It’s been seven days of my trip into Farmville, the insanely popular Facebook game by Zynga. Not only did I learn why someone may or may not like it, but I also learned how people can become incredibly addicted. This article covers my final two days and closes with my overall impressions.
Suda 51 and Grasshopper Manufacture, Inc. are back with a sequel to one of the most ridiculous, gratuitous, waggle-heavy games to hit the Wii. There were plenty of complaints with the first outing. In fact, it couldn’t hold my interest to the end. But has that all been addressed with the sequel? Get your otaku butt in gear and take a nice steaming pile of “save” before you slice past the jump with your Beam Katana.
Let’s get this out of the way right now; I’m not a big Olympics fan. In fact, unless there’s some crazy-fast sprinter or a swimmer who appears to be more fish than man, I’ll likely avoid the five rings wherever I see them.
That said, when the opportunity came around to play Vancouver 2010, I was struck with the unmistakable feeling of nostalgia and my head filled with images of me, controller in hand, tapping feverishly at the A button until I simply couldn’t take it any longer.
You see, I’m a child of the NES, and virtual athletic competition, to me, has always meant straining my hand muscles nearly to the point of collapse, much like the athletes my avatar is attempting to emulate on the screen. Surprisingly, Vancouver 2010 is able to marry my childhood memories with modern video game sensibilities and create a pleasurable experience that most will appreciate, if not love. Read the rest of this entry »
Back in the Summer of 2008, I bought an Xbox 360 because I wanted to play Halo 3. During my first year with the console, I never got around to playing the game that many people say “out-Halo’ed” Halo , Infinity Ward’s Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. So while people were busy getting excited for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, I was getting excited for Bungie’s follow-up, Halo 3: ODST. However, after playing through ODST and feeling like my excitement was misplaced, I was curious to see what Activision had to offer with its next installment to the Call of Duty Series. Not only did Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 “out-Halo” ODST, it may have also “out-FPS’ed” any other FPS released in 2009. Read the rest of this entry »
To preface this review, I want to come out and say that I really disliked the first Assassin’s Creed. Some folks in the gaming community have called it a polarizing experience, and I found myself amongst the gamers that really disliked it. If you’ve heard any kind of complaint against the original Assassin’s Creed, I probably agree with it.
As an aspiring video game writer, playing through Assassin’s Creed II served as a powerful learning experience. After giving Assassin’s Creed a try, giving up on it, and playing through Assassin’s Creed II a year later, I learned about an important aspect of game design — that is, the function of the sequel and how to make one properly. Read the rest of this entry »
“Avatar isn’t just a great film, it’s a great cultural experience. You need to see this movie, in 3D, and in IMAX.”
I can’t recall any movie being more hyped up over the last decade than James Cameron’s Avatar, except for maybe the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Fitting, then, that this 3-D technological epic fits snugly within the upper echelon of geek films that is remembered and watched for generations. What can someone expect from a “game-changing” film with this much build-up? I walked into the theater wondering how this movie would let me down. I walked out wondering when I would get a chance to see it again. And again. And again.
Activision rocks and rolls out some more fill-in-the-blank Hero games. Does Band Hero have enough to stand apart from the myriad of other music rhythm games? Rock past the jump for more…
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“Dead Space Extraction’s focus on its great storyline and atmospheric visuals is almost enough to forgive the poor choice of game mechanic.”
By: Dalibor Dimovski, Managing Editor
Game: Dead Space Extraction
Developer/Publisher: Visceral Games / Electronic Arts
Released: September 2009
Platforms: Wii
When Dead Space: Extraction was announced as a “guided” shooter for the Wii, I thought, “Another rails shooter. Well, if it’s anything like Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles then it should be a ton of fun.” Looking back on that thought I realize that it was a loaded wish statement. While Dead Space is in the same genre as Resident Evil, it certainly differs in some key ways. While knowing what to expect from Resident Evil — a mish-mash summary of previous games in the storied franchise — Dead Space is an all new prequel to the relatively new series.
In other words it plays fan service to those who have a hard-on for the Dead Space mythos, but not so much to newcomers.
Vitals
Game: Shatter
Developer: Sidhe Interactive
Released: July 23, 2009
Platform: PlayStation 3 (PSN)
Sidhe Interactive, developer of gems such as Madagascar Karts and 2007 Game of the Year contender Jackass: The Game, has shocked the world by releasing the surprisingly competent Shatter.
You may be asking yourself, “What is Shatter?” Well, as the story goes, Pong and Breakout had a lovechild that then grew up and went to college. In college, the young prototype met these two cool dudes named Space Invaders Extreme and Geometry Wars 2, who introduced the naïve program to things like style, trance music, and brightly colored shapes. Months later, that mess of robot language dropped out and became the Shatter found on PSN today.
Or something like that.
“New Super Mario Bros Wii is a game baked in classic action, the kind that seems as fresh and fun today as it did 20 years ago.“
Game: New Super Mario Bros Wii
Developer/Publisher: Nintendo
Released: November 2009
Platforms: Wii
“Perfect chaos.” Those two words are the easiest way to describe what New Super Mario Bros Wii is designed to be. Whether it’s the refined single player adventure across the stereotypically fun Mario worlds or the chaotic action that refines how local multiplayer should be done in action games, NSMBWii nails it on all levels. It serves as the ideal “bridge” game, designed to satisfy both the core and casual gamers at the same time, and pulls off that feat with near perfection.
It’s the kind of answer to the Call of Duties and Maddens this season that video game purists have been eagerly waiting for.
