News: NFL Head Coach 09 announced by EA

EA officially announced NFL Head Coach 09. Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy will grace the cover this year. EA is stating that "From draft day to game day, the gamers' decisions impact their team's success and make or break a team's road to the Super Bowl." Sound interesting for NFL fans. The full press release is here.

Rock Band DLC gets a patch

Some Rock Band download content needs to be re-downloaded. here were some errors and have been fixed by the team. The songs effected are:
“Can’t Stand Losing You”
“Roxanne”
“Synchronicity II”
“Police Pack 01”
“Brass in Pocket”
For more information go to the Rock Band official message boards.

Don't Buy This Game

I'm sorry to say, ladies and gentlemen, that the game I'm talking about is none other than Ubisoft's 'Red Steel' for the Nintendo Wii. Ubisoft has been doing very well this fiscal year with such titles as 'Assassin's Creed', and 'Rainbow Six Vegas'; but as they try their hand at a action/shooter for the Nintendo Wii, they fail. Miserably.

I don't want to start out by bashing this game completely, so I'm just gonna say that it was a very cool idea and I was extremely excited about it when I saw gameplay trailers and commercials. This was a launch title for the console (Which released on November 19, 2006), so one can only assume it was rushed to meet this release date. But we all know that when a game is rushed, it doesn't get done properly.

The first thing I noticed about 'Red Steel' was the fact that it was ridiculously hard to play. You control your character by turning the Wii remote in the direction that you want to go, usually by pointing the crosshair to the edge of the screen. There were two problems with this: 1) sometimes you wanted to move alot faster than the game allowed thus causing your arm on the screen to move around wildly or simply do nothing, no matter how much you shook the comtrols. 2) Turning corners: impossible. Also, you are able to use samurai style sword fighting, but the control scheme for this is even harder to control. lets just put it this way: I died several times in practice mode. Practice mode.

My final word: the story was pretty solid but the graphics were reminiscent of the PSone, which was a little disappointing considering Capcom's 'Resident Evil 4' looked delicious. If you want to play a good first person shooter for Wii, Retro Studios over at Nintendo did it right with 'Metroid Prime 3: Corruption'. If you happen to want this game, for whatever reason, I saw it in Circuit City's clearance bin for $16.96. Enjoy that.

1.5 out of 10 (for the story, cause thats all it has going for it)

Thanks for reading.

-JD

Nintendo to charge for some online gaming?

It's true. Nintendo is planning on charging for online play for some games. They have not released game specifics. However, the new logo will be red and say "Pay and play". Yes, a game that you are purchasing will remind you that you, in fact, must pay to play it. The player will be charged by using Wii points to play online. This was announced at the GDC.

Review: Pokemon Battle Revolution (Wii)

I hope this doesn't turn into a rant but I'm afraid it might. To avoid this as long as possible, I'll start with the things in this game that are done right. Pokemon are in 3d. It is a thrill to see all 493 pokemon in 3d doing their thing. The online battle system is also very straightforward and very fluid. The actual battle system is still the same as it has always been. The backgrounds are absolutely gorgeous, especially for Wii graphics. Last but not least, using and connecting your DS to your Wii is easy as pie and it works phenomenally.

Now what is wrong with the game? A LOT! Let's start with the pokemon themselves. When you see the surroundings of the battlefield, it gets you thinking that you are in for a visual treat... until your pokemon releases from its pokeball. Then you see 3d pokemon, which is good, but when compared to the backgrounds it looks like a 12 year old animated them.

They looks very flat and featureless, almost as if they were told to withhold as much detail as possible. Next are the attack animations. As has always been a problem with the 3d pokemon games, some of the attacks are lame to watch. You use tackle and your pokemon jumps in the direction of you opponent's pokemon and suddenly the opponent's pokemon is hit by, well, nothing and is pushed backward with a painful expression on its face. No contact occurring whatsoever. Some people might say, they did it so the game would seem less violent, but in my argument, the tv show is directed towards children more so than the games and they show contact. Also some of the moves' animations are just plain boring. Visually they are actually gorgeous but when I hear an attack called shockwave, I expect quite a severe looking attack and that is not what you get.

Now I will give credit where credit is due, some of the attacks (such as water pulse seen above) look good and make sense to the nature of the attack. Another thing that bothers me, and this isn't the only game where this occurs but it's the only game I'm talking about right now. I wonder, why is it that my lvl1 Dratini's hyper beam looks exactly like it does when it has become a lvl100 Dragonite? Maybe it is just me, but I feel that the attacks should look more powerful as the pokemon grows more powerful; is this such a strange concept? If you watched the latest pokemon movie you can clearly see a difference in the potency of Lickylicky's hyper beam as opposed to Dialga's. There's one last thing about the battle animations that really gets me mad. Let's say I used hyper beam with my lvl100 Dragonite. It shoots the opponent's pokemon and drains all of its hp. This is what happens: Dragonite uses hyper beam, it hits the opposing pokemon and knocks it to the floor, the opposing pokemon gets up, returns to its original position, then stumbles around dizzily until it falls. Why does this happen!?!?!? Why doesn't it just stay down!?!?!? Who programmed this? I want to slap you!

The game's most disappointing shortcoming would have to be the lack of a story mode. That's right, all you do in this game is battle battle battle. We're back to the ways of Pokemon Stadium. So, this game with all of its problems and those couple good things manage a 4 out of 10 from me. The lack of story mode take away most points in my book. It keeps four because the game actually works and if you want to battle your friends online, it is great. But for $50 and with all of those shortcomings, I feel a 4 is quite generous.

4/10

-CA

Review: Pokemon Diamond/Pearl (DS); 493 useable pokemon?

The pokemon franchise has come a long way* since it's introduction way back in 1995 (in Japan). For those who are either new to the series or have just never played, Pokemon is a turn-based RPG in which you typically start off as a young boy or girl who manages to get a free pokemon (out of a choice of 3; a water type, a fire type, and a grass type) from a random professor in town and starts a journey to see all the pokemon the world has to offer while filling information in your pokedex that the professor gives you, and perhaps become a champion in the process. Pokemon Diamond and Pearl are no different**. You start of as a young boy or girl and come across a professor at the lake near your house. After they leave you and your friend notice that they left a briefcase behind in the tall grass. (for those who don't know, you encounter pokemon in tall grass) You and your friend take the risk going into the grass to see what's in the case. When you get there you open it and there are 3 pokemon inside**. The choices are Chimchar, a little monkey who is fire type**, Piplip, a little penguin who is water type**, and Turtwig, a little turtle who is grass type**. Then pokemon attack you and you have no choice but to use one of the 3 pokemon as your defense. After the battle the professor comes back to see what has happened, gets angry and leaves. You and your friend track him down to say sorry and he lets you keep the pokemon if you take his pokedex and fill it with data. And that's how the game begins.

The DS brings a few new elements to pokemon and most of them are great. The second screen takes the clutter out of the first screen, especially during battles. The DS's power over previous handhelds allow for a 2.25D (not quite 2D, not nearly 3D) overworld but to my severe disappointment, the battles were left with non-moving sprites (well, they bounce around a bit when the pokemon is first released) and simple attack animations. This is frustrating to me because this is the fourth major installment of the series and the battles are (other than being more clearly drawn) exactly the same** (below picture is from pokemon red viewed on super gameboy).

In the previous pokemon titles leading to diamond and pearl, there have been a total of 386 pokemon which means that there are 107 all new pokemon to enjoy in this installment... if you can find a way to get them. The reason I say this is because once again, Nintendo thought it would be fun to have more "special event pokemon"**. These pokemon are only attainable by going to special pokemon events where you would receive special items that would unlock a sequence of in game events. These steps will eventually lead you to extremely rare pokemon in the game (Arceus, Shaymin, and Darkrai). In America, these pokemon are near impossible to get without cheats. There are so few pokemon events held in America, and some of them don't even release the "special event pokemon" at them, so I personally am not to fond of the idea if special event pokemon (though it does add a nice rarity factor, it also adds significantly to the hacked pokemon population).

If if you think that getting all of the new pokemon in diamond and pearl because of things like special event pokemon; just wait and see what you have to go through for all 493. First, you need to have all of the Pokemon Ruby and/or Sapphire, Pokemon FireRed and/or LeafGreen, Pokemon Colosseum, Pokemon XD, Pokemon Ranger, and a link cable from your gameboy advance to your gamecube (or wii). Then you have to get all the pokemon into those versions, and oh yes, they have special event pokemon too. Once you somehow manage that, you have to beat diamond or pearl to open the pal park and have them transferred onto your diamond or pearl file. Good luck! Shiny pokemon have also returned to the fray and are just as rare as they have been since they were introduced in the gold and silver versions except, they don't give you one in the plot like they did in gold and silver either. With the Diamond and Pearl versions alone, I'm not sure of the exact number but I think somewhere around 150 pokemon are available.

Of course with new pokemon come new legendary pokemon and once again, this is no exception. Nintendo did a great job in coming up with some kickass new legendary pokemon for diamond and pearl. Dialga and Palkia are both awesome.

So, what's so great about diamond and pearl then? Well, obvious reasons like the new pokemon, the gameplay (though almost exactly the same as it has always been) is rock solid, new moves and pokemon competitions spice it up a little, giving you so much more to do than just stroll your way through the game. Also, for the in depth pokemaniac EV points were added for those who want to breed and raise their pokemon to be absolutely perfect. The game's difficultly level, especially towards the end with the elite 4, is a good amount higher than previous versions; but they keep it bearable. The addition of online battling and trading are an incredible add on as well. Not only can you just trade with people you know but you can go to the global trading center and trade pokemon with people around the world. (My Palkia in my diamond version is from Japan) With a clear and easy to use interface throughout the game, no one that is over 5 years old should have a problem playing this game.

In the end, I give Pokemon Diamond/Pearl 8 out of 10. While the new innovative features definitely get the games score up, it is the lack of innovation in other areas that brings it down. I put a * in the beginning of the review where I said the franchise has come a long way and ** next to several things that are due for a makeover in the game. I referenced them together because the franchise when you think about it, hasn't come that far at all. But don't let that discourage you from the game. My note to Nintendo would be, if you keep stuff in the game from old versions, take something awesome like how after you beat the elite 4 in gold/silver you could travel to the region from the red/blue versions and not only catch a lot more pokemon, but also battle more gym leaders and everything. I still think that the gold/silver/crystal versions are the best in the series having had 251 pokemon available in game (only 2 were event pokemon: Mew and Celebi). So all that bad and still 8/10? Yes! Pokemon is a great and and always has been, it's all of the elements of the game are good; they're just starting to get old. And to those who think it's just for kids, you're wrong. The game is great and people of all ages will love it. The show is for kids (though the movies are tolerable).

8/10

-CA

HD DVD drive for 360 price drop

Today you can get the HD DVD drive for Xbox 360 for $50.

Looks like people are trying to get these shelf warmers into a happy home.

Follow the link and order your own.

Hopefully it will not be long before ALL retailers drop to the cost of less than a game.

Gears of War (Games for Windows Live)

My computer recently over went a complete overhaul (read brand new). So during this time I wanted a game that would showcase what a semi powerhouse I just purchased. I already had Gears of War on Xbox 360, and loved it. So I figured I would give it a try on PC.

On PC there are a few things that make it interesting. Gears of War on PC is part of the Games for Windows Live program. What that is essentially is all the things that people love on Xbox 360, are now on your computer. As a matter of fact, if you already have a Xbox 360 gamertag you are ready to go. Everyone on your friends list will be downloaded automatically. Also it adds achievements. Whayher it's a good or bad thing is up to you. Also it allows seamless integration with Xbox 360 peripherals.

The story is very simple. On a planet that looks similar to earth, but all men love to work out, alot; a strange race of creatures emerge from the underground and attack and destroy most of humanity (They call this emergence day). Well, years go by and humans are still waging war against the "locusts". The story picks off where they are at their last hope, they free you from prison, in exchange for you to help out in the war.

The game is different from most first person shooters, as you do not go running in and try to kill as much as you can. This is a duck and cover shooter. If you go running in on this game, you'll likely end up dead.

The controls are nice and responsive. Sometimes the only one button for "snapping" to walls and cover most of the time gets annoying, but is forgivable. The active reload is a nice little change. It acts as a mini-game, and if you mess up you jam your gun and have to wait longer for the reload. There is a run button and your character does get tired after a while.

The graphics are nothing short of amazing. The textures are fantastic, and the characters are really detailed. The most impressive part is that the levels do not get repetitive. They all generally look vastly different than each other. It gives it a more "real world" feel. There is excellent atmospheric effects as well.

The sound is great with its orchestrated score. It gives it a very epic and war like feel. The sound effects are well done including the very stimulating chainsaw to chest sound. Trust me: when you hear it, it doesn't get old.

The PC version differs slightly from the Xbox 360 version. The PC version contains 5 new chapters during the final level of the game. Its during this part when you are being chased by the brumac. The brumac can be described as a T-rex, piloted by a locust, with a cannon on his back, and guns on his arms. Yes. So that is the huge draw of the PC version, besides the map editor and few extra levels for multi-player.

Gears of War on PC is not for everyone. The few extra add-on's are nice, but not worth the other $50. If you MUST know what Marcus Phoenix is doing more than on 360, go for it. If you have never played Gears of War, want a nice co-op game on your PC this is a great game for you.

I give it 8 out of 10

Becoming the Legend: 'Twilight Princess' Review

I'm sure you're all familiar with Shigeru Miyamoto's Legend of Zelda series of games; from its debut on the NES to it's "hit" animated TV series. This particular one, released on the Nintendo Wii console seems to top even Ocarina of time. It starts off the way most Zelda titles start off: a young farmer/shepherd is called to duty to rescue the trouble-finding Princess Zelda and her land of Hyrule. The story in 'Twilight Princess' has got to be one of the most interesting stories in the franchise. The land of Hyrule is blanketed by an unnatural darkness, known as 'twilight', which is ruled by the evil King Zant. It is you, with the help of a little imp known as Midna, who must battle countless foes and several dungeon bosses to sweep the twilight from the land, and restore peace and happiness.







This game takes the interesting control style of the Nintendo Wii and uses it to its full potential. By pointing the remote at the screen, you are able to fire projectiles such as arrows and seeds. By waving the remote around, you draw your sword and slash at various monsters. One shake of the nunchuk attachment allows you to perform a vicious spin attack, taking out any enemies that are within you sword's reach. You still pretty much have the same weapons as some of the other games (some of the slightly modified though), Master Sword, bow, clawshot, boomerang, and slingshot; and then the new ones include a ball and chain, spinner top, and double clawshot; all of which usually get you out of some pretty sticky situations.



And the music, ah, the music; it captured the feel or essence of the different events that unfold as the story goes on. The game itself is very cinematic; I've always liked games that feel like movies. More importantly, they did a great job on making the final bosses fit the dungeons they were terrorizing, and had you use the weapons you acquire in some very interesting ways. You'll never guess who returns as the absolute final boss of the whole game in a massively epic battle between good and evil. I'll give you one hint: look at the picture below.

The overall gameplay is very good. You never get bored playing because there's so much more to do other than just follow the story; granted you have to work very hard to complete it 100% but once you do it will all be worth it. With a great story, and fun characters (yes, the speedy mailman is back) Nintendo and Miyamoto pleased me yet again with another chapter in the Legend of Zelda universe

9.5 out of 10


Thanks for reading
-JD

Technorati Tags: Legend of Zelda,Nintendo Wii

Some APB footage

This is some exciting footage of APB from the GDC. APB is essentially an MMORPG like World of Warcraft, but instead, it is cops and robbers. The demo is difficult to hear, however it does show both sides of being with the law and against it. The most interesting part is when all of this is going down, they then show a new criminal to the game who just stole a TV. Its worth a watch.

Introduction to D

Hi I'm going to be the reviewer for sports and other games on Gamers USA. My favorite type of game would be a shotter, although I play quite a bit of Madden as well. I will also be providing alot of reviews for older games, as I have been into gaming since the Atari 2600.
You can just call me D.

HD-DVD is Dead

Reports from Microsoft have come in regarding the fate of the Xbox 360 HD DVD add on drive. And the reports are, Microsoft is officially out of the HD DVD business. According to Gamerscoreblog, which is Microsoft's official blog regarding the Xbox 360, Microsoft will no longer continue to manufacture the drive. Good, now maybe I will stop seeing it advertised even after Toshiba said they are out of the HD DVD business. Now bring on the Blu Ray add on!

Technorati Tags: Microsoft,Xbox 360,HDDVD

Introductions: S M Shadows - Reviewer/PC

I guess I'm the new blood here at the station @ GMUSA. I was called upon for my insight in the much neglected area of PC games, and I say this because much of the limelight has shined upon the console war[props to all my fellow "softies" who are also waiting for the Assassin's Creed for PC release]. Don't you worry though I'm not a hater of Sony or MS. I just prefer my indiglo keys and a 7oo jigga-watt mouse to get my kicks off. But back to the introductions, right well I've played alot of PC games and began way back with StarCraft, some 8 years ago. That might not seem like a while but hell, I was a benefactor of hand-me-downs. So onto the goods that I have. Well right now I finally got rid of my custom Athlon XP +2800 which was literally smokin' after the number the Crysis demo did on it. Currently though I'm working with a Gateway GT5432 and Nvidia 7600gs, with 2gs of ram. I KNOW this is not suffice in the PC world but better things to come after taxes, right? I'll keep you updated. I play them all and prefer my quick fix with an fps, action, or sim. FarCry, Bioshock, Morrowind, Doom, these are just a few on the shooter/rpg side. Well since Core set the grain with the Zelda series I'd have to say my fave PC game of all time is StarWars Galaxies. No this is way [2 years] before the massive SoE screw-over. I'm finishing up college, limited on freetime play and whatever catches my attention you will shortly get my "cha-dawg" or "nah-dawg" seal of approval. I'll be looking forward to hearing from you all and as always, my allegiance lies with the highest bidder. See you in another life.

-SMS

News: HD DVD done for?

Well, we can't say that we haven't seen it coming. Blu-ray has been stomping a mole hole into HD DVD's ass for a while now and in a huge way when 2008 started. Toshiba has finally thrown in the towel stating today that they are going to cease production of their HD DVD stand alone players and recorders by April. The company said, "Toshiba will begin to reduce shipments of HD DVD players and recorders to retail channels, aiming for cessation of these businesses by the end of March 2008. Toshiba also plans to end volume production of HD DVD disk drives for such applications as PCs and games in the same time frame, yet will continue to make efforts to meet customer requirements. The company will continue to assess the position of notebook PCs with integrated HD DVD drives within the overall PC business relative to future market demand." Microsoft says that they are waiting on the word from Toshiba on whether or not to cease production of the Xbox 360 HD DVD drive. So far, nothing has been said. I think it is almost safe to say that the format war has ended. Blu-ray has just about become victorious.

-CA

News: Blu-ray with another big hit against HD DVD

Blu-ray has done it again, yet another retailer has gone blu-ray exclusive as a huge hit against Toshiba's HD DVD format; but none quite as big as this. Wal-Mart! That's right, the massive retail chain, Wal-Mart has stated that they will be blu-ray exclusive by June this year. It's only a matter of time before Toshiba throws in the towel now.

 

Technorati Tags: Blu-Ray,HDDVD,Xbox 360,Wal-Mart,Toshiba,Microsoft

News: 1 of 2 upcoming Guitar Hero titles named.

Guitar Hero: Aerosmith is one of the two upcoming new Guitar Hero titles. The game will follow the career of Aerosmith from when they were nobody's to today. Guitar Hero III owners will be able to download the Aerosmith track "Dream On" for the game for free in celebration of the upcoming game's release. It will be available for free on both Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network between February 16 and 18. The game will be available in June on PS2, PS3, Wii, and Xbox 360.


-CA

Technorati Tags: Guitar Hero,Aerosmith,Xbox 360,Playstation 3,Nintendo Wii

News: PS3 finally coming along

Well folks, the sales numbers for January are in and they are rather surprising. Here they are:

THE NPD GROUP's JANUARY 2008 US GAME INDUSTRY SALES

Hardware Sales (in units sold)

Wii: 274,000

PlayStation 3: 269,000

Nintendo DS: 251,000

PlayStation Portable: 230,000

Xbox 360: 230,000

Not only is it a surprise to see Xbox 360 at the bottom of the list even after PSP, but PS3 ALMOST OUTSOLD THE WII! This obviously having something to do with the blu-ray disc's recent success having outsold HD DVD 82% to 18%. These numbers also show through the recent success of the PS3 version of Devil May Cry 4 outselling the Xbox 360 version. I've even noticed myself that I've started buying more PS3 games than any other system. I think it's safe to say that the PS3 is finally coming along.

-CA

 

Technorati Tags: Playstation 3,Xbox 360,Nintendo Wii,Playstation Portable,Nintendo DS

Devil May Cry 4 for PS3 Outsells 360!!

Well folks here's the official tally:

PS3: 463,562 units
360: 399,262 units

Granted, PS3's win was not a landslide; but it looks like things are finally looking up, in terms of title popularity, for Sony's next-gen console. This has got to be the first time in the history of the console wars that a game that came out for both consoles has favored PS3. People are just used to playing this series on their Sony systems. Although this is only a dent in the market share, things are finally looking a little better for Sony.

-JD

Technorati Tags: Devil May Cry,Xbox 360,PlayStation 3

News: EA announces titles for fiscal 2009!

EA Games president Frank Gibeau revealed many releases that are to come for fiscal 2009. He announced that both Skate and Burnout would see new titles (but it was not said whether they would be side titles like Burnout Legends or big time all console releases. Skate was a big success for EA, outselling Activision's Tony Hawk Proving Grounds (which was like Madden but for skating games before skate came along) for both PS3 and Xbox 360 on its first try. They also announced that they will be making more games for the series Mass Effect (from the recently acquired BioWare). While they will be made by mostly the same people, a lot of people worry that this will be bad for the Mass Effect series because of the way EA likes to annualize titles and rush them out. I guess we'll see in the future what will come of it. Also announced is a new Need for Speed (big surprise), though Gibeau said that the series would be returning to more of the Most Wanted and Underground roots that got the series so popular rather than continuing with the Pro Street theme (thank God).

-CA

Technorati Tags: Electronic Arts,Skate,Burnout,BioWare,Need For Speed

News: Huge news from Best Buy and Netflix about Blu-Ray!

Bad news for HD DVD owners and lovers yet again. Blu-Ray has gained the support of Best Buy, one of the biggest electronics retailers in the world. Best Buy has announced that they will promote Blu-Ray players as the predominant next-generation movie format over HD DVD. While they will still sell HD DVDs and their players, they will have Blu-Ray displays throughout the stores and will boast them as better than HD DVD. Netflix has also joined the "let's get the overwith campaign" by jumping on with Blu-Ray as well. Netflix will no longer offer HD DVDs for rent whatsoever by the end of the year. While that is a good time period away, it is still another smashing blow to HD DVD. How long will HD DVD take this beating before it drops out? If you ask me, I can't wait for the disc format war to end so that they can lower the price of Blu-Ray movies! I'm tired of paying $30 for them and once the war is over they will be selling a lot more and thus be able to lower the price (same thing happened with DVDs years ago).

-CA

Technorati Tags: HDDVD,Blu-Ray,Best Buy,NetFlix

News: Activision steps it up for 2008 (fiscal 2009)

Note for title: For those who don't know how it works, fiscal years start at April of the year prior. For example, the 2008 fiscal year started on April 1st, 2007 and ends on April 1st, 2008.

Activision has recently revealed record breaking earnings for 2007 (fiscal 2008). Because of this, they have announced that they are going to belt out a "full slate" of new games for fiscal 2009 driven by their most popular titles. They announced that a new call of duty and guitar hero are already in the works, as well as more downloadable content for the current call of duty and guitar hero titles. The new call of duty title has not been confirmed as to whether it will be modern of WW2 but it has been confirmed for PS2 and Wii. Two new Guitar Hero games were confirmed for the period between April 1 and June 30, 2008, but other than that, no details were discussed. Also announced, Activision's first James Bond game. Can Activision bring the greatness from Goldeneye back to Bond video games, or will they be another failure to Bond titles? Activision says that fiscal 2009 will consist of their largest Nintendo slate ever. "Activision stated that work was underway on the next Tony Hawk skateboarding game, including research and testing, and that the company would be "re-engineering the franchise…there will be a new direction for the brand." " This is probably because Tony Hawk's Proving Grounds was a massive failure. Lastly, they have announced that a new Spider-man title is in the works as well as a sequel to Marvel's Ultimate Alliance. I don't know about you but I am excited for just about everything mentioned here. Let's just hope that they don't bite off more that they can chew and the record breaking profits show through these titles.

-CA

*quotes are courtesy of gamespot.com

Technorati Tags: Activision,Tony Hawk,Spider-Man,Guitar Hero

A Recent Peek at EA's 'Dead Space'

Hello again everyone. Recently while browsing the wonderful interweb, I stumbled upon a little trailer for EA's latest attempt at a horror/survival game 'Dead Space'. There is something definitely different from other games of that genre: its set in space. Its set about 500 years in the future where an engineer by the name of Isaac Clarke is sent as part of a support team sent to investigate communications silence coming from the USG Ishimura, a massive space "planet cracker" used to strip entire planets of all available resources. Just reading that part gave me chills; its like 'Alien', 'Virus' and 'Event Horizon' all rolled into one massive interactive experience. The game looks great and, from what I saw in the teaser, comes with plenty of eerie environments and enemies. Look for 'Dead Space' Some time in 2008.

-JD

Technorati Tags: Electronic Arts,PlayStation 3,Xbox 360,Dead Space

HD DVD Player for Xbox 360 Price Reduced!

Apparently the makers of HD DVD and HD DVD players are quivering in fear over blu-ray's massive success and how movie production companies keep signing blu-ray exclusivity contracts. So, what did they do to try and help thier sales? Slash prices! The HD DVD add-on for Xbox 360 has had its price slashed by $50 making it a reasonable $129.99. The only thing is now, for the past two months blu-ray has outsold HD DVD 80% to 20, so why would you want to buy an HD DVD player when blu-ray is on the verge of victory?

-CA

Technorati Tags: HDDVD,Xbox 360,Microsoft

3 more Xbox originals coming to Xbox live marketplace

This February 11th on the Xbox live marketplace you will find 3 more titles in the Xbox originals section.

Black

Ninja Gaiden Black

Sid Meier's Pirates

-CA

Technorati Tags: Xbox 360,Marketplace,Sid Meier's Pirates,Ninja Gaiden,Black

Quick Reviews for This Week

Hello again everyone. I just wanted to give you some quick reviews on two of the games on today's release list. I'm going to start with Turok (PS3, 360). Now for those of you that played the original Turok Games (Seeds of Evil, Evolution) this one might be a bit different. First of all it kind of reminds me of Gears of War with some elements of the Halo series mixed in. When you play the single player campaign you have a AI friend to help you fend off hoardes of various dinos and baddies. In addition to that it has a weapon swapping system similar to the Halo franchise; where you carry your trusty bow and knife at all times but have to swap out certain firearms for various ones strewn about the levels. An interesting point about the combat is that if you get knocked down by a dino it will take you a few seconds to get back up again thus creating an opportunity for said dino to attack again; if you're quick enough you will be able to use your knife to repeatedly stab the dino in the neck. Now with all that said; the game looks great. the effects of water and plant life are very realistic and also very shiny, which is weird but: to each his own.

Overall 7/10.




Game number two: Devil May Cry 4. With three other titles in the franchise, Capcom continues to give their fans what they want. The gameplay is great (reminiscent of the God of War series) in which the camera follows you in a third person view and zooms in and out automatically depending on the size of the room you're in. Capcom gives us your primary weapon the "Devil Bringer", Nero's right arm equipped with various powerups and magic at your disposal; such as the grappling option which you can use to fly about certain levels or just bring your enemy right to you. In addition to your "arm", you have a sword called Red Queen which you can charge up to unleash powerful attacks upon various enemies. You also have a shotgun called Blue Rose which can also be charged up for more powerful shots. The game looks amazing, although not as shiny, and continues to give us the Capcom classic we know and love.

Overall 9/10

-JD

Technorati Tags: Devil May Cry,Xbox 360,PlayStation 3,Turok,Review

Releases: Week of 2/5

Here is the list of titles to be released this week (most of them today).
Assassin's Creed: Altair's Chronicles (DS)
Culdcept SAGA (Xbox 360)
Devil May Cry 4 (PS3, Xbox 360)
Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol Encore (Wii, Xbox 360, PS2)
Sins of a Solar Empire (PC)
Turok (PS3, Xbox 360, PC)
Twisted Metal: Head On: Extra Twisted Edition (PS2)

Technorati Tags: Releases,PC,Nintendo Wii,Xbox 360,PlayStation 3,Nintendo DS

News: Metal Gear Solid 3-pack to be released in anticipation for MGS4

Metal Gear Solid: The Essential Collection will include Metal Gear Solid (from PS One),

Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance (director's cut version),

and Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence (also director's cut version)

for the lovely price of $29.99. While there has yet to be a confirmed release date, if you take a look at gamestop.com, you will see that they are expecting it to be released around mid-March. For any gamer looking to jump into the middle of the MGS series, this would be a great opportunity as the original metal gear solid isn't very easy to get a hold of anymore and $30 for 3 games is hard to beat. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is unofficially due for release on June 17th, 2008.

-CA

 

Technorati Tags: PlayStation 2,Medal Gear Solid

News: Navy Blue DS lite coming to the US!

On February 10th, gaming stores in the US will begin selling a navy blue/black DS lite. This makes the 6th color scheme for the DS lite in the US joining white, black, pink (and pink with a pawprint for the nintendogs version), crimson/black, and gold (zelda version).

-CA

Technorati Tags: Nintendo DS

News: Rock Band coming to Wii!

EA CEO John Riccitiello announced that sometime within the 2009 fiscal year (April 1, 2008-April 1, 2009) the hit rhythm game Rock Band will be released on the Nintendo Wii. The only question now is, how will they handle downloadable songs on the Wii?

-CA

Technorati Tags: Nintendo Wii,Rock Band,Electronic Arts