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ReviewsThe Incident Review: It’s A Happening & It Freaks Me Out
The sky—and everything else—is falling in The Incident, an iPhone and iPad game that combines the randomized chaos of piling trash, a la Katamari Damacy, with the retro, one-button gameplay of platformers of old. The Incident presents a more charming apocalypse than we’re used to. Inexplicably, objects begin falling from the sky. As a high-jumping…
By Michael McWhertor Published August 30, 2010 -
ReviewsShank Review: He’ll Cut You
Endless streams of tough guys. One after another. I pull out my blades, switch to a chainsaw and then start shooting. Shank isn’t a beat ’em up. It’s a slice ’em, shoot ’em, pummel ’em up. Side-scroller Shank follows the adventure of a guy named, wait for it, Shank. He’s on a warpath, out to…
By Brian Ashcraft Published August 27, 2010 -
ReviewsMetroid: Other M Review: Our Unexpected Future
This game was made by brave people. Bravery in game design is when someone makes a tennis video game and doesn’t let you control where the tennis players run. Bravery in game design is when you turn a series about a Bear that can jump into an ambitious game of LEGOs Bravery is when, in…
By Stephen Totilo Published August 27, 2010 -
ReviewsTop Gun Review: Minus Tom, Minus Loving Feeling, Plus DualShock, Plus Multiplayer
There are two things to know about the new Top Gun jet combat game: 1) Its creators have changed lines from its ’80s Tom Cruise inspiration for the worse and 2) it’d be better if it wasn’t about Top Gun. In 1986 everyone went to see the movie Top Gun, a movie about a fighter…
By Stephen Totilo Published August 24, 2010 -
Reviews
Mafia II Review: Smelling The Roses In A Life Lived Too Fast
Morning. The phone rings, I answer. It’s Joe, chirping the usual advice. Get dressed and get my gun. I go to the fridge instead for a Master Beer. In the bathroom I flip on the light. I flush the toilet. None of these actions in Mafia II are from cutscenes, and that is both the…
By Owen Good Published August 23, 2010 -
ReviewsLara Croft And The Guardian Of Light Review: Gotta Wear Shades
In 1996, Lara Croft burst onto the scene with the first Tomb Raider. Time hasn’t been so kind, and over the years, her popularity has dipped. But with spin-off title Guardian of Light, is she back with a vengeance? Unlike previous Tomb Raider titles, Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light uses an isometric third-person…
By Brian Ashcraft Published August 20, 2010 -
Reviews
Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days Review: Grime Story
Partners in crime, Kane and Lynch, meet in Shanghai for one more score. An arms deal goes—how else?—horribly wrong, resulting in death, double-dealings and grisly torture. Kane & Lynch 2 made me sick, perhaps my favorite part. Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days tells the gritty, foul-mouthed and bloody tale of Lynch’s life turned upside-down…
By Michael McWhertor Published August 17, 2010 -
Reviews
Monday Night Combat Review: The Happy Warriors
Turrets. I can’t stop building and upgrading them in Monday Night Combat. Oh, they do a great job mowing down bots and other players. But it’s really because I’m a Southern boy and a born sucker for Pitgirl’s saucy accent. Monday Night Combat, the class-based shooter from Uber Entertainment and the latest “Summer of Arcade”…
By Owen Good Published August 13, 2010 -
Reviews
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World Movie Review: You’re Gonna Get It
Scott Pilgrim, a rock and roll hero in his own mind, meets the girl of his dreams, Ramona Flowers. To win her, Scott must use a skill set one can only learn from video games and comic books to succeed. In Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Scott (Michael Cera) is thrust into mortal combat with…
By Michael McWhertor Published August 13, 2010 -
Reviews
Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World: The Game Review: Four-Player Fan Service
In Bryan Lee O’Malley’s Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, the hero has to fight his girlfriend’s seven evil ex-boyfriends. In Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game, Scott and his friends have to fight The World. By the World I mean Ontario, which is the world as far as fans of the six volume graphic…
By Mike Fahey Published August 12, 2010 -
Reviews
Fierce Teflon & Steel Mouse Pad Review: Slip Slidin’ Away
When Rude Gameware showed off a new mouse pad by seemingly grilling burgers on it – something slightly more interesting than your standard PC peripheral fare – we just had to take it for a test drive. The Fierce Teflon & Steel is pitched as a serious gamer’s mouse pad, being both hefty in size…
By Luke Plunkett Published August 11, 2010 -
ReviewsMadden NFL 11 Review: A Run For Your Money
Madden NFL 11 arrives tomorrow to the marketing drumbeat of simpler, quicker and deeper. Laudable design goals, but for a game that’s been a living room ritual for a quarter of a century, let’s also ask, is it more fun? Yes. Though we’ve heard all spring and summer about Madden’s new play-calling, faster game times…
By Owen Good Published August 9, 2010 -
ReviewsFace Pilot Review: The Video Game That Only Plays Well On My Toilet
Just when I was ready to call the first hang-gliding video game that I’ve ever controlled with my face a modern-day torture rack, I discovered it plays well in the second-most comfortable location of my home. You are reading the review of a game that only the bravest should buy. Face Pilot: Fly With Your…
By Stephen Totilo Published August 6, 2010 -
Reviews
Castlevania: Harmony of Despair Review: Share In The Despair
The heroes of a handful of 2D Castlevania games come together to tackle old foes in a new way in Castlevania: Harmony of Despair. Can the normally solitary, exploratory experience of recent “Metroidvania” games make the double-jump leap to multiplayer? Castlevania: Harmony of Despair borrows five vampire-slaying heroes—Alucard, Shanoa, Soma Cruz, Jonathan Morris, and Charlotte…
By Michael McWhertor Published August 5, 2010 -
Reviews
Castlevania Puzzle: Encore Of The Night Review: Alucard’s Puzzle Quest
Castlevania Puzzle: Encore of the Night takes the classic Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and transforms it into a puzzle role-playing game. Can they do that? I consider Castlevania: Symphony of the Night to be one of the greatest 2D action role-playing games ever created. It has everything: Responsive controls, an engaging storyline, Metroid-style item-based…
By Mike Fahey Published August 2, 2010 -
Reviews
StarCraft II Heaven’s Devils Book Review: Humble Beginnings
Before Jim Raynor was the leader of his own paramilitary organization, blazing across the galaxy righting wrongs and fighting the good fight, he was the son of dirt farmers on a Confederate fringe world. This is where William C. Dietz’s StarCraft II: Heaven’s Devils begins. 18-year-old Raynor is plucked from his world by a recruiter…
By Mike Fahey Published July 31, 2010 -
Reviews
StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty Review: Upgrade Complete
Real-time tactics evolve with StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, Blizzard’s long in the making sequel to one of the most beloved, bestselling sci-fi strategy games of all time. Oh, so you’ve heard of it, then? Three distinct races, the displaced humans known as Terrans, the ancient, mystical alien Protoss, and the insect-like Zerg horde, are…
By Michael McWhertor Published July 31, 2010 -
Reviews
Hydro Thunder Hurricane Review: I’m On A Boat & It’s Going Fast
It’s a summer ritual: Insert coin, stomp on the accelerator and hold on for dear life. A reboot of the much loved arcade original and Dreamcast speedboat racer, Hydro Thunder Hurricane brings that template to Xbox Live’s Summer of Arcade. Given the depth of full-title racers on the current console generation, a downloadable game isn’t…
By Owen Good Published July 29, 2010 -
Reviews
Gunnar Phenom 3D Glasses Review: A Slick Extravagance
Whats the worst thing about 3D? The glasses. Gunnar Optiks realized that and decided to come up with their own line of fashionable, pricey 3D glasses. Let’s take them for a spin. Loved Stylin’: Today’s movie theater RealD 3D glasses are big headache-inducing affairs, so clunky that they manage to avoid being even geek chic.…
By Brian Crecente Published July 29, 2010 -
Reviews
Blacklight: Tango Down Review: Get Down, Get Down
Single-player story? Who needs that! Downloadable title Blacklight: Tango Down has multiplayer. But can the game hold its own with the retail heavyweights? Blacklight: Tango Down is set in near-future Eastern bloc state, where two factions face off: the Order and Blacklight. The controls will be familiar to anyone who has played a Call of…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 28, 2010