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Product A: IntelliScanner Mini
Price A: $179 (scanner), $249 (scanner plus all programs)
Product B: Opticon OPN-2001
Price B: $139.95 (scanner); $179 (plus one program)
Rating: Two thumbs up, 90/100; A-; * * * * out of five.
Pros: Easy to install, easy to use, wide beam and nice design. Very portable, stores a massive number of codes and works with most, if not all, barcode software.
Cons: The price. So small and light it might be easy to lose in a purse.
Overall: Worth the price if you have hundreds of items to scan, especially if you have more than one type of media collection.

This was originally going to a two separate reviews, one for the Opticon OPN-2100 handheld laser scanner and another the IntelliScanenr Mini handheld laser scanner. After using both with Collectorz Game Collector (and Movie Collector) software, however, I could not find any discernible differences in physical design or performance.

The only differences between the products are tiny cosmetics, the accompanying accessories and the prices.

Gettin’ Physical

Both weigh exactly 1 oz (30g) and measure 2 3/8 inches tall, 1 3/16 in. wide and 9/16 in. thick.

Coloring is the same: black plastic main body, action button and mini reset button with silver edging with identical size, shape and placement. The sticker on the back of each is the same shape and even the screws are identical.

The only physical difference is the printed logo on the front and the text on the back label.

The Opticon scanner ($139.95), sent from Collectorz, came with in a small, plain white box packed tightly with the basic necessities: Scanner, mini CD-Rom (manuals and basic software), a 6-foot long USB cable and a silver-gray lanyard to wear it around your neck.

The IntelliScanner Mini ($179) shipped in a larger box due to the cube-shaped tin (4 3/4 x 4 3/4 x 4 3/4 in) that the scanner was in. Items inside the tin include: Scanner, 6-foot USB cable, a silver-gray lanyard, quick start guide, 20 sample labels (10 blank and 10 pre-printed), On-The-Go Card (for quantity scans) and small pouch. The rest of the tin is black foam padding.

Nice Beams

Both scanners claim to store up to 10,000 UPC codes (sorry, there’s not enough time to test that limit) and have USB interface. The USB port, on the right side of the scanner(s), fits the standard USB plug found with most digital cameras although both scanner shipped with a cable. You can then plug the scanners into a PC (Windows or Mac) and use software to grab the codes.

The scanners are considered wireless as they do not need to be connected to a computer to scan although you can do that, too.

Both scanners project a red laser beam when the scan button is pressed, with the beam lasting 5 seconds or until it reads a UPC code. The button blinks green while scanning and red when the scan is over and unsuccessful. The beam can easily be seen six to eight feet away and will successfully scan UPCs on non-reflective surfaces up to 2 feet away from he device. When a scan is read, the devices give off a tone (a double “bee-beep” going from a higher pitch to lower pitch) and the scan button stays green for an extra second.

The scans are very accurate, grabbing any UPC code to toss the beam at and store it in order that it was acquired. Because of this you need to make certain you only scan the media you want to record, otherwise the codes will be mixed together and un-cataloged codes are usually deleted when extracting codes from the device. This may be the only real flaw of these scanners but also a current cost limitation since onboard media recognition would likely require another button or software inside the device.

The scanners performed equally well with no misread codes out of approximately 1000 scans each. I tested both scanners with two Collectorz applications: Game Collector and Movie Collector. I scanned a maximum of approximately 100 items at a time (from experience using scanners and losing track of where I left off scanning).

Issues only occurred when the UPC bars were obscured, cut or wrinkled plastic got in the way and those were not misread codes but, instead, unread codes. The scanners were precises enough that even a tiny sliver of the complete car code could be read and, in the case of annoying reflections, using an alternate angle - even turning the scanner up side down - resulted in a clean scan. In the case of the Collectorz applications, you can manually enter UPC codes or search the company’s database by media (game or movie) title.

Side Note: There is free software online that will allow you to simply regurgitate gathered UPCs into a flat text file or even Excel. The matter becomes translating those codes into useful date. A few web sites have UPC databases and a simple web search will often find your product but ready-to-use database-based software significantly cuts down the hunt-and-peck time.

The scanners have built-in rechargeable batteries that are charged whenever they are plugged into the computer via USB cable. Recharging takes little time (manual reports 2.5 hours) and works for a lot of scans 9manual claims 1000 but you will likely plug it in to download UPCs before then).

Scansalot

If you have a large collection of videos, books and games, either scanner will certainly save a lot of time and prove very useful. Both scanners, along with appropriate software, will save you a lot of time – often hours if not days – and are easy to use

The only downfall will be the price. If you plan to utilize more than one application or simply have a huge collection you need to organize, one of these hand scanners will be a blessing. That’s where you need to do you own time-to-cost evaluation.

As a loose guideline, if you have only a couple shelves of games, save the money and just get some organizational software. If, however, you have a couple shelving units filled with movies or games and don’t plan to stop buying physical media, consider this a useful investment.

The Opticon is less expensive scanner and comes with essentially the same accessories as the IntelliScanner. So if just buying the scanner, buy through Collectorz first. A scanner with software, however, you’ll need to figure out exactly what you need (and want).

Site [Intelliscanner Mini] Site [Opticon OPN-2001]

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Title: Half-Minute Hero
Price: $29.99
System(s): PSP
Release Date: October 13, 2009
Publisher (Developer): XSEED (Opus)
ESRB Rating: “Everyone 10+” for Animated Blood, Language, Mild Fantasy Violence and Mild Suggestive Themes.
Pros: Four game modes which each represent a different game genre. Branching paths in Hero 30. A gallery and collection mode to see what you’ve unlocked in Hero 30. Unique art style. Very easy controls. Pretty simple to play, once you figure out the basic formula. Can submit your scores/rankings online to see how great a hero you are. Multiplayer lets you play Hero 30 against friends to see who’s the best.
Cons: You have to unlock Knight 30, Hero 300 and Hero 3. Even though the box claims 20 hours of gameplay, the modes other than Hero 30 are pretty short. Can be overly easy at times. Princess 30 is disappointing.
Overall Score: Two thumbs up, 90, A-, * * * * out of 5

Half-Minute Hero has rather humble beginnings. It began life as a brief, 1mb freeware game by developer UUE. Marvelous Entertainment saw the potential for a full game there, expanded it and turned it into Yuusha 30. The Hero 30 mode is nearly identical to the original game, and additional Evil Lord 30, Princess 30 and Knight 30 modes have been added in to flesh out the story and make the overall game more substantial. Now XSEED has picked up this quirky game for a North American release.

Only thirty seconds to complete your quests.

An ultimate evil lord by the name of Noire has been tormenting the land for hundreds of years. With the help of the Time Goddess, a series of heroes will face off against Noire throughout time in the hopes of destroying him and bringing peace.

Chronologically, the game begins with Hero 30, an RPG where a hero must face off against numerous evil lords who have been given a spell that will destroy the world in 30 seconds. It continues with Evil Lord 30, a real time strategy game where a vile man called Noire has placed a curse on the evil lord’s love Millenia and is placing Noire statues that warp the mind around the country. After that comes the shoot-em-up Princess 30, where the princess must retrieve medicines that could heal her father, who has mysteriously fallen ill. The next chapter is Knight 30, an action game where a lone knight must protect a sage with the power to save the world. Finally, it all ties together in Hero 300.

Not all game modes are created equal - Hero 30 steals the show.

Half-Minute Hero is probably one of the better on-the-go PSP games available. Since there are six game modes available (once you unlock everything) that cover four different game genres and typically take only a minute or two for each mission, it offers a lot of variety and a perfect portable game experience. It also has wonderfully retro graphics and a clever script filled with little jokes to make you laugh.

The title is a little misleading though. While it is true that at the start of every mission or adventure in each of the modes you are given 30 seconds to complete it, you can get more time. In Hero 30 or Evil Lord 30, the Time Goddess can grant you more time in exchange for money. In Princess 30, you can ride on a special carpet to slow down time and speed up. In Knight 30, you can put the sage on a spot where he casts faster.

The real problem with Half Minute Hero is that the game modes aren’t all at the same level of quality. If you play two adventures/missions of each of the four main modes, you’ll find that Hero 30 is easily the shining star of the bunch, Evil Lord 30 and Knight 30 are the passable mid-tier modes and Princess 30 lags behind and is formulaic, button mashing and repetitive. The unfortunate part is, you must finish the worst mode, Princess 30, if you want to unlock Knight 30, Hero 300 and Hero 3. Its understandable why the unlocking feature is there, given that the stories in all the modes culminates in Hero 300, but that doesn’t make the unlocking any less tedious.

One of the PSP’s most unique games.

Half-Minute Hero is certainly innovative, funny, unique and great to play on the go. It does have its faults, like how the game can be too easy and some modes (Hero 30 and Evil Lord 30), are better than others (Princess 30 and Knight 30). It’s a great game, but also one of those that could end up being a hit or miss, depending on the personal preferences of the person playing it.

The best advice I can give is go to the PlayStation Store and download the demos. Demos for the Hero 30 and Evil Lord 30 segments are both available immediately. Test both out. If you like them, then chances are you’ll love the full game. Be advised though that the Normal difficulty level of the full game is much easier than both of the demos available. An even better suggestion is to make a Japanese PlayStation Store account - there are demos for each mode of the game available there.

Site [Half-Minute Hero]

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Title: Valhalla Knights: Eldar Saga
Price: $39.99
System: Wii
Release Date: September 29, 2009
Publisher (Developer): Xseed Games (K2)
ESRB Rating: “Teen” for alcohol reference, blood, fantasy violence
Pros: Long adventure, numerous side quests, robust class and character system, online co-op multiplayer.
Cons: Bad graphics, horrible audio, terrible melee combat control, clumsy UI and dumb AI.
Overall Score: Two thumbs down; 58/100; F; 1/2 out of 5

Boy, Valhalla Knights: Eldar Saga sure sounds impressive, doesn’t it? The title makes it sound like a game that shouldn’t just be played but conquered. There should be figures and books and a movie. It just sounds epic.

Sadly, it’s not.

This is a game that sucks the joy out of gaming and that’s too bad because there probably is something great buried under the many layers of muck.

Layer One: You’ve Been Here Before

The story is fine, if not typical. An ancient meteor shower awakened foul creatures in what becames the age of chaos until humans, elves, dwarves and halflings banded together to drive them back. That alliance fell apart and the races settled back into mistrust.

Things are getting wonky again, so, guess who gets to try and save the world?

Nearly everything about this adventure is typical of every role-playing game you’ve played before. Eldar Saga brings nothing new to the table and, normally, that’s fine. RPG fans want and expect certain things. There’s a decent mixture of story and combat. There’s plenty of “dungeon crawling.” There’s a massive world with plenty of non-player characters to engage and enemies to fight. There are swords and magic. There’s a robust character control system with plenty of options for leveling up, assigning your skills and choosing a class. There are dudes with ugly hair and women in thigh-high boots. What else could we possibly want?

Well, controls that work would be a nice start.

Layer Two: You’re Not Ready to Fight

There are two major problems with the controls. First, they’re sluggish to the point of slow motion. Your character moves so slowly that, without exaggeration, you’ll hit your action button three times before you can even tell he’s moving. That’s bad enough but combine that with combo attacks and you’re stuck swinging at nothing but air for three attacks while your enemy has jumped behind you, hit you and probably gotten in a few stabs at your partner as well. This is completely unforgivable. I tried to compensate by swinging early as my enemy charges but that doesn’t work. It seems that if the game can’t figure out who I’m attacking, it won’t let me attack.

Adding to that problem is that you can call up your menus while the battle is progressing. I think this is supposed to be a feature but it only gets in the way. Hit the wrong button, and you’ll find yourself shuffling through potions instead of attacking. Don’t back out far enough and guess what? You’re shuffling through potions instead of attacking.

Layer Three: Your Friends are Idiots

You can hire NPC mercenaries to help you on your adventures but they’re not much help. They’ll constantly get stuck behind walls or ledges and, when you think someone has your back, he doesn’t. He’s not smart enough to walk around a rock. So, you die. Or he dies. If he does, you can stand still for ten to fifteen minutes while waiting for his health meter to reach the point where he comes back into play. If you die, you can go back to the beginning of the level and try again but for half the reward. Whether you do that or just reset and start over, you’re stuck trudging through the same bland scenery and listening to those relentless footsteps and fighting the same respawning enemies.

Layers Four Through ?: Your Adventure Feels More Like Work

The graphics in this game are drab and without detail. When it rains or when it’s nighttime, the color palate doesn’t change or dim. Instead the details just disappear. It’s like you’re playing the game on a PC that can’t handle the graphics, so you’ve turned them down as far as they can do in order to get a playable frame rate.

As bad as the graphics are, the audio is worse. Something as basic as footsteps are so loud and fake sounding—like someone whacking a shopping bag with a tennis racket over and over—that it’s painful to even move in this game.

To make things even more difficult to take, enemies respawn. Considering how painful combat is, it’s almost unbearable to kill some goblins, orcs or whatever they are, run down a hallway, figure out you ran down the wrong hallway, turn around and fight the exact same enemies. Spend to long lining up your potions and the the enemy you killed only a minute or two ago gets retribution. You’d love to just keep running but you can’t because the sound of your footsteps is giving you a headache.

When you are lucky enough to kill an enemy, it’ll often drop an item for you to pick up. Let’s say it’s a pair of boots and you appraise them to find out they’re better boots than the one you have. Can you put them on? No. Because that would make sense. Rather, you’re stuck carrying them around until you get home because you can only change your armor and such when at one of your bases.

Layer Five: Just Stop Digging Already

I could go on but I won’t. I feel as guilty asking you to read about Valhalla Knights: Eldar Saga as I would asking you to play it. Once you finish the game, you can play through it again as a female character but chances are great you won’t bother finishing it the first time unless you have to review it.

There’s a multiplayer component but don’t do that to your friends or to complete strangers. Just avoid this game. If you’re in desperate need of an action RPG to hold you over until The Crystal Bearers comes out then remain desperate.

Site [Valhalla Knights: Eldar Saga]

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Title: Ju-On: The Grudge
Price: $29.99
System: Wii
Release Date: October 13, 2009
Publisher (Developer): Xseed Games (Feelplus)
ESRB Rating: “Mature” for blood, violence
Pros: Some decent “scares,” jump right into the gameplay, quite immersive (for a while).
Cons: Rigid and awkward controls, ridiculously short, no checkpoints on levels, blocky graphics, linear, pointless battery system, no story to drive the game
Overall Score: One thumb sideways, one thumb down; 68/100; D+; * 1/2 out of 5

Ju-On: The Grudge is faulty on many levels - and I’ll discuss these below - but I’m willing to forgive many of them because of the subtitle “Haunted House Simulator” thrown across the box.

Have you been to any of the haunted houses that spring up in wooded areas and old schoolhouses at this time of the year? Ju-On gave me more scares than they do, so I at least have to give it credit for that.

Although, I want to clarify that being scared and being startled are two entirely different things. When a movie or game unexpectedly runs a cat in front of you with a really loud screech just to make you jump, that’s being startled. When a movie or game has you so frightened that you’re hiding under the afghan, barely able to peek out through the holes to look at the screen, that’s being scared.

Ju-On: The Grudge startled me on occasion. It never scared me.

When a Person Dies…

If you’ve seen the Ju-On movies (or it’s American counterpart titled The Grudge), you know the routine. If someone dies violently in a house or something, all who come into contact with its spirit will also die violently and the cycle continues. I’m not sure if that’s what happened in this game.

In each level, you play a character in a different location: abandoned factory, abandoned hospital, abandoned apartments, etc. Each level begins with a character name and most display the same family photo. Okay, so we assume these are all family members about to face the same terrible circumstances but that’s it on story. You don’t know why you’re there, you just are.

On each level you’re only usable object is a flashlight. This is permanently on and always frustrating because it uses batteries like a Hummer uses gas. Considering each level can be finished in under 25 minutes, that you have to find and replace four or five batteries per level is absolutely ridiculous. I get the sense of urgency that this creates, but why have that at all? The game is supposed to be about exploration, and if you’re forced to tear through each level for fear of being trapped in the dark (and promptly killed), you don’t have time to trigger all the frightening moments.

...With a Deep and Burning Grudge…

Even worse, in order to unlock the fifth and final level to complete the game, you’re going to have to play through the previous levels multiple times in order to find all the hidden objects, facing the same ghosts and dealing with the same bad batteries. I’m assuming this was done in an effort to prolong the game, which can easily be completed in two to three hours. Forcing you to replay levels can push it up to around 10, perhaps, but you won’t do that. It’s not worth it.

Making matters worse, the game crawls at a terribly slow pace and the flashlight control is horribly unresponsive. You use the WiiMote to point the flashlight at the screen and, to control direction, you press the B button. Hit down on the D-pad to back up. That’s easy enough to learn but annoying to use. The flashlight never seems to go where you want it to, making it cumbersome to even turn around or line up with a door so you can open it. This is acceptable when you’re exploring an area for the first time but it’s a game killer if you have to go through more than once.

If you want to play that fifth and final level, I highly recommend using a walkthrough so you can find all those hidden objects the first time.

After a couple levels, you know what’s going to happen. The triggered events never really change much and they’re telegraphed by the sound of the game disc being read. “Oh, the Wii’s clicking, here comes and yep. There it is. Doll fell from the sky. Scary.”

I’m also not sure I get the “scare meter” at the end of the game. Sometimes it calls me a sissy, sometimes it tells me I have no emotions. I’m never sure why. The two-player mode, in which player two conjures up random “scare moments” with the press of a button is fun for a bit, but both you and player two will quickly get bored with it.

...A Curse is Born.

Some elements of Ju-On: The Grudge do work. First, by making the screen so dark, you have no choice but to play it at night with the lights off; there’s simply no way you can make it through this game with any sort of glare on your screen. I think I like that decision.

Second, it really can be pretty spooky, especially early on. The creepy girl from the movies is used throughout and, although you’ll likely get bored with her hair, the use of that guttural clicking noise in the WiiMote’s speaker is quite effective.

Also, I’ve learned that horror “movies” are much harder to get through when you’re the one holding the flashlight. I had my wife try it and she couldn’t deal with the tension. However, she enjoyed watching me play it for a while. Either she couldn’t handle being the one facing the threats or she hated the control/battery system. Either way, objective achieved, Xseed!

Or something like that.

There’s no way I can recommend someone purchase this game, at least not at $30. With only four short levels (five if you’re persistent), it would’ve made more sense as a 1,000-point WiiWare download or a $4.99 iPhone game.

I do, however, highly recommend you rent it. Ju-On: The Grudge is certainly more effective than the majority of the horror movies out there there today (I’m looking directly at you, Saw). You’ll get your money’s worth out of an evening rental, provided you pay attention to those three words on the box: Haunted House Simulator.

This is not a game. Like horror movies and haunted houses, it’s simply a way for a teenage boy to scare his girlfriend into sitting a little closer to him on the couch and hopefully lead to a little bit of lovin’ when it’s over and that deserves some respect.

Site [Ju-On: The Grudge] Read [Gamertell]

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Title: Game Collector 3.2 Pro
Price: $29.95 (Standard), $39.99 (Pro with rebate)
System(s): Windows
Publisher (Developer): Collectorz
Pros: Very easy to input game names and UPCs, exhaustive and customizable fields, generates multiple exportable lists and included with access to game database to quickly import information and box art.
Cons: Database has some small gaps and is only as accurate as the person who submitted the information. Some menus are a little confusing. iPhone and iPod Touch app is an extra cost. Scanners can be expensive.
Overall Score: One thumb up, one thumb sideways; 87/100; B+; * * * 1/2 out of five.

If you’ve been gaming for longer than five years, you’ve likely amassed an impressive collection of games so large your friends and significant other complain about not being able to find that one game they always like to play.

That’s where Collectorz’s Game Collector application can come in rather handy.

The Basix

The whole concept behind Game Collector is to put your collection in order (thus the name). It’s a fairly simple database solution with a graphic interface that can operate with (or without) a UPC scanner and accesses an online database.

The software is available only as a download and installs quickly. After launching, you can then input game titles or UPCs through the menu system either by typing it in via scanner. Then you go online to download core information, box art and credits for a wide range of games to populate your local database. You can then go in and edit each entry - or groups of entries - with a combination of person information about the game including ratings where you bought it, how much you paid and personal notes.

Over the years the software has evolved to allow for more personalized fields and the ability to export the list as HTML files or, in truncated form, to various handheld devices including the iPod, iPhone and iPod Touch (the latter two require an additional purchase via iTunes). You can also upload your own box art and upload images and information to the common database for others to use.  Once you populate your collection, everything is stored locally so you can create HTML pages or various portable lists.

The interface is not entirely intuitive with a few of the fields not making sense until you have used the software for a while. Once you get the hang of it, it then becomes a speedy process to catalog your collection. You can then reorder it according to just about any criteria: genres, developer, release year, system, rating and even custom fields.

Game Face

The scanner interactivity is about as easy as plugging it in, syncing with the software and pressing a button. If you have ye olde QueCat (remember that PS/2-based scanner radio Shack gave away years ago?) you can download a Windows application that will make it work in no time. Otherwise, you can get scanners through Collectorz: a mini wireless USB laser Opticon ($140), a wired USB Opticon laser scanner (currently unavailable) or a USB CueCat scanner ($20). All three will work but the more pricey “wireless” version is the easiest to use.

The nice thing about the scanners is that they significantly cut down input time if you have numerous games and will immediately interface with other Collectorz software:  Music Collector, Movie Collector and Book Collector (except applications including Comic Collector that catalog products that do not have UPCs).

Unless you acquire a lot of products – DVDs, books and games – you may want to simply manually enter game titles or UPCs to save the extra dough. If you have several hundred – or thousand – products, a scanner is definitely the way to go. It can reduce days of typing to an hour or two of scanning. The only issue will be when a UPC is not found, then you have to manually enter data (and then you can submit it ti the Collectorz online database).

The Collectorz database as certainly improved in the past year, being more complete and up -to-date than before. The percentage of missing titles is probably less than 5% and even then the issue might be that someone misspelled a game title, you have a weird version of a game with an uncommon UPC or your internet connection timed out. Some of the box art is also not the best, although you can add your own to your personal, local database or even submit it to Collectorz and hope they update it with your superior image.

As for organizing, the ability to reorganize and display games as either text lists or image thumbnails makes it super easy to personalize your list for convenient printing, scanning and browsing.

The ability to sync the list with your iPhone or iPod Touch is also nice although that app will set you back another $10. It is rather nice to have a digital list in hand and many forms of your list - HTML and iPod Notes for non-Touch iPods – are bundled with the software. Those are limited to 1000 entries so, if you are a true collector, you may have to create an alternate list system.

Since the main software includes customizable fields, you can also use it for archives and even create a box number field. Those boxes of NES games, for example, can more easily be alphabetized using the software and then you can tag games according to the box they are stored in.

Downloadable?

This software is certainly helpful for the serious game collector. If you have hundreds of games, a scanner will certain be a time saver, especially if you acquire many games at a time (and have a lot to archive). The cost for the hardware won’t be nearly as justified when you have only a shelf or two of games.

Collectorz offers enough database information to give you a reason to browse your collection and enough customizable fields to add the information - box, shelf or other custom organization – to help you get truly organized. It even has a section for loaning so you can essentially become a library to your friends and not forget who has which game.

The portability interface is most helpful for those who plan to finish collection or simply cannot recall all the games they own. Otherwise, most people can save the cost of the Game Collector iPhone app (comic collectors getting Comic Collector, however, will find the iPhone/iPod Touch app be supremely useful).

If you are a collector, own seemingly countless of games and like to keep organized, Game Collector is a no-brainer investment. Likewise, anyone who loans out a lot games will benefit from the software’s library style recording system.

Check Gamertell later this week for a review of the Intelliscanner laser scanner used in this review and Collectorz Game Collector for iPhone and iPod Touch.

Site [Game Collector] Photo Gallery [Gamertell: Game Collector on iPhone/iPod Touch] Photo Gallery [Gamertell: Game Collector Pro]

Full Story » | Written by PJ Hruschak for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

Title: Avenue Flo
Price: $19.95
System(s): PC (Also available on Macs)
Release Date: October 13, 2009
Publisher (Developer): Play First (PlayFirst)
ESRB Rating: N/A. I’d say it is appropriate for all ages.
Pros: Nice assortment of mini-games. Familiar characters from the PlayFirst Dash series. Colorful and clear environments.
Cons: For the most part, very easy. Lots of tutorials. Game often tells you what to do instead of letting you do it yourself. Set off alerts and had registration issues with Kaspersky Internet Security 2009.
Overall Score: One thumb up, one sideways; 85/100; B; * * * 1/2 out of 5

PlayFirst’s Avenue Flo is unquestionably a good and interesting addition to the Dash series of games. Thanks to titles like Diner Dash, Wedding Dash, Diaper Dash, DinerTown Detective Agency and DinerTown Tycoon, fans have been able to enjoy classic casual game genres like time management, hidden object and stategic simulation. With Avenue Flo, the Dash series moves into the realm of point-and-click adventures.

Quinn’s the wedding planner, but Flo’s the only one who can save the wedding.

Quinn, star of the Wedding Dash games, is having an absolutely horrible day. She’s working on a huge wedding that’s supposed to be happening today. Supposed is the key word. The problem is, absolutely everything is going wrong, and it’s too much for her to handle alone. Thankfully Flo, star of the Diner Dash games, is her best friend and willing to help out so Quinn isn’t humiliated and the wedding can go on.

So, players must assist Flo in her endeavor to set things right. Basically, she’s an errand girl. She has to find lost items, or even animals in the case of Snookums the poodle, the bride Ms. Big’s errant dog. She’ll also have to replace damaged items and cater to the needs of others. Along the way, she develops the suspicion that all the mishaps aren’t coincidental - someone in DinerTown is sabotaging the event - and she also has to talk to residents, all familiar characters from Dash or DinerTown games, to find out what exactly is going on.

Quit telling me what to do!

Avenue Flo is bright, colorful and welcoming. The characters are voiced, a first for a DinerTown or Dash game, practically every character from the series makes an appearance and players get to explore most of DinerTown while attempting to save the wedding. It sort of feels like it’s designed to be an adventure game for beginners, which is great if people haven’t ever played a point-and-click adventure. The tutorials are comprehensive, a map is available to see where you are and who you have, or haven’t talked to, you can constantly consult a task list in case you think you’ve missed something and, to break up monotony, puzzle mini-games like matching items, finding hidden objects or taking part in an aerobics class.

However, Avenue Flo can also be compared to an overprotective parent. It is constantly holding the hand of the player and never letting go. While there was never a moment where I was left wondering what I was supposed to do next, there also never seemed to be a moment where I actually had to think and figure something out for myself. If Flo needed to find an item, or go to a different area, she’d often say to herself (and the player) that she should visit x location to get y item. The whole point of an adventure game is to use your brain to find solutions to troublesome situations. Avenue Flo never gives the player the opportunity to do that - it’s constantly doing it for you.

Also, if you’re running Kaspersky Internet Security 2009 on a Windows Vista computer, you may encounter conflicts with Avenue Flo. When I installed it, it labeled the game as a high risk. Normally, that’s no big deal. I’ll just install the game and let Kaspersky label it as such and enable its precautions. But with Avenue Flo it ended up giving off a stream of alerts and I found myself unable to register the game. I had no problem installing, registering and playing Avenue Flo on a Windows XP computer with no anti-virus program.

A better title would be, My First Point-and-Click Adventure: Avenue Flo.

Avenue Flo is cute. Very cute. It’s well executed, filled with familiar Dash series characters and incredibly easy to play. The problem is, it’s far too easy. The only real challenge comes from the mini-games, and even some of those are pretty easy. So the people who’d be most interested in the game, adventure fans, could very likely be turned off by the fact that the game is constantly holding your hand and even telling you what to do.

If you’ve never played an adventure game before, want a game you where you don’t really have to think to play or are a child, Avenue Flo is the perfect pick. If you’re someone who enjoys a challenge or is an older gamer, then look elsewhere.

Site [Avenue Flo]

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Title:Zombie Apocalypse
Price:  800 Microsoft Points ($10 US)
System: Xbox Live Arcade,
Release Date: September 26, 2009
Publisher: Konami
ESRB Rating: Mature for Blood, Gore, Violence
Pros: Throwback to arcade style shoot ‘em ups, fun selection of weapons and special types of zombies, multiplayer is a blast
Cons: Only a few maps to play on, action becomes repetitive, single player becomes tough to slog through
Overall Score: One thumb up, one thumb sideways, 75/100; C, *** 1/2 out of five.

If Smash TV and Left 4 Dead had a baby, Zombie Apocalypse would surely be the blister-inducing result.

The control scheme and general lay of the land will be instantly familiar to anyone raised on arcade classics like Robotron. Nihilistic Software’s effort is an unabashed love letter to those older games with some of the new twists on the zombie genre cribbed from Valve’s smash hit. 

The nod to Left 4 Dead comes from the integration of special zombie types such as the “Puker,” whose constant stream of vomit slips and slows down your character, and the “Big Boy.” While you can wriggle your way from the grasp of most zombies by wagging the left analog stick, the construction garb clad Big Boy’s grip is instant death.

MMMM, Brains

The zombie types get crazier from there. Later, you’ll face psycho prom queen with Aliens-style critters bursting from their chest and zombies that tote shotguns. Your weapons will include shotguns, flamethrowers and Molotov cocktails (also a staple weapon in Left 4 Dead.)  And I don’t really need to tell you that one of your staple weapons is a chainsaw, do I? The chainsaw will kill a zombie with one attack and increases your score multiplier, but the drawback is you can easily be chomped on from behind while you’re swinging it about. Environmental hazards you can toss zombies into including airplane engines and car crushers.

There are also survivors to save for huge point bonuses and the right to earn “Zombie Bait,”  which is a talking a teddy bear stuffed with “love and C4.”  Perhaps as more homage to the arcade shooters of yore, he has only a few phrases and you’ll quickly tire of them. But those games did have their flaws and it’s OK to correct a few of them along the way, even while paying tribute.

The game really is at its spew-inducing best when you and three friends fire it up and try to make it all the way to Level 55. There are only a handful of maps, though, and you’ll see them loop over and over through your adventure. There are other ways the game ramps up the difficulty, including a blackout mode that only allows you to see the heroes’ immediate field of vision and irradiated zombies that are more lethal to fight. By the time you reach day 55, you’ll have seen everything multiple times.

Even so, only the heartiest of the hearty may make it that far. You can continue levels after your death, with the only real penalty being unable to appear on the game’s leader boards.

Smoke ‘Em If Ya Got ‘Em

The four heroes you’ll use to to slay the mass of infected freaks get repetitive also. The collection of zombies is fun and unique and I wish the same amount of care had been taken to make the four heroes you can select more different as well. Each character has a cute little bio snippet that could have been used to expand on their characters although I realize that for this type of game it’s a little much to expect any kind of full-fledged story.

Still, there were interesting bits of stuff thrown in and it would have been nice to see them - dare I say - fleshed out in some way. More important is that the four characters, even the obligatory female, all play exactly alike. You can’t use the style of game as an excuse here as even ancient arcade side-scrollers such as Final Fight mastered the simple concept of “bigger guy hits harder, skinny guy moves faster.”

All-in-all, this little-arcade-shooter-that-could delivers enough fun, particularly as a multiplayer game, to warrant its 800 Microsoft Point purchase price.

If you’re the kind of zombie fan who can already quote all the rules for killing the undead laid out in the new flick Zombieland, this one likely warrants some space on your Xbox 360’s hard drive.

Site [Zombie Apocalypse]

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Title: Kenka Bancho: Badass Rumble
Price: $39.99
System(s): PSP
Release Date: November 10, 2009
Publisher (Developer): Atlus (Spike)
ESRB Rating: “Teen” for Animated Blood, Language, Mild Suggestive Themes and Violence
Pros: Fantastic script, translation and localization. Simple controls. Lots of clothing and character customization options. Funny storyline. Night Out option allows you to play with friends or build up your character’s stats and funds. You can dress the main character as a giant banana.
Cons: Loading times are too short (not enough time to read the awesome definitions). Game is somewhat short.
Overall Score: Two thumbs up, 98/100, A, * * * * 1/2 out of 5

I think it’s fair to say that I’ve been captivated by Kenka Bancho: Badass Rumble ever since I had the opportunity to play it for a hands-on preview. It is by far the quirkiest hack-and-slash style game I’ve ever played, and I never expected it to provide players with such freedom over their banchos’ actions. This has been a banner year for Atlus PSP games, and the amazing Kenka Bancho: Badass Rumble easily belongs among great releases like Shin Megami Tensei: Persona,  Steambot Chronicles: Battle Tournament, Class of Heroes and Crimson Gem Saga.

Surviving school trip banalities by becoming the ultimate high school badass.

Takashi Sakamoto’s on a school trip. Not by choice, mind you. A school trip to Kyouto’s the last thing he’s interested in experiencing. But his teacher threatened horrible things if he didn’t go, so he’s trapped.

Once he arrives in Kyouto, he learns something that may make the whole trip worthwhile. 47 high schools are all on their high school trip in Kyouto at the same time. It turns out this happens every year, and every year the banchos (top badasses) of each school battle it out to see who’s the best. Takashi decides he’s in, and declares he will be the ultimate bancho.

Players have seven days to help Takashi beat all 46 other banchos. He has to beat up their minions to find school schedules, then make sure he’s at the appropriate location at the right time to take down their leaders. If he manages to prove himself, he’ll be challenged by the Kyouto bancho, the reigning ultimate bancho, before he leaves. There’s more to do than fight though, Takashi’s father’s tasked him with collecting souvenirs, there are class trip activities and there are a few possible girlfriends for Takashi to woo.

You know a game’s great when even the loading screens exude awesomeness.

First, I must mention how incredibly cool the Kenka Bancho: Badass Rumble loading screens are. After all, they’re the first thing you’ll see when you start the game. Each loading screen offers a definition of a term that you’ll find in the game, or a brief description of one of the game’s locations or more unique characters. They’re usually quite quirky, often funny and even informative. This is the only game where I think I’ve anticipated loading screens. The only bad part is that the loading times are too short, meaning you might not get enough time to read them.

The loading screens also set the tone for the writing of the entire game. Kenka Bancho: Badass Rumble is often silly, funny and clever, all at once. The quips exchanged before and after fights are always different. It’s a very well translated and localized affair. Moreover, it succeeds in making even the strangest characters likable.

The whole fight structure is interesting as well. You’re given complete freedom over how to make Takashi the top bancho, but there is a general and accepted way of fighting. First, you unleash your menchi beams with your opponent. (Note: A real bancho only fights other banchos.) Once he accepts, you start a trash talking duel. You’ll see a phrase flash in front of you, then you must push the correct buttons to recreate that phrase. If you do so correctly, you’ll get the first hit in. Then, you fight. Bare hands only - only a shabazo (lowlife) fights with weapons. If you proceed like this, you’ll end up respected and revered.

Of course, it’s also fun to break those rules. I dedicated a whole playthrough to making Takashi a shabazo king. He’d use his menchi beams to steal from innocent passersby. He’d go into a fight carrying wooden swords or lead pipes. He’d ambush opponents, going in swinging.

Kenka Bancho: Badass Rumble is short, but even that’s a good thing. There’s no possible way to do everything in the game - complete the journal, unlock titles, get girlfriends, find items, on the first playthrough. You have to replay it to experience everything. Also, since there are quite a few little side stories and paths to see, depending on where Takashi is at certain times during the week, the story will also be slightly different each time you play.

Quite possibly the funniest, quirkiest and most entertaining PSP game of 2009.

The moment I saw Kenka Bancho: Badass Rumble‘s protagonist beating up opponents while dressed as a giant banana, I was sold. Hack-and-slash action games can often get repetitive or seem lifeless after a while, because all you’re really doing is just endlessly attacking enemies. Kenka Bancho never feels repetitive or lifeless. There’s always something to do, whether you’re trying to complete the school trip storyline, get a girlfriend for Takashi, become the ultimate bancho or even just collect all the game’s souvenirs. In addition, the script is fantastic and the characters are interesting.

Kenka Bancho: Badass Rumble may look like a niche game, but any PSP owner would love it if they gave it a chance. It’s a pleasant surprise.

Read [Gamertell] Site [Kenka Bancho: Badass Rumble]

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Title: LostWinds: Winter of the Melodias
Price: 1,000 Wii Points (US$10)
System: Wii
Release Date: October 19, 2009
Publisher (Developer): Frontier Developments Ltd. (Frontier Developments Ltd.)
ESRB Rating: “E” for mild fantasy violence
Pros: Gorgeous visuals, unique environmental puzzles, excellent use of Wii controls and a cute (and somewhat touching) story.
Cons: Too short and too easy.
Overall Score: Two thumbs up; 94/100; A; **** out of 5

LostWinds: Winter of the Melodias is a charming little game. I hesitate to say that because it calls to mind singing mice or scruffy puppies with hearts of gold but that’s what Winter of the Melodias is: charming.

It’s also a gorgeous game with some good puzzles, a nice dose of adventure, and fairly unique combat that’ll appeal to gamers of all types.

The Wind Beneath My Toku

The game continues the adventure of the young boy Toku initiated in last year’s LostWinds. You don’t play entirely as Toku, however; you’re also Enril, a wind spirit charged with helping and protecting Toku. The two characters are effectively split across the two Wii input devices: move Toku directly with the Nunchuck, and flick the WiiMote as Enril to lift Toku, slow his descents, fend off enemies and manipulate the environment to his advantage. It’s a wonderful control scheme that pulls you right into the game…you feel like you’re part of the world of Mistralis, not just guiding people through it.

The story of Winter of the Melodias is light but effective. Toku’s mother, Magdi, has gone missing. Setting off to find her, Toku learns she has been cursed by a mysterious enemy who has applied the same curse to the people of Melodia City. Their kingdom has been plunged into an eternal winter and it’s up to Toku and Enril to lift the curse in time to save Toku’s mother.

The story is told through journal entries and conversations with the various characters Toku encounters along the way. These written-word scenes are fairly brief, but were still quite touching, especially those between Toku and his ailing mother. Never sappy or heavy-handed, mind you, just honest. You want Toku to do well, here. These are people worth saving.

The Toku, My Friend, is Blowin’ in the Wind

Toku’s adventure takes him through some gorgeous environments, most of which he’ll visit numerous times, either to complete the game or simply to find all of the collectibles. Each screen is a puzzle of getting from point A to point B, which you must solve by flicking the WiiMote to create wind gusts to lift Toku over obstacles, tornadoes for higher lifts or to drill through dirt and rock and vortexes to trap and throw snowballs and rocks. Some are a simple matter of jumping to the right area, while others involve a complex combination of moving rocks onto levers, lighting torches to reach brush that must be burned away, and even changing the season to freeze rivers or thaw ice walls.

Along the way, you’ll also be fighting glorbs, which are exactly what they sound like: little masses of oil, more or less, that stick to you and drain your health. Your only defense is Enril, who can flick them away with wind gusts or burn them with torches. There is a variety of glorb incarnations—fire, ice, and even birds and crab-like creatures—that are more effectively dealt with when using the environment as opposed to just blowing them aside.

Toku’s Like the Wind Through the Trees

Of course, most of this was in the original LostWinds, so what’s changed? Well, first of all, nothing really needed to be improved. These are WiiWare games, after all, and are therefore quite short. Both entries can be complete in under five hours, so more of the same still wouldn’t be enough. But you do now get the ability to create the aforementioned tornados that are key to solving the game, as well as create storm clouds that can be used to move water from one location to another.

With these new capabilities come improved controls over the original. Although there will still be annoying moments where the gestures are unresponsive for no apparent reason, this happens far less often than in LostWinds.

The developers were also wise to add a map this time, making it much easier to find your way to your goals. The drawback to this is that it dramatically shortens the game, as you spend less time wandering around aimlessly. It’s also much less frustrating, however, so that’s a trade-off I’ll accept.

You Lived Your Life Like a Toku in the Wind

I can’t fault a $10 WiiWare game too much for being short but I will dock it a bit for being perhaps too simple. The puzzles are quite easy to figure out by just observing the screens for a bit although the developers did keep things fresh by starting the game out with a heavy reliance on heat and ending it with two-person puzzles as you guide the King of Melodia City back home. Also, there’s only one real boss battle of which to speak, although it’s certainly a good one. I did get stuck once or twice and I died once or twice, but was rarely challenged beyond that.

These complaints, however, didn’t in any way hamper my enthusiasm for the game. It’s a joy to play. The visuals are gorgeous and serenely animated, accented by some wonderful soundtrack music worthy of a CD release (I was reminded of Bruno Coulais wonderful score for Coraline throughout).

LostWinds: Winter of the Melodias offers a engaging trip into a wonderful little world that manages to be quite - I won’t say addictive - compelling. It’s light enough for casual or puzzle gamers but hard core gamers looking for a momentary diversion from the Metroid Trilogy or Dead Space Extraction won’t do much better.

I would say that I’d love to see what Frontier could do with a larger budget and a release for store shelves but I’m afraid that would pull them away from the simplistic charm and beauty of LostWinds and that’s not something I want to risk losing.

Site [ LostWinds: Winter of the Melodias]

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Title: Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story
Price: $34.99
System(s): DS
Release Date: September 14, 2009
Publisher (Developer): Nintendo (Alphadream Corporation)
ESRB Rating: “Everyone” for Comic Mischief and Mild Cartoon Violence
Pros: Clear and bright worlds and characters, funny script, could be a good first RPG for people, interesting gameplay, lots of areas to explore, can see the map at any time and makes great use of the top and bottom screens.
Cons: No save anywhere. Bros items are gone. Not a lot of side quests.
Overall Score: Two thumbs up, 98/100, A, * * * * 1/2 out of 5

Nintendo’s Mario RPGs never seem to get the attention they deserve. While they are popular games, they always seem to be overshadowed by other entries in the series, like the platformers, sports or party games. It’s a shame, because they tend to always surpass players expectations.

The Mario & Luigi series of portable RPGs has already received quite a bit of support from Nintendo. The spectacular GBA entry, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga and equally awesome DS entry Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time were critically acclaimed, and rightfully so. Surprisingly, DS owners didn’t have to wait until the next Nintendo handheld for a new entry. Nintendo has recently released the third entry, Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story. Don’t let the unremarkable box art fool you, it’s just as entertaining and perhaps even better than the preceding entries.

An unlikely alliance and the exploration of Bowser and the Mushroom Kingdom

An awful plague is spreading throughout the Mushroom Kingdom and infecting Toads. Strange Blorb Shrooms are being distributed by an unknown individual, and anyone who eats a Blorb Shroom develops the Blorbs. They essentially puff up and expand. Remember that part of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory where Violet Beauregarde grows into a giant blueberry? It’s like that, only the Toads don’t turn blue.

During a conference being held at the Mushroom Castle, where Peach, Mario, Luigi, the Star Sprite Starlow and a number of influencial Toads are discussing the Blorbs and a way to find a cure and save the kingdom, Bowser storms in. He declares he is going to kidnap Peach. Mario trounces him thoroughly.

After that, Bowser wakes up in a nearby forest and isn’t in a very good mood, as you can probably guess. While finding his way out with Kamek, he runs into a mysterious figure who gives him a Lucky Mushroom. Said mushroom makes Bowser inhale everything in sight. The figure, who turns out to be Fawful, sends Bowser back to the castle, where he then inhales everybody. When it’s all over, Bowser awakes in a cave with no memory of what happened, Mario, Luigi and Starlow find themselves journeying through Bowser’s body to find the Toads and Princess Peach and everyone’s trying to find a way to stop Fawful.

An example of a handheld RPG at its finest.

A consistant hallmark of the Mario & Luigi series of RPGs are clever, imaginative and genuinely funny story and script. Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story doesn’t disappoint. It’s laugh out loud funny in parts. Even better, it’s funny for players of all ages and skill levels, no matter how familiar they are with the Super Mario universe. Crafting a game which can appeal, entertain and reach all audiences so perfectly is an extraordinary challenge, and Alphadream and Nintendo should be applauded for their effort and hard work that resulted in this wonderful title.

Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story is also just a beautiful game, in terms of graphics, soundtrack and overall presentation. The Mushroom Kingdom is presented in a way where depth is hinted at, based on the way things are laid out and organized, even though the world is essentially still presented in 2D. The world inside Bowser is presented in true, straightforward 2D. In battle, Bowser can inhale enemies, and then Mario and Luigi can deal additional damage from the inside. Sometimes, Bowser can even power up, so the DS is held sideways in book-fashion to look at the battle in a whole new way. It’s just presented in a very innovative, colorful and inventive manner, something you don’t expect in a standard RPG.

Not only that, it’s very easy to play. The controls are intuitive, and every action performed feels comfortable. Plus, there are multiple short tutorials, most of which can be skipped in case you’ve played a Mario & Luigi game before, that ensure no one gets lost along the way. Another nice feature is, when you go to load up a save, there’s a brief description helping you catch up on where the story left off in case you haven’t played in a while.

There’s only one thing wrong with the Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story, and it involves saving. You can only save at designated save points. While there are quite a few save points scattered throughout the game, you can often find yourself at a point in the story where you’re five to ten minutes away from a spot where you can save. If this were a console RPG, it wouldn’t matter. But this isn’t. When you’re playing on the go, you may unexpectedly have to stop playing. If that happens while playing Bowser’s Inside Story, you either have to abandon your progress, or close the DS lid to put it in sleep mode and hope the battery doesn’t run out or the power switch doesn’t get nudged.

The Mario & Luigi RPG series remains fresh and strong.

Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story is nearly the perfect portable RPG. The characters are iconic and identifiable, the script is funny and well written, the soundtrack is a joy to listen to, it looks bright and clear and it is easy to get immersed in the tale. Even better, it manages to be the kind of game that beginners and veterans can get into and enjoy, the tutorials are clear and gameplay is intuitive, but there isn’t any overbearing hand-holding. It also offers unique perspectives and viewpoints as well. It’s probably one of the best games available for the DS.

Even if you’ve never played a Mario & Luigi RPG, don’t worry. As long as you’re familiar with the characters, you’ll be fine. While I wholeheartedly recommend the other entries in the series, you won’t miss anything or be left out if you decide to start with, or only play, Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story. If you have played a Mario & Luigi RPG before, get ready for more of the same, high quality gaming experience.

Site [Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story]

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Title:Ion-Assult Football Genius: The Ultimate Quiz
Price: $10.00 (800 Microsoft points)
System(s): Xbox Live
Release Date: September 20, 2009
Publisher (Developer): I-Imagine Interactive
ESRB Rating: "Everyone"
Pros: A fun trivia game, 6 different games, leaderboards, achievements, and online play.
Cons: You can't choose what games you want to play and it may get repetitive after a while.
Overall Score: Two Thumbs up, 96/100; A; * * * * 1/2 out of five.

Jump On the Field and Kick It Hard

Throw in the Hat Trick

GOAL!

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Title: The Big band Theory: The Complete Second Season (aka Big Bang Theory: Season 2)
Price: $44.98
Format: DVD
Release Date: September 15, 2009
Studio: Warner Bros.
Rating: Not Rated
Pros: Decent acting, complex scientific ideas are embedded in an approachable and funny way, breaks down several stereotypes and has fairly universal comedic appeal. Presented in widescreen.
Cons: A little weak on extra features. Not yet available on Blu-ray.
Overall Score: Two thumbs up; 95/100; A; * * * * 1/2 out of five.

The Big Bang Theory celebrates all that is geeky, a lot that is nerdy and delivers just enough underdog romance to keep even the unsuspecting viewer interested.

The series breaks down and twists the typical setup of an intellectually floundering, often overweight male paired with the seemingly out-of-reach, wise, sassy and super sexy female costar into an unsuspecting blend of science, a wide range of humor and a smattering of sweetness. It’s a formula that’s worked from the beginning of the series and has nicely improved throughout the second season.

Hail to the Geek

The series is a surprisingly fantastic celebration of all things geek, featuring four university scientists who come together to share potstickers and ponder various social conundrums. Two of the main characters, Leonard (Johnny Galecki) and Sheldon (Jim Parsons), are roommates who live across from cute-waitress-waiting-to-become-an-actress Penny (Kaley Cuoco). There’s a nice slice of sexual tension between awkward yet down-to-Earth Leonard and Penny while the uber arrogant theoretical physics expert and UCLA professor, Sheldon, perpetually plops problems into their social lives.

Bringing in additional comic fodder is a buddy duo consisting living-with-mom frustrated horndog Howard (Simon Helberg) and Rajesh (Kunal Nayyar), a heavily accented Indian who would be the most socially smooth of the group except he needs to toss back a few drinks before he can even speak in the same room as a woman.

In the second season of Big Bang Theory, the cluster of super smarty geeks begins to show more heart than the previous season. We also get healthy dose of gaming references - nods to World of Warcraft, a Wii Sports Bowling night and even an entire episode dedicated to Age of Conan: Online - and plenty of charts.

Atomic Level Genius

The series certainly does not disappoint on any level. There is plenty of comedy created by the interplay of character, along with the continued romantic tensions and unsuspecting moments of sweetness involving Penny with each of her geeky neighbors.

It touches upon comic books, video games and even personal idiosyncrasies in a way that always feels fresh and, when it aims too high, makes certain to immediately bring things back down to a comprehensible, comedic level with completely pandering to crude humor (except when entirely inescapable). Stories typically focus on one pair of characters at a time yet always work the other characters to help keep pace and add bits of additional character development.

Because there is so much physics (and other sciences) in the show, the writers wisely defer to an expert (UCLA Prof. David Saltzberg) who also helps to pen many of the background diagrams. Some even make way into the show’s intros, offering unexpectedly comedic explanations for otherwise simplistic phenomena. How do you make friends? Perhaps a flow chart will help (or not). The writers even sneak in concepts from other sciences (especially Psychology) to help bring points back around from a seemingly distant idea.

The show seems to focus on Penny and Leonard’s relationship but, thanks to Parsons, Sheldon really comes through as this season’s strongest and most humorous character, developing a sense of “humor” and allowing Penny just enough wiggle room to bring down the pH of his often caustic personality. Likewise, Penny is subtly turning the corner from a socially normalized citizen to being able to pull out an appropriate Star Trek analogy when necessary.

A Few Extra Electrons

The DVD extras include a featurette which focuses on Saltzberg’s relationship with the show. In it he demonstrates a little of how he adds the charts to the set while and the series creators explain how his role is far more important that he might realize. When they come up with a comedic moment that involve science, they rely on Saltzberg to fill in some of the unknown variables (aka dialog) so that they are not only based in actual scientific theories but also add to the scene

There’s also a featurette that offers the usual montage and quote splices of castmembers’ favorite moments of the season, commenting on their characters and praising each other. Even so it offers a few insider comments that you might not find online.

Magnetic Personalities

Part of the show’s appeal is that it not only embraces geekdom, it also pokes fun at it much the same way as good friends teasing each other. Feelings might get momentarily bruised but the intention is always a love pat instead of the resulting awkward hand slap.

While I often joke that my wife enjoys the show because she relates to pretty Penny who must constantly deal with, yet somehow ends up loving, these seemingly unlikeable geeks, there is an element of truth to that.

Much like the expansion of the universe, the second season of The Big Bang Theory begins to so a more expansive look into these characters, offering more personality, more obsessive-compulsiveness and even more laughs from a broader area than before. This show is enjoyable for geeks, nerds and every supposedly normal person in between.

It’s time for you to embrace science.

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Title: Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2
Price: $29.99 DS and PS2; $39.99 for PSP; $49.99 Wii; $59.99 PS3 and Xbox 360.
System(s): *DS, PSP (PS2, PS3, Xbox 360, Wii)
Release Date: September 15, 2009
Publisher (Developer): Activision (n-Space)
ESRB Rating: “Everyone 10+” for fantasy violence and mild language.
Pros: Fairly nice graphics, a nice range of attacks for each character, plenty of role-playing elements and a bit of button mashing, dungeon-crawling fun. Excellent use of the touchscreen.
Cons: A lot of technical glitches including object detection, stuck avatars and AI ignorance. Flipping, uncontrollable camera angles makes the in-game map more disorienting than useful.
Overall Score: Two thumbs sideways; 74/100; C; * * out of five.

The first Marvel Ultimate Alliance console game was a great combination of role-playing elements and dungeon crawling. The ability to mix and match Marvel characters help keep a potentially monotonous game interesting.

Capturing the same energy on the DS, however, is a rather tricky matter. The resolution drops the graphics down a significant amount and environments are a little more limited but, even if those aren’t an issue, glitches and poor camera or mapping (or both) can really drag down a game.

‘Nuff To Do

The game follows the same basic pattern of the console version. You get a bit of story and then a foursome of heroes are dropped into a level to cooperatively crawl through, defeating opponents, beating bosses and generally smashing crap.

Each hero has a basic attack and a serious of touchscreen-activated special attacks. Hulk, for example, has a few super smashes whereas Captain Marvel will toss his shield around the room, ricocheting off walls, opponents and destructible objects. There are some areas that require a combination of close and distant attacks.

The role-playing element is maintained pretty well, allowing you to either auto-upgrade playable character or to go in and divvy points and show a bit of favoritism to level up some heroes before others. Powerup absorption is automated in the team mode, so the hero who needs more health will get it first.

Semi Fantastic Foursomes

The game’s graphics are decent enough so that you can recognize each character. Certainly Hulk and Thing are more massive but the more subtle differences between female costumed characters, for example, are still unique enough to maintain each heroine’s identity. Powers are also unique enough to offer a nice variety with some favoring distant attacks, others like to keep things close (Wolverine) and a few offering a decent mix (Spider-man and Captain Marvel).

Despite how fun the game first seems, the annoyances quickly take over. The first is a two-pronged map and camera issue.

Being a DS game the maps are a bit more narrow and the camera will periodically reorient, making it hard to tell which direction you are facing on the in-game map. This becomes more irritating as areas increase in size and complexity as you progress through the game. You’ll spend a stupid amount of time backtracking just to get to the right intersection to spend a few minutes of trial-an-error movements to get to the next area.

Running back through identical looking areas for dozens of minutes at a time is simply tedious. Objects are also repeated to the point of silliness, with every car in an area being exactly the same with some being entirely destructible while, for no apparent reason, others simply explode into a twisted metal frame.

AI is usually decent enough to set your team in action and get through most areas. There isn’t the reactivity setting as there is in the console version so they’ll often act on their own, not attacking until attacked first (which means you’ll have to take few pot shots from unseen, off-screen opponents).

Of course, the AI is not infallible. Computer-controlled allies can also get stuck in weird spots or simply stand in one place, not coming to your aid when you’re being attacked by multiple laser-totin’ opponents. A few times there were some context-sensitive submissions that were either prematurely activated or incorrectly coded so that they appeared on the mission list but were impossible to get to (either because they were invisible or they were not supposed to be activated).

Finally, there are numerous object detection errors. Characters walk through walls or get stuck between a garbage can or on an indicator arrow or car until you flip to another character and the AI magically gets unsticks them all.

Nice Tights?

You can probably get through the game by button mashing but where is the fun in that? You’ll want to try every hero’s various attacks just to see them doing what they do best. And double tap that jump button (hint: not all heroes simply jump). The game pretty much forces you to use a semi-balanced team and the touchscreen controls for special attacks is easy to use and well executed. It’s rare that a DS game can take advantage of the touchscreen as well as this game has.

There is a fair amount of RPG and dungeon crawling fun to be had with this hero game but the technical glitches and other long-term annoyances keep it from being great. In other words, the short-term fun is certainly there while there isn’t much -long-term enjoyment.

As such, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 for DS just barely breaks average. Think twice at full price but get it as soon as it hits a discount bin.

Site [Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2]

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Title: Obscure: The Aftermath
Price: $29.99
System(s): PSP
Release Date: PSN Download: October 1, 2009, UMD: September 29, 2009
Publisher (Developer): Playlogic (Hydravision)
ESRB Rating: “Mature” for Blood and Gore, Drug Reference, Mild Suggestive Themes and Violence
Pros: Characters and environments look good. Is sufficiently scary and unnerving. Fantastic and appropriate soundtrack. Controls are comfortable. Storyline and presentation is reminiscent of a B-movie. Loading times aren’t that bad with downloadable version. Can have a friend join in to help at any time.
Cons: Costs more than the PC, PS2 and Wii versions. Doesn’t really matter which two characters you choose to play as. Loading times can be annoying with the UMD version. Never seem to have enough ammo to fight enemies. Aiming to attack mutants is difficult. Camera is annoying and often fixed into awkward and unhelpful positions. The downloadable copy that I had froze twice while playing.
Overall Score: Two thumbs sideways, 70/100, C-, * * out of 5

There aren’t that many horror games on the PSP. There’s Silent Hill: Origins. Manhunt 2 and Undead Knights cound technically be counted as well, though they aren’t really scary. Resident Evil Portable is in development, but we probably won’t be seeing that until sometime in 2010. So, in the meantime, we have to appreciate the few horror games there are on the handheld. Fortunately, the port of Obscure: The Aftermath should offer an additional alternative looking for a portable scare.

Some young adults lead normal lives, others become unintentional targets for unexplained, scary phenomena.

Stanley Jones, Kenny Matthews and Shannon Matthews, the stars of Obscure: The Aftermath, have the worst luck. In the original Obscure, they happened about strange and unnatural experiments being carried out in their high school’s lab, and then have to save themselves and their classmates from the infection and mutated students. Compared to that, college should have been easy.

Kenny and Shannon both attend Fallcreek University now, while Kenny delivers pizzas. Things aren’t quite right on campus though. Black flowers have been appearing at the school, and the students have been using them as drugs because they cause incredibly lucid, yet strange, dreams. As you can probably expect, things take a turn for the worse. Mutants pop up again, and new friends Corey, Sven, Amy, Mei and Jun join Stan, Kenny and Shannon in the fight to survive.

You can’t make it on your own. Well, you can, but it’s easier with a friend.

Obscure: The Aftermath‘s defining features are the ability to play as two characters and co-operate with another player to make your way through the game. It reminded me a bit of Maniac Mansion. There are six playable characters, and you get to choose two to work with. Each have special talents and abilities that make certain tasks easier. Then, while playing, you can turn on ad-hoc multiplayer at any time to have a friend control one of the characters. It’s an interesting concept which you don’t see implemented in many PSP games.

I did notice that if two people are playing together over ad-hoc wireless, the game will drag a bit. So it’s a toss up - work alone and get things done at a fast, consistent pace, or work with someone else and see a noticeable drag. Also, if you’re playing with someone, you don’t have to worry about the extra character roaming around and getting in your way when you aren’t directly controlling him or her.

Obscure: The Aftermath is also a bit of an homage to B-movies. The plot is kind of ridiculous, and the dialogue is occasionally as well. The acting by the voice actors seems to purposely be done in a manner that borders on melodramatic and is occasionally stilted or ill suited to the situation at hand. Players will either enjoy and find the presentation entertaining, or think its annoying. It all depends on your personal preference. Most likely the fantastic graphics and soundtrack will help make acting or script issues seem like a small price to pay.

There can also be loading issues. If you’re playing the UMD version of the game, the load times seem longer than the downloadable version, and can disrupt the flow of the game. So this may be one of those cases where the PlayStation Store version is supearior to the UMD. There’s still loading, but the times are brief.

A good game for B-movie fans looking for a new horror game for Halloween ‘09.

Obscure: The Aftermath isn’t the best PSP game, or even the best PSP port, ever made, but it still can be fun. If you’re a horror fan and you’re looking for something scary to play on the go, it’s worth the investment. I’d also recommend it to people who enjoy playing with their friends, as the co-op is pretty well executed. It’s a game that has its issues, like UMD loading times, multiplayer lag, camera issues, aiming malfunctions, but also has redeeming factors like realistic graphics, a soundtrack you’d even want to listen to in your spare time, pretty well implemented co-op, a few great scares and B-movie goodness.

There is one other thing to note. If you have a PSPgo, or decide you’d rather directly download Obscure: The Aftermath from the PlayStation Store, there are a few things you’ll need. First, older PSP owners may need a larger memory card, since it’s a 828mb game file. Second, you’ll need a speedy and stable internet connection. Otherwise it could take you an hour or two to download the game or, heaven forbid, there could be a problem with the connection which would require you to start downloading the game all over again from the beginning. I have an internet connection that is typically fast, and it took over 137 minutes to completely download Obscure: The Aftermath.

Site [Obscure: The Aftermath]

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Title: Critter Crunch
Price: $6.99
System: PS3 (via PlaysStation Network)
Release Date: October 8, 2009
Publisher (Developer): Capybara Games (Capybara Games)
ESRB Rating: “Everyone”
Pros: Cheap price, steady learning curve, stunning graphics and unpredictable puzzle patterns.
Cons: The music isn’t as dynamic as the rest of the game, multiplayer not beginner friendly.
Overall Score: Two Thumbs Up; 95/100; A; **** 1/2 out of 5

Critter Crunch was one of the first iPhone-iPod Touch games that showed how those devices were capable of delivering a worthwhile gaming experience. Now it’s the PS3’s turn to give Critter Crunch’s addictive charms a whirl.

Critter Crunch was released exclusively on the PlayStation Network on October 8, 2009, for the reasonably low price of $6.99. It shares the same concept as its iPhone-iPod Touch counterpart but gets a considerable upgrade in the graphics department. Capybara Games hand drew all the animations in Critter Crunch and the result is nothing short of beautiful. Once you throw in multiplayer, Trophy support and leaderboards you’ve got a game that deserves to live on your hard drive.

Critter Crunch is a puzzle game at its core but that doesn’t stop it from trying to include a story to run alongside the gameplay. You control a chubby and jolly looking critter named Biggs who is the center of attention for a nature documentary. Quick, unvoiced cut scenes featuring the documentaries host are sprinkled in between levels and provide a mildly amusing take on Biggs’ exploits. However, you don’t come into Critter Crunch expecting a story. The jewel here is how the game works (which is very well).

Critter Crunch appears to be a simple match-three game but it’s slightly more complex than that.

The object of the game is to feed small creatures to larger creatures until they literally explode. If more than one creature of the same color happens to be near the exploding one, they will all explode. Exploding critters leave behind jewels that Biggs can consume for extra points. These points go on to fill the hunger meter on the left side of the screen. The level ends once the meter is full. The game wants you to chain combos together for three reasons: 1) You clear the level faster, 2) you bump up your rankings in the leaderboards and 3) you can vomit rainbows into your son’s named Smalls mouth for even more points and a good laugh.

Yes, vomiting rainbows into Smalls mouth is a huge part of maximizing points.You gain this ability by chaining together a chain of eight or more exploding critters. Racking up these combos isn’t necessary to clear the level, but it does give a considerable amount of bragging rights.

Critter Crunch is spread out across many areas with unique looks in each one. In many of these areas new types of critters are introduced. Once such creature is a bomb that clears everything caught in its blast radius. Another special critter type is made of rock. He cannot be fed or moved around by Biggs. Instead he must be dispatched by exploding critters above him (causing him to drop off his vine) or by using a power foods.

Power foods are earned by exploding random glowing critters. This causes them to drop food such as watermelons. Biggs can use the seeds from the watermelon to instantly pop any critter. Midway through the game all the critters, tricks and abilities you’ve learned are lumped together. The critters even start to descend down the vines more quickly that before, making fast thinking essential.

Multiplayer mode is split between cooperative and competitive modes. Cooperative mode tests how long you and a friend can last through the continuous onslaught of critters and competitive mode is a one on one puzzle fight to the death. It works similar to the Puzzle Fighter philosophy by giving you special powers to temporarily make things more difficult for your opponent. I’ve been on the receiving in of a stunning lightning bolt attack on more than a few occasions.

Even though multiplayer is fun, it’s near impossible to play it to your full potential without through most of the adventure mode. There are some unique critter types that can only be popped in specific ways and multiplayer isn’t the place to try and learn the trick.

Critter Crunch is an excellent edition to anyone’s PSN library. There’s no other game on the network with a hand drawn art style as gorgeous as this. New elements are introduced at a steady pace which stops things from ever getting too repetitive. If puzzler’s are your thing then Critter Crunch is a safe bet.

Site [Critter Crunch]

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Title: Scribblenauts
Price: $29.99
System(s): DS
Release Date: September 15, 2009
Publisher (Developer): Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment (5th Cell)
ESRB Rating: “Everyone 10+” for Cartoon Violence and Comic Mischief
Pros: Lots of levels to solve. Level creator. Can change your avatar. Can play around on the title screen and test new words/items. Tons of items available.
Cons: Touch screen controls sometimes fail you. Items may not behave realistically. Timer and “par” hamper creativity in levels. Easy to fall into a lull, using the same items over and over. Physics are off.
Overall Score: One thumb up, one sideways; 88/100; B+; * * * 1/2 out of 5

Maxwell is a young boy who’s been charged with finding starites. They’re scattered throughout a number of locations. But Maxwell can’t just walk right over to a starite and pick it up. Typically there’s some sort of challenge involved. There are 220 included levels, 110 which require you to solve a real-life puzzle and 110 which require you to complete go through what’s more like a side scrolling level. Players receive awards and points for solving problems creatively, and earn ollers that can be spent on unlocking new areas or extra features.

Scribblenauts definitely has its moments.

The amount of words you can plug into Scribblenauts to generate items is massive. Occasionally, you’ll find words which, in reality, would generate different objects, but in the game create the same item. But still, it’s staggering just how many items there are included. You get to put that massive dictionary to good use, as you can get a special gold star for completing the same level three times in three different ways.

5th Cell also obviously had a sense of humor about Scribblenauts, because some words generate funny and unexpected items. For example, inputting “virgin” results in a white man wearing a t-shirt with a video game controller on it. Internet memes are included: “loituma girl” spawns a leek spinning girl and “lol wut” spawns a huge Maxwell head which can be equipped like a mask. Maxwell can ride the “NeoGAF” symbol.

The place place to put that massive collection of words and items to the test is the title screen. I, for one, can say that it’s probably my favorite part. You can play around, changing the background and plugging in words all you like. There’s a sense of freedom and fun here that isn’t present in any of the levels in the game. It truly gives players an opportunity to explore and experiment.

Inputting these words is also effortless. I’m very glad 5th Cell chose to allow people to write in words by either actually writing with the stylus on the touch screen, or using the stylus to type on a miniature keyboard. The keyboard helps eliminate any character recognition problems that may occur. Also helpful are the word suggestions, in case the exact word you enter isn’t in the game. It’ll offer a suggestion of two or three other, alternative words.

And, in case you happen to get bored with or tired of the 220 included levels, there’s also a level creator with Nintendo WiFi Connection support which is a great additional feature. The only downsides is there isn’t an online database of levels you can puruse and choose from, and occasionally the tripwires or switches set up here won’t work properly. Even so, it’s a welcome addition and can be quite fun to use, provided you find other Scribblenauts enthusiasts to swap friendcodes and puzzles with.

But, Scribblenauts also has some glaring weaknesses.

While Scribblenauts has a rather impressive in-game dictionary of over 20,000 words, it sadly doesn’t make very good use of it. In certain puzzle situations, I attempted to use common-sense items to complete challenges, and found that many didn’t work. For example, in Shoreline puzzle 5-2 you have to get a candy bar from a vending machine for a young girl, but a bully is in the way and will kill Maxwell if you get close. I attempted to use mace to stun the bully and get past. It had no effect and Maxwell swiftly met his end. In The Gardens puzzle 1-11, Maxwell has to collect flowers and place them in a basket. A bee is near one and will again, attack and attempt to kill poor Maxwell. I dispatched a Beekeeper to deal with the bee. The bee immediately bested the beekeeper.

Speaking of sending Maxwell off to his doom, it can happen even when you’ve summoned the correct items. The exclusive use of touch screen controls can be quite a burden. If you click the wrong way when attempting to arrange a new item on screen, you can inadvertently send a vulnerable Maxwell off to a dangerous situation.

I found myself routinely using some words over and over. Like “tank,” “sword,” “helicopter,” “tranquilizer dart,” “cage,” “plank,” “ladder,” “pegasus,” “vending machine”, “handcuffs” and “leash.” There’s a reason for this though. My first time playing through levels, I felt an incredible sense of pressure. You’d think a game like Scribblenauts would encourage creativity, but you find out early on that levels have an item “par” and are timed. Players’ points and ollers are docked for using too many items or taking too much time, precious ollers you need to unlock new levels. The notion seemed counter-intuitive to me, giving players access to a staggering number of items, and then not allowing them access to as many items as they may want to use.

Lastly, the physics are also a bit screwed up. Let’s say there’s a ledge or cliff in the level. If you place an item, let’s say a car, at the edge, then attach a chain/leash/rope to it, then allow the chain/leash/rope to dangle over the edge, it will magically drag the whole car over the cliff. It doesn’t make sense. Another example is Ancient puzzle 4-3, where you have to get a unicorn to druids. I gave Maxwell a motorcycle, and attached the unicorn to the back with a leash. That unicorn must have been made out of cement, because he’d actually manage to drag Maxwell back. There are times when you can use this to your advantage, making a puzzle much easier than it should be, but more often than not it’s annoying.

Depending on your expectations, it may or may not live up to the hype.

Scribblenauts is an impressive game and there’s nothing else like it out there. It’s a lot of fun to play and it does make you think. However, it isn’t the life-changing experience that was lauded before its official release. It is a good game, with a lot of entertainment and replay value, but its not quite perfect. It’s a good start though, and hopefully there’ll be a sequel that will fix all of the Scribblenauts imperfections.

It is definitely a hallmark DS title, and will likely be one of the classic games for the system. Its ingenuity and uniqueness have definitely secured Scribblenaut‘s place in history and the hearts of its fans.

Site [Scribblenauts]

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Title: Ion Assault
Price: $8.00
System(s): Xbox Live
Release Date: September, 23, 2009
Publisher (Developer):Coreplay (Black Inc.)
ESRB Rating: Everyone +10 animated blood, fantasy violence
Pros: awesome music, fun game play, reminiscing of that old Asteroids computer game.
Cons: difficulty goes up too quickly, hard to figure out power ups.
Overall Score: One thumb up, on sideways; 89/100; B+; * * * 1/2 out of five.

Full Story » | Written by Jessica Moen for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

Title: Cursed Mountain
Price: $49.99
System: Wii
Release Date: August 25, 2009
Publisher (Developer): Deep Silver (Deep Silver)
ESRB Rating: “Mature” for blood, sexual themes, violence
Pros: Effectively creepy, unique settings with nice visuals, decent level flow, nice cut-scenes with good acting
Cons: Slowly paced, stiff and sometimes jumpy character animation, exceptionally linear, the scares wear off quickly
Overall Score: One thumb up, one thumb sideways; 80/100; B-; *** out of 5

I’ll start off by saying that Deep Silver got the name of this one right. That mountain sure is cursed.

I’m quite fond of both my brothers but, if either of them disappears on a mountain that’s haunted by dead monks who are all the time floating around and jumping out at me and opening their mouth too wide, I’m leaving my brothers up there.

I guess that Eric Simmons is a better man than I and why not? He’s a mountain climber, after all. He’s rugged. He has a cool accent. He ain’t afraid a’ no ghost. His brother Frank disappeared while climbing the Himalayan mountains to retrieve an ancient artifact at the request of, eh, I’ll let you discover all of that on your own. The story, which is revealed in partially animated cut scenes and journal entries you find along the way, is a bit sparse. There was nothing in the plot to keep me moving through this game, as I had absolutely no interest in learning the fate of Eric’s brother. But the game did hold my attention for other reasons.

There’s a Mountain

That’s important, because most of this game’s personality comes from the mountain. It’s oppressive in some ways but rewarding. As you stand at the bottom and look up at the peaks, you can’t help but feel like you’re not getting anywhere. But as you make your way up and look back down at the villages you’ve been through, you’ll know you’ve accomplished something. I’ve never played a game that allowed you to visually monitor your progress in this way and it’s quite cool.

You’ll have to develop this connection with the mountain because, quite often, that’s all there is. Much of Cursed Mountain is spent simply walking along paths, seeking the ending point for that level (hint; keep going up). The various villages add some personality, and you’ll occasionally run into living characters who will impart some wisdom, let you know what’s going on, or simply try to freak you out, but aside from that, it’s just you, the mountain, the weather, and the ghosts.

The Mountain is Cursed

Your brother did something pretty bad, you see. Without ruining any of the story, I’ll just say he had no respect for the mountain (they’ll hammer that notion home early and often), and that’s apparently a very bad thing. We’ve learned from games and movies that seeking ancient artifacts is often a poor decision—especially when you show that decidedly western lack of respect for the object you’re stealing—and here it released countless dark spirits who have driven away the villagers and who have no love for you and mountain climbing ways. They float around in the distance, they jump out from behind doors, they fade in and out of sight…anything to freak you out. Your only weapon against them is your pick axe. Up front, you’ll just be able to swing it at them. As you progress, it’s imbued with various magical weapons with which you can launch ranged attacks and do more signifcant damage.

For health, you’re given incense sticks which you light at shrines scattered across the mountain. Progress is saved automatically, which is both good and bad. Good, in that it happens often enough that you never have to trek to far back aftering dying. Bad, in that an autosave means something’s about to happen, and that kills the scare.

Your only other weapon is the “third eye,” which allows you to see into the spirit realm to discover items hidden to the real world. More importantly, it’s used for my favorite aspect of combat. After landing a few hits on a spirit, activating the third eye will unveil a red medallion on its chest. Click on this medallion, and a series of WiiMote and Nunchuck gestures will show up. Executing these gestures not only finishes off the enemy but also increases your health. It’s very cool, although often frustrating, as one gesture in particular (raising the WiiMote up or pushing it forward or doing whatever happens to work at the time) is wildly unreliable.

It is Still Cursed

Unfortunately, some development decisions prove to be your real obstacle to discovering your brother’s fate. First, although the game is generally quite attractive, certain sections are too washed out by the visual effects. The game is often hazy and dark, making it almost impossible to play in the daytime.

Second, there are long stretches were absolutely nothing is happening. At the beginning, this is fine, as you spend those moments anticipating scares. After a while, however, you’ll realize those scares aren’t coming and you’ll just get antsy.

Third, the scares don’t change. I was totally creeped out by Cursed Mountain for the first few levels, but then it becomes predictable, and that means it’s no longer scary. Still creepy (dig those arms reaching out from the rocks, the distant crying, and the way the screen tilts and fades to grayscale), but not scary.

And, finally, although there are a couple decent boss battles, most simply involve fighting more spirits than you normally face at a given time. I had a similar complaint with Deadly Creatures, in which there are two fantastic boss battles, and a bunch that were completely uninspired.

Did I Mention this Mountain is Cursed?

And actually, the comparison to Deadly Creatures carries beyond that. Both games are very unique in setting and story, but are hampered by execution that doesn’t quite deliver on a fantastic premise. Action comes in spurts, so if you’re not sucked into the game’s world, you’ll likely hit that wall about midway through and just bail on it. As I mentioned, I had little interest in Cursed Mountain’s contrived story (how many ghosts does a man have to kill before he starts to, you know, believe in ghosts?), but I shared Eric’s connection with that mountain, and was creeped out enough to stay involved in what was happening around me.

Cursed Mountain is a unique game that serves as a nice vacation from slaughtering countless Nazis and zombies. It’s easy to lose yourself amongst the mountain’s villages and cliffs, and the game will be ultimately satisfying if you let that happen. But if you demand more action or deeper stories from your adventure games, you’re better off staying closer to sea level.

Site [Cursed Mountain]

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Title: Spore Hero Original Videogame Score
Price: $8.99
Rating: Two Thumbs Up; 95/100; A; **** out of 5.
Pros: Identity of the soundtrack is introduced in the first track and sprinkled throughout the whole album in various forms. Length is just right.
Cons: Too few high-energy and up-tempo songs
Overall: Spore Hero Original Videogame Score is a superb collection of music. It features professionally crafted musical themes and sets a high bar that other videogame composers should aspire to reach.

Spore was one of the most ambitious video games in recent memory. Will Wright’s vision of a universe of different creatures inside a video game made Spore the most talked about PC game in the later half of 2008.

From the success of the original incarnation of Spore comes a sort of spin-off for the Wii called Spore Hero. Spore Hero leaves the concept of growth and evolution behind in favor of light quests suitable for the youngest of gamers. Backing up the gameplay to Spore Hero is an original score composed by Winifred Phillips who is also responsible for creating music for other games including SimAnimals, The Maw and God of War.

Phillips’ music has always done a wonderful job of matching the vibe of a game whether the character is walking carefree through lush fields of vegetation or dealing a decisive blow to the final boss. With a game such as Spore Hero and the audience it caters to, you would imagine the soundtrack would consist of quirky or blatantly jolly songs, but Spore Hero’s soundtrack totally outdoes those expectations. The entire soundtrack is orchestral in nature and drips of complexity and style. It’s entirely possible to view Spore Hero’s music as that of a feature animated film and not that of a video game.

In The Beginning

Spore Hero The Original Videogame Score was released on October 6, 2009, by Electronic Arts Music. It can be purchased as a digital album for $8.99 from Amazon. Unlike the soundtrack to SimAnimals which lasted for about 36 minutes, Spore Hero‘s collection of songs clocks in at a little longer one hour. There are a total of 18 tracks with most songs lasting for about 3 minutes on average. This is a very impressive length for a game comprised of relatively short quests such as Spore Hero. You can be pretty much guaranteed that you won’t hear the same old musical score every time you enter a new area.

Natural Selection

One of the most interesting things I noticed in this score is how its identity established in the main theme is carried throughout multiple songs. For example, 15 seconds into the first song a short piece of music is introduced that serves as a calling card for Spore Hero. (You can hear what I’m referring to by clicking on “Spore Hero Main Theme” in the Amazon music player below. About seven seconds into the sample you hear what I’m referring to as Spore Hero’s calling card.)

In later songs such as “Sporeward,” “Sporeable” and “Hero Theme,” variations of that signature sound are repeated to match the vibe of the song. This helps to glue together the varied musical stylings of the soundtrack. Sure there are songs like “Haven” that produce a feel good mood, but there are plenty of aggressive and brooding tracks such as “Monster Mayhem” that spring your eyes open just when you thought it was safe to drift away.

A couple songs on the album stood out over the rest. The first is “Spore War” which is the heaviest song on the soundtrack. It has a mixture of electronica, drums, guitar and choir voices that reminded me of God of War. If I could compare this song to anything I’d say it’s on par with a section from a rock opera. This is exactly the kind of song I would want to be playing in the background as a game is reaching its conclusion.

The other noteworthy song is “Sporexplore.” This track has a very tribal feel to it and fits in well with Spore’s basic philosophy of creating life and guiding it through unfamiliar territories. I admire the different percussion effects that surround the before mentioned Spore Hero calling card in the middle of the song. I was taken back to the time I listened to music from Donkey Kong Country while this song played (which is a huge compliment).

Evolution

If all music from video games were crafted such as this, the industry would be propelled to new heights of style and originality.

Spore Hero Original Videogame Score does a great job of asserting an identity and constantly reaffirming itself throughout the length of the soundtrack. Winifred Phillips and Spore Hero’s music producer Winnie Waldron are a couple of the industries best creative minds. I recommend this soundtrack to fans of gamers and music buffs alike. The quality is nothing short of superb.

Below are some samples from Spore Hero Original Videogame Score. Feel free to click through and hear for yourself why this soundtrack is worth purchasing.

Site [Winifred Phillips] Purchase [Amazon]

Full Story » | Written by Jeremy Hill for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

Product: PSPgo
Price: $249.99
Rating: Two thumbs sideways; 70/100; C-; * * out of five.
Pros: Gorgeous design, comfortable controls, convenience.
Cons: High price, no real improvements, 802.11b wireless for a download-only device is not fast enough.
Overall: Designed with a specific consumer in mind, not the average gamer.

Some of the reviews of Sony’s PSPgo may leave you with the impression that the system is actively killing puppies, ponies and everything nice in the world. The venom that pours from the words of some of these reviews bewilders me and yet, at the same time, I can sort of understand way someone might be so negative about the device.

At the asking price of $249, the PSPgo is a Siren of game devices, offering a lot of sexy style without a lot of substance. There’s no UMD backwards compatibility at this time, leaving anyone with a large collection out in the cold or having to be re-charged admission.

There’s no second analog stick, which is something we have been asking Sony for a long time to include. Finally, Sony is asking consumers to give up physical retail shopping for the convenience of only using the Playstation Store at retail prices

It’s very clear that the PSPgo is aimed at a certain type of consumer and I just so happen to be one of those consumers. I don’t have a UMD collection to speak of, I dislike the UMD format and I’m attracted to new, shiny gadgets.

Design

Opening the box of the PSPgo almost feels like unboxing a cell phone especially since the device is much smaller than the previous PSPs and is about the size of an iPod Touch. You flip open the top and there the device is, looking back at you in all it’s $249 glory. Truth be told, love it or loath it, the PSPgo is one sexy piece of hardware and you definitely get that feeling the first time you set eyes on it.

I went with the piano black model which, like the original Playstation 3 and iPhone, is super shiny and heavily prone to finger prints. In only a couple days my fingers have subdued the plastic sheen and trying to wipe them away has proven futile.

Sliding the screen upward reveals the device’s controls. It is a smooth glide and securely locks in place. To enable such motion, the buttons have all been recessed into the device but they all still feel comfortable and responsive without having to mash them down.

The single analog stick has been moved from the awkward corner of the PSP-3000 to the just right of the D-pad, which makes more ergonomic sense. Despite the stick being smaller, I never felt that my thumb was going to slide off during hours of play. I prefer it since the PSP-3000’s analog stick cramped my thumb up whereas the PSPgo doesn’t. 

The L and R, volume and display buttons have been moved to the top of the back of the device, which is initially a bit awkward to control. These buttons are recessed as well, making it somewhat difficult to press. However, after training my fingers to find them, it became an easier feat. The Home button remains up front for easy access.

The PSPgo’s smaller form also shrinks the screen down to 3.8 inches (roughly iPod Touch territory) from the PSP-3000’s 4.3 inches. The PSP bezel could’ve been left out to give more screen real estate but whatever Sony. The combination of the downgrade in screen size and retaining the 480x272 screen resolution actually makes things look better on the PSPgo than the PSP-3000, especially since Sony fixed the ghosting issues. 

Features

The removal of the UMD drive and the missing removable battery is what really allows the PSPgo to have a similar size of an iPod Touch, though I would have preferred some bulk if I could change the battery, especially on long trips. The current battery inside the Go has given me roughly 4 and a half hours of battery life before the green power light started blinking. This is in line with the PSP-3000’s battery life, which features a removable battery. The PSPgo’s battery also takes a little longer than an hour to fully charge which you will discover when you try to install your first firmware upgrade out of the box (it requires a fully charged battery).

Also missing is a stronger wireless signal. The PSPgo still features a 802.11b wireless, which is the same as the PSP-3000’s. To put that into perspective, your iPod Touch has a wireless-G, which can download media much faster. For a digital download-only device at this price to feature what is pretty much a dinosaur of a wireless radio is mind-boggling. Even the knock offs include wireless-G.

Further putting this issue into perspective is trying to download a 836MB game onto the PSPgo. Total time: 60-120 minutes. That’s an hour to two hours that you can’t use your device.

Luckily, Sony offers a few solutions to this problem. The PSPgo comes packed in with Media Go software, which is Windows compatible (no Mac support). From there, you can download what you want to your PC and copy it over to your PSPgo. You can likewise do this from your PS3 if you own one. You can also theoretically tether your PSPgo to your cell phone thanks to the addition of Bluetooth.

Speaking of Bluetooth, the PSPgo has new feature that allows PS3 owners the opportunity to sync controllers up with the handheld device. This comes in handy when playing for a longer period of time or simply when the device is hooked up to the television. The process takes about a minute but because this takes away the sync to the PS3. I suggest using a back up controller.

As for hooking up your PSPgo to the television, you remember all those fancy cords and accessories the PSP-3000 offered? Those are now useless (thanks Sony) since the PSPgo used proprietary cables. There’s no backwards compatibility with accessories either. That’s a real shot in the foot for potential upgraders. In fact, Sony has made things more complicated by increasing the number of cables to charge your PSPgo from the two it took to charge the PSP-3000 to three. Lose a part and you are screwed.

Bottom Line

The PSP Go is clearly a device that was never intended to replace the PSP-3000 but instead offers consumers another option – UMDs or digital distribution. This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who has listened to Sony speak in the last three years, they are big proponents of the digital distribution model and my hat’s off to them for making the ballsy move to be the first to offer such a device for mainstream gaming. However the execution was badly flawed, even if it is gorgeous, and that can’t be ignored.

It’s not so much that it takes the benefits of shopping for physical media out of the equation (I picked up Prinny for $10 bucks on PSN as opposed to $40 at GameStop), it’s offering a device with no real change in functionality for a much higher price that is a bit ludicrous even if you can justify the extra hundred dollars for 16GBs of memory – the iPod Touch is $299 for 32GBs in comparison.

If nothing else, Sony did at least get the PSP word of mouth spreading if the 300 percent increase in sales says anything.

If you already own a PSP-3000, I highly suggest sticking with that. If you are really thinking about purchasing a PSPgo, then I implore you to actively seek out discounts such as the one Dell was offering because $249 is a bit hard to swallow. Well, at least you get a pre-loaded demo of Patapon 2 and a voucher for Rock Band Unplugged. That’s worth something, right?

Site [SonyStyle] Read [Joystiq] Also Read [Gamertell] Photo Gallery [Gamertell: PSPgo]

Full Story » | Written by Kris Rosado for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

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]]> Reviews, Originals, Features, Opinions, Handhelds, PSP, Gear, Hardware, Updates, Playstation-Store 2009-10-09T15:21:15+00:00 http://www.gamertell.com/gaming/comment/gamertell-review-zhu-zhu-pets-electronic-pet-toys/ http://www.gamertell.com/gaming/comment/gamertell-review-zhu-zhu-pets-electronic-pet-toys/ Section: Reviews, Exclusives, Originals, Gear, Figures & Toys

Product: Zhu Zhu Pets
Price: $8.00 to $9.99
Rating: One thumb up, one sideways; 85/100; B; * * * 1/2 out of 5.
Pros: Soft, with a nice color assortment. Cute names. Sensors are responsive, not too sensitive. Multiple functioning modes. Good size that’s easy for younger kids to grip. No way for kids to get the batteries out. Interacts with playsets by reading codes. Doubles as a fantastic cat toy.
Cons: You don’t be able to find it anywhere between now and Christmas 2009. No way to turn it completely off. A child with long hair could get it caught in the hamster’s wheels. Can’t use a regular hamster ball (which would be cheaper) with the toy - you have to purchase an official Go Go Adventure Ball. Doesn’t run on carpets. Accessories and playsets are a bit expensive. Easily gets dirty, easily lost.
Overall: A cute, soft, gender-neutral toy that is definitely charming and pretty affordable. Kids will probably need at least one accessory/playset to keep the Zhu Zhu Pet interesting. It’d be a good pet substitute for kids who are either too young or not responsible enough for a real pet.

The Zhu Zhu Pets already have a confirmed spot in Toys ‘R Us’ 2009 Hot Holiday Toy List. Most major news outlets have run stories on what’s being considered the most popular holiday toy. If you walk past the toy section in your local Walmart, you’ll see empty shelves and a note limited people to two Zhu Zhu Pets or Zhu Zhu Pet accessories per purchase. Overnight, they’ve become the toy of 2009.

After searching five Walmart stores, I finally discovered a Zhu Zhu Pet. A few minutes later and I was the proud owner of Pipsqueak.

Meet Pipsqueak.

There are a total of eight Zhu Zhu Pets available, each with different coloring and (supposedly) different personalities. I happened to be lucky enough to find a Pipsqueak which has lemon-colored fur with white accents on her face and paws. There is also a white, shooting star design embroidered on her back.

According to the Zhu Zhu Pets website, she is curious, smart and a bit of a daredevil. I’d have to say the description is fairly accurate, as the toy seems pretty aware of its surroundings when placed on the ground to roam free and seems to get into any opening, including an out-of-the-way gap behind my refrigerator. However, I saw my cousin playing with a Chunk Zhu Zhu Pet and it seemed to behave in the exact same manner. So the personalities are probably superficial.

The Zhu Zhu Pet is approximately five inches long, two-and-a-half inches tall and two and a half inches wide. The fur is soft, like a plush animal. It feels well made and solidly constructed. There are no small parts that can fall off or out. The plastic eyes and nose are securely fastened to the toy and the toy is recommended for ages four and up.

It uses two AAA batteries, which fit into a plastic, screw-on compartment on the bottom of the pet. There is a code reader for the playsets and accessories on the bottom between the two plastic wheels. The toy has three sensors: one on the back, one on the head and one on its nose. Pushing the buttons causes it to go into different modes or make noises.

Go Zhu Zhu Pet, Go!

A Zhu Zhu Pet is essentially a pet substitute. It has two different modes called Loving Mode and Explore Mode. Loving Mode, which is also called Nurturing or Talk Mode, is triggered by petting the sensor on hamster’s head. After pressing the sensor, the pet will start making soothing and soft noises at random intervals over a one minute period. After one minute, the pet turns itself off. It makes sort of a cute mascot when its in this mode.

Pressing the back sensor starts Explore Mode, also referred to as Adventure Mode, is when the Zhu Zhu Pet will explore its environment for a four minute period. It will behave randomly, scurrying around and making noises while on the floor. If you have one of the playsets or environments, it will interact with the toy by reading codes on it that tell it how to react. You can also instantly turn the toy off by pressing the back sensor a second time.

It’s pretty entertaining to watch the toy zip around. It makes an assortment of noises and moves around in a fairly random manner. If it runs into something, the hamster will immediately stop and turn itself around. I found it amusing and I’m sure younger children would have fun running around after it, altering its path or constructing obstacle courses.

I highly recommend keeping an eye on the Zhu Zhu Pet while playing with it. The toy can and will find its way into the most unlikely areas. As I mentioned before, my Pipsqueak ended up finding it’s way into a four-foot wide space between my refrigerator and the wall and retrieving it wasn’t a pleasant experience.

It also seems like it would be quite difficult to clean if it got dirty, another good reason to keep an eye on it while playing. For Zhu Zhu Pets like the gray Num Nums or brown Mr. Squiggles or Scoodles, this would be less of a problem. However, owners of the light pink Jilly, white Chunk, or black and white Winkie could be the owner of one mangey looking fake hamster if they aren’t careful.
While a Zhu Zhu Pet alone is pretty reasonably priced, the accessories can be a bit expensive. You’ll end up paying between $10 and $20 for custom accessories that can only be used with the Zhu Zhu Pets. You can’t substitute real hamster balls, wheels or habitats, which may be cheaper (especially if you find them at Goodwill). The Zhu Zhu Pets have code readers built in which allow them to interact with and use the accessories in special ways. Putting a Zhu Zhu Pet in a regular hamster ball will make it just sort of stand still or spin in place.

Virtual Hamster

Zhu Zhu Pet is a pretty realistic representation of the pet hamster experience. It does pretty much everything a real hamster does but you don’t have to worry about feeding it, unexpected escape attempts or occasional biting. If you buy your child a Zhu Zhu Pet and he or she tires of it, you also don’t have to shoulder care responsibilities or worry about it experiencing neglect. Price wise it works out, too, since a real hamster will easily cost more than a one-time $8 fee.

The Zhu Zhu Pets are definitely deserving of attention and are certainly adorable. IIt’d probably appeal most to children under 10 but fans of hamsters or small critters of any age will probably want one as well.

If nothing else, a Zhu Zhu Pet makes a fantastic cat toy. From the moment I removed Pipsqueak from her packaging, my cat was enthralled with the critter. I’m not sure if it was the random noises or the unpredictable movement pattern but he loved it. When it was turned “off,” I’d find him cuddling the toy and when it was on in Explore Mode, he’d chase it all around the kitchen and living room.

Site [Zhu Zhu Pets]

Full Story » | Written by Jenni Lada for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

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]]> Reviews, Exclusives, Originals, Gear, Figures & Toys 2009-10-09T00:03:13+00:00 http://www.gamertell.com/gaming/comment/drug-wars-for-pc-review/ http://www.gamertell.com/gaming/comment/drug-wars-for-pc-review/ Section: Reviews, Features, Opinions, PCs, Windows, Game-Companies, Developers, Publishers, Genres, 3D, Action, Adventure, FPS, Shooter

Title: Drug Wars
Price: $9.99
System(s): PC
Release Date: March 17, 2009
Publisher (Developer): Paleo Entertainment
ESRB Rating: “Mature” for Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Partial Nudity, Strong Sexual Content, Use of Drugs and Alcohol.
Pros: Looks good and the story is interesting.
Cons: Controls are occasionally unresponsive, the game is overly demanding for resources, underpopulated multiplayer component.
Overall Score: One thumb sideways one thumb down; 65/100; D; * 1/2 out of five.

Paleo Entertainment shot itself the foot with the original version of Drug Wars, Merchants Of Brooklyn (MOB), by releasing it uncompleted. After changing the name to Drug Wars and implementing several fixes, the company hoped to have a worthwhile final product.

The story’s the same, a multiplayer component has been added and there were several invisible fixes. The question is whether or not these changes make it worthwhile.

What’s Worthwhile

There is some good stuff about this game. The story is really cool and that was pretty much the good part of the original. It features a stereotypical dystopian story as the world’s been flooded due to global warming. A multinational corporation started working with genetic engineering to clone slave builders. The company needed a particularly hardy type so it started cloning neanderthals and eventually created too many clones. Many of the excess builders are purchased by the mob to be used as bodyguards, foot soldiers or entertainment doing gladiator battles (often to the death).

The game’s animation looks really good. Sure, until fixes were put in the physics weren’t all that believable, partially due to glitches but new they are a bit more believable. The world also looks more realistic while retaining somewhat cartoony graphics from the original.

One of the most worthwhile elements of the game is the multiplayer mode. It looks better than the single-player mode and is not as demanding. Even if you’re not playing against anyone in particular, you’ll enjoy it.

Beef Up Your PC

Even so, the best and only truly good thing about the game is the story even though it is a bit formulaic. Also, the characters - especially your own- don’t feel like they belong in an essentially plotless story filled with mindless action.

Yes, it looks beautiful if you’ve got a really powerful computer. Even with a top-of-the-line computer you might run into a heavy lag while processing the surroundings, enemies and explosion. Strangely enough, the single-player campaign is even more demanding on your system. I was getting lag with half of the settings at medium and the rest at low on a computer that has a fairly quick dual-core processor, 4 GB of RAM and an HD Radeon 3470 with a lot of VRAM.

So, unless you’ve got a stronger computer, you’re still going to get a lot of lag unless you’ve got everything set at low.

Then there also is the issue of a heavily underpopulated multiplayer component. One of my complaints with the multiplayer mode is that it was hard to fine even one other person playing. If, instead, you get a group of people together with copies of the game, you’ll be able to make the multiplayer worthwhile.

The Bottom Line

As you can tell from the overall score, this is essentially the same bad game with slightly better packaging.

If you’re getting it for the multiplayer mode, find a few friends will to buy the game. At least then you’ll have someone to play with.

If you’re looking for a worthwhile single-player experience, save your money. There are few games worse than the Merchants of Brooklyn single-player half of Drug Wars.

Site [Drug Wars]

Full Story » | Written by Jonathan Gronli for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

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]]> Reviews, Features, Opinions, PCs, Windows, Game-Companies, Developers, Publishers, Genres, 3D, Action, Adventure, FPS, Shooter 2009-10-07T13:33:31+00:00 http://www.gamertell.com/gaming/comment/review-of-cricuit-strike-one-for-iphone-and-ipod-touch/ http://www.gamertell.com/gaming/comment/review-of-cricuit-strike-one-for-iphone-and-ipod-touch/ Section: Reviews, Features, Opinions, Handhelds, iPhone & iPod Touch, Updates, Apple App Store

Title: Circuit Strike One
Price: $0.99
System(s): iPhone, iPod Touch
Release Date: July 23, 2009
Publisher (Developer): Chllingo (h.grenade)
Rating: “9+” for mild profanity and crude humor.
Pros: Fun, interesting and challenging shooter.
Cons: Plagued with crashes on the iPhone 3G.
Overall Score: One thumb up, one thumb sideways; 80/100; B-; * * * out of five.

These past few weeks I have developed a love/hate relationship with both Circuit Strike One and my iPhone 3G. On one hand you have a very interesting and experimental shooter with CS One. On the other hand you have the crippling problems consistently exposed with the iPhone.

Take Two Games, Add One Movie and Stir

Circuit Strike One presents a mix of Geometry Wars and Asteroids with a touch of the movie Hackers. The game’s premise pits you as hacker fighting your way through the defenses of the system administrators. Doing so requires you to carefully guide your craft while launching a strike on attack ships and cannons and while trying to complete level objectives.

Circuit Strike One provides neon colors, various computer-related sound effects and simple visuals mixed with an electronica soundtrack. The best thing about the sounds and visuals of the game is the Utility engine which syncs up what you do in-game, reacting to your actions. For example, fired shots are mixed into the soundtrack. Imagine mixing a record by playing a shooter. 

Positive, Meet Negative

Controlling your craft in this game feels just like controlling the craft in Asteroids complete with directional shooting. That said, Circuit Strike One also moves much faster than your classic Asteroids game, which caused me to die several times before I actually figured out the precision controlling and not speed and rapid fire would give me the most success, especially since the game takes place in “zero gravity.” Of course, precision controls are only acquired from a comfortable control scheme of which Circuit Strike One offers three (I prefer the “twin stick” setting).

One thing to keep in mind before purchasing CS One is that the game is relentlessly difficult. Not only can you expect to die multiple times in a matter of seconds but you can also expect to be insulted in leet speak as you watch your lives quickly tick away. However, if you can master the game you should be able to collect high scores that you will be more than proud to compare to the global leader boards.

The game also relentlessly crashed on me. Now, I can’t say for sure if either my iPhone’s memory was maxed out or that Circuit Strike One maxed the memory out, all I can confirm is that on multiple occasions, even after various system restarts, I was kicked out of the game after waiting for a two-minute freeze. I also can’t confirm that the iPhone 3GS or the iPod Touch will have this problem, however my iPhone 3G did.

Short Circuit?

Circuit Strike One is a fun, ingenious shooter with touch of Asteroids and Geometry Wars and is offered at fair price although the experience may be plagued with system crashes.

Purchase [Circuit Strike One]

Full Story » | Written by Kris Rosado for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

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]]> Reviews, Features, Opinions, Handhelds, iPhone & iPod Touch, Updates, Apple App Store 2009-10-06T14:04:08+00:00 http://www.gamertell.com/gaming/comment/gamertell-review-dawns-light-for-pc/ http://www.gamertell.com/gaming/comment/gamertell-review-dawns-light-for-pc/ Section: Reviews, Exclusives, Originals, PCs, Windows, Game-Companies, Developers, Indie, Publishers, Genres, 2D, Role-Playing

Title: Dawn’s Light
Price: $19.95
System(s): Windows 98, XP and Vista PC
Release Date: September 29, 2009
Publisher (Developer): John Wizard Games (John Wizard Games)
ESRB Rating: N/A. I’d say it’s appropriate for ages 13+, since there’s some violence and a few dark situations.
Pros: Fantastic and funny script. Character portraits, sprites and monsters are well drawn. Pleasant music score. Can fish for fun. Quite a few outfits to earn. Incentives for destroying all monsters in dungeons. Quick customer service from John Wizard Games if there’s an issue. No random encounters. Interesting characters, both playable and NPC.
Cons: Only 4 save slots. Options reset once you quit the game. Tutorial could have mentioned options menu. Marketing/publicity could have been better.
Overall Score: Two thumbs up, 97/100, A, * * * * 1/2 out of 5

I’m going to start by being brutally honest - when I first saw the John Wizard Games site for Dawn’s Light, with the initial screenshots and trailer, I wasn’t all that impressed. Indie RPGs can tend to look the same after a while, and the way everything was presented, I was thinking it was going to be just like the others. I had no idea that it would end up being one of the best PC games I’d play all year. John Wizard Games’ first title guides players along a long and memorable adventure.

A mysterious, masked man comes and takes nearly everything away.

Life starts out kinda sweet for Harvey. He and his brother, Victor, live on an island with their beloved Grandad. Then, one day, someone invades their personal paradise. Grandad tells Harvey to hide inside the house while he finds Victor. Unfortunately Mordecai, a masked man with a yet unknown agenda, discovers Victor first. Mordecai claims Victor is the key to something and kidnaps him. Grandad realizes Harvey isn’t safe there, and takes him to another island where he leaves him at an orphanage in the care of a nun named Tracey.

Seven years later, and things are once again going pretty well for Harvey. He’s found a pleasant enough life on the island, with its 11 other inhabitants. He’s come of age, and is looking for something to do. Tracey gives him a journal to write his accomplishments in, which gets Harvey looking for quests. After finding all of a friend’s lost frogs, he decides to secretly take on a quest to recover sheep from monsters despite being told not to because of the potential danger. While he’s away, Mordecai comes to the island looking for him. The villagers cover for Harvey and say he isn’t there. Harvey returns to find Mordecai gone and all of the villagers dead. With his dying breath John, whose sheep Harvey was rescuing, tells Harvey to go to his Grandad for answers.

So Harvey does. There, he learns that Grandad isn’t really related to Victor and him - he just took the two in after his own family and their own parents were killed. He reveals Mordecai is behind everything. Harvey swears revenge and then sets out on a journey to defeat the masked man. Along the way, he’ll be joined by friends like Vera and Lord Adolin Swordhand: Cryer of Tears and get drawn into a fight to save the world.

Looks familiar but stands out because of it’s writing and extras.

It’s striking how many things Dawn’s Light does right. It has a well written script, great looking enemies, good character portraits, background music that doesn’t make you reach for the mute button, lots of areas to explore, incentives for completely exploring dungeons, adorable costumes characters can don (If only they affected stats/skills too!), challenging battles that can make you think, puzzles to solve and lots of quests and side quests to undertake. Everytime I’d visit a town or dungeon, I’d backtrack to explore one more time, just to make sure I didn’t miss anything.

The one thing that truly makes Dawn’s Light exceptional and memorable is the funny, clever and well-written script. It is the quality of something I would expect from an Atlus console or handheld release. It’s as though the writer recognized that Harvey’s quest was somewhat cliched - a young man seeking revenge for his brother’s abduction and the death of the innocent people who raised him, then finding out the man behind it is out to possibly destroy the world, and used humor and wit to make Dawn’s Light stand out. This is one of those games where you want to check everything Harvey could, look at every item description and talk to every NPC, because otherwise you could miss something awesome. It’s a wonderful thing, considering how many games (indie or major) have scripts that are uninspired and riddled with errors.

If there’s one thing that I could say truly fails about Dawn’s Light, it’s the marketing and publicity for the game. This title has a wonderfully funny script, something that could, and should, have been showcased in screenshots. It also used only one sentence to state the storyline, making no mention of why Harvey is seeking revenge, and against who. Probably the only thing the marketing did right was show the journal in both the trailer and screenshots - it’s the only clear indication of just how much there is to do and enjoy in the game. It deserves much more attention.

A hidden gem among indie RPGs

It may only be October, but I feel confident that Dawn’s Light is the best independent game release of 2009. It’s so good that I wish it were possible to see a DS or WiiWare port of it. Dawn’s Light‘s greatest point is the wonderful script and writing, but that’s only part of what makes this game so wonderful. All of the extra details, like the many side quests and extra achievements players can accomplish, culminate to create this fantastic game. It’s the sort of game that you find yourself replaying, just because you enjoyed it so much the first time around. If this is any indication of the calibur of games John Wizard Games is going to be creating, it is going to be a developer to closely watch.

Site [Dawn’s Light]

Full Story » | Written by Jenni Lada for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

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]]> Reviews, Exclusives, Originals, PCs, Windows, Game-Companies, Developers, Indie, Publishers, Genres, 2D, Role-Playing 2009-10-06T12:35:56+00:00 http://www.gamertell.com/gaming/comment/gamertell-review-dissidia-final-fantasy-for-psp/ http://www.gamertell.com/gaming/comment/gamertell-review-dissidia-final-fantasy-for-psp/ Section: Reviews, Exclusives, Originals, Handhelds, PSP, Game-Companies, Developers, Publishers, Genres, 3D, Action, Fighting, Role-Playing

Title: Dissidia: Final Fantasy
Price: $39.99
System(s): PSP
Release Date: August 25, 2009
Publisher (Developer): Square Enix (Square Enix)
ESRB Rating: “Teen” for Fantasy Violence, Mild Language and Partial Nudity
Pros: Looks beautiful, has an interesting story, lots of play options, lots of accessories, two control options, nice assortment of characters, great music, lots of challenges and achievements to keep people playing, calendar function to encourage you to play certain days and bonuses for taking part in lots of battles.
Cons: Difficult to level up characters outside of story mode. Cloud and Sephiroth’s voice actors are masters of unnecessary dramatic pauses. If you play stories in order of least difficult to most, you go out of order.
Overall Score: Two thumbs up, 98/100, A, * * * * 1/2 out of 5

2009 is an amazing year for PSP games. Thanks to Square Enix, NIS America and Atlus, current PSP owners and those who’ve chosen to adopt the PSPgo have had a substantial selection of games to enjoy. Dissidia: Final Fantasy, a fighting game with RPG elements, is easily among the top five PSP games of 2009, and is probably among the top 10 games in general released in 2009.

Legendary heroes and villains are called to fighting in the battle between the gods Cosmos and Chaos.

Two two gods Cosmos and Chaos, have been locked in battle for near eternity. Cosmos is the goddess of light, and Chaos of darkness. This eternal battle keeps the balance of light and dark in check. Both have summoned warriors to represent them and, for the first time, Chaos has overpowered Cosmos. So, the world is on the verge of collapse since darkness has decimated light.

There is still hope, though. The ten heroes summoned by Cosmos, from Final Fantasy I-X, have been told to find the 10 crystals. With them, there’s a chance of keeping darkness from overwhelming the world. However, the main villains from Final Fantasy I-X stand in their way. So, in story mode, players follow the adventures of Warrior of Light (FFI), Firion (FFII), Onion Knight (FFIII), Cecil (FFIV), Bartz (FFV), Terra (FFVI), Cloud (FFVII), Squall (FFVIII), Zidane (FFIX) and Tidus (FFX) as they face Garland (FFI), The Emperor (FFII), Cloud of Darkness (FFIII), Golbez (FFIV), Exdeath (FFV), Kefka (FFVI), Sephiroth (FFVII), Ultimecia (FFVIII), Kuja (FFIX) and Jecht (FFX).

A strategic fighting game with both depth and replay value.

Dissidia: Final Fantasy is impressive. It looks and plays beautifully. At times, it is even astonishing to believe that the PSP is capable of such incredible displays. In addition, this impressive fighting mash-up of legendary RPG characters, didn’t necessarily need a good and plausible storyline to make people want to play. However, it’s evident that Square Enix took the time necessary to craft such a tale. The story, dialogue and motivations in the Story Mode are all interesting and provide substantial motive to keep playing. The only awkwardness comes from a few of the voice actors performances. Many seem incredibly fond of dramatic pauses, even when the subtitles indicate that such a pause isn’t part of the script. It’s more humorous than disruptive though.

There are two numbers to keep track of when playing, one is the character’s hit points, and the other is the brave points. Brave points determine how much damage a player will do when unleashing a hit point attack, and hit points determines how much longer your character can keep fighting. There are also two kinds of attacks you can unleash that correspond to those bars. Brave attacks lower your opponent’s brave points and boost your own. Hit point attacks decimate hit points and are used to finish off opponents. So instead of just going in button mashing, there’s an element of strategy. You have to carefully utilize both kinds of attacks, and eventually summons, to deal the most damage to opponents while staying safe. Since, in Story Mode, you’re going from battle to battle, you have to think ahead.

It’s also one of the deepest fighting games I’ve ever experienced. There’s a museum to fill up with voices and images. You can purchase equipment to make your characters stronger and better. You can fight through quick matches or a gauntlet of matches. There are extra characters and outfits to earn. Plus, there’s a little Chocobo mini-game that gives you extra items or experience based on how much you’re playing. There’s even a calendar where you get bonuses for playing certain days. Even the story mode has extra items, summons and areas that unlock on replays. You could easily spend months attempting to master the game.

The only downside comes from the way the first ten stories are presented and the difficulty levels of each. If you go from the easiest adventures to the most difficult, you’ll technically be going out of order, storywise. Thankfully, after beating each distinct story, you’ll see the important transitory cutscenes afterwards. Plus, the stories all intertwine, so chronological order isn’t all that important.

Dissidia: Final Fantasy is more than just a fighting game.

Dissidia: Final Fantasy is just an amazing experience. I went in with memories of an earlier Square Enix fighting game, Ehrgeiz, expecting a similar and enjoyable adventure. Instead, I found myself immersed in a whole world and story that I almost felt I had to keep playing. There was just so much to see and experience, and so much to unlock, that I could see Dissidia: Final Fantasy being the only PSP game someone would need for a 30-60 day period of time. There’s just so much to see and do that it’s difficult to get tired of it. It’s just a wonderful, high quality game and a must-own for anyone with a PSP.

Site [Dissidia: Final Fantasy]

Full Story » | Written by Jenni Lada for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

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]]> Reviews, Exclusives, Originals, Handhelds, PSP, Game-Companies, Developers, Publishers, Genres, 3D, Action, Fighting, Role-Playing 2009-10-05T12:13:08+00:00 http://www.gamertell.com/gaming/comment/important-importables-review-subarashiki-kono-sekai-its-a-wonderful-world/ http://www.gamertell.com/gaming/comment/important-importables-review-subarashiki-kono-sekai-its-a-wonderful-world/ Section: Reviews, Exclusives, Originals, Features, Japanese Imports, Handhelds, DS, Gear, Audio, Game-Companies, Developers, Publishers, Genres, 2D, Action, Role-Playing

Title: Subarashiki Kono Sekai: It’s a Wonderful World Original Soundtrack - available on iTunes as The World Ends with You (Original Soundtrack)
Artist: Takeharu Ishimoto and Various Artists
Price: $9.99
Rating: 9/10
Pros: 36 fantastic songs that were in The World Ends with You. Nice mix of instrumentals and vocal tracks. Interesting variety of Japanese pop, rock, electronica and hip hop.
Cons: Doesn’t include international release songs. Only available through iTunes in North America, and you’d have to spend over $20 on an import to get an actual CD. End theme “Lullaby for You” isn’t on it.
Note: iTunes also carries Subarashiki Konosekai + The World Ends With You, an $11.99, 19 track album that includes remixes and the additional four songs in the English release.

Subarashiki Kono Sekai: It’s a Wonderful World Original Soundtrack acts as more than your typical game soundtrack. While there are the pieces that do sound tailored for specific situations in the game, as a whole it seems like it was designed more to bring an entire environment and area to life. The tracks often sound different, yet also sound the same. They share a common theme and attitude. By listening to it in the game or on their own, it provides a sense of ambiance and makes the in-game version of Shibuya come to life.

The world inside Shibuya

The best place to start is with “Twister”. The game’s main theme, “Twister”, in all it’s shapes and forms, helps set the stage for all the rest of the tracks. It’s a flurry of organized confusion. There are unexpected noises, elements and tones in the song, and yet they all fit together. The monotone vocals provide a stable base, and all of the other elements of the song build on this. Whether it’s “Twister” being performed by Sawa, “Twister ~Remix~ by Mai Matsuda, or even “Twister ~Gang-Mix~” by MJR, it’s a delight to hear.

The soundtrack is a joy to have, because it provides an opportunity to hear the full songs. In the The World Ends with You and Subarashiki Kono Sekai: It’s a Wonderful World games, you only hear snippets of the songs with vocals. So, you’ll end up having only a particular line or chorus endlessly repeating in your head. The soundtrack proves that these songs are more than their sound bites. They’re fantastic as a whole and wonderful to listen to. “Game Over,” “Someday,” “Calling,” “Deja Vu,” “オーパーツ (Ooparts)” and “Hybrid” really stood out, as I listened.

The instrumentals by Takeharu Ishimoto are all equally delightful. They’re interesting pieces to hear on their own, which is great, but they truly shine when put together with the vocal tracks. They act as a bridge between pieces, tying everything together to make things work as a common theme. I particularly loved “Underground,” “Fighting for Freedom,” “Noisy Noise” and “Shibuya.”

The only downside is that the lavish end theme, which provides a sweet and relaxing resolution to the rest of the in-game tracks, isn’t present on the soundtrack. If you want the Japanese version, you must hunt down Jyongri’s Lullaby for You single, and if you want the English version you must find her Kissing Me single. Unfortunately, neither of the two singles are available on iTunes, so you’ll have to import or purchase from iTunes Japan.

More than a soundtrack

Subarashiki Kono Sekai: It’s a Wonderful World Original Soundtrack isn’t just a video game soundtrack, it’s also an introduction. Games like Persona 3, Persona 4 and The World Ends with You have provided an opportunity for gamers to listen to music from another country.

It’s an interesting listening experience because it doesn’t sound like other games. It doesn’t provide the typical game instrumental and vocal tracks. There’s an edge there, something unique and individual, which means it worth listening to again and again.

Important Importables is coming up on its 100th column! If you have any suggestions as to what you’d like to see the 100th column cover, let me know in the comments!

COMING NEXT WEEK: Important Importables suggests 35 Hello Kitty games you can play to celebrate Hello Kitty’s 35th anniversary.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Last week Important Importables reviewed Tomato Adventure (GBA).

Product Page [iTunes] Site [Play-Asia] Site [YesAsia] Site [NCSX] Site [Himeya Shop] Site [Strapya World]

Full Story » | Written by Jenni Lada for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

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]]> Reviews, Exclusives, Originals, Features, Japanese Imports, Handhelds, DS, Gear, Audio, Game-Companies, Developers, Publishers, Genres, 2D, Action, Role-Playing 2009-10-02T12:13:14+00:00 http://www.gamertell.com/gaming/comment/Appletell-reviews-International-Athletics-iSoccer-Backstreet-and-Archer-for/ http://www.gamertell.com/gaming/comment/Appletell-reviews-International-Athletics-iSoccer-Backstreet-and-Archer-for/ FROM APPLETELL - The iPhone couldn’t be a true gaming device without a selection of sports-related games to have a look at. Luckily, the sports titles that feature on the App Store gladly do not disappoint.
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Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

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]]> Reviews, Handhelds, iPhone & iPod Touch, Genres, Sports 2009-10-01T19:45:26+00:00 http://www.gamertell.com/gaming/comment/gamertell-review-tales-on-monkey-island-lair-of-the-leviathan/ http://www.gamertell.com/gaming/comment/gamertell-review-tales-on-monkey-island-lair-of-the-leviathan/ Section: Gaming News, Reviews, Originals, Features, Opinions, Consoles, Wii, PCs

Title: Tales of Monkey Island: Lair of Leviathan!
Price: $8.99 or $34.95 for the full series; $10 for the Wii episode
System(s): *PC, Wii
Release Date: September, 29 2009
Publisher (Developer): Telltale (LucasArts)
ESRB Rating: "Everyone" for comic mischief.
Pros: Very fun and hilarious game play. You get to create a unique pirate face and explore the inside of a manatee (and the return of Murray).
Cons: No more Island exploring, possibly too much manatee exploring.
Overall Score: Two thumbs up; 98/100; A; * * * * 1/2 out of five.

What do huge manatees, mutinous crews and voodoo curses all have in common? The third installment of Telltale's Tales of Monkey Island: Lair of Leviathan.

In the previous episode, our hero Guybrush Threepwood and his ship were swallowed whole by an insanely large manatee. Once inside, Guybrush learned that the explorer (who is now a bit loopy) he was looking for was also swallowed by the beast so that hew could control the beast from the inside, and steer it towards La Esponja Grande, which happens to be at the manatee mating ground.

Guybrush will need the help of the explorer's mutinous crew (who would prefer to just live in the manatee forever), to escape the beast and eventually get to the sponge. But that’s not all; you also have to learn to speak manatee to seduce the rather vicious Leviathan: a large, angry, female manatee that guards La Esponja Grande.

Manatees Make Great Summer Homes

This episode was quite interesting and a bit different. Instead of exploring islands and talking to the locals, you are stuck inside a huge manatee. Not only do you have to interact with the manatee’s innards to get out, but you also have to find his missing ear canal which has been swiped by the crew of the explorers ship. You find out later that they think the old coot has lost his mind in wanting to find a large sponge and are much happier living in the manatee’s stomach.

Your first goal is to get each of the three crew members to like you and therefore want to give you back the ear canal. This is not going to be an easy task, since they are pirates and don’t trust outsiders. You can jump through canals throughout the beast to travel to different parts of the manatee, which is pretty gross when you think about it, but also the best form of travel.

You also meet an old friend in this episode, by old friend I mean a character that any veteran of the Monkey Island games will know: Murray. Murray is a dead pirate who loves to cause misery and despair to those who cross him. Fortunately, he is now only a yakking skull, which is quite hilarious. As long as you have him in your inventory, he will talk to you and makes idle threats until you find him a body so he can get his revenge on the world.

Other than that, the game play is the same as the other episodes. You have to find items and use and combine them to solve puzzles. You also learn a new technique, the “Arrr” face, where you pick different combination's of facial expressions to create an awesome pirate face. You need this technique to impress one of the crew members and to intimidate another. I assume they will also incorporate this in the upcoming episodes too, but I don’t know, I also hope that it is not intended to replace insult sword fighting!

Mutiny Has Its Downsides

There is not as much fun scenery as there was in previous games because you mainly spend your time inside the manatee. You also venture around underwater (since we all know Guybrush can hold his breath for 10 minutes!) talking to manatees, which is exciting. Despite that, I do miss the island exploring. You can only spend so much time inside a manatee before you go stir crazy!

Getting the crew members to accept you into their crew takes much trial-and-error. One member will easily accept if you can get him a date with Morgan, the bounty hunter you are traveling with, but you have to know what he likes on a first date (and he won’t give you any clues). Basically you just keep trying different things and see what he approves of. Then, when he is happy with the way Morgan approaches him, he will agree to accept you. It would have been nice if he dropped a few hints like, “boy I like holding hands with a girl,” or “I hate pushy types!”

Another crew member won’t accept you unless you can impress him with your pirate face (Arrr face). This involves having to search around the manatee and find pictures or people making facing, then adapting them. It is fun to see the different variations you can come up with. The third one only listens to his friend Santino, who happens to be a dead skeleton that can’t talk. So good luck with that one!

Be Gettin' Yar Hooks on this Booty

The game keeps getting more and more interesting as the new episodes come out. First Guybrush was infected with a crazy voodoo plague, then Guybrush encountered a crazy scientist that stole his hand, then Guybrush was attacked by crazy pirates who want your gold artifacts, and now Guybrush has been swallowed by a huge manatee and forced to work alongside a explorer who’s long years of exploring the unusual have made him a bit crazy.

This game is worth playing just to see the return of Murray. After all, it’s always nice to see things brought back from the archives.

So pick up this fantastic adventure game at Telltale Games. And if you still haven’t checked out the previous two tales, you better get to those quick!

Site [Telltale Games]

Full Story » | Written by Jessica Moen for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

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]]> Gaming News, Reviews, Originals, Features, Opinions, Consoles, Wii, PCs 2009-10-01T03:45:05+00:00 http://www.gamertell.com/gaming/comment/gamertell-review-metroid-prime-trilogy-collectors-edition-for-wii/ http://www.gamertell.com/gaming/comment/gamertell-review-metroid-prime-trilogy-collectors-edition-for-wii/ Section: Reviews, Features, Nostalgia, Opinions, Consoles, Wii, Genres, 3D, Action, Shooter

Title: Metroid Prime Trilogy Collector’s Edition
Price: $49.99
System: Wii
Release Date: August 24, 2009
Publisher (Developer): Nintendo (Retro Studios, Inc.)
ESRB Rating: “Teen” for animated blood and violence.
Pros: Quintessential use of Wii controls, outstanding visuals and level design, fantastic and unique boss battles, good balance of exploration and action. Three games for the price of one
Cons: Basically the same game three times with plenty of repetition in each
Overall Score: Two thumbs up; 97/100; A; ****1/2 out of 5

The first Metroid game I ever completed was Metroid Prime 3: Corruption on the Wii. I’d tried Metroid Prime on the Game Cube, and enjoyed it, but never enough to stick with it when something else came along. I wanted to go back and finish it up after completing Corruption but suddenly that Game Cube controller seemed so, primitive. It felt clunky. It wasn’t sleek and intuitive like, well, like Samus.

Now, that’s no longer a concern. The Game Cube games Metroid Prime and Metroid Prime 2: Echoes have been updated for the Wii. They’ve been touched up here and there, they’ve been converted to widescreen and they’ve been blessed with the WiiMote-Nunchuck combo. To top it off, they’ve been bundled with Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, placed on one dual-layer disc and given perhaps the best packaging yet seen in the US With all this, Nintendo and and Retro Studios have given us the best deal available on the Wii.

Even if you’ve played all these games before, it’s a package all Wii gamers should own.

Wait, This Robot’s a Girl!? Awesome!

Metroid is a first-person shooter set on distant, largely uninhabited planets and, in some cases, spaceships. You play as Samus, bounty hunter extraordinaire in her sleek robot suit with the illogically puffy shoulders. Samus’ suit can acquire various upgrades and will throughout the course of all three games. Why all three? Because at the beginning of each, she seems to lose them and has to spend the adventure getting them back. Samus really needs to see a mechanic. If I lost my brakes every morning on the way to work, I’d start taking the car to a different shop.

Samus’ suit does, in fact, have a personality of its own, especially considering its ability to turn into a into a ball to roll through various tunnels and puzzles. The ball mechanic is a lot of fun but is also very useful in many of the combat situations (it is easier to roll away from trouble than to run). In addition, she’s eventually equipped with four types of laser fire with specific weapons needed against certain enemies and doors (and you spend more time shooting doors than anything else). She also gets visor upgrades, which allow her to see in the dark, to see invisible objects, etc. And, finally, there are countless missile, bomb and energy upgrades to be found. The more you acquire, the more equipped you’ll be to tackle the numerous, complicated and awesome bosses.

It’s Three, Three, Three (Largely Similar) Games In One!

Yes, the description above does apply to all three games because all three are basically the exact same thing. That’s not a big deal when the games were released a couple years apart but, when you get all three at once, it becomes Metroid overload.

All three require plenty of backtracking, as accessing certain areas can’t be done until you’ve got the proper suit upgrade. You can run through certain areas more than a dozen times, fighting the same opponents each time (who’s repairing those security lasers?) and that gets tiresome. The Metroid worlds are huge, so you really will spend more time running back and forth than you will encountering new enemies and cracking open new puzzles.

But this is all worth it because the action is fast and furious when it has to be and the puzzles are fun. The balance between fighting and exploring is well handled and it doesn’t hurt that the locations are gorgeous. You’ve got lava flows deep underground, snowy cliffs, cities in the sky, derelict spaceships and more.

The core gameplay may remain the same throughout all three games but the locations keep things feeling fresh.

Play It Again For the First Time.

Want more detail? You don’t really need it. Any Nintendo owner who takes gaming at all seriously has played through at least one - and likely all three - of these games. If you’ve played all three, whether you go for this package depends upon how much you enjoyed them.

Are they worth playing again? Yes, if only for the ability to use the fantastic WiiMote and Nunchuck control system. It’s easily the best of any component system and the Metroid developers certainly know how to use it to its greatest potential. All developers of first-person shooters should be taking notes. In addition, the widescreen presentation is great and the various other tweaks certainly don’t hurt.

This is a fantastic package. As if getting three A-quality games for the price of one wasn’t enough, it’s packaged in a shiny tin with with great artwork. All three games come on one dual layer disc, so there’s no need to manage multiple discs (which would also add extra bulk to the packaging).

A trilogy worth trying

What we have here are three extraordinary games in one fantastic box at one amazing price. It’s perfect for gamers like me who started on Metroid Prime 3: Corruption for Wii and just couldn’t go backwards in time or technology to play Metroids Prime 1 and 2 without widescreen and Wii controls. I’ve now been able to work up to Corruption and had a blast doing it. If time permits, I may even play Corruption again (after a break). This is a lot of Metroid to tackle at once, so make sure you get some other games to play between chapters.

When buying another game, though, don’t argue with the salespeople that $50 for only one game in a cheap plastic box sure seems like a rip-off. You don’t want to look like a spoiled Wii owner.

Site [Metroid Prime Trilogy] Read [Gamertell]

Full Story » | Written by Kirk Hiner for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

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]]> Reviews, Features, Nostalgia, Opinions, Consoles, Wii, Genres, 3D, Action, Shooter 2009-09-30T13:09:33+00:00