71 public written reviews
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TellTale Studios is no stranger to the point and click adventure genre lately. Their last efforts into licensed properties where Back to the Future and Jurassic Park. While their Back to the Future series was pretty good, Jurassic Park was a bit of a disappointment. TellTale is back on the adventure game once again with another popular franchise, especially it being a recent phenomenon. What I'm referring to is the…
Sonic The Hedgehog has been through some tough times this console generation. First there was the disappointing and abysmal 2006 "reboot." Then there was Sonic Unleashed, where half of the game was good, but when Sonic turns into a werehog, things turn for the worst. The Wii exclusive Sonic Colors though gave hope that the franchise is slowing getting its groove back. At this rate, Sonic fans just want to play as…
Note - The following gameplay videos will likely contain spoilers, so watch at your own risk if you don't want the game spoiled. Every now and then, the whole "games as art" discussion is out there for people to argue about as there have been recent examples that can prove that point right even though the industry is still dominated by the Hollywood blockbuster philosophy of how games should be. Thatgamecompany has…
Note - This review may contain spoilers, so you are warned if you haven't beaten the game yet. It has been a long five years for BioWare's Mass Effect franchise as it seemed like crazy talk back with the first game that this was going to be a trilogy and the fact your decisions you made will matter in the big finale. Here we are now with Mass Effect 3 as everything you did in the last two games, assuming you played…
Street Fighter X Tekken feels like a dream fighting game that fans have been clamoring for years so they have can answer the obvious questions that who would win a fight between characters from these franchises. Now these can be resolved in Capcom's latest filled with gameplay systems completely new and controversial depending on how you spin it. Like most people, I was a little worried how this game will turn out…
After a six year hiatus, SSX is finally back and rebooted for the current generation of consoles. It has been a long time coming for this franchise to debut on the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 and even before its announcement, I was wandering if we ever would see it again and now it has returned being better than ever. The extreme sports genre of gaming is also going through a drought of sorts even EA's Skate series…
After downloadable releases of Konami's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the X-Men beat-em-ups, there was one missing to complete the 90s trinity, which is the Simpsons. Now the wait is over as the Simpsons Arcade Game is finally out on Xbox Live Arcade and Playstation Network for ten dollars (800 Microsoft Points). Just like TMNT and X-Men, The Simpsons followed a similar formula to those games as you play as the…
The Saints Row franchise has been viewed as being a Grand Theft Auto clone to many people, but personally it is keeping what GTA was in the beginning being a sandbox filled with fun toys to mess around with in a living city. There is enough insanity to make the Saints Row games feel separate from Rockstar's juggernaut that started with the second game, but now pushed into another level in this third entry. Saints…
After the successful NBA Jam revival, EA Sports decides to also bring back NFL Blitz in this new downloadable release for Xbox Live Arcade and Playstation Network. The Blitz franchise has been known for fast-paced arcade style football without most of the NFL rules from pass interference being allowed, a limited but enough playbook on both sides of the ball, being on fire like NBA Jam, and crazy tackle animations…
The Call of Duty phenomenon is no joke in today's world of gaming and the impact every new game brings is huge. This is the franchise that has established numerous standards in this current generation of consoles whether we like it or not. To be honest, Modern Warfare 3 is the first Call of Duty I had extended time playing through and even though I knew what the fuss is all about, having that extended time is worth…
Note - Most of the videos you'll see in this review will showcase high level gameplay as seen in the fighting game tournament scene. Earlier this year, fighting game fans finally got what has been a long time coming with Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds. It was a great game then filled with lots of potential and ideas only limited by imagination in terms of having that certain team combination that can wreck…
Note - The gameplay videos and some things I'll talk about will likely contain spoilers, so watch at your own risk! Nathan Drake's amazing adventures for treasure and lost cities continue in Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception. Lots of expectations have been set for this sequel to top the last game, Among Thieves since it was able to set new standards for the third-person shooter and gaming in general. Naughty Dog…
One of Sega's greatest arcade games finally gets the downloadable port treatment on Xbox Live Arcade and Playstation Network, which is Daytona USA. Back in 1993, this was a game that started a train of arcade racers by Sega and the one setting standards for the genre in general. After numerous disappointing ports on the Sega Saturn, PC, and the Dreamcast, Daytona finally gets a proper home port it deserves even…
Note: The following gameplay videos might contain spoilers, so watch at your own risk. Batman: Arkham Asylum came out of nowhere in 2009. Yeah, it has Batman in it, but no one expected it to be that amazing considering the track record with games based on popular comic book heroes. Not only the developers Rocksteady created something special with that game, they set new standards with its combat system and nailing…
Note - I haven't tried the Move controls myself or seen this version in 3D yet, so don't expect my exact thoughts on those. Child of Eden has been out for several months on the Xbox 360 with Kinect support. Now the same spiritual successor to Rez, one of my favorite games of all-time, created by Q?Entertainment is out for the Playstation 3 with some added exclusive features that only the PS3 is capable of. Instead…
EA's NBA Jam reboot last year was a great return to form for the arcade basketball classic. Even though it was a retail release, this year's On Fire Edition is download only on Xbox Live Arcade and Playstation Network. NBA Jam being download only is for the best since you're getting a better value for a decent amount of content. Some new gameplay additions and online features are introduced for this year's version,…
The Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection needs no introduction. It contains the first three games of the franchise with Ultimate Mortal Kombat III filling in the third spot for ten dollars or 800 Microsoft Points. The first game was never released as a download on the current generation of consoles as the other two have been out before, but disappeared from the services because of Midway going under. Original plans for…
Galaga Legions was considered a solid modern take on a classic game, but it was not that memorable to be considered among the best downloadabale games out today. It is still nice to see enemies filling around the screen at once wave after wave as your ship blasts away at them. After the success of Pac-Man Championship Edition DX, Namco Bandai decides to give Galaga another chance with Legions DX under their Namco…
Catherine is definitely not your everyday video game. This is not a game that incorporates the conventional themes you'll see in most games today, but more about what themes that are rarely used in this medium of entertainment. You're not playing as a character that eventually becomes a hero. Instead, you're playing someone that struggles to deal with maturity, love, and freedom as he tries to figure out what is…
If you ever liked underrated and crazy Japanese games, you might heard of a man named Suda 51 from Grasshopper, recently known for the No More Heroes franchise. Usually with his games, he delivers an unorthodox style that can be described as insane and twisted, but the gameplay aspect does lack a bit. If you combine that style of presentation, atmosphere, and storytelling with Resident Evil 4-like gunplay that was…
Note: The gameplay videos may contain spoilers, so watch at your own risk! It is pretty easy to judge mature rated video games especially in today's society. They are judged by the content they have from violence, gore, use of profanity, and so on, which basically describes a normal first-person shooter. Games never really take advantage of the mature rating going beyond just content alone and actually take overall…
Mortal Kombat is back in a big way and it is glorious. The franchise has been through a lot despite still being successful over the years. Even though the past 3D games weren't amazing especially in the last generation of consoles and even the teen rated MK vs. DC Universe, the 9th entry brings things back properly to 2D and a mature rating that gets taken advantage of fully by Netherrealm Studios, still led by the…
Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds has lot to live up to. The second game was just one of these special games that spawned a legacy and a community for ten years. All the internet memes, the brokenness of only a handful of the roster was playable because they were so good compared to the rest, and the hype is arguably something that cannot be repeated for another game. After the success of the downloadable…
Read the full review Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds
Even though I never owned the original DJ Hero, I loved the game a lot playing it at my cousin's house to the point I am pretty good it on hard difficulty five starring mixes left and right. Among the oversaturated Hero lineup two years ago, DJ Hero was the underappreciated one of the bunch since it was different and people were starting to give up on the genre as a whole as it started to become an one hit wonder.…
Two months ago was the 25th anniversary of Super Mario Bros. and Nintendo has been promoting it little by little, but the main dish of their campaign is a a release of Super Mario All-Stars on Wii. Instead of a Virtual Console release, they went the extra mile of putting out a disc version of the game along with some bonus materials in honor of Mario's milestone with a booklet about the main games of the series and…
After numerous delays throughout the Playstation 3's lifespan and adding every much detail to a car as possible to deliver the perfect driving experience to some, Gran Turismo 5 is finally here. It is a long road for Polyphony Digital working on such an ambitious game, but its expected from them considering their pedigree from the franchise that changed the racing genre. Since the last main entry in the series,…
The Donkey Kong Country games were the games I started with in my childhood, so they were the ones I most remember when I first started gaming seriously in the mid 1990s. From the breakthrough graphics that seem ahead of its time, the platforming, the collect-a-thons, and the challenge, they were the platformers in the later years of the Super Nintendo. Since those times, Donkey Kong has been through a lot with the…
Pac-Man needs no introduction for what it has done to video games. It is still a timeless classic today eating pellets, not running into ghosts, and then eating them once you ate the power pellet. It took a long while after numerous spinoffs, but the classic formula was modernized with 2007's release of the original Pac-Man Championship Edition on Xbox Live Arcade. A new competitive focus with time limits, shifting…
It has been tough times for Sonic The Hedgehog as he can never catch a break being in a good game these days. In the past decade, Sega and Sonic Team have struggled to make Sonic feel relevant by putting out disappointment after disappointment with the 3D games from the Adventure titles to recently, Unleashed with the Werehog gimmick. While they continue to figure out what it takes to Sonic feel like his true self…
Note - The videos are from my Ustream channel of me rapping... so I'll leave it at that. The hip-hop genre has been left out of the dust in the modernized boom of rhythm gaming that is dominated by the Guitar Hero and Rock Band franchises. Instruments are fun and all plus there are exceptions of including some rap songs in these games and other karaoke games like Singstar. However, there has never been a true…
Note: The gameplay videos might contain spoilers... When Metroid: Other M was announced last year by Nintendo, fans were eagerly excited yet curious of how a different developer, Team Ninja, would handle such a beloved franchise. Departing from the successful and critically acclaimed Prime Trilogy by Retro Studios, Other M feels like a new refreshing take, yet familiar retaining elements from both the 2D and 3D…
There are games that are all style with no substance, but there are some that are both and Shank fits that description. When you first see Shank in action, you feel like you're playing a cartoon straight up from Cartoon Network's glory days. The obvious comparison Shank draws from is Samurai Jack, but with knives and guns which is not that bad considering both Shank and Samurai Jack are badass warriors in their…
Note - Videos are from the XBLA version, but the PSN version is pretty much identical for the most part. When you have a movie coming out that is filled with video game references or reminds yourself of your gaming past time, it sounds pretty cool in concept. That is the case with Scott Pilgrim vs. The World starring Michael Cera as he dates Ramona, but he has to deal with her seven exes. All of this seems like a…
Developer Treasure has a known pedigree of memorable shooters through the years and console generations from Gunstar Heroes, Radiant Silvergun, and Ikaruga. One of their known efforts was only on the Nintendo 64 called Sin & Punishment as it never seen an official release outside Japan until its appearance on the Wii Virtual Console two years ago. Due to the success of the N64 import classic as a download, Nintendo…
I was literally blown away by the first Super Mario Galaxy when it came out in November 2007. It was a Mario game unlike anything else going beyond what Mario 64 and Sunshine brought to the table with the whole galaxy theme along with messing with gravity. I never seen such unbelievable variety in a game ever until the first Galaxy. Nintendo seemed like they can do more with the galaxy concept with Mario, which is…
Modnation Racers feels like a breathe of fresh air for the kart racing genre that is dominated by the Mario Kart series. It also takes the genre to new heights under the Play, Create, and Share formula made famous by LittleBigPlanet. All the customization elements allow players' imaginations to go through the roof or just attempt to replicate what has been popular in other games from characters, karts, and even the…
Street Fighter IV not only brought back the legendary franchise to amazing success, it made fighting games famous again as the community is now as strong as it ever was before. It was only a matter of time when Capcom decided to expand upon what the original game started by adding more of everything while balancing out what was in before. Super Street Fighter IV is that answer as a significant upgrade and enough to…
After Burner Climax has been around for four years at the arcades marking a return of the franchise from the old Master System and Genesis days for Sega. It was able to bring the franchise to this current generation of games maintaining his simplicity yet brutal difficulty. It is definitely a true Sega arcade game then and even now with its short fun and the ability to play it with a moving seat and a flight stick…
Note - I had footage of me playing these games, but I guess it didn't turn out well. Here's my video in case y'all still want to see it. Capcom knows how to do old-school right in this current generation of consoles especially on the downloadable services like Xbox Live Arcade and the Playstation Network from Bionic Commando Rearmed, Mega Man 9 and 10, and Marvel vs. Capcom 2. Their latest downloadable offering is…
Please note - This review and the videos being shown may contain spoilers, so read and watch at your own risk if you have not beaten the game yet. The God of War franchise has been unrivaled in terms of pushing the action genre and the Playstation consoles to their limits with amazing graphics, an epic sense of scale, memorable battles against foes that are way bigger than Kratos, the Ghost of Sparta, and one of the…
If you were around in the NES days, chances are you played a game called Blaster Master. This beloved classic by Sunsoft was definitely something for the time starring a tank that jumps. It was also a difficult game in the day where a game over screen starts you over from the beginning. Even though it eventually grew into a franchise in the 8-bit and 16-bit eras, games that followed never really topped the original.…
Every now and then, there will be some random game that comes from the wonderful land of Japan and then it eventually comes out in America for some odd reason. No matter how random it is especially knowing how absurd it is, anyone will get a kick out of it whether for the good or the bad. This is the case with Muscle March, a WiiWare title that came out at Japan sometime last year and somehow got a stateside release…
Note - I bought this at a discounted price on the Playstation Store (half its original price) and plus this game came out about a few months ago too. The four player beat-em-up is as old-school as it gets when it comes to video games. They are simple to play, but hard as nails to the point you keep spending your quarters to continue. That was the case with Konami's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles beat-em-up games. They…
Read the full review Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time Re-Shelled
Note: The gameplay footage consists of me playing utilizing the YouTube upload feature. Pixeljunk Shooter is the fourth title in the franchise that started off with Racers, Monsters, and Eden. These are some of the better downloadable games out there on Playstation Network with consistent sense of providing original and unorthodox gameplay experiences. Shooter continues Q Games' notion of providing that same…
When New Super Mario Bros. Wii was announced back at E3 earlier this year, I was stoked for another new 2D Mario game, but it seemed I'm back again for the ride like it was the good old Nintendo days. Even though New Super Mario Bros. on the DS was an amazing success, it wasn't really the definitive 2D Mario game people have hoped to be as good as Super Mario Bros. 3 or even Super Mario World. This Wii iteration…
Please note: This is the review for the console version of Tekken 6 as it is a slightly altered review from Tekken 6.0 and Bloodline Rebellion. Keep in mind also that videos here may not be from the console versions for the sake of high-level play in the arcade versions. Namco Bandai brought back the Tekken games to their glory with Tekken 5 and its upgrade, Dark Resurrection. It focused on what made them great and…
Please note: The videos in this review may contain spoilers, so watch at your own risk as well as the review itself may have some too. There are so many words I can describe Uncharted 2: Among Thieves: awesome, amazing, epic, mesmerizing, breathtaking, mind-blowing, suspenseful, and lastly gaming perfection. While the first Uncharted was a great start for the franchise, this sequel is everything it could of been in…
Note: The PS3 version's exclusive downloadable content of the Joker challenge maps will be also mentioned in this review. Plus, the videos may contain possible spoilers, so watch at your own risk. The gaming industry gods have not been so kind to the Batman ever since the NES days. Sure, there might be some Batman games that are somewhat decent, but the majority of them are pretty bad. Even with last year's amazing…
