Kung Fu Panda
The story of Kung Fu Panda centers around Po, a rolly-polly bear whose twin loves in life are martial arts and making his already rotund belly slightly more so. One afternoon, Po sneaks into a tournament to watch the Furious Five, the greatest warriors in all the land do battle to determine who will be named the mythical Dragon Warrior. After causing a bit of a commotion, Po himself is named the Dragon Warrior, much to the chagrin of the Five, and the confusion of everyone in attendance. Po then sets forth to prove himself to the doubters and also take on the fierce Tai Lung, who has escaped from prison and is returning to claim the mantle for himself.
Viking: Battle for asgard
For the past 7 years, at least in my opinion, SEGA has been in a massive slump. Since their last ill-fated console attempt fell apart prematurely, with the Dreamcast, they moved onto third-party game development, and the quality of their titles has taken an unfortunate plunge into the basement of mediocrity, or worse. Although they haven’t released many titles of note, in recent years, that hasn’t stopped them from trying. SEGA’s latest attempt, a brutal hack’n’slash action-er, takes place in the mythological world of Norse gods and goddesses, with Viking: Battle for Asgard. Does Viking escape from that aforementioned basement, or does it dwell in the cellar with many of the others? Let’s find out, shall we.
The game’s protagonist comes in the form of the young Viking warrior, Skarin (pronounced Scarr-Inn.) Somehow, he has an inexplicable connection with the gods, and has been called upon by the Goddess Freya to help take down her rival, the Queen of the Underworld, Hel. Beyond that, the narrative only exists to drive the game forward, from island to island, and battle to battle. Viking’s lackluster, anemic story is merely a set-piece. Even the developers put little stock in the game’s tale, as they adorn every cut-scene with a very noticeable on-screen icon, prompting you to skip it by pressing the A button.
GTA IV
We’ll start off with one of the game’s strongest points, the storyline, which thanks to great voice acting, compelling characters, and better cut scenes is easily the best that the franchise has offered thus far. The game begins with the main character, Niko Bellic, arriving by boat at the docks of Liberty City from an unspecified Eastern European country. Niko is a man with dark past but bright aspirations for a life in the United States, and has been persistently regaled by his cousin Roman of the infinite riches that can be achieved in Liberty City.
Secret Agent Clank
The spy story has been and is one of the most popular genres for longer than most of us are able to remember. It has been been in the subject of suspense in films like Three Days of The Condor and The Man Who Knew Too Much, of deep introspection in films like The Manchurian Candidate, of intense action such in the James Bond films, and also the target of limitless parodies such as the Austin Powers films or the recently cinematic adventures of Maxwell Smart now showing on movie screens all across the country. Hollywood isn’t the only one who has a handle on the full martini shaker that is the spy genre, however, as there have been many videos games that take players into the dark and shadowy word of espionage that has now become occupied with such figures as Solid Snake from Metal Gear Solid, Gabariel Logan from the Syphon Filter series, and mostly recently Jason Bourne of The Bourne Ultimatum. This week, however, a diminutive tuxedoed hero joins the ranks of the legendary covert operatives in High Impact Games’ Special Agent Clank for the PSP.
of Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds
Hot Shots Golf has a long history of super deformed characters playing what amounts to be the most interesting and entertaining rounds of golf ever. As the first iteration of the series on the PS3, Out of Bounds graphics have improved dramatically from the past titles. It is too bad, though, that the same level of advancement hasn’t occurred with any of the play mechanics or pacing of the game.
When the first Hot Shots Golf was released for the PS1, the choice to use stylized characters was pushed by the graphical limitations of the system at the time. This choice managed to distinguish the game from others at the time, but now, with vastly updated graphics, it adds an unneeded, palpable level of creepiness to every game. Each character looks like a classical “cute” anime action figure. This does add a sense of presence to the Hot Shots world, but it also gives off the distinct feeling that the characters may just come out of my PS3 at night and feast on my sleeping body.
When the first Hot Shots Golf was released for the PS1, the choice to use stylized characters was pushed by the graphical limitations of the system at the time. This choice managed to distinguish the game from others at the time, but now, with vastly updated graphics, it adds an unneeded, palpable level of creepiness to every game. Each character looks like a classical “cute” anime action figure. This does add a sense of presence to the Hot Shots world, but it also gives off the distinct feeling that the characters may just come out of my PS3 at night and feast on my sleeping body.
Insecticide
Insecticide starts off by dunking players into a noir city with ample crime to be fought and able yet begrudging cops to provide a jaded backdrop. What the game lacks in any aspect, though, is motivation. From the first moment the player takes control of the game any form of forward momentum seems to disappear from the environment, leaving only the vague question of "why?" emanating. This is broken up by randomly witty spots of dialog, but never enough to really warrant the drive to the next spot of enjoyment.
The problem seems to stem from the fact that Insecticide tries to do too many things at once. One minute the player is thrown into a below average third person adventure game built out of overused set designs, the next they are trying to solve crimes in a point and click adventure where only the most bizarre solutions seem to be even remotely plausible. In either case the sequence lasts just long enough to be utterly annoying and disappointing.
The problem seems to stem from the fact that Insecticide tries to do too many things at once. One minute the player is thrown into a below average third person adventure game built out of overused set designs, the next they are trying to solve crimes in a point and click adventure where only the most bizarre solutions seem to be even remotely plausible. In either case the sequence lasts just long enough to be utterly annoying and disappointing.
Aces of the Galaxy
Aces of the Galaxy is the brand new game to hit the ever-popular Xbox Live Arcade. Published by Sierra Online, the group behind Assault Heroes 1 and 2, and developed by Artech Studios, who also crafted Boogie Bunnies. Aces of the Galaxy promised next-gen, off-the-rails action through old school gameplay, but in beautiful HD. It definitely delivered on the visuals side of things, not so much on the gameplay.
There is nothing complicated about the setup of Aces of the Galaxy, you select your space ship and then seconds later you’re in the game. The game itself is considerably more complex though. Enemies come at you from all directions, ranging from the standard little space ships that come in twos and sometimes threes, to the big sometimes invisible spaceships that, if on target, can deal out a massive amount of damage onto your puny little hull.
There is nothing complicated about the setup of Aces of the Galaxy, you select your space ship and then seconds later you’re in the game. The game itself is considerably more complex though. Enemies come at you from all directions, ranging from the standard little space ships that come in twos and sometimes threes, to the big sometimes invisible spaceships that, if on target, can deal out a massive amount of damage onto your puny little hull.
The Spiderwick Chronicles Game
There is not too much to say about character control really, I found the camera to be annoying and difficult to control. Constantly having to adjust the view really interrupts the whole experience. The other thing I really did not like was that I could not pick anything up in the first level unless I was supposed to at that time - for that specific quest part I was on at that given moment. Oh, no that would make too much sense, and totally give me an unfair advantage in the game. Not to mention it would pretty much allow me to skip all that backtracking, which by the way, almost seems to be featured gameplay element. There is nothing more frustrating than seeing this ingredient you know you will need, you can examine it, you can read in about it in your little book that it is needed for a recipe, yet you cannot pick it up until the exact moment that you need it for the linear play.
Metal Gear Solid 4
Bullets whiz over your prone body as you sneak through the forest. Mortar fire can be heard in the distance, screeching above. The mortar strikes the ground with force, kicking up dust, dirt and debris, eliciting a wince. You keep going - after all, you’ve got a job to do.
You continue your long, slow crawl through the muck. From the east comes a squadron of militia fighters who do not notice you hiding in some high grass. They push forward while you follow close behind, careful to not arouse suspicion. Soon enough, the rebels begin to engage private military corporation (PMC) troops that are entrenched in their base. Amidst the chaos, you start to circle around the battlefield, but soon find that your initial pathway is cut off by a machine gun that will surely tear you to shreds if you continue on. Pulling back, you quickly check your map for another way to evade these two factions. Confirming that a hill to the west will do the trick, you slither to your destination, successfully evading all combat.
You continue your long, slow crawl through the muck. From the east comes a squadron of militia fighters who do not notice you hiding in some high grass. They push forward while you follow close behind, careful to not arouse suspicion. Soon enough, the rebels begin to engage private military corporation (PMC) troops that are entrenched in their base. Amidst the chaos, you start to circle around the battlefield, but soon find that your initial pathway is cut off by a machine gun that will surely tear you to shreds if you continue on. Pulling back, you quickly check your map for another way to evade these two factions. Confirming that a hill to the west will do the trick, you slither to your destination, successfully evading all combat.
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Brawl is a difficult game to review because it exists in two different worlds. To the hardcore Nintendo fan, it is the epitome of all that is right with gaming. By bringing out all your favorite characters of the past 20+ years coming together to duke it out in a variety of creative and nostalgic levels, Nintendo has given its fans everything they could ever want and more. To the casual gamer, however, Smash is little more than a frantic fighter, with a bunch of random characters thrown together in cartoonish landscapes. These gamers can never understand why a little pink ball of fluff seems to be more powerful than a full-size gorilla, and they have no idea why the idea of Mario, Link, Pickachu, and Samus all facing off is such a tantalizing experience. At the end of the day, Nintendo has decided to pull out all the stops to make a game diehard fans are sure to love, and they manage to succeed in nearly every respect.
Devil May Cry 4
The game begins with The Order of the Sword conducting a ceremony in their temple within the city of Fortuna. Just as the order’s high priest, Sanctus, is giving a sermon, Dante breaks through the ceiling and assassinates the spiritual leader right in front of the entire assembly. Nero swiftly jumps into action and proceeds to fight a very coy Dante, who eventually escapes before dropping a few hints to Nero that things within the order may not be what they seem. If you’re actually planning on paying attention to the story in the game rather than just playing it for the intense action I’ll stop there.
Roogoo
With Microsoft’s new practice of removing “underperforming” titles from Xbox Live, in other words games that critics and gamers alike want nothing to do with, some have put forward the notion that this may provide a motivation for the design of more quality titles. If SpiderMonk’s Roogoo is any indication that the new procedure is working, then the future definitely looks bright for the Arcade, as this unique and challenging puzzle game deserves to stay on the shelves of the Marketplace for some time to come.
Beautiful Katamar
For those not in the know, the Katamari series revolves around rolling a ball through different game worlds. The ball controls like a tank, with the two sticks of the controller acting like controls for the two treads that a tank would have. As the ball rolls over objects, the objects stick and cause the ball to grow larger. Eventually, the ball grows big enough to roll up people, houses, landmasses, etc. Most levels are based around getting the “katamari” to a certain size cut-off in a certain time. These completed katamaris are then turned into planets by the King of All Cosmos to replace the planets that he accidentally destroyed. The concept works really well, as the game nails the sense of scale. It is very satisfying to look back as you are rolling up the house that, just earlier in the level, you were rolling around inside.
Sins of a solar Empire
Strategy games are one of the more intellectual pursuits in the gaming world; as the genre is usually dissociated with the aim and shoot gameplay of titles like Quake, Gears of War, and other FPS games, or the more childlike and innocent gameplay afforded to us by things like Super Mario Galaxy and the Sonic the Hedgehog line, which are there to show the gaming world that you can save the world without guns or grenades or even a sexy female sidekick. Yes, for the more highbrow of the gaming community, strategy games are definitely the place to go, and Sins of a Solar Empire is one of the most highbrow of the lot...so brainy it doesn’t need a plot.
Dynasty Warriors Six
Dynasty Warriors 6, the most recent incarnation of the series, is quite impressive graphically, especially in terms of how various components of the in-game environment have been constructed. It’s quite possibly the best looking Dynasty Warriors game I’ve ever seen. Ambient lighting, realistic water effects, well-crafted buildings that look like they should be where they are, all combine together to make this title well able to hold it’s own against this generation’s heaviest hitters.
Kingdom Under Fire
Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom is a hack ’n slash with RPG elements. The description on the box is inaccurate: it is not an "Action RPG." The core gameplay mirrors that of your garden variety hack ’n slash: a very linear path marked by large hordes of enemies to slice or shoot your way through, and plenty of button mashing.
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MLB 08
Disappointment. Unpolished. Repetitiveness. Frustrating. All words that in one way or another summed up Sony’s attempt at bringing an exhilarating baseball experience to the Playstation 3 last year. Not only were Playstation owners forced to wait six weeks into the regular season to get their hands on the game, but upon arrival, fans were met with whitewashed character models, even worse stadium textures, and a multitude of AI issues. So when SCE Studios San Diego told us that MLB 08 The Show would feature over 500 more animations, shift its development focus more on fundamentally sound gameplay, and feature a deeper more in depth Road to the Show we expected nothing less than a truly immense baseball experience. Expectations were not only met but surpassed resulting in one of the best sports sims of the past decade.
The Club
Bizarre Creations, the studio behind Project Gotham Racing, effectively and successfully took PGR’s Kudos system and brought it to the Club in the form of Combos. Each successful kill earns the player a point total, adjusted by factors like range, style, and accuracy, and increases the combo multiplyer by one. Chain together kills before the timer runs out, combine them with rolls and turns, and you can gather some serious points. In addition to kills, combos can be increased or timers reset by finding and shooting "skull shots," small orange signs scattered throughout each stage.
Dark Sector
The storyline and setting for Dark Sector has changed considerably since its inception. Gone is the space angle, replaced by a story of bioterrorism and revenge served cold. The game stars Hayden Tenno, a government agent sent on a mission to infiltrate a weapons lab in a fictional Soviet bloc country and blow the place to hell. As Hayden progresses through the base, he keeps hearing stories about “the infected” and begins to wonder what exactly is going on. As he tries to escape, he’s attacked by a metal-skinned monster and captured by the sinister Mezner, the madman behind it all. Hayden manages to escape Mezner, but not before being infected by the same virus he came to contain. However, rather than turning Hayden into a raving zombie hungry for blood (as it has done with nearly everyone else who has contracted the virus), it instead encases his right arm in a metal skin and grants him the power to control a three-pronged glaive, which is ever so useful for separating enemies heads’ from their bodies. With new powers in tow, Hayden sets out to track down Mezner and put a stop to his plans before he can breed an army of infected and unleash them on the world.
NBA Ballers
The best way to describe the visuals in NBA Ballers: Chosen One is bland, due to a distinct lack of flair. That’s not to say the graphics in the game are bad, because there are much worse looking games out there, but over a year later, Ballers still does not look as good as NBA Street. Ballers features a number of stages to play, but they all look pretty generic. On the upside, Midway got a fairly impressive lineup of NBA greats, both present and past. The likenesses to the players are pretty good, in both their look and their actions.
Imperium Romanium
Imperial Rome was, no matter what you think of it, one of the most influential governments humankind ever established for itself on the face of this planet. Fixtures created by it still remain in such disparate locations like the sun drenched ground of Italy, to the more temperate climates in the north of England. Part of the continuing tribute to Ancient Rome are a variety of computer games that take the player back into an simulacrum of Roman life. One of these, and the one we will be talking about today, is titled Imperial Romanum and was developed by Southpeak Games.
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian Review
The game is of course based on the second film of the Chronicles of Narnia, which is in turn based on the second book of the series. The story encompasses the Pevensie children’s return to Narnia in order to aid Prince Caspian, whose evil uncle Miraz has seized the throne from its rightful heir. My knowledge of this fable was not gained from the game, as the storyline is told in a very confusing clip show, without any real narration or explanation of the events and characters encountered. However, one who is interested in playing this game has probably either seen the movie or knows the story inside and out, as a fan is literally the only type of person Prince Caspian will appeal to.
Fatal Inertia EX
KOEI Canada has thrown its hat into the latter ring with Fatal Inertia FX, a futuristic racing title that mixes all-out speed with arcade pick-ups to attack other racers with. If you played an old Xbox title called Arctic Thunder, then you know what you are in store for with this game. Substitute futuristic racecraft for Arctic Thunder’s snowmobiles and take the game in a different direction with a deeper career mode, but include the track-based arcade pick-ups and you have the same type of game.
Condemned 2
In Condemned 2: Bloodshot, players will engage in visceral combat using a variety of firearms, blunt instruments and an all-new fighting system complete with defensive and offensive combo chains, as well as grapples and holds. To help track the killer and solve the mysteries behind Condemned 2: Bloodshot, players will crack open an all-new set of high-tech forensic tools. Using wits and brute strength, murders can be solved a number of different ways to keep players guessing throughout each suspenseful investigation.
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