[2 Minute Review] Marvel Trading Card Game
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What’s better than a cross between the Marvel universe and Magic:The Gathering right?
DO: Use the stylus so much in the same spot that it scratches the surface of the touch screen on your DS. A game that probably has the most characters from the Marvel universe. Keeps you craving more cards.
TYPE: Card
PLATFORM: DS (and the PSP)
PRICE: About $20 or $30
MEAT: This game is a pretty straight forward card game. The battle system takes some getting used to and the tutorial doesn’t help out too much. If you put the time and effort into getting to know the system it’s well worth it. The game has all the main characters that you could want and even some that you wished they didn’t waste their time putting into the game. Then again you need to have some weak characters in the game, everyone can’t be the strongest card available. The actual powers/abilities, strength, and defense of the characters match up pretty well in the system as they do in the comics.
The story of the game isn’t the best and is kind of lacking yet the cut scenes are in the form of a comic which is cool. The artwork of the superheroes and super heroines on the cards and in the cut scenes are great, the characters have several cards each with different pictures on each one. Half of the fun of the game is getting new cards and seeing the new art on the cards. When you start a new single player game you pick either hero or villain and once you beat it as one, you play through the story of the other with all of your previously collected cards. The system to get new cards is the same setup as a store in the real world. You buy a booster pack of hero or villain cards and in each comic world like the X-men or Fantastic Four.
PERKS: Great gallery of all the main characters; smooth gameplay; online play; a good comic book based game; it’s great to beat a hard opponent that you’ve lost to multiple times.
SCREAMS: The need of a good story; no cancel button (if you hit the wrong button or choose the wrong card your stuck, I’ve lost a couple hands due to that missing feature); one boss was WAY harder than it needed to be; the tutorial/learning curve could be better.
VERDICT: + As a comic book related game it is a lot better then most of the ones out there. I enjoyed the game a lot. I recommend the game for anyone interested in it or knows enough about comics and needs a handheld gaming fix of them. Read more
Nintendo Lunchbox
No, not a retro lunchbox like this one. An actual Nintendo Entertainment System lunch box.
Mega Man 9: Lovers and Haters
Capcom has made a bold move to make Mega Man 9. Actually, Capcom making a Mega Man game period has not really been all that bold. They’ve been milking that franchise more than my local dairy sticks a vacuum tube to their cows.
Mega Man 9 will be old school. Yes, it’s going to be done like an old NES game–graphics, style, and sound. It’ll be available as a WiiWare title. No timeframe on the date or price.
The lovers: anyone over the age of 25 who played Mega Man 2 or 3.
The haters: anyone under the age of 25.
(Don’t believe me? The comments at Kotaku are priceless.)
Somehow, GamesRadar was able to score some screenshots and get a little more info such as boss descriptions.
If this is a hit expect to see tons more new, old games. Ha! I, for one, welcome it. Thanks to GameRadar for the pic.
July Releases
It’s that time again. What does the month of July hold?
Week of July 2nd
Gears of War (2-Disc Edition)
Week of July 9th
Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution
Unreal Tournament III
Beijing Olympics 2008
Mobile Ops One Year War for Xbox 360
Week of July 16th
NCAA Football 09
World In Conflict
Space Chimps
Week of July 30th
Soul Calibur IV
Spectral Force 3
Summer Athletics The Ultimate Challenge
Week of July 2nd
Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo’s Dungeon
Purr Pals
Week of July 9th
WonderWorld Amusement Park
Week of July 16th
Rock Band Track Pack: Vol. 1
NCAA Football 09
We Love Golf!
Space Chimps
Ford Racing Off Road
Week of July 23th
Chess Crusade
SNK Arcade Classics Volume 1
Order Up!
Week of July 30th
MLB Power Pros 2008
Sam & Max: Season One
Freddi Fish: Kelp Seed Mystery
Puzzler Collection
Summer Athletics The Ultimate Challenge
Red Star
Week of July 2nd
Trauma Center Under The Knife 2
Amf Bowling Pinbusters
1 Vs. 100
Ducati Moto
Journey to the Center of the Earth
Week of July 9th
Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution
Carnival Games
Pony Luv
Week of July 16th
Wordmaster
Nancy Drew 2: Clue Bender Society
Space Chimps
Mister Slime
Week of July 23th
Final Fantasy IV
Izuna 2: The Unemployed Ninja Returns
Chess Crusade
Suzuki Super-Bikes II: Riding Challenge
International Track And Field
Week of July 30th
Puzzler Collection
Puchi Puchi Virus
Week of July 2nd
Dream Chronicles 2: The Eternal Maze
Turbo Subs
Fighter Pilot 2
Piglet’s Big Game
Week of July 9th
Nancy Drew: The Phantom of Venice
Devil May Cry 4
Painkiller Universe
Insecticide
Week of July 16th
Deadliest Catch: Alaskan Storm
Dead Mountaineer’s Hotel
Hot Dish
1701: Gold
Space Chimps
Let’s Ride: Riding Star
Hunting Unlimited 2009
Week of July 23th
Big City Adventure - Sydney
Slingo Quest Hawaii
Fate: Undiscovered Realms
Game of Life: SpongeBob SquarePants Edition
Enchanted Fairy Friends: Secret of the Fairy Queen
Week of July 30th
Flatout: Ultimate Carnage
Beijing Olympics 2008
Legend Hand of God
Outcry
Avatar the Last Air Bender: Path of Zuko
Etch a Sketch
Week of July 9th
Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution
Beijing Olympics 2008
Monster Madness: Grave Danger
Week of July 16th
NCAA Football 09
Week of July 30th
Soul Calibur IV
Week of July 9th
Code Lyoko: Quest for Infinity
Week of July 16th
NCAA Football 09
B-Boy
Ford Racing Off Road
A few solid offerings, a few venerable franchises and Final Fantasy IV.
Are you planning on picking anything up this month?
Magic Mushrooms and Tanooki Suits
Today, during the Super Mario Galaxy show (for the munchkins), I defeated Bowser for the seven hundredth time in my life, saving the Princess yet again (from herself). I haven’t “finished” SMG yet, as there are plenty of stars still to be had, but the Princess is safe, at least for the time being. I plan on heading back to get the rest of the stars. I had found 70 before I saved her highness.
Super Mario Galaxy, as frustrating as it can get every so often, is a great game.
But that’s not the point of this post. I have really enjoyed the new power-ups added to this iteration of Mario. Besides the Fire Flower and 1-UP mushrooms, there are a bunch of new power-ups for Mario. So I want to know: What is your favorite Mario power-up? (from any game).
I really like the new Spring power-up in Super Mario Galaxy. In fact, I think it’s my favorite power-up mushroom of all time.
What’s yours?
[Gamer Responsibility] Growing Another Hand
Wii Fit comes out this week.
Nintendo, please…stop.
Actually, my wife and I were excited about the possibility of Wii Fit—more so about the possibility of using Wii Fit. We’re not getting it now. For having the cheapest selling (more on that in a minute), fastest selling, and most unique console, Nintendo kills you when it comes to peripherals. I would assume that most readers here who have a Wii don’t just have the basic remote and nunchuk.
How many other games are going to use the Wii Fit peripheral? Looking back, how many used the drums, dance pads, guitar(s), microphones, wheels, etc. other than their bundled games?
Since the release of the console, it appears that almost every AAA first-party title on the system has needed more than just the Wiimote. Sure, many titles can be played with just the included controller, but many of those same titles play better with the nunchuk (also included). Let us see: Super Mario Galaxy, Mario Strikers Charged, Metroid Prime 3, Mario Kart Wii, WarioWare: Smooth Moves, Super Paper Mario, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Wii Sports, Wii Play, and Wii Fit. Yep, it seems as if every title needs a controller add-on. Excite Truck may be the only other major title that can be played with just the remote. It looks like the good ol’ ‘chuck needs to be used on most of them. What happens when you add a player? That $250 console just became a $310 console (another controller plus nunchuk). Now add two more players.
Ouch. We’re in Sony and Microsoft territory now. Their better online play exempts buying another controller for me. I have two 360 controllers. Interestingly, most third party titles get away with just using the standard remote. Of course, they don’t have a need to sell an add-on either.
We won’t even discuss the “classic” controller which is not really all that classic in look, style, or feel. (another $20). And the Wii Zapper? Terrific.
A couple of the games listed earlier let you use the Gamecube controller to play, and ironically it’s even preferred by most gamers on one title. Speaking of Gamecube, I own three drums and two dance pads. Ask me how much we use them.
Why do we need all these extra controllers? Why? I’ve not even touched on all the guitars and instruments that usually work for one game or their sequels…maybe. It appears that the next Guitar Hero is going to have it’s own instrument set. My guess is that it’ll even be exclusive. I really don’t know. I could care less about the music games—Boom Boom Rocket is my level of video game music depth, oh, and Audiosurf—a music game that doesn’t need an extra device to play. In the end, some gamers are going to have more instruments than most real bands.
When I saw the Wii remote for the first time, I was pretty excited about the possibility of playing games with as few buttons as possible. Control simplicity seemed like it was back in our grasp, so to speak. Pointless thinking. (Pun gloriously intended—both times). I will admit, however, that the Wiimote/nunchuk setup for some games is rather intuitive. Excellent, even. I cannot imagine Metroid Prime without it. Keep the gaming design there. Stop. No more add-ons—by anybody. Nintendo is certainly the leader, but, terrifyingly, it appears that the big money is in peripheral bundles.
We already have a Rubbermaid box by our couch that holds all our system controllers and add-ons for a 360 and a Wii. It’s full—a five gallon tote. No more room for another device will use for a period and it’ll sit in the box not to be used for anything else.
The game we keep coming back to: Excite Truck.
Weekend Gaming, at last!
I have been swamped (SWAMPED!) at work the past couple of weeks on a project that has sucked up a large portion of my free time. When I finally to get a free moment, I’m so spent from my other duties that I haven’t had a desire to do much gaming. I’m finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel at work and my mood is already lifting. I’m ready to pick up the familiar controller and get back in the game.
In order to gear up for a great week of gaming when GTA IV and Mario Kart Wii are released, I figure I should knock out another game in my queue before everything gets pushed back to make room for the newcomers. I got very close to finishing Bioshock last year, so I figure now would be a good time to get back to that and finish it up. I really want to see how it ends.
I’m also making my way through Super Mario Galaxy, which I am still thoroughly enjoying. The kids love to watch me play it, so that’s our bonding game. I can’t get over how much fun platforming is again.
I’m also eying a couple DS games, but I’ll probably hold off on those until the real gaming lull hits this summer. I’ve got enough on my plate.
What are you guys playing? Planning on picking up either Mario Kart Wii or GTA IV?
Mario Galaxy is Old School
There’s nothing innovative about Mario Galaxy. We could have had it back in the early ’90s. Cool re-imagining.
A DS Treasure Hunt
Why can’t we get cool stuff like this?
On a small island near Tokyo, people armed with Nintendo DS portable game consoles are scouring the terrain in search of clues that will lead them to a secret treasure.
via Pink Tentacle
Wii in the house
We’ve had the Wii set up for a few weeks now, I just haven’t had time to post my initial impressions of this wonderful piece of video gaming goodness. I will say now that I am a full fledged Wii acolyte. It is not gimmicky. This is the future of gaming.
Even now, weeks after hooking it up, I don’t feel like I can really post anything definitive or authoritative because I’ve only been able to play it for about an hour total since it’s been hooked up. The kids have usurped control from its rightful owner and are showing no signs of relenting. I haven’t even broken the seal on Mario Galaxy yet! We have two wiimotes. Ergo, if the kids are awake and the Wii is on, I’m not playing.
When I do get my turn at Wii sports, I’m always surprised at how responsive and accurate the controls are. There is a sense of more than just playing the game. It really takes gaming to a different level.
What’s really fun is watching the kids play. They have no preconceived notions. They’ve both played games on the 360, but that’s it. They have no idea of how a game should be “controlled.” It took them both a few tries to get used to the wiimote, but now it’s second nature. They both love to play bowling and baseball. It’s so simple and so obivous to them. I can’t wait to see them interact with other games.
This little machine is pretty scrappy. I’ve played around with the other channels a bit, I plan on picking up a few games from the Virtual Console (Super Metroid will be the first one) and I want to grab the web browser. I just need some time with it on mu own.
So for now, the Wii is really just a bowling game for the kids, with an occasional baseball game thrown in. Once I get a few hours to dedicate to Mario Galaxy, I’ll be getting down to some serious Wii gaming.
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