beat up Bondo covered Volkswagen Rabbit with friends. And yes, I was the type of guy who would look at the back catalogs and buy older albums of bands I just found, so it was a slight disappointment that nothing pre-Dookie (I'm not counting the re-recording of Welcome to Paradise) - but much to my delight Dookie as a complete album was included in the game. Two other complete albums (both the most recent) are included in their entirety as well, while Nimrod, Warning and Insomniac get only the hit singles. While this most likely will please a very large portion of fans, I again was disappointed as the transition from the power-pop/punk of Dookie to the brooding pseudo-prog rock of American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown when listened to in such a short duration comes across as almost two different bands. Almost. Billy Joe, Mike Dirnt and Tre Cool are the constants throughout and even though they learned how to actually sing on the later albums, it's still unmistakably Green Day. But this isn't a music review - it's a game review so how's the game.

It's Rock Band. Pure and simple. There's a reason why even three years after it first came out there are dedicated players who still play this game very regularly. It's a very, very well executed game - and this iteration is not any different. Sure there are historical Green Day items to unlock as you progress through the set lists that will really please some of the dedicated fans and the option to integrate any and all of the GD downloadable content from the main game is a nice touch. Also, each downloaded song that you've got will unlock some additional content, so for the ultimate collectors there is incentive to get these additional songs. Oddly though, there's no method from within this title to get online and buy those tracks - one must go through the Marketplace or through the Rock Band store on the main titles.

The standard modes of play are here, both online and off. Those being quick play and career mode which can all be tackled solo or with some friends (virtual or not). Career mode walks you though the band's career, which in a move that was very disappointing to me (here it comes) after playing The Beatles game purely for the fact that there are only three venues to play at, none of the fancy dreamscapes or video styles that The Beatles or Rock Band 1 or 2 have. So through the course of the 47 on disc songs, be prepared to visit the same setting over and over again. Songs are also locked to a venue, so don't be expecting to play Pulling Teeth as the current day band, oh no - you're relegated to the 1994 blue/green hair and lightly tattooed versions of the band. The guys look great though in each venue. Sure they are slightly characterized versions of the band, but each seems to take on the persona of the real life person - this likely linked to the method in which the animations were captured, allowing more band interplay and interaction with items on the stage. For example, Billy Joe will hop onto the amps and Tre will stand on his drum stool and twirl around on it. Nice little touches like this help build anticipation for Rock Band 3, yet again.

We're all familiar with the music of this band, so how does it play? Well, because of the way the band's music has evolved the balance of the game is quite off. It starts out tough and moves towards the more melodic and simpler to play in a video game towards the newer songs. To me, this is more than likely the reason the game forgoes any method to force you play play in chronological order and instead allows you to select venues with any variety of songs at any time. As a player who stays pretty much on drums, it was strange to have to start out on hard mode, then migrate up to expert as I entered the newer material - but that's just how the game is organized. I did notice one major issue in the game that was present at one point in Rock Band 2, but I think has since been fixed - that being the disappearing freestyle and overdrive enabling sections from time to time. I'd have a full meter and be ready to initiate Overdrive, and instead of a green highway allowing me to freestyle and kick off my multiplier doubler - the highway would be blank and I'd not only miss out on some notes, but lose points in the long run. Why this happens, I do not know - and why it hadn't been patched is beyond me.

Should you pick up Green Day Rock Band? If you're a fan of the band and want many, many more songs to play then absolutely - but if you're content with the current selection of tracks on the Rock Band marketplace then you can likely just wait this one out and be ready for the next iteration...when keyboards are added!