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Reviews
Gears of War 2: Dark Corners Micro-Review: Putting the Stealth in Curb Stomps
Director’s Cuts: Fans love them, studios profit from them, so why don’t we see more of them in gaming? That’s what Epic seems to be delivering with Dark Corners, the latest update to 2008’s third-person shooter Gears of War 2. While Dark Corners comes packed with seven new maps for multiplayer gaming, the thing that…
By Brian Crecente Published July 28, 2009 -
Reviews
Little King’s Story Review: So Creative, So Hostile
At last, a Japanese role-playing game on Wii that can spark thoughts of Pikmin and Psychonauts. But it’s also the first game to make this mild-mannered reviewer angrily throw his controller in about a decade. Shall we thank the people who make us the most creative games, for which there isn’t yet a mold? But…
By Stephen Totilo Published July 27, 2009 -
Reviews
Wii Sports Resort Review: More Motion in the Ocean
Packed with Nintendo’s new MotionPlus add-on, Wii Sports Resort delivers a dozen new family-friendly, Mii-sporting games to Nintendo’s Wii console. But is this one mini-game collection too many? First there was Wii Sports and then came Wii Play, which sweetened the deal with a free remote. Now we have Wii Sports Resort which comes with…
By Brian Crecente Published July 26, 2009 -
Reviews
Bit Boy Micro-Review: Stuck In The Past
Maneuver your way from the early days of 4-bit games to the majestic 128-bit era in Bit Boy, Bplus’ latest WiiWare offering. Bit Boy’s friends have been scattered throughout video game history, and it’s up to him to travel through the various eras in order to find them. A simple collect-the-dots game, Bit Boy’s hook…
By Mike Fahey Published July 22, 2009 -
Reviews
The Secret Of Monkey Island SE Micro-Review: Still Fights Like A Cow
The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition is a tough one to review. It’s not really fair to review the game, is it? That’s not fair. The game’s 19 years old, and is one of the best ever made. So we won’t. Instead, we’ll review this as a port. Think of it as your memories…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 21, 2009 -
Reviews
Battlefield 1943 Review: Battling In The Pacific
EA DICE, the developers behind Mirror’s Edge and Battlefield 1942, bring us Battlefield 1943, a PlayStation Network and Xbox LIVE Arcade downloadable first person shooter set against the backdrop of World War II’s Pacific front. This is the latest entry in the Battlefield franchise and the first downloadable-only console version. The shooter rolls out three…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 17, 2009 -
Reviews
Droplitz Micro-Review: Dripping With Strategy
From the creators of the Burger King promotional Xbox 360 titles comes Droplitz, a pipe-connecting puzzle game for Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation Network. Best known for filling GameStop locations around North America with countless used copies of Pocket Bike Racer, Sneak King, and Big Bumpin’, Blitz Arcade has left the King behind to…
By Mike Fahey Published July 16, 2009 -
Reviews
Waterway Micro-Review: A Little Wet Behind The Ears
Rough Cookie‘s Waterways is a top-down puzzler that uses water management to provide an interesting twist to the classic concept of getting the hero, in this case a blocky cow, from one end of a maze to the other. Published by Taito, the game won the 2008 Japan GameJam Competition, but can it win the…
By Brian Crecente Published July 15, 2009 -
Reviews
Rolando 2 Micro Review: Rolando Keeps On Rolling
We reviewed the first Rolando back in January. January 2009. Now, it’s only July, and the sequel is upon us. That’s a pretty swift turnaround, handheld platform or not. So should we be suspicious of this “sequel,” considering its short development time? Or will it show that a great game is a great game, no…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 14, 2009 -
Reviews
BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger Review: Rebel Yell
Guilty Gear creators Arc System Works have, after churning out sequel after confusingly titled sequel to the fighting franchise they’re best known for, started fresh with BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger, a 2D fighting game that’s wholly original. BlazBlue‘s blend of high-resolution, gorgeously animated sprite based fighters and three dimensional backgrounds makes for a stunning presentation. Pretty…
By Michael McWhertor Published July 13, 2009 -
Reviews
Kodu Game Lab Micro-Review: Baby’s First Game Development Kit
Who says you have to go to college for an expensive game developer’s education? Microsoft Research’s Kodu puts the power of a dev kit right in your hand for a mere $5. Kodu Game Lab isn’t a video game, per se, but a lot of the pre-packaged worlds that come with the Game Lab certainly…
By AJ Glasser Published July 10, 2009 -
Reviews
Doom Resurrection Micro-Review: What In The Sam Hell
id Software and Escalation Studios have compacted the essence of Doom 3 into an iPhone app with Doom Resurrection, an on-rails first-person shooter that teleports the player from Mars to Hell and back. id’s Doom 3 side story puts players in the role of a Marine, aided by a flying ‘bot named Sam, as he…
By Michael McWhertor Published July 8, 2009 -
Reviews
Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood Review: A Fistful of Accolades
The western shooter seems to be a conundrum to developers. Despite valiant efforts, and great games, few have ever enjoyed the runaway success of their modern warfare counterparts. In Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood, Ubisoft adds an interesting twist to the genre, having gamers play as either of two brothers with distinctly different play…
By Brian Crecente Published July 7, 2009 -
Reviews
Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen Review: Clench The Difference
Getting the most out of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen requires a steady hand, a keen eye, and the ass muscles of an Olympic athlete. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is an action adventure game based on the movie of the same name, telling the story of the return of Megatron and the rise of…
By Mike Fahey Published July 3, 2009 -
Reviews
Battlefield Heroes Review: The Great (Cartoon) War
EA have really got behind the whole “free to play” thing of late, announcing it’ll form the basis of future Tiger Woods and Need for Speed titles. The first such game to test those waters, however, is Battlefield Heroes. The premise is simple: take Battlefield, then make it absolutely free to play, by stripping some…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 3, 2009 -
Reviews
Mecho Wars Micro-Review: Landians Versus Wingians… Really?
Mecho Wars brings to the iPhone and iPod Touch a solid turn-based strategy title in the vein of Intelligent Systems’ Advance Wars, delivering the game with a flashy art style and interesting time twist. But loaded down with absurd design decisions that have you playing as a commander of the Wingians taking on an army…
By Brian Crecente Published July 2, 2009 -
Reviews
Gunstar Heroes Micro-Review: The Perfect Shot
The recent re-release of Gunstar Heroes on Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation Network isn’t the first port of the game we’ve seen over the past 16 years. But could it be one of the best? Part of Sega’s Vintage Collection, Gunstar Heroes is a port of Treasure’s classic 1993 shooter, which is still revered…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 1, 2009 -
Reviews
Fight Night Round 4 Review: Boxing Beautiful
A graphical showpiece and a boxing game just a tad more authentic than the ones featuring King Hippo, Fight Night Round 4 apologizes for its sport and chases that unlikeliest of pugilistic goals: subtlety. MMA is hot and WWE never quite fades away. Boxing eternally hangs from a cliff. Since the 1970s, each decade of…
By Stephen Totilo Published June 30, 2009 -
Reviews
The Conduit Review: A Bland, But Enjoyable Shooter
In Sega’s The Conduit, you play as a pawn in a vast conspiracy involving aliens, shadowy government agencies, and the president of the United States. But the Wii-exclusive first-person shooter hopes to win gamers over not with its plot and known voice talent, but its nuanced controls and solid multiplayer gaming. With the ability to…
By Brian Crecente Published June 29, 2009 -
Reviews
Art Style Boxlife Micro-Review: Smart Misery
It’s a 2009 phenomenon: some of the smartest and most artistically adventurous games released on any of the big platforms come from Nintendo’s Art Style line. Enter Boxlife, the first good game about boring factory work. (Sorry, Shenmue!) What makes you laugh as a gamer? A joke? A line of dialogue or a sight gag?…
By Stephen Totilo Published June 26, 2009