Dragon Ball Online Trailer

I heard about this years ago, but I never thought it would ever make it out production hell. I guess things finally came together.

So... umm... watch your back World of Warcraft? Yeah...

inFamous Impressions

Wow, it has been a long time since I last reviewed a game! Maybe this is as good a time as any to get back on the horse, hmm? And what better game to start back with than the superpower themed, Sucker Punch Productions developed, PS3 exclusive inFamous?

The Plus: Firstly, and most importantly seeing as this is a sandbox style game, the attention to detail around the city is simply amazing. You won't find a cluster of similarly designed buildings in this game. Everything looks unique to its specific location. Alongside this, all of the citizens of Empire City are just as unique and Sucker Punch drafted a host of voice actors to bring each of them to life. I'm not saying any one of them deserve specific names or anything, but you won't get the same droning phrases over and over again. Secondly, the karma system not only serves to add to gameplay time, but gives the player a distinctly unique experience depending on if they are "good" or "evil." This isn't a game that you will be able to just play through once and toss. Thirdly, the powers that Cole (the main character) acquires during the game are comfortably diverse and fairly spectacular. Whether you're electric grinding across a telephone wire or calling forth a lightning storm you will be enjoying every second of it. Fourthly, the voice acting in this game is nothing short of movie quality. Maybe that's why they have a film in the pipeline already? Fifthly, and finally, the game's plot definitely won't bore you. I'm not calling it a masterpiece or anything, but you will definitely feel a connection to what you're doing.

The Minus: First, and kind of ironically, the ending. Sure, it kind of makes sense, but it just wasn't all that satisfying. It does a good job of setting up for a sequel, but I really expected a bit more. Second, the glitches. There wasn't anything too crazy in this respect, but you will phase through the occasional overhang or get shot yards straight into the air when climbing the occasional ledge. Third, the stunts. Sure, I know they don't sound so intimidating when I talk about them here, but you will spend hours trying to get all twenty-one. I promise you. Fourth, and finally, the area-clearing. As you complete missions in the game, you take small portions of the city back from the gangs that have taken over. Now, this is all well and good, but because most of the enemies leave the areas you have taken back there becomes increasingly fewer things to do as you traverse the city. It's kind of like you're slowly shutting down the game.

So there you are, my review of inFamous. I am awarding the game 4 stars out of 5 for being nearly perfect with the occasional hiccup and I definitely recommend it as a buy to any PS3 owner. I hope to play Prototype, what is considered to be inFamous' lower reviewed rival, as soon as I can so that I can review it as well and do a comparison.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine Intro/Gameplay

Normally, I wouldn't bother posting a trailer for a game like this. What makes this occasion different, however, is the fact that this trailer look better than anything I saw in the entire movie! Just wow, okay. Where was all of this?

Oh, and I am not talking about the leveling mechanic. That's just stupid.

MvC2 Finally "Announced" For PSN and XBLA

Today, Marvel and Capcom finally decided to officially announce a new release of Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes for the Playstation Network and the Xbox Live Arcade. I say officially here because there have been rumors posted all over the internet for months now about the release, but for those loyal fans who were watching the countdown on tu4ar.com the announcement was especially exciting because the moment the clock hit zero the lyrics to a song from the original release played and then a link opened up to the trailer shown above. I was watching 24 at the time and forgot about the site, but my friend reminded me through a slightly hilarious text message.

Anyway, the game is set to include an online multi-player mode and has the current release date of Summer 2009. The price for the download will be $15 on the PSN and 1200 Microsoft Points on the XBLA. A playable demo is set to drop on the PSN on April 30th and no XBLA demo has been announced as of yet. (Though it would only be fair if they never get a demo because the PSN never got a demo for Street Fighter 2 HD Remix).

The Next Zelda Game Will Have Cars?

So Nintendo has finally done it. They have finally given in to the GTA craze. Today, our favorite game developer released a statement saying that the next Wii Zelda title will switch out horses and carriages for cars and trucks. What are they thinking?! There is no possible way that this will work! Do they have any idea how many fans love the "medieval-esque" setting of the series?! This move is really just another money grab. E tu Nintendo? E tu?

New Zelda DS Game Trailer

Before I get into anything else (as you can see I added "Rant" to the tag list), I want you to know that this trailer upsets me. The very idea of trains in this game upsets me. Now I have been a huge Zelda fan since A Link To The Past and I haven't been too disappointed in the series since then (sans Majora's Mask of course). The previous Zelda game, entitled The Phantom Hourglass, was fairly enjoyable even if it was a bit weak in comparison to most Zelda games (yet again, sans Majora's Mask).

But this is just getting stupid! Trains?! Really? They saw that people somewhat liked the shallow boat idea from Phantom Hourglass so now they are going to use the same idea but this time with trains? What's next, planes? Cars? Instead of coming up with a new theme they are just taking the last one and warping it a little bit. At this rate Zelda is going to be in the same boat as the Sonic series...

Other than that... oh, just watch it already!

A "Veritable Storm" of Valkyrie Profile Contests

Image Property Of: Scott Ramsoomair of vgcats.com
Text Property Of: Me!

Square-Enix is kicking their marketing campaign for the new Valkyrie Profile DS title, due for release March 17th here in the U.S., up a notch by offering contests through some of your favorite websites. What's up for grabs? Well, the winner of each respective contest will be rewarded with a copy of the game signed by key staff members (the chief director of Square-Enix, the director of the game, and the game's writer), a copy of the game's soundtrack signed by Motoi Sakuraba (a HUGELY famous game, tv, etc. composer), and a poster signed by the key staff members I mentioned earlier.

The requirements for winning vary from site to site, I have done three so far (the top image is for the vgcats one), and I would be interested to know if you guys find any more. I'll post the links for the ones that I have done at the bottom of this post and good luck to anyone who enters. I mean, the more people who enter the better my win will look on paper, right? Haha...

Vgcats Contest
Nuklear Power Contest (Look near the bottom of the page)
Kotaku Contest

Our First Taste Of Dragon Ball Evolution: The Movie: The Game

I will admit, it doesn't look nearly as bad as I thought it was going to look. It still looks bad, mind you, but not as bad. The characters are still amazingly ugly though. I couldn't even tell " Roshi" (this guy doesn't deserve being called Master Roshi) was fighting Piccolo until I looked up at the name. And even then I barely saw the connection. Ah well, at least it will be contained to the PSP... for now. For now.

Dragon Ball Evolution: The Movie: The Game

No, you read that right. The highly anticipated film Dragon Ball Evolution will be accompanied by a video game. A real video game. Luckily (or unluckily depending on your situation) for some of you, the game is only being released on the PSP so the damage is relatively low. I believe this to be a good thing seeing as the game looks about as generic as they come nowadays. I mean seriously, why make a fighter? With an action game they could have at least stood a small chance. No one is going to bother with a movie-based fighter... let alone one based off of what is sure to be a crappy movie.

Thanks to kotaku.com for the title image. For more, click here!

Prince Of Persia Impressions

My list of "beats" has drastically increased since I procured a Playstation 3 of my own a few months ago, but I have yet to actually review any of those games. Well now that school is over for the moment I can finally get to it, and what better to start off with than one of this Winter's most anticipated games: Prince of Persia.

The Plus: Firstly, this game is beautiful. The characters, the environment, everything. You will find yourself swiveling the camera around in every new area just to try to take it all in. I know I did. Secondly, the area designs are amazingly well done. The previous Prince of Persia games all had decent level designs, but none of them were as open and creative as the ones you will see in this iteration. This is a very good point for the game as you will find yourself traversing the same areas over and over again in an attempt to collect the world's many light seeds. Thirdly, the musical score is extremely well done, and fitting. This is a major change in the face of the last two games as they had us listening to either overly dramatic rock, or terribly messy mixtures of traditional Arabian music and... more rock. In Prince of Persia the music really fits the environments quite well. It's not overdone at all and it is actually quite epic. You really get that "lost civilization" feel while you're jumping from beam to beam and climbing up and down conveniently viney walls. Fourthly, and finally, are the trophy/achievement systems. This is one of the first games where I believe the little challenges are completely necessary as this game only sports one difficulty, and I really don't think I would be playing it again if it weren't for these little "rewards." Instant replay value.

The Minus: As great as I would like to claim this game to be, Ubisoft made quite a number of mistakes in this newest Prince of Persia addition. Firstly, a lot of the dialogue is quite terrible. The voices are decent, but you will find yourself having to listen to the Prince and Elika droll on so much that it really makes you just want to mute the game all-together and just read the subtitles. I mean for goodness sake, they play a game of I Spy at one point! Secondly, there is no game over screen to be found in this game. When you are about to fall to your death (which happens quite often) or an enemy or boss is about to decapitate you, Elika just uses her magic to save you. Now I am fine with this being outside of boss or enemy fights since the time reversal mechanic is gone, but they could have at least allowed for game overs in said fights. I mean, it is kind of sad that you can leave during a fight with the game unpaused and come back with everything being just like it was. Thirdly, the combat was way too simple. If you force an enemy to a wall or a ledge the game automatically goes into a cut scene where you either oneshot the enemy (for normal battles) or go into a button-mashing QTE (for bosses). This really becomes a hindrance when you try to pull off the big combos. Fourth...ly(?), the mechanics are frustratingly off kilter. You will make so many bad jumps and catches that your head will literally explode. Seriously, it took the doctors over thirty hours of surgery to put my roommate's back together. I was lucky enough to be wearing a toboggan at the time so it didn't take nearly as long for me.

So there you have it, my seventy-five cents. I am awarding Prince of Persia 3.5 stars out of 5 for being so much fun and oh so pretty, but for still needing a lot of work. I am very much looking forward to the next installment.

Free Games Anyone?

Newgrounds.com has always been a good place to go when you're bored in class, at home, or well anywhere. It has long been a safe haven for small time developers to put up their games and movies for the all time low price of not a penny. The downside with anyone being able to upload anything, however, is that you will of course stumble on to your fair share of complete garbage. Well if you're like me and are not interested in getting your hands dirty, here are two games that I have had quite a bit a fun with in the back of Dr. Kennedy's Intro to International Affairs lecture.

Here's a quick note though: Meat Boy is extremely difficult. I mean extremely. If you choose to play it in a public place, then be sure to keep a handle on that temper of yours. You know who you are.

Meat Boy

Hunted Forever

Nintendo: Unleashed

My thanks to kotaku.com for the coverage of the event.

Pardon the cheesy title, but for all of you who have been following Nintendo's Fall Press Conference, it really shouldn't surprise you that I am quite excited. Nintendo decided to hold their own conference this year in light of the fact that they wouldn't be attending TGS next week. I couldn't really care less because what they revealed at the conference was about two to three steps past amazing. Aside from the huge number of games that would be coming to both the DS and the Wii in the upcoming year, Nintendo officially announced their new version of the DS, the DSi.



I know what you're thinking, "why do we need a new DS? I just bought my Lite!!" Well, the DSi will feature a built in camera, an internet browser, a DSiware "channel", an SD slot (which peaks my interest because I know this feature will be exploited in a matter of days), and two 17% larger screens (they are dropping the GBA slot) among other things. As of now, Nintendo has no plans of bringing the DSi to the states until later 2009 (whatever that means), but Japan is expected to get the new handheld November 1st. Yes, this upcoming November 1st. It's insane.

Also in big news, Nintendo has finally decided to grant us Americans access into their "rewards" program appropriately titled Club Nintendo. Yes, you'll finally be able to take all those cool Nintendo surveys, and register all of your awesome Nintendo products to collect points that will eventually net you "premium" items. All I can say to this announcement is that it is about damn time. Hell, South Africa got access before we did. South Africa.

Anyways, because Kotaku has been awesome enough to provide coverage of the event, I will provide you with links relating to everything I talked about and more. That's right, I am going to extreme lengths to link other sites to text on my own. Yeah, you're welcome.

*Note: The links with asterisks at the end are videos. You should really see them because a lot of the upcoming games look really cool. I only hope that all of them are bound for non-Japanese shores as well.

DSi News

• Nintendo Announces New DS: The Nintendo DSi
  
• First Look At New Nintendo DSi in Action************
• DSi To Hit Europe in Spring 2009
• Let's Compare the DS Lite and the DSi
• Could the DSi Encourage Piracy?
• DSi Not Bound For U.S. Until Well Into Next Year
• Get A Good, Close Look At The DSi
• Close Up With The DSi (Alright, Who's Buying?)
• More About DSi Camera, DSi Sound
  

General Nintendo And Wii News

• Save Wii Games Direct To SD Card
• Nintendo's New Wii Games
• Nintendo Re-Releasing Gamecube Games On Wii
• Club Nintendo Finally Coming Stateside
• Wii Speak Channel Coming Next Month
• Nintendo Promises Increased Wii and DS Supply For The Holidays
• Japan, This Is Your Wii Line Up***********
  

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune Impressions

Wow it has been a while since I last did an "Impressions" post. Well, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune for the PS3 is a good enough game to break that dry spell with.

I'll begin by saying that I had no intention of playing this game. My new roommate owned it and it looked like an easy time killer. Though during the duration of the game I quickly realized that I was very, very, wrong. Drake's Fortune was not by any means and easy time killer. It was a very difficult time killer. And by very difficult I mean pull your hair out difficult. There were seriously points in this game where I felt like I was walking to my death every time I stepped around a corner. And I was playing on Normal. It was just that much of a ball buster.

That being said, I found this game's difficulty to be it's best point. The challenge it presented was all that really kept me playing. The graphics were what I expected from a PS3 game. Lush environments and well designed mechanics. The game play basically ran like Prince of Persia mixed with Tomb Raider with better voice acting and dialogue than both. (I think they picked up real actors for this one instead of just random interns we usually see in games) You scale conveniently cracked walls and buildings, solve simple puzzles, and shoot hordes of enemies. The story was entertaining enough but it was really just your run of the mill "treasure hunters" plot line filled to the brim with mercenaries, bad puns, car chases, Nazis, evil British old guys, and lots of explosions. Not that any of that stuff is bad, well I'm not too big on bad puns, it's just that the game didn't score too many points in originality.

The real marvel of this game comes to you in the collecting of treasure, 60 hidden trinkets scattered throughout the entirety of the game, and the enemy AI. Seriously, the enemies in this game were amazing. They could set up ambushes, dodge out of the way when you shot at them, take cover and pop out to shoot, and toss grenades that will land at your feet no matter where you are. Not to mention they had the aiming abilities of gods. If you are in their line of sight then they will hit you. Hell, sometimes they'll even hit you if you're not in their line of sight.

So even though your death count will hit somewhere in the hundreds, I know mine did, Drake's Fortune will thrill and chill you to the very end. Though the story and game play could have been a bit more original. I give Uncharted: Drake's Fortune 3.5 stars out of 5 for it's great voice-acting and challenging situations.

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns Of The Patriots Impressions [Minor Spoilers]

I believe this day marks the first time in my entire life that I just did not know how to start writing something. Seriously, there is just so much that can be said right now that I am truly at a loss. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns Of The Patriots is without a doubt the best game I have ever had the privilege of playing. It was released on June 12, 2008 and it is the final installment of the Metal Gear Solid series.

I have been a fan of this series since I played Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes when it released back in 2004 for the Nintendo Gamecube. I was hooked. I honestly played that game a total of nine times consecutively. When I finally got my hands on a Playstation 2, I eagerly devoured Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons Of Liberty, and after about seven months or so of waiting, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. The coolest thing about playing this series is realizing that every game in it is better than the last, which was perfect in its own right. It boggles my mind to think that someone came up with this enormous complex storyline and was able to map it out so beautifully. Hideo Kojima is that someone. He is a genius. But putting all that aside, I will get to the part everyone is waiting for: the review of this wonderful masterpiece of a game.

The game takes place five years after the "Big Shell Incident" which comprised Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons Of Liberty. The world is now driven by what is called the "war economy." I won't go too deeply into it, but as the name suggests, it is an economy driven completely by war. Hundreds upon hundreds of "proxy" battles fought by mercenary troops. The game starts off in the Middle East where you find yourself playing as a much older Solid Snake. (No, I am not going into why he has aged so drastically in the nine years since the first game.) He has been plunged into a heated battle between rebels of the region and mercenary troops, called PMCs, in the hopes of tracking down a "certain man." Unlike the previous games, however, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns Of The Patriots is not limited to one area as you will find yourself at various locales all over the globe. So look forward to drastic changes in scenery ranging from the dry deserts of the Middle East to the dank streets of Eastern Europe.

Guns Of The Patriots will bring back a host of familiar faces from the previous three titles as well as a crew of new and memorable characters. The bosses, as well, are some of the most imaginative characters I have ever seen. Even more so than Metal Gear Solid 3, though in Guns Of The Patriots they are not nearly as challenging as the bosses from the other three titles. The game, being made in a fan oriented mindset, will reveal every secret and pull out every twist imaginable before the credits roll. At times you will be so caught up in the moment that you actually scream at your television. I know I did. At one point during the game's epilogue I actually pushed my chair back and gave a genuine and heart-felt salute. Seriously, there are points in this game that are so emotional that you will want to cry and times so humorous that you can't help but laugh. Not to mention the game's final battle is that of legend. Legend. I don't think I have ever seen a more cinematic fight in my entire life. On that note, the game's soundtrack is even better than that of the other games, and that is saying a lot. Seriously, if you don't download it afterward then you must have played the entire game on mute.

For the most part, this game controls the same as the three previous titles. This is good as many games make the mistake of attempting to change the game play in a way that alienates veteran players. The only thing is, in the case of the Metal Gear Solid series, that each game adds a slight twist to its style and Guns Of The Patriots is no different. This final installment builds off of the camouflage system created in Metal Gear Solid 3 and takes it to a whole new level. Snake is given the Octo-camo suit, special clothing that takes the pattern of whatever surface the Snake is resting on if he stays still for a few seconds, which allows him to essentially hide himself at all times. He can still be spotted, of course, but this makes it much more interesting as Snake now has the possibility of avoiding detection even if the enemy is mere inches away from him. Guns Of The Patriots also adds a point system that allows Snake to purchase guns, ammunition, and special items at any point in the game as well as a weapon recovery system that allows him to use weapons he picks up from enemy soldiers. This is a drastic change as all of the other games had a somewhat limited number of weapons and only minor customization options.

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns Of The Patriots is a masterpiece. Plain and simple. It is better than any game, book, or movie than I have ever played, read, or watched. Not only does it have an amazing plot, and game play, but it really feels like it was made just for the fans. It makes so many connections to the past games that only someone who had played them could fully understand the scope of what they were experiencing. It is so deep and intricate that it is almost scary. Actually, it is scary. In the years I waited for this game, I feared that the story wouldn't wrap up nicely and I was angry that this would be last chapter. Both of these were ungrounded, however, as the game ties everything together perfectly and it was revealed that there would be more Metal Gear games, but that this was Snake and co.'s final mission. I will miss each and every one of them. I went through my first play through on the normal difficulty, as usual, which leaves hard and extreme for me to complete now. I can't wait to play them and watch each and every cutscene again.

I award Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns Of The Patriots for the Playstation 3 not only a perfect 5 out of 5, but its rightful place as my #1 favorite game of all time. Well played Mr. Kojima. Well played. *salutes*

The World Ends With You Impressions [Minor Spoilers]

So, after a few weeks, I was finally able to finish The World Ends With You, or It's A Wonderful World if you are playing the Japanese version. I started it after I finished Hotel Dusk, and I was hooked! It's the first DS game since Pokemon that I've been able to say that about. There is even a quite lengthy after-game that allows you to unlock secret "reports" that give you a deeper insight into what was going on behind the scenes of the main story.

Anyhow, I could see how people would think it appealed to the "emo" crowd, Neku is as emo as can be when the game starts, but it really doesn't focus on that. It focuses more on the "urban" lifestyle of Japanese youth living in Shibuya. The plot is a bit confusing at first, but when the first twist is dropped you'll never want to put the game down until you've beaten it.

My absolute favorite part of the game, however, is its flexibility. What enemies you face and how you face them is completely up to you. You can even adjust your level to increase/decrease the drop rate, though this is mainly for pin collection as harder enemies drop better pins.

Pins are what you use in the game to defend yourself with. They are what makes the game so deep as each pin has its own special stats and ways to use it. Such as one pin may allow you to do a double slash attack by slashing an enemy with the stylus, while another pin allows you to do a double slash by blowing into the mic. The two pins are basically the same, it just depends on your play style as to which one you choose.

Going back to the "urban" style of the game. Scattered across the city are various stores that sell both name brand and unbranded prducts, clothes and accessories. Certain brands are more popular or less popular in certain areas of the city, which can effect your stats or your pins in different ways. Each of the game's characters must also eat to give themselves stat bonuses and each character has their own specific tastes.

The game play varies, like I said previously, depending on what pins you are using, but the constant is that you control the main character, Neku, on the bottom screen with your stylus and one of his partners on the top screen with the control pad, or the letters if you are a lefty. As Neku and his partner fight, a "light puck" is passed between them that can double, triple, quadruple, etc. their attack power. This is very useful in manipulating as the puck will disappear and start over if it isn't passed after a certain amount of time.

Overall, I loved The World Ends With You, and I hope to see more like it from Squenix. I would even go as far as to say that this is the best title the DS has to offer and if you don't have it, you are really missing out. I give The World Ends With You for the Nintendo DS a perfect 5 out of 5.

Hotel Dusk: Room 215 Impressions [Possible Spoilers]

So I finally got around to finishing Hotel Dusk this past week and I must say it was a very enjoyable ride. It plays almost like a mix between one of those old-school mystery novels which sucked up more than one childhood in their golden age and a classic film noir. The game is filled to the brim with amazing dialogue, characters, puzzles, and plot. You just won't be able to put it down until after the credits role. Below I will write a short summary of the game's story that isn't far from what is on the back of the box or in the first ten minutes of the game so don't be worried about spoilers.

The game takes place in 1979 and players play as Kyle Hyde, an ex-NYPD officer who now works as an item tracker, who is searching for his ex-partner, Bradley, who betrayed both him and the department while working undercover in a shadowy crime syndicate called Nile. Kyle's job brings him to a rundown hotel, Hotel Dusk, near Los Angeles with a troubled past and a host of mysterious and comical guests. Kyle checks into the hotel and is given room 215, which has been named "Wish" by the owner because it is said that the person who stays in it will have their deepest desire granted by the end of their stay. During Kyle's stay at the hotel he will unravel various mysteries and undoubtedly draw ever closer to Hotel Dusk's biggest secret and the truth behind his partner's betrayal and disappearance. But the catch is, will he be able to survive the night?

I am awarding Hotel Dusk: Room 215 a 4.5 out of 5 because although it is one of the best DS games I have ever played, the ending seemed a bit lacking in my eyes.

I have just started Square-Enix's, Squenix from now on, new DS title called "The World Ends With You" and hopefully I will have its review up in a week or two. Later all!