If you had a history of disappointment with the Madden series, Madden NFL 11 may not have been the most exciting release in August 2010. Still, after playing through several different Super Bowl XLV match-ups and giving it a couple of weeks, I feel like EA Sports deserves to mark this one down in the “Win” column.
Read about what made this season a championship year for the Madden series after the jump.
Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World: The Game is an odd beast for me to review. I’ve never actually read the Scott Pilgrim comic books, but I have seen the recently released film adaptation. As such, I can’t say how faithful an adaptation this game is.
What I can say is that when I first started playing there was some fun to be had. However, as I began to play more and more, I found myself feeling like something was missing -- something huge. It was as if the developer has missed something so crucial to the gaming experience that the game was no longer fun.
It’s Scott Pilgrim Vs. Addam Kearney, after the jump.
This review is a co-project between Josh Krehbiel and Tyler Zehner.
Summer is winding down, and with it the Xbox Summer of Arcade. The promotion is ending very soon (we’re talking hours, it ends at midnight EST), so if you’re sitting at two or four games downloaded so far, then don’t wait, you can’t go wrong with the final offering, Lara Croft: The Guardian of Light. Don’t hold back, go start downloading it right now, and then come back and watch the video review below.
I’ll be honest, I did not have a good first impression with Monday Night Combat. The game opens with a tutorial that introduces you to the basics as well as giving you a in-depth look on everything the Assault class does. It also gives a great impression of the humor and art style of the game. However once I jumped into a game on Xbox LIVE I was quickly disappointed. The complexity of the game took over and left me huddled in the corner crying. I had attempted to try each class but I didn’t have the slightest idea what they could do. I tried to kill some bots and make some turrets but I was constantly being assassinated by enemies I could not see until it was too late. I turned off the trial of the game let down and a little sad.
A couple days later it was time to give it another try. I had heard so many people who were absolutely loving the the game and figured that I must have just had a bad first experience. After all, any multiplayer game can offer a bad session if you get stuck in a group with the wrong type of people or people too good at the game. It turns out that my problem was exactly that. Once I dove into Monday Night Combat and started figuring things out I found that the game was incredibly deep and offered a unique type of gameplay that can literally not be found anywhere else.
Make sure your abilities are upgraded and then hit the jump.
This review is a co-project between Josh Krehbiel and Tyler Zehner.
Xbox Live’s Summer of Arcade is upon us once again, and this time they aren’t going to start off easy on us. First on the block is Limbo, a creepy platformer published by indie developers Playdead Studios. This dark adventure into the unknown will send shivers up your spine, and is available now on the Live Arcade. Check out our review below.
Few games try to aim at being genuinely funny. Great examples exist such as Grim Fandango or Pyschonauts, but usually these games become cult hits that are appreciated by critics but result in low sales. Luckily for us, developers never stop trying to amuse us with their games, and DeathSpank attempts to do just that.
DeathSpank is developed by Hothead Games and comes from the creative mind of Ron Gilbert. Hothead Games is best known from their partnership in developing Penny Arcade Adventures and Ron Gilbert is probably best known for The Secret of Monkey Island series. As you can see there is a history of amusing games in DeathSpank’s past and it definitely brings plenty of lighthearted and sometimes even immature humor.
DeathSpank is a role-playing game and as such a lot of the humor derives directly from poking fun at the genre. Nothing is handled seriously and the game contains constant joking about standard role-playing game tropes. While the game has a good time making fun of these ideas, at the same time it ends up becoming a great addition to the genre itself.
Ever since the release of the original Super Mario Kart companies have been trying to copy the success of Nintendo’s arcade racer. Many have tried and most have been horrendous. Even the best kart racers have never been able to match the fun of Mario Kart. Bizarre Creations is the latest developer to try and copy the Mario Kart formula with Blur.
What sets Blur apart from other copycats is that it takes everything that is good about kart racers but removes the kart. In its place we are given a more “big-boy” world with real cars and real cities to race in. The advertising for Blur has especially pointed out the childish nature of other arcade racers with one really great commercial aimed directly at Mario Kart.
Basically Blur is trying to bring back that charm and fun from Mario Kart but at the same time reach out to those people who are sick of the Mario aesthetic. By using the combination of power-ups and real-world physics, Blur is one of the most unique racers around. The game also ups the ante by bringing a host of multiplayer options and a deep single-player mode to keep gamers fufilled no matter how they want to race.
Does Blur bring in the first place trophy or does it crash and burn? Hit the jump to find out.
Some time in the past there exists a future where the world is different than what it will be later, and all the letter “r’s” are written backwards. In this past future the Russians resolved the Cold War through the discovery of the element E99, a unique substance the study of which allowed them to create a Time Manipulation Device (TMD). As the story of Singularity progresses (and becomes more confusing than the beginning of this review) you will gain the use of this TMD and wreak all sorts of havoc on alternate world history.
Singularity is a first-person shooter helmed by Raven Software, the company whose pedigree most recently includes Wolfenstein (a title to which Singularity bears a strong resemblance at times). With features such as time manipulation, a main character on whose shoulders rests the fate of the world and a system that allows you to find and purchase upgrades for your weapons and powers, Singularity often bears a strong resemblance to many of the more popular shooters in recent memory.
While imitation is said to be the sincerest form of flattery, and it seems like a wise decision to impersonate the best features of top-selling multiplayer titles which offer a choice between several class-based characters and rank increases for completing combat challenges, Singularity doesn’t do much to set itself apart from the rest of the crowd. Despite the fact that the game is certainly fun to play, it’s difficult to make an argument that someone ought to go out and make the purchase, unless for some odd reason you skipped over Call of Duty, Half Life, BioShock, Resistance, Wolfenstein, Metro 2033 and F.E.A.R.
Or maybe you chewed through all those and are still hungry for more, in which case have we got a jump for you…
LEGOs have always held a soft spot for me. Growing up most of the time I spent playing with toys was spent making creations and living out fantasies using those little blocks. I actually still have my big box of LEGOs sitting in an attic just waiting for the next generation to enjoy them. To this day I still have that love for LEGOs that will probably never go away. Luckily for me that’s where Traveler’s Tales comes in.
Back in 2005 children and adults alike were introduced to the first of many LEGO-branded games. That game, of course, was LEGO Star Wars. In that game the Star Wars license was used to create a fun, family-friendly version of the prequels. The game used the LEGO aesthetic to full effect with all objects in the world made out of the tiny blocks and building objects being a key game component. The game received a sequel and then the series branched out to other licenses like Batman, Indiana Jones and even Rock Band. Sadly none of the games after Star Wars intrigued me much. I tried the demos and thought they looked interesting but they just didn’t have enough pull for me. Then along came Harry Potter.
I’m going to admit upfront that I am a big Harry Potter fan. I have read all seven books and I’ve watched all of the movies so far. When I heard that the next LEGO game would be based on Harry Potter, I thought it would be a perfect fit. Little did I know that LEGO Harry Potter would turn out to be what I think is the best of the whole bunch.
Wands at the ready? Hit the jump! (Remember, swish and flick)
Perhaps you were one of the gamers who, back in 2007, took a chance on an unknown IP and invested $60 in Realtime World’s Crackdown, or perhaps you were one who vehemently refused to shell out that much, “just to get into the Halo 3 multiplayer beta.” If you were in the former category you’ll be pleased to know that in the hands of Ruffian Games, Crackdown 2 fixes nearly every complaint a fan had with the original, creating a sequel you’ll certainly enjoy. And if you were in the latter category good news: the Halo Reach beta ended over a month ago, so there’s no irrational fear of bandwagons to keep you from giving this unique shooter a try.
In Crackdown 2 you again play as an Agency super soldier who, with a bit of training, can leap small buildings in a single bound or pick up and throw cars like bowling balls. Tasked with aiding the Agency’s Peace Keepers in cleaning up the streets of Pacific City once again, you’ll need every available weapon to fend off militant activists known as the Cell, who come at you with miniguns, armored battle buses and homing rockets. In case a heavily armed, well organized street gang weren’t trouble enough, when the sun goes down you’ll also have to contend with Freaks (virally mutated former citizens) who come in all sorts of shapes, sizes and levels of lethality.
Set ten years after the ending of the first game, your main goal will be to put an end to the virus, stopping the mutated citizens and dealing with Cell permanently. But there’s more to do in this sandbox than shoot bad guys -- with hundreds of orbs to find and collect, rooftop and car races to participate in, a couple different kinds of stunt hoops to get through and the ability to do it all with three other friends at the same time, Crackdown 2 improves upon the original formula and offers a great excuse to dive in and have some fun.
Upgrade your Agility to level 5 and you may not even need to hit the jump…
Hulu was kind enough to send over an invite to Hulu Plus and while the picture quality has been impressive on the iPhone, iPad, and full screen in 720p on my television via PC, there are still bugs to be worked out (probably why it's a preview) and before you run out and scream FREEDOM!! as you put your cable or satellite bill in a shredder, read on to find out why Hulu Plus is a step in the right direction but may not be exactly what you are looking for.
There’s a saying that goes “Everything old is new again.” In the gaming world, this could not be more evident. From remakes of Bionic Commando and Street Fighter 2 to sequels like Mega Man 9 and the upcoming Sonic 4, people’s taste for nostalgia in games is at an all-time high. It makes a lot of sense, though, when you think about it. According to the ESA, the average age of gamers is 35 and many of them grew up on gaming. It makes sense that they would want to re-visit their childhood.
Now I’m 23, so there were a lot of games that I missed out on. While I played the original Legend of Zelda, my mind was far too under-developed to actually grasp much of what was going on. To be fair, though, even now the original Legend of Zelda confuses me. I love the series, but unless you’ve got a map and a clue about what you are doing, you’re likely to be lost for a long time.
So when I found out that the same minds behind Demon’s Souls were making what was nearly a remake of Legend of Zelda, I knew that this was one challenge I’d have to take on if I ever wanted to defend my nerd-cred. To be fair, I was terrified of the idea of trying to beat a game by the same company that made Demon’s Souls, but I knew I at least had to try. So how does 3D Dot Game Heroes measure up to the competition?
Use a hook-sho… I mean, Anchor Rod to cross the jump.
This review is a co-project between Addam Kearney and OneDiverseKid.
Ladies and gentlemen, we here at Talking About Games are proud to bring you our latest video review. This venture has been a while in the making and only recently have we finally been able to make good on it. So, without further delay, we present a Retrospective Review of Pixeljunk Shooter, available for the Playstation Network.
(Music: Hidden Foto Banks by High Frequency Bandwidth)
James Bond. Jason Bourne. Jack Bauer. Michael Thorton? Thorton is a new hire at the shadowy Alpha Protocol, one of those government agencies that does not officially exist. Thorton leaves his past behind to step deep into the world of espionage which, as usual, is full of guns, lies and tons of secrets. Thorton will travel all across the world and meet dozens of characters ranging from double-agents, leaders and of course many beautiful women. He will infiltrate hidden compounds, thwart assassinations and attempt to save the world. Such is the life of a spy.
Alpha Protocol is the latest game released by Obsidian Entertainment. Obsidian is renowned for making sequels to popular games but this time around they are making their first attempt at an original IP. But even with Alpha Protocol they are treading familiar territory by imitating the latest BioWare property, Mass Effect. They have thrown out all the science fiction stuff and instead created their own unique world and elements set in the present day. Even though you are shooting bullets instead of lasers and you are traveling around the world instead of the galaxy, the Mass Effect influence is still blatantly obvious. With Mass Effect being one of my favorite games of this generation this is in no way a bad thing, and it is nice to see the action-RPG formula taken into a setting not often visited by the genre.
Whether you are aggressive, suave or professional, hit the jump to read more.
According to many, space is the final frontier. Our vast universe was thought to be the final area of exploration for Mario and company in 2007. The critically acclaimed platformer for the Wii, Super Mario Galaxy, evolved the franchise to a new standard. As gamers, we thought we would have to wait until the next console generation before we were able to play a new proper 3D Mario title. That is, until Nintendo pulled a fast one on us at last year's E3 with the introduction of Super Mario Galaxy 2.
At first glance, Super Mario Galaxy 2 may seem like a simple expansion or rehash, considering this is the first time in more than a decade that we have a direct Mario sequel on the same console. That assumption made many worrisome, but once you examine the amount of detail and concern that went into Mario's galactic adventure, you'll understand why Nintendo has a firm grip on the platforming genre. Mario Galaxy 2 is a sheer cultivation of whimsy, color and zaniness that makes one throw out the doubts that Nintendo could outdo their previous masterpiece.
Now, a few months ago, I stated how New Super Mario Bros. Wii was the reason why we play video games and how it introduced gamers to a realm of why the platform genre is easy to learn. Although, now that I look back at it, NSMB:Wii was merely an appetizer for the bigger meal ahead. The second rebirth of Mario's 2D antics may have wowed consumers months ago, but this is where the senses are about to get a lesson in video gaming therapy. Mario Galaxy 2 is a rare gem, as it's a sequel in the realm of 3D Mario titles, which allows for some doubt regarding the "wow factor." The far reaches of space may seem like familiar territory, but fret not, as Nintendo has upped the ante with a tough and awe-inspiring adventure.
Hop on a Launch Star pad, hit the jump, and you'll see why Mario's latest adventure could be the best game on the Wii.
Re: Game Night Done right on PS3 - fds nucklehead - Wow! Really valid points from both sides. One thing is for certain though, my friends list for both consoles is full of top notch gamers & I owe that to the TAG community.
Re: A shift to the PS3 - fds nucklehead - I compare a Football and Basketball to PS3 and Xbox 360. If all my friends are shooting hoops today, I'm not going to play football by myself. I...
Re: Rate the last movie you watched - fds nucklehead - I just got home from seeing Pirahna 3D. I tweeted that I was only watching it because I've already seen all the GOOD movies out. As predicted, it...
Re: Waz up TAG! - fds nucklehead - Welcome to TAG. See you online!
There’s a saying that goes “Everything old is new again.” In the gaming world, this could not be more evident. From remakes of Bionic Commando and Street Fighter 2 to sequels like Mega Man 9 and the upcoming Sonic 4, people’s taste for nostalgia in games is at an all-time high. It makes a lot of sense, though, when you think about it. According to 
James Bond. Jason Bourne. Jack Bauer. Michael Thorton? Thorton is a new hire at the shadowy Alpha Protocol, one of those government agencies that does not officially exist. Thorton leaves his past behind to step deep into the world of espionage which, as usual, is full of guns, lies and tons of secrets. Thorton will travel all across the world and meet dozens of characters ranging from double-agents, leaders and of course many beautiful women. He will infiltrate hidden compounds, thwart assassinations and attempt to save the world. Such is the life of a spy.
According to many, space is the final frontier. Our vast universe was thought to be the final area of exploration for Mario and company in 2007. The critically acclaimed platformer for the Wii, Super Mario Galaxy, evolved the franchise to a new standard. As gamers, we thought we would have to wait until the next console generation before we were able to play a new proper 3D Mario title. That is, until Nintendo pulled a fast one on us at last year's E3 with the introduction of Super Mario Galaxy 2.
