Gaming

Your Friends in Chinatown

March 20, 2009 by Nat 2 Comments

Nintendo has said from the start that friend codes are there to protect the kids.

If so, why do we have them in GTA:Chinatown Wars?

From what I understand there’s not been a lot of online activity for this game.

Title says it all. The DS is going to be (or already is) the gateway drug for gaming. I know it’s got my wife into gaming. Heck, my mom, who never plays games, loves my New York Times Crosswords on the DS.

There’s a War in Chinatown

March 19, 2009 by Nat 3 Comments

Even before my previous views, I gave one or two GTA games a try. I just couldn’t get past it all. All the…stuff. I received GTA:Chinatown Wars from Gamefly and I find it to be an interesting take on the game and its normal material. It just doesn’t seem as over the top—so far (I’m not seeing any of the crass “humor”). Anyway:

want to hail a taxi? Just whistle. I’m not kidding.
Using the DS as a PDA is a nice touch to navigating everything.
I have no idea how Rockstar did it but the city is fully mapped out, populated, has the same sounds, and the pedestrians talk. Buildings and locations from GTAIV are there—sometimes even down to the signage.
this isometric perspective on gaming is going to be copied. I welcome it.
mini games that make sense

Anyway, this seems to be a “toned down” version of GTA, but the technical quality has been ramped up. Amazing that a DS title can progress on a 360/PS3 title.

This has been an initial impresison presentation.

BIT.TRIP.BEAT

March 16, 2009 by Nat 5 Comments

For a game that looks like it was made for Brock, being released today on WiiWare for $6, and has that old style feel that many of us writers here are hankering for right now (but haven’t written about because we’ve been playing them) makes this is a must buy.

Today.

Arakanoid meets Guitar Hero? NOTE: Our RSS is having a hard time displaying video again. Jump on over to the site if you use a reader.

Video Games Live

March 14, 2009 by Brock 6 Comments

I just got back from one of the best concert experiences of my life. If you ever get the chance to see a Video Games Live concert in your area, do yourself a favour and get your butt in a seat ASAP.

The symphony that played this evening was phenomenal, the synchronicity between the music and the video component was impeccable and the choir, which was a YOUTH choir of all things, was fantastic. Heck, even Tommy Tallarico earned my respect tonight. He may make me want to punch him in the teeth whenever I see him on TV reviewing a game, but he is one hell of a guitar player and can he ever MC a show.

One of the surprises (for me at least ) was that this was the second concert in the history of VGL that they’ve included music from Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross, which was just outstanding. They also had Martin Leung, the videogame pianist, play a few sets during the evening and he was a wonder to watch play. I used to play piano back in the day but this guy is on a whole other plane of existence.

Anyway, enough gushing. If you enjoy the music you hear in the games you play and want to have a great 2 1/2 hours listening to your local symphony play them (and maybe win some prizes), I’d highly recommend you go out of your way to catch a show. My friends and I are already making plans to come back to see it next year, assuming it makes its rounds in our general area.

Oh, I almost forgot about the costume show before the concert began. While I really liked the family that dressed up as Mario, Luigi, Link and Princess Peach, the guy who had the homemade Red XIII costume from FFVII was amazing. I wish I had pics, but it was it ever a sight to behold.

Weekend Gaming

March 13, 2009 by Tony 9 Comments

It’s the weekend! Time for gaming galore!

I’m hoping this weekend can be a “completist” weekend for me. I left Fallout 3 in limbo when I got Left 4 Dead and The Lost and Damned, so I’m going to try and wrap that up, along with TLAD. If I get really ambitious, I may finish up the long-forgotten BioShock. Along with that, I finally got around to picking up NCAA 09, so I’m giving that a go his weekend. The one thing I probably won’t be playing is Resident Evil 5. I’m going to let that one mellow a bit before I pick it up. I know I’ll eventually get it, but I’m resisting at the moment (but I know I am weak and will give in sooner rather than later).

What are you playing (or finishing) this weekend?

A Blizzard Christmas?

March 9, 2009 by Tony 2 Comments

While I am highly suspect of this rumor (and that’s exactly what it is), Kaputik.com is “reporting” that we’ll all be enjoying Diablo 3 by the end of the year.

I’ll believe it when I see it, but I’m just throwing this one out there.

InFamous Trailer = “I’m Scared”

March 6, 2009 by Nat 3 Comments

This is the only AAA (read:overpriced) title I’m looking forward to this year. It sort of reminds me of Crackdown. That is a Good Thing.^TM

Eating My Own Butt

March 5, 2009 by Brock 4 Comments

About 2 weeks ago, a little experiment was unleashed upon the PSN by the creator of Katamari Damacy called Noby Noby Boy.

There’s not a lot to the game, but it is oddly compelling in its own special way. You are BOY, you stretch by moving both ends of your body in opposite directions and eating things which let you stretch further. That’s about it. There is also a meta game where you report your length to GIRL, who aggregates all of the lengths of all of the BOYs playing Noby Noby Boy on the PSN and that length tallies up as she stretches from Earth to the Moon and beyond.

Which is all well and good, but what I’m here to show you is the best part of the game. If BOY is stretched too far too fast or gets run over by one of the strange, strange denizens of whatever random level he’s spawned upon, he can snap in half. How does BOY go back to his own stretchy self?

He eats his own butt.

Behold.

Did I mention that NNB lets you record your games and upload them directly to Youtube! It also has the best homepage URL in the history of the internet (after BM, of course…)

If you’ve got $5, a PS3 and a connection to the internet, I implore you to show that creativity can thrive and grab a copy of the game!

March Releases

March 4, 2009 by Tony 5 Comments

It’s the monthly releases, yay hurray! Just a couple days late.

Xbox 360 banner

Week of March 2nd
Halo Wars – I haven’t tried out the demo yet, but I think I’ll be waiting until the price drops on this one. I love Ensemble, so I’m sure they’ve done a great job with this one, but I’m in no rush.
Major League Baseball 2K9
Tom Clancy’s HAWX

Week of March 9th
Resident Evil 5– I’m going to think long and hard before I pick this up on release day.
Trivial Pursuit

Week of March 16th
Wheelman

Week of March 23rd
WWE Legends of WrestleMania– If it’s got Big Boss Man, I’m sold.
Sacred 2: Fallen Angel– We’ll be reviewing this one here on the site.
Raiden Fighter Aces
Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 2– How many of these games can they get away with?
Pop Cap Arcade Hits Vol. 2
Stormrise

Week of March 30th
Guitar Hero Metallica
Wet– Don’t know much about this one, but looks interesting.
Highlander
Just Cause 2– I wasn’t a big fan of the first one, but it appears it sold well enough to warrant a sequel.

Wii banner

Week of March 2nd
Sonic and the Black Knight
Major League Baseball 2K9

Week of March 9th
MadWorld– The more I watch videos and see screen shots, the more I am drawn in.
New Play Control! Mario Power Tennis– Never let anyone say Nintendo doesn’t know how to milk its assets. Over and over again.
New Play Control! Pikmin– Ahem.
Trivial Pursuit
Samurai Shodown Anthology

Week of March 16th
Ready 2 Rumble: Revolution– Another game we’ll be reviewing here.
Marble Saga Kororinpa
PES 2009 Pro-Evolution Soccer
Rune Factory: Frontier

Week of March 23rd
Cate West the Vanishing Files
MotoGP 08
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time
Burger Island– An Island of hamburgers? It’s like my dreams have come true!

Week of March 30th
Guitar Hero Metallica
Dance Dance Revolution Disney Grooves Includes Two Dance Mats
Gravity
Secret Files: Tunguska

Nintendo DS banner

Week of March 2nd
Peggle Dual Shot
MLB 2K9 Fantasy All Stars

Week of March 9th
Avalon Code
Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled
Docomodake BOING!– With a name like that, it has to be good.
ZUBO

Week of March 16th
Suikoden Tierkreis
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars– This is going to be a tough one to resist. Must finish TLAD first.
Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume
TrackMania DS
Monster Band

Week of March 23rd
Pokemon Platinum
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time
Lux Pain– Another future review. We’re very excited about this one.
Touch Mechanic
Pimp My Ride: Street Racing– Yo, dawg, we heard you liked touch screens, so we put a touch screen in your DS you can tap while you tap.

Week of March 30th
Di-Gata Defenders
Gravity
Gardening Mama– How is mama gonna fix things in the fricken garden!?
Tokyo Beat Down

PC banner