Review: Food Network: Cook or Be Cooked

Posted on November 23, 2009 by geelw

Platform: Nintendo Wii

Developer: Red Fly Studio

Publisher: Namco Bandai

# of Players: 1 – 2

Rating: E

As someone who learned to cook as well as appreciate video games pretty early on in life, I’m always keen on checking out any title that mixes these two passions of mine. Some of the games I’ve played have been fun, some not so fun, but they’re all really interesting in one way or another in how they approach the experience of putting together (and sometimes serving up) a tasty meal. The Food Network: Cook or Be Cooked is very well done and in some respects, feels like one of the shows you’d catch on the popular cable channel. While entertaining and educational, the scoring system can sometimes be a bit too picky about some of your efforts. Nevertheless, as the first ever console game with the FN seal of approval, it hits almost all the right notes fans will appreciate.

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Divinity II: Eco Draconis Pre-Order Goodness + One Awesome Contest…

Posted on November 23, 2009 by geelw

Larian Studios’ surprisingly stellar epic follow-up to its 2001 RPG, Divine Divinity (my hands-on preview will be up this coming weekend) is coming to the Xbox 360 and PC on January 5, 2010 and lucky Xbox 360 owners will be able to snag a neat set of powerful gear if they boogie on down to their nearest GameStop to pre-order the game. Check out the goodies below the jump…

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Review: Need For Speed NITRO (DS)

Posted on November 20, 2009 by geelw

Platform: Nintendo DS/DSi

Developer: Firebrand Games

Publisher: Electronic Arts

# of Players: 1 (2 – 4 Single Card/Wi-Fi)

Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10+)

Official Site

Score: A

If you’re a fan of racing games on the DS, you can absolutely rely on Firebrand Games to cook up something really cool and incredibly fun to play that also allows you to tap into your creative side. Need For Speed NITRO is another superb racer from the team that nicely translates much of what made the Wii version so cool while adding a few DS-exclusive elements such as Single and Multi-card play for up to four players. While the game doesn’t have exactly the same deep paint scheme editor found in its console brother, there is a mostly great color and decal creator that will keep the arty gamer quite occupied as he or she blazes through the game’s wild courses.

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Coming Up For Air (Plus Tax!)

Posted on November 19, 2009 by geelw

Yikes. Who’d have thought writing a strategy guide could be so… intense? Anyway, nope, I’m NOT dead. Been buried in a few things including the aforementioned guide. Here’s a Now Playing update:

Left 4 Dead 2 (360)
Dragon Age Origins (PS3)
Scene It? Bright Lights, Big Screen! (360)
Food Network: Cook or Be Cooked (Wii)
Need For Speed NITRO (DS)
Divinity II: Ego Draconis (PC & 360 builds)
Dragon Ball: Raging Blast (PS3/360)
Tekken 6 (PS3/360)
Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans (DS)
Diner Dash: Flo on the Go (DS)
Wedding Dash (DS)
Military Madness: Neo Nectaris (iPod Touch)

Well, back to the salt mines for me – I’ve some neat site updates coming this weekend – stick around…

Review: Need for Speed NITRO

Posted on November 9, 2009 by geelw

Platform: Nintendo Wii

Developer: EA Montreal

Publisher: Electronic Arts

# of Players 1-4

Rating: E 10+ (Everyone 10 +)

Official Site

Score: B+

While the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of Need for Speed: Shift are tightly focused on bringing more realistic racing elements to the long-running franchise, Need for Speed NITRO has been custom built for the Wii as a pure arcade style experience that’s a complete blast to play for the whole family. EA Montreal has done an excellent job here, bringing back the spirit of some of EA’s fun arcade racers from the past such as Rumble Racing and Beetle Adventure Racing while adding bits of Burnout, San Francisco RUSH and some familiar NFS police chase action to the mix. There’s also a fantastically deep and fun customization feature that lets players personalize and drive their rides using the Wii Remote, GameCube controller, WiiWheel or Classic Controller. Between the blazing fast 60 fps racing and the ability for players of any skill level to hop into the game and get racing, there’s more than enough action here to keep you stuck to the sofa for hours at a time.

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Sega Offers Up Bayonetta 360 Demo Chance Get!

Posted on November 7, 2009 by geelw

Jump on this, folks: 40,000 very lucky Xbox 360 owners will get the chance to play through this killer demo early. If you want in on this, go sign up here for your free SegaPass. You can thank me later.

Left 4 Dead 2 TV Spot #2

Posted on November 6, 2009 by geelw

Nice. 10 million zombies, huh? Given the pace of the recently released demo, it sure feels like it! November 17 is zooming up faster than you think…

So, What Did YOU Do For Halloween?

Posted on November 4, 2009 by geelw

Me? I Stayed the heck home starting work on a little writing project for Hudson Soft I’ll have big news about shortly. My pal Jeffrey Wilson over at 2D-X, well… he was having a VERY game-related great time, NYC style! Check out his blog post HERE.

Thanks to Prima, Dragon Age: Origins Quizzes Me Somewhat…

Posted on November 3, 2009 by geelw

Well, then – according to this Prima Guides Dragon Age: Origins Quiz, I’m a Warrior! Eeek. I hate playing “tanks” in RPGs. Give me a ranged weapon and some good spells to keep the beasties at bay and I’m a happy camper. We shall see, however, we shall see… The game is out NOW, so I hope you pre-ordered!

Post Wall-busting Update!

Posted on November 1, 2009 by geelw

OK, folks… Phase One is completed, but things are a MESS here. The plasterers will be back on Monday to finish up and let me get back to regular posting until Wednesday of next week, when the painters show up. Unlike the thirty minute fixes you see on TV all the time home repair is actually a total pain in the ass. In the meantime, games have arrived and there’s stuff to be reviewed and such… plus I’m tackling a HUGE side project that involves a certain mobile game and a bit of tactical planning…