Gamertell

Fighting Fantasy: The Warlock of Firetop Mountain may be the greatest videogame title of all time, right? Doesn’t it just sound kick-ass? You’ve got fighting, you’ve got fantasy, you’ve got warlocks and you’ve got mountains with fire on top of them, apparently. What else do you need… other than a skeleton? If this game were called Fighting Fantasy: The Skeleton Warlock of Firetop Mountain, it would’ve ruptured my geek gland.

Obviously, with a title like this, the developers are aiming at the hardcore crowd. This therefore isn’t your typical DS game and probably shouldn’t even be on this system. It’s better suited for the PC or PSP (a version for which was canceled) gaming audience. But here it is on the DS, so fans of hardcore dungeon crawlers can celebrate, provided they’re willing to put up with some problems.

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James Cameron’s Avatar The Game is unique among movie tie-ins in that, rather than basing it on the movie, it appears to be based on the trailer. Or maybe just the one sheet or concept drawings. I don’t know but if you buy this expecting to play through the rather thrilling adventure that is Avatar, prepare to be disappointed.

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Clash of Heroes is set in the venerable Might & Magic universe. I’ve played a couple of those games on my Mac, but this entry is quite a bit different. It’s not your traditional turn-based strategy game, but an odd mix of that, RPG and Bejeweled-style gem matching games. If you’re thinking, “Oh, you mean Puzzle Quest,” then I’ll have to work harder to explain what makes Clash of Heroes so much better.

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Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers has a lot going for it. The graphics are fantastic, the story and characters are fun, and the action is varied and frantic…when you’re actually doing something. And yet, the game is never quite as enjoyable as it should be. It meanders and tends to get lost in its own ambition to appeal to the broad Wii audience. As a result, serious adventure gamers will find it too casual, while casual gamers will find it too adventurous.

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In video game mysteries (as opposed to novels or movies), I get to investigate the crime scene myself. I can put together the evidence and reach my own conclusion (within a certain framework, of course). The crime is mine to solve, not just observe. But unfortunately, that’s not actually the case with Dreamcatcher Interactive’s Agatha Christie: The ABC Murders. Rather, this game is mainly a collection of puzzles framed by the popular story by Agatha Christie.

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How do you determine what Star Wars video games are the best? You ask Ernie Cline. Ernie is the screenwriter of Fanboys, which any self-respecting Star Wars movie or game fan has seen by now. More importantly, he’s been playing video games since a time when arcades were the cool place to hang out at the mall. Gamertell recently talked with Ernie about Star Wars, the gaming industry. And gold bikinis.

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I shouldn’t have played this game so quickly after Dead Space Extraction. Resident Evil: Darkside Chronicles seems quite common by comparison. This isn’t entirely fair, though, because it’s still a great looking game that offers an intense action experience. A game like this can only be done properly on the Wii, and that’s somewhat rewarding. It’s a great entry in the Resident Evil series and is a fun throwback to those who will remember these places and characters.

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We all have aunts and uncles who just don’t quite get it. They never stick to your wish list, and they never check Gamertell for sound advice. And so, you end up with “Scene It: Twilight” because “...that’s popular with you kids now, right?” Well, let’s turn lemon into lemonades, as your aunt and uncle would say, and put those exchanges (or gift cards) to good use on great Wii games you may have missed this year.

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Despite its obvious faults, I didn’t mind working through this game because I’ve never played it before. As fan of the series, I felt I had to. But you have to go in understanding what the Resident Evil Archives series is. You’re not going to get enhanced graphics. You’re not going to get Wii motion controls. What you’re going to get is an old game that you can play on a modern system.

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Before Sony first threw down against Microsoft, before Nintendo first battled Sega, there was Mattel Electronics vs. Atari. I was firmly entrenched in Intellivision’s corner, and when INTV Corp. went down swinging in 1991, I went down with them. But a group of Intellivision game developers (known as the Blue Sky Rangers) is actively working with the games that helped to launch an industry longer than 30 years ago.

Gamertell spoke with Keith Robinson at Intellivision Lives about this group of developers and the state of the gaming industry, then and now.

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