•Naruto Ultimate Ninja 3 •Obscure: The Aftermath •Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure
My pick this week goes to Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword. Now, before all you Final Fantasy fangirls start crying becuase I didn't pick your OMFGKAWAIIBISHIE ^__^ game, let me just say that I would never award FF7 or FF anything, other than "Series Tony Most Hates". Now to the pick at hand, Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword for the Nintendo DS. This game, while lacking the graphical prowess of Sigma, Black, and II, it definitely looks like a well thought out and well executed version of the game that you can put in your pocket and play anywhere. The game really seems to live up to the high bar set by the console iterations of the series. The critics so far seem to agree with my analysis, as it has been getting very positive scores across the board.
In addition to Dragon Sword, be on the look out for Dark Sector and Viking: Battle for Asgard. Dark Sector may end up being meh, but Viking looks like it could be a real surprise. The first review I've seen of that game gave it a 9.5/10. Be sure to check out the other reviews of it as the week progresses, because this might wind up being a game to buy. The fact that it's based on the Vikings only makes me more intrigued, because Vikings are freaking badass.
Also, I have a correction from last week's list. World Championship Cards for PSP has been delayed until April. Sorry for disappointing all less than two of you who are looking forward to this game.
Check back here next week to find out what games are begging for your money!
This week is actually a damn good one for new games considering we're right in the middle of March. If you have a PS3, 360, DS, or PS2, there's a great game coming out. The other consoles, not so much unless Sega Superstars Tennis completely beats my expectations (which it won't). So without further ado, here's what you can buy this week:
Playstation 3
Xbox 360
Nintendo Wii
•Condemned 2: Bloodshot •Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds •Karaoke Revolution: American Idol Encore •Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 (Also available in a Limited Edition) •Sega Superstars Tennis
•Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 (Also available in a Limited Edition) •Sega Superstars Tennis
•George of the Jungle •Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 •Sega Superstars Tennis •Worms: A Space Oddity •WWII Aces
PSP
Nintendo DS
Playstation 2
•World Championship Cards
(No highlight game here this week. I'm not going to tell you to waste your money on World Championship Cards. Go buy God of War, Wipeout Pulse, or Patapon instead.)
•Diary Girl •Fantasy Aquarium •Go Pets: Vacation Island •Lost in Blue 3 •Sega Superstar Tennis
•Metal Gear Solid: Essential Collection •Samurai Warriors 2: Xtreme Legends •Sega Superstar Tennis •Singstar 90s (Also available as a bundle with 2 microphones)
My overall pick of the week goes to Metal Gear Solid: Essential Collection. This package is a collection of the first three Metal Gear Solid games in a specially priced $30 bundle in preparation for the release of the highly anticipated (50GB, dual layer Blu-ray) PS3 exclusive Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of The Patriots which comes out in June. The Essential Collection is a fantastic deal if you are new to the MGS series, have only one or two games in the series, or are a completist. It's really hard to say no to $30 for three of the greatest games ever.
Check back here next week to find out what games are begging for your money!
LittleBigPlanet Create-A-Level PLAY, CREATE, and SHARE with LittleBigPlanet! Imagine a world with no limits – a world that’s yours to shape, build and explore. Imagine the possibilities, then jump head first into the reality. LittleBigPlanet puts the power of absolute creation into your own hands. If you can see it, you can enhance it. If you can’t see it, you can invent it. File size: 79 MB (HD)
I fell out of my chair and immediately ran to my PS3 to download that new video. A few minutes later, I was basking in the glory that is LittleBigPlanet, and the new footage.
Now, what you're seeing in this new video is a level being built. Specifically, the level that Sony had up in their booth at CES a few weeks ago. Sure it's not anything too new, but as I said, anything LBP related makes me happy. Hopefully this will brighten up your day a little as well with that damn awesome Go! Team song and footage of the future PS3 classic.
Lately there's been somewhat of an influx of gaming news, but nothing worth writing a huge post about. What should a good little blogger such as myself to do cope with this situation? Why not write an article with brief overviews of some of the news stories that I've found interesting lately.
EA Sports announces a new arcadey boxing game called Facebreaker (developed by EA Canada) for all next-gen systems. It looks like (to steal a line from 1up) a cross between Ready 2 Rumble (one of my favorite boxing games of all-time) and Team Fortress 2 (possibly my favorite online game ever). EA Sports head honcho (and former Xbox and Sega leader), Peter Moore said "Arcade boxing takes me back to my roots in this industry, and this game signals our shift to adding more approachable fun to our product lineup." Approachable fun? Wii Sports boxing esque controls: CONFIRMED! Now, we've seen arcadey boxing games before, but have any of them had "real-time facial deformation"? I think not.
GamePro inquires: "Which system's controller has the longest battery life?" The answer: Xbox 360 at almost 57 hours. Runner up is the Wii, clocking in at 37 hours. This leaves PS3 for last place at 19 hours, which I'm not going to dispute. That seems about right from experiences with my own PS3. However I must point out that for both the Wii and 360 controllers, standard batteries were used, and that using rechargable batteries in either one of them could lead to decreased battery life. Interesting comparison, but flawed, not surprising coming from GamePro.
Who says the PS3 isn't doing well? It sold 1.5 million more units than the 360 worldwide last year. And people say the PS3 is in trouble...
Miss out on previous the Metal Gear Solid games? Now's your chance to play catch-up as Play-Asia has Metal Gear Solid: The Essential Collection up for pre order in the US! The collection includes the PS1 original along with the directors cuts of both Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance and Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence, all for only $35! If this listing is accurate, then sign me up! I have MGS2 and MGS3, but not the later versions of them. However, what I am wondering about this package is if it includes the VR Missions for the first MGS or the Document of Metal Gear Solid 2 thing. I really hope so, but if not that's ok since the pack is still a great deal for some of the greatest games ever made.
Sony has put the final nail in the coffin for usage of their UMD (Universal Media Disc) format for movies by announcing that you will soon be able to transfer Blu-ray movies that you own to your PSP by way of the Playstation 3.
According to Gizmodo, the functionality will be available this year, will (most likely) be free, and will work on (almost every) Blu-ray Disc under the sun. Some specifics about the transfer process are that the movie files will be around 1GB, in standard definition, optimized for playback on the PSP, and will take about 3-5 minutes to download to the PSP's memory stick. However, the catch is that the movies will be protected by DRM (Digital Rights Managment), which is no surprise considering that you're copying a copyrighted movie onto a portable device and could easily share it with others. There's no word on what exactly the details of the DRM policy will be (one of the restraints may be that you can only copy each disc a certain number of times). My guess is that it will be just like the DRM used for PSone games downloaded from the Playstation Store.
But who knows. Knowing Sony it could be a DRM scheme that drops a rootkit on your PS3/PSP and monitors every single thing you do before dropping that rootkit in your brain and controlling you.
It's the end of the year, so that means that every self respecting video game site (or any site in general) must put out top 10 lists. Next-Gen.biz has done one that I thought was a pretty good read for the top 10 blunders of the year, and get this: I actually agree with the list completely! Read on for the list and my comments:
10. The Non-Elite Elite (Microsoft's release of the Xbox 360 Elite):
Makes sense that it's a blunder because Microsoft only painted the 360 black, put an HDMI port on it, and threw a larger hard drive in there for the Elite. The did nothing else with it really. No HD DVD playback or built in wireless. Far from "Elite" in my book.
9. This Heading Guaranteed 100% Free of Wii Puns (Nintendo not producing enough Wii systems to meet consumer demand)
This is definitely a bad move on Nintendo's part. It's been one year and I've only seen a Wii in stock at a store only a few times since the launch. Come on Nintendo, step your game up.
8. We've Got A SKU Just For You! (Sony's new models)
I don't know that it was exactly a blunder, but it was a boneheaded move on Sony's part. All those PS3 models confuse the consumer. Especially considering they criticiczed Microsoft for the same thing when the 360 came out two years ago (dang, has it really been that long). I also had to laugh at this quote in the article: "Given the current rate of hardware revisions and Sony's stated goal of a 10-year console cycle, there will be no fewer than 40 PlayStation 3 models by the time the platform retires. As each model cuts features, analysts expect the final version to be just a stylish, shiny black box that does nothing more than take tens and twenties in through the disc slot." Now you all know I'm a Sony fan, but that is undeniably hilarious. I also laughed at the comparison chart's bottom row.
7. Surprise! Zombies! (The VP of Microsoft Game Studios' big secret is not so secret.)
As with the article I linked to, I just need to reprint the whole exchange between Microsoft's Shane Kim and Game Informer magazine. There's really no other way to explain it:
Kim: I think one of the most important, subtle announcements at the Xbox 360 briefing is that Resident Evil is coming to Xbox 360. Yes, it's from Capcom, who's been a great supporter of us.
GI: But we knew that two years ago.
Kim: What?
GI: Resident Evil. It was shown at TGS two years ago.
Kim: No, but coming to Xbox 360.
GI: Yeah. It was at the press event.
Kim: I don't think so.
GI: I'm positive. I was there.
Kim: Really?
GI: It was shown at both press conferences.
Kim: That RE5 was coming to…?
GI: Yep.
Kim: I'm going to have to confirm that. That was supposed to be the big announcement.
Comedic GOLD! What an announcement there Shane!
6. Sony Exec Offers to Buy PS3s (Jack Tretton offers $1200 for unbought PS3s)
Basically, the story goes that current president of SCEA, Jack Tretton, said in a January interview with EGM that he would offer $1200 to anyone who can find a PS3 that has been on store shelves for more than 5 minutes. Well, the guys behind the popular webcomic Penny Arcade (in b4 WHY AM I SO BALD?!) did a little investigating and found that Sony now owes them $13,200 since they found 11 units unsold. Great move Jack, great move. The article also mentions some of his other quotes this year, in specific comparing the Wii to a lollipop, the 360 to a bad chef who you might get sick from, and the PS3 to a steak dinner. But my favorite Tretton quote has to be: "I would like my car to fly and make me breakfast, but that's an unrealistic expectation." which was referring to the backwards compatibility of the PS3. I think that Jack Tretton has become the new Ken Kutaragi as far as ridiculous comparisons go.
5. Alone Against The Empire (Sony blackballs Kotaku)
Right before the Game Developer's Conference Kotaku, a gaming blog, posted an article on a rumor that Sony had a new online service (the then unannounced Home) that they would reveal at GDC. When asking Sony for comments on the rumor, they offered no comment and demanded Kotaku take down the story. When Kotaku refused to do so, Sony gave them the middle finger and blackballed them via email (which Kotaku published as well). This was definitely a blunder on Sony's part and perhaps one of the most moronic PR decisions I've seen in my life, but at least Sony made nice with Kotaku later on that day and invited them back to all their GDC events.
4. Game Over Gerstmann (Gamespot fires Jeff Gerstmann)
I think this one could be higher, because it is perhaps the most significant blunder of the year since it exposes what is wrong with the mainstream gaming media. As we reported a few weeks ago, Gamespot fired Jeff Gerstmann over alleged pressure from Eidos over the review of their game, Kane and Lynch: Dead Men. Since the firing, Gamespot Complete subscriptions have been cancelled in mass and more importantly, their credibility has suffered .
3. It's Just a Toy Guitar and Some Music (Guitar Hero and Rock Band's many problems)
Guitar Hero 3 and Rock Band launched with issues. Mono sound on the Wii and failing Rock Band guitars in specific. The first one is really odd because I can't believe QA didn't pick that up! How in the heck does one not notice that unless they're playing on a tv with one speaker? I'd be disappointed to get GH3 home and see it just showing up as a mono signal on my receiver. Heck, I'm disappointed Orange Box on PS3 is just in stereo. And as far as the failing Rock Band controllers go, remember that you can get a free game from EA (aka: GET SKATE DAMMIT!) if your controller breaks...
2. We Already Bought All the Good Ones, Right? (EA buys Bioware and Pandemic, gets cocky)
I don't know about this one being on the list but it's pretty funny. So, John Riccitiello, the CEO of EA said that the industry has largely been picked for mergers after they bought Bioware and Pandemic, but then two days after he says that Activision and Vivendi Universal (publisher of World of Warcraft and owner of Blizzard) form to make Activision Blizzard. Funny ain't it? Not really.
This is definitely the blunder of the year. Why? It's made many people uncomfortable getting a 360 due to the enormous failure rate and made the 360's reputation into an unreliable piece of hardware. For Peter Moore to ignore it and brush it off when it was really a huge problem that would eventually cost the company a ton of money, not a good idea...
So, what do you think? Good list? Bad list? Let your thoughts be heard in the comments!
2007 was the year of hype in gaming. Between Halo 3, Mass Effect, Super Mario Galaxy, Crysis, and Assassin's Creed, this year has seen the release of some of the most talked up games of all-time. While some of them fell far short of the hype, there were plenty of other far superior games that came out, but received little to no attention from mainstream gamers. So, continuing now and on every Wednesday (or Thursday) (or sometime) until the end of the year, I will be giving you a look at two games released this year that deserve your hard-earned cash and attention. At the end of this five-part series (ending the day after Christmas), I will list them in order of the most overlooked/underrated.
This inclusion might be a little controversial since it is a fairly well known game and will be getting a sequel, but nonetheless, I think it's been overlooked by many gamers. This game would be Skate by EA Black Box and published by EA. The game has only sold less than half a million copies across both the PS3 and the Xbox 360, most likely because the 360 version came out a week before Halo 3 and the PS3 version came out on the same day as Halo 3. Damn you Halo 3 for sabotaging the sales of a great game! Halo bashing aside, Skate may look like a typical skateboarding game like the Tony Hawk series on the surface, but the game takes a completely opposite approach to the sport than the Tony Hawk games. With Skate, EA strived to make the most realistic skateboarding game ever, a goal that was met. In Skate, you can not land a 540 going off a little kicker like you can in Tony Hawk, nor can you easily land a 900 going off a half pipe. It's much more realistic compared to the crazy combos and tricks seen in the Tony Hawk games.
The best part about the game is its extremely innovative control scheme. You can kick with your right foot by pressing the A/X button, kick with your left foot by pressing X/Square (this is a first in any game, at least to my knowledge), and move around with the left analog stick. However, where Skate truly shines is in its trick controls, dubbed by EA as Flickit. With Flickit controls, all of the ollie-based (for you non skaters, an ollie is jumping into the air with your board) tricks to get you into the air are controlled by flicking the right analog sticks in various directions. For example, to do a regular ollie, pull down on the stick then flick it up. A kickflip is done by moving the right stick down then flicking it to the upper left corner. Some of them get very complicated, such as a 360 inward heelflip, which you do by moving the stick slightly below the right position, moving to the downward position, then flicking to the upper right corner. This control scheme is preferable to the typical Tony Hawk press X then press Square and a direction to do the flip because it takes a whole lot more time to master and learn and replicates how the tricks are done in real life. You can apply the same Flickit concept to tweak and setup grabs and setup grinds and transition from one grind into another without leaving the rail. This is the real beauty of Skate, its enormous attention to detail and respect for the art of skateboarding. However, like other skateboarding sims (see Thrasher Skate and Destroy on Playstation), the vert aspect of the game is flawed. The vert skating just feels very clunky at times, however you are able to get used to it with time. I just hope EA improves vert skating in Skate 2. Moving on, the music in the game is actually a pretty damn good cross section of music from artists ranging from Slayer to Sex Pistols to Nirvana to Eric B and Rakim to David Bowie to Rick Ross (EVERYDAY I'M HUSTLIN!). Still doesn't beat the classic rap soundtrack from Thrasher Skate and Destroy, but it's close.
One thing you should be aware of is that the PS3 version of the game is nowhere near as good as the Xbox 360 version. The 360 version runs much more smoothly than the PS3 version, which stutters very often. So, do yourself a favor and buy Skate because it is by far the most realistic skateboarding game ever made.
Next up on the list is Folklore (known as Folksoul in Japan), developed by Game Republic and published by Sony. Folklore is the second Japanese RPG to see release on the Playstation 3 here in the United States, and it's one of the finest RPGs I have ever played. What I like the most about the game is that it foregoes the typical turn-based menu simulation of Final Fantasy and other games of its ilk for more action-based combat. That and the story isn't about some brooding emo kid who gets pissed off and threatens to destroy the world and you're some androgynous emo kid who has to stop him. Instead the game is a mystery story revolving around two people, one named Keats, the other named Ellen (both of which are playable). Keats writes for an occult magazine named Unknown Realms, and Ellen is looking for her mother. They end up in the middle of figuring out a murder mystery and who, or what, did it. In order to solve this mystery, they must travel to the Netherworld, a place where the dead roam. In the Netherworld, they must destroy monsters and capture their souls. I won't say too much else because the story is easily one of the best I've seen in an RPG, especially a Japanese one.
The game plays like a third person action game crossed with an RPG. The combat system is really unique. At any time, you may equip up to four folks, which are souls that you have captured and can use to attack enemies. You are then able to carry out each attack by simply pressing one of the face buttons on the controller. You are able to gain more Folks by defeating enemies and capturing their soul. One of the unique things about this game are the online features. You are able to create your own custom dungeons and share them with people online. In addition to that, there are also two add-on packs up on the Playstation Store as of this writing that add 3-4 hours of gameplay with 4 quests and a new Folk in each pack. Downloadable content is not something I'm a big fan of, but it's nice to get a little bit more out of the game for $4 (or $6 for both packs on the store right now). I hope this explanation made sense because I don't know that it did. Regardless, be sure to check out Folklore if you ever get a Playstation 3.
2007 was the year of hype in gaming. Between Halo 3, Mass Effect, Super Mario Galaxy, Crysis, and Assassin's Creed, this year has seen the release of some of the most talked up games of all-time. While some of them fell far short of the hype, there were plenty of other far superior games that came out, but received little to no attention from mainstream gamers. So, continuing now and on every Wednesday (or Thursday) (or sometime) until the end of the year, I will be giving you a look at two games released this year that deserve your hard-earned cash and attention. At the end of this five-part series (ending the day after Christmas), I will list them in order of the most overlooked/underrated.
If you followed the video game world at all this year, you'll likely know that Lair for the Playstation 3 was a massively hyped game that was often touted as one of saviors of Sony's big black monolith of a gaming console known as the Playstation 3, but that did not happen as Lair was a critical bomb. All the hype that was generated by the game blew up in Sony's face as the game got largely horrible reviews and become the butt of all video game related jokes. Did it deserve all the negative reviews? Is it really that bad of a game? The answer to that question is quite simply, no. Lair is perhaps one of the most underrated games of the year (not overlooked, mind you, underrated).
The game's story revolves around two kingdoms, Asilya and Mokai, former allies now torn apart due to their land being ravaged by volcanoes. Now the Mokai's land is depleted of resources, and the Mokai live on a resource rich land. As time goes on, the two become enemies due to religion coming in and teaching them that they are enemies and should not tolerate each other. So, the Mokai decide to launch a surprise attack against the Asylians, this is where you come in as Rohn, a member of the Asylian Sky Guard who fights off the invading Mokai using dragons. It's a good plot, especially for an action game involving dragons and burning things up and is definitely better than stuff like Eragon.
But on to the game itself. As stated, most of the game revolves around you flying around on a dragon burning things and defending your people from attack. The game's graphics are quite good and really capture a world in ruin quite well. The game does support 1080p high definition, however, I have only seen at 1080i and 720p. Both modes look incredible. The only problem is that there are some slowdowns at time, but nothing too distracting. Even more amazing than the graphics is the sound, which is among the best I've ever heard in a video game. Presented in UNCOMPRESSED 7.1 SOUND (!!!) with THX Certification, the game completely envelopes you in sound. Now, I've only played it in compressed Dolby Digital 5.1, but even in that situation, dragons swooping overhead, flames flying in all directions, and exploding ships all sounded awesome. However, what really shines in the game is the soundtrack composed John Debney, who also did the music for The Passion of the Christ and Sin City. The soundtrack is definitely the best of 2007 and rivals most film soundtracks. The music is so good that Sony is selling the whole soundtrack for the game on iTunes.
But enough about the technical side of the game, let's move onto what gets trashed the most, the gameplay. The team at Factor 5 decided to take advantage of what the PS3 offers them in graphical capability, sound, and capacity with the Blu-ray Disc, however, they also decided to take advantage of the PS3's new Sixaxis controller with motion sensing capability. This is what caused the most criticism over the game. The tilt controls were viewed as hard to use and unresponsive. To those people I say, "Pfft, spend some more time with it." Yes, it is kind of tough to get the hang of, but you must remember that you are controlling a gigantic dragon, and not an airplane which can turn on a dime. If you think of it in the sense that you are at the reins of a gigantic beast, then the controls might be a little easier to work, since it basically is like you're at the reins. Slap the reins down and you'll get a speed boost, pull them up quickly and the dragon will do a 180 and face the other way. Once you get used to the controls, you'll be burning those Mokai bastards quickly. Or, take a look at the instructional video included in the bonus material, it's a like a video version of the Lair Review Guide.
However, despite all this, I would only give the game a 7.5 at the maximum because it's slow at times, it's rather short, and the controls don't always work right. It is definitely worth checking out when it gets down to $15 or so.
This might be an odd inclusion since it never had a retail release, but this is something that I'm sure none of you have heard of by a developer you've definitely heard of. Did you know that Harmonix, the same company behind Guitar Hero and Rock Band released an iPod game this year? No, really, AN iPOD GAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The game is called Phase, and it's basically just like Amplitude or Guitar Hero, but on your iPod.
Basically, the game is played by clicking the left button, the center button, or the right button in time to your music. Sometimes there will also be a wave of dots that comes up, known as a flowing sweep. When one of these flowing sweeps come up, you have to scroll the click wheel left and right, following the pattern of the dots. The game has it's own small soundtrack of seven songs (Bang Camaro - Nightlife Commando, Dealership - Dots And Dashes, Freezepop - Pop Music Is Not A Crime (YES!!! FREEZEPOP!!!), Inter:sect - Midnight Gamma, Kodomo - Spira Mirabilis, Speck - The Theme Of The Awesome, Universal Hall Pass - Dragonfly Remix), but the big feature here is that you can import ANY song you have on your iPod into the game and it will make it into a level for you to play, with different difficulties. Want to play on insane (Video is on the default difficulty, by the way)? You can do that! Want to play along to Run DMC? Sure, you can do that too. Want to play along to the I Have A Dream Speech? Uh...yeah, you can do that too. Want to play along to static? No you don't. Of course you don't. But you technically could do that in Phase!
It's a $5 download from the iTunes store, and has been described by many as the only iPod game worth having. The game requires a third-generation iPod nano or better, iPod classic, or fifth-generation iPod or better.
Check back on Wednesday or Thursday when I actually deliver this feature on-time...(at least I hope).
Since I was busy having a social life last night, I was unable to do my regularly scheduled underrated/overlooked feature on time, however I found a somewhat (Sony biased to a certain degree) related feature on GamesRadar looking at the biggest games of the year that we all seemed to forget about. Kind of an intersting take on some of the top games of the year, but an important one nonetheless. Anyways, here's what they came up with (in the order they were presented):
Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops (PSP): Whoa wait what?! There was an MGS on PSP this year? I had no idea. Dang, add that to the reasons for me to get a PSP...
Heavenly Sword (PS3): YES! That is a great game, but very short though, which is why people probably forgot about it. What's more shocking about this is that the article said it's been outsold by freaking Lair, and isn't even in the top 20 selling PS3 games list this week. Amazing.
God of War 2 (PS2): I was tempted to include this on my overlooked games of the year list, because really, have you heard much about the game since it came out last February. I sure haven't. Probably because it was released on a last-gen system early on in the year and got overshadowed by all the other next-gen games that came out later in the year. Make sure you do not forget this game as it is one of the 10 best PS2 games ever made.
Motorstorm (PS3): This was actually a very very good game that for some reason isn't mentioned very much any more...outside of the monthly downloadable content additions to the game on the Playstation Store.
SSX Blur (Wii): I admit, I've never played SSX Blur, but I've heard nothing but good comments about it. It seems odd that an SSX game is forgotten about so quickly though.
Stranglehold (360, PS3): I've only played the demo, but I don't know that Stranglehold exactly qualifies as one of the best of the year. It's certainly a very fun game with many imaginative features that really make you feel like your in a big hollywood action movie, but the thing is that the game is not extraordinary. I would pay $20 for it, but not the next-gen price of $60.
Crysis (PC): I think the only reason this game is on the list is because 90% of gamers don't have a PC good enough to run it, thus forgot about the game. However, when I get a computer that can actually run the game decently (in 8 years or so knowing me), I'll definitely give it a shot. But the game was published by EA, so chances are there will be a port for 360 and PS3 (that is if EA can get their head out of their asses when it comes to programming for that system)
Project Gotham Racing 4 (360): Now, I recall this one coming out and doing fairly well, but I haven't heard much about it after the amazing fall season the 360 had. It's a shame because PGR has been a great series.
Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction (PS3): Yes. Yes. FREAKING YES! Now, it's well known to PS3 owners but who else cares about it? No one really, especially Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto, who's never heard of it.
So, RFGen, what are some of your favorite huge games of the year that you just don't hear mentioned any more?
2007 was the year of hype in gaming. Between Halo 3, Mass Effect, Super Mario Galaxy, Crysis, and Assassin's Creed, this year has seen the release of some of the most talked up games of all-time. While some of them fell far short of the hype, there were plenty of other far superior games that came out, but received little to no attention from mainstream gamers. So, starting today and on every Wednesday (or Thursday) until the end of the year, I will be giving you a look at two games released this year that deserve your hard-earned cash and attention. At the end of this five-part series (ending the day after Christmas), I will list them in order of the most overlooked/underrated.
First up Dewy's Adventure for the Nintendo Wii. Developed by the same team at Konami that created last year's sleeper hit Elebits, Dewy's Adventure is a platformer with a very distinct twist. In the game, you play as a cute little drop of water named Dewy, and what you do is tilt the level and change the temperature. Very simple yes, but it provides many challenges. By changing the temperature, you change the form Dewy takes on. If you raise it, he will become mist and a cloud, and will be able to hit enemies with lightning. If you lower the temperature, he will become ice and slide across large pools of water. The game is also like its cousin, Elebits, in that it grades you based on your performance in each stage, so that adds some replay value. Also featured in that game is a multiplayer mode, and the ability to create levels and send them to your friends using Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. If you own a Wii and don't mind a cute, somewhat childish looking game with a pro-environment message and odd loading screen advertisement messages for Nestle bottled water, by all means, give this one a look. I have a feeling that you will be seeing this profiled in some magazine in three years for a "best games you've never played" feature. But don't take my word for it, here's a cool little video explaining one guy's opinion on why the game is so awesome.
Or if a cute platformer isn't mature enough for you, then check out The Darkness (for both Xbox 360 and Playstation 3), developed by Starbreeze, the same studio behind the underrated Xbox/PC game, Chronicles Of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay (look for the remake on PS3 and Xbox 360 in the near future!). The Darkness is a game based on the comic book of the same name in which you play as Jackie Estacado, a mafia hitman blamed for double crossing Uncle Paulie, the New York mob boss. Oddly enough, on the same day this happens, Jackie is posessed by an alien creature named The Darkness, which gives him superpowers, but takes over his will. The main game plays as a standard modern day console FPS, complete with regenerating health and dual weilding, but when you summon The Darkness, the game changes completely. When summoned, The Darkness will appear as two tentacles which come out of Jackie's shoulder, giving him strength and four special powers. The first power will make The Darkness extend one of its tentacles, allowing you to look ahead, pick up guns, and kill enemies using it. The second power will give you two super powered guns. The third power will give you a sharp tentacle, which can pierce through enemies and obstacles. And the fourth power will create a black hole which sucks in EVERYTHING in its vicinity. Also, when you have The Darkness summoned, you are able to call Darklings, which are little critters that comes in different varities (Kamakazie, Gunner, Light Killer) to aid you in destroying your enemies and creating darkness for The Darkness to feed off off, since light is its only weakness. No overview of The Darkness would be complete without praising its superb voice acting. Mike Patton's (vocalist for the bands Faith No More, Mr. Bungle, Tomahawk, Fantomas, and some others) vocal performance, which was unedited and has no studio effects applied to it, is one of the best ever heard in a video game. However, the coolest part about the game is the sheer amount of content one can watch on the in-game television sets. Instead of having generic stock footage like in most games, The Darkness opted for public domain films, cartoons, and one full-length licensed movie, To Kill A Mockingbird. Yes, that's right. You can watch the entire, unedited version of the 1962 classic right in the game. Or if Popeye, The Three Stooges, or Flash Gordon is more you style, you can always watch some of those. However, it should be mentioned that the PS3 version has much much more in-game television content due to the increased disc size that Blu-ray offers (most notable: five additional Popeye cartoons), however, both versions have plenty to watch. A complete listing of the movies and animated shorts that can be found in the game is located here (I think this list covers the PS3 version).
Check back next week where we take a look at a game that's as addictive as crack (and a great stocking stuffer to boot), and a game that many cared about only for the bonus it had.
As most of us in the US know, this upcoming Friday is considered Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. The day which stores open very early and offer insane deals on the hottest items for the holiday season. Now, these deals are not just limited to Tickle Me Elmo and power tool sets, video games are included as well, and there are some great deals that will save you money if you're looking at buying for a loved one or getting a little treat for yourself.
Well, I have taken the liberty of compiling some great game-related deals that you will find this Friday so you you can plan your full-scale retail assault in advance.
Hit the jump to see the full list of deals. For your convenience, I have bolded what I think are the best deals.
Some lucky guy in Marina, California managed to snag Rock Band early from the local Best Buy there. Instead of setting the game up as a demo, the Best Buy accidentally put it out for sale. This guy, "timenz", spotted it, bought it, and put it up on eBay. Needless to say, EA was not very pleased by this at all and gave the man a call asking him to return the game to the store. However, he did not do that. Then he got a call from Best Buy saying that if he returned it, he would receive a full refund and a $100 gift card, but he still refused to do it. He kept the eBay listing up, and now it is going for $326 (as of the time this article was posted).
So, fellow gamer nerds, what would you do in this situation? Auction it or return it for $100?
I'd auction it. He's doing quite well for himself if I must say so myself.
Typically I wouldn't cover ad campaigns, but I felt this one was kind of important to cover. Not just because it's Sony (admittedly, that's a part of it), but because this new campaign Sony is going to roll out is perhaps one of the best I've seen backing a game console.
As many of you may remember, PS3 ads from last year were filled with creepy babies, exploding Rubix Cubes, and eggs. Those ads caught a lot of heat for not showing off any games or being too artsy. Regardless, I thought they were alright in a David Lynchian abstract kind of way (speaking of David Lynch, look up his ads for the PS2, they're awesome).
However on Playstation.Blog, Peter Dille, Senior Vice President, Marketing & PLAYSTATION Network, announced the beginning of a new era in PS3 ads. No more abstract ads like last year, now there will be ads actually showing off games, the online capabilities, and other features of the system. As Peter said "The games are here, the price point is now $399 and we wanted to make the news loud and clear. But we need to deliver that in a way that befits the PlayStation brand." So, the result is this new ad:
Perhaps the best console ad ever. It's so damn good it makes me want to get another PS3. Peter also says that more ads are on the way, including ads that feature "upcoming third-party exclusives such as Haze from Ubisoft and Metal Gear Solid 4 from Konami" and "other great PS3 games like Burnout Paradise, WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2008, Assassin's Creed, Madden NFL 08 and Time Crisis 4." Also, Peter stated that this new campaign is the most expensive they have ever done for hardware. Looks like Sony is trying to finally pick up the ball they dropped with the PS3 launch and everything leading up to it.
Let me just say, BRAVO SONY! Way to get your head out of your ass and make some ads that people are actually PRAISING!
So, I was browsing the interwebs today, and I saw an article on Kotaku which mentioned Re-Volt in the headline. My first thought when I saw it was "OMFG!! NEXT GEN RE-VOLT!?!" but then I calmed down once I saw the article is about a new downloadable game from Sony and Game Republic called Toy Home. Skeptical about Kotaku's claim that it looks like a next-gen Re-Volt, I decided to check out the video, and lo and behold, it is!
The game, which will be released on the Playstation Store for Playstation 3, is a racing/combat game, in which you drive as supercharged wind-up cars through in evironments such as a kid's room, what looks like a daycare center, and a living room (I think).
Here is the trailer for the game:
Also, if you've never heard of Re-Volt, you owe it to yourself to hunt it down on either PC, Sega Dreamcast, Sony Playstation, or Nintendo 64. I give it my stamp of approval (mainly the PC and Dreamcast versions, as the PS1 has some trouble running it).
Hot on the heels of a price drop and a new model introduction, a rumor has surfaced of a 6TH Playstation 3 model! Nothing about the new model is known other than the information seen in this picture from the FCC's website, the main piece of information being the model number, CECHH01. Also from this picture, we can derive that the new model has WiFi and Bluetooth. However, this is the only information known about it.
If you ask me what this could be, I think it could be a different color of the 40 GB model which is hitting Japan. Now, I did not report on this one, but Japan is getting a white 40 GB PS3 bundled with the Dual Shock 3 for the price of ¥39,980 ($341 US), and the model number on that is CECHH00. So, my guess is that this CECHH01 model is a Silver or Black version of that model.
What I really hope is that this model is the recently announced chocolate PS3 model. Sony made up a batch of 150 chocolate PS3s and a giant chocolate SIXAXIS controller for Eurochocolate, a festival dedicated to chocolate held in Perugia, Italy.
Hit the jump for more pictures of the festivities.
My pick this week goes to Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword. Now, before all you Final Fantasy fangirls start crying becuase I didn't pick your OMFGKAWAIIBISHIE ^__^ game, let me just say that I would never award FF7 or FF anything, other than "Series Tony Most Hates". Now to the pick at hand, Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword for the Nintendo DS. This game, while lacking the graphical prowess of Sigma, Black, and II, it definitely looks like a well thought out and well executed version of the game that you can put in your pocket and play anywhere. The game really seems to live up to the high bar set by the console iterations of the series. The critics so far seem to agree with my analysis, as it has been getting very positive scores across the board.
My overall pick of the week goes to Metal Gear Solid: Essential Collection. This package is a collection of the first three Metal Gear Solid games in a specially priced $30 bundle in preparation for the release of the highly anticipated (
Sony has put the final nail in the coffin for usage of their UMD (Universal Media Disc) format for movies by announcing that you will soon be able to transfer Blu-ray movies that you own to your PSP by way of the Playstation 3.
It's the end of the year, so that means that every self respecting video game site (or any site in general) must put out top 10 lists. 
This inclusion might be a little controversial since it is a fairly well known game and will be getting a sequel, but nonetheless, I think it's been overlooked by many gamers. This game would be 
Next up on the list is 
If you followed the video game world at all this year, you'll likely know that 
This might be an odd inclusion since it never had a retail release, but this is something that I'm sure none of you have heard of by a developer you've definitely heard of. Did you know that Harmonix, the same company behind Guitar Hero and Rock Band released an iPod game this year? No, really, AN iPOD GAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The game is called 
Since I was busy having a social life last night, I was unable to do my regularly scheduled underrated/overlooked feature on time, however I found a somewhat (Sony biased to a certain degree) related feature on 
First up 
Or if a cute platformer isn't mature enough for you, then check out 
Some lucky guy in Marina, California managed to snag Rock Band early from the local Best Buy there. Instead of setting the game up as a demo, the Best Buy accidentally put it out for sale. This guy, "timenz", spotted it, bought it, and 
Hot on the heels of a price drop and a new model introduction, a rumor has surfaced of a 6TH Playstation 3 model! Nothing about the new model is known other than the information seen in this picture from the FCC's website, the main piece of information being the model number, CECHH01. Also from this picture, we can derive that the new model has WiFi and Bluetooth. However, this is the only information known about it.
![[Image]](http://www.joesherlock.com/07-Hom.gif){kind=link}
