With games costing between five and ten bucks, it seems that many developers have missed the point of PSP Minis. Really, it feels no different than the regular PlayStation Network Store, lacking those cheap, bite-sized games that the App Store has spoiled its users with.
Fortunately, not all developers have missed the point. Halfbrick's Echoes is a game that seems to understand the best type of PSP Mini. It's easy to get into, simple to control, potentially addictive and, above all, it's cheap.
Of course, just being able to "get" what a PSP Mini is does not automatically qualify a game as good, so read on as we review Echoes.
"Got this on Xbox Live Indie Games a while ago and had a great time with it. I can see it being annoyingly difficult on the psp however having to use the d-pad or nub. Still, I'd love for a portab..."...
Assassin's Creed is generally considered to be a solid, if somewhat flawed, videogame. Despite earning praise for its visuals, concept and unique story, the 2007 title was criticized for its repetition and tendency to bore players after significant periods of time. Fortunately for Ubisoft, Assassin's Creed became an unexpectedly huge success, and the series now has a chance to fix its problems.
Assassin's Creed 2 definitely sets out to address the problems found in the first game, and the once-repetitive game is now a sprawling, quasi-open-world adventure full of variety. However, as old problems are tackled, new ones sprout up to take their place.
Does Assassin's Creed 2 solve old issues while successfully maintaining control of new ones, or does it try to do too much at once and fail on all counts? Read on as we give this game the full review.
When it comes to Wii accessories, the vast majority of products are ones designed to work in conjunction with the Wii Remote. Just look at all of the assorted plastic bits of junk that you can slap a Remote into to turn the controller into "something else" -- generally a superficial representation of another object with little advantage in gameplay.
Penguin United's Crossfire Pistol actually is "something else," however, as they have integrated the Remote itself into the gun. There's no attaching "Tab A" into "Slot B" or any other sort of chicanery, just a self-contained gun accessory.
When I first heard that Capcom's next Resident Evil game was going to be a sequel to the Wii-exclusive Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles, I was pretty disappointed. Umbrella Chronicles actually turned out to be great -- much better than I thought it would be -- but still, nothing about the game demanded a sequel. However, that's what we've got, like it or not, so instead of b*tching about what The Darkside Chronicles isn't (namely, a new RE4: Wii Edition-style masterpiece), let's focus on what the game is: an on-rails shooter specifically designed for the home console market.
Will The Darkside Chronicles live up to the expectations of Resident Evil fans? More importantly, does it work to deliver enough punch to satisfy the home console gamer despite the fact that the action is on rails?
"Another great railshooter for the wii. cant wait: RE:UC was ok, hot:o a burner, deadspace:extraction a milestone in this genre, ghostsquad a oldschool fastplaying goodone - and now really good vi..."...
New friends, more zombies, better apocalypse. That's what Valve has promised, and that's what fans will come to expect when they finally pick up the sequel to one of the best zombie games ever made. Left 4 Dead 2 was developed to capitalized on the mass success of the original game, adding new characters, campaigns, Special Infected and weapons.
With Valve's latest game finally in our hands, the ultimate question is ready to be answered: Does Left 4 Dead 2 pack enough content and zombie-splattering fun to justify making a sequel less than a year after the original title's release, or is Left 4 Dead 2 an unnecessary follow-up that was released too soon?
Read on to find out if new friends and new zombies does indeed make a better apocalypse.
"
Spoilers! from 'I Played Through Left 4 Dead 2 Holding A Goddamn Gnome'
http://www.pentadact.com/index.php/2009-11-21-i-played-through-left-4-dead-2-holding-a-goddamn-gnome"...
I don't generally like wartime FPSes. In fact, I'd say that the "normal guy with guns shooting other normal guys with guns" genre is my least favorite in all of videogame-dom, starting with GoldenEye on up. I understand their appeal, but on the whole, games like this lack the many things I love in a videogame (character graphic design, creative power-ups, boss fights, item-based puzzle solving, obstacle course-style level design, surrealism, comedy, horror, etc.) and in their place are the trappings of "mainstream" entertainment that I turn to videogames to avoid (Hollywood action movie logic, explosions for the sake of explosions, attempts to turn real-life tragedies into entertainment, reliance on team-based competitiveness, etc.).
So if I'm such a non-fan of the series, why am I the one to review Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Reflex? Well, because this version of the game was made specifically for people like me -- people who aren't already fans of this subset of the FPS genre. If you are a fan of the Call of Duty games, then you bought Modern Warfare on one of the HD consoles two years ago, and are likely knee-deep in Modern Warfare 2 as we speak. No, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Reflex isn'tfor preexisting Call of Duty fans; it's for fans-to-be (at least, from Activision's perspective).
Hit the jump to see if the game succeeded in making a Call of Duty-loving man out of me.
"Lol antness35, if I didn't know better I'd take you seriously. Good one *slaps thigh*. We all know you're actually just sad and enjoy dry humping the lilo your mum got you for christmas with a pi..."...
A few weeks ago, indie game developer Arkedo sent me an e-mail titled "An Easy Game from Arkedo to Dtoid, with Love": "Do you think it would be possible to have your mad skillz colleague try and beat Level 1 AND 2 of our game? That would be awesome. We put some bright and friendly colours, so he does not get scared too quickly. And a cat."
In any case, I rose to the challenge and did just that—I beat levels 1 and 2 of Arkedo Series - 02 SWAP! without dying. Of course, I eventually beat the whole thing, but it took a lot more tries and something almost, but not quite, entirely unlike strategy.
In case you've forgotten (or never got the memo to begin with), Arkedo is trying to make one indie game per month, ostensibly designed around one simple game mechanic. Last month they gave us a platformer titled JUMP!. This month, we're presented with SWAP!, a "dual-stick action puzzle," so they say.
Before the Wii, Sony brought casual motion-controlled gaming to the masses with EyeToy. Unfortunately, Sony never really capitalized on it and is only now scrabbling to make use of its camera peripheral in the face of ever-growing fascination with "casual gamers" and the belief that motion control is the only way to appeal to them.
Enter EyePet, Sony's newest family-friendly endeavor. Using the PlayStation Eye to transform your living room into a virtual playpen, EyePet puts you in charge of a cuddly, cute, and multi-talented fantasy mammal and interact with it using your own two hands. It's got the uniqueness and adorableness to appeal, but does it have the necessary staying power?
We've spent plenty of time bowling, planting seeds, and driving wooden cars with our very own EyePet and are ready to give it the final word. Read on to find out if you want one of these things for Christmas.
It's a-me! Mario! Nick said he's too lazy to write an intro! But he reviewed New Super Mario Bros. Wii and you can read that after the jump! There's also a neat-o video review, too! Woo hoo!
The biggest game of the year is finally here. Infinity Ward created one of the most popular, well-crafted and subsequently imitated first-person-shooter games in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and a sequel was inevitable. Two years on and we have Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, a game that aims to be bigger, sexier, and more full of explosions than Call of Duty 4 ever was.
A year of controversy and hype preceded it. A year of debate and rage and more marketing dollars than any reasonable human being could conceive. With the game in our hands, however, it is time to put such things aside and ask the only question that really matters: Just how good is the biggest game of 2009?
Rght around the time that WiiWare was just becoming known to the public, a little company in New Hampshire called Medaverse Studios announced that they would be jumping in on the fun with a game called Gravitronix. About a year and a half after the initial release expectation, the game hit the service a couple of weeks ago.
I've spent some time with it and my thoughts on the game are written below the fold. I'm not going to lie to you, it isn't particularly flattering -- either to me or to Medaverse Studios -- but I think I made a joke in there which might have been funny.
It's mahjongg. I'm not going to tell you that this is some groundbreaking videogame. But I will say that I played the hell out of this title. It seemed to fill some gap in my PSPgo library that I didn't know needed filling. Some days I played this title until my eyes became crossed.
This is Mahjongg Artifacts 2, a PSP minis title. The "2" in the title implies that there is a Mahjongg Artifacts 1. I never played the first one, but that didn't stop me from giving several hours of my life to tile matching and stereotypical Asian background music.
Is this particular PSP mini worth the asking price? I think so, but then again, I like mahjong.
What do you do when you stop making games for one of the biggest roleplaying franchises of all time? If you're BioWare, the answer is easy -- make your own roleplaying franchise and start again from scratch. Dragon Age: Origins sees BioWare return to the world of dark fantasy since it disassociated from the critically acclaimed Baldur's Gate games, bringing an entirely new world, characters and story to the genre in the hopes of creating a brand new fantasy RPG series.
BioWare has clearly spent a long time crafting Ferelden, the realm in which Dragon Age takes place, and the many inhabitants found within. Much work has also gone into the combat and tactical system, and there is no doubt that this is a BioWare production through and through. Is this an entirely good thing, or does Dragon Age fall just short of greatness by sticking just a bit too close to the BioWare traditions?
Read on for the full review of Dragon Age: Origins.
"Man, DA is one of my favorite games of this gen. Really liked the different origin stories, the main story, voice acting and the cinematic quality of the storyline."...
When I heard the news that a second Lost Winds game was coming out I knew I had to finally download the first game and become a big fan of it. So I did download it and I did become a big fan of it. It had its flaws though. Most of these had to do with the fact that you just wanted more thanks to the short length of the game. Luckily for me there was more in the form of the sequel, Lost Winds: The Winter of the Melodias.
Promptly after finishing the first game I "popped in" the second, which instantly negated the whole length issue of the first game. Having already negated the worst thing about another game I wondered if Winter of the Melodias would continue on its streak of greatness or the winds would blow in another direction. Read on for the full review and the hopeful continuation of my wind metaphor.
"I wanted to like this game, but to be frank I hate the controls. To me it felt like trying to draw accurately using a pen attached to a fishing pole. I also dislike the amount of dialogue you hav..."...
Upon reading the title of this post, I assume you will have one of two reactions:
1. What the hell is Osmos what is this crap why are you wasting my
2. Didn't that game come out, like, almost three months ago?
To which I would say, in order, "shut up" and "yes." Osmos did indeed come out during the middle of this August, but we never got around to reviewing it. A few days ago, however, I received a review copy. But why bring the game up now, so far from its initial release date?
Because it's really, really good and you should try it out. That's why.
Space Invaders Extreme is regarded by many as among the greatest DS games of all time, and an essential component of any portable gaming repertoire. It was undoubtedly a brilliant game, and so a followup was assured.
That followup is here, with brand new features, new gameplay additions and, most importantly, a whole new range of kick-ass music. New doesn't always mean good, however, so the question is this: Does Space Invaders Extreme 2 manage to live up to the prestige of the original, or is this invasion an unwelcome one?
"I just picked it up last night and haven't put it down since. It's as great as the first one, only filled with AWESOME!!! Fuck you Taito, give me my life back."...
Roleplaying games are dramatic, lengthy affairs in which most players could reasonably expect to lose up to eighty hours of their time. Half-Minute Hero exists to tell you just how much you're wasting your own precious and fragile life, as it reduces eighty hours of gameplay into a mere thirty seconds of content.
The scary part? That thirty seconds of content represents everything you do in an RPG. You grind, you do a fetch & carry quest, you buy a sword, you beat a boss, and you watch the credits. Half-Minute Hero seems to tell the player that all those massive, epic RPGs they've played over the years were little more than thirty seconds of gameplay, stretched to ludicrous lengths. It's all very meta.
It's also quite brilliant, as well. Read on as we review Half-Minute Hero.
It's almost Halloween, and if you're anything like me, you're going to try to make the most of it. Playing survival horror games can be one way of doing that, but the way the genre has evolved (or devolved, depending on how you look at it), you might not be able to find many scares in recent survival horror releases. Resident Evil 5 is notoriously un-scary, Silent Hill: Homecoming is considered too action-oriented for many series die-hards, and as good as Dead Space: Extraction is, it's definitely more of a shooter than anything else.
What happened to the days of true survival horror games -- games where you remain defenseless most of the time, where your only recourse is running, hiding, and praying for escape? Oh, hey Silent Hill: Shattered Memories. Didn't see you there. You can't blame me for skimming over you, what with the delay until next year and all.
Right now I'm thinking about myself, and what new game I can play to scare my friends and family in time for this year's Halloween party. Right now, all I got is JU-ON; The Grudge, a $30 budget title based on a horror series that I only sort of like.
"Silent Hill: Shattered Memories has been delayed to next year? huh, can't say I;m surprised, most games scheduled for the fall have been pushed back because of the almighty juggernaut MW2
anyway..."...
You know how it goes. There's always that one badass at school that no one messes with. Everyone around knows that this particular badass has dignified himself by pulling enough sucker punches and breaking enough noses over the years. This mindless brute, this impossible muscle head -- you usually just stay clear of him and let him do his thing while you do yours.
Every once in awhile, though, a badass with a brain comes along. Badasses that have goals. Badasses that aspire to more badassery. One particular badass in Japan gets an idea during a class field trip: He figures that if he can take out every other school's badasses, all of which are likely in the same place for the same field trip, he could rule over the entire country.
This is the idea behind Kenka Bancho: Badass Rumble, a new PSP game by Spike, brought over by Atlus. Can we write a review where we don't interject "badass" to describe the game? Let's see.
"Hi there is a great chance of winning a PSP on the link http://forums.zapak.com/Axe/viewforum.php?f=79
Just play the Axe Inxtinct game and make the highest score best of luck and enjoy..."...
Thexder began life life in 1985 on the NEC PC-8801. Although regarded as a classic, the SHMUPnever became a massive franchise. It gained international success when converted for the MSX system, and had a sequel called Fire Hawk: Thexder The Second Contract, but that was about it, and the series was forgotten.
Fast forward to 2009, and Square Enix has decided to revive Thexder as Thexder Neo on the PSP. Sticking to the original game's roots, Neo sees players control a lazer-blasting robot that can transform into a jet and take on all sorts of mechanical foes. Is Thexder Neo a worthwhile revival, or was this one robot better left rusting on the scrapheap? Read on as we review the latest retro comeback.
"Jim, despite the insutls and whatnot, James makes a lot of very insightful points on the gameplay issues; I agree with them all. And I am someone who has played and beat the original Thexder. N..."...
As far as I know, Domino Rally has not yet been released in stores. It's also not available on GameStop's site, or most other online retail outlets. The game came out over a month ago, but I think the only places you can get buy it are eBay and BestSKU. There isn't even a listing for it on the publisher's Web site anymore. Chances of this game going on to become a collector's item are fairly high.
More intriguingly (to me), the game is supposed to be a spiritual successor to one of my favorite PS1 games, No One Can Stop Mr. Domino!. This isn't something the developers are trying to hide. The first level of Domino Rally is actually called "No One Can Stop Mr. Domino!"
On top of all that, the game only costs $19.99.
If you are a certain kind of gamer, then that's all you need to know before deciding that this game is a worthwhile purchase, even if you never unwrap it (or for die-hard collectors, even more so). For the rest of you -- the people who aren't willing to risk $20 on a weird-looking semi-sequel to an obscure PS1 sleeper hit that GameStop is to scared to sell -- I submit this review.
Read on to discover for yourself if Domino Rally is in fact worth your "time and cash."
Eufloria -- formerly known as Dyson -- has been on my radar for a while now. Firstly, one of its creators also made Cottage of Doom. This, in itself, is sufficient reason for excitement.
Secondly, Eufloria seemed like it may well have been made for someone just like me -- someone who is absolutely terrified of real-time strategy games, who would need a redonkulously streamlined and minimalist interface in order to feel at ease.
Thirdly, I knew I'd probably be able to swing a free review copy.
Whatever the reasons for my excitement, the facts remain: the game is now out (demo here), I have reviewed it, and you can read that review after the jump.
Fans of BIT.TRIP Beat and BIT.TRIP Core will be thrilled to hear that the development team at Gaijin Games has been hard at work on a third game in the BIT.TRIP series called BIT.TRIP Void. While the game is called BIT.TRIP Void, there are many things that occupy the space in this game that many people will find interesting and entertaining. Things such as the new gameplay style, the classic retro look, a new chiptune soundtrack, new challenges and the return of the multiplayer mode.
Insomniac Games' Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time represents the ninth game in the series, which started back in 2002 on the PlayStation 2. That's nine games in seven years, folks. Wow.
Sure, that's not quite Guitar Hero status. Since that series was introduced in 2005, there have been one... two... hmmmm... okay. I lost count. A lot. Fortunately, Insomniac has been able to consistently provide enough advances in gameplay and delivered in bringing the fun that you might not have noticed that there have been (I repeat) nine related games released.
While A Crack in Time may not be the last time we see the duo in action, it does represent the end of a story arc. But about those advances in "gameplay" and "fun" -- does Insomniac deliver with its latest adventure?
Wii Fit Plus is a $20 upgrade to Wii Fit. It includes everything from the original title, plus new games and new "fitness"-related things that I only sort-of care about.
The game now tries to count how many calories you've burned by using the MET system (but like its attempts to tell me how obese you are via the BMI scale, I have my doubts about the validity of these guesses). It also allows you to set up your own routines based on your goals, and it lets you make a Mii of your babies, cats, or dogs and chart their weight progressions. There are also a few new ways to test your "Wii Fit" age, three new yoga exercises, three new strength training exercises, some charts indicating the average calorie content of a bunch of different foods, and a few other non-game elements I may be forgetting.
Whew! Enough of that, back to the videogame talk. Yes, people, as much it may pain some of you to know, Wii Fit Plus really is a videogame, or at least, it's a series of videogames collected in one package. Semantics aside, Wii Fit Plus is definitely more game-focused than the first one. For starters, it gives all its games (even the ones found in the original) non-simultaneous multiplayer, which goes a long way to give the game that "Wii party" accessibility so many people seem to like. More importantly, Wii Fit Plus includes 15 all-new games (all shown here in video form). Three of these games are "sequels" to some found in the original Wii Fit, one is based off a game from Wii Sports Resort, and the rest are brand new.
I played these games for 30-45 minutes a day for the past two weeks. Hit the jump to see what I thought of them (and if I lost any weight).
Machinarium may be the best adventure game I've ever played.
I don't know if I outright prefer it over the motion-controlled glory that is Zack and Wiki, or the wacky time-travel-laffs of Chariots of the Dogs, but I do know that if you're even remotely interested in adventure or puzzle games, you'd be a complete fool not to check out Machinarium.
I know I was pretty harsh on the game in our preview a few months ago, but thanks to a new hint system and a few more hours of playtime, I can confidently type the three boldface words that adorn the header of every review I write for a great adventure game that I fear might not sell enough copies to support its developers:
"Just finished this and haven't had so much fun with a game since The Rescue of Princess Blobette on Game boy! Looks amazing, puzzles are rewarding and in almost all instances are logical. Sound..."...
Borderlands is almost here, and judging from the constant messages, insults, and death threats I've gotten in the last few weeks as I've been playing it on Steam, I would consider it eagerly anticipated.
As I was driving to work the other day, I heard Adam Sessler on the radio talking about videogames. He was mostly talking about Uncharted 2, but he mentioned that Borderlands was the "dark horse" of this gaming season. I don't know if he's played it or not, but that's a good way to describe it. It's releasing in a very busy season with a lot of stellar games, and I think there's a real danger it may get overlooked for the likes of Uncharted 2 and Modern Warfare 2. Don't let that happen. It's not a perfect game, and it has a few noticeable problems, but I can't seem to stop playing it.
"Ok so because of the zombie stuff, I traded in some games to give this game a chance. wow that was a mistake. I admit, I haven't played more than the first few missions, but I don't intend to bec..."...
I love NERF guns. In my household, NERF guns are kept within easy reach at all times because you never know when an all-out war is about to occur. This probably happens more frequently than it should amongst a group of generally mature adults.
The NERF N-Strike Switch Shot EX-3 is a gun which serves two purposes, as a gun which fires NERF darts or as a gun casing for a Nintendo Wii Remote. It does one of these things very well. Read the review to find out which.
You can never truly have enough party games on the Nintendo Wii, right? Well, actually ... you can. As someone who enjoys a good party-style game on occasion -- y'know, WarioWare, Boom Blox, or sometimes even Wii Sports Resort -- I'm not completely opposed to mini-game collections.
But, there is one caveat. The mini-games need to be enjoyable even after you've become accustomed to them, and the game can't be a poorly thrown together compilation, either. In the case of Eiconic Games' Squeeballs Party, let's just be thankful that its charm wraps its assortment of mini-games together nicely.
How does it stand out in a sea of Wii titles with "party" in their name? Keep on reading -- you know you want to hear more about this cute yet slightly disturbing game.
"It's delayed for the 360 - the controller is still under development and they decided rather than delay everything they'd just do an initial limited release. I imagine the gametrak probably won't..."...
Racing games are not for everybody. Well, the old ones were, but time went by, we slowly got away from the simplicity of just getting over the finish line first. Now we're at a point where we're controlling high-end simulations where realism and physics play a major role. You can't mindlessly mash the gas pedal anymore. Now you have to mind your racing lines, think about your cornering, perform upgrades and modifications, and put your mind in a place where you can focus on every aspect of the vehicle as you speed through insanely detailed recreations of real-world tracks. One missed step and you'll find yourself smashed against a wall.
Even with as complex as these games have become, fans of these racing simulation-style titles still come out in droves to pick up the latest "car porn." The realism in these games allow racing enthusiasts and vehicle lovers to toy with cars they might not otherwise get to handle. For many years now, Polyphony Digital's Gran Turismo series has been the front runner for these racing sims, but Turn 10's Forza has been on their six, looking for an opportunity to pass. The race is not over yet, but it looks like Forza has pulled out in front.
Turn 10 has set a new high mark for racing games with Forza Motorsport 3. Fans of racing games are already frothing at the mouth at the level of game play and car offerings included. But what's most interesting is how the game now also caters to those that may have written off racing games in the past. Now's time to get back into the race.
"Hunh. Bit surprised to see this sort of reaction to the reviews.
The game is also getting really solid reviews throughout various outlets, this isn't the only exception. Dale North really enjoye..."...
Despite having only developed one game prior, there were a lot of expectations for Double Fine Productions' follow-up, Brütal Legend. With founder Tim Schafer behind the wheel, this heavy metal world translated to videogame has been turning (or would it be banging?) heads since its official announcement in 2007. The folks who made Psychonauts? Sign us up!
It's had a somewhat rocky history, with its publisher, Sierra, being acquired by Activision. Its new mega-publisher overlords made the decision to pass, perhaps thinking the new IP too risky, leaving Brütal Legend in the dust. Electronic Arts, on the other other hand, believed in what Double Fine had to offer, and here we are today... Brütal Legend is finally in stores.
But exactly how brütal is Double Fine's sophomore effort?
"This game isn't really bad controls, it's just a steep learning curve. Seriously, I've been playing this game pretty religiously online and there is nothing wrong with the controls. Are they a hu..."...
Revealed September 10th on an episode of GTTV after weeks of rumors, Lucidity is developer LucasArts’ new downloadable title. Unlike their last few releases like Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition or Loom, Lucidity is an original IP. More importantly, it was built from the ground up internally at the studio.
Rich in color and style, and possessing a haunting soundtrack, the downloadable isn’t rough on the ear- or eyeholes. But, of course, how a game feels or looks isn’t the most important factor. The action is. So, does Lucidity work?
"What a shame. I knew little about the titles gameplay elements but I loved the art and concept. Too bad its a misfire.
Maybe they should have just made an animated short if they had an awesome a..."...
Hey guys, have you heard about this game Uncharted 2: Among Thieves?
It's the follow-up to Naughty Dog's 2007 PlayStation 3 exclusive, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. In the sequel, treasure hunter Nathan Drake chases the secrets of Marco Polo, falls down a lot, and blows a bunch of stuff up. The back of the box has this guy Nathan punching a dude in the face, firing a gun, and getting shot at by a helicopter.
I have to wonder: Why didn't they show off some of the cool stuff that happens in Among Thieves on the back of the box? Because there's a lot of "cool stuff" that happens... and keeps happening. For, like, over ten hours. And then more cool stuff happens online.
"One of the best games to come out this year. Only missing split-screen play. If it had split-screen multiplayer and faster online matchmaking, the game would be perfect"...
Over the course of my tenure here at Destructoid, I've noticed that most people don't want to read reviews of games they haven't A) already been thinking about for a number months or B) don't already own. For these reasons, I'm not expecting a lot of people to read this review of You, Me and the Cubes. That's why I'm tempted to just tell you right now if you should buy the game or not.
How about this; do you like art games, or games where little punk-rock teenagers fall to their death? How about the Art Style series, or games about love? If you answered yes to any of those questions, then you should definitely buy You, Me and the Cubes. This may be the best surrealist, co-op, birth-marriage-death simulator ever made (sorry Passage). People who like that sort of thing will like this game, and everybody else will...
You still there? Whoa, that's weird. OK then, hit the jump for the full review.
I'll be as forthcoming as I can: I didn't finish, nor will I probably ever finish JUMP!, the first of several XBL Indie Game from Arkedo (the guys behind Big Bang Mini, if you're keeping track) planned over the next few months.
The basic premise of JUMP! is about as retro as retro gets; you're a little pixelated dude collecting pixelated bombs and coins, avoiding pixelated animals who can kill you with one hit. Also, if you lose all your lives, you have to restart the game.
Not the level. Not the last time you saved, or the last checkpoint you hit. The entire game. This is retro gaming at its most sadistic, gentlemen -- and frankly, I wasn't man enough to complete the thing (I died on level 29). I did, however, spend enough time with it to have a relatively good idea of its overall feel.
For that reason, I'll still be reviewing JUMP! after the page break, but without a numerical score.
"not to add more fuel but @MAGNALON don't you think the reviews from more casual gaming sites like ign or kotaku or g4 even.. (haven't read them just going off of what you said) would be more true..."...
Toronto-based developed Capybara games has been around for awhile, likely doing a bunch of stuff you might have overlooked. If you haven't heard of them, I wouldn't blame you. Maybe you've had a chance to check out the Ubisoft-published Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes, or its original puzzle game Critter Crunch for the iPhone.
The latter title -- available for a measly 99 cents on the App Store -- was released over a year ago, and despite winning numerous awards, was mostly overlooked. This week, the developer will unleashed a more polished version of the game for PlayStation 3 as a downloadable title for the PlayStation Network.
It's cute, you can see that -- but is it any good? Hit the jump.
Tower defense-style strategy games are nothing new, nor are variations on tried and true game formulas. But PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe is a tower-defense style game that is a variation and improvement on its predecessor, and ends up being pretty close to perfected as far as this style of games goes. To say it more clearly, if you've played the PlayStation 3 game PixelJunk Monsters and liked it, you're going to love PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe on the PSP. It's that much better of a game.
No, really. If you're looking for a challenge, get this. If you're looking for a very good PSP game, get this. If you liked the first game, definitely get this.
Just when I was getting thoroughly sick of zombie games, along comes Tecmo with another one. Only, this one turns the entire idea of zombie slaughter on its head and manages to do something surprisingly fresh with the whole theme. Take the minion-style gameplay of Overlord, mix it up with some Dynasty Warriors hack n' slash, then sprinkle zombies over the whole thing. You now have Undead Knights.
Oh, and don't forget the ludicrious hair metal soundtrack.
So, Undead Knights is unique and strange, but is it actually any good? If you want to find out, look no further than our official review. Read on to find out what we thought of this blood-soaked portable death-fest.
"I got the "demo" which turned out to be the full game and it is the only PSP game I have been playing since. The second I heard Romulus shout "Burn, Fuckers!" I knew this had to be good."...
We're not in the business of reviewing games we don't finish, so I'll say right away that I did not finish Demon's Souls, the latest action RPG for the PlayStation 3. Because of this, we will not be giving it a review score this week. This write-up is going to have to suffice. Sorry.
It's not that I didn't want to finish it. I truly do, and I look forward to doing so. It just isn't going to happen now. The review date is upon us, and I've got plenty more game to go. On top of this, Atlus has pulled down the gaming press test servers to prepare for the game's retail launch.
I regularly plow through 80+ hour epics in no time as a reviewer, barely breaking a sweat; I'm kind of known for that around these parts. And it's not that Demon's Souls is a long game; that's not the case at all. The issue here is that I couldn't finish it in a timely manner. It was just too hard for me to do so, and I think I was playing it wrong.
It's not that Demon's Souls is a bad game. Actually, it's a very good game, and one that I'd recommend to gamers that like a stiff challenge. It's an incredibly rewarding experience at times, too. This is the type of game where patience and a mind for strategy are more important than reflexes. But it's also the type of game that is so difficult that you'll sometimes have to put the controller down and step outside for some fresh air. It's been awhile since I've played a "controller breaker." Demon's Souls is definitely a controller breaker.
"Being an imbecilic glutton for punishment who's partial to roguelike RPGs with permadeath and countless tear-inducing arcade shmups like X-Multiply and Gunbird, I think I'm finally ready to buy a..."...
The Warriors is the sort of film which should lend itself almost perfectly to a gaming experience. Its simplistic plot centered around eight gang members trying to cross New York City with every gang in the city looking for them practically begs to be made into a 2D brawler once you take out all of the running they do. It's practically a no-brainer.
Not that this has stopped anyone from screwing up a licensed game in the past. Still, the prospects when you're working with a license that already has a following, a distinctive visual style and a tale which is hard to do injustice to are decent. All that's needed is a strong follow-through.
Can The Warriors: Street Brawl make it all the way home? Read on.
"Nothing can ever replace the Warriors game Rockstar made for the last generation. EVER.
Except maybe a bad-ass update of that game with online and HD graphics... BUT BASICALLY NOTHING EVER!"...
When it was first announced that the Wii would be getting its own Dead Space title, fans of the original game immediately cried foul. It was fair to assume that like the console's other big 360-to-Wii survival horror down-port Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop, Dead Space Extraction would end up looking cheap and playing exactly like Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition.
Those initial guesses couldn't have been more wrong. Dead Space Extraction looks great, nearly as good as its HD brother, and it plays nothing like RE4. Instead, it's more like a cross between a standard co-op on-rails shooter and one big, long, interactive cut scene. Where the original Dead Space was light on story, Dead Space Extraction's story never stops. Every single second of the game is part of a greater narrative, like a sci-fi TV mini-series marathon that you can shoot at.
The question is, would we have been better off with a cheap, RE 4: Wii Edition-style port of the original game, or is this new shooter-story hybrid something superior?
"Jonathan- the thing is, you have to remember as soon as Dead Rising was announced, people bitched and moaned that it would never measure up to the 360 version. Even when capcom specifically said..."...
Jeff Minter's Gridrunner Revolution is a good game, and I say that as someone who absolutely hated Space Giraffe.
I have no time to play the coy, "these are the opening paragraphs so I don't want to spoil my opinion of the game in a cynical attempt to make you hit the jump and read further" game. The name "Jeff Minter" conjures too many overblown emotions far too quickly for such tiptoeing to be of any use.
I legitimately worry that many gamers who, like me, couldn't get into the obfuscation-based gameplay of Minter's previous work will take one glance at Revolution's screenshots and brush it off as another nausea-inducing head trip not worth their time. I legitimately worry Space Giraffe's legacy will drive people away from a game that, unlike Minter's Xbox Live-game-that-couldn't, does a superb job of slowly acclimating the player to an entirely new method of seeing, experiencing, playing, and thinking about what initially seems to be a pretty standard shmup.
So, yes. You now know that the game is really quite good, and that you should give it a chance (demo's here, though it doesn't represent the intensity of the later levels) regardless of how you feel about Jeff Minter. If you want specifics, you can hit the jump and I will attempt to provide them.
Ah, the MMO. It's a tricky beast, alright. Making one seems to be such a delicate process. As developers and publishers try to replicate the immense success of World of Warcraft, we've seen few succeed and many fail. City of Heroes, an MMO by Cryptic Studios, could probably considered one of those small victories. It helped the genre to toss aside its identity as being nothing but swords and sorcery, and was a really great game too.
Now Cryptic has taken the CoH formula and attempted to improve on it in their newest game, Champions Online. Is it a worthy successor? Hit the jump for my impressions.
NOTE: As of this date, I have not reached the level cap (40), so I have not been able to test the endgame content. For this reason, I have not included a numerical score.
Sony's latest stab at a portable handheld, the PSPgo, hits shelves tomorrow. Are you excited? It's so small and cute!
The sexy unit landed in the Destructoid Baltimore offices this week, and I spent many hours putting it through its paces. But at $249.99, is this all-digital software sexy piece of hardware worth the cash? Should existing PSP owners trade in their older model for the new hotness? Thinking about buying a PSP and want to start with the PSPgo? Should you? OMG! So much pressure!
The answers -- or at least my version of those answers -- after the jump.
"you are all retarded saying bad stuff about the pspgo hold one in your hands and THEN give your opinions. Oh yeah too bad it doesnt have a UMD port boo hoo GET OVER IT its NEW technology now get ..."...
When people think of ridiculously difficult action games, they tend to gravitate instantly toward Ninja Gaiden. Personally, I feel Ninja Gaiden relies instead on being "annoying" rather than "challenging," but that's just me. Still, no matter how irritating the game gets, one can't deny it's a finely crafted experience, and can be quite empowering in the hands of a skilled player.
Ninja Gaiden 2 has been an Xbox 360 exclusive for well over a year, but as usual, Tecmo has been waiting in the wings to produce Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, a PS3 version of that annoying-but-somewhat-awesome sequel in which a ninja flips out and starts kicking the crap out of demons for no sensible reason.
Sporting new characters, online co-op and a number of visual tweaks, is Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 the ultimate version of Ryu Hayabusa's ridiculous journey around the world, or are Xbox 360 users missing out on nothing spectacular? Read on as we put this game through it's paces ... and jiggle some boobs with our SIXAXIS.
"i bought original ng2 at launch and stopped playing it at the second last stage due to twin armadillos air walk which suggest that i load my most recent save but the last save point was way befor..."...
Another chapter in the Telltale Games' Tales ofMonkey Island episodic series was released yesterday afternoon. Chapter 3, or the “Lair of the Leviathan” kicks off as a powerful whale swallows the whole of the Screaming Narwhal. Mighty pirate Threepwood never has it easy, eh?
The previous chapter was a bust, perhaps lingering too much on item collection and exploration on top of a confusing map. The latest chapter is nothing of the sort. Clear and confined, this downloadable treat captures the MI vibe once again and focuses on character interaction and simple item exploration.
Of course, I won’t give it all away. Hit the break for the review.
Naaa na-na na na na na-na na na na na-na naaaaa. Naaa na-na na na na na-na na na na na-na naaaaa. NAAAA na-na na na na na-na na na na na-na naaaaa. Naaa na-na na na na na-na na na na na-na na-na na-na naaaaaaa.
We waited very impatiently for Muramasa: The Demon Blade to come out on Wii this month. The slashing action game has been enchanting us with trailers for months. And here it is. The die has been cast, our fate determined, and there was nothing that would have been able to prevent it.
Now that the game is on store shelves, should you be taking it home with you and giving it a loving home? Possibly. Why not let this review help inform your decision? It's the very best one we've written about Muramasa yet!
If you're over the whole “zombies in videogames” streak the industry has been on the past few years, you're not alone. What once was a rare and genuinely exciting occurrence (Zombies Ate My Neighbors!, for instance), has now become commonplace with varying degrees of success. Dead Rising to a full-on zombie mode in Call of Duty: World at War. From Left 4 Dead to Little Red Riding Hood's Zombie BBQ (yes, that's a game).
The market, as it seems, may be oversaturated with the wails and groans of the undead. Shouldn't we get back to that whole bald space marine thing? I mean, that was working out pretty well.
So I get it. I understand where you might be coming from. But here's the thing – I'm not over it yet. As fan of horror films, if there's a game with zombies in it, you've got my attention. So despite the flood of titles to hit the market, I've had my eye on Nihilistic Software's digital download undead slaughterfest, Zombie Apocalypse, for awhile. Before it was even officially announced, in fact.
The zombie apocalypse is finally here, hitting PlayStation Network and Xbox LIVE Arcade this week. But is it any good, or should be cut off its head and burn the remains on arrival? Hit the jump to find out.
Most RPGs these days are stale, boring and almost impossible to differentiate from one another. They all trot out the same turn-based combat, the same angst-ridden characters, and the same "save the world from ultimate darkness" plot that has barely changed since the early eighties. This is why the Mario & Luigi RPG series has always felt like such a consistent breath of fresh air.
Sure, the games themselves tread on familiar ground with each new chapter, but the focus on fun gameplay, laid back narrative and gentle humor has always made the franchise stand out and prove to the world that RPGs don't always have to be about 16-year-old androgynous boy-heroes who must fight a brooding and/or flamboyantly camp supervillain.
The latest in the series, Bower's Inside Story, continues Mario & Luigi's commitment to giving the genre something more interesting, amusing and above all, fun. Read on as we review Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story.
When Codemasters announced DiRT 2, I was very happy to see that it still had Colin McRae's name on it. I found the first game to be "okay," and after playing the demo for this second installment, it seemed we had a great racing title on the way that would outperform its predecessor and honor the memory of the man whose name graced its cover. Did it succeed?
Not to spoil what comes after the break, but yes. Yes, it certainly did. It's been quite a few years since I've had this much fun with a racing game, and the way it's all presented outshines just about any car porn title that's come before it. Be prepared for a long post, because I've got a lot to say about it. How much of that is good? Hit the jump to find out in our full review.
"A very well-made review, topher, that have made me to pick this game up. I've experimented all those details myself and conclude is a great and satisfying game. The interface is perfect, an inmer..."...
The Halo series is one of gaming’s biggest franchises to date. From videogames, books, comics, toys, to clothes -- Halo was even almost turned into (and could very well still be) a Hollywood film. Halo 3: ODST is the latest Bungie-developed entry into the Haloverse, in what is being hailed as a new direction.
There’s no Master Chief and no SPARTAN IIs of any kind here. Instead, you’re playing as the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers (ODSTs). They’re not just a regular group of humans, however. Before the SPARTANs were brought into the UNSC military, the ODSTs were the top dogs. They’re some of the military’s toughest group of soldiers, and they have to be, seeing as how they’re willing to make high-altitude drops encased in small metal pods time and time again.
Still, the ODST are not SPARTANs. They don’t have energy shields, MJOLNIR armor, or bioengineered enhancements to their bodies. So playing as the ODST feels different compared to past Halo games.
How different? Hit the break and you’ll find out all there is to know about the single-player campaign and the new Firefight multiplayer mode in Halo 3: ODST.
"I didn't find the rookie sections boring--I was too busy trying to survive them. If you linger overly long, after clearing an area, the AI drop-ships another batch of covenant in on you. Nothing ..."...
While I was sold on the concept of WET -- a chick shoots and slices up thugs in a grindhouse-inspired action game -- I wasn't exactly sold on what's arguably a game's most important aspect: How it plays.
I had some hands-on time with the game at E3, and while it was enjoyable, I was admittedly a bit underwhelmed. When that same E3 demo hit consoles a few months later, my original impressions had been confirmed -- lots of style, with little substance and questionably stiff and sloppy controls. Still, the "chicks shoots and slices up thugs" hook was strong enough that I went into the final game with an open mind.
For the first hour or two, my opinion had changed for the worse. But then something happened, and I went from annoyed and frustrated to grinning ear to ear. I soon found that, despite its flaws, I was having a great time. So what happened? How can one go from near-hate to love so quickly?
Scribblenauts has been one of the most eagerly anticipated DS games of the year, if not the biggest. Its concept was ambitious and its charm captivated all who saw it in the run up to the game's release. A game where you can write almost anything you could imagine in order to conjure objects, people and monsters seems almost too amazing to be true. In a way, it kind of is.
5th Cell's latest portable outing is brilliant, don't get me wrong, but the genius of the concept and the realization of ambition have been tarnished by frustrating controls, vague objectives and the fact that, despite having over 22,000 items to interact with, a vast majority of them are basically worthless.
So, is Scribblenauts able to win hearts through sheer force of concept, or is the reality of the game's many issues too much to ignore? Read on as we review Scribblenauts.
"The sheer experimentation is where Scribblenauts truly shines, and although it's far too easy to break the game and come up with words it doesn't recognize (it happens disappointingly often), the..."...
Survival horror is quickly running out of places to go. The genre feels as though it has matured to the point where not a lot of innovation is going on. At least, until we heard about Cursed Mountain. Last month, I previewed it and was pretty excited: the premise behind it, moving survival horror controls to the Wii to make for a more intimate experience, sounded good.
Needless to say, I was pumped to rip into this one. Rescuing my brother from the undead in the Himalayas? Grab the climbing gear and magical pickaxe, and I'm more than ready to go. Set in the 1980s, a lot of the modern conveniences like cellphones and GPS devices aren't around, so it's all up to climbing instinct.
Cursed Mountain is taking a stab in a very different direction, so there's a lot of new ground to tread. Do they climb up to the top of the pile in the genre, or do they lose their footing along the way and fall short? There's only one way to find out: check out the full review after the jump!
"@Jonathan Holmes
I'm sorry, I just have serious trouble understanding why it is that there can be such massive discrepencies between initial impressions and the finished product.
In the case I ..."...
Sometimes I imagine the puzzle game masterminds at PopCap as mad scientists, all hunched over a table in a dark underground laboratory, doing something unworldly to their games to make them as addictive as they are. In recent memory, titles Plants vs. Zombies and the various incarnations of Peggle have eaten more productive hours than they should have, and now a follow-up to one of PopCap's classics is doing the same.
The original Zuma consumed me for a long while, and a version later released on Xbox Live Arcade did it again. Finally, after a bit of a rest, PopCap comes back with a fantastic sequel that adds boss battles, new power-ups and a vastly improved presentation and graphics. Great. There goes my free time again.
The surreal mixing of Hollywood references, real-life political terminology, and sci-fi craziness has long been a staple of Konami action games, but the Contra series takes that special brand of weirdness to another level. In real life, a "Contra" is a member of the guerrilla force that opposed a left-wing government in Nicaragua in the 1970s. In the Konami games, a "Contra" is a muscular Stallone/Schwarzenegger look-alike who battles jungle aliens while shirtless, sometimes in the 1970s. What's the connection between the two definitions? Are the Contras of the Konami series actually political activists disguised as alien exterminators? Is the game trying to tell me that Rambo is a secretly a Latino? What the hell is really going on here?
Well, after more than 20 years of such questions, Contra ReBirth has come forward to finally deliver some answers. Not only does the game give us the full reveal on Konami's definition of "Contra" for the first time, it also provides us with a game that exemplifies everything that makes the series so special. For better or worse, Contra ReBirth is the Contra-est Contra game in recent memory.
Hit the jump for the full review of Konami's latest take on guerrilla warfare.
EA Sports’ NHL franchise has a distinguished pedigree -- the past two games in the series have earned 19 “sports game of the year” awards from various videogame publications and Web sites, and the games have only gotten better as time has passed. Each year, developer EA Canada has set the hockey bar higher and higher by putting out titles that have been worth buying in consecutive years.
You’d think that the series would be due for a misstep eventually, that it couldn’t possibly keep making strides toward a better simulation of hockey without an off year.
You’d be wrong. Dead wrong -- at least in the case of this year’s effort, NHL 10.
[Editor’s note: NHL 10 does not launch until tomorrow; since I was unable to test the game in a real-world online setting, this review does not discuss the game’s online play. -Samit]
"Graphics are great in this edition of the game. There are subtle but great differences in this version versus . I like how you take us through all of the intricate features that the game has and ..."...
There's absolutely no point in trying to build suspense about whether or not we at Destructoid like I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES 1N IT!!!1 (hereafter referred to as IMAGWZ1T!). We do. It is, quite simply, amazing.
The only real question then is, why? What makes this title one of the freshest things to come out of Xbox Live's Indie Games community in some time? You probably already know the answer to this too, but I'm going to tell you anyway.
Darkest of Days is the worst first-person shooter of this generation.
There it is. This attempt to be a clever, interesting FPS experience is, without a shadow of a doubt, the single worst first-person shooter to appear in the past five years. It is a game for which hyperbole is perfectly acceptable. A game so awful that simply writing about it cannot do it justice. The game isn't simply bad; it's the lowest of the low, a game so bad that its very existence defies all sense of reason and logic.
So, what did we think of it? You won't know until you read our review!
Destructoid is an independently-run publication forged by our love of video games and the gaming community's need of accountable enthusiast press living the dream since March 16, 2006
7 hours ago - 2:00 PM on 11.28.2009, 
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