buttonmashing

Mashing buttons since 1984

Tony

June Releases

by 5 Comments

(You thought the E3 post was late!)

What better way to wrap up E3 week with a list of games you can play right now (or really soon)?

Xbox 360 banner

Week of June 1st
Red Faction Guerilla
FUEL

Week of June 8th
Prototype – Maybe it’s just me, but it seems like interest in this game has died down.
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 – It’s been a few years, I may pick this one up. Or maybe wait for the Motion-Plus version on the Wii.
Virtua Tennis 2009

Week of June 15th
Ghostbusters: The Video Game – [INSERT EIGHTIES REFERENCE HERE] Guitar Hero Smash Hits
Black College Football Xperience – I’ve know about this game for a while, but it still seems like a bad idea to me. Doesn’t the X in “Xperience” belittle the actual experience in some way?

Week of June 22nd
Fight Night: Round 4– This won’t be a day-one pick up for me, but I imagine I’ll pick it up at some point.
Overlord 2– If I remember correctly, Nat was rather fond of the original.
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Dynasty Warriors 6: Empires– The Dynasty continues, unabated.

Week of June 29th
Heist
BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger Limited Edition
Borderlands
Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood– You’re a daisy if you do!

Wii banner

Week of June 8th
EA SPORTS Grand Slam Tennis– John McEnroe’s afro on the cover sold me on this.
Virtua Tennis 2009
Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings– “Their staff is too long. They’re digging in the wrong place!”
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10– The Wii MotionPluscomes out this week, no better way to put it to good use than Tiger Woods.

Week of June 15th
Guitar Hero Smash Hits
Ghostbusters: The Video Game

Week of June 22nd
Overlord: Dark Legend
The Conduit
Resident Evil Archives: Resident Evil

Week of June 29th
Roogoo
Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince

Nintendo DS banner

Week of June 8th
Miami Law– How was I not aware of this game earlier?! It would have been day-one for me.
Lego Battles
The Legendary Starfy
Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled
Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings
Puzzle City

Week of June 15th
Ghostbusters: The Video Game
Flower, Sun and Rain
Emergency Room: Real Life Rescues

Week of June 22nd
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor– We’ve talked SMT around these parts before. This may be my first foray into the series.
Overlord: Minions

Week of June 29th
7 Wonders 2
Mega Man Star Force 3 Black Ace
Mega Man Star Force 3 Red Joker
C.O.R.E.

PC banner

Week of June 15th
Prototype
Defense Grid
Ghostbusters: The Video Game
Hummer

Week of June 22nd
FUEL
Spore Galactic Adventures
Overlord 2

Week of June 29th
Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince
Borderlands
Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood
Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning

PS3 banner

Week of June 8th
Virtua Tennis 2009
Prototype
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10

Week of June 15th
Guitar Hero Smash Hits
Ghostbusters: The Video Game

Week of June 22nd
Overlord 2
Fight Night: Round 4
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Dynasty Warriors 6: Empires

Week of June 29th
BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger Limited Edition
Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood
Borderlands

PSP banner

Week of June 8th
Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings
Class of Heroes
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10

Week of June 15th
PDC Championship Darts 2008

Week of June 22nd
Pangya: Fantasy Golf
Monster Hunter Freedom Unite

Week of June 29th
Mytran Wars
Steambot Chronicles: Battle Tournament

Not a bad month, considering all the good gaming that’s already out this year.

What are you picking up?

E3 link dump

by 4 Comments

Yay for super late E3 wrap-up posts! E3 2009 happened and there was quite a bit to be excited about. Nat covered a few of the things, but here is some of what caught my eye:

Super Mario Galaxy 2

It’s not secret that I am a HUGE fan of both New Super Mario Brothers on the DS and Super Mario Galaxy on the Wii, so it’s no surprise that I’m excited to see a new New Super Mario Bros. on the Wii (game play video) and of course Super Mario Galaxy 2 (game play video). The return of Yoshi will make my kids happy (they love Super Mario World on my old SNES) and the multiplayer for NSMB looks like a blast.

On the 360 front, the new last.fm integration is intriguing. While I’m a big fan of Twitter (and Facebook to a lesser extent), I’m not sure if I’m excited about the integration there. Time will tell. Game-wise, I’m a Forza Fan, so Forza Motor Sports 3 (game play video) is probably a day-one purchase for me. Because I’m also a Halo-whore, Halo: ODST will also be picked up at some point. Nat highlighted the Crackdown 2 trailer. No need to say anything more about that. I’m ready for some new Splinter Cell. It’s been too long. I’m still not sold on Natal.

As far as PC gaming goes, I’m reluctant to commit to anything other than fearing how terribly addicted I could become to playing Star Wars: The Old Republic (hands-on). That is looking extremely polished and pretty much full of pure awesomeness.

And wrapping everything up is my surprise hit of the show, Scribblenauts on the DS. This game is going to be a blast. It’s got keyboard cat, people!

It’s finally back in the game [E3 2009]

by 3 Comments

I’ve got an E3 post coming up shortly, but I quickly wanted to post how excited I am that EA has announced that the “Create A School” feature is finally back in the game.

This was a mainstay in all the NCAA games I played on the Gamecube and has been sorely missed in the recent 360 versions. I’ve already played around with the create-a-school website and I whole-heartedly approve.

I just wish I could figure out how to link directly my team (The North Royalton University, named after my high school) but if you know how, let me know. Here’s a screen grab of my unis:

Create a Team

9

by 3 Comments

I saw this trailer a couple nights ago on The Ultimate Trailer Show. I can’t get this trailer out of my head. I’ve watched a dozen times and it doesn’t get old. So even though this has nothing to do with E3 or video games or anything else, I’m still posting it because it needs to be seen by all.

Actually, don’t waste your time watching the embedded version. You need to get yourself to Apple’s Trailer page and download the 1080p HD version. It is well worth it.

While the movie looks amazing and intriguing, I am a trailer junkie and this trailer has made it in to my top-5 all time trailers. I should put that entire list together one of these days.

First Impressions (Riddick and Sacred 2)

by Leave a Comment

I’ve had a chance to spend a little time with two recent releases on the 360. Here are a few initial impressions. Two Minute Reviews to follow shortly.

Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena

RiddickI usually enjoy a good stealth game. I loved the early Splinter Cell games and am always up for a bit of sneaking around. That being said, Chronicles isn’t doing it for me. At least not yet. So far, I’ve only played the remake of Escape from Butcher Bay, but I’m not feeling it. At times, the sneaking around can be exhilarating. Other times I want to hurl the controller. I’m willing to give it some time, maybe I need a little practice. If it gets too frustrating, I’ll be moving on to Assault on Dark Athena.

Outlook: Shadowy

Sacred 2: Dark Angel

Sacred 2Sacred 2, on the other hand, is an unqualified success for me so far. I compared it to Diablo 2 in the preview, and that’s exactly what has me enthralled. The process is simple: press the lever (mash the button) and receive a tasty treat (loot). Rinse, repeat, and then repeat again.

It’s a little unpolished and the map is pretty poor, but that hardly detracts from the experience. So far, I’ve whiled away six or seven hours. That may not sound like a lot, but each time I’ve had to force myself to turn off the 360. As I’m typing this, I wish I was home so I could fire it up right now.

Outlook: Quickly leveling up

That’s a short round up. I could go on, but perhaps this would put it more succintly — given the choice, I find myself wanting to play Sacred 2.

Preview – Sacred 2: Fallen Angel [Xbox 360/PS3/PC]

by 5 Comments

sacred_2_ba1Sacred 2: Fallen Angel

Genre: RPG
Website: Sacred 2: Fallen Angel
Developer: Ascaron Entertainment
ESRB Rating: M for Blood and Gore, Violence
Release Date: May 12, 2009
Buy it from Amazon

(As we have been doing recently, we are posting previews of games we have been provided a review copies of)

Here’s the deal: Sacred 2: Fallen Angel is an action-RPG. The press release will tell you it’s, “unlike anything you’ve ever played!” Not true. As much as it pains me to compare it to Diablo 2 (which I think is a cop-out comparison, but I’m making it), Sacred 2 has a strong Diablo 2 vibe. This is not a bad thing AT ALL. Diablo 2 is probably my favorite all-time PC game ever. If a game can emulate Diablo 2 while bringing something new to the game, I’m all for it. Sacred 2 has a lot to offer and does just that. Hundreds of monsters, two campaigns and six unique character classes. Sacred 2 combines hack ‘n slash gaming, roleplaying and story in a magical world.

That’s pretty much all I need.

(From the press release) Key Features:

  • An epic adventure in a massive game world that guarantees countless hours of enjoyment across two amazing campaigns
  • Six unique characters that you can customize with new skills, spells, equipment and loot
  • Join your friends through seamless drop in cooperative and competitive play on the same console or online for up to four players
  • Hundreds of monster types to challenge your character’s magical powers and fighting prowess
  • Stunning graphics in true HD-quality
  • A powerful soundtrack featuring music from renowned Heavy Metal act Blind Guardian

Ehergheiz will have a crack at Sacred 2 and will be reviewing it shortly. If you’d like to check out character models or screenshots, have a looksie at our Sacred 2 Flickr set.

Preview – The Chronicles of Riddick: Assualt on Dark Athena [Xbox 360/PS3]

by 4 Comments

Riddick
The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena

Genre: First Person Action
Website: The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Athena
Developer: Starbreeze
Release Date: April 7, 2009
Buy it from Amazon

Here’s the deal: You’re a prisoner. There’s a wallet in your back pocket that would make Jules Winnfield proud. You sneak around a prison, stab and punch your way out while shooting any number of guns at numerous bad guys. You break out. (In fact, you broke out a few years ago. Now the break-out is in HD.) All in a sneaky, shadowy way. Then you eschew the shadows for blazing guns during an the Assault on Dark Athena.

The game has been out for a little while now and has been mostly well received. Yahtzee didn’t hate it, so that’s got to count for something. We’ll have a review coming soon.

You can see a trailer video at the jump. We’ve also posted a set of screen shots over at Flickr.
[Read more…] about Preview – The Chronicles of Riddick: Assualt on Dark Athena [Xbox 360/PS3]

This seems like a bad idea

by 3 Comments

wii_darts

Hopefully no explanation is needed, but here it is anyway: Wii Darts.

Brings real feelings and great fun when playing dart games on Wii, such as “PDC World Championship Darts 2008”

Are there other dart games?!

Yeah, that’s not going to go over well.