What's up everyone?! A new week is upon us, and damn there is FINALLY some good news for you 3DS owners out there. Today, Nintendo announced they are dropping the price of the 3DS from $250 USD to $170 USD in an attempt to boost sales before the E3 games come out this fall. Now I know most of you are thinking "hey, Eh-Rok, how is this good news for those hardcore fans who bought the 3DS already at the current price?" Well, Nintendo simultaneously announced their 'Ambassador' program for those of us who currently have a system. On September 1, those people who bought the 3DS and logged into the eStore before August 12 will get 10 FREE Gameboy Advance games and 10 FREE Nintendo virtual console games. Yeah, that's like $100 to $150 worth of games, so definitely a good deal. The only downside is most likely they will be 20 games that Nintendo chooses, but still, they're FREE!!! Anyway, on to the new releases this week.
New Releases
There were a Ton of great new releases this week across all the systems. There were 6 new releases on July 26th, including the North American release of Catherine for PS3 and 360! I can't even describe how excited I was to see Atlus's first game on the HD consoles, and it doesn't disappoint. I'll talk more about it in the next section since I did play it for a while the day it was released. Back to the Future: Episode V came out for PS3. This is the final episode for the point and click series by Telltale games. This is a great buy for anyone who was originally a fan of the movies, the voice acting is awesome. Telltale got a lot of the original voice actors, and even got Michael J. Fox to do this final episode. Dragon Age II finally got some DLC called Legacy. This gives a little well needed backstory on the Hawke family. I really enjoyed Dragon Age 2, so I'm pretty excited to finally see some DLC so I can get a little more playtime with that game. Also on the 26th, we saw the release of Pac-Man and Galaga Dimensions on 3DS, the sequel to Section 8 called Section 8: Prejudice on PS3, and Warhammer 40,000: Kill Team on PS3.
From Dust came out on July 27th. This is a very pretty looking Xbox Live Arcade title for the Summer of Arcade series. It's basically a game where you help raise up a tribe by mastering several elements.
On the 28th, Call of Duty: Black Ops Annihilation came out on PS3. Nothing I can say here that you haven't already heard about during the 360 release. Kinect Sparkler also came out on the 28th, I have nooo effing idea what this game is about, but it's on XBLA if you really want to go check it out.
Lastly, Steam had an exclusive release for PC called Chantelise: A Tale of Two Sisters. For those of you non PC gamers, Steam is a downloadable gaming service for PC. They basically sell digital versions of games for you to download, like Xbox Live or Playstation Network.
What I'm Playing
As I mentioned earlier, I did play a little Catherine on the day it came out. Holy Shit this game is weird! But it's weird in a good way, if that makes any sense. The story follows a guy named Vincent who cheats on his girlfriend Katherine with a younger girl named Catherine. The whole gameplay revolves around him fighting for his life in his nightmares, or talking about his situation with his friends in a bar. The story is VERY compelling and pushes you to complete the nightmare sections just so you can see what happens next. I will be reviewing this game when I finish it, hopefully in about 2 to 3 weeks, before I leave for Hawaii.
I also played more Infamous 2. I still haven't finished it as of writing this post, but I can tell from the cut scenes that the game is wrapping up soon. I have built up so many powers now for Cole McGrath that I don't think there's much more to actually do in the game so I hope to finish that either today or tomorrow so I can get the review up.
Last but not least, I played a little more Xevious on 3DS. For such a simple and old game I'd have to say, the gameplay holds up well now almost 21 years later. There are only 6 usable buttons in the game including the directional buttons for moving, so anybody can pick this up and play it with little to no experience. The challenge is making it past the first few levels, as the game is VERY challenging.
That's it for this week. Look for my review coming out soon under the Playstation 3 link in the 'Game Reviews' section.
August is upon us so get ready for the E3 games to start coming out in the next few months!! Now get out there and play some games!
What's up everyone!! Since I fell a little behind in my posts last week I thought I'd do a brief mid-week update with some gaming news. For those who haven't heard yet, a new remake for Goldeneye has been announced! I know you might be thinking, "didn't they just release that already", and you're completely correct. Goldeneye was remade for the Nintendo Wii last year, but just a few days ago Eurocom Entertainment Software announced a new HD remake for the Wii Version on the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. This remake features a brand new graphics engine, so it should look pretty damn good on you're 50 inch.
I also wanted to give a quick update on what the Nintendo 3DS released on the eStore yesterday... their new video service called, appropriately enough, 'Nintendo Video'. Everything on this service is in 3d, so you'll finally get some good use out of your portable 3d hardware. The only downside is this automatically downloads just short videos that Nintendo puts out randomly on Spot Pass. If you don't have a 3DS, this probably sounds pretty foreign to you, and I apologize for that. However, if you do happen to have one, this is exciting news indeed. I know I'm always excited for anything new I can watch in 3d. In addition to this new video service, Nintendo also finally made a new 3d downloadable game '3d Classics Xevious'. This is basically the same Xevious you know from 1982, but in 3d. It's actually pretty fun, but I don't really see myself playing it for hours on end. And the price of $5.99 seems a little steep for something this short. But it's #@#* 3D!!! SO YOU NEED IT!!!!!
Anyway, that's it for now, catch you all next week for my official blog update. Now get out there and play some games!!
What's up everyone?! I'm back from my camping trip this weekend. It was rainy as hell so it was perfect to for just sitting back with a beer (or maybe 10 and some gin and tonics, I lost count) and playing some video games. I brought all my big consoles, but ended up not even touching them. My PSP, 3DS, and Samsung Captivate were my systems of choice this weekend. The best part of portable systems like these are that you can game anywhere. So, I spent most of my time outside, under the awning of our RV with one system or another (that way I can still be social with everyone we were camping with), and I have some pretty good games for the 'What I'm Playing' section for you, so let's get this thing going!
New Releases
There are some interesting looking new releases this week, beginning with Call of Juarez: The Cartel. I really hope this game is improved from the first one. I'm not denying the last Call of Juarez was fun, it just had too many problems for me to give it a full playthrough (the worst issue was TERRIBLE screen tearing. It was so bad I had to stop playing halfway through). Unlike the previous game, this one seems to take place in more modern times. While I loved the old west setting of the first one, this new one has a great setting as well in modern day Mexico. The few screen shots I've seen so far have not been very encouraging as the graphics look like it was being played on a PS2. I have a feeling that this game is going to be a rental and not a must buy.
July 19th saw the release of Call of Juarez: The Cartel on PS3 and 360, Captain America: Super Soldier on PS3 and 360, Fast Draw Showdown on PS3, and a new DLC for Fallout New Vegas titled Old World Blues for PC, PS3 and 360. Captain America is a movie tie-in, so I'm not really expecting much to come out of that one. I also haven't heard much about Fast Draw Showdown other than it's a PSN download and is also on the WII, so your guess on the quality is about as good as mine. But finally we get to Fallout New Vegas: Old World Blues. Yes, I downloaded this the instant it came out this morning, and I am very pleased with it. There has yet to be anything from the Fallout series that I disliked (other than Mothership Zeta on Fallout 3, that was a little weird for me). Old world Blues is the 3rd DLC for New Vegas. The story reveals a lot about the Big Empty before the war and how the area came to be filled with all these mutated monsters even though no big bombs blew up in the area. I am very excited to get some play time in with this to give a more detailed opinion on it, so stay tuned next week!
On July 20th comes the releases of Bastion for Xbox 360, Dead Block for PS3, and Runespell: Overture for PC. Of these three the most interesting to me is Bastion. The game looks gorgeous, with a brightly colored world that is sure to please for any Action RPG fans. It looks like a Diablo style game, with graphics from the "Tales" series. Runespell: Overture on the other hand looks like a strange knockoff of Magic The Gathering. It is a card style game, like magic, only it looks like it uses both playing cards and creature cards, so a little weird. And I've never liked playing card games on my PC, so no thanks for me.
Lastly, on July 22nd Left 4 Dead 2 gets some new DLC titled Dead Air on PC and 360. The Left 4 Dead series is great fun, as long as you have a friend to play it with. If it wasn't for game nights with Reaper, I probably wouldn't have touched this game with a 10 foot stick as it's not really my thing. I'd have to say though, after a few beers, blowing off the heads of zombies is pretty good fun, and I just might pick up this DLC eventually.
What I'm Playing
As I mentioned earlier, I played a lot of games on my portable systems this weekend, so let's start with the simplest. The Android platform is getting a lot of decent old school RPG's lately. While on my trip I downloaded Symphony of Eternity, an old school, original Final Fantasy style game. The graphics are great, sort of like an HD version of all the old 16 bit games from my childhood. The story is nothing new, there's been a coup in the kingdom and the princess is a survivor. She comes across the heroes and you end up helping her on your journey. This is all revealed in the first 15 minutes so not many spoilers here. The gameplay itself is typical turn based RPG style, with basic attacks, and spells. There are plenty of items to equip so if you games where you can hunt for the best equipment, you'll be right at home here. The touch screen interface works very well. Right now the Android Marketplace has it for $2.99 USD right now while the Amazon Appstore has it for $6.99, so you know where to go get it!
I also picked up Phantasy Star Portable 2 for PSP, and boy am I impressed. I never played a Phantasy Star game before, which is strange since I LOVE RPG's and this series has been around since the Sega days. Phantasy Star Portable is based off Phantasy Star Universe for the Dreamcast, and I think they did a brilliant job making this game work on the PSP. The main difference between this game and the original Phantasy Star Portable on PSP is this one offers online mode, which basically makes this game one of the only MMORPG's on the PSP. You don't have to play it online though (I currently am not) but it's still a nice option to have, especially since there is a TON of loot to be found and traded. The story and voice acting aren't bad, the graphics are decent for PSP, and the world to explore is huge. This game get's 4/5 in my book and is a definite must buy for anyone with a PSP who is craving a good old action RPG.
Last, but certainly not least, I ended up going to the Costco in Warrenton, OR right next to the campground and picked up Pilotwings Resort for 3DS. Pilotwings was a release title for 3DS that I neglected to pick up because I was mainly waiting for Zelda to come out. Now that I've played it I'm kicking myself for not getting it earlier. This game is actually FUN. The basic premise is you fly around an island in various vehicles from planes to a jet pack, and complete challenges to advance to the next level. while the island is really small compared to a lot of open world games out there, the challenges keep everything fresh and fun for many hours. Since the game is short, if you play it a lot, it's certainly possible to finish it in a day, so you might want to wait until there is a decent price drop on it. But if you're looking for a couple afternoons of good fun flying around, go pick this one up.
That's it for this week! I'll see everyone back here next Thursday, July 28th for my next update. Or maybe I'll pop in Saturday for a brief update if I get some good gaming in this week. Have a great week, now get out there and play some games!!
Alright guys, this week’s going to be a bit on the short side. I’ve been crazy busy with work and my upcoming wedding so I haven’t had too much time to play anything (not that there is much worth playing that came out recently.) As soon as I finish the game, I’ll try to get a full review up on Infamous 2, I think I’m about halfway through it right now. Anyway, on to the blog! Enjoy the reading!!
New Releases
This week has been a pretty slow week for game releases, so bear with me. On the 1st, Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon came out for 360 and PS3. This game is a mediocre sci-fi shooter, with 3 player online co-op. The game boasts 150 different weapons, and a fully destructible city, but with this number of weapons you’re bound to see some recycling. Seems like it could be an interesting diversion, but probably not worth a buy, especially since the Resistance Dual pack came out on the 5th for PS3. This pack contains both Resistance 1 and 2, on the greatest hits discs meaning you not only get both games, but a ton of the DLC as well. If you haven’t played them, or even if you have but traded in your discs, this is an excellent buy! Go get it and play it so you’re ready for Resistance 3 later this year!
July 5th was bursting with new releases with a grand total of 3!!! Yes guys, I know that’s a lot, but I’ll try to get through this heaping list. Other than the Resistance Dual Pack (does that count as 1 or 2 games??), PSP had a mini game called Ninjamurai released on PSN. I honestly have no idea what it’s about, and really don’t care as it’s not a highly anticipated release. We also got to see the release of Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition for PC. So if you played Super Street Fighter IV, and want to buy the same game again with just a little bonus DLC go ahead and spend another 40 bucks on something you can just download for a fraction of that price.
July 6th saw yet 2 more releases. Dead Block, an XBLA strategy game which looks mildly entertaining, and Deadliest Warrior: Legends also on XBLA. Deadliest Warrior: Legends is aparantly a remake of a previous Deadliest Warrior game with ENHANCED GRAPHICS and 9 ARENAS!!! Sorry, I jest. The game looks like it could also provide some mild entertainment, but I’m just not into 3D fighting games so I probably won’t ever give it a try.
What I’m Playing
As I mentioned earlier, I’ve been pretty busy with work, but I had the past two days off so I managed to get in a little bit of gaming. I’ve still been working my way through Infamous 2 and my opinion on this game still stands: AMAZING!! I absolutely love this game, the new powers, the new voice acting, the new look, everything! I know, the first Infamous was a blast to play, but it got a little tedious after a few side missions. I’ve noticed after about 30 side missions, they all feel new and fresh. Yeah, there’s a little repetition, but non of that climb the building and disable 20 security cameras shit that you had to do 4 times in a row. The variety of enemies and bosses seems better as well. I’m about halfway through the game, and I really have no complaints yet.
I also played a bit of the Uncharted 3 multiplayer beta. *edit* Aparantly in the Terms of Service it says you're not supposed to talk about this game online at all. A little strange since literally everyone has access to it with their free Playstation Plus accounts, but rules are rules. I had to take down this part of the post, but check back once the game actually comes out for my impressions on the actual game itself!
Last, I went out and picked up The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D for 3DS. Playing this game brings back so many memories of Zelda games from the 1990’s. It’s been a long, long, time since I’ve played anything on my N64, but from what I remember, they definitely did the game justice. The graphics have definitely been improved. The game is very pleasing on the eye (unless you’re playing it in 3D, then you’ll get a headache, but that’s not the games fault and it still looks gorgeous.) Some of the new controls are brilliant. I love the quick entry into item menus and the map from tabs on the touchscreen. I also love the new motion control for looking around and using the slingshot. It’s actually much easier to control than using the stick oddly enough. I’m really excited to play this game more when I’m camping next week to see what else has been improved.
That’s it for this week. As I just mentioned, I’ll be camping next week so my schedule will be messed up. I may try to get a new blog post up Wednesday, but if I fail, there will be a new one on Monday when I get back! Thanks for reading and remember to leave your comments so we can get some discussion going!!
Soooo... this is the weekly blog, where you can come to read about our thoughts on pretty much everything video game related. We'd also love to post your comments for everyone to read (and we may even respond! That's right, you'd better feel special!) , so please, please, PLEASE leave your comments by clicking on the comment link above ^^^ I'm going to try to create new posts whenever I get a break from work, which will generally be on Thursdays, so make sure to check back weekly for updates. That being said, blogging time!
New Releases
Let's kick this off with new releases coming this week. First, I'm sure on everybody's list, is the Call of Duty: Black Ops Annihilation map pack available for download for PC, PS3 and 360. This pack adds 4 new multiplayer maps and 1 new zombies map. I'd have to say, I'm pretty excited to try out Drive In, which is supposed to be fairly similar to the Nuketown map. Any map that is small, where the two teams have definite sides is always an easy place to rack up kills, and consequently, xp. Hazard also looks like it could provide many hours of playtime. Since this map is so large with wide open spaces, it will be the perfect place to work on your sniping skills.
Also this week we have the release of Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 3, Super Street fighter IV: Arcade Edition, and UFC Personal Trainer: The Ultimate Fitness System coming out for PS3 and 360. So if you enjoy running in place and punching an invisible bag in front of you, make sure you run out and pick up Ultimate Fitness System on Tuesday! Better yet, run to your nearest GameStop and preorder it right now!! Literally run though so you get some actual exercise first. Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D is coming to the 3DS. While it looks like it will probably be fun, why you would want to stop playing Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D to pick this up is beyond me. Lastly, Sniper: Ghost Warrior comes out on PS3 and Storm: Frontline Nation is coming out on PC.
What I'm Playing
I've been crazy busy at work this week, but I still managed to get in a little bit of gaming in. I'm currently working on InFamous 2. This game is quite possibly one of the best sequels I've played in a game for a long time. I especially love how if you managed to get the 'platinum trophy' in the first one and import your save, it gives you some bonuses for the sequel. For you 360 people, 'platinum trophy' is the equivalent of completing all of the 'achievements' in a game. Cole's new powers are fun to play with, his new look is awesome, and even his new voice actor is pretty good.
I'm also working my way through Alice: Madness Returns. The story in this game is excellent if you like dark and creepy. Fair warning, this is not the happy wonderland from the movies, and is even more creepy than Tim Burton's rendition. If you played the first Alice game, you'll immediately notice the gameplay is so much smoother now. When using the Vorpal Blade you don't feel like you're stiffly cutting at the air in front of enemies, but rather smoothly blending combos together to decimate your foes. The gameplay itself is comprised of a lot of platforming with some God of War style fighting. It get's a little monotonous fighting the same enemies over and over, but the story is great and worth the playthrough.
Lastly, I just started Darksiders on 360. I picked this one up after reading about the sequel in this month's Game Informer, and realizing this was a game I don't want to miss. I've only just finished the tutorial section on it so far, but my initial impression is sort of like an RPG version of God of War. You have 'spells' and some different weapons at your disposal, but you also can sort of level up their powers by collecting and spending souls on them. It's an interesting concept, and is fun as hell to play (haha, get it? because it takes place in a hell dimension! yeah, i'm lame)
So, that's the end of the first blog post! Leave your comments and check back next week when I'll hopefully get a new one up by Thursday at the latest!
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