Video: Metroid Prime Trilogy Trailer

I don't think I've ever been this excited about games I've already played before.

Coming August 24th, 2009. Only on the Nintendo Wii.

-CA

Upcoming games to look out for

Like most years, 2009 has started out slow with in terms of big games being released.  But, alas, January is over and the games are about to flow.  Tomorrow, the sci-fi horror shooter F.E.A.R. 2, which has received mass praise after its demo was released, ships out for the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.  While I didn't write an article about it on here, I was thoroughly impressed with the F.E.A.R. 2 demo and can't wait to get my hands on it.  For those who only have a Wii and still want a fun and gory experience, do not worry.  Sega has you covered with the all new House of the Dead: Overkill.  We only hope that they have improved the voice overs from the past games.  That's not all to expect from Sega this week though, for you fans of classics, Sega has created the Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection for the Xbox 360 and PS3.  This is not another Sonic compilation game!  This game includes 40 (THAT'S NO TYPO, FORTY!) classic Genesis games, oh, and did I mention it's only $30?  You want a list?  You got it: 

• Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle
• Alien Storm
• Altered Beast
• Beyond Oasis
• Bonanza Bros.
• Columns
• Comix Zone
• Decap Attack starring Chuck D. Head
• Dr. Robotnik's MBM
• Dynamite Headdy
• Ecco the Dolphin
• Ecco II: The Tides of Time
• E-SWAT
• Fatal Labyrinth
• Flicky
• Gain Ground
• Golden Axe I
• Golden Axe II
• Golden Axe III
• Kid Chameleon
• Phantasy Star II
• Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom
• Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium
• Ristar
• Shining in the Darkness
• Shining Force
• Shining Force 2
• Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master
• Sonic 3D Blast
• Sonic and Knuckles
• Sonic Spinball
• Sonic the Hedgehog
• Sonic the Hedgehog 2
• Sonic the Hedgehog 3
• Streets of Rage
• Streets of Rage 2
• Streets of Rage 3
• Super Thunder Blade
• Vectorman
• Vectorman 2

There are more games than this that will be unlockable as well.  Finally a classic game collection with good games!  But this week isn't the end of it!  Oh no, in two and a half weeks (Feb 27th) Killzone 2 ships out!  Based off the demo (whether you preordered it or downloaded it from the European PSN store), this is going to be a system seller.  The PS3 has had a hard time getting a legitimate system seller like Microsoft's Halo series.  Metal Gear Solid 4 is probably considered its strongest "system seller" at the moment, but a lot more people would go for an fps then a stealth third person action/shooter.  Killzone 2 is a solid shooter with insane graphics (best looking game yet? maybe...) and great action.  If the new multiplayer scheme is a winner, Killzone 2 will be a system seller for sure.  

If that wasn't enough, psp owners will finally get to dust off their fancy little portables come March 3rd when Sega releases Phantasy Star Portable.  The Phantasy Star series has a pretty strong following and his title will hopefully bring some life back into the psp.  It is basically a new and updated version of Phantasy Star Universe with a nice wireless multiplayer feature.  Does Sega stop there?  Nope!  They recently announced Phantasy Star Zero for the Nintendo DS which is a prequel to the hit title Phantasy Star Online that was released years ago for Sega's Dreamcast, then eventually Xbox, Gamecube, and the PC.  No date has been released for that game yet though.  Wii fans not happy with the gory'ness of House of the Dead, well Capcom has you covered with Dead Rising: Chop til you Drop which is coming February 24th.  Also, for you fans of fighters, Feb 17th marks the day of Street Fighter IV for Xbox 360 and PS3.

Also on March 3rd, Halo Wars for Xbox 360.  Microsoft's hit fps goes rts with this prequel to the hit Halo series.  A demo is currently available on XBL.  March 13th brings Capcom's survival horror series Resident Evil back to life with Resident Evil 5.  The demo for that is already out on PSN and XBL for download offering a look at two different levels.  If none of the games mentioned in this article appeal to you, then there's something wrong with you.  In the next month, there's something for everyone coming out.

-CA

Excited for 2009? I know I am!

This year is going to be ridiculous, just as last year was, for video games.  As blu ray takes hold, the PS3 sales are bound to increase, the 360 just keeps getting cheaper and Wii is becoming more and more available.  Titles to look forward to?  Well I thought you'd never ask.  Let's start with the ridiculously popular Wii.  There isn't much that has been announced that is considered a "big title" for the Wii but there are some.  Boom Blox, EA's surprise hit with help from Steven Spielberg, is going to have a sequel out this year.  Will it take the game in a new direction or will it be add ons to the hilarious fun that was the original?  Only time will tell.  There's rumors going around that a new Zelda game is due out this year.  Nintendo is by far the best keeper of secrets in the industry, so we probably won't know for sure until about 2 months before it gets released, but I say it couldn't be a better time for it.  Based off the time frame in which the last few Zelda games were released, this year a release would be following the trend perfectly and the Wii is overdue for the hardcore gamer's big title.  Those titles along with an all new House of the Dead make for, well to be honest, a pretty weak lineup but that is nothing new for the Wii.  I'm hoping at least that the Zelda rumor will be true so I can dust off my Wii and get some all night sessions in like when I got Twilight Princess, Metroid Prime 3, and Mario Galaxy.  The Playstation 3 has some big titles coming out this year including on of its most anticipated hits, Killzone 2.  I hope this doesn't become an over hyped POS like Haze, but it certainly looks good so far.  With more and more Little Big Planet DLC coming out, Gran Turismo 5 is supposed to be finally coming out, and a nice list of PSN titles, the PS3 is looking at a good year ahead.  The Xbox360 is also going to have a good year which in turn would make 2009 an all around great year for consoles.  Exclusive DLC coming to Grand Theft Auto 4 and Fallout 3 on the Xbox 360 gives it a nice boost considering that these two titles consumed the majority of the Game of the Year awards given out for 2008.  This coupled with the fact that is has landed itself a piece of former Playstation exclusive titles such as Tekken and Final Fantasy (which both have new titles coming this year: Tekken 6 and Final Fantasy 13) thing are looking up for Xbox.   The smash hit racer Forza Motorsport is rumored to be released its third installment towards the fall of '09 and is rumored to be boasting 2 discs of content including over 400 cars and over 100 tracks.  The combination of Forza 3 and Gran Turismo 5 being released in the same year will be a huge treat to gear head gamers such as myself.  Let's not leave out the third party titles.  Resident Evil 5 and Skate 2 are big titles coming out right in the beginning of the year.  We know EA is working on a sequel to the Horror hit Dead Space, but whether we will see it this year or next is a mystery.  Bioware is releasing a new KOTOR, though that's PC and not console gaming, and has been working on a sequel to Mass Effect for quite some time now.  Will we see that this year?  I certainly hope so!  Bioshock 2, a sequel to Assassin's Creed, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Dead Rising 2, FEAR 2, Portal 2, and Doom 4 are just a few among the massive list of sequels that we are hoping will come in '09.  If this doesn't get you excited for the year ahead... nothing will.

-CA

Quick Take on the Console War

I could talk forever about video games but there have been some trends that have been going on lately that bug me...  First and foremost would have to be this whole fanboyism thing.  I hatefanboys... A LOT!  They claim that what they like is better than everything else no matter what.  Know who else was a fanboy?  Adolf Hitler!  Think he was right about everything he said?  Definitely NOT!  He thought that blonde hair and blue eyes = supremacy just like video game fanboys think that the xbox 360 or whatever their choice of fanboyism is, is the best.  Well, just like good 'ole Adolf, YOU'RE WRONG!  All of the consoles that are out right now have their pros and cons.  Your Xbox 360 will probably get the "red ring of death" at least once in its lifetime and you will have to buy another if you are out of the warranty life.  Your Playstation 3 will sign you out of thePlaystation Network at least once when you don't want it to, and for no apparent reason at all.  And finally, you will see just how laggyonline play can get when you try to play a Wii game online.  These do not mean that one console is better than the other.  It just means none of them are perfect.  

Let me break down the 3 consoles here for you.  Lets start with the cheapest.  The Nintendo Wii; and you might be thinking, "hey, theWii is $249 and the Xbox 360 arcade is $199.  What gives?"  Well, the fact that the memory included with the Xbox 360 arcade will only allow you to be able to save maybe 1 or 2 games before you have to buy an outrageously priced $100 hard drive is the reason.  I'm just being realistic.  Anyway, back to the Wii; it is by far the most popular console of the 3 and is still difficult to find in stores despite having been released 2 years ago.  I got mine on the release date.  The Wii has no hard drive, but has 512MB of flash memory.  This is more than enough to accommodate for the minuscule save files that the Wii produces.  The problem arises when you start downloading games from the Virtual Console store.  The only saving grace is that you can put the save files on an SD card and delete the games.  Then if you want to play them again you just download them again for free from the Virtual Console store.  The Wii also has built in Wi-Fi.  It is very easy to set up and use though Nintendo uses these things they call "friend codes" so that you can find your friends online.  It's pretty much the least convieneint way of finding friends out of the 3 consoles.  

Now to the Wii's critical point... GAMES.  The a new gamer, the Wiiis a dream come true.  There are tons of games to choose from and  lot of them are very easy to pick up and play.  This is to the hardcore gamer's dismay however because these games are what we call "shovel ware".  Simple pick up and play kind of games where there is no story or anything like that.  You just do what the game tels you over and over again.  Things like Cooking Mama and Wii Fit and Wii Play and other "Wii hit titles" are included in this category.  Then, if you decide that you want to get more into gaming, they have titles for the hardcore gamer as well, though only a few.  Games like Mario Galaxy, Zelda: Twilight Princess, Metroid Prime 3, and others of the sort fit in this category.  The hardcore gamers are pretty much pissed that there are so few games directed towards them so the Xbox and Playstation fanboys cry that the Wii is a "baby system" and they also cry that it doesn't have high definitioncapablilities like their respective consoles do.  While this may be true, it doesn't mean that the Wii is a bad system.  It comes with everything you need to start up and play in the box (including a game: Wii Sports) and even though the graphics might not be as pretty, it doesn't mean the games aren't fun.

Next up is the Xbox 360.  While you can get the console itself for the cheapest price ($199), it remains by far the worst value for the dollar compared to the other 2 consoles.  The Wii is only $50 more and it includes built in wifi.  A Wireless network adapter for the Xbox 360 will run you $100 thus bringing the total up to $299.  The Playstation3 comes with built in wifi, a big hard drive, AND a built in dvd/blu ray player.  The Xbox 360 need at least $100 for a hard drive (unless you buy a used one), then $100 for the wireless network adapter, thus bringing the price to match the Playstation 3 at $399 but you can't play blu ray movies on an Xbox 360!  Only dvds.  This isn't the only thing that makes the Xbox 360 the worst value for the dollar.  In order to play games online you must sign up to the Xbox Live Gold service which costs $50 a year.  The Playstation 3 and Nintendo Wiiboth offer 100% FREE online services.

So right now you might be thinking, how is this console possibly selling well against the Playstation 3 and Nintendo Wii?  Plagued by hardware failures and post-purchase costs...  Well, frankly, it kind of makes up for it.  The Xbox 360 has the largest selection of games, the games are in beautiful high definition, and the fact that you pay for your Xbox Live service only means that you are going to have reliable connections with the least amount of lag out of the 3 consoles.  The Xbox 360 has a massive list of exclusive titles as well as third party hits.  Despite not having a blu ray player, you can still watch movies in hi def via netflix (though other than the trial, you have to pay for that too).  The instant streaming is pretty awesome, I have to say.  The one other post-purchase cost that I will point out is that the controllers use AA batteries (as do the Wii's).

So, as we get to "the most expensive console" the Playstation 3, you're probably wondering what problems it could possibly have to sell worse than these other 2 consoles (because yes it is the worst selling out of the 3).  The answer may actually shock you.  The price is its issue.  Fanboys and others may argue that the price is not its issue but I BEG to differ.  The number of time I heard "that's too expensive" when I used to work at Circuit City or while I was just shopping in  random electronics store is UNREAL!  Yes, it is the most expensive... IN THE BOX.  But you get built in wifi, built in hard drive, and  built in blu ray player (not to mention it has been labeled the best blu ray player on the market several times).  There is no better in the box VALUE than this, yet people still cry that it's too expensive.  It does have problems though.  The console produces  lot of heat (though it rarely overheats), the playstation network isn't exactly reliable with its online connections, and for some reason third party developers like to make the playstation 3 versions of games to a lesser quality than that of the Xbox 360 versions.  Not all of the third party games are better on the Xbox than the playstation, but there are a few that are clearly so.  Also, the playstation 3 doesn't have as big of an exclusive gaming library when compared to the other two as well.  

In the end, you see that all three have their pros and cons, but I just ask that you don't judge based off of fanboy's opinions.  Judge off of your own.  Don't be like Hitler, don't be a fanboy...

-CA

2008 Gamers USA GOTY Awards!

Well folks, they're finally here!  The votes have been tallied and here they are.  After much deliberation between the four of us, we have all settled on the following:

Best Party Game - Scene it? Box Office Smash! (Xbox 360)

Honorable Mention - Boom Blox (Wii)

Best Portable Game - Chrono Trigger (Nintendo DS)

Honorable Mention - God of War: Chains of Olympus (PSP)

Best Music Game - Rock Band 2 (multi)

Honorable Mention - Guitar Hero: World Tour (multi)

Best Downloadable Game (does not include games avail. on disc) - Braid (XBL)

Honorable Mention - N+ (XBL)

Best In-game Environment - Dead Space (multi)

Honorable Mention - Fallout 3 (multi)

Best Fighting Game - Super Smash Brothers Brawl (Wii)

Honorable Mention - Soul Caliber IV (multi)

Best Shooter - Left 4 Dead (Xbox 360)

Honorable Mention - Resistance 2 (PS3) and Gears of War 2 (Xbox 360)

Best RPG - Fallout 3 (multi)

Honorable Mention - Chrono Trigger (Nintendo DS)

Best Horror Game - Dead Space (multi)

Honorable Mention - Silent Hill: Homecoming (multi)

Best Sports Game - Tiger Woods '09 (multi)

Honorable Mention - Skate It (Wii)

Best Racing Game - Burnout Paradise (multi)

Honorable Mention - Midnight Club: Los Angeles (multi)

Best new IP - Dead Space (multi)

Honorable Mention - Little Big Planet (PS3)

Best Sound - Left 4 Dead (Xbox 360)

Honorable Mention - Dead Space (multi)

Best Graphics - Gran Turismo 5: Prologue (PS3)

Honorable Mention - Metal Gear Solid 4 (PS3) and Gears of War 2 (Xbox 360)

Best Downloadable Content - Burnout Paradise (multi)

Most Satisfying Hype - Grand Theft Auto IV (multi)

Most Disappointing Hype - Wii Music (Wii)

Most Malicious Gore - Dead Space (multi)

Honorable Mention - Fallout 3 (multi)

Most Side Stories/Jobs - Fable 2 (Xbox 360)

Honorable Mention - Grand Theft Auto IV (multi) and Fallout 3 (multi)

Game That Left Us Begging For A Sequel - Dead Space (multi)

Honorable Mention - Fallout 3 (multi)

Most Unique Control Scheme - Mirror's Edge (multi)

Most Life-Consuming Game - Fallout 3 (multi)

Honorable Mention - Metal Gear Solid 4 (PS3) and Grand Theft Auto IV (multi)

Highest Replay Value - Fallout 3 (multi)

Best PC Game - World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King

Honorable Mention - Spore

Best Nintendo DS Game - Chrono Trigger

Honorable Mention - Ninjatown

Best PSP Game - God of War: Chains of Olympus

Honorable Mention - Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core

Best Wii Game - Super Smash Brothers Brawl

Honorable Mention - Boom Blox

Best Xbox 360 Game - Fable 2

Honorable Mention - Gears of War 2

Best PS3 Game - Metal Gear Solid 4

Honorable Mention - Little Big Planet

GAME OF THE YEAR HONORABLE MENTION - Grand Theft Auto IV (multi) and Metal Gear Solid 4 (PS3)

GAME OF THE YEAR!

FALLOUT 3 (multi)

After hours of playing and many a sleepless night, this new addition to the Fallout franchise quickly became an instant favorite of all of us here at Gamersusa. The revamp to the franchise was Bethesda's difficult but satisfying task. Doing a good job of rebuilding Interplay's baby, Bethesda has definitely proved itself to, pretty much, the entire industry. Fallout 3 literally starts you off at your character's birth and lets you build yourself from the very beginning. The story does not stop there; Fallout 3, in addition to a main storyline, has many arduous and somtimes hilarious tasks. From finding an old lady her violin to dealing with people who think they're supervillains, there's no end to the outrageous side-tasks. Bethesda has taken a brand new approach to the RPG genre, by mixing action/adventure, RPG, and FPS elements. One of the most noteable being the Vault-Tech Assisted Targeting System (V.A.T.S.), a 'slo-mo' way of meticulously defeating various foes, which lets you pick out parts of the body individually in order to cripple them. With a wide variety of weapons, tools, foodstuffs, and plenty of skill books, Fallout 3 lets you play the way you want to play, which is why it made our Game of the Year. So, in closing, if you haven't played it yet, go buy it!

-gmusa staff

Review: AC/DC Rock Band Track Pack (Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, Wii)

Let me start by say this isn't going to be a normal review because this is not a normal game and thus, will not get a rating.  This is a stand alone track pack (you don't need either Rock Band game to play it) with 18 AC/DC songs (all live).  This game is full of disappointment, BUT THAT DOES NOT MEAN YOU SHOULDN'T GET IT!  (please read whole review before any decision making)  The first disappointment is the price.  $40 ($30 for PS2) for 18 songs?  Give me a break!  Secondly, the game is made on a bare bones version of Rock Band 1.  Everything is exactly the same as Rock Band 1 except there's only 18 songs, they're all AC/DC, the lag calibrating sucks compared to Rock Band 1's, there's only 1 venue to play at, and you can't make customized characters.  Other than these, it is exactly the same: hit or miss hammer ons (they fixed em in Rock Band 2, so why this has them still I'll never know), same menus, even the same loading pages!  

Ok, now to the positive things!  AC/DC rocks!  All of the songs are fun and the fact that they are from live shows gives the game a great environmental feel as far as sound goes.  The game actually has achievements (12) and I'm not sure if the PS3 version has trophies or not.  The game is challenging regardless as to which instument you choose; though the guitar and drums have some pretty intense solos that the bass and vocals can't compare to.  Despite all of the disappointing things about this, I would still recommend it; though not to everyone.  If you love AC/DC, buy it now.  If you just like rock band and aren't too crazy about AC/DC, wait until it goes on sale.  The game's most redeeming factor is that the songs are exportable onto your hard drive to be played on either Rock Band 1 or 2! **It is not an in game option.  There is a code on the back of the instruction book that you have to enter through XBL or PSN.  So don't think you can be slick and just rent the game and copy it onto your hard drive because the code only works once.**  And if you have Rock Band 2, this will rid the pack of all of the disappointing features!  The song list is as follows:

"Thunderstruck"
"Shoot to Thrill"
"Back in Black"
"Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be"
"Heatseeker"
"Fire Your Guns"
"Jailbreak"
"The Jack"
"Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap"
"Moneytalks"
"Hells Bells"
"High Voltage"
"Whole Lotta Rosie"
"You Shook Me All Night Long"
"T.N.T."
"Let There Be Rock”
"Highway To Hell”
"For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)”

This game will be available for the Wii on November 16th ($40).  Final Thought: Get it now if you love AC/DC.  Get it when it goes on sale otherwise.  Oh, and this game is ONLY available at Wal-Mart.

-CA

Preview: Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

Yes, folks, the wait is over. The people at Lucasarts have released the official demo for Star Wars: the Force Unleashed available on XboxLive and Playstation Network. I downloaded it yesterday and played it through, and then I played it through again, and again. It is shaping up to be a powerhouse of a title that will definately satisfy your thirst for a taste of the dark side.

You play a Darth Vader's secret apprentice named Galen Marek (codenamed "Starkiller"). The opening cutscene was especially satisfying. Vader sends you on an assignment and tells you to kill everything, Rebels and Imperials alike; you are not to be discovered and nothing will stand in the way of completing your mission. The game takes place between Episode III and IV, during the great Jedi purge ordered by Emperor Palpatine. You're pretty much responsible for seeking out and destroying any Jedi throughout the galaxy.

Keeping in mind that this was a demo, it looked good. The graphics when performing Force moves were especially unique and showed little details in the attributes of each move being performed. The controls could be a little tighter, though. It got a little awkward performing one move after another and I sometimes ended up just button-mashing to clear a room full of enemies. It seems, though, that once you get used to the controls, learn the combos, and master force-moves, you could probably unleash some pretty viscious attacks. The gameplay reminded me of the God of War series, with combos and powerups and also little button-sequenced boss fights. That being my only complaint, i was very satisfied with Force Unleashed. I think the Star Wars franchise needs something like this to appeal to the older gamers, plus I'm tired of playing as the good guys.

In conclusion, when this game hits store shelves on September 16th, I'll be one of the first to pick it up and I think you should too. Look for the full review of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed later in September.

Thanks for reading and may the force be with you.

-JD

Wii Fit review

 

What's there to say about Wii Fit that hasn’t been said before? Honestly, even grandparents know about the freaking thing.

Quick refresher if you don’t already know, Wii Fit is for the Nintendo Wii. It essentially has a balance board, which is ridiculously accurate, you may curse that you bought it.

Wii Fit is essentially a bunch of mini games, much like Wii Sports. Except all of these are designed with fitness in mind. Most of these got me sweating quite a bit. But I never exercise. I think most of the mini games that are here are good enough for most couch potatoes to get their blood flowing and to stop getting atrophy.

The problem with Wii Fit being a bunch of mini games is that if you would really like to use this for your primary source of exercise, is that it will annoy you trying to get a good workout going. And what I mean by that is, after every exercise, you will have to fiddle with the menus and get to your next routine. You cannot set up a “play list” of different mini-games, and just keep going.

The graphics in Wii Fit are very much identical to Wii Sports, so you will get no frills, Miis all over the place graphics. Not that's a bad thing. It fits with Nintendo’s whole vibe they are going with for this console. The only deviation you will get from this is when you do the real exercise training. You will get to choose from a male or female trainer. Both of which have NEVER seen, looked at, or touched a sun ray. But the thing is, viewing them makes it easy to see how to do an exercise correctly, so mission accomplished. Again, Wii Fit is not about wowing you with the graphics, unlike other games.

The sound is your usual no frills but strangely appropriate sounds. From the “Starting up” little girl voice, to the drum roll when obtaining your “Wii Fit Age” for the day, the game isn’t going to wow your ears with sound. The music is catchy but all together generic. Lets be honest, the whole point of this game is the balance board.

Now to the real reason this game is selling as fast as the Wii system itself, the balance board. Now Nintendo has had its fair share of useless peripherals. But this one really works. I its fun. As fun as the console that it came with is. It is so responsive, I could have sworn there was a fault line under my house, but I am wrong about that. I shouldn’t play this while strung out on coffee. Seriously, you lean forward it knows it. You lean right it knows it. You put a foot on the floor, it kind of knows it. This is a sold piece of equipment. It should be, its essentially 4 scales in one unit. So yes, Wii Fit knows how fat you are, up to 330lbs.

So the big question is, do you buy Wii Fit. For me the answer was a solid yes. I need to start exercising, I like video games, I hate gyms. I win. I mean, who is going to tell me I have a high score at push ups at a gym? No one! I need points, I grew up with them, so this satisfies that want and need. Is it going to end up collecting dust in my closet in a month, hopefully not but I think with most people it will.

For my review I will give Wii Fit a 4, simple because again Nintendo is creative and crazy enough to try something so weird, and it works. The balance board is innovate, not as much as the Wii Controller itself, but still amazing. I am just hoping Skate on Wii uses it.

Super Smash Brother Brawl Snake Codec videos

IGN.com has posted some great videos of Snake's codec taunt on their website. The video below is of their favorites. However they have video for every character that Snake can encounter. This includes himself. My personal favorite one is Mr. Game & Watch.

Double Review: Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Well folks, here it is. After almost a week of constant smashing and brawling, I think it's time to give you my insight on the new Super Smash Bros. Brawl. There's so much stuff in this game that it might break your Wii (literally). But seriously; Nintendo and the good people over at Sora Inc. brought us what we wanted. With an all new, ridiculously long adventure mode called The Subspace Emissary, you get a chance to play with almost every character in the game. Its very different than the adventure mode in Melee, where there are actually cutscenes that, surprisingly, look really good on the old 480p console. The story pretty much follows all the good guy characters in their quest to prevent their friends from being turned into trophies and hauled off by Bowser, King Dedede, Wario, or Ganondorf as, well, trophies. Along the way you meet allies such as Snake, Zero Suit Samus, Lucario, and Ike who help you defeat the before mentioned bad guys. But don't worry, you get to use all the other classic characters as the story progresses.

Now, the game pretty much plays the same as Melee. Because you can use the controllers from Nintendo Gamecube on this version, the buttons are laid out the same. You're also given three other control options: Wii remote held sideways, Wii remote and Nunchuk, and Classic Controller. One of the cool things, when using the Gamecube controller, is you can now use the C-stick smash moves in all modes, not just versus; which was pretty cool considering that was pretty much all I used and was most effective. Also, there seem to be less clones in this version, which means more unique fighters.

Assist Trophies is another cool thing added to Brawl. During the game they come up just like any other items except they fight for you for just a few seconds; I gotta say my favorite is probably Gray Fox from Metal Gear Solid. Nothing says 'you've been pwned' like a little ninja following you around the stage waiting for the perfect chance to hack you into pieces.

There are also all-new stages reminiscent of the new characters, and variations/sequels of the Melee stages. Snake has Shadow Moses Island, Link has a new stage from Twilight Princess: The Bridge of Eldin. There are also several new Metroid stages and also a Mario Kart stage where shy-guys race around at high speed and pummel you if you don't watch out.

The final smashes have got to be the coolest new addition to the franchise. Each character has their own, unique finisher that is uber-powerful. The only way to acquire this finisher is when the smash ball randomly appears on the stage. Its pretty much a blue smash symbol that floats around annoyingly until someone inflicts enough damage upon it to break it and unleash fury. I gotta tell you, its pretty funny when you're in the middle of a four player brawl and that floating smash symbol comes out. It's like the opponents don't exist anymore. Everybody tries to break it at once, and most of the time fall off the stage because they're not paying attention. It's hilarious.

Here's one little con. I was a little disappointed in the little things that were different; for instance: Samus. Samus' down-B is morph ball mines. Now, in Melee you are able to infinitely stay in the air by using these mines because they explode as soon as you expel them causing you to shoot up ward a bit while taking damage, therefore making for a fast recovery. In Brawl, it take a lot longer for the mines to explode, which threw me off completely. But I guess they put that in there because too many people were being cheap with Samus. Now if they could work on Pikachu's down-B.....

Honestly, what was mentioned above, was pretty much the only thing I didn't like about the game, and even that is really nothing that would hurt the score at all. Overall Brawl gets a 9.8 for the simple fact that not much changed; its still as fun as the previous titles, it never really gets old or boring, its a great party or solo game, and, hey, its Nintendo. I would pick this one up as soon as possible; just don't get the Prima player's guide, wait for the Nintendo Power version. Its not a mistake you want to make.

9.8/10

Thanks for Reading
-JD

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This is our first double review. There will be more in the future, its basically a game that gets reviewed by two of us, big deal right? Anyway, I'm going to try and not touch on the same things as Josh. One thing I noticed after a week of pounding away at this game is that it blows all other fighting games out of the water. It may not be super violent or have fatalities, but it has everything else. 35 Characters, and some of those 35 have 2 characters within (i.e. zelda/shiek). Not only that but there are an obscene amount of stages and all bring such a different effect to what happens through the battle that it never really gets old. The reason I say it blows all other fighters out of the water is because there is no other fighter that you can play for 3 hours straight and still not be bored to death. I love this game.

The character list has been greatly improved but not only that, but even the clone characters are different. Unlike in Melee where Fox and Falco had nearly the same exact moves, they're actually a little different now. To the point where it's noticeable. A lot of the "cheap factor" has been removed from characters to. Samus can't be cheap with the bomb jump, and unlike what Josh said, I think they somewhat remedied pikachu's thunderbolt because of how so many of the stages have upper levels to block the lightning out.

There are multiple ways to unlock all of the characters, which is always good. I took what I felt was the easy route and had them all join me in the adventure mode "subspace emissary". The adventure mode is actually quite good, unlike what some might expect. It's also quite long too. I finished it today actually with the game timer at 6:07 but I need to figure out what is left for me to do because it says 91% complete. I also unlocked the final remaining characters today so I finally have the full cast. All of the characters have their strengths and weaknesses, so there isn't really a dominant character. The dominance factor comes from the individual being able to make up for and hide those weaknesses.

Apart from the usual brawls and SSE modes, the all star mode makes its return from melee and a new mode called boss mode. All-star mode is just like the one from melee, and I haven't gotten around to playing through boss mode yet. There is also a plethora of event matches (41 single player and they even have multiplayer ones now). Stadium mode has the return of home run derby, target practice, and the new training mode. The home run contest can now be done with 2 players as well. The SSE can also be done in 2 players (forgot to mention that earlier).

In the end, the game is phenomenal. The graphics are gorgeous and all elements of gameplay are fun and easy to use, I love it. I also give Super Smash Brother: Brawl a 9.8 out of 10.

9.8/10

-CA

News: Smash Bros Brawl Issues

Yesterday, Super Smash Brothers Brawl was released in the US and many people bought the game excitedly only to come home and have their excitement flushed down the toilet by a disc read error. Nintendo says that this is not a defect of the disc, but they claim that because the game was made on a high capacity dual layer disc if your Wii's laser that reads the disc is dirty, you will get this error. Nintendo says if you contact them here: http://www.nintendo.com/consumer/repair/repair_form_us_ssbb.jsp and fill out the form, you will send in your Wii and they will clean it (free of charge). Nintendo asks that you do not try to clean it yourself because you are likely to damage your Wii and not to return the disc as it will not correct the problem.

-CA

Super Smash Bros. Brawl Is Almost Here!

Super Smash Bros. Brawl comes out this Sunday (March 9th). In anticipation, I thought I'd give you a run through of the character list and what their Final Smash is. First up: the veteran fighters returning from Melee.

Mario
Mario Bros. Series
Final Smash: Mario Finale

Link
Legend of Zelda Series
Final Smash: Triforce Slash

Kirby
Kirby Series
Final Smash: Cook Kirby

Pikachu
Pokemon Series
Final Smash: Volt Tackle

Fox McCloud
StarFox Series
Final Smash: Landmaster

Samus Aran
Metroid Series
Final Smash: Zero Laser (Turning Her Into Zero Suit Samus)

Princess Zelda
Legend of Zelda Series
Final Smash: Light Arrow

Bowser
Mario Bros. Series
Final Smash: Giga Bowser

DK (Donkey Kong)
Donkey Kong Series
Final Smash: Konga Beat

Yoshi
Mario Bros. Series
Final Smash: Super Dragon

Princess Peach
Marios Bros. Series
Final Smash: Peach Blossom

Ice Climbers
Ice Climbers Series
Final Smash: Iceberg

Sheik
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Final Smash: Light Arrow

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Next up: the newcomers joining the fray (some serious competition):

Pit
Kid Icarus
Final Smash: Palutena's Army

Wario
Warioware Series
Final Smash: Wario-Man

Zero Suit Samus
Metroid Series
Final Smash: Power Suit Samus

Ike
Fire Emblem Series
Final Smash: Great Aether

Pokemon Trainer
Pokemon Diamond/Pearl
Final Smash: Triple Finish

Diddy Kong
Donkey Kong Series
Final Smash: Rocketbarrel Barrage

Meta Knight
Kirby Series
Final Smash: Galaxia Darkness

Solid Snake
Metal Gear Series
Final Smash: Grenade Launcher

Lucas
Mother 3 (Japan Only)
Final Smash: PK Starstorm

Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic the Hedgehog Series
Final Smash: Super Sonic

King Dedede
Kirby Series
Final Smash: Waddle Dee Army

Pikmin and Olimar
Pikmin
Final Smash: End of Day

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Nintendo and HAL Labs decided to include several secret characters in this installment of the series. Some are brand new, others, veteran fighters. But it goes without question, these guys will be tough to beat.

Ness
Earthbound Series
Final Smash: PK Starstorm

Marth
Fire Emblem Series
Final Smash: Critical Hit

Luigi
Mario Bros. Series
Final Smash: Negative Zone

Falco
StarFox Series
Final Smash: Landmaster

Captain Falcon
F-Zero Series
Final Smash: Blue Falcon

Lucario
Pokemon Series
Final Smash: Aura Storm

R.O.B (Robotic Operating Buddy)
Bundled with Original NES System
Final Smash: Diffusion Beam

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Unfortunately, this list is not complete. It is missing about 5 characters: Toon Link, Ganondorf, Mr. Game and Watch, Jigglypuff, and Wolf. These characters have not yet been announced on Sora LTD's official SSBB website, smashbros.com. You can go to this website for details about every aspect of the game.

I for one can't wait for this game to come out. Yes, I pre-ordered it and will be at the store when it opens. If I know Nintendo and HAL Labs, SSBB will score pretty high when we review it next week.

Thanks for reading
-JD

Review: Lego Star Wars: Complete Saga (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PC, DS)

Ah, yes. The latest installment of the Lego Star Wars series. I figured I would give this a review in light of the upcoming Lego Batman and Lego Indiana Jones games. I'll start off with the console version, whereas I have the PS3 version. I had Lego Star Wars 1 for Gamecube and Lego Star Wars 2 for Xbox 360, so I pretty much thought I knew exactly what I was going to get. It was a matter of whether or not it would live up to what I expected. I thought I was going to get a polished version of both games with a few extras. Well, it did, more so than I even expected!

The graphics are as good as they are going to get for a Lego game, which is fantastic. You literally look like little legos running around (except they're a little more flexible than real legos). The music and sounds are straight from the movies and 100% perfect. Apart from the old versions, there are a few more characters, a few extra 'extras', and even a few extra'ish levels. But the fun doesn't stop there.

In Lego Star Wars, you start off in what I will call, for lack of better words, the overworld. It's nothing like an overworld in most games but it is where you choose what episode and chapter you will play. But it is free roaming and such like an overworld area. Well, I found that there was so much fun that you could have in this little overworld area. (see pic below)

That is a picture I took with my camera of my TV (which explains the odd look to the picture), and I took this picture because of how ridiculous I thought this was (in a funny way). You don't just walk outside and there's a race track and go-kart thing, you have to do a few things to get them there, but this is one of the things I love about the Lego Star Wars series. Random stuff thrown in to make pure hilarious fun. The game is simple and fun, with plenty of game modes (including a new challenge mode for each stage), you won't get bored easily. The controls are great and easy, though the flying levels are still a little awkward. I give the console versions an 8 out of 10.

8/10

Now in the DS version, you obviously expect a downgrade in graphics and sound because the DS is not a powerhouse system. The graphics are quite superb for it being on the DS though. The screenshots your see from here on are actually from the DS version.

To be honest, there isn't too much different in the DS version from the console versions. There are the obvious shortcomings due to lack of storage space on the DS cart. Less levels, different sometimes shorter levels, not as many extras or characters, and it was semi side-scroller in play. But that doesn't make it much worse of a game at all. It is definitely a great portable edition of the series.

The only thing that really bothered me about the DS version is the cutscenes. They were basically stop-motion animation. A bunch of still images spliced together, they are so annoying to watch. They almost take the humor out of the cutscenes. The controls are the same as the console versions except for a few touch add ins (some you don't need to use). Now that isn't to say that the DS version is completely lacking. It has many extras that the consoles don't have. Quite a few mini games, most which utilize the touch screen. You can definitely tell that the game was built from the ground up for DS and not horribly ported. The game is great and if you like Star Wars, you'll like this game. I'm going to give the DS version a 7 out of 10.

7/10

-CA

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