Pro-Gamer

Play-N-Trade vs Gamestop: Which Game Store Topples the Other?

2009-08-11T21:24:00.005-04:00

Ever since EBGames disappeared after the 2005 merger with gaming giant Gamestop, there hasn't been much in the way of competition in terms of game specialty stores. In many areas of the country it was either Gamestop or nothing. If you were unhappy with Gamestop's prices, trade in values or general business practices then it was too bad - either suck it up and purchase from them or order from one of the many online websites that sell video games. However, Play-N-Trade, a relatively new franchise-based game store, has been opening up retail locations all around the United States over the past two years. Does it topple the 800-pound giant that is Gamestop, or is it akin to the mediocre indie stores you randomly run into from time to time? Well, both stores definitely have their pros and cons, which are addressed below:

Gamestop
+ Great return policy on used merchandise (if you're unhappy with a used game that you've purchased then you can simply return it within seven days for a full refund).
+ Extremely convenient - since they can be found virtually in any mall or major shopping center, you will never have a problem locating a Gamestop store in a pinch.
+ Solid trade-in promotions - Although Gamestop generally gives chump change for the majority of game trade-ins, they often run promotions that (for example, an extra $10 for trading in multiple titles at once) make you feel like you've gotten a worthwhile amount of value.
- A complete absence of classic titles and accessories will turn off retro gamers.
- Many of the so-called "new" games are actually opened copies that look suspiciously used (they may be missing the game manuals or have scratches and smudges on the discs).
- You will be charged a resurfacing fee for scratched trade-ins, even if you purchased the title from Gamestop in that condition.
- The used game prices sometimes are aligned with online auction sites such as eBay and Amazon, so those looking for a bargain on rare older titles will be solely disappointed.

Play-N-Trade

+ Offers a wide selection of games and consoles for sale, including pretty much every old school system.

+ Each store is equipped with a professional disc resurfacing machine (used to fix scratched and damaged discs) similar to the ones found in rental stores.

+ You can try any game in the store prior to purchase.

- Abysmal return policy (you can only receive store credit back on defective merchandise or even merchandise that you haven’t opened yet but want to return).

- As Play-N-Trade is a franchise, the pricing on items is up to the manager’s discretion so each store has game’s priced differently.

- Much like Gamestop, Play-N-Trade also sells “gutted” opened copies of supposed new games.

Overall, there is not a clear-cut winner in this case. Play-N-Trade is definitely an interesting newer store with a nice retro selection, but having to be stuck with store credit (even in the case of non-defective, unopened returns such as game consoles) would make me chose Gamestop over them in the event of a large purchase. Overall though, if Play-N-Trade could somehow create a universal pricing structure and improve their store policies then they would have a better chance of taking on Gamestop’s game store monopoly. With Play-N-Trade becoming larger and larger, however, I’m sure Gamestop is watching them very closely.

Trace Memory - Will It Ever Make Its Way Back to North America?

2009-06-29T16:14:00.004-04:00

Trace Memory, originally released for the Nintendo DS in North America in 2005, felt like a breath of fresh air in a gaming market that feels a bit stale at times. A puzzle-heavy adventure title, it went on to become more successful overseas than over on this side of the pond. Sure, it was pretty much devoid of any action or violence, but Trace Memory was still a beautiful, unique adventure title marred only by its unfortunate brief length (seasoned gamers could finsh it in well under 10 hours, though I do get the urge to play it again from time to time).

Known as Another Code in Japan, 'Another Code: R' has already made its way over to Japan and Europe. Continuing the story of the first title on the DS, foreign genre fans and those who have imported this sequel have been eating it up so far (even if Japanese gaming magazine giant Famitsu did score it an underwhelming 28/40, fan reception has been significantly better).

So, the question facing us is... will Trace Memory ever make its way back to the U.S.? I'm certainly hoping so! While a North American release has not been announced yet (and this dry summer season would have been the absolute perfect time for a title like this), I'm hoping that Nintendo will take a risk and give the U.S. market another chance at this original series. After all, I'm sure hardcore gamers who own a Wii would prefer a Trace Memory sequel over derirative New Play Control re-releases and the glut of shovelware plaguing the console, right?

Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne Reprints - Get 'Em While They Last!

2009-06-20T17:19:00.002-04:00

Despite being highly acclaimed upon release in late 2004, Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne quickly fell into obscurity shortly after release due to being largely ignored by the game playing public. After fetching insane amounts of money on eBay due to later demand and a lack of adequate supply, GameQuestDirect took notice and gained permission from Atlus to sell reprinted copies of this title in 2008. Selling on an average of $35-$50, even those were quickly snapped up and the game once again became highly sought after.

GameQuestDirect has once again reprinted Nocturne in solid quantities for its original retail price of $49.99. While that may still seem a bit steep in price for those who are only mildly interested in playing a last-gen RPG, if you enter in coupon code GPNOCTURNE on their websiteit will bump the total price down to a mere $29.99. Add in their free shipping option and you have a deal that’s not too shabby, especially considering the fact that Nocturne is bound to explode in value once this next batch of reprints are completely sold out.

Nocturne is definitely a title I’ve had my eye on for years now but avoided due to the absurd prices it was going for on online auction sites. Here's hoping my $30 copy lives up to the hype!

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E3 2009: And The Most Impressive Showing Was...

2009-06-09T14:51:00.003-04:00

E3 2009 was certainly one of the more memorable E3 events held in recent years. Chock full of surprises from all three of the main competitors (Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft), I’m now looking forward to the rest of this gaming year more enthusiastically after some of the major new titles were finally unveiled during 2009’s largest gaming event. Who had the best overall showing in my book, though? Let’s just say it’ll be the company that has me the most excited for gaming’s (near) future…

On the Xbox 360 front, Microsoft announced some superb-looking (though expected) sequels such as Forza Motorsport 3 and Crackdown 2 that are sure to become hits when released later this year. The classic N64 FPS Perfect Dark will also be making its way over to Xbox Live Arcade, and the sequel to last year’s stunningly-received Left 4 Dead will be returning only to the Xbox 360 (though keep in mind it’s only a console exclusive – a PC version is very well on its way as well). Microsoft will also be entering the motion-control realm with Project Nadal, which lets you use your entire body to control on-screen functions. Let’s hope that the 360 market doesn’t become oversaturated with throwaway shovel ware ala the Wii due to this new device.

Sony had a solid, though unspectacular showing at this year’s E3. The announcement of a new PSP was certainly large news, and the PSP will be getting some impressive exclusives in the Gran Turismo, Assassin’s Creed and Resident Evil franchises. PS3 sequels such as God of War III and Uncharted 2 do certainly look great though… but then again, we’ve known about these for quite awhile now. Gran Turismo 5 on the PS3 was shown for the first time, however, and it looks like it’ll provide some stiff competition for Microsoft’s Forza 3 when it releases sometime in the future. Sony also unveiled their own motion controller which will see release in Spring 2010.

Nintendo’s E3 Press Conference surprised me the most. In terms of software, there were many unexpected returns such as New Super Mario Bros. Wii and Super Mario Galaxy 2. Yeah, yeah… they kinda look like mere rehashes of past games, but their processors were of such outstanding quality that it’s hard not to get excited about these sequels. Perhaps most shocking of all, Team Ninja will be developing the next Metroid game which is said to be “edgier” than past entries. Wii Fit Plus, The Wii Vitality sensor, and new DS titles such as Zelda: Sprit Trackers another Golden Sun entry round out Nintendo’s portion of E3.

Overall, while Microsoft and Sony have some undeniably big hitters coming this season, it looks like Nintendo’s showing at E3 had the largest amount of software that I can’t wait to get my hands on. It’s safe to say that it’s going to be another great year for all three of the manufactures, though.

Wii: What to Waggle From the Summer 'Till the End of '09

2009-05-24T22:46:00.005-04:00

Did I truly purchase a Wii solely to play first-party titles? Not necessarily - I'll try anything that plays well, regardless of the company producing it. But just like the N64 and the GC before it, I'm having a perplexing time finding any third-party Wii games that grab my interest. My Wii library is proof of this - of the 8 Wii games I currently own, all are Nintendo published titles. I may have picked up a third-party release here or there, but ending up selling them off because they played like absolute rubbish (gimmicky, pitiful software like Elebits comes immediately to mind). And with Nintendo focusing more on their casual fans than their hardcore base, I'm thinking my Wii will collect far more dust than my otherwise daily-used Xbox 360.

For the rest of 2009, however, there are some titles being released that probably won't make my Wii completely lonely. Punch-Out!! (pictured above) may not be an immediate, $50 purchase, but it looks to be a blast from the past that may very well make its way into my library once the price takes a bit of a dip. Hopefully its old-school style gameplay will still hold up in our modern era, but according to recent feedback from gamers and critics it plays surprisingly well.

I also sold off my copies of Metroid Prime 1 and 3 this week after the announcement of Metroid Prime Trilogy from Nintendo. This disc, coming in August, will pack in all three of the console Metroid Prime titles on one disc for 50 bones. Although it may seem a bit premature to be re-releasing these games, they are indeed excellent, unique titles that are worth a second play through. The fact that I never played 2004's Metroid Prime 2 further sweetens an already tasty deal.

It sure is slim pickings from the big N other than those two major first-party properties, though. On the third-party front Samurai Showdown Anthlogy, another solid-looking compilation, should provide 2D-era fun. Muramasa and Sin & Punishment 2 are two hardcore titles that definitely look to be worth a play. I'm finding myself less enthusiastic about hyped up first-person shooter titles such as The Conduit, though. While this may sell well on Nintendo's platform (due to the dearth of titles in this genre), it looks completely lackluster compared to FPS's on the two more powerful current-gen consoles.After all, Modern Warfare 2 on the 360 will leave no room for generic FPS's such as this.

So while this looks to be a decent Wii lineup for the summer to the end of 2009 from Nintendo and various third-party companies, I'm not completely stoked about playing a single one of these titles. Compared to heavy-hitters such as Bioshock 2, Modern Warfare 2, Splinter Cell: Conviction and Dead Rising 2 on the Xbox 360, this Wii lineup falls incredibly short.

Forza 3: The Be End All Racing Title?

2009-05-17T17:25:00.003-04:00

Forza Motorsport became an instant smash hit when it was released late into the original Xbox's lifespan in Spring 2005. The only true high quality racing simulator on Microsoft's original black box, the now defunct game publication Electronic Gaming Monthly went as far as to say that it's "Better than Gran Turismo 4". Forza 2 followed up two years later on the Xbox 360, improving on the original and remaining one of the best racing titles of this generation.

While both titles were undeniably excellent, Forza 3 will eclipse them in terms of sheer depth and content if the rumors of what it's supposed to feature come true. Supposedly shipping later this year on two discs, Forza 3 could potentially feature over 450 cars, 100 tracks, and gain a host of new game play modes such as rally and drift racing. The online play should also handle more racers at a time (rumored to be as many as 24 racers on the track at once) and the tuning options are said to be expanded. Of course, this is just speculation and rumor for now, but oddly enough Microsoft is not denying these claims either. And industry insiders are reporting that Microsoft is going to unveil even more information regarding Forza 3 this June...

If Forza 3's development goes as planned and these many features make it into the final product, then it's safe to say that Microsoft will have a true blockbuster on their hands. Hey, third time's the charm, right? Not to say that the first series entries weren't among the best simulation racers of all time, but Forza 3 may very well make the two prior entries in this series completely obsolete.

Marvel Vs Capcom 2: A New Age of Online Fighting Has Been Confirmed!

2009-04-28T14:57:00.002-04:00

After months and months of speculation and rumors, it’s finally official: Marvel vs. Capcom 2 will be hitting the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 as a downloadable title this summer.

Revealed last night (April 27^th) by Capcom, this PSN and Xbox Live Marketplace-exclusive re-release will not only include all of the features of past editions of this title but online play as well. Based off of the Dreamcast code (which is as closest to “arcade perfect” as console renditions go), Marvel vs Capcom 2 will also contain HD widescreen support, new volume and sound options (such as the ability to use custom soundtracks – who wouldn’t want to hear “Wanna Take You For a Ride”, though?), and every character and option will be unlocked from the get go. I’m especially joyful about that last update, as I’ve already spent a countless hours playing Marvel vs Capcom 2 on the PS2 and having to unravel everything again would be overkill, to say the least.

Even more intriguing is that this announcement has already affected the values of PS2 and Xbox editions of this title. Previously two of the most expensive titles for their respective consoles, the prices for these out of print games have plunged since the announcement of the superior downloadable update last night. Good thing I unloaded my copy of the PS2 edition awhile back for nearly 100 gorgeous dollar bills. Now I just have to wait two more months for online 2D fighting perfection.

A Lazy Saturday Afternoon Is Chock Full of 360 Rumors and News

2009-04-18T13:01:00.004-04:00

Ahh, the weekend is finally here. After a long, grueling week of work and other "responsibilities", I've finally found some time to get back to my good ol' gaming blog again. However, while this Saturday afternoon may be a lazy one, this post will not be, as it's chock full of the most noteworthy news and rumors for the Xbox 360 currently making waves 'round the internet.

First, I'd like to talk about Marvel vs Capcom 2. Originally released for the Dreamcast in 2000 and later ported to the PS2 and Xbox over two years later, all versions of this excellent 2D fighter have been long out print. Due to the quality of this title (it's easily among the greatest and most addictive fighters of all time) and obscurity of it (Capcom no longer owns the rights to use the Marvel license, thus they are not legally able to give it a reprint), Marvel vs Capcom 2 has been fetching over $60 on the Dreamcast and Xbox and more than $100 on the PS2 as of late. This makes Marvel vs Capcom 2 one of the most valuable and sought after console titles currently on the market.

Rumors have it that Capcom may be re-releasing this infinitely-playable 2D fighter on both Xbox Live and PSN for an estimated cost of $15-$20 (after the points conversion). Not only has the ESRB rated it for both of the HD consoles, an Xbox 360 Achivements website has released an apparent list of achievements for the game.

Two loopholes stand out here, however. Not only has Capcom never re-acquired the Marvel license, but the achievements website that posted this may very well be the work of a jokester tricking gamers into believing a hoax. Also, the ESRB has rated games in the past that have never been released to the market.

Gamers may very well keep speculating on Capcom's legendary fighter coming to the current gen, but it would be wise not to bet any money on it until a major source (or even Capcom themselves) confirm this.

In other news, the March 2009 NPD sales figures have been announced, and Resident Evil 5 has debuted at the top of charts. Selling almost a million units on the 360 alone, the latest entry in the long-running series beat out even Pokemon Platinum for the DS. Didn't see that coming! Microsoft has also re-designed the notoriously aesthetically displeasing Platinum Hits covers (pictured above), and the company is even rumored to be coming out with a new Xbox Live Upgrade (said to be called 'Vip Membership', a level above the current Gold membership). More on that once some concrete info is released.

What a Difference a Generation Makes...

2009-04-03T13:09:00.006-04:00

Dinosaur Planet was originally planned to be one of the last big-budget releases on Nintendo's aging Nintendo 64 back in the first half of 2001. Produced by Rare Ware while they were still owned by Nintendo, Dinosaur Planet was posed to push the Nintendo 64 to its graphical and size limits.

Rare planned for this to be a brand new, original IP full of fresh characters and massive level designs (well, for the Nintendo 64, anyway - this was in the age before The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion).

However, later in the year it was discovered that Dinosaur Planet would be altered to Star Fox Adventures: Dinosaur Planet. The main character would be replaced by the legendary Fox McCloud and this project would no longer be seeing an N64 release. This title was moved up to Nintendo's Gamecube due to the N64's limited and expensive development costs (which we could blame on the big N's wonderful decision to use cartridges instead of compact discs) and drying-up fanbase. It would simply make no sense to release such a high-profile title this late into the console's lifespan, so Nintendo was determined to make Star Fox Adventures: Dinosaur Planet a showpiece for their next-gen console.

Nintendo eventually shaved the Dinosaur Planet sub-title off the game entirely and released it as Starfox Adventures in September 2002. Although it was essentially a Rare adventure title with Starfox tacked on, Starfox Adventures would go on to receive generally favorable reviews (as the 80% from GameRankings proves) and become a high-selling Player's Choice title.

A Lesson on How NOT To Revive an Old Game Series

2009-03-21T14:03:00.003-04:00

Although the "Ready 2 Rumble" boxing series was never my cup of tea, none of the past series entries have received the type of scathing backlash that the latest Wii release (titled 'Revolution') has.

A series previously owned by Midway (who sold the license for their boxing franchise off after having troubling financial issues) and now the property of Atari, Ready 2 Rumble Boxing Revolution was supposed to be a casual-friendly revival for this once moderately popular series. The Ready 2 Rumble name has been out of the loop for nearly eight years, after all (its last appearance being the early GameBoy Advance rendition of Round 2 in Spring 2001), so what better time for a Renaissance-style resurrection than now?

Unfortunately, Ready 2 Rumble Revolution looks as if its not the type of comeback that fans have been looking for. Like a harrowed sports legend past his prime and only dirtying his memory by making a pitiful reappearance, Revolution has received horrendously bad reviews thus far. Game Informer went as far to give it their lowest score possible (an appalling 1 out of 10, something that hasn't been given out to a single title in their publication for ages). Gamespot gave it a slightly higher (but still pitiful) 3.5 out of 10, noting that Revolution had an excellent amount of potential but that the atrocious controls and lame, stereotypical characters ruin the entire game.

From the poor recreation of boxing on Nintendo's original Wii Sports pack-in to Ready 2 Rumble Revolution (as well as the glut of shovel ware boxing titles found on the system in-between those two releases), no developer has gotten this sports genre correct on the Wii yet. This is a shame, as the Wii's unique controls could very well make for an engaging boxing experience if done right. Oh well.... maybe EA could release one of their acclaimed Fight Night titles on Nintendo's system in the future, provided it's not one of their dumbed-down "All Play" versions.

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New Play Control Wii Releases: How Are the Reviews?

2009-03-11T11:37:00.003-04:00

I've always found it mind-blowing that gamers would be quick to criticize companies such as EA (who would release gluts of annual games such as Madden and Need for Speed ad naseum) for milking game series for all they're worth yet they'd be the same people first in line to purchase the newest incarnation of the DS from Nintendo or an updated version of a Metal Gear Solid release (such as the Essentials collection or the Substance upgrades) from Konami.

I'd say that the recently released New Play Control series re-confirms that Nintendo rehashes their releases more than any other company. For those who are unfamiliar with the Wii re-releases of Pikmin and Mario Power Tennis, these are the same exact titles that appeared on the Gamecube years ago except with new inferior cover art, higher prices, slightly upgraded visuals for Mario Power Tennis and motion controls. That's it.

New Play Control! Pikmin has garnered a 77% average thus far, and despite its mostly favorable reviews UGO makes a great point about this soulless rehash:

"New Play Control! Pikmin exemplifies Nintendo’s “most profit from least effort” strategy. Like the no frills Virtual Console emulations to the last-gen Wii hardware, this game’s a money grab barely disguised by a low price tag and abandoned potential. Why isn’t Pikmin 2 on the same disc? Why isn’t their bonus content to warrant a re-purchase? Why are we paying $30 for a modified launch title for a dead console? ".

According to IGN, Mario Power Tennis' controls have actually been downgraded on its way over to the Wii. When commenting on its game play, IGN has said this:

"What was once a great game has been pruned and morphed into lots of waggle, unreliable motion control, and a game with very little control over ball placement."

So far, New Play Control! Mario Power Tennis has received a mediocre 65% average from Game Rankings.

Overall, although these games will probably see much success due to the casual market, I'm hoping they flop at retail in order to prevent such worthless cash-ins in the future.

Xbox 360: The Best of the Bargains

2009-03-03T15:58:00.003-05:00

It is important to be money-conscious in today's poor economy. Here are some of the best Xbox 360 bargains on the market right now, each title delivering great value with great game play.

NBA Street: Homecourt

The NBA Street series has always been undeniably addictive, and Street’s first next-gen outing is no exception. Homecourt’s online play and replay-packed Homecourt Challenge mode will keep you hooked for months. I ordered my copy brand new off a seller on Amazon.com for a paltry $5, which is an absolute bargain for what I consider to be the best basketball game on the market right now.

Project Gotham Racing 3

Project Gotham Racing 3 was an instant hit as an Xbox 360 launch game. Thus, since it sold so well, the market is now flooded with cheap used copies. Available for about the same price of an average fast-food meal (used copies typically go for around less than $4), PGR3 may be old but the solid racing game play is anything but antiquated.

Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2

Who would have thought that one of the best shooters on the 360 could also be one of the cheapest? I actually prefer the challenging strategic squad-based game play to more action-packed fair like Call of Duty. You can easily track down a copy of this top-notch shooter for less than $15.

GUN

GUN was shunned by most next-gen gamers due to its lackluster, PS2-esque visuals. However, if you can get past the mediocre graphics you will find an enjoyable (if brief) Wild West action romp with a fascinating open-world design. GUN on the 360 usually runs from around $10-$15, and is well-worth the price of admission.

Naruto: Rise of a Ninja

It’s really telling about the quality of this product that I – someone who doesn’t even watch the anime or read the manga that Rise of a Ninja is based on – would enjoy this release so much. The fantastic, cel-shaded visuals really pull you into Naruto’s world and the exploration and action bits are an absolute blast. Naruto: Rise of a Ninja is $12 well spent.

Burnout Paradise

Some design flaws prevent Burnout Paradise from achieving absolute racing greatness, but at its new low price of $19.99 there is no excuse not to pick up such a blazingly fast and fun racer.

One Expensive Wooden PS2

2009-02-16T12:11:00.004-05:00

If you're strapped for cash (and who isn't in today's poor economy?), then perhaps you can make a few extra bucks by shaping and painting a block of wood to make it look like an actual PS2 and then returning it to a store. For added realism, add a serial number so it'll scan in their store system like a normal PS2 would, earning you back $130 and tax.

At least that's what some money-hungry trickster did.

This wooden unit actually made it all the way to Sony's distribution center, which is the source of this photo. I'm thinking that the employee at the store merely scanned the bar code through the box opening and didn't even give the actual system a look. The person who duped the store also put dumbbells inside the unit to make up for the otherwise low weight. Truly, it's amazing that someone got away with this ordeal. And in terms of all the wooden PS2 consoles I've seen, this ranks among the nicest by far. Wait, I haven't seen any non-plastic PS2's prior to this date...

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A Tribute to My Dreamcast

2009-02-08T13:03:00.001-05:00

Yes, it’s finally time to say goodbye to Sega’s revolutionary white box. While I got into Dreamcast fever rather late (in 2004, when games for the console were long out of production), I still had a blast with it. Picking it up for a mere $9.99 at my local EBGames (a game store that was actually – gasp!- good) along with a few cheapie games, a blue VMU, and an extra controller, I brought the Dreamcast home a played it well into the night.

Perhaps the most fun of all was going from second hand game store to store and finding the most desirable games for the platform. Since I got into the console late and didn’t purchase games online during this time period, it was fun going from city to city and not knowing what you’d end up with. Coming home with a mint copy of Power Stone or Street Fighter Alpha 3 meant that I had a good run.

Although collecting games for the platform was enjoyable, I can’t forget about the gameplay aspect of the games. Street Fighter Alpha 3 was one I played with friends until the wee hours of the morning, Sonic Adventure 2 provided some of the best platforming action of its time period, and Virtua Tennis was an undeniably addictive tennis simulation.

Fast forward a few years later, however, and my Dreamcast has been ignored for quite some time. Sitting in a box in my dark closet and getting no love whatsoever, possibly jealous of all of the attention my new-fangled Wii’s and 360’s are getting.

I decided that it’s finally time to give this console a new home.

I listed all of the games and the console online for sale, and now I’m just waiting for a buyer. It’s not all bad news, though. Not only will I get some extra dough and save space, but I’ll be able to repurchase many of the best games for the console on other platforms. I’ll always miss Sega’s gorgeous final console, but the games and memories of it will live on.

PS2: The Games You Missed

2009-02-01T12:47:00.010-05:00

The PS2 has one of the largest and most diverse list of titles of any console ever released. I still play last generation's dominating console on a regular basis - sometimes even more so than the more recent batch of consoles. Due to it having such an unusually enormous game library, there were unfortunately many titles released that failed to get the recognition they deserved. These titles, despite being great experiences, were largely ignored by the gaming public during the time they were released and faded into obscurity as a result. Check out a bargain bin near you to see if you can track down any of these releases.
Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil (2001)
Klonoa 2 offered the beauty of a 3D game with the rock solid game play of a 2D classic. Old school in game play but new school in look, Klonoa 2 is a simplistic blast from the past with tried-and-true 2D platforming and intriguing puzzles. Also, even though the length of Klonoa 2 was a bit on the short side, the level design was so great that you wouldn't mind playing through this a couple of times. If this was released by Nintendo it would have unquestionably garnered more respect.

Victorious Boxers: Ippo's Road to Glory (2001)
Whether you're familiar or not with the original Japanese manga is irrelevant. Victorious Boxers is simply a fun boxing title and the first noteworthy one on the PS2. Due to to this being based off of an unfamiliar property in the U.S. (and the lack of marketing), Victorious Boxers flopped horribly when it was originally released in 2001. So while it's a bit tough to track down in stores due to its limited print run, it's well worth it if you're in the mood for an enjoyable boxing title with Japanese flavor.

Viewtiful Joe (2004)
Capcom's Viewtiful Joe found mild success on the Nintendo Gamecube but was sadly ignored on Sony's platform. Which is a shame, because the PS2 version not only featured a new difficulty level but the ability to unlock Dante from the Devil May Cry series as well. Despite its sometimes unfairly hard difficulty, Viewtiful Joe is still among the most stylish and flat out entertaining brawlers found on the PS2. Henshin a go go baby!

Taiko Drum Master (2004)

Any fan of Japan, rhythm games, or random, cute, colorful crap would be doing themselves a disservice not giving Taiko Drum Master a try. Although the overly poppy soundtrack was slightly disappointing in some regards (Britney Spears? Blech.), the included drum peripheral made Taiko a multiplayer blast.

Street Fighter EX3 (2000)
Street Fighter EX3 was among the best of the PS2's launch games. Featuring unique tag-team combat that separated this from the rest of the series, EX3 is the most underrated entry in the Street Fighter franchise by far. Being released during the same time period when 3D fighters like Tekken Tag Tournament and Dead or Alive 2 dominated the scene probably didn't help its commercial fate though...

Steambot Chronicles (2006)

Steambot Chronicles proved that an RPG didn't have to be an epic experience ala Final Fantasy to be enjoyable. While the visuals were a bit lacking, the nonlinear game play and lighthearted dialogue made Atlus' overlooked title a true role-playing treat.

And so that wraps up this list. However, this is by no means the definitive assortment of missed PS2 titles, and I'm definitely going to have to complete a part two in the future to get such excellent games like Ico and 50 Cent Bulletproof in. Wait, maybe you should scratch that last title out...

Related article:
PSX: The Games You Missed

The Top 10 Best Sellers of '08 - Did Your Favorite Make the List?

2009-01-18T18:25:00.004-05:00

The stats for the best selling titles of 2008 have been released, and it was unquestionably Nintendo's year for sales. Wii Play (bundled with the Wii remote) is at the top of the pack with a staggering 5.28 million in sales for last year alone. Would it have sold as well without the remote pack in? Probably not, but I know that’s the reason I (and millions of others) purchased it. The mini-games on it are decently fun too, if only for a limited amount of time. Mario Kart Wii, Wii Fit, and Super Smash Bros. Brawl round out the next three spots, all featuring both mainstream and casual appeal. Grand Theft Auto IV on the 360 did extremely well at the number five spot with over three million copies sold, and Call of Duty: World at War (the 360 version) outsold Gears of War 2 on the same platform. Grand Theft Auto IV sold under two million units at the number eight spot on the PS3, and Madden 09 on the 360 sold about the same at number nine. Mario Kart DS, a title that was released way back in 2005, rounds out the list at number ten.

And, for those that just want to know the top 10 best sellers without any context...

1. Wii Play (Wii remote bundle - Wii
2. Mario Kart Wii (Racing wheel bundle) - Wii
3. Wii Fit (Balance board bundle) - Wii
4. Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Wii
5. Grand Theft Auto IV - 360
6. Call of Duty: World at War - 360
7. Gears of War 2 - 360
8. Grand Theft Auto IV - PS3
9. Madden NFL 09 - 360
10. Mario Kart DS - DS

It was a tremendously good year for Nintendo, whose mix of accessible games and popular franchises dominated the sales chart. Amazingly enough, Mario Kart DS made the top 10 list despite being three years old! It was also interesting to see Call of Duty: World at War outsell Gears of War 2. Hopefully 2009 will be an even better year for gaming - I have my fingers crossed...

And the Award for Most Rehashed and Least Improved Game Goes To...

2009-01-11T20:05:00.005-05:00

What gaming series has been beat to death more than any other? Could it be the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, where the quality of the games have been on the decline for years now? Nah. While it's true that Sega's once mighty blue mascot has seen better days, the Sonic games are generally different enough not to be considered mere rehashes. How about Mario? Well, most of the plumber's adventures are quite good.

So what could it be then? Well, none other than Koei's Dynasty Warriors series. Since its original release this mediocre and highly-repetitive action series has seen a staggering 32 releases (if you count the offshoots like Samurai Warriors and such, which share the same exact game play as the Dynasty Warriors titles. The Dynasty Tactics releases were not included because the game play is unique from the action versions). That comes out to nearly four new Dynasty Warriors games released per year with little innovation (if any) from title to title.

However, someone must be eating these titles up. Despite the Warriors series typically being a one-trick pony, the releases of these games seem to have no end in sight. Koei already has Dynasty Warriors 7 and Dynasty Warriors Gundam 2 in the works, as well as a few other titles for the series. However, it seems like Koei has built up a cult audience. While the Warriors games aren't in the same league as something like Grand Theft Auto in terms of sales, I'm sure each new release sells a decent enough amount to churn a profit for Koei. And I hear that these games are quite popular in Japan... so much for Western gamers being stereotyped as the only ones with poor taste in games...

UGO Buys 1up: EGM Officially Canned

2009-01-07T16:21:00.005-05:00

Remember how I recently reported that Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) might “go the way of the dodo”? Well, it looks like that has finally come true. UGO Entertainment has purchased 1up from Ziff Davis, and while they may have claimed that 1up would “stand beside UGO as a flagship brand.” (as quoted from UGO.com), that appears to not be the case as they’ve laid off an enormous amount of 1up’s previous staff. Also, to add insult to injury, Ziff Davis has canned EGM in the process.

What’s aggravating about UGO acquiring 1up is that they essentially purchased it and killed it off around the same time. It appears as if UGO simply wanted the 1up name in order to drive more attention to its site (which currently isn’t a major force in the internet world). Also, even though it’s no secret that EGM has been a magazine of questionable quality for the past six years, I still hate to see a magazine I grew up reading be put to an end.

Oh well, that’s the way the business world runs. The popularity of print magazines have been declining for years now in our Internet age, and I’d expect some of the few remaining U.S. game-based magazines to suffer the same fate within the next couple of years. As long as Europe continues to provide us with quality video game magazines then I’ll still be a somewhat satisfied man…

Source

Pro-Gamer: Year Three is Up!

2009-01-03T20:33:00.003-05:00

You see how many candles are on that cat's cake? There's three of 'em. Alright, so why am I pointing that out? Have I turned this into a rather special blog? Nope - that's how many years old Pro-Gamer has turned today (well, yesterday, but...).

Over the years I've lost contact with older blog friends (who seemingly got lost into another dimension and whose blogs have gone non-updated for quite some time now) but gained support from new ones. I would like to thank everyone whose ever read my blog and who has commented on my articles. It's great reading what you guys have to say, regardless if your views lack integrity or not.

I would like to keep this blog updated for many years to come, and maybe I'll even look into redesigning it sometime in 2009. Pro-Gamer has had the same look since 2006... it's looking a bit worn out now, eh? I'd just like to give a big thanks to everyone for reading and I hope that you guys stick by for another (hopefully) great year of gaming!

Activision Drives the Guitar Hero Franchise Even Further Into the Ground

2008-12-30T22:41:00.005-05:00

Although I was never a huge fan of the series, I once thought that the Guitar Hero games were decent rhythm titles that provided a good amount of fun. However, with Activision releasing countless spin-offs with negligible improvements and song lists that decline in quality with each new edition I quickly lost interest in the Guitar Hero games.

It looks like Activision is going to milk the series even further in 2009. Although we're all aware that they're going to be releasing Guitar Hero Metallica for consoles this upcoming spring, it looks as if they have their third DS title already planned for release next year as well. The ESRB has confirmed the existence of Guitar Hero: Modern Hits for the Nintendo DS for a 2009 release. This will mark the third time Nintendo's ultra popular portable has seen a Guitar Hero title in less than a year.

After playing the mediocre Guitar Hero: World Tour on the 360 and deciding that the series has lost its appeal I can't say that I'm excited for another title in this series, especially a dumbed-down portable off-shoot. In the end, though, I really can't blame Activision for rehashing the same one-trick pony ad naseum. The sales are certainly there, and the public seems to be eating these sequels up. However, this is a series I see heading down the same route as Tony Hawk (another Activision property that was milked beyond belief) where the franchise is eventually run so far into the ground that the public will eventually lose interest.

Source

Kakuto Chojin and the Banned Game Blues

2008-12-27T20:20:00.003-05:00

Does the name ‘Kakuto Chojin’ ring a bell? No? A forgettable, banned, dereritive 3D Xbox fighter doesn’t come to mind? Wait, forgettable… oh, that’s it. If not for its questionable content that led Microsoft to take Kakuto Chojin (pronounced cock-toe-choe-gin…yes, really) store shelves, we wouldn’t even be bringing this laughable 2002 fighter up today.

So, why was this third-rate Tekken clone banned from retail stores? Was it because of the generic character designs? The lifeless stages? The overly shiny, unrealistic visuals? Nope, none of that – a controversial religious chant found in Kakuto Chojin was the reason Microsoft rushed to rid this title off of every game store shelf a few months after it was released. Kakuto Chojin featured a level with a background sound effect featuring a passage from the Quran being repeated over and over.

Due to generally poor reception and inadequate original sales, Kaktuo Chojin was never re-released back onto the market. All copies of this game were ordered to be destroyed or returned to Microsoft. Despite being an extremely rare find in the B&M market outside of flea markets, Kakuto Chojin is readily available online for under $5 on auction sites like Amazon. Not even game collectors want anything to do with what is one of the bottom-tier fighters of the last generation, despite its cancellation and limited print run.

EGM - Going the Way of the Dodo?

2008-12-20T21:32:00.004-05:00

Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) is one of the longest running gaming magazines in North America. While most print video game-based magazines went down under over the past few years (starting around 2005, when Xbox Nation, an independent Xbox Magazine, was among the first of many gaming publications canceled) EGM and a few others (such as GamePro and Game Informer) managed to survive.

EGM may be the next American gaming publication to get the boot, however. UGO Entertainment is reportedly a potential buyer of Ziff Davis' 1up Network, but they're apparently not the least bit interested in acquiring EGM with it. Add to the fact that Ziff Davis has been having a difficult time selling ad space for EGM lately and you have a recipe for a scrapped magazine.

While EGM has certainly gone downhill since its 2003 redesign (each proceeding year after that we would find a more watered down magazine that lacked overall substance), it's still disappointing to see veteran magazine such as this possibly go out the door. The future doesn't look bright for print media, and it doesn't help that the quality of most established magazines today are far below what they were years ago.

Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix Delivers Online Street Fighter Goodness in HD!

2008-11-28T12:27:00.003-05:00

Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix (a rather unnecessary title, but oh well...) just hit Xbox Live Arcade on the 25th, and it's an essential download for any fan of 2D fighting. Not only does it contain gorgeous new high-definition visuals (still in glorious 2D form), it also features tweaked gameplay and addictive online play that will have you competing against strangers across Xbox Live for hours.

Some of the achievements are clever and tricky, such as one where you have to complete a seven-hit combo. Others include winning 100 ranked matches online and throwing your opponent ten times in one match.

The game costs a messily 1200 Microsoft Points, which amounts to $15. For the amount of replay value and fun HD Remix game provides it's well worth it - many recent full retail games haven't been this enjoyable.

To top it off, the beautiful remixed soundtrack adds to the experience and there's a standard edition of Street Fighter II thrown in for nostalgic value. Overall, if you're a 2D fighting game fan with Xbox Live then this should be an immediate purchase.

Super Street Fighter II: Turbo HD Remix is also available on the PSN Network (Playstation 3).

Wii Music Flops During First Month at Retail

2008-11-20T20:10:00.002-05:00

Instead of providing Wii owners with an actual music game (ala Dance Dance Revolution or Guitar Hero) or an interesting music tool (like their very own Electroplankton), Nintendo decided to release Wii Music, a music game that features such exciting (and by exciting, I mean “not exciting at all”) tracks like “Yankee Doodle” and a laughable presentation (your little brother would blush if you forced him to play this in front of his friends).

Not only is Wii Music getting panned in terms of reviews, but it’s also been sales flop thus far. While Nintendo probably expected this title to appeal to the same casual audience that eats up titles like Wii Sports, Wii Play, and Wii Fit, their music creation title has sold less than 66,000 copies during its first month of release.

The hardcore following and absurdly high eBay prices of Electroplankton have proved that the hardcore will notice a brand new type of music title if the game itself is actually, y’know, good. That title also had no real goal and was more of a tool than a traditional game, but due to its exciting graphical style and unique presentation it gained a cult following. Also, the immense success of the Guitar Hero and Rock Band franchises showed that the core gamers and the mainstream alike will eat up a music-based release if the game play itself is satisfying – and those games didn’t need to become dumbed down in order to appeal to a wider audience. Nintendo seemed to be banking on that with Wii Music.

Although the rhythm genre didn’t require a more streamlined approach for a large audience, Nintendo seemed to think it did. If sales for Wii Music wane (shops are packed with it, and it’s not flying off store shelves like Mario Kart Wii and other mainstream-friendly titles were), maybe Nintendo will re-think their approach to their next casual release.

Source

Hey, That's Not the Real Pikachu...

2008-11-09T12:53:00.005-05:00

It's been nearly a decade since the Pokemon craze was at its peak in the U.S., but despite the cards and endless amount of toys essentially fading out in popularity, the games still continue to sell like hot cakes. And hey, why not? Most of them are quality releases that provide a good amount of entertainment. Game pirates and hackers have noticed this over the years, too, and decided that they wanted a piece of Nintendo's pie. So what do they do? They create (rather shoddy) software of their own and throw in Pikachu and friends or they take forgotten releases of the past and replace the characters with ones from the Pokemon series.

Perhaps the most well-known bootleg is Pokemon: Chaos Black Version, which has been clogging up eBay listings for a couple of years now. According to fans this is basically the same game as Fire Red only with a few new Pokemon, events, and characters.

Others are far worse in quality. In fact, the back of the box for Pokemon Arcoiris Version is a hoot in its self. Here is an example of some of the fantastic grammar provided by the foreign bootleggers:

"The pokemon ARCOIRIS VERSION new games, The region where POKEMON first took root and exploded into into a major phenomenon,and the latest titles stuff in tons of exciting new features".

With a quality description like that, I can only imagine what the game itself plays like...

Oh, and in case you're wondering, the game pictured above in the top left is Pokemon Adventure, which supposedly plays like an old-school Sonic the Hedgehog title - only it stars one of Pikachu's crack babies .

Review: Fable II (Xbox 360)

2008-11-01T20:53:00.004-04:00

Platform: Xbox 360
Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Developer: Lionhead Studios
Release: October 2008
Genre: Action RPG

You’ll definitely get your money’s worth out of a rental, but due to the glitchy game play and disappointing story (and climax), Fable II falls short of being a truly outstanding sequel.

Fable on the original Xbox was by far one of the greatest games that Microsoft’s last console had to offer. With this in mind, Fable II became one of my most anticipated sequels of this generation. Although it’s an improvement in many respects, buggy game play and some poor design choices bring the overall experience down.

Once again you begin this title as a young’n, and as the story unfolds in several chapters your character grows older and goes through phases. Throughout Fable II, just as in the original, the choices you make will determine if your character is good or evil, and this affects the storyline, how other characters react to you, and parts of the game. This freedom of choice is by far one of the best aspects of the game.

Game play wise, Fable II feels a bit simplistic. While this was perfectly acceptable in the original, I’ve come to expect more from the combat engine this time around. It’s not bad, per se, but it’s nothing that will blow your mind, either. Taking down enemies with various magic attacks and such can be fun, however. Also, while having a dog follow you around and help you out as a companion is pretty neat, it’s not a significant feature overall.

The main story path is very brief. Although there’s tons of extras to be found in this title (such as marriage, loads of extra quests, and playing through the game multiple times to see it through a different moral path), the storyline itself is dreadful and yawn-inducing. Also, it also suffers from another pitfall that many Western RPG’s make: the characters are completely uninteresting. Besides the main hero or villain you play as, you won’t give a squat about the rest of the individuals.

Many of the quests are quite entertaining, however, and simply fooling around in the large and well-designed towns can provide hours of enjoyment. It’s just too bad that Fable II suffers from loads of bugs, from lock ups to glitched quests the require you to occasionally reset the game to advance.

Visually, Fable II is outstanding. Well-designed and varied environments put the original to shame in this regard. Unfortunately, while the soundtrack was one of my favorite features of the first title, it’s completely underwhelming in Fable II.

Overall, Fable II is a decent, though flawed follow-up to one of the standout titles of last generation. You’ll definitely get your money’s worth out of a rental, but due to the glitchy game play and disappointing story (and climax), Fable II falls short of being a truly outstanding sequel.

Score: 7.0 (out of 10)

Similar article:

Review: Fable (Xbox)

Ladies and Gentlemen, I Present to You... The Worst Game Ever!

2008-10-27T11:58:00.002-04:00

"The worst game ever". Calling a title that in this day and age is almost a cliche, considering how lightly this term has been used by angry fanboys who describe every title they aren't completely satisfied with as this.

Big Rigs is one atrocious release that probably deserves being called that, however, considering that it's nearly unplayable and the box art is highly misleading in terms of actual game play.

The box art shows an 18-wheeler being pursuited by a police car. In actuality, however, this title features neither "18 WHEELS OF THUNDER" (the trucks are of the small variety) or high-speed police chases.

That's the least of Big Rig's issues, however, as the game itself is completely broken. Although it's touted as a racing title, your opponents don't move past the starting line (yep, this game is completely devoid of any A.I. whatsoever), you can drive right through walls and obstacles such as trees, and at the end of the title you're presented with a hilarious screen that simply displays, "YOU'RE WINNER!" (which I'm assuming the creators threw in as a joke, as they were most likely aware of how hideous Big Rigs was).

If you want to view an actual video review of this title, check out the video below, presented by Gamespot's Alex Navarro. That is, if you don't want to lose your lunch, I'd recommended engaging in some other activity.

Games That Never Were: Fear and Respect (Xbox 360, Playstation 3)

2008-10-19T19:46:00.002-04:00

What do you get when you mix Midway, ‘hood film director John Singleton, Snoop Dogg, and Max Payne? Fear and Respect, the third-person action title that was originally revealed for the Playstation 2 and Xbox in 2004 and then was being re-tooled for the next generation of consoles. However, Midway put this title to rest over two years ago due to a crowded market of urban-themed action games.

This title starred Snoop Dogg and was set in South Los Angeles. John Singleton (of Boyz ‘n the Hood fame) added his talents to this release in terms of direction, and the game play was supposed to be similar to the Max Payne titles.

Beyond starring one of the most successful gangsta rap artists of all time and having a big-time director underneath its belt, Fear and Respect appeared as if it had little to offer compared to the other numerous urban third-person action titles released through the years. No matter how good an album Doggystyle was, I still can’t find myself excited to play as Snoop in a videogame (whether it was in the original True Crime as an unlockable character or in this).

Past entries in this series:

#1 - Capcom Fighting All-Stars
#2 - Frame City Killer
#3 - Vectorman

Starcraft II - Why Activision-Blizzard's Decision Makes Sense

2008-10-11T13:10:00.007-04:00

Although PC gaming is normally not my forte (this has been, for over two years, a console-centric blog), I felt that this topic was worth commenting on anyhoot.

Yesterday Activision-Blizzard announced that Starcraft II will be released in three separate, possibly full priced segments. The last game contained all of the separate story lines in one box, but this time Activision-Blizzard will split them up because they feel that each version is a full game in its own.

Of course, they're just different paths of the same title. This has drove gaming forums across the 'net into a frenzy, with angry gamers claiming that Activision-Blizzard is selling out its loyal fan base and milking the fans for all they're worth.

However, I have to commend Activision-Blizzard for making such a smart business decision. Blizzard obviously knows that the people yelling the loudest will purchase the product anyway - they'll bitch and moan now but will be there on each individual Starcraft II launch to purchase all three separate versions. After all, years ago Xbox 360 gamers whined and complained about downloadable content and how developers were going to charge for features that normally would be free, but they went on to purchase it anyway. And wasn't everyone supposed to boycott the evil, faceless, money-grubbing corporation known as EA at one point or another?

Gaming is a business, and game companies will always been looking for crafty new ways to make money. Hey, what Blizzard is doing now is not much different from what Nintendo does with each major Pokemon release - seperate versions of the same title. And every time they do that the games sell like hot cakes.

End of story.

Exploring the Underwater Digital Ocean

2008-10-05T15:35:00.001-04:00

When it comes to game genres, underwater exploration games are near the bottom of the popularity chain… in fact, it wasn’t until Nintendo’s Endless Ocean has the genre had any sort of mainstream appreciation at all. Here’s some history to the obscure genre, and a little bit about the three main games of this type released in the Western market.

Aquanaut's Holiday (PSX)

Chances are, you’ve never heard of this game. Like Tail of the Sun, also published by Sony, this is one of those titles that basically appealed to no one. However, years later it is interesting to look back on Aquanaut’s Holiday just because of how unique it is. Released in 1996 during the original Playstation’s early life, this game starred a marine explorer who explored an underwater ocean. In this title you also had to attract fish to achieve your goal of filling up your fish meter. Although the graphics are rather archaic now, it is one of those intriguing niche titles that looks to be worth tracking down simply because there’s not much else out there like it.

Everblue 2 (PS2)
Capcom really gave this title no chance of survival in the U.S. Combine absolutely no advertising with a micro-sized print run, and you have a title that was destined for commercial failure from the start. A sequel to Everblue, a game exclusive to Europe and Japan, Everblue 2 had you exploring the Caribbean as – you guessed it – a scuba diver. There was more of a plot here than Aquanaut’s Holiday, but the game play, similarly, had you searching around for items and interesting sights beneath the ocean. I am still trying to track down a copy of Everblue 2, but I have yet to find one in any game store I’ve visited, near or far.

Endless Ocean (Wii)
Nintendo’s Endless Ocean was the first title in this genre to appeal to a mass market audience. Developed by Arika, the very same company responsible for the creation of Everblue 2, Endless Ocean had a larger budget, more advertising, and way more critical acclaim than the two titles previously mentioned. A relaxing and gorgeous experience, Endless Ocean appears to be a solid title for those who are sick of online FPS death matches.

New Reviews of Old Games

2008-09-28T19:57:00.004-04:00

Yeah, I'm almost positive that no one's gonna care one bit about these ancient 360 and Wii launch titles. But, just because I feel like writing about them, here's some mini-reviews of old games that you can buy dirt cheap now.

Kameo Elements of Power (Xbox 360)

As soon as you jump into Kameo you are right in the climax of the title. Unfortunately, it sets you up with a bit of a let down, as the rest of the experience is slower paced and not nearly as interesting as the beginning of the title. Once you get beyond the gorgeous next-gen visual “wow” factor you will discover a title crammed with puzzles a three-year old could solve and some rather laughable character design. Sure, the beautiful environments are a sight to behold and some of the bosses are rather enjoyable to take down, but if you missed Kameo during the Xbox 360’s launch years ago then there’s no reason to give it a try today, especially now that the console’s library has blossomed.

Project Gotham Racing 3 (Xbox 360)

Sure, it fails to break any new ground in the genre, but the racing engine is so solid that you’ll fail to care. Microsoft’s third entry in their premier racing series is the most refined version yet. Sure, it’s not leaps and bounds above its predecessors, but if you want a solid online racer then you should look no further than Project Gotham Racing 3. Hell, it still has a healthy online community, even in 2008!

Elebits (Wii)
I’m a sucker for originality, but Elebits is one of those instances where it’s unique to a fault. The game play revolves around catching hidden Elebits throughout a home, and the concept is just as boring as it sounds. The storyline is another issue… it’s so kid-oriented that your younger brother would probably be embarrassed to play it. The impressive, lighthearted soundtrack is Elebits’ only redeeming quality.

Rock Revolution: Konami's Big Holiday Bust

2008-09-21T20:49:00.003-04:00

Prior to Guitar Hero even being a concept, Konami’s Guitar Freaks was a major hit in Japanese arcades. Highly innovative for it’s time period, it influenced the popular rock music games we enjoy in the West today.

Konami will finally be infiltrating the Western music world with a new effort titled Rock Revolution. Alright, so the preceding is not news to anyone who’s been following the game market for the past year – it’s been announced months ago. However, it’s only been recently that Konami has actually unveiled new footage of what is supposed to be their huge hit this year and… well… it looks pathetic, to be blunt.

Not only does Rock Revolution fail to offer anything new in a crowded genre (Guitar Hero and Rock Band do the job well enough, thank you), it looks far worse than those two established titles. The soundtrack will be strictly covers (no master tracks – for shame!), the visuals look hardly next-gen, and there’s absolutely nothing intriguing about the peripheral included. Instead of trying to appeal to a niche, hardcore market and releasing a rock title with Japanese flair, they’ve decided to go down the generic route and create a game that will appeal to… well, absolutely no one, considering the fact that the bigger and badder competetion has either already arrived (in the form of Rock Band 2) or will be here soon (Guitar Hero: World Tour, anyone?).

If you want to pity Konami even more for making such a shameful move in the musical game market, try watching this video. It’s absolutely embarrassing; one of the PR reps for Konami fails a song during the showcase of the game for crying out loud! Oh, Konami: your third-rate Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater clone didn’t sell (Evolution Skateboarding, a forgotten release from 2002), and your third-rate Guitar Hero rip-off won’t, either.

Troubling Times Are Ahead for the Xbox 360 Core Gamer

2008-09-13T14:34:00.003-04:00

It’s no secret that – despite the overall low quality of many of the shovelware “casual” releases clogging up the Wii’s current library – these games sell well regardless. When half-hearted affairs like Carnival Games and Deca Sports outsell original, critically acclaimed software such as Zack and Wicki and Fire Emblem, you know there’s a problem.

Microsoft, sadly enough, seems to want a bite out of this casual market as well. During the summer they announced that Xbox Live will be given a visual downgrade in order to make it more user friendly. Also, they blatantly ripped off Nintendo’s Mii idea with “Avatars”, which, um, are basically the same as Mii’s (cute little people that you use as your online persona).

Not only that, the big M recently announced that they’re going to be closing up Ensemble Studios after their upcoming RTS, Halo Wars, is released. It’s rumored that the reason for this is to focus more on kid and mass market-oriented affair ala the Nintendo Wii. Could Lionhead Studios (of Fable fame) get the boot next?

Add this to the fact that Microsoft is also rumored to have a motion sensor controller (again, not unlike the Wii) prepared right in time for this year’s holiday season, and you have a reason to be worried. Could the core Xbox 360 gamers be forgotten about in favor of a mass-market “casual” audience? You know, the kind that eat up any software that requires no effort whatsoever?

The game market is going down a frightening path right now, and I don’t see the situation improving anytime soon. I’m already feeling nostalgic for the Playstation 2-generation…

Source

Neo Contra and the Empty Game Case Blues

2008-09-07T13:06:00.004-04:00

Back in 2002 I rented Contra: Shattered Soldier for the PS2. Besides the swanky new visuals, the game play was a pure blast from the past: an excruciatingly hard difficultly level and nothing but pure action. I never made it through the entire game (I’m not overstating anything when I say it’s difficult).

So I was thrilled when I found a copy of Neo Contra for the PS2 in the bargain bin at a local electronics store. Although I’m aware that they changed the game play up a bit for this version, I was still rather excited to play it.

So I get in the mood to play, set up my Playstation 2, and then proceed to tear the shrink wrap off of the game case.

“Hmm, it feels a little lighter than most cases”, I though to myself.

And then I stare in horror at what I find inside. A bloody tampon!

Oh, wait. Never mind. No, that’s not it. That might have actually been preferable to what ultimately was in there. Nothing but the manual and a spot for where the disc should have been. Yep, that’s right – there was no disc inside.

Oh well. Maybe someone out there doesn’t want me to play this. The funny thing was that it was brand new and factory sealed – even with the old style plastic strip on top.

At least it was only a few bucks. And I now have a very nice case to look at.

Generation Gap

2008-06-20T15:57:00.009-04:00

Time truly does fly when you're having fun. We're already three years into this generation, and many of the big-name franchises from last generation have received updates. How many of these sequels truly lived up to the hype though? I'm going to take a look at the series upgrades that did it right, as well as the ones that did it wrong.

The sequels that got it wrong:

Grand Theft Auto IV (pictured above):

Hands down the most hyped up release of this generation, Grand Theft Auto IV was a disappointment compared to past series iliterations in nearly every aspect. Liberty City was supposed to feel like a living, breathing metropolis this time around - so why are the NPCs still as dumb as bricks? Also, the single player storyline was clichéd and unoriginal - the whole "immigrant comes to America with great expectations but ends up let down" is a story that has been done numerous times before. The realistic visuals also took away from the imaginative design of past series' entries, and Saints Row has far superior multiplayer. I'd take the PS2 trilogy over this mediocre release any day.

Halo 3

The original Halo and its sequel were both two of the greatest multiplayer FPSs of all time. I wasn't expecting much from the single player portion of Halo 3, but its multiplayer - which was among the best of last generation -
truly let me down. Think Halo 2, only worse - Bungie tweaked certain aspects that they should have left alone (such as making the grenades have less of a damage effect), and the vast majority of the levels suffer from piss-poor design. I could care less about where the series goes next after this lackluster showing.

Sonic the Hedgehog

Sonic's 3D track record has been pretty bumpy thus far, but it sank to an all time low with the release of 2006's abysmal Sonic the Hedgehog. Sega promised that this would be a rebirth for the series (hence the fact that the game bears the same name as the original release on the Genesis). This is one of those titles that has almost no redeeming qualities - an absolutely atrocious camera, ho-hum level design, and sloppy controls hinder Sonic's first outing on the new generation. It's hard to get excited about any new adventures from the speedy blue hedgehog after this abomination. It's almost as if Sega is testing to see when people will finally stop buying Sonic the Hedgehog titles.

Middle ground

Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Mario Kart Wii

I'm actually enjoying both of these titles quite a bit, but I was expecting more of an upgrade than what was offered. These two titles are definitely worth picking up, but don't expect anything truly revolutionary from them.

The titles that got it right:

Super Mario Galaxy
Absolutely stunning. Super Mario Galaxy is the only title of this generation so far to truly blow me away. Imaginative level design, innovative play control, and excellent boss battles round out this masterpiece. Super Mario Galaxy is truly a masterpiece, and every self-respecting gamer should give it a try. Read my full review here.

Devil May Cry 4 - Sure, the back tracking got monotonous after awhile, but Devil May Cry 4 was still an engrossing experience. Read my full review here.

Ridge Racer 6 - Sure, it didn't sport a fancy career mode and a seemingly interminable amount of cars and upgrades ala Forza 2 - still, I found Ridge Racer 6 to be the most enjoyable racer of this generation thus far. Many of the reviews hammered it for being a little too "old school", but in terms of pure fun factor and track design, Ridge Racer 6 is the game to beat.

And so that wraps this post up. I'm sure I'm going to get more than a few comments stating things such as

"This guy has no idea what he's talking about" and "U like riDge racer Lol ur Gay", but that's the beauty of the comments section of Blogger.

You've Come a Long Way, Baby...

2008-06-16T11:26:00.004-04:00

It is no secret that corruption still runs rampant through video game journalism (I'm sure more than a few reviewers of Grand Theft Auto IV were paid off). However, despite this, we've come a long way from the disclaimer found in the old-school issues of Nintendo Power:

"The opinions of [the reviewers] Rob and George do not reflect the opinions of Nintendo Power Magazine or Nintendo of America, Inc.".

I'm sure if it were up to Nintendo they'd want you to purchase all of their products. That is to say, they have a positive opinion on everything.

Oh, and back to that journalist integrity dealio now. So, somehow Maxim Blender, a popular music magazine in the United States, has managed to review both Soulcalibur IV and Guitar Hero: Aerosmith before the official review copies have even been released to the media... The mag played it on the safe side and gave 'em both a decent score of 3.5 stars (out of 5), but considering the complete copies haven't been released to any outlets yet, it's safe to say they merely rated the title's screen shots.

Maybe we haven't come so far after all...

Sources: Nintendo Power Issue #32 (month and year not listed)
Maxim Blender July 2008

Glitches Ruin Games

2008-06-09T10:46:00.003-04:00

I've been playing titles in the Harvest Moon series for years now. The quality of the titles definitely vary, but one thing has been for sure: they have always been technically sound games for the most part. Sure, like any game, you'd spot a small glitch here and a minor bug there, but it was nothing that could ruin the entire experience...

...until Harvest Moon DS was released, however.

Harvest Moon DS, game play and design wise, is actually a very enjoyable entry in the series. It's not a masterpiece by any means, but I'm sure I'd still get a few hundred hours of enjoyment out of it, which is a good thing in my book.

The major problem is, the lack of adequate play testing from the developers has really shown in this product. Glitches abound in Harvest Moon DS - enough, in fact, to ruin the game as a whole.

Not only will you find tons of little glitches, you will find crucial ones as well: bugs that corrupt your actual game save. Even if you've been treating the cartridge with care and have been saving without shutting the power off, your game save will eventually become corrupted for no apparent reason.

After wasting a few months of play time in Harvest Moon DS I decided enough was enough. I speedily drove to the nearest Gamestop and pawned off my copy. I lost a bit of money, but it's definitely superior having $7 in your pocket than an unplayable release.

Even if a game itself is top-notch, glitches can completely ruin it. Despite the fact that game prises are actually rising there seems to be no end to this mess. So the moral of the story is... developers, test yer damn products!

Welcome to the Wacky Feedback Extravaganza

2008-06-01T12:07:00.005-04:00

We live in an age where anyone - regardless of I.Q. or mental status - can voice their opinion online. This is especially true for online feedback on popular auction sites such as Amazon and eBay, where sometimes you'll run across some rather... shall I say, peculiar feedback from time to time? Here is a compilation of some of the more oddball feedback I've read while spending time on Amazon:

"nasty and dirty the head set is covered in ear wax and dirt and the package even smells like ass."

"I did receive my package prior to 5.28.08. The problem is that never in my life have I seen such a disgusting package in my life. The box looks like it was found in the basement after a flood. I used gloves to open the package because it was just that horrible. The contents were fine. I would have sent the contents in a paper bag before I would send out anything that looked like that. NEVER AGAIN!"

"Packaging not stoner friendly, it took so long to get the damn thing open so I left it to go watch tv."

"I WAS PLEASED TO GET THE COLOR GAME BOY BEFORE CHRISTMAS B/C I HAVE A 18 YR OLD MENTALLY CHALLENGED SON WHO LOVES TO PLAY HIS GAMES AND COLLECTS THEM AND SOMEONE HAD STOLLEN HIS COLOR GAME BOY AND HE WANTED A NEW ONE FOR CHRISTMAS AND WHEN I COULDN'T FIND ONE AND FOUND YOUUR SITE AND COULD AFFORD ONLY A USED ONE I WAS GLAD THAT IT WAS IN MY PRICE RANGE HE WAS VERY HAPPY WITH IT ."

"The atari i ordered arrived in complete dissaray there is a controller missing there is food stains on the console and the manual is torn up..There was also trash inside the box..."

"PLEASE BE AWARE THAT THIS PERSON IS AN ABSOLUTE NUTCASE AND SHOULD BE KICKED OFF AMAZON! YOU COULDN'T PAY ME TO DO BUSINESS WITH HER AGAIN."

"DO NOT DEAL WITH PEOPLE WHO OBVIOUSLY HAVE NO GRASP OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE! THIS NUTCASE WAS EMAILING ME DEMANDING TO KNOW WHERE HIS ITEM WAS 6 DAYS AFTER HE BOUGHT IT! I DO NOT CONTROL THE POST OFFICE. GET OVER YOURSELF NUTJOB!"

I did get a good chuckle from these...

Related article:

eBay User Lives up to His Name

Resident Evil 5 - Part of Capcom's Fiscal 2008 Plan?

2008-05-24T21:28:00.003-04:00

Capcom recently unveiled their 2008 fiscal plan, and aside from the usual suspects (Devil May Cry 4 on PC and Bionic Commando on the 360, PS3, and PC), their undisputed mammoth also made the list : Resident Evil 5. That means it should see release by March 2009 (which is when their 2008 fiscal plan runs out).

Will Capcom have their behemoth ready for the holiday rush towards the end of the year, or will the company wait for the notoriously crowded Christmas season to end and then put it on the market? Only time will tell, but if history is any indication, it may see a January release ala Resident Evil 4 on the Gamecube. After all, it could make sense for Capcom to put it out during a less cluttered time of year - Metal Gear Solid 3 failed to meet sales expectations back in 2004 due to going against juggernauts like Halo 2 and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Then again, I can't think of any titles that enormous making their way to consoles during the fourth quarter 2008 period, so who knows what Capcom will ultimately decide on?

I just hope that Resident Evil 5 meets my expectations and is not a disappointment like some "other" prominent series that made the jump to a new generation (Halo 3 and Grand Theft Auto IV, I'm looking at you).

Source

Be Prepared to Pre-Order Your Metal Gear Solid 4 Bundle!

2008-05-18T14:28:00.002-04:00

...that is, if you've got a disposable income.

Tomorrow you'll be able to pre-order the Gun Metal-colored Metal Gear Solid 4 Playstation 3 bundle. It is going to be sold exclusively through Konami's online store. Not only does it feature a special paint job, but it will contain a copy of Metal Gear Solid 4 (which is, hands down, the most eagerly anticipated game coming to the Playstation 3), the game's soundtrack and a non-interactive Blu-Ray disc jam-packed with extras.

Although Konami has not revealed how many of these will be produced, early reports from Japan (where they received a Metal Gear bundle of their own and it sold out almost immediately) indicate that these will be very severely limited.

The bad part, now, comes from the actual price of these units: $600. Yup, 600 big ones for a Playstation 3 that contains a mere 40 GB hard drive. Now, I'm no mathematician, but this bundle is more than wee-bit overpriced for what you're getting. Still, fans and collectors are undoubtedly going to eat this pack up when pre-orders start on Konami.com tomorrow. The actual unit will ship out on June 12th.

Source

When Game Covers Rip Each Other Off

2008-05-11T20:13:00.007-04:00

Saints Row 2 and Mercenaries 2 are both slated for release this year, and although they're by two entirely different publishers, the covers do share a rather striking resemblance to each other:

Ok, I'm sure it's more of a coincidence than anything, but it is still rather... intriguing. And how about this one - Breakdown, the Xbox game, and St. Anger, Metallica's worst album?

Breakdown was released at least a year later than St. Anger. That is to say, Namco used some shameful source material (if they were inspired by Metallica's cover).

How Hardcore is Your Game?

2008-05-03T11:29:00.002-04:00

Game manuals - ever read those things? If you're anything like me (or the vast majority of gamers) you probably never even bother cracking them open. However, sometimes giving them a quick scan can prove rewarding. Just take a look at this hilarious line from Acclaim's "hardcore and edgy" 2004 soccer title, Freestyle Street Soccer:

"Bragging? I'm not bragging. I am merely stating a fact, you low-life - I can kick your fat ass! And I will now prove it to you, you bonehead. That is, if this message is getting through - I AM BETTER THAN YOU!".

Erm, yeah. The game itself is passable (one of those mediocre titles that isn't particularly good or bad). How, the undeniable best part of Freestyle Street Soccer is that line from the instruction book included inside.

Game Ads Guaranteed to Win Your Attention

2008-04-19T23:25:00.006-04:00

Regardless of how dull or worthless the actual product displayed may be, a controversial, eye-catching ad will always win your attention. Many game publishers have used this age-old technique over the years, often for lackluster titles that, without an “edgy” ad with shock-value (often depicting violence and sex), you would have just flipped right past. Here are three ads that you’ll definitely garner more attention to than the typical, generic gaming advertisements commonly found in magazines.

Daikatana (PC, Nintendo 64)

This was a highly over hyped and severely disappointing shooter. Produced by John Romero (lead producer of such legendary first-person shooters like Doom, Wolfenstein 3D, and Quake), Daikatana had a troubled development life and was universally panned by critics.

Fear Effect 2: Retro Helix (PSX)

All right, so Fear Effect 2's supposed to be pretty damn good. Unfortunately, more people seemed to be talking about the controversial lesbian ads around the time of release than the game itself. Notice that this ad features absolutely no game play screen shots - who needs 'em anyway?

Spawn: the Eternal (PSX)

Spawn titles have had a history of failing to live up to their source material, and The Eternal is no exception. Just forget about this horrendous action title and lookit that bloody arm! This advertisement is most likely the only memorable quality about this otherwise unworthy product.

The Top-Selling Titles of the Past Year: Did Your Favorite Make the List?

2008-04-10T20:35:00.003-04:00

Entertainment website Next Generation has revealed the top 100 best selling games of the past twelve months. Here's how the top ten stacked up:

1. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
2. Halo 3
3. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
4. FIFA Soccer 08
5. Madden NFL 08
6. Need for Speed: ProStreet
7. Pokemon Diamond/Pearl
8. Assassin’s Creed
9. Super Mario Galaxy
10. Brain Age 2: More Brain Training in Minutes a Day

Notes of interest:

-If you would had told people last year that Call of Duty 4 would outsell Microsoft's chief juggernaut, Halo 3, then they would have possibly called out the men in white coats to take you away. However, that very thing happened over the past year... Considering that Call of Duty 4 appears to have more online players and an overall higher percentage of satisfied customers, this should come to no surprise to gamers who have been following these two heavyweights lately.

- An enormous amount of rubbish has sold this year, often beating out quality titles that deserve high sales. Wait, you mean the abominable Imagine: Fashion Designer outsold such well-received titles like Ratchet & Clank: Future Tools of Destruction, Heavenly Sword, and Burnout Paradise? Yup, it's true.

- This list accounts both Europe and North America. With that in mind, the reason titles such as Fifa 08 and The Simpson's Game had such remarkable sales are due to Europe, whose purchases account for the vast majority of the sales for those titles.

- Assassin's Creed is the only original IP to crack the top ten.

Take a look at the entire list for yourself here.

Pikmin and Fire Emblem Titles Price Increase Most Likely Due to 'Brawl'

2008-04-07T12:05:00.004-04:00

Not too long ago the two entries in the Pikmin series and Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance (all for Gamecube) weren't fetching an ample amount of dough. It wasn't uncommon to find the original Pikmin for less than $20, its follow up for around 30 beans, and Fire Emblem in a similar price range. Hell, in terms of Fire Emblem, I recall spotting it on clearance at Gamestop brand new for a mere $10 and they still had a excursive time selling off their stock.

Now, with the release of the obtusely-popular Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the Wii, these titles have gone way up in value. What would that title have anything to do with this, you ask? Well, for one thing, the characters found in these particular titles can also be found in Brawl. Add in the fact that the Wii is backward-compatable with the Gamecube and you now have a decent, if temporary, market for these somewhat-overlooked titles (Fire Emblem didn't sell like hotcakes, but the Pikmin titles did reach Players' Choice status. Despite that, tracking down copies on the market as of late has been tough - and that's putting it lightly).

Browse any auction site and you'll see that the original Pikmin sells used for upward of $40, the sequel for $70 and up, and Fire Emblem for around $40 used. However, all three of these titles commonly eclipse the $100 mark when sold brand new.

Yeah,yeah, these are fantastic games... but there's never been a superior time to sell off your copies to make a quick buck.

Related articles:

Silent Hill Game's Values Skyrocket For the Moment

Games That Never Were #3: Vectorman (PS2)

2008-03-30T18:49:00.005-04:00

Back in 2003 Sega had plans to resurrect the fan-favorite Vectorman series onto a new generation. Only this entry wasn't produced by the original developers and was a first-person shooter, a departure from the side-scrolling action Genesis classics.

Although the early screen shots looked decent enough, the game had a poor reception at E3 2003. Here's what popular gaming magazine Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) had to say about the new-gen Vectorman during this time period:

"It's still early, but ol' V-man isn't looking so hot. The visuals were dull and lackluster, and the gameplay felt like a garbled mix of Ratchet & Clank and Red Faction."

Ouch. Possibly not wanting to harm the series's otherwise sound reputation, Sega quietly canned the project a few months later.

Source

Past entries in this series:

#1 - Capcom Fighting All-Stars
#2 - Frame City Killer

Microsoft Announces Limited Edition GTA IV 360 Console

2008-03-23T00:35:00.003-04:00

In an attempt to build up anticipation for the upcoming Xbox 360 release of Grand Theft Auto IV, Microsoft has been giving away limited edition 360's exclusively to the gaming press. That's right - these bad boys won't be available to the public. Combine that with then news that only 500 of these will be produced and you have one incredible collectible on your hands. Who knows what kind of obsurdly high prices these consoles will fetch once they inevitably hit eBay?

I'm definitely a sucker for limited edition consoles, and it would definitely be dandy if this practice was more standard in the Western gaming market. Hey, you guys in charge of these consoles.... yeah, you - Nintendo... Microsoft.... Sony.... Give us more of these, and start making 'em readily available for the public to purchase.

Source

Related article:

Custom Consoles: Why Not Let Your Console Stand Out?

Review: Devil May Cry 4 (Xbox 360)

2008-03-13T10:39:00.003-04:00

Platform: Xbox 360 (Also on PS3)
Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Capcom
Release: February 2008

Devil May Cry 4 is an engrossing, memorable experience that will keep you glued to your console for hours on end.

My only prior experience with the Devil May Cry series was with the universally-panned second entry. That is to say, I was still incredibly eager to check out the next-gen debut of one of Capcom's most highly-regarded series. Although the game is a wee-bit repetitive in some aspects and may fall short in the sound department, Devil May Cry 4 is still a highly-captivating title that will satisfy any gamer who cherishes the action genre.

You initially play as Nero, but he is not the sole character you control within the entire course of the game. You do eventually get to control the original demon slayer Dante, and both characters function uniquely. Both have their own sets of different moves (for example, Nero has a special gripping hand and Dante has sword styles that only he is able to obtain).

Unfortunately, both characters do not progress through entirely separate levels. Instead, you'll hack, slash, and shoot through the same stages you've played before but with new objectives and puzzles to solve. Also, you'll have to play the same bosses multiple times. Fortunately, the bosses are extremely satisfying to defeat, so that's not an enormous issue - but it would have been far more appealing to slay new bosses as opposed to ones you've fought before. The soundtrack also falls extremely short. Every time you battle an enemy the same atrocious rock song blares through your speakers over and over. For a game with such an appealing world it's a shame that Capcom didn't bother putting any effort into the sound design of this title. All of these flaws make the title feel a bit repetitive at times.

That is to say, there's no legit major issues with the game play itself. As mentioned, there are several fighting styles, and whether you're gunning or slashing, it all feels very satisfying. The level designs are for the most part very well done, and most of the characters feel worthwhile.

Difficulty-wise, I'd say the Devil May Cry 4 is one of those titles that gets it just right. I found this release to be challenging in some parts but not to the point where I'd get stuck for hours at a time. There are two difficulty modes to chose from, so whether you're a newbie or a series veteran, you will have a blast. And while this may not an obscenely large 70 hour epic, you will definitely want to replay Devil May Cry 4 for the achievements. Due to the clever way Capcom implemented them they add a surprisingly large amount of replay value to the title.

Visually, Devil May Cry 4 is a tour-de-force. Beautiful worlds, superb character models, and thrilling boss designs make the world come to life.

Although some unfortunate design flaws may drag down the experience a bit, Devil May Cry 4 is still a must play. It is an engrossing, memorable experience that will keep you glued to your console for hours on end.

Rating: 8.7 (out of 10)

Super Smash. Bros Brawl Finally Hits Stores... But With Some Disc Issues

2008-03-09T13:20:00.006-04:00

My Wii has been sitting untouched for quite some time now, so I (and millions of others of eager gamers) decided to pick up the latest title in what may be Nintendo's most popular franchise: Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Although my shiny new copy works fine, many gamers have been complaining of their copies not functioning on their Wii consoles.

The problem? According to the big N itself, dust:

"Super Smash Bros. Brawl utilizes a double-layer disc which has a large memory capacity. A very small percentage of Wii consoles may have trouble consistently reading data off this large capacity disc if there is some contamination on the lens of the disc drive. Nintendo has specialized cleaning equipment that can resolve this problem. (Please do NOT attempt to clean the lens yourself, as you may damage the system.)" says Nintendo on their website.

I'm sure more than a few gamers are absolutely devastated by this news. I mean, if you went to the midnight release last night you'd know what I'm talking about... Nintendo fans of all ages were literally taking flips (yes, that actually happened) and snapping photos of themselves with their prized new copies, overly excited to play it... well, they're just going to have to wait a little while longer to play Brawl. In the mean time, why not read a good book, or, perhaps, Pro-Gamer? Now if you excuse me, I have to unlock Sonic the Hedgehog and Solid Snake.

Source

HD-DVD: Stick a Fork in It, 'Cause It's Done...

2008-02-25T09:22:00.003-05:00

Microsoft has finally announced that they will no longer be producing the HD-DVD add-on for the Xbox 360. Due to poor sales and the declining support of the HD-DVD format (and the simple fact that it's sole rival, Blu-Ray, is doing tremendously better in the marketplace), you will no longer be able to purchase this failed add-on.

I think that the vast majority of people following the Blu-Ray vs HD-DVD war saw this news coming. HD-DVD has continued to struggle, and with most major movie companies supporting Blu-ray exclusively, this should have truly come at no surprise.

Still, I'll continue to use my good ol' fashioned DVD discs - I'm perfectly content with viewing films that way. Who wants to see all of the hyper-detailed effects anyway - such as the pimples on actor's faces?

Source

Street Fighter: the Titles That Time Forgot

2008-02-18T11:32:00.010-05:00

Sure, you've heard of the main four titles in the Street Fighter series featured in the previous Street Fighter article. But what about the 3D EX offshoots or the highly-acclaimed Alpha series? X-Men or Marvel Super Heroes vs Street Fighter? Street Fighter the Movie Game? Chances are, besides the well-known Alpha series, you lack knowledge of such titles even existing.

But that's why I'm here. I'm digging up the grave to put these titles back into the spotlight, no matter how execrable some of them may be.

First off we have Street Fighter the Movie Game.
Barring a striking resemblance to the then mega-popular Mortal Kombat series, Street Fighter the Movie Game is considered by most the lowest point of the entire Street Fighter legacy. Although it's worth a look-see for curiosities sake, the loathsome visuals and game play really drag this title down. However, it's quite a unique entry in the series. But that's for a reason.

Now let's move on to the superior X-Men/Marvel Super Heroes vs Street Fighter entries...

Although highly preferrable to the previous mentioned title, these two releases don't nearly hold up as well today as back then (pretty much due to the fact that that Capcom would raise the bar once again in the future Marvel vs Capcom series). The arcade versions were very enjoyable diversions, but the U.S. home versions (on the original Playstation) failed to capture the charm and fun of playing it in the arcade (due to technical issues).

Let's bring it into the third dimension with the Street Fighter EX series.

This intriguing part of the legacy failed to build much of a loyal fan base. Although the visuals were 3D, the EX series still (somewhat) retained the trademark 2D game play that the series is known for. However, the ability to take advantage of cheap combos and lackluster, blocky 3D graphics really dragged this series down.

Street Fighter EX3, the last entry (released as a Playstation 2 launch game way back in 2000) fixed many of the issues from the first two titles, but it came out not too long after the far superior Street Fighter III: Third Strike on the Dreamcast. Many purists were much too busy with that title to bother with another EX game, so it was ignored by most (despite being a decent game in it's own right).

Now, on to the good stuff with the Street Fighter Alpha series...

Despite being side releases, the Alpha series is considered by many to be the best part of the Street Fighter legacy. Three titles were released in this top-notch series, and these games were released and re-released across numerous platforms (in the form of single releases or collection compilations, such as 2006's Street Fighter Alpha Anthology on the PS2).

Even in today's modern, HD era, the Alpha series has still managed to hold up wonderfully. Truly great game play will always stand the test of time, y'know...

Last, and certainly least, we have Street Fighter 2010.

Although it bares the Street Fighter name, this can hardly be considered a legitimate entry in the series. More of a blatant cash in, Street Fighter 2010 is an immensely boring futuristic side-scroller that time has forgotten. If you're really intrigued by this ancient NES title, try hunting it down at the local flea market bargain bin... but don't say I didn't warn you.

And so that wraps this up. I'm now in the mood to play some Street Fighter...

Two Dance Dance Revolution Titles Finally Receive the Greatest Hits Treatment

2008-02-10T11:52:00.000-05:00

They've been available in retail stores for years now, but now Dance Dance Revolution Max 2 and Extreme will finally become Greatest Hits titles on the 22nd.

In terms of song list and game design, Max 2 is generally favored over Extreme (which, despite high sales, received a rather mediocre reception from die-hard series fans).

I finally got into the DDR grove when Extreme 2 (which most consider the pinnacle of the series, and based upon the many hours I've logged into that release, I can attest to) released back in 2005. Now that these titles are going to brand new, readily available, and costing a mere $19.99, I will have to finally add Max 2 and Extreme to my collection.

Source (Max 2)
Source (Extreme)

Street Fighter Through the Years

2008-02-07T15:11:00.000-05:00

Street Fighter is an incredible franchise with game play that is far more compelling than most modern 3D fighters. However, in terms of visuals, Capcom seems to be taking a step-back in it's next-gen debut, Street Fighter IV. Instead of a beautiful, striking 2D art style ala Third Strike, they're going down the generic route with a spiritless 3D look with their fourth entry in the series (Hey, Capcom, you still have time to change the name to Street Fighter EX 4).

Well, I'll still be picking it up once it's released, and regardless... here's how the Street Fighter franchise has evolved (or, in the case of IV, devolved) through the years in terms of visuals:

Street Fighter

Street Fighter II*

Street Fighter III*

Street Fighter IV
*Taken from the most recent versions

This was a brief look at the main Street Fighter series we all know and love. In the near future I will take a more detailed view at the side stories - such as the excellent Alpha series and the rather mediocre EX series.

Oh, and here's a similar entry focusing on an entirely different game series:

Super Mario Through the Years

Pre-Order Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword and Receive a Swanky Stylus for Free!

2008-02-05T15:34:00.000-05:00

Ninja Gaiden was easily one of the most impressive action-titles on the original Xbox. Combining stellar visuals with terrific, action-packed game play, it later made its way onto the PS3 in the form of Ninja Gaiden Stigma. It was such a superb title that Playstation 3 gamers didn't mind playing what was essentially a two-year old game (albeit with a visual face lift) on their shiny new console.

Now, before the main sequel hits the Xbox 360, Tecmo will release Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword for the DS. This will be a still a full-fledged entry in the series, only pocket sized.

For a limited time if you pre-order Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword for the DS at Gamestop you will receive a spiffy sword-shaped stylus for free. If history is any indication, a unique collectible like this will only go up in value over time, so if you're planning on picking this title up anyway why not pre-order it now?

Here is an actual in-game screen shot of the title:
Source

Tail of the Sun - The Best Damn Caveman Simulator Ever!

2008-01-27T15:30:00.000-05:00

Numerous game concepts have been beaten to death - namely, WWII shooters and GTA-inspired titles. However, here's an idea you don't see pop up often: a game based upon the life of a caveman. Yup, it's true - in 1996 Sony released Tail of the Sun, a caveman simulator on their ever-popular Playstation game console.

The game flopped both commercially and critically. Unlike many other titles that receive this dreaded fate, however, Tail of the Sun lacked a hardcore cult following as well.

Maybe when you view this Youtube video you'll understand why:

But hey, at least it's unique - right? If I ever found a copy if in the bargain bin somewhere I'd surely snap it up...

Free Xbox Live Arcade Game Finally Unveiled!

2008-01-18T14:22:00.001-05:00

To compensate for weeks of glitchy and finicky Xbox Live servers (often to the point of unplayability), Microsoft announced last month that they would make up for this by offering Xbox Live gamers a free game off of Xbox Live Marketplace. No one knew whether that meant it would be a hand-picked game by the big M or a title of someone's choice, but it was revealed today that Undertow will be the free offering.

Undertow is an action shooter set underwater. Despite being somewhat of an obscure release, Undertow has garnered mainly positive reviews from most sources. Official Xbox Magazine enjoyed is enough to rate it a highly-impressive 9 out of 10. Not bad at all!

Although I was hoping it would be a free game of our choice (of at least 800 Microsoft points, in which I'd save for the upcoming Rez HD), I guess this is decent enough. Hey, as already stated, Undertow is supposed to be pretty damn good. You must claim your free game from the 23rd to the 27th (of this month).

Source

Smash. Bros Brawl Delayed Once Again

2008-01-16T16:09:00.000-05:00

Super Smash Bros. Brawl, perhaps the most highly-anticipated Wii game yet, has once again been delayed. Originally planned for release last year (and then eventually pushed up to a February 2008 date), Nintendo fans now won't be getting their hands on this mega-hot title until March 9th.

Although no reason behind the delay was released, it is speculated that Nintendo is still fine-tuning the online play to make it run nearly flawless. It is still set to hit Nintendo's native country of Japan this month.

Although many hardcore fans of the series are probably infuriated by now, I feel this delay is for the best. As Miyamato himself put it:

"A delayed game is eventually good, a bad game is bad forever"

Source

Mechassualt 3 - Make It Happen, Microsoft!

2008-01-06T16:56:00.000-05:00

Besides the 800-lb. gorilla of online gaming that was Halo 2 on the original Xbox, Mechassualt 2 was some of the most fun I had online on Microsoft's first black box.

Even despite that "other" title consuming most people's online time on Xbox Live, Mechsassualt 2 still managed to have a healthy online user base. A more slow-paced, methodical title than the typical frag-fests that dominated Microsoft's online network, Mechassualt is a series that needs to be revived on the 360.

Really, Microsoft, what's the big holdup? Both of the titles in the series managed to sell well-enough to earn Platinum Hits status, and both were home to a good-sized online fan base, which I'm sure some are still enjoying today. Yeah, yeah, Halo is your hottest property by far... but that doesn't mean you should just ignore your other franchises. After the enormous disappointment that was Halo 3 (a mediocre FPS that somehow managed to garner praise reviews, despite being inferior to past titles in the series) , I'm sure many of us Xbox Live addicts (and Mechassualt fans) are ready for it.

Pro-Gamer Turns Two!

2008-01-02T13:18:00.000-05:00

Has it really been another year already? Yup, it's true - it's Pro-Gamer's birthday! Although not everyone will be here for the bash (some of the best bloggers in the biz are currently on hiatus), I would like to take this moment to thank everyone who has supported this blog through the past two years. Including...

Gnome, Funnyman, The Elderly, Father, Rosewarrior, The Ender, The Graduate Gamer, Deitrix, NebachadnezzaR, The Time Runner, Dragon force Fan 22, Kuri, Digitalspace, Wedge14, and that one anonymous fellow who decided not to leave his name. Especially him. Thanks.

Also... be sure to check out their respective blogs
in the 'links' section of this blog. You know.... that thing near the top right corner. Yep, that.

And now, for the grand finally... the year in review! Chosen on a month-by-month basis, here are my favorite posts of the year:

January 2007 - PS2: Still Alive and Kickin'
February 2007 - The GBA Titles That Deserve the 'Players' Choice' Honor
March 2007 - Super Mario Through the Years
April 2007 - Ch-ch-ch-changes
May 2007 - Poor Play Testing + A Rushed Product = A Broken Game
June 2007 - Stare in Awe At the Games That Broke the Million Mark
August 2007 - eBay Scam Alert - 12 Months of Xbox Live?
September 2007 - Major Halo 3 Limited Edition Disc Issues Found
October 2007 - Halo.... Will Microsoft's Largest Property Ever Invade the DS?
November 2007 - Game Wallpapers - Give Your Desktop Some Flavor!
December 2007 - Japan and Their Top 50 Favorite 360 Games

Thanks for reading, and hopefully this will be another great year at Pro-Gamer.

And for the curious, here's last year's celebration...

Happy new year everyone!

Review: Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)

2007-12-31T11:22:00.001-05:00

Platform: Wii
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo EAD Tokyo
Release: November 2007

Super Mario Galaxy is a divine, awe-inspiring title that deserves your attention more than any other release this year.

Every generation there’s always at least one title that shocks you with just how marvelous it is. I was wondering when I’d find that in the next-gen. Sure, there’s been plenty of great releases on all of the current consoles up to now – but none have truly amazed me with their quality. Enter Super Mario Galaxy, a wondrous, highly-imaginative title that shows us that clever level design and spectacular game play are the true reasons to game in the next-gen.

I honestly wasn’t desperately excited to play this one at first. Super Mario Sunshine managed to earn positive reviews as well, but that title failed to truly impress me (with it’s rather derivative game play and somewhat yawn-inducing design). On the Wii, however, it’s a whole new experience.

The Wii controls work beautifully here. Save for one or two special levels where they’re somewhat finicky, they’ll become second-nature within minutes of playing. The camera has always been a major complaint for 3D plat formers, but I have to say, I really didn’t have an issue with it in Galaxy.

With oodles of levels to explore and stars to collect (and a rather swell secret for those skilled gamers who manage to get ‘em all), you’ll definitely feel like you’ve got your money’s worth with Galaxy. The great thing about it is, every planet feels like a whole unique experience – not one minute during this title did I feel bored, and that’s not something you can say very often about a video game. It’s incredible at how imaginative Galaxy is – not only in the visuals (they’re far below the other consoles in terms of raw graphical power, but in terms of overall design, they’re way ahead of many games on the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360) but in terms of new power ups, level design, and game play challenge variety.

Difficulty-wise, I’d say Galaxy is just right. It’s easy enough for your little cousin to beat it – but not without retrying some of the more challenging levels over and over again. More games should strive to have this perfect difficulty balance.

Overall, if you haven’t experienced the sensation that is Super Mario Galaxy, you should immediately get off this website, run to your nearest retailer, and purchase a copy. It’s a divine, awe-inspiring title that deserves your attention more than any other release this year. Although that may sound like a rather tall claim, once you immerse yourself into the wonder that is Galaxy you’ll never be able to put the Wii remote down.

Rating: 9.7 (out of 10)

Games That Never Were #2: Frame City Killer (Xbox 360)

2007-12-29T13:36:00.000-05:00

Frame City Killer was a Namco published/developed Xbox 360 title announced even before the launch of the console itself. Originally predicted to hit Microsoft's (then) brand new console in early 2006, it was quietly scrapped by the company after a poor reception at a past E3 and because of major development issues.

An action game in the spirit of Max Payne, Frame City Killer should have been technologically sound because it supported the Unreal Engine 3. However, according to many sources, it had severe frame rate issues and graphical glitches that kept it from seeing an actual release. Take a peek at this in-game screen shot:

Did the world really have room for another generic third-person shooter anyway? Despite the numerous quality issues already mentioned, perhaps a crowded market for this genre was another reason Namco decided to can this game rather than to spend time to fix its problems.

Source

Past entries in this series:
Games That Never Were #1: Capcom Fighting All-Stars

Japan and Their Top 50 Favorite 360 Games

2007-12-27T20:01:00.000-05:00

Although the Xbox 360 is faring better than most other U.S. based consoles in Japan, when your other competition is, um, the original Xbox and the 3DO, that’s not really saying much… Regardless, it’s interesting to see that, while the 360 seems to be doing a bit better than its predecessor in the Land of the Rising Sun (with such titles that would appeal to the average Japanese consumer like the RPG Blue Dragon) it’s still not quite selling like hot cakes. Is it a Western bias or is it a lack of software that appeals to the Japanese market? Whatever it is, here is a list of the top 50 best selling Xbox 360 games in Japan, complete with the number of copies sold for each title.

1. Blue Dragon - 203,740
02. Dead or Alive 4 - 108,618
03. Ace Combat 6 - 83,045
04. Halo 3 - 82,987
05. Ridge Racer 6 - 73,501
06. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - 72,274
07. Trusty Bell - 70,244
08. Gears of War - 68,270
09. Dead Rising - 68,078
10. Lost Planet - 61,555
11. DEAD OR ALIVE Xtreme 2 60544
12. Lost Odyssey - 60,376
13. Idolm@ster - 48,695
14. Dynasty Warriors 6 - 44,292
15. Assasin's Creed - 41,436
16. Ninetynine Nights - 38,019
17. Forza Motorsports - 2 31,255
18. Rumble Roses XX - 29,187
19. Crackdown - 28,588
20. Culdcept Saga - 27,960
21. Earth Defense Force 3 - 27,087
22. Perfect Dark Zero - 26,085
23. Test Drive Unlimited - 25,788
24. PGR3 - 25,058
25. Beautiful Katamari - 24,186
26. World Soccer Winning Eleven X - 21,904
27. Armored Core 4 - 21,096
28. Dead Rising (Xbox 360 Platinum Collection) - 20,325 (total sales 88,313)
29. [eM] eNCHANT arM - 20,233
30. Saint's Row - 18,593
31. Rainbow Six Vegas - 18,592
32. Oneechanbara vorteX - 18,443
33. Need for Speed Most Wanted - 17,973
34. Bulletwitch - 16,241
35. Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 - 15,994
36. PlayOnline/Final Fantasy XI All-in-One Pack 2006 - 15,754
37. World Soccer Winning Eleven 2008 - 15,090
38. Idolm@ster (Xbox 360 Platinum Collection) - 14,864 (total sales 63,559)
39. Earth Defense Force 3 (Xbox 360 Platinum Collection) - 14,707 (total sales 41,794)
40. Final Fantasy XI Wings of the Goddess Expansion - 14,412
41. Call of Duty 3 - 14,194
42. Virtua Fighter 5 Live Arena - 13,169
43. Chrome Hounds - 13,110
44. Tenchu Z - 12,974
45. Project Sylpheed - 12,283
46. PGR 4 - 12,237
47. Viva Pinata - 12,184
48. Godfather - 11,670
49. Dynasty Warriors 5 Special - 10,957
50. Bulletwitch (Xbox360 Platinum Collection) - 10,857

Source

Would Taking Away Your Christmas Gift Convince You to Stop Smoking Pot?

2007-12-22T12:50:00.001-05:00

What do you do when you come home from work early only to discover your 15-year old son smoking weed? Sell his beloved Christmas gift, of course.

At least that's what one Canadian father did. In a public, rather humiliating eBay auction that ended up selling for o $9,000 after an intense bidding war, a dad sold his son's copy of Guitar Hero III for the Wii - a burdensome game to track down this time of year - to punish him for lighting up a joint with his "delinquent" (as the auction author describes them) buddies.

Although there's a large chance that the story provided on the auction page is a bogus gimmick (and the fact that the vast majority of the bidders were newly registered members who kept continuously adding money just for kicks, and not to actually pay), it is an intriguing conversation piece nonetheless. Hey, I've seen auctions similar to this in the past, and they always seem to attract tons of attention. Still, if your auction gets over-run by jokers who will just keep bidding only not pay in the end, do you really want that type of attention?

Source

Street Fighter IV Official Info Released!

2007-12-11T15:49:00.000-05:00

Maybe you've heard of the highly-acclaimed Street Fighter series. Its second entry was perhaps the most successful fighting title of all time, and the third is considered one of the best 2D fighters from genre enthusiasts. Still doesn't ring a bell? Well, then perhaps this site isn't for you, because not only do I often bring this marvelous series up in my articles, but it's a franchise that even your mother probably knows about.

For those of you still here, Capcom has finally spilled the beans on Street Fighter IV in this month's issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM). Although it has been speculated by some that it will feature a 3D engine, Capcom has confirmed that the game will indeed play as a 2D fighter (albeit with 3D graphics, ala King of Fighters 2006). The developer has said that they want to pack in as many familiar faces from the classic Street Fighter II as possible, but will also feature a wide-variety of new warriors to chose from (and will have a better gender balance unlike past alliterations in the series).

Lacking parries, alpha counters, air blocking, and other features found in past games in the series, it seems as if the developers are looking at a more accessible feel for this entry. Not too much else is known as this point (Capcom has confirmed that it's only 2% complete... and they didn't reveal what consoles it's coming for, either), but for the full story, be sure to grab a copy of this month's EGM.

Source: Electronic Gaming Monthly, January 2008

Goozex - Sign Up and Receive a Fresh New Game For Your Library!

2007-12-06T12:14:00.000-05:00

Whenever someone offers you something free in life, there's usually a catch to it. And when they claim there's not one, it's typical for the average person to become highly suspicious.

No, this is not like one of those shady 'Free iPod offers' you frequently see in pop-up ads across the 'net. If you sign up for Goozex, one of the fastest growing game trading sites on the internet, you will receive 100 free trade points right away for just simply signing up. Whether you chose to continue to use the service is up to you, but you can still pick any title that costs 100 points on the site... and you'll get it shipped to you for free!

Although titles range in price based upon quailty/supply and demand, with over 6,500 available, you're bound to find something you want for the low cost of $0.00. Since you don't have to enter any credit card information, it's worth giving a shot. I currently have a Ridge Racer V coming my way for the handsome sum of nothing...

Note: This is not a referral link, nor am I benefiting from posting this in any way. I am just posting this to inform other gamers about a service I figure they'd be interested in.

Say Goodbye to Backwards Compatability Updates on the Xbox 360

2007-11-24T15:30:00.000-05:00

It’s been quite awhile since Microsoft last updated the Xbox 360 backward compatibility list, and with their ‘Xbox Originals’ coming in exactly one week, it looks like the industry giant is putting an end to the ability to play Xbox games you already own on the 360… unless they’re already on the current backwards-compatibility list.

In case you haven’t heard about last month’s announcement of Xbox Originals, Microsoft will be re-releasing popular original Xbox titles on their Marketplace for $15 a pop. The initial titles announced to kick off this service will be a little game called Halo, the overlooked cult-classic Psychonauts, and the highly-successful action-RPG Fable.

Honestly, I think this is dreadful news. If you’ve been itching to play that copy of Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath on your 360, it means you’re S.O.L…. until Microsoft charges you $15 to re-purchase it again on Marketplace. This goes for dozens upon dozens of other titles that are currently unplayable on the Xbox 360 without a backwards-compatibility update. Not only that, but the titles being released right now are actually more costly to download as digital files than to own the physical disc editions. Halo and Fable are both ‘Best of Platinum Hits’ releases, which means they retail for a paltry $9.99, and Psychonauts is pretty much universally cheap to own (I picked up a copy on clearance for a mere $5.50!).

I’ve never been a fan of digital distribution, and the more gamers eat up this nonsense the more widespread it’ll become.

Source

Game Wallpapers - Give Your Desktop Some Flavor!

2007-11-22T15:52:00.000-05:00

Inspired by our good friend The Elderly (who is currently on blogging hiatus), I have discovered several delightful gaming wallpapers that will bring some flavor to your desktop.

Enough with the idle chit-chat... take a look at them yourself!

(To see the wallpapers in their glorious full-screen size, click on the images).

Resident Evil 4

Street Fighter Alpha 3 (Courtesy of RPGRealm.com)

DarkStalkers (courtesy of RPGRealm.com)

BloodRayne

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Artists See Record-Sales Increase Thanks to Guitar Hero III

2007-11-15T16:10:00.001-05:00

It’s no secret that the recent gaming phenomenon, Guitar Hero, has been widely successful at retail, but how about the bands that have their music featured in the newest entry, Guitar Hero III? According to Roadrunner records (perhaps the most successful metal label of all time), albums have seen a dramatic spike in sales!

Dragonforce, whose fast-paced metal song ‘Through the Fire and Flames’ appears in the series latest entry, has had nearly a 130% increase in weekly sales for their album ‘Inhuman Rampage’. Other popular bands on the label, such as nu-metal heroes Slipknot, also have also seen a staggering increase in weekly album sales.

This news finally proves that many people who dig a song on a game will most likely run out and buy the album for the respective artist. Hey, even I’ve done it in the past Perhaps more music labels will want to get their music in video games now that this information has been released…

Source

Gears of War Finally Reaches Platinum Hits Status... In Asia, At Least!

2007-11-08T15:57:00.000-05:00

Microsoft’s 2006 blockbuster, Gears of War, has finally gone Platinum… in Asia, at least. Gears of War, which was released exactly one year ago, has become one of the best-selling Xbox 360 games to date, and is the fourth highest-rated Xbox 360 title on Game Rankings (sitting at a highly-impressive 94% average).

While Gears of War probably won’t become a Platinum Hits title in the U.S. for quite some time (despite being released for a year, it’s still selling steadily on this side of the pond), you can still import a brand new copy at Play-Asia for a mere $29.90. Even better is the fact that the Asian version is region free! Regardless if you call the world’s most popular sport soccer, football, or, perhaps, fútbol, you can still play this title on your console. However, here’s hoping you know how to speak either English or Chinese, because language settings are strictly limited to those two.

One Year Ago This Month in Pro-Gamer... (November 2006)

2007-11-02T16:54:00.000-04:00

An entire year has passed, and yet I still haven't raked in any dough off Pro-Gamer. Damn. But knowing that other people enjoy this blog is worth more than any dollar amount.... now throw some change over here, will ya?

It turns out that your fancy-shamcy Halo 3 Legendary Edition ended up costing more than the original estimated $100 .

Finding a Wii in any major retail store one full year later is still a toilsome task.

Sega's repulsive GBA port of the original Sonic the Hedgehog turned out to be a major slap in the face to loyal Sega fans.

And Mystery Dungeon Blue turned out to be yet another addictive entry in the outrageously-popular Pokemon franchise.

GameStop Stops Offering Xbox 360 Replacement Warranties

2007-10-29T12:15:00.000-04:00

Although the Xbox 360 is an outstanding console with a wide-variety of excellent games, it’s no secret that, in terms of hardware reliability, it has been struggling. We’ll never truly know the actual percentage of faulty consoles thus far, but when hardware failures are as widespread as the 360’s, there’s clearly something wrong.

Because of these issues, mega game store chain GameStop is ceasing the ability to purchase a warranty on any Xbox 360s bought at their stores. Stores typically make a killing off of warranties (usually you won’t receive a defective product), but apparently GameStop was losing an enormous amount of money because of the high-amount of faulty Xbox 360’s on the market.

This news re-confirms two things:

1. That your 360 is destined to break sooner or later and…

2. Warranties typically never benefit the buyer.

Source

Capcom Announces Street Fighter IV And Several Other High-Profile Titles at Capcom Gamers Day

2007-10-20T12:26:00.001-04:00

Finally, the news fighting enthusiasts have been waiting for – the confirmation of Street Fighter: IV. While it has been long speculated that the world’s best 2D fighting series wouldn’t reach a fourth entry, the news revealed from this year’s Capcom Gamers Day tells us we will be seeing one. Very few details have been released on the next entry in this legendary series, but Capcom did put this rather swanky trailer:

Also announced during Capcom Gamer's Day 2007 was the release date of the high-res update of Street Fighter II (titled Street Fighter II: Turbo HD for the Xbox Live Arcade), which will hit sometime in 2008.

Lost Planet, Capcom's well-received Xbox 360 shooter, will also be making an appearance on Sony's black box with exclusive new features.

A new game similar to one of my personal favorite hand held series, Phoenix Wright, has also been confirmed for the Nintendo DS. Called Ace Attorney: Apollo Justice, it is strikingly similar to Capcom's other series, except with brand new characters and events.

Okami, which managed to craft a hardcore following (many of whom say it's superior to Nintendo's uber-popular Zelda series, which it is similar to) last year when it was released on the PS2 will be given another go on the Wii. Since it bombed sales-wise the first time around, hopefully more people will give this stylish-adventure title a chance on a more current console.

Source

New PS2 Bundle Set for November Release

2007-10-13T22:38:00.000-04:00

While original Xbox consoles are long out of production and Gamecubes are being phased out of stores, thousands of brand new Playstation 2 consoles are still finding their ways into homes every week. Yep, that’s right – even after being on the market for nearly seven years and moving millions of units, the Playstation 2 is still selling like hot-cakes, even outselling it’s more technically advanced brother, Playstation 3, each month.

To celebrate this, Sony will be releasing a fresh new Playstation 2 bundle in November. Available for a limited time only, this upcoming bundle will not only come with Sony’s highly-praised karaoke game Sing Star (along with two microphones), but will introduce a slick new color to the system as well: white. This bundle could be yours for the reasonable sum of $149.99 next month.

I’m perfectly content with my slim silver Playstation 2 (and I don’t dig karaoke), but if you’ve waited this long to purchase Sony’s little box of joy (or just want yours in another color), maybe this will finally convince you to do so. You’d really think everyone would have a Playstation 2 at this point, but if the sales charts are any indication, plenty of you are still buying ‘em every month.

Source

Halo.... Will Microsoft's Largest Property Ever Invade the DS?

2007-10-06T13:44:00.000-04:00

Last year's well-received Metroid Prime: Hunters proved that first-person shooters could work well on Nintendo's quirky handheld. Will we ever see a Halo title released for the DS, though?

Your initial thought after hearing this might be,

"Of course not. Microsoft owns Bungie, and they would never want to see their largest, highest-grossing property on a rival company's game system. What are you, some kind of loony?".

But ah, here is proof that the idea doesn't sound as crazy as it might have the first time you read about it.

The screen shots you see above are indeed legit. Said to be based off the Goldeneye: Rogue Agent (an early FPS for the Nintendo DS that bombed sales-wise and critically) engine, IGN has went on the record of saying that they've actually played Halo DS in its early form. And, according to them, it's quite good stuff, too. Here is actual game play footage of Halo DS:

And despite the comments from skeptical YouTube users claming that it's just a mere mod of Goldeneye: Rogue Agent, Bungie confirms that it's the real deal, albeit in very early form:

From Kotaku
"Kotaku: The whole Halo on the DS rumor just doesn’t want to die, do you see that in the cards?

Brian Jarrard: This rumor has been circulating for a while and as you know we even saw some real life screens and assets this week. Ultimately it’s up to Microsoft to decide if and when they take Halo to a different platform. That particular demo was in fact created and I believe it was an unsolicited pitch a long time ago but nothing ever came of it.".

So will this game ever see the light of day? Ultimately, as Bungie says, it's up to Microsoft to decide. Would they want to see their flagship franchise on another platform? Only time will tell... but it will be intriguing to see if this project ever comes to light.

Source (Kotaku)
Source (IGN)

One Year Ago This Month in Pro-Gamer... (October 2006)

2007-10-02T15:41:00.000-04:00

At the beginning of each month I will take a stroll down memory lane and see what incongruous subjects I was writing about at this time last year.

On this particular month last year, I was speculating on whether the 3D Sonic demo Sega originally unveiled for the DS in 2004 would eventually become a full-fledged game.

I also found time to review Luxoflux's shockingly-good Grand Theft Auto inspired game, True Crime: New York City.

Oh, and did I mention that I wrote about reprints of highly demanded Playstation 2 games like Disgaea, Zone of the Enders: the 2nd Runner, and Suikoden III?

Last, but certainly not least, I shed some light on a mostly unknown boxing game inspired by a manga series.

Xbox 360 Controllers: Now Available in Two Tasty New Colors!

2007-09-30T16:47:00.000-04:00

In terms of Xbox 360 controllers, so far we’ve had the classic white, the slick black, and even the two recently released Halo 3-themed pads. If none of those colors suit your interest, then you’ll be thrilled to know that Microsoft has two new Xbox 360 controller colors in the works: blue and pink.

Set for an October 10^th retail release and available for the standard wireless Xbox 360 controller price of $49.99, I have to say that I’m a bit disappointed in how these new pads turned out. The colored pads for the original Xbox were far superior in terms of design. Although those were only released in blue and green, they had a very stylish see-through design. These, on the other hand….well, take a look at the colorful pics and decide for yourself.

Hopefully we’ll get more special edition pads in the future…. Although I’m not too found of the two new ones coming out, I’m usually a sucker for these things (provided I can get a good deal on them).

One of the special colored controllers for the original Xbox.

One of the ultra-cool Halo 3-themed Xbox 360 controllers

Major Halo 3 Limited Edition Disc Issues Found

2007-09-23T14:39:00.000-04:00

Microsoft’s latest blockbuster, Halo 3, isn't even officially released yet, but some lucky gamers have already managed to get their hands on a copy of the Limited Edition version. However, they have been finding a nasty surprise that will soon become widespread once the Halo 3 Limited Edition hits retail store this week: their brand new, $70, shiny discs are scratched up right out of the box.

What is the cause of this?

Despite charging an extra $10 for this limited edition, Microsoft failed to create an adequate spindle (the circular center in the middle of the case that holds the disc in place). Take a look at the cheap spindle Microsoft included to hold the Halo 3 disc in place:

Due to them wanting to save approximately $0.50 in, um, casing costs, Microsoft now has a major problem on their hands. According to many of the people that have received this version early (including 1up.com), their discs have fallen out of place in shipping while the box was still sealed and their discs ended up severely scratched.

Thankfully, this problem doesn’t effect the standard and Legendary editions of Halo 3 (as the discs to those come in standard DVD cases).All I can say is there’s going to be hordes of furious gamers who shelled out the extra cash for the Limited Edition version come launch day (and I’m now quite happy that I reserved the standard edition).

Source

School Grades Matter, At Least to One Gamestop Store

2007-09-13T09:53:00.001-04:00

When a school-aged kid enters Gamestop to purchase a game, the thought of how well they’re doing in school and how good their grades are usually don’t come to mind. However, one store in Dallas, Texas, is trying to change kid’s thoughts on this subject by offering rewards – and setbacks – depending on how good or bad their grades are in school.

It’s simple: the Gamestop manager of this particular location, Brandon Scott, will refuse to let a student purchase a game if their parents can’t confirm that they’re making solid grades. If their grades are good, the kids can purchase them. If exceptionally great (straight A’s)…

"If you give me straight As with your teachers signature, endorsing it and your parent up here, I'll buy you a brand new game,"

Says Scott

This Gamestop is located in the poverty stricken south side of Dallas, where school grades are significantly lower than many other parts of the city.

Personally, I don’t think that this is a wise idea and it most likely won’t work out for long. Yes, it’s important to earn good grades in school and all, but if a kid is failing and school and wants to purchase a game, Gamestop is not their sole option. I’m sure there are numerous other places to shop.

Also, in the article Scott mentioned that the Gamestop corporation knows nothing of this. Once they do, they’re sure to shut this policy down. Plus, shouldn’t we be more concerned about the quality of the subjects the kids are learning in school rather than the grades? Many inner-city schools in the U.S. are horrible places to be, full of violence and other sorts of problems. Even if these children are getting straight A’s, are they really learning anything? That’s a whole other subject, anyway.

Source

Street Fighter and Capcom Art Books - What Every Die-Hard Fan Needs...

2007-09-09T14:01:00.000-04:00

Although art books based on video games are much more popular over in Asia than in most parts of the world (often forcing hardcore fans to pay through the nose for imported copies), that doesn’t mean you have to miss out on two of the most insightful, beautiful ones out there. Yes, that’s right. Two of the best Street Fighter/Capcom art books – Eternal Challenge and Udon’s Art of Capcom – are available right in the United States to purchase.

If you’re a die-hard fan of Street Fighter (or just love the art style used throughout the games), then you can’t afford to miss Street Fighter: Eternal Challenge. Although it is currently out of print (and the cheapest copy currently selling for the obscene amount of $104.97 on Amazon.com), it is the definitive book on all things Street Fighter. Featuring plenty of stunning full-color illustrations, biographies on all of the characters, and tons of info on the series, this is a must have for any Street Fighter fan.

Available on the 15^th of this month, Udon’s Art of Capcom not only features a ton of art from the Street Fighter series but of many Capcom games in general. From Mega Man to Devil May Cry, if Udon made a comic for the series, it’ll be in here. This monstrous 304-page art book will be on my to-buy list once it hits in the middle of the month. Better purchase it before it goes out of print and sellers charge outrageous prices for it…

Review: Resident Evil 4 (PS2)

2007-09-03T17:24:00.000-04:00

Platform: Playstation 2 (also on: GC, PC, Wii)
Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Capcom
Release: October 2005

Action packed and suspenseful, Resident Evil 4 is one title you will remember for a long, long time.

Ah, Resident Evil 4. With its staggering amount of Game of the Year nominations from various game media sources, high sales and even a very successful port to the Wii, you undoubtedly have heard a thing or two about Capcom’s latest entry in the Resident Evil series. But perhaps you haven’t given it a try yet; maybe you haven’t found the time to do so, or are just skeptical because you didn’t enjoy previous games in the series. Don’t wait any longer: play this excellent title now. While I found previous entries in the series to be woefully flawed and completely uninteresting, Resident Evil 4 remains one of the best games I have played all year.

I can’t ever say that I’ve really enjoyed any survival horror title. I’ve given the old-school Resident Evil games a chance (I even own the first title), and even tried a release in the Silent Hill series. However, the much-criticized tank controls and bad pacing killed those titles for me.

Resident Evil 4 fixes these problems with a whole new control scheme and well-placed save points. Not to mention, the characters, settings, and story as are much more interesting as a whole this time around.

You play as Leon and must go in a mysterious location in Europe to save the president’s kidnapped daughter. What you find, however, are things beyond your worst imagination. Spanish-speaking zombies, hideous creatures, and tons of unusual places await you.

Resident Evil 4 is very action-packed compared to the conventionally slow survival-horror game. Every time you think you’ve seen all this game has to offer, it always unveils something new and fresh, whether is be a new weapon, new enemy type, or a startling boss fight. The best part of all of this is that the game never seems exceptionally hard. Sure, much of it is very challenging, but it’s excellent pacing and natural-feeling progression means you won’t ever be stuck on a boss or a particular part of Resident Evil 4 for an exceptionally long amount of time.

Visually, the game gets the job done. I’ve certainly seen better looking games in my time, but the environments and enemy-types are very well done. The character models are the best aspect of the graphics by far. The sound effects compliment the release well.

Many games drag on too long, others end way too soon; Resident Evil 4, on the other hand, feels just right. I clocked in about 18 hours on my initial play-through. The best part is, once you finish the game, there are oodles of fun extras to play with. Many of them are new to the Playstation 2 edition (though they also appear in the Wii release, too). I won’t spoil any, but just be prepared to play with Resident Evil 4 for several more hours after completing it.

Resident Evil 4 is one of those titles that’ll captivate you the whole way through. This is easily one of the best titles released in the past few years, and even though I’m not traditionally a fan of the genre, I still couldn’t get enough of it.. Action packed and suspenseful, Resident Evil 4 is one title you will remember for a long, long time.

Rating: 8.8 (out of 10)

eBay Scam Alert - 12 Months of Xbox Live?

2007-08-26T13:44:00.000-04:00

When you need to find a rare item, or are perhaps looking for a good bargain, eBay usually comes to mind for the millions of people that use the world’s most popular auction site daily.

However, many people are turned off from this site for numerous reasons. One of them is because of the good amount of scammers that prey on the easily-fooled.

A new scam to watch out for on eBay is for cheap Xbox Live cards. The people that sell these often list them for half the price the cards normally retail. Once you purchase the card the seller e-mails you the code and you’re on your way to 13 months of Xbox Live play.

Or so many think. These are nothing but free one month trials that expire quickly. However, most people are fooled by this, so they end up giving the seller positive feedback (because, at the time, they’re not aware that their not receiving what they paid for – a full year of Xbox Live joy). After a month, however, their Xbox Live accounts are gone and they’re left with nothing.

One of the more humorous sellers doing this shady practice is hledford87. Check out her auction here. What would an attractive woman be doing on the internet, selling Xbox Live cards all day anyway? It would probably be frightening seeing the real person pulling off this scam…

“If it’s too good to be true, then it probably is”. Just remember this quote you see Xbox Live subscriptions – or pretty much any other outrageously-good deal – on eBay.

Japan's Most Beloved Wrestling Franchise Finally Returns to the U.S.

2007-08-19T12:45:00.001-04:00

Although the Fire Pro Wrestling made two quick U.S. pit stops in 2001 and 2002 (both on GBA), us American gamers who didn't want to go through the hassle of importing didn't get to experience the best games in this great series.

First, a quick history lesson (for those of you not familiar with the series). Fire Pro Wrestling is Japan's most beloved wrestling series. Although the series may not feature flashy visuals or recognizable stars (though you can put 'em in yourself), it's game play is far deeper than that of any other wrestling game. Also, the editing tools in the franchise are so wondrous that you can edit any wrestler to look - and even play (you can edit moves, taunts, specials, etc) like many popular wrestlers - either current ones or ones of the past. Wanna put the Rock in the game? No problem! Just pick a pre-made wrestler, edit his look, appearance, moves, and name, and you pretty much have who you want.

FirePro Wrestling is also well known for its unique match types. An actual mode called 'Electrified Barbed Wire Ropes Exploding Deathmatch'? 'Nuff said!

Most likely set for an early 2008 release, FirePro Wrestling Returns is often hauled as the greatest game in the series (and the best wrestling title of all time). Even better, Agetec, who is bringing us this title, will be releasing it at a budget price.

Hmm... I'll be solving a little math problem here.... The sheer depth on the series + the tons of replay value + the budget price = one of the best PS2 bargains ever! Once it's released you better snap it up quick, because like last year's other great bargain game, Victorious Boxers 2: Fighting Spirit, this will most likely be seeing a limited U.S. release.

Source

BioShock - Highest Rated Game of all Time?

2007-08-18T13:51:00.000-04:00

Most of us expected BioShock to be good, but I think those who have played it (either the full game or in demo form) were quite shocked at just how incredible the game turned out to be. This makes the three date wait for the game to be released mighty difficult.

Currently every source who has reviewed this potential 'Game of the Year' candidate has given it a positive review. In fact, according to Game Rankings, if the review trends continue this way then BioShock will dethrone Zelda: Ocarina of Time as the highest rated game of all time. Currently one percent shy of perfection (99% average), I bet certain sites, such as GameSpot, will probably bring the overall rating down a tad. But maybe I'll be wrong. We'll just have to see as more websites review this awesome title, but as of today eight different sites have contributed to this review.

Also, here are the current top 10 highest rated games of all time (according to Gamerankings):

1. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64) 97.7%
2. Soulcalibur (DC) - 96.4%
3. Metroid Prime (GC) - 96.3%
4. Resident Evil 4 (GC) - 95.8%
5. GoldenEye 007 (N64) - 95.8%
6. Resident Evil 4 (PS2) - 95.7%
7. Super Mario 64 (N64) - 95.7%
8. Halo (Xbox) - 95.6%
9. Tekken 3 (PSX) - 95.6%
10. Half-Life 2 (PC) - 95.5%

Source

BioShock Demo - Does It Live Up to the Hype?

2007-08-15T14:32:00.001-04:00

Ever since BioShock was unveiled last year, I have been extremely excited to play this unique FPS. After leaving my Xbox 360 on all night (yep, it literally takes hours to download a single demo) to download the newly released demo off the Xbox Live Marketplace, I finally got to give this highly-anticipated title a try. So is it the astonishing, ground-breaking shooter most of us expected or was it merely just another over hyped, third-rate FPS?

I can safely say that BioShock lives up the massive amount of hype surrounding it - and then some! When you first boot up the demo you experience a plane crash, find yourself in the middle of the (rather beautiful-looking) ocean, and must find a way to get onto land. Once you find a place to go and explore it a bit, you hear the sounds of some very interesting Big Band music. Hmmm... hearing this was a nice change of pace (when's the last time a game featured this type of music?), but perhaps an orchestral score would have been even better.

Anyhoot, you eventually run into foes, and you can combat them with either a wrench or a gun, and you have the ability to electrocute them or stun them (depending if they're in water or not) with another weapon (which is also used to enter some pathways). The demo lasted a good half hour, and I couldn't wait to see what comes next - this is the type of game you'd play until the wee hours of the morning.

The character designs are very well done, and the visuals are marvelous. Beautifully animated, I'd be suprised if there's a better looking game than BioShock all year. The environments are some of the best looking I've seen in any game ever.

Although Halo 3 will certainly be a tremendous mainstream hit (and will probably have the best multi-player on Xbox Live once again), if there's one FPS I'll be putting my money on the rest of the year BioShock will be it.

Wild Frustration in Animal Crossing: Wild World

2007-08-11T13:05:00.000-04:00

Most of us play online games simply to have a good time. Others use it for a more... sinister motive.

You see, I've been playing Animal Crossing: Wild World on the Nintendo DS nearly everyday for over a year straight. The game is repetitive and overly cutesy, but like most people who have given it a try, I can't get enough of it! A large portion of the fun comes from connecting online and visiting other people's towns or letting them see yours. For awhile it's been very safe to play online; you wouldn't have to worry about cheaters, hackers, or anything of that manner. Until recently, however...

There are bored, troublesome players known as "seeders" who come into your town only to try to ruin it for their own pleasure. What they do is use Action Replay, a popular cheat device, to plant "seeds" into your town which are invisible buildings, rocks, trees, etc. and cannot be seen until the next time you play the game. You cannot get rid of these "seeds" and they often make the game unplayable, and if they plant enough of these, can break you cartridge entirely.

The only way to avoid them is to carefully watch who you're playing with and to be very cautious at all times while someone else is visiting your town. Jeez, lowlifes will always find a way to try the suck the fun out of something for someone. Maybe those much-criticized "friend codes" weren't such a bad idea after all...

Role-Playing Game Starring Sonic the Hedgehog in the Works

2007-06-23T01:09:00.000-04:00

Chalk this up as something new, folks. No, this is not an early April fool's joke - Bioware, talented developer of many well known RPG's such as the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic series, Baulder's Gate, and Jade Empire is creating a role playing game starring Sega's beloved mascot, Sonic the Hedgehog.

This bizarre, unexpected title will appear exclusively on the Nintendo DS. It is set in the Sonic world, and how the combat system will handle at this point is unknown. However, it will be set in the Sonic universe and feature many familiar characters.

Will this translate to a quality role-playing experience, though? Hmmm... while the vast majority of gamers, like me, are highly skeptical of this oddball idea, Bioware has an excellent track record, so you'd have to be a little dim to think that this is going to just be a half-hearted cash-in. At least it's something... unique, right?

Source

Microsoft Shells Out $50 Million For Exclusive GTA IV Episodic Content

2007-06-18T16:28:00.001-04:00

The Xbox 360 version of Grand Theft Auto IV was always supposed to have “exclusive” major episodic downloadable content via Xbox Live. To make sure it stays exclusive to Microsoft’s shiny white (well, black if you’re one of the few that has an Elite console) they spent a few bucks so the content will only see release on the Xbox 360. How much of their enormous budget did they spend exactly? According to Take Two Software, Microsoft spent a staggering $50 million dollars to make sure this content won’t see release on the Playstation 3.

Microsoft desperately wants to outsell Sony’s Playstation 3 in the long run (It’s performing better on the market now, but Microsoft knows that you can’t just rest on your laurels). Whether or not the episodic content via Xbox Live will be worth it is unknown at this point, and how much it will be has not been decided yet, but we can tell that Microsoft will be using some industrious tactics in order to make sure that the Xbox 360 it outselling Sony’s black box.

Stare in Awe At the Games That Broke the Million Mark

2007-06-11T13:23:00.000-04:00

Many of the best-selling games deserve their great success, while others sell strictly off of hype or are part of a licensed property. Whatever the case may be, I am going to present you how many games broke the million mark per console and the top selling game for each game console. If you want a more in-depth look at this (alas a very plain one with an over abundance of text) click on the ‘source’ link at the bottom of this page, which was compiled by the good folks over at Wikipedia. Until then, enjoy the article and marvel at the best selling games of all time.

I have arranged them by putting the system first, number of games that broke the million mark, and the top selling game for that console.

NES
46 games sold one million or more

Top seller: Super Mario Bros. 3 (18 million)

SNES 40 games sold one million copies or more
Top seller: Donkey Kong Country (8.30 million)

Sega Genesis

8 games sold one million copies or more

Top Seller: Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (6 million)

Sega Saturn

2 Games Sold one million copies or more
Top Seller: Virtua Fighter 2 (1.7 Million)

PSX

57 games sold one million copies or more
Top seller: Gran Turismo (10.5 million)

N64

37 games sold one million or more
Top Seller: Super Mario 64 (11 million)

Dreamcast

6 games sold one million copies or more
Top seller: Sonic Adventure (2.5 million)

PS2
73 games sold one million copies or more
Top seller: Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (13 million)

Xbox
6 games sold one million copies or more
Top seller: Halo 2 (8 million)

Gamecube
22 games sold 1 million copies or more
Top seller: Super Smash Bros. Melee (6 million)

Xbox 360

10 games sold one million copies or more
Top seller: Gears of War (3.7 million)

Wii

(Wii sports and Wii play excluded)

3 games sold one million copies or more
Top seller: Zelda: Twilight Princess (2.6 million)

Playstation 3
1 game sold one million copies or more
Top seller: Resistance: Fall of Man (1 million)

And that should do it. Handheld systems and PC games were not included.

Source

Review: Starfox Asasult (Gamecube)

2007-06-06T14:02:00.000-04:00

Platform: Gamecube
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Namco
Release: February 2005

While it’s probably not the best game in the series, Starfox Assault delivers a great experience that is worthy of the Starfox legacy.

It’s been a long time coming, but Starfox Assault finally continues the tradition of the legendary series (The 2002 release, ‘Starfox Adventures’, was a standard Rare platformer with Starfox characters tacked on to it). Combining the talents of two of the best game developers in the biz, Namco and Nintendo teamed up to create an adventure that not only delivers the tried-and-true aerial battles the series is known for but some new on-foot battles as well. The result? As expected, spectacular, though it does fall a wee-bit shy of greatness.

The storyline is the same ol’ inanity the series is known for, and while it was entertaining in some parts, I mostly found myself skipping through the storyline and cut-scenes. Because of this I’m not going to go deep into this aspect of the release. However, the classic, well-known characters such as Falco, Slippy, and others are still here and as charming as ever, (though you’d have to play prior releases in the series to appreciate their presence). Some new characters have been added as well, but me not remembering their names is evidence that they are forgettable and worthless. The dialogue is humorous and fits each character’s personality well.

When you first start up the game you’ll be immediately put into some intense aerial battles. They’re reminiscent of Star Fox 64, and just before you know it you’re put into an on-foot battle. These battles have been catching much criticism from die-hard fans who are scared of change, and in truth, they are flawed (and by the last one, you’ll be finding them a bit repetitive). However, they’re mighty fun, and add variety to an already impressive package.

The visuals are decent during on-foot battles but during aerial battles they are simply majestic. The variety of colors, the effects… they all show that the Gamecube is capable of providing some truly fantastic graphics. Sound-wise, this game has the best soundtrack of any game in the series, and the soundtrack and effects are absorbing and original.

The controls get the job done as well, and if the default controls aren’t to your liking, there are two other schemes to chose from that will suit your fancy.

With all of this goodness, there has to be something wrong with Starfox Assault right? Well, it does have a few problems that prevent it from reaching the legendary status it could have had like Starfox 64 before it. While it doesn’t quite live up to that release in every way, it nearly does, though I was hoping that this game would be longer that it would. I completed all ten missions in a mere six hours, though you’ll probably feel compelled to play the exciting and fun missions over again to gain high scores and new medals. Even so, the game felt only half as long as it should have, and while I enjoyed the on-foot battles, more aerial ones would have been nice.

While it’s probably not the best game in the series, Starfox Assault delivers a great experience that is worthy of the Starfox legacy. Since it has been recently added to the Gamecube value line of games (known as Players’ Choice releases), you have no excuse not to play through Fox Mccloud’s most recent console adventure.

Rating: 8.7 (out of 10)

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots - Xbox 360 Bound?

2007-06-03T13:01:00.000-04:00

One thing that has been greatly debated by video game fanboys across numerous gaming forums as of late is Metal Gear Solid 4. Will it remain a Playstation 3 exclusive or will it become another multiplatform title like the numerous other supposed Playstation 3 “exclusives” (Virtua Fighter 5, Assassin’s Creed, Devil May Cry 4, Ace Combat 5, etc.)? Only time will tell, but here’s some details that may prove that Solid Snake will be making an appearance on Microsoft’s shiny white box…

While Hideo Kojima himself said that Metal Gear Solid 3 will remain a Playstation 3 exclusive, it might be Konami that ultimately makes the decision on this matter. It’s no secret that the Playstation 3 sales have been highly disappointing up to this point, and a title with such high production values and development costs would not recoup a large amount of money with release on one lone console. Also, game news site Destructoid.com recently posted news that Metal Gear Solid 4 will indeed be making the jump to the Xbox 360. This supposedly “ground-breaking” news was followed by a cease and desist letter from Konami. Hmmm…. could the fact that Konami threatened this popular website with a lawsuit mean it’s, in fact, true? As already mentioned, only time will tell. It would make financial sense for the company to bring this blockbuster release to another platform though.

That is to say, I haven’t enjoyed a Metal Gear Solid game since the groundbreaking original classic on the Playstation. I doubt that Metal Gear Solid 4 will bring back the magic of that release back to the series, whether it’s available on more than one console or not.

Source

Tenchu Is Back! Wait... Where Did Everyone Go? Anyone Care?

2007-05-28T17:48:00.001-04:00

Tenchu Z, the next title in the Japanese-developed stealth-action franchise is soon to be released. Published by Microsoft Game Studios and developed by From Software, this could be another attempt by Microsoft to try to get the Eastern market interested in the Xbox 360. However, save for a few Xbox-exclusive hits with Japanese flavor (The cult-classic Phantom Dust on the original Xbox, for example), Microsoft’s attempts to get the Japanese market to plunk down the cash for their systems have failed.

It’s not to see why, either. Although some of the Japanese games published by them were decent, titles like Blinx: The Time Sweeper aren’t exactly what most would consider system sellers (let’s also forget about half-baked released like Whacked! and the ill-fated Kakuto Chojin, shall we?). Titles like Blue Dragon, which recently helped move some 360’s from Japanese shelves are a step in the right direction, but are people really excited about a new Tenchu?

While I’m actually moderately eager to play it (I have fond memories of the original game back on the Playstation), the Tenchu games haven’t exactly made great strides to modernize themselves. Although this may have been acceptable for the last two generations, now that we’re in the next-gen people aren’t going to overlook many of the problems the series has had in the past, such as the dim-witted A.I. and clunky controls. Sadly, it seems as if the developers have not bothered fixing these problems, because a Japanese demo was recently found on Xbox Live Marketplace and it has been garnering much criticism for problems that the series should have fixed long ago.

To add injury to insult, the Tenchu series has been receiving worse and worse reviews every title, with last year’s DS-exclusive title Tenchu: Dark Secret earning an abominable 39.2% average from GameRankings. Well, Tenchu Z will be hitting U.S. shores shortly (June 12^th, to be exact), and while I hope it turns out decent I have my doubts. In the meantime, here’s a breakdown of how the Tenchu games have been rated through the years (look at how the ratings have progressively slid downhill)

Tenchu: Stealth Assassins - 83%

Tenchu 2: Birth of the Stealth Assassins - 79%

Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven - 79%

Tenchu: Return From Darkness - 70%

Tenchu: Fatal Shadows - 60%

Tenchu: Dark Secret - 39%

Ratings are based off of GameRankings. The source for the Tenchu ratings can be found here

Poor Play Testing + A Rushed Product = A Broken Game

2007-05-18T10:17:00.000-04:00

There is a growing trend in the industry that seems to be affecting all types of games, regardless of genre, size, or console. Despite the leaps and bounds we’ve made in technology through the years, numerous “glitchy”, barely-tested games are hitting the market. In fact, this seems to be becoming more and more acceptable with game publishers who just want to make a quick buck by putting their title on the market without thoroughly testing it.

Unfortunately, there’s not much we can do about this problem besides voting with our wallets. If you have heard about a game being filled with bugs then simply DO NOT purchase it. If you would try to return a bug-ridden game to the store you would only be provided with the same copy, and most of the time game publishers could care less about these bugs. A popular and well-known game publisher, Activision, provides walk-throughs and tips on how to get past known bugs in their products, but this is rare and if they didn’t’ have these rushed products filled with bugs in the first place it would not even be necessary. Many PC games provide patches for these problems, but on consoles it is not too often that a patch is released to fix some known-issues in a game (the only title I could think of is The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion for the Xbox 360).

One recent occurrence of a major glitch is SNK vs Capcom: Card Fighter’s Clash for the Nintendo DS, and this one is a doozy. This huge glitch prevents you from progressing through the game at a certain point, and the sad thing about this is that it wasn’t found in the original Japanese release. That’s a sign of piss-poor play-testing, and so far the official word from SNK on this issue is, simply,

"We're looking into it".

Um, thanks for that response, guys, but some people blew $30 on this broken game. Sadly, this occurrence is happening more and more often in games and needs to be stopped before it becomes even more of a problem.

Update: SNK is offering replacement cartridges for those who have received the initial broken version of the game, but the growing trend of glitch-ridden games continues...

The Creator of Final Fantasy Speaks!

2007-05-06T20:54:00.000-04:00

Hironobu Sakaguchi, the mastermind behind the creation of the remarkably popular Final Fantasy series, has recently had some stern things to say about many subjects in today’s gaming industry. Not all of it was positive, either – he blasts Sony and the Playstation 3, but besides these personal things he touches us up with some information on his newest projects.

When asked about how he feels about the Playstation 3 in the recent Electronic Gaming Monthly interview [EGM, June 2007 issue], Sakaguchi responded by saying

“I’m not interested in the Playstation 3. The machine’s architecture is tricky, and I don’t’ like Kutaragi”.

Ouch. Despite this, he still believes in the Wii and especially the Xbox 360. While he has several plans for new Xbox 360 games (which I will get to in a moment), he said that

“The [Wii] is intriguing, but right now I have no plans on making a game for the Wii”.

With the enormous popularity of the Wii, you could probably expect him to make something unique for it down the road. Hell, even beyond this, Sukaguchi even talks about the recent global warming phenomenon by saying that he’d like to make a game about it based on the bizarre changes in climates he experiences where he’s current living (Hawaii).

You can read the article in it’s entirety in the June 2007 issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly, on newsstands now.

In the mean time, here are some looks at his future Xbox 360 projects:

Blue Dragon

Already released in Japan, Blue Dragon was one of the few Xbox 360 games to gain popularity on the other side of the pond. It helped sell some 360’s over in the Land of the Rising Sun, and even though it didn’t significantly help out the struggling system over there it became a bit of a hit nonetheless. With great reception from the important version and a talented team working on it, you can expect Blue Dragon to be received warmly when it hits the U.S. this fall.

Lost Odyssey

Not much information has been revealed about this intriguing title yet, except that it will have a rather complex storyline and be powered by the same engine found in last year’s tech-powerhouse Gears of War.

Cry On

Appropriately titled, Cry On will feature a story line that Sakaguchi hopes makes you cry every 15 minutest (yep, he actually said that).

Review: Gun (Xbox 360)

2007-04-29T15:11:00.000-04:00

Platform: Xbox 360 (also on: Xbox, PS2, GC, and PSP)
Publisher: Activision
Developer: Neversoft Entertainment
Release: November 2005

Sure, unexceptional visuals and the brief main-story won’t blow you away, but the well-done missions, impressive voice-acting and incredibly enjoyable game play make it worth a weekend play-through, especially for its new bargain price

When Gun was initially released at the Xbox 360 launch, it received both positive and negative reception, both honestly warranted. Praised for its fantastic story and fun game play but put down for being a lazy straight from last generation to 360 port and for being an incredibly brief play-through., Gun is still worthy of your time. However, it never quite reaches the level of potential that could have made it an amazing experience.

Set in the 1880’s Wild West, you play as Colton White, a gunslinger who sticks close to his father, Ned. After building an emotional bond with his pop and hunting with him for years, you soon learn in the story that Ned is not really White’s father. You will continue following the story and meeting many new characters. However, even though the characters found in this game are great, you probably won’t even remember most of their names after finishing this game. Unlike action games like Metal Gear Solid where the characters are memorable, Gun instead focuses on moving along the story instead of fully fleshing out the characters in this game, so don’t expect to really grow attached to any of them here.

And that brings us to Gun’s chief flaw: It speeds along way too quickly. While you’ll enjoy every minute of the story and the game play is supremely enjoyable, had the developers polished and lengthened up the story a bit it would have definitely benefited this title in the long run. You can tell Gun was a wee-bit rushed to make it out for the holiday season, and if you’re an experienced game player you’ll probably only clock in a mere seven hours for the main story mode. Fortunately, there’s an open-world to experience as well, and by completing side missions (such as hunting down wanted fugitives) you’ll upgrade your stats.

Even though Gun is a brief experience, there were many moments where I felt incredibly immersed into the game. The missions are well-planned and the game as a whole is incredibly well-done. You’ll stay glued to your controller from the beginning of the title until the credits roll. Then again, it won’t take that long to do so…

Unfortunately, Gun was obviously not developed with the Xbox 360’s power in mind. The visuals, while not abysmal, are just slightly touched up from the last-gen versions. When running this game on an HD-TV the visual flaws stick out greatly, and it seems like an HD-TV will only give this title a slight “shine” and not a large upgrade like most 360 titles. The achievements are not particularly well-thought out, either, as you’ll earn the vast majority of achievements by simply plodding through the title. However, the sound is fantastic and the voice acting is top-notch.

While Gun is definitely a flawed title (more so on the Xbox 360 due to its hardware strengths and higher expectations over last-gen consoles), the good definitely outweighs the bad. Sure, unexceptional visuals and the brief main-story won’t blow you away, but the well-done missions, impressive voice-acting and incredibly enjoyable game play make it worth a weekend play-through, especially for its new bargain price. After all, it’s not often that the Wild West gets justice in the video game world, and when it’s as spectacular as Gun you oughta really give it a try.

Rating: 8.6 (out of 10).

Sega Serves Up Some Fan Service with Two New Announced Titles

2007-04-22T19:36:00.000-04:00

Since my last post was about the upcoming House of the Dead-inspired DS action game ‘Touch the Dead’, I figured that this would be a rather appropriate time to write about another similar title. Titled ‘The Typing of the Dead’, the game saw release on both the ill-fated Dreamcast and on PC (the PC version seems a bit more obscure, however, as I’ve yet to actually see a physical copy of it…). Set in the House of the Dead II universe, instead of gunning down hordes of zombies with a light gun you typed out fraises via a keyboard to kill the undead. Although this highly unique title failed to create much of a buzz when it was originally released seven years ago (time really flies, eh?), it is now considered something of a cult-classic, enough so for Sega to justify another entry in the series.

Yup, that’s right – a sequel to the Sega cult-classic is in the works and planned for a PC-exclusive release. Although this quirky title hasn’t been confirmed for release outside of Japan yet, I’m sure it’ll make its way around the world shortly after it hits the Land of the Rising Sun. And even though the popular House of the Dead Series has seen four entries thus far, the Typing of the Dead 2’s environments, characters and story will be based on the third game originally released in 2002 (maybe signifying a possible third entry to be based on the House of the Dead 4? That seems like a long shot right now though…).

Also confirmed by Sega is a wacky new golf title. Titled Sega Splash! Golf, think Hot Shots Golf but with a zany Sega twist. Let’s just hope the game play can match Sony’s sublime arcade-style golf series…

Source

Would you dare Touch the Dead?

2007-04-14T21:42:00.000-04:00

Judging by the name of this title, the game play-premise, and the screen shots, you’d think this is another entry in Sega’s once-popular House of the Dead series. However, despite the many similarities between the two titles, Sega has nothing to do this intriguing-looking House of the Dead-esque title.

Exclusive to the Nintendo DS, Touch the Dead will make heavy use the touch screen (well, judging by the title, that should come obvious… unless, of course, you happened to ride the short bus home…). In this bizarre title you play as Rob Steiner, an inmate who is the only human in a jail overflowing with zombies. You have to escape alive by killing every zombie in your path via the DS stylus.

Sure, the premise is absolutely ridiculous, the visuals aren’t exactly mind-blowing, and, in terms of depth, won’t shatter the world, but this arcade-like, light gun-type title should provide excellent st00pid fun when it’s released this June.

In the mean time check out these screen shots:

Ch-ch-ch-changes

2007-04-09T12:09:00.000-04:00

Although this only happens once in a blue moon, game publishers will sometimes change the covers of games that were already released. Sometimes it’s necessary – legal rights might prevent a certain athlete from appearing on the cover of a sports title, but in most cases it’s a total mystery. Here are some games that received unique covers after already being released for awhile (note: the original release is on the left, while later releases are on the right):

Dead or Alive 3 (Xbox)

NHL 2004 (multi platform - pictured: PC)

Street Fighter Collection (PSX)

Sly Cooper (PS2)

Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow (Nintendo DS)

And there are plenty more that exist, but they are not pictured because I either don't know about them or pictures of them were excruciatingly tough to come by.

Great Games for Great New Prices

2007-04-06T11:46:00.000-04:00

It always feels good to pick up a stellar title for a reasonable price, and several decent-to-great titles have recently dropped as much as half price. Titles include the enjoyable Xbox 360 cult hit Viva Piñata (which you can read my review of it here) and the adequate Xbox 360 party game Fuzion Frenzy 2 (which I’ve played a demo of, and, while it’s not an utterly amazing game, it seemed better than the poor reviews would suggest). Both can now be had for a mere $30 each.

Two of the most highly regarded PSP games have now received the ‘Greatest Hit’s’ treatment as well. In addition to the new standard Greatest Hits packaging that everyone seems to hate, the games (Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror and Daxter) will also see a new popular price - $19.99. Kingdom Hearts II, quite possibly the most popular Playstation 2 game in the last year, is now also available for the bargain-basement price of $20 (too bad the ‘Greatest Hits’ version lacks the shiny cover that original prints had). You might want to hold off purchasing it, however, as Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix will eventually make its way to the U.S. (possibly by the end of the year).

Since these are universal price drops you’ll be able to walk into any major store that sells games and score ‘em for these low prices.

The Nintendo DS Broswer Set to Hit U.S. Shores this June

2007-04-05T11:49:00.000-04:00

The Nintendo DS web browser, which was released in Japan nearly a year ago, will finally be hitting the U.S. in two short months. Set to retail for a rather costly $34.99, this browser will be supported strictly by Opera and will be light on the extra features. Disappointingly, video won’t be supported (PDF support), and forget listening to any tunes on your DS – this baby won’t support sound either (then again, sound quality on the DS isn’t exactly top-notch).

Nintendo is once again really milking gamers with the release of their mediocre DS web browser. Not only is it lacking several key features, but it’s overpriced and, according to my friend (who imported the Japanese version awhile back), runs rather slow, too. Although it’s a noble idea and an interesting device (that I might pick up once it inevitably hits the bargain bin), the small list of features supported combined with a sluggish speed make something that anyone should be weary of purchasing.

Source

Grand Theft Auto: IV Part II: Thoughts From the Mind of Ross

2007-04-01T12:56:00.000-04:00

So you’ve probably seen the trailer for Grand Theft Auto: IV by now (if not, don’t fret – I’ve included it in this post). I and millions of other gamers across the land of the internet have been eagerly awaiting this trailer for awhile now. In fact, for me, it was my most anticipated game trailer of all time. So did it live up to the hype?

Well, to be honest, I was a bit let down. Although New York City is a fantastic location and should make a very interesting playground for the next GTA, part of the fun of playing a new Grand Theft Auto game is to experience a new location (that is why the mediocre ‘Stories’ side games didn’t intrigue me at all). Also, the game play found in the 3D Grand Theft Auto games were fine for last generation, but they’re beyond outdated now (True Crime: New York City had a far superior combat system – let’s hope Rockstar “borrows” some key elements from that superb title…). And while the visuals certainly looked snazzy in the trailer, those were just mere cinematic – how will Grand Theft Auto IV look on my HD-TV when I’m actually playing it?

Still, not all was bad. Although I’ve mentioned that the game play was outdated in past titles, you’d have to be very foolish to assume Rockstar would just rest on their laurels and give us the same ol’ antiquated combat and aiming systems from years ago. Also, maybe this whole realistic New York City thing will work out (especially with the impressive power of the next-gen consoles). And, as a Russian-American, it’s nice to see that the main character found in the new Grand Theft Auto is of Russian-descent. I’m betting that Rockstar will prove us skeptics wrong and deliver a top-quality product when Grand Theft Auto: IV hits this fall. Despite my skepticism, I still can’t wait to get my hands on it.

The trailer

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