Sin and Punishment: Japanese N64 Game gets Sequel on Wii

Who would have guessed that in 2010 the Wii would get a sequel to a 2000 Japan-only shoot’em up for the N64? But sure enough we now have Sin and Punishment: Star Successor and we sure are grateful. Already being masters of their craft, Treasure, the makers of shooter classics like Ikaruga and Gunstar Heroes, has played with the formula to create a bizarre, action-packed thrill ride that takes great advantage of the Wii remote.

Sin and Punishment: Star Successor takes the side-scrolling shooter concept and translates it into 3D. At first it resembles an on-rail shooter but your characters can be moved independent of the environment. Plus the occasional 2D sections and the sheer amount of fire you will be encountering betray the game’s bullet hell roots. It is more like Starfox 64 than anything else. Using the Wii remote and nunchuk you move a character on screen while aiming their gun with the pointer. There is a dodge button, melee attack and depending on whom you are playing as, a charge shot or multi-shot. The original used a strange lock-on system and while that is present here as well, freely aiming with the Wii remote is the best way to go. Learn these controls quick
because this game is fast and relentless.

There is some dumb anime storyline about a boy and some monster girl he loves trying to escape from some evil Japanese space syndicate but that is just a pretense for you to fly through eight crazy courses blasting anything that moves. And I mean anything. The enemies in this game are insane and totally without a theme. One moment you are shooting some six-armed radioactive monster and the next a giant panther has merged with a giant vulture in order to take you down. Running at a near constant sixty frames a second, it’s not a bad looking game, although the character models are a little rough and the colors are weirdly dim, it is just an incredibly strange one.

With that strangeness though, comes a variety that makes this game that much more intense. You will spend more time fighting the larger-than life, multi-stage bosses with ridiculously long health bars than shooting random grunts and those boss fights are a delight. One has you slashing train cars apart to stop a stampeding creature. Another has you avoiding a sea monster’s snapping jaws while trying to remain in a current of water. One has you killing the entire crew of a battle ship before fighting the ship itself and another takes your gun away and has you fist fight the boss. I will not spoil the glory that is the final boss but rest assure, Sin and Punishment: Star Successor is so fun and so good because it never lets up and always surprises you.

Unfortunately, like most good shooters, that fast pace and intensity come at the expense of the running time. It is a hard game and you will die often but even still, beating the game will probably only take about four hours. Extra difficulties levels and characters help pad out the package but like all true arcade style games, the real name of the game is high score. Sin and Punishment: Star Successor has plenty of ways for you to increase and multiply your score but it resets once you die. And since your scores can be uploaded online, an absurd amount of time can be sunk into trying to get the highest score possible and showing it to the world. But even if you are more about hanging out with friends than inflating your ego, Sin and Punishment: Star Successor still has you covered. While both characters sadly do not show up onscreen, another player can grab a controller and help you blast your way through the galaxy. Sin and Punishment: Star Successor is too hard and too niche to recommend to everyone. That combined with its short length makes this a game one should rent and test their tolerance for before making a full purchase. As only a casual fan of hardcore shooter however, I still found this game to be a thrilling experience that is one of the purest forms of fun.

4 out of 5
- Jordan Minor

Posted by admin on 07/27 at 09:15 AM
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Red Steel 2: Surprisingly Realistic with Wii Motion Plus

Playing Red Steel 2, the sequel to the Ubisoft Wii launch title, the first thought that comes to mind is not “Wow, this is so much better than the first game” instead it is “Wow, why aren’t more developers using Wii motion plus”. While its fresh new visual style certainly helps, it is the fantastic controls that make this first person shooter/slasher an experience unlike any other.

The first Red Steel was an average shooter that was notably for being one of the first first person shooters on Wii. Unfortunately, the pointer controls were fidgety and the sword fighting, the game’s other main hook, could only recognize slashes in the eight cardinal directions. It was not nearly as revolutionary as the trailers made it out to be. Add in rather bland visuals and storylines about an American bodyguard saving his Japanese mob princess girlfriend and you had one of Wii’s first major disappoints.

It took four years and a new piece of hardware but Ubisoft has addressed nearly all with the sequel. Actually, reboot is probably a more accurate term. The only things Red Steel 2 retains from the original are the sword and gun mechanics and a plot about Western and Eastern cultures colliding. One of these aspects is stronger than the other but together they create one of the most improved sequels seen in quite some time.

Red Steel 2 takes place in Caldera, a strange town resembling a cross between some cowboy-filled desert and a Japanese village. The culture of the local population reflects this mishmash as well. You play as the nameless final member of the Kusagari clan, a group of gunslinger samurais, out for revenge while protecting the town from vicious gangs and powerful warlords. The plot is thin and is the weakest part of the package but the multi-ethnic fusion has led to one of the game’s strengths, the new art style. Instead of the first game’s boring realism, the world of Red Steel 2 is a bold, cel-shaded wasteland that is a joy to look in way not unlike Borderlands. The character designs are not great but you will be seeing so little of them it will hardly matter.

Red Steel 2’s structure has also been slightly revamped. The game is broken up into chapters but instead of being completely linear, each chapter gives you a new hub, like a saloon or a train station, and presents you with new missions to complete. It is like a stripped down open-world game. Unfortunately these missions can be quite repetitive at times. You will either be fighting guys, destroying stuff or learning some new sword technique. Plus the game hides its somewhat lengthy load times with the same doors, adding to the feeling of déjà vu. The game recognizes that the combat is it is main attraction. Everything surrounding it feels like an excuse to get back into the action. But that action is so sublime, you can hardly blame them.

With the power of motion plus, Ubisoft has created a sword simulator on Wii so good, the upcoming Zelda may have something to worry about. Every slice and block is detected. The strength of your blow matters, there is a boatload of special moves (like slicing a guy into the air and leaping after him) and an addictive combo system will have you trying to make every encounter as stylish as possible. Red Steel 2 just feels good to play and if you upgrade your character all the way, soon you will feel as badass as he is once you starts cutting dudes down. Even with the fantastic new sword controls, Ubisoft did not forget about the gunplay. While guns do feel underpowered once armored enemies start showing up, the aiming now works which is a huge improvement. But the sword is more fun and the game smartly expects you to supplement your offense with the gun instead of relying on it. Using both weapons in tandem adds a strategy to the combat but I still suspect that a player could never fire a bullet and still get through 90% of the game.

Unlike the first game, multiplayer is unfortunately nowhere to be seen. But at least the campaign is a decent length and every level can be replayed. Again, the game is clearly about the swordplay and the visuals. Everything else was an afterthought. Without the swordplay controls Red Steel 2 would be a competent shooter with a unique visual presentation. With it, it is one of the most satisfying and tactile video games on the market. It is a Wii game that truly shines because of how well it takes advantage of the platform. It is a justification of motion-controlled core games.

And do not worry, your arm won’t get tired!

4 out of 5

- Jordan Minor

Posted by admin on 07/21 at 09:39 PM
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Five Ways Pokémon Games Need to Evolve

This September Pokémon Black and Pokémon White will arrive in Japan before their international
release next spring. The fifth generation of Nintendo’s handheld RPG phenomenon is fast
approaching. Right now we know pocket monster fanatics can look forward to “innovations”
such as 3D graphics, three-on-three battles and idle animations for new creatures like Zorua and
something resembling a “fire pig”. Plus DSi and 3DS owners can use the cameras on their systems
for video chat. But ever since Pokémon Gold and Silver ten years ago the series has gone nowhere.
If they want me to put down the cash to catch ‘em all again more things are gonna have to change.

1. Have Pokémon That Don’t Suck
To me there are only 151 Pokémon. Sure some of the more decent ones are pretty cool but after
forcing your designers to come up with 493 of the little things it is only naturally that their
creativity has run dry. Pokémon Black and White should focus on dreaming up some higher quality
beasts even if it means having fewer of them.

2. Make a Story That Matters
We all want to be the very best, like no one ever was but that does not mean that every Pokémon
has to have the same “rise to the top of the ladder” storyline. Maybe it is time to take the criminal
gangs out of the fringes and put them in the spotlight. Or better yet, develop the Pokémon world
beyond the trainers. In a world where God can be caught in a ball by a little boy, how have
Pokémon affected the rest of the world?

3. Speed Up the Gameplay
JRPGs are the slowest of genres and Pokémon is no different. But still, the interface can definitely
be sped up, especially now that we have a touch screen. It is kind of a shame that Nintendo is so
opposed to changing their golden goose that something as simple as streamlining the menus is saved
for later installments.

4. Change the Gameplay
This is a hard one. Specifically, it is hard for this to not be vague. Basically, I’ve been doing the
same thing for the past decade of Pokémon games. I love the concept and the games are still great
but now I want to do something new. A new generation means a new chance. I do not know what
new thing I want to do but figuring that out is the job of the game designers. I trust they have ideas.

5. Consumers, Don’t be Racist
If sales data comes back saying that Pokémon White has sold four million units while Pokémon
Black only sold five copies in Detroit, America will have some explaining to do.
Game Freak has said that they want to change up the Pokémon formula with Black and White.
Here’s hoping that they are telling the truth.

- Jordan Minor

Posted by admin on 07/19 at 09:57 AM
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Super Mario Galaxy 2 Review

If there is anything negative to be said about Super Mario Galaxy 2 it is that the quietly beautiful story of its predecessor has been scaled back considerably. But the bit of plot it does have contains a message that perfectly describes this amazing game. The gentle pull of the universe eventually brings all things together. Just as Mario shall always be reunited with his special one Princess Peach, we have been surprisingly and gratefully reunited with 2007’s game of the year through a sequel that tops it in every way.

It has only been a few months since New Super Mario Bros. Wii was released and sold a billion copies but its influence has already started to show. In addition to sharing that game’s love for a gigantic Bowser, Galaxy 2 straight-up begins with Mario in a 2D sidescroller introducing familiar concepts like star bits and spin attacks before gradually adding an additional dimension. With the exception of one glorious spoiler, it is really as if the first game never happened. Just as NSMBW reintroduced the masses to 2D Mario, Nintendo hopes Galaxy 2 will do the same with 3D Mario.

This philosophy is also carried over into the new streamlined interface. Until now 3D Mario, Galaxy 1 included, have used hub worlds like castles and observatories to serve as locations for level entrances and playgrounds for ability testing. A Galaxy 2 still has a hub world, an asteroid shaped liked Mario’s face, but it has been shrunk in favor of a 2D Mario style map. The exploration is gone but getting around is much easier and straightforward. Besides, it is the levels that really matter.

Describing all of the inventive, mind-blowing and just plain fun things you will do to get all 242 stars would make this review the length of a small novel. Sure you only need 70 stars to win but you will want to keep going after that because there is always something new around the corner. Even the green star challenge which places 120 new stars in levels you have already visited is worth doing because it tests your proficiency with Galaxy 2’s pitch-perfect platforming controls. In this game you will long jump through gravitational fields, fall forever around rotating logs, drill through planets to take down giant koopas, wall jump off reforming platforms and past shadowy clones, fly giant birds and slide upside down through giant tree trunks. Add in power-ups from the last game (fire flower, spring suit, boo suit, bee suit but sadly no ice flower) and crazy new ones like a powerful rock suit and platform spawning cloud suit and you have the ingredients for exactly what you would imagine out of a next generation Mario game and so
much more, surreal to think about but with gameplay that feels just right.

The first Galaxy had these things as well but after playing this sequel, you get the feeling Nintendo held back a bit last time. They were introducing so many new concepts at once they toned them down to avoid overwhelming the player. With Galaxy 2 the kid gloves are totally off. Galaxy 1 also recycled some ideas a few too many times. In fact, the lowest points of Galaxy are the few moments the pulled from Galaxy 1, namely the giant 8-bit Mario purple coin collecting nightmare. Plus Galaxy 2 is looks a little better too.

Whereas Galaxy 1 had dark-blue space backgrounds, Galaxy 2 is brighter and more colorful, appropriate considering its summer release. The music remains as excellent as it has ever been with my personal favorite being the theme to Fluffy Bluff Galaxy and Cloudy Court Galaxy. It is thunderous, majestic and triumphant in a way only orchestrated music can be. Props also have to be given to Throwback Galaxy’s remix of bob-omb battlefield. The soft jazz nicely compliments the nostalgic remake of the classic Mario 64 level.

Galaxy 2 has one more ace in the hole that Galaxy 1 lacked. Yoshi, Mario trusty green dinosaur steed, makes in appearance in what has to be his best 3D representation yet. On his own he provides Mario with a higher jump, faster speed and a tongue capable of swallowing enemies, spitting projectiles and pulling levers. But much like Super Mario World, Yoshi can power-up just like Mario. Peppers give him a speed boost, berries turn him into a balloon and glowing fruits allow him to illuminate invisible platforms. This game succeeds because of its variety and Yoshi adds to that variety immensely.

It is always possible to nitpick. Sure levels are a little small and yeah some of the prankster comet challenges are ridiculous but after playing 60 hours of this game and having the time of my life during 59 of them, giving this game less than five stars would be a disservice. It is one the best things to come out of Nintendo, platforming games, and this generation of games. We all want to see Mario do something new in his next game but where you go after you have already, twice, gone out of this world?

5 out of 5

- Jordan Minor

Posted by admin on 07/13 at 12:12 PM
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Sony’s Move: Is it a Wii ripoff or something more?

Nintendo has the Wii Remote and Wii Motion Plus. On November 4th Microsoft will have Kinect for $150 (supposedly) and on September 19th Sony will announce their entry into the motion controller war with the release of the PlayStation Move. It will not be long until the trifecta is complete. How is Sony’s candidate compared to the others?

First let’s look at the price.  These days buying a Wii will net you a remote, nunchuk and motion plus as well. Getting another complete set adds another $70. Kinect is more the twice that plus the cost of the Xbox 360 itself but remember, with Kinect YOU ARE THE CONTROLLER! Once you have bought the camera you are done. Finally there’s Move, a device most comparable to the Wii controller. Sony’s remote will cost $50 and while you will not need a motion plus you will need to spend another $30 for the nunchuk stand-in required for more core games. Multiply that by the number of players and it ends up potentially being the most expensive controller out there not accounting for bundles.

But core gamers are always willing to shell out cash if the games are compelling. Say what you will about the Wii but by having motion controllers be a core part of the system it has forced developers to at least try using it leading some very quality games in a variety of genres. The main advantage it has so far is that it has somewhat proven itself. Kinect is a radical new experiment but so far even the best games we have seen for it have been casual games with the sole exception of the REZ sequel Child of Eden. The Move is similar to the Wii remote in ways beyond look and function. Like the Wii remote it has enough flexibility and familiarity (buttons) to work for traditional games in addition to the waggling craziness. It’s a safer bet. A compromise.

But will this compromise pay off? At E3 the Move proved to have fidelity possibly higher than even Wii Motion Plus. But even with that level of control and potential for amazing core games, casual games again got the spotlight. Sports Champions, EyePet, and Tiger Woods will probably all play great - but are they enough to buy this add-on as opposed to the Wii? And so far the only Move functionality core games seem to be using is the pointer. SOCOM 4 with Metroid Prime 3 controls sounds awesome, but it does not sound new.  People already have Wiis, they are not spending the money to basically get a Wii HD. And while new is great, new *and* good are even better (sorry Kinect).

The problem with this coming war is how reactionary Sony and Microsoft seem to be. History has shown that mid-cycle add-ons tend to fail, just ask the Sega Genesis. It is not that they do not know what they are doing, they are just not that committed and it painfully shows. As much as it may hurt, they should stick to their bases, admit that Nintendo has won for now and make motion controls a meaningful part of their next consoles. But who knows, by then we might have all moved on to smell-o-vision.

- Jordan Minor

Posted by admin on 07/07 at 11:44 PM
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Is Microsoft’s Kinect for Xbox 360 Doomed to Fail?

At this year’s E3 in Los Angeles, Microsoft showcased Kinect - the project formerly known as Project Natal. Videos of the new product are now all over the Web. Kinect is essentially a motion-sensing device that that lets players become the game’s controller. I think to pause the game you slap your forehead but I’m not sure… Anyways, while this could forever end childhood obesity, it may be doomed to fail for a number of reasons - not the least of which is its Microsoft origins.

First of all, gaming is typically a sit-down activity. People usually play games while already worn out from a tough day at work. The last thing you want to do is jump around like a pansy. Kinect is never going to catch on with the hardcore (or even general) gaming community for this reason alone. Kinect is also extremely limited by what it can really do. Serious gamers get into exact control with specialty controllers that can perform exact and accurate controls. This will never happen with full-body control, as it would be too hard to make it work properly, and game developers do not have the money right now to spend on that kind of R & D.

Then there is another bad part: hardwood floors. Unless your home has a slab floor of solid concrete (or a really thick carpet), no one is going to put up with the room and house shaking that from this “body controller.” This forces the games to be played on a cement floor. Live in an apartment? Have fun getting evicted.

Have a second-floor gaming area?  You might as well buy your kids a real drum set. Even with thick carpeting, this will be a nusiance to anybody who is not playing, which is most of the people in the house, since it appears the controller can only handle two people at a time.

Don’t get me wrong: I’m sure that Kinect, like Rock Band or a Nintendo Wii, will be fun to have at a party. It will also be a good way to help stay in shape. It does seem like an fairly amusing way to run in place and perform other lame motion exercises.  The bowling game might be interesting (although that horse has been beaten to death with Wii Bowling).  Tai-Chi and yoga fans might warm to this as well.

But when all is said and done, game consoles were invented with game controllers in mind. The Kinect is a gimmick, and as gimmicks go, its popularity will be brief, unless the most compelling game in the world arrives built around it. And I do not see that happening anytime soon.  It certainly wasn’t at E3.

Posted by admin on 06/25 at 10:46 AM
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Nintendo’s New 3DS Gaming System: No Glasses Required

The E3 Convention began on Tuesday with Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo all showing off their newest and coolest: Microsoft’s new Kinect motion-sensing device, and Playstation’s Move surely drew some large crowds.  But the biggest news from the event was Nintendo’s new 3D system called the 3DS.  3-D is clearly the next big thing and Nintendo, being ahead of the curve as usual, has developed a portable system which focuses on where the video game market is headed, as opposed to where it is now.

The line to play this new system wrapped out the door, around the corner, and into Sony’s territory.  People waited a about an hour in line to play.  The system looks pretty similar to the mock-up that’s been making the rounds. It has a 3.5” 3D display up top, and a touch screen below. No glasses are needed for the 3D and you can control how much of a 3D effect you want (or even turn it off completely). Graphics are improved over the DS graphics, it has a Slide Pad (which seems to be a kind of analog controller), motion sensor and gyroscope sensor. It was two outward facing 3D camera lenses, and photo basic editing software.  It can even play 3D movies from Warner Brothers, Disney, and more.

In addition to games, Nintendo will offer 3D movies that you can watch on the 3DS. The 3DS also has a kind of passive multiplayer system built in.

Finally some 3DS-specific games were mentioned. The return of Kid Icarus in Kid Icarus: Uprising is sure to get old-school Nintendo fans excited. Also Miyamoto is working on a 3D version of Nintendogs...& Cats. Virtual pets are in this year, it seems.

All in all, the 3DS sounds very impressive on paper, but the only bad news is that we didn’t get a price or a launch date for the Nintendo 3DS, although rumor has it, it will be ready in time for the 2010 holiday season.

Nintendo also had plenty of new Wii games to show off: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword for the Wii (and using the Wii Motion Plus & Nunchuk to control sword and shield)., Mario Sports Mix, Wii Party, Just Dance 2, (more family-friendly titles) a new Goldeneye 007 game for the Wii (about time, and not so family-friendly), Kirby’s Epic Yarn, a textile-themed game featuring characters and levels that all seemed to be constructed out of yarn and fabric, and Donkey Kong Country Returns (Wii, coming this holiday season).

All in all it was a great press conference for Nintendo, they were clearly the big winners at this year’s E3.

Posted by admin on 06/17 at 07:37 AM
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Earn 15% Cashback at VP Games through Microsoft’s Bing Cashback Program

VP Games has partnered with Microsoft’s new Bing Cashback Program, and you can now earn up to 15% cash back on your purchases at vpgames.com!

How it Works:

1) To begin getting cash back on purchases at vpgames.com, first sign up for a Bing Cashback account at bing.com/cashback

2) Once you have signed up, find vpgames.com on the list of Eligible Cashback Stores, or visit our store here.  Note: you will need to click on this exact link each time in order to enable Cashback

3) Start shopping!  Choose from the over 15,000 products we currently have in stock.  Each product we offer has a cashback amount between two and fifteen percent.  So if you purchase an item for $300 and the cashback rate for that item is 10%, then you will receive $30 back in your Bing Cashback account!

Note: The money you build up in your cashback account is real, hard, cash.  It can be used for anything and does not have to be used at VP Games.  You can request a check from Bing or you can use the Cashback for further shopping - it’s totally up to you.

Bing Cashback is a great way to earn money back on all of your video game purchases.

For more information, read How Bing Cashback works, or see the Frequently Asked Questions

Start Shopping Today!

Posted by admin on 06/02 at 09:57 AM
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Fake Xbox Live Coupons Spreading Like Wildfire

We’ve recently seen a bunch of fake coupons for a free Xbox LIVE 1600 Point Card surface circulating around the Web.  Although we at vpgames have not bought or sold any of these coupons, many other retailers have.

Xbox LIVE does not have any free or discount coupons in circulation through 3rd party aggregators like SmartSource.  The coupon will not work, and is entirely a scam!

Please advise that Microsoft did not issue this coupon and you should treat this coupon as fraudulent.  If you have any questions regarding the validity of your coupon, contact Microsoft directly.

Posted by admin on 04/20 at 08:34 AM
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Nintendo’s First Half Revealed

The amount of information revealed Nintendo’s recent media summit is too much to put into clever paragraphs. So here is just everything you need to know as bluntly as possible.

Mario Galaxy 2 is coming out on May 23rd. The game is harder, has 240 stars but no hub world, and you can ride Yoshi and power-up him up with dash peppers and blimp berries. The Super Guide is also being considered.

Metroid: Other M is coming out on June 27th. The gameplay is a combination of 3D rendered, fixed camera classic Metroid sidescrolling, Metroid Prime first person action, and lengthy cutscenes featuring a rather talkative Samus fresh out of Super Metroid.

Sin and Punishments Star Successor is coming out June 7th. This sequel retains everything you loved about Treasure’s N64 original while adding better graphics and online leaderboards.

Monster Hunter Tri is coming out on April 20th. Capcom moves this pretty PSP system seller to the console in a attempt to finally connect with Western gamers. The new classic controller pro bundle alleviates the control issues of the past. Free online with Wii Speak support is in and demo discs are being given out at local Gamestops.

The beloved indie freeware, Metroid homage Cave Story is out on WiiWare for 1200 points and it is better than ever with its enhanced presentation.

Pokemon Heart Gold and Soul Silver are out. The two best Pokemon games are reborn with the graphics of Diamond and Pearl and a new Pokewalker pedometer accessory that let’s you strengthen your monster with the power of physical activity.

WarioWare DIY is out. Now you can create your own microgames and share them with the world now matter how obscene they are on the DS and on the Wii.

This summer, for two dollars, Photo Dojo puts you and your friends in a cheap fighting game with the power of the DSi Camera. Hilarity ensues.

The obscure Game Boy, Starfox predecessor X is receiving a DSiWare sequel called X-scape with the help of the original creator Dylan Cuthbert and Q Games. Prepare to shoot down more polygonal heads in first person.

More classics top-down shoot’em up action is coming to DSiWare in the form of Metal Torrent.

With so much information finally known, only one question remains: where the heck is Golden DS? I guess we will have to wait until E3 to find out about the rest of 2010. Zelda anyone?

- Jordan Minor

Posted by admin on 04/07 at 11:00 AM
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The Next DS is Coming…in 3D!

Right now, Nintendo of America wants consumers to be solely paying attention to the recently released DSi XL, basically the DSi with bigger screens and a new pen stylus for your arthritic, farsighted grandparents with a Brain Age addiction. But for those who find the XL to be as unnecessary as the Game Boy Micro, aka anyone reading this site, there is hope. A recent, and poorly timed, press release from Nintendo of Japan has revealed the existence of the true successor to the Nintendo DS. Sometime In the next twelve months get ready to experience the Nintendo 3DS.

The only confirmed details are that the system will have 3D graphical effects without the need for special glasses, it will be backwards compatible with existing DS software and it will be fully unveiled at E3 in June. However, there are plenty of fun rumors to speculate on. The Japanese newspapers that blew the lid of the DSi features are saying the 3D will be powered by a parallax screen developed by frequent Nintendo partner, Sharp.

While not ideal for televisions, the limited viewing angle of handhelds allows this type of 3D to be feasible which is good since having to wear glasses might turn off some of 150 million DS owners who find 3D to be kind of dumb (like me). Other rumors include two touch screens, a smaller gap between the two screens, rumble, two analogs sticks, motion sensing, longer battery life and specs similar to the Gamecube thanks to nVidia’s Tegra chip. 

In Japan, there is already a DSi game that uses the internal camera to track the players head movement in order to simulate 3D. Objects appear to be inside the screen instead of popping out. Perhaps 3DS games will look similar. Just imagine staring at all 698 Pokemon for all angles in three glorious dimensions. Let’s just hope that all games are not black and red unlike Nintendo’s first foray into 3D, the spectacular, career-ending, child-blinding abomination known as the virtual boy.

- Jordan Minor

Posted by admin on 03/31 at 10:14 AM
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“8001050F Error” Plaguing Original PS3 Systems

If you own the slim-version of the PS3, RELAX! This error does not pertain to you.  Unfortunately, all of those who own the pre-2009 models have been faced with the error, which prevents gamers from signing into the PlayStation Network.  This pesky error also prevents gamers from getting their much need gameplay of the day online and, in some cases, offline, causing a stream of obscenities to rush from their mouths. 

Now, how did this error occur, you ask? Well, Sony speculates the nasty little bug that’s causing all the fuss came from the system’s internal clock functionality.  Until this issue has been resolved, gamers are urged not to use their old PS3s as the error can cause some data and trophy loss.

For the safety of your precious game data and to protect those coveted trophies, here is a list of errors to watch out for. All of these errors can be found at PlayStation’s Blog site (http://blog.us.playstation.com/):

* The date of the PS3 system may be re-set to Jan 1, 2000.
* When the user tries to sign in to the PlayStation Network, the following
message appears on the screen; “An error has occurred. You have been
signed out of PlayStation Network (8001050F)”.
* When the user tries to launch a game, the following error message appears
on the screen and the trophy data may disappear; “Failed to install
trophies. Please exit your game.”
* When the user tries to set the time and date of the system via the
Internet, the following message appears on the screen; “The current date
and time could not be obtained. (8001050F)”
* Users are not able to play back certain rental video downloaded from the
PlayStation Store before the expiration date.

Sony hasn’t released the details on how they intend to fix the firmware error, but more details are sure to come. Nevertheless, Sony is work tirelessly to fix the bug, so gamers sit tight! Everything should be back to normal within the next 24 hours.

- Natasha Harmon

Posted by admin on 03/01 at 05:41 PM
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At Last: WiiWare Gets Demos

2009 seems to be the year when Nintendo finally adds features to the Wii that probably should have been there at launch. Earlier this year they allowed for games to be played off high capacity storage cards, effectively giving the system a small hard drive. Now, a year and a half after the launch of their original digital games distribution service, WiiWare, they will be allowing consumers to demo certain titles before taking the plunge. 

Demo games are listed under the demo genre on the Wii Shop Channel and are downloaded for zero points. Games currently available as demos include Bit Trip Beat, World of Goo, NyxQuest: Icarian Spirits, and Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles My Life as a Darklord. All of these titles have been met with general praise and have already been available for purchase on the Wii Shop channel for months. After completing a demo you are instantly redirected to the Wii Shop Channel and given the opportunity to purchase the full game.

The fifth game featuring a demo is Nintendo’s first $15.00 WiiWare game, Pokemon Rumble, which was released on the same day. This dungeon crawler has you playing as chibi Pokemon toys. While the idea of a real-time Pokemon game has loads promise, based solely on the demo, my impression of game and its simple button-mashing combat has not been great. This also comes right after the release of the excellent WiiWare remake of Excitebike, which unfortunately did not receive a demo.

Expect more demos of high-profile WiiWare in the future. Perhaps the upcoming re-releases of the Phoenix Wright series on WiiWare. Maybe expect more demos of games that are already out too. While it would be nice for every game to eventually receive a demo, I am not sure if something like Spogs Racing even deserves one. Free is too expensive for that game. They should be playing you to play it. Who knows, we may even get some Virtual Console demos too.

- Jordan Minor

Posted by admin on 02/02 at 11:29 AM
(1) Comments

Microsoft Sued Over Unused Xbox Live Points

Digital Battle has recently reported that Microsoft has been sued over their alleged fraudulent sale/use of Xbox Live points.

The controversy stems over the fact that unused Microsoft points cannot be refunded - the user is essentially forced to buy something or lose the points, which the group says violates the law.

It will be interesting to see how Microsoft reacts to this lawsuit.  Will they fight it?  Pay off the accusers?  Free Xbox Live points for all?

Posted by admin on 01/27 at 12:05 PM
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Silent Hill: Shattered Memories Review

When the first thing you notice about a game is how unsettling its title screen is, you know that you are in for a quality survival horror experience. Actually, Silent Hill Shattered Memories is more akin to a psychological thriller or an episode of the Twilight Zone than it is to The Grudge or Dawn of The Dead. So much of what makes this game so excellent are story elements or gameplay set pieces that must not be spoiled in this review. However, what I can say is that despite their differences, Shattered Memories for Wii is the best Silent Hill title since Team Silent’s original trilogy. The PS2 and PSP versions are pretty good too.

Shattered Memories is the antithesis of Resident Evil 4. Both series started off as relatively similar survival horror games. But since both of those original games have aged terribly and now that we are beginning to realize that survival horror is barely a genre, both series have had to reinvent themselves in order to survive in today’s game space. Resident Evil 4 was an action-packed masterpiece partly responsible for the current third-person shooter revival. Meanwhile, Shattered Memories goes in the opposite direction, essentially becoming an adventure game with a very different sort of action. It’s not as palatable for the mainstream as Resident Evil 4 and therefore will not be as influential. But that does not mean its approach is not just as valid.

The most refreshing thing about Shattered Memories very prominent storyline is that, if interrupted correctly, there is nothing supernatural about it. This reboot of the PS1 original still sees Harry Mason searching for his daughter Cheryl in the eerie town of Silent Hill. He still goes through Midwich High, meets lady police officers, nurses and psychiatrists, and of course encounters monsters when the town violently shifts into its nightmare state. However, all of the demon/cult nonsense of the original game has been thrown out in favor of a new mind-bending prose that warrants a thesis essay in order to properly analyze it. Put as vaguely as possible, the “monsters” in this game are more like “daddy issues”.

Of course, daddy issues do not make for interesting gameplay by themselves. Luckily, the parts where you play Shattered Memories are as entertaining as its plot. Silent Hill, while not an open world, is still a vast, desolate and snow-filled wasteland for you to explore. The bulk of the game has you solving logic puzzles with fluid, natural motion controls in urban and natural environments so beautiful, they proves that the Wii can pull of non-stylized (a.k.a. realistic) graphics with flair. Your pointer based flashlight illuminates crisp textures and shadows are cast so well, some of the object twisting challenges are based on shadows. Add to that awesome uses of the tinny Wii remote speaker and you have one of the games built specifically for the platform.

PS2 and PSP see a graphical and control hit but it does not pull down the experience too much. The puzzles never get too difficult but having to spend too much time on a single one would halt the game’s momentum, and lessen the tense atmosphere which is more valuable. Adding to the immersion are unexpected first-person sequences, and a cell phone capable of calling various numbers, taking grainy photos, and receiving supernatural voicemails and text messages. It is ironic that in this game, the completely deserted town of Silent Hill, feels like a real, living, breathing place. 

The shortest but most intriguing sections of Shattered Memories are the occasional visits to your psychiatrist, returning character Dr. Kaufman. The answers you give during his session subtly influence the rest of the game which is even creepier to think about once the questions become sexual in nature. In a game with chillingly appropriate music by series composer Akira Yamaoka and excellent voice acting and writing, Dr. K’s performance stands out as my favorite. He can be both cool and dramatic, he plays into the conclusion quite nicely, and answering his question’s truthfully led to a frighteningly accurate psych analysis during the credits. Shattered Memories never lets up, which unfortunately also means that it ends in about six hours. But trying to see all of the ways the game can change itself adds considerable replay value. 

Finally, there are the “action” sequences. In an appreciated change of pace, during these set interludes Silent Hill will freeze over rather that its usual process of burning and rusting. Fleshy, skinless, humanoid monsters will then pursue you with wild abandon until you reach a waypoint of solve a puzzle. If you take the time to glance over your shoulder, you can see that these creatures change throughout the game. However, Silent Hill games have usually had various kinds of creepy monsters to throw at you and this game only has one. At least their designs actually mean something instead of the usual Japanese horror style of “weird stuff for the sake of weird stuff”. Being just an average dude with a flashlight, you can never fight these foes, at last justifying the game “survival” horror. Flares, obstacles and motion-controlled shoves can keep the beasts at bay but the real solution is to run. Icy markings show you the way but stiff running and a poor map can make these mazes more frustrating than frightening. When they work, they really work and its creates an intense, thrilling gameplay experience that perfectly compliments the slower, more methodically paced exploration and therapy portions. It adds straight up fear to go along with the general unrest. But Shattered Memories chase sections are hit and miss to the point where they are sometimes more fun in theory than in practice.

However, taken as a whole, Silent Hill Shattered Memories is a risky experiment that pays off incredibly well. Being a mature Wii game (as well as a 2010 PS2 game and a PSP game period) no one will buy it. Plus, its radical changes to the Silent Hill fiction and formula might turn away the more dedicated fans. But like the best cult movies, those in the know, whether they are veterans or newcomers, will have the best kept secret in psychological horror gaming all to themselves, perfect for those lonely winter nights.

Rating (Wii) 5 out of 5

Rating (PS2 & PSP): 4 out of 5

- Jordan Minor

Posted by admin on 01/25 at 09:39 PM
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Megaman 10: What We Know and What We Want

Retro Capcom fans rejoice, Megaman 10 has is coming to WiiWare and presumably Xbox Live Arcade and the Playstation Network. Just like 2008’s Megaman 9, Megaman 10 will be a downloadable Megaman game in the style of the NES classics complete with 8-bit graphics.

Currently, details are scarce but we do know that Megaman 10 will feature Mega Man, the mysterious Protoman, and an unnamed third playable character (signs are pointing towards Bass who debuted in the SNES-only Megaman 7) each with unique abilities. We also know that the plot sees Megaman searching the world for the cure to a rampant robot virus (Robotenza) that has infected his “sister” Roll. Megaman games of old are legendary for their difficulty so hopefully the inclusion of an easy mode might allow more, less hardened players to experience the sublime combination of 2D shooting and pinpoint platforming.

Megaman games are also well known for their colorful boss characters each with a special, usually elemental, power Megaman can gain after defeating them Right now, two of the robot masters of Megaman 10 have been revealed: the tank-like Commando Man and the flamboyant Sheep Man with a thunder wool attack. Megaman 9 broke new ground by including the first female robot master, Splash Woman. Unfortunately, it has been confirmed that once again, the bosses of Megaman 10 will be all men, robot men.

In the past, Capcom has run contests for fans to design robot masters that have actually been put into the games such as Wind Man and Knight Man. So I decided to share my own ideas for the six remaining Megaman 10 robot masters, ignoring the info pointing to their actual themes: fire, sports, sewer and ice. Besides, none are that much more ridiculous than Sheep Man. I hope you are listening Capcom…

Pie Man- Megaman journeys through a delicious lair of pastries and red-hot ovens to track down the confectionary creature known as Pie Man. His banana cream shot kills the enemy it strikes and leaves behind a sticky trap for those foolish enough to walk through it.

Train Man- Taking a hint from The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, Megaman rides the rails to take on Train Man. This stage could see Megaman running on top of moving trains, sliding over rails with proper timing, and hopping on platforms floating on smokestacks. Train Man’s conductor shot impales enemies with golden railroad spikes uniting east and west.

Math Man- Megaman learns that math can be fun when he enters Math Man’s infernal classroom. After dodging flying numbers and calculators, Megaman periodically must blast his way to the correct answers of increasing difficult equations. The power of Math Man’s logarithm shot increases exponentially.

Amoeba Man- Keeping with the virus theme of the game’s plot, Megaman gets microscopic to combat Amoeba Man’s army of cells and bacteria. Maybe this stage could take place inside the body of Megaman’s creator, Dr Light, a la Mario and Luigi: Bowser’s Inside story. The RNA beam does damage over time, but be sure not to his any vital organs.

Beatbox Man- Megaman takes it to the streets to face off against hoods and gangsters last seen since Double Dragon. All the while, he must use his robotic ears to listen and pay attention to the hot, fresh beats to locate Beatbox Man’s underground club base. The ghetto blaster stuns a wide area of enemies with its sonic power.

Man Man- Megaman fights his way through traffic and office buildings to hunt the most dangerous game: man. Man Man is armed with nothing but a regular pistol and a bottle of whiskey and is only vulnerable when loosening his tie or taking off his belt to beat you with it.

Stop settling for the Megaman ZX’s and forget the Star Forces and Battle Networks. Megaman 10 drops this March. Here’s hoping it won’t have poorly done downloadable content again. On a related note, be on the lookout for Eddie Lebron’s crazy/awesome looking Megaman live action movie coming…eventually.

- Jordan Minor

Posted by admin on 01/20 at 12:07 AM
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The New Super Mario Brothers Wii Review

The debate will forever rage on, mostly on the internet, about which Mario title is the pinnacle of Nintendo’s flagship platforming super-franchise. For me, the greatest 2D Mario will always be the Super Nintendo showpiece, Super Mario World. Granted, a lot of that is based on nostalgia but a good amount on my reverence for that game is based on newfound appreciation of its brilliant gameplay mechanics that can only be recognized once older. New Super Mario Bros Wii, a worthy candidate for Nintendo’s big holiday offering, plays like the myriad of side scrolling Mario games that came before it so it can not be called brilliant in that sense. Instead, its brilliance comes from the way it combines the best elements of the Mario games along with enough new tricks of its own. It is sort of like Super Mario All-Starts but as a whole new experience as opposed to a compilation.

At this point, complaining about the cliché “rescue the princess” storyline of Mario games has become a cliché itself. Still, after playing through the hilarious tongue-in-cheek story of Mario and Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story, there is something sweet about the genuine and un-ironic way the story in New Super Mario Bros. Wii presents itself. It is still nothing more than an excuse to get right into the gameplay but it is a timeless excuse nonetheless. 

From grabbing the first mushroom and sliding down the flagpole of World 1-1, to dodging lava in the epic final Bowser boss fight eight worlds and eight hours later, this feels like a Mario game through and through. The most obvious reference point is Super Mario Bros. 3 but it really is a greatest hits of all Mario games. Castles use tricks from the original, items can be picked up like vegetables in Mario Bros. 2, airships and koopa kids return from Mario 3, Yoshi along with ghost houses and the spin jump are from Mario World, the red coins from Yoshi’s Island return, the 3D graphics allow for Mario 64 moves like wall-jumping and butt-stomping, the prodigal son Bowser Jr.’s first appearance was Mario Sunshine and the spin jump is activated using a Mario Galaxy-esque wii remote shake. Also, it is a follow up to, and uses most of the music from, New Super Mario Bros., one of the best-selling Nintendo DS games. Hell, one of the challenge stages is an expansion of the original arcade Mario Bros. game. There’s rafts, p-switches, hidden exits, blue coins, pow blocks, vines, walking piranha plants, spikes, bob-ombs, koopa clown cars, spinning panels and so much more. If you have ever played a core Mario game, you will love at least one aspect of this Wii successor, even if it is just the unforgettable sound effects, the throwback title font or the red box.
However, Nintendo would not have put that “new” in the title if they did not have any new ideas. There are new powers. The ice flower puts out fireballs and turns enemies into frozen statues for you to toss. Unfortunately you can’t walk on water like you could in Galaxy but at least it doesn’t wear off. The penguin suit lets you walk on ice better and slide through blocks while keeping the powers of the ice flower. Finally, there’s the propeller mushroom that allows you to fly through the sky. It’s not game breaking but it can certainly make things much easier. There are so many power-ups in this game that some, like Yoshi and the mini-mushroom, are under-used. It’s a shame because Yoshi can help you hijack Latiku clouds which is pretty much the best thing ever. Even the fire flower takes somewhat of a backseat to its cooler, newer counterpart. Items can also be saved in your inventory for later use in harder levels they are most suited towards. Ice is good for putting down the Dry Bones in Bower’s castles and turning fish into floating platforms. The NES style controls have also received some Wii enhancements besides needless, optional nunchuk support.

Certain sections require you to tilt the Wii remote to control lights and bridges. Shaking the Wii remote activates the spin jump, propeller suit, and a small mid-air twist that can keep you in the air longer adding a new twist to the platforming finesse. The over world map contains familiar locations like minigame mushroom houses and enemy encounters, but now you might be summoned back to an earlier stage to carry a kidnapped Toad to the end for a prize. The whole game is satisfyingly difficult in that classic Mario way but because these challenges have you taking care of two characters at once, they can get hard in a new way. If you ever feel down though, the game will applaud you if you pull off a particularly stylish technique like in Super Smash Bros. 

The most obvious difference between New Super Mario Bros Wii and its predecessors are the 3D graphics. Mario now runs from left to right in a polygonal world full of lighting and particle effects not feasible on the DS and not even possible the systems of yesteryear. Boos are now transparent, clouds disperse and fade away when you spin and dark caverns can be illuminated with light blocks. The look is kind of a mixed bag. The world has a plastic sheen that’s like Galaxy but without the spacey glow. It’s pleasing to look at, particularly the maps, but not as much as say, the side scrolling sections of Super Mario Galaxy. Plus, the 3D characters control slightly differently then they did back in the second dimension. Instead of the tight controls of Wario Land Shake It, it’s more about sliding and momentum management. You’ll get used to it but the physics do feel off at first. Perhaps Nintendo could have implemented some 2.5D trickery like Klonoa. However, then it wouldn’t have been 2D Mario. That’s my one major complaint with this game. It is very reverent of its forefathers, which is fine, but by spending so much time combining and improving on what they did, it forgot to do new things of its own, something older Mario games were pros at. No one is going to confuse Mario World 1 with Mario World 2 but they might mix up this Wii one with the DS one. New Super Mario Bros. Wii is an excellent game the just lacks a unique identity within the Mario canon. 

There is still more to this game though. You will die a lot if you do not know what you are doing. Fortunately, if you die eight times in a row the new, optional “Super Guide” can help you complete the stage by having Luigi show you the way, as always. However, you only have five lives at first. So know that before you can even use the super guide, you will get a game over and lose your progress after the last castle. The save system is strangely limited and can even get a little frustrating. I ended up just collecting lots of coins and hoarding lots of lives and spare items to make it through the end. There are also three star coins in each level you can use to unlock extra hint videos and even a whole new secret Star world.

Finally, there’s the much talked about multiplayer element. You and four of your friends can compete in coin battles but the real star is how you can play the entire single player game with four player cooperatively. Four players trying to hobble their way through a somewhat larger that usual Mario stage is as ridiculous as it sounds, especially once everybody starts picking each other up and bouncing off of each other. But this mode can actually be easier for a few reasons. When a person dies there is an annoying pause but the rest keep going, whereas in the single player game death kicks you back to the beginning or half-way point. Players can also put themselves in protective bubbles. If everyone bubbles up the game ends but if one person makes it through, the rest in bubbles keep their lives. Therefore, if the good player loses all their lives, they gets a continue and can move forward because the players who used bubbles still survived. It’s hard to explaining but the players in bubbles almost become “life barriers”. It’s like clones bred specifically for donating their lives/organs to Mario/their older sister with cancer.

The point is four player Mario is stupidly fun and is the best thing this game has that it can call its own. Unless you count Zelda: Four Swords or the Smash Bros Brawl single-player but those are too different to compare. Two toads are still lazy character choices though.

New Super Mario Bros Wii is more like Another Super Mario Bros….Wii. Awkward titles aside, this game is not the leap forward Super Mario Galaxy was. Galaxy 2 won’t be that leap either but it’ll be closer. This isn’t even the great leap forward for 2D Mario games. Yoshi’s Island was the last time that happened. It’s hard to deny how enjoyable this game is though. Doing what works isn’t the most creative thing in the world but it’s not a bad thing either. New Super Mario will keep you entertained from its first rolling green hill, to its toe tapping, interactive credits. Who wouldn’t want another Super Mario Bros. game?

Rating: 4.5 Stars

- Jordan Minor

Posted by admin on 12/13 at 09:14 PM
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Review of Dead Space: Extraction (Wii)

The first scene in Dead Space Extraction, after some expository video chatting with one Lexine Murdoch, in as over the shoulder view of a man clad in mining armor extremely reminiscent of the protagonist of the original Dead Space, Isaac Clarke. If you didn’t know any better, for a brief moment you’d think that was your playable character but then the camera pulls away, the IR cursor comes on screen, and you realize you are actually playing an on-rails shooter like Virtua Cop. That’s the conundrum of Visceral Games’ first Wii effort. It does so much right, and goes so far out of its way to get you to believe that it is Dead Space at every turn. While this enthusiasm is appreciated and enjoyable it also serves to highlight that Extraction isn’t Dead Space. It’s better in some ways like more immersive storytelling and worse in others like less open-ended gameplay. If you can get past that, you’ll find an excellent, well-crafted sci-fi horror guided first-person experience.

Unlike so many other rail shooters, Extraction uses embedded perspective and complete control over the pace and sequence of the game to create one of the most symbiotic combinations of cinema and interactivity seen in a video game. That’s not as good as it sounds, things tend to slow down to too often, but it lets the game pull off so many unique tricks that having permanently integrated cutscenes wasn’t such a bad thing. It also helps that the story itself is pretty good too. Playing out a lot like Aliens, or perhaps a grittier more realistic Metroid, Extraction follows a group of four well voice-acted characters that survive a mysterious plague of insanity, suicide and violent alien creatures on a mining colony only to be stranded on a nearby ship filled with the same infestation. Along with the terrible animated movie Dead Space Downfall, and the decent, uniquely drawn, Dead Space motion comics (included as unlockables in Extraction), this game serves as a prequel to the original Dead Space so there are only so many ways the action could play out. The escape and survival storyline of Extraction ends up being fairly similar to the movie and the comics. That being said, as a horror movie it manages to be serious without being unintentionally stupid. Your crew is a nice mix of who you would want on your space zombie killing team and who you would likely be stuck with. Plus, at any time your character could abruptly die as part of the story which is surprising and sort of unsettling the first time it happens. Be on the look out for some cameos of characters important to the plot of the first Dead Space too.

Compared to many other games, Dead Space Extraction places a heavy emphasis on story. However, that does not mean the EA, Visceral Games, (and Eurocom too but keep that quiet) phoned it in on what already must be a relatively easy game type to produce. Against my wishes, rail-shooters have this reputation for being a lesser genre for some reason. Granted, although there are things like branching pathways and brief moments of full camera movement, much of the mobility and control is taken away from the player and video games are a lot about control, but Extraction makes up for this by applying Dead Space concepts in order to create new, exciting and innovative gunplay. Aside from humans and their vulnerable heads, enemies in Extraction must have their limbs removed in order to be killed. As the enemy types vary, limbs become more numerous and more oddly placed. In order to defeat this monsters, player use a variety of guns with a variety of effects not usually seen in the genre. While you do have a pistol with unlimited ammo, you also have limited and specialized weapons like fire, lightning, telekinesis for item grabbing and box launching, glowworms for lighting up dark rooms, and the ability to slow down time. Each weapon can be upgraded and has an alternate fire accessed by tilting the Wii remote. For example, the plasma cutter fires horizontally by default and vertically when tilting the Wii remote vertically. This adds a satisfying layer of depth and strategy to a genre criticized for being shallow and mindless. It all comes to a head in one final shootout against legions of “necromorphs”. Along the way you’ll also be using your arsenal to build barricades, saw through strange bacterial growth, repair electrical panels, and hop between platforms in zero gravity. If you want to try your hand at mastering the combat without treading through the story again, there are also ten challenge rooms, one for each story mission, with waves of enemies waiting to be “strategically dismembered”. 

There is something about Extraction that occurs throughout the whole game but struck me particularly at the second to last chapter, the best one in the game. All rail-shooters are scripted, but this one is so well-scripted that you thank it for being so. Call of Duty 4 has the quality too but not to the same degree. Hallucinations happen often enough that you don’t know when to expect them. Music cues happen perfectly whether they are a creepy version of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” or dead silence while fighting a boss in the vacuum of space. Though on that subject, boss fights in on-rails shooters continue to be dumb since you always just end up going in a circle. But, being able to effectively apply cinematic technique and flair so commonly seen in movies to game is still quite a feat. Perhaps why that’s Uncharted 2 is getting so much praise, because it manages to do that without being on-rails. Essential to this are the graphics which high quality for a Wii game like most of its rail-shooters and their good graphics making up for small scope. Unfortunately, once you reach the Ishimura mining ship of the first game, the environments and levels start to blur into each other. The used, decaying future comes across nicely and stuff like the blurry vision caused by the dust and the green haze caused by your helmet, take advantage of the first person perspective in a way reminiscent of Metroid Prime. There are some oddities though, like being able to fire a gun while both of your hands can be seen doing climbing down a ladder, but minor inconsistencies like those hardly taken away from the strength of this “guided first person experience”.

When I first heard that Dead Space was coming to the Wii I was extremely happy. I was in need of some quality third-person shooting and sci-fi is kind of my thing. Then I heard that it would essentially be a dumbed-down rail shooter and was crushed. After playing Dead Space Extraction for the seven hours it lasts, I can safely say that it is anything but dumb. It’s a shining example of one way you should do this type of game on a console, House of the Dead Overkill being the other end of the spectrum. However, I still wish EA and Visceral had not skimped out and made a real Dead Space for the Wii instead. Resident Evil 4 worked beautifully on the Wii and Dead Space is essentially Resident Evil 4 with more modern, western controls and space zombies instead of Spanish zombies. Still, games should be judged mostly on their own merits, and with that in mind Dead Space Extraction is most definitely game one should experience, because you’re not going to get that experience anywhere else.

Rating: 4 out of 5
- Jordan Minor

Posted by admin on 11/25 at 11:01 AM
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Giftwrapping Service and Extended Warranty Available for the Holidays

With the Holidays upon us, we at vpgames are offering two new services that are sure to add value to your shopping experience: Giftwrapping Services and an Extended Warranty option at checkout.

Gift Wrap:

 Giftwrapping Services Include:

Extended Warranty:

 Extended Warranty:

Posted by admin on 11/22 at 07:10 PM
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DJ Hero Review: Pricey but Well Worth It

Now that DJ Hero exists, I feel like a total chump for spending $200 last year buying the whole band kit for Activision’s other rhythm game, Guitar Hero: World Tour. I’ve never been a huge fan of it or the Rock Band series but they are fun enough at parties as long as I never sing or have to press the orange button on the guitar. However, when playing the drums by myself, as I often do, are only a handful of songs I care to perform. One year later, I’ve just completed all 94 mixes in DJ Hero with a star rating of three or higher on medium and am hungrily awaiting the upcoming downloadable songs. The fact that DJ Hero is just as amazing as something like Rock Band, but with a wholly unique soundtrack and set of gameplay mechanics, proves that matter how hard you try to write them off, there is or will eventually be a rhythm game you can’t help but adore.

There has been a lot of confusion surrounding DJ Hero that I do not completely understand. Granted, screenshots of the game or of its turntable controller without any context are a bit befuddling, but once it has been explained to you, or better yet, played in front of you, DJ Hero makes much more sense. There are three buttons of the record for the three on-screen streams which look like veins filled with life giving musical blood. Depending on which icon comes down the path, you either press the button or hold them and make a scratching motion. The difficulty curve is steep but smart. On easy you can scratch how you please but later difficulties require directional scratches. Later difficulties also require you to use the cross fader to switch between the two songs that constitute DJ Hero’s multilayered tracks. Cross fading is the most difficult it part of the game partially due to the peripheral itself. The switch has too much room to slide between its three positions and is not as precise as it needs to be for quick cross fade spikes.

However, everything else about the construction is the quality we expect from Red Octane. The turntable has weight, texture and can be physically rewound for extra points. Other features include an effects dial for pitch-altering score multipliers and a button that lights up when euphoria/star power/overdrive is ready for use. The device itself fits nicely in your lap or on a table and can even be reconfigured for left-handed play. It’s an intimidating toy but its features are gradually introduced. Play on beginner and you can scratch if you want but you don’t have to. On expert, if you can’t pull off a series of alternating cross fade spikes and up-up-down scratches then you are in trouble.

With that lengthy but necessary explanation out of the way, let’s get onto what makes DJ Hero so special, the music and how you interact with it. Since I played so few songs in Guitar Hero, I would exclusively use quick play. Even with my initial interest in DJ Hero eclipsing its sibling, I still questioned the need for things like world tour, features fans clamor for. But now I realize, when you love a playing a rhythm game and almost every song on it, you’ll take any excuse to replay it, even if it is just repackaged into sets with different objectives. DJ Hero, unfortunately, uses a straightforward song progression that has you playing 24 sets made of several songs. It has been stripped down to the essentials of a music game. You can’t fail the songs and errors only stop the track momentarily but you’ll want to do well in order to gain stars necessary to unlock new sets.

The sets themselves are interestingly arranged. The first sets are full of mainstream heavy mash-ups like The Jackson 5 vs. Third Eye Blind and familiar celebrity DJs like Grandmaster Flash, while those hardcore enough to go further will be blasted by techno like the Daft Punk mega mixes (sans “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” the one Daft Punk song everyone knows thanks to Daft Hands) and “Groundhog” as performed by the aptly named Scratch Perverts, the makers of the hardest songs in the game. Occasionally there will be a theme, like a certain guest artist or “Born to Rock” and its mixed bag of rock meets rap, but it’s mostly scaled by difficulty. In interesting observation is that some of the songs toward they end are only difficult if played on expert. “Beats and Pieces” hurts your arm if played on medium but isn’t that hard when you can scratch in any direction. Little Richard vs. Shlomo is way harder even though its one below it on the game’s difficulty scale. 

The almost random nature of the songs I just mentioned is indicative of one of DJ Hero’s greatest strengths or biggest flaws depending on the kind of music you enjoy. Thanks to Vivendi and its Universal Music Group, Activision was able to cast a wide net when scooping up songs to include in this game. Sure, Jay-Z and Eminem are in there but so are Paula Abdul and Tears for Fears. It’s more than just “Hip-Hop Hero” despite some of the marketing focus. If you only like one style of music, than you are probably justified in dreading having to wade through songs you don’t care about. That has always been my opinions towards Rock Band. However, two songs in DJ Hero that may sound bad separately, often times become a magical sounding mash-up thanks to the impressive talent brought in to arrange the set list. Who knew that Marvin Gaye and The Gorillaz went so well together, Rihanna went great with The Killers or that David Bowie can almost seamlessly blend in with 50 Cent.? Sure, songs are reused too often and there are too many Beastie Boys tracks but for the most part it’s the creativity and originality of the songs in DJ Hero that make it the most interesting and enjoyable rhythm game I’ve played since Elite Beat Agents. Plus there are no terrible covers of Avril Lavigne songs. 

Then you add in the fact that this game is played using a fake turntable, not a plastic guitar. DJing is a fairly abstract art since you are more manipulating music than playing it or actively participating in it. The multiple ways you can affect a song (cross fading, scratching, rewind etc.) as opposed to merely tapping or strumming make the note layouts more unpredictable and the gameplay feel fresher. There is also some strategy to using euphoria as it enables automatic cross fading meaning it should be saved for cross fader heavy section. It’s true that real DJing is about improvisation rather than following a set note chart and some are criticizing DJ Hero for failing to capture that. However, DJ Hero is about being a fun video game that is about music and so far no one has been able to make a fun and accessible video game that sounds good and that manages captures the creativity of making music as well as playing it. Wii Music is the closest game to follow that philosophy and it failed miserably as will the upcoming Scratch: The Ultimate DJ for the same reason, in my opinion. DJ Hero is already weird and off-putting for some and having a more authentic turntable like Scratch’s might make it more alienating than immersive.

Music games are rarely about the visuals but DJ Hero, from its crazy CGI intro movie to its graffiti splattered menus, captures the neon, European meets Inner City ecstasy of house music and the club scene, albeit with more Sprite soda logos. Scenes from your various venues like Time Square move at a frenetic place behind the note highway, sometimes in time to the music. There are unlockable headphones and turntables for you to customize the in-game avatars. These avatars occasionally scratch on screen while you scratch in real life but are mostly further window dressing. You can also play as some of the celebrity DJ’s although their wardrobe cannot be altered. These include the late DJ AM, and DJ Shadow who has glowing eyes for some inexplicable reason. Finally, you can unlock sample sounds like lasers or Flavor Flav voice clips to play during special areas of a song. When speaking of presentation, it makes me wish that the DJ Hero disc art had simply been a picture of a vinyl record. 

I spent a lot of this review hating on Guitar Hero but if you are a fan of the series do not be put off by DJ Hero. In fact, you can sync up a guitar controller and play along with your friend for a few songs, although Guitar Hero’s note highway looks dated compared to the slick fluorescent vinyl one DJ Hero uses. It’s not incredibly deep but it is by far the best and most engaging multiplayer mode in what is very much a single player game which is surprising for such a social genre. Besides, this way you can play the theme song “DJ Hero” made from DJ Z-Trip’s twisted interpretation of “Jukebox Hero” by Foreigner. You can even pick chose an avatar for the on-screen guitarist. I’m a fan of Cletus Cuts and his hillbilly style.

$120 for this game is too much money. I love it to death but compared the original Guitar Hero’s sub-$100 price, DJ Hero is ridiculous. It’s a shame too because it will probably further put off some people who are still on the fence about this game. It’ll seem too weird and expensive. And don’t even get me started on the $200 Renegade Edition featuring about $10 worth of extra content. But if your wallet can take the hit in this economy, you’ll be investing in a satisfying breath of fresh air in what is rapidly becoming the most flooded video game genre of our time. 

Suggestion for next year:

1. DJ Hero is a dumb name that is blatantly trying to capitalize on brand familiarity. Change it. Even something as dumb as DJ Master would be better.

2. Get more celebrity DJ’s like Junkie XL or DJ QBert, maybe even get some chip tunes guys.

3. Use mash-ups to settle feuds. You already have Tupac so get some Biggie Smalls. Get some Taylor Swift from Band Hero and mix her with Kanye West.

4. Fix the controller and maybe allow for one person to use two turntables. The middle portion already has slots on both spots

5.  Most importantly, get some video game songs to mash-up.

Rating: 5 out of 5 (also number of stars earned on “The Theme from Shaft”)


- Jordan Minor

Posted by admin on 11/19 at 02:21 PM
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