Category Archives: Games

[Game Review] Metroid: Other M (Wii)

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System: Wii (Exclusive)
Developer: Team Ninja/Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Genre: Action

It hasn’t been since Super Metroid’s release on the Super Nintendo that we’ve gotten a console Metroid title developed by anyone but Retro Studios. Having finished up their highly acclaimed Metroid Prime Trilogy at last and moving on to tackle other projects, Nintendo shifted the series from Retro and handed it to a team that no gamer on Earth could have anticipated: Team Ninja.

Awesome.

Team Ninja is best known for the likes of Dead or Alive, Ninja Gaiden, and putting a ridiculous emphasis on virtual tits and ass. But guess who else would be there leading the project forward? Yoshio Sakamoto, the man who crafted Super Metroid, the finest action-focused Metroid game in existence. With a team like this, it’s hard not to have high expectations for a game. Does Other M manage to live up to the ridiculous hype it garnered?

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[Android App Review] Jewels

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Platform: Android Smartphones (Reviewed on HTC Hero)
Developer: MH Games
Price: Free
Genre: Match-Three Puzzle

Jewels is, as I’m sure you’ve guessed if you have a functioning brain, a derivative of the phenomenally popular Bejeweled. Of course, match-three puzzle games have become more common than AIDS in Africa (was that in bad taste?) since the original Bejeweled launched in 2000, and for good reason. It’s simple, it’s addictive, and it’s fun.

Why am I reviewing a free Bejeweled rip off? Because Android users can’t currently get the real thing on their mobile phones, and everyone loves match-three puzzle games. There are countless variations of the genre on the app store, so I want to make sure you readers are able to find the best one. It’s not like I’m saving your money so much as I’m saving your time since this is a completely free app, but surely that’s good enough right? And I’m also really bored.

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[The Top Five] Legend of Zelda Clones

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It’s a very exciting time to be a Zelda fan, as it always is when a new game in the series is slated for release. It’s been a long wait since the last console installment in the legendary franchise, as it’s been four long years since Twilight Princess hit shelves, but thankfully we’ve had multiple games in between to keep us from cracking. Two new handheld games in the form of Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks, and the entire backlog of Zelda games from the NES, SNES, and N64 have finally been released on the Virtual Console. Still, it’s not enough.

That’s why I’m making this list. We’ve got less than a year (hopefully) before Skyward Sword gets an official release and if you’re anything like me you’ve already burned through the Virtual Console offerings, and are ready for something fresh. Something new. Something different. These five clones should give you exactly that: a break from Hyrule so you don’t get burned out on saving the princess before it’s time to go back to work next year, while still offering very similar experiences so you don’t get rusty while waiting.

Enjoy.

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[iPhone App Review] Risk

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It fascinates me how many different forms of entertainment there were before the internet and video games. There were puzzles, board games, physical activities outside, sports, card games, etc…

However, despite significant advances in technology many people continue on with the old traditions and  play board games to this day. A few of my friends and I are some of those people. We typically try to play one of he most classical strategic board games of all time where there is a minimum of 2 hours of game time.

That game is Risk. Recently on the iPhone, many newer style games have been released alongside a lot of board games which were made in the app store originally. Recently they have come out with Risk and in honor of our game nights I would like to review Risk, the application.

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[Game Review] Pearl Harbor Trilogy 1941: Red Sun Rising (WiiWare)

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System: Wii (WiiWare)
Developer: Legendo Entertainment
Publisher: Legendo Entertainment
Genre: Flight Action

I randomly logged into the Wii Shop Channel the other day, simply because I hadn’t done so since downloading Max and the Magic Marker and I wanted to pass the time before I went to work by browsing through the most recent releases. To my very humble surprise, I found that I had 800 Nintendo Points just sitting in my account, waiting to be spent.

I thought about going for a Super NES or Genesis game, but decided instead to check out what was new on the WiiWare front. After browsing through a few games and glancing at reviews by other sites for each title that caught my eye, I ran across Pearl Harbor Trilogy. An arcade style World War II dog fighter for seven bucks? Sign me up!

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[Game Review] Blacklight: Tango Down (XBLA, PSN)

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System: Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network
Developer: Zombie Studios
Publisher: Ignition Entertainment
Genre: First Person Shooter

Many of you, like myself some two weeks ago, likely haven’t heard of Blacklight: Tango Down, unless you frequent the Xbox Live Arcade. Blacklight is a game that was released last Wednesday in the live arcade, and has taken off since then. Here’s a little bit of insight to this sleeper hit.

Set in a fictitious Eastern Bloc city well into the future, Blacklight: Tango Down can be summed up for the most part in the phrase “Modern Warfare 2 in the future on Meth.” The game itself is ran off of the Unreal 3 engine, and maintains a visual aesthetic that is similar in many ways to the Infinity Ward giant. While keeping the same look, and somewhat of the same feel, Blacklight is a shooter all its own.

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[The Top Five] Reasons Not to Dump Your Wii Just Because Nintendo Announced the 3DS

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The title pretty much says it all.

Ever since the announcement of the 3DS, some Nintendo fans have been bringing up a silly argument in message boards. They feel, for whatever reason, that because the 3DS has 3D, superior graphical capabilities, and tilt and gyro control just like the Wii, that Nintendo’s current home system is inadequate and deserves to be pulled from their entertainment system shelves and tossed in the garbage.

What?

Here are just five reasons why everyone who has made that argument needs to step back, take a breath, and reevaluate their stance.

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[Game Review) Red Dead Redemption (Xbox 360, PS3)

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System: Xbox 360, PS3
Developer: Rockstar San Diego/North
Publisher: Rockstar Games
Genre: Action Adventure

Earlier in the year Rockstar hit the dusty trail with what was sure to be their new giant, Red Dead Redemption. The old western “GTA Goes West” is just that, a sandbox action game set in a fictitious area on the US/Mexico border circa 1910. The Old West is a dying place, industrial revolution, Federal government, and all sorts of new found trickery and deceit have made their way across the Mississippi and into Rockstar’s final bastion for Cowboys, Indians, and outlaws.

The game starts off by introducing us to John Marston, our stoic cowboy anti-hero who is being lead off a boat into a small town, Blackwater. The cutscene continues with two men, clad in suits, bowlers, and sporting badges, escorting John to an expecting locomotive, with a trio sharing a few back and forths. Jon takes a long train ride far into the heart of the state, all the while hearing conversation from two snoody rich ladies, and a young woman talking to a priest. After following a bit more of this linear, cutscene-infused prologue before Rockstar cuts you lose into the Old West.

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[Game Review] Sin and Punishment: Star Successor (Wii)

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System: Wii (Exclusive)
Developer: Treasure
Publisher: Nintendo
Genre: Shooter

The original Sin and Punishment, a fast-paced Arcade-Style shooter-fest for the Nintendo 64, never made it stateside for some reason. The game was originally voiced in English and dubbed with Japanese sub-titles, making it essentially ready to be shipped oversees for American gamers to enjoy. In fact, it wouldn’t be until several years later that the world’s fattest nation would get the chance to experience one of Treasure’s greatest achievements through the Wii’s Virtual Console.

Luckily for us, someone decided that it would be a good idea to not let that happen again, and the events were set in motion to bring the lightning-fast twitch shooter to the hands of American Wii gamers hungry for pain, frustration and punishment.

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[Self-Created Game Review] Potshot

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Conflict of Interest Disclaimer: This is a review for a game I co-created.

As a child, I had but one goal; to make it in the NBA. As an avid fan of the Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Bill Wennington led Chicago Bulls dynasty of the 90’s, I dreamed of nothing more than using my superior athletic abilities to bring a city joy in the same way those great players brought joy to Chicago.

Things seemed perfectly on schedule following my sixth grade season when I won my team’s free throw championship (63%). Then something unfortunate happened. Simply put, I got lazy. My desire to play simply fizzled out as my body got less receptive to all the fitness requirements necessary for those hoping to succeed in the game. Continue reading →