Why Killzone 3 Will Be A Blast, No Matter HOW You Play It

Posted on December 20, 2010 by geelw

Let's see now: so far, I've played demos of Killzone 3 in 3D with a Dual Shock 3, in regular HD with a Dual Shock 3, in HD with the Move/NaviCon combo and in HD with the upcoming Move Sharp Shooter peripheral and each time I'm floored by what Guerrilla can do with the PS3. Alright, Sony, you can stop now. I'm sold…AGAIN. Hell, I was sold months ago when I saw the E3 demo running in not quite fully optimized 3D because I “got” what the team at Guerrilla were trying to accomplish with the narrative (as well as all that wonderful tech they're wisely hoarding to themselves).

An updated demo of the game along with Sony's new Move Sharp Shooter attachment were drawing lots of attention at Sony's Holiday 2010 event last week and after watching a few editor types fumble away with the peripheral, I was wondering if this was yet another game that was going to be sunk by a well-intentioned but flawed one-use controller. Then I got the chance to try the thing out for myself and found out it's actually quite remarkable once you get a feel for the peripheral.

Mass Effect 2 PS3 Hands-On: BioWare, Beautiful & Brilliant

Posted on December 19, 2010 by geelw

PS3 owners may have missed out on the original Mass Effect, but the stellar sequel plus four DLC chapters and a little something extra (plus a LOT of something extra under the hood) is headed your way in a great standard edition pack that's bound to fly off store shelves faster than the new Normandy hits light speed. I had the opportunity to play a demo version of Mass Effect 2 and was immediately floored by the visual upgrade (thanks to what was recently revealed as the Mass Effect 3 engine), the tweaked puzzles and a few other niceties BioWare has seen fit to add. I'd have to safely say this is going to be the definitive console version of the game and even if you've played the Xbox 360 version, you might want to snap up a copy of this one, provided you also have a PS3 in the house.

Dead Space 2 Multiplayer Hands-On: A Visceral Experience, Indeed

Posted on December 19, 2010 by geelw

As if the thrills, chills and very bloody spills of Issac Clarke's upcoming single player adventures in The Sprawl weren't enough, Visceral Games is tweaking Dead Space 2 with a rather interesting multiplayer component that can be somewhat accurately described as tactical run & gun meets Left 4 Dead. I'll admit to being initially skeptical that any sort of online multiplayer modes added to this decidedly story-driven horror action franchise would be nothing more than another excuse for loudmouthed losers to run around shooting each other in the head while yelling all sorts of M-rated insults. However, I'm indeed thankful to report that I was proven dead wrong.

At Sony's Holiday 2010 event last week, I got to go a few rounds with the multiplayer demo and was very impressed by the experience. What's here is fun, fast, frantic and frequently freakish, thanks to the back and forth player swapping that takes place during matches.

Playstation Move Heroes Hands-On Update – Nihilistic Aims For The Core

Posted on December 19, 2010 by geelw

When last we saw Playstation Move Heroes (formerly known as Heroes on the Move) back in October, the demo build was indeed a lot of fun to play but there was obviously more coming in terms of levels, game modes and other features. Last week at Sony's Holiday 2010 event, Nihilistic's peppy Design Director Harley Baldwin White-Wiedow and SCEA's equally peppy Caley Roberts showed of the latest build which was more polished and quite packed to the rafters with many lovely and destructive things to do. Not content to shove out a simple Move-enabled mini-game cash-in for the younger set, Nihilistic is cooking up a solid, hugely fun (and funny) game any fans of Sony's mascot franchises will be proud to add to their collections.

Review: Earth Defense Force 2017

Posted on December 19, 2010 by geelw

Platform: Xbox 360

Developer: Sandlot

Publisher: D3Publisher of America

# of Players: 1 – 2

ESRB Rating: T (Teen)

Official Site

Score: B+

One of those “cult classics” that, three years after its US release is still a hell of a lot more fun than certain bigger budgeted (and bigger hyped) games, Earth Defense Force 2017 is finally back on the Xbox 360, this time as a download only Games on Demand release. Whether you missed out on it the first time back in 2007 or you're replacing that copy you sold off on ebay, 2017 is still an absolute blast to play, mixing in dozens of hours of non-stop hardcore action with couch co-op and a grand, campy “B” movie aesthetic that permeates the game from start to finish. Sure, there's no online play, the character and vehicle controls are a tad quirky and the game isn't exactly “state of the art” in terms of presentation. On the other hand, the old school gameplay coupled with some truly and terrifyingly challenging levels go a long way in proving pure fun trumps innovation any damn day of the week. That twenty bucks might seem like a “premium” price for a game in these days of too many indie games going for a buck or few on XBLA, but trust me, you're getting easily three to four times that value in gameplay length alone.

Knights Contract Update: New Screens, Art, Release Date

Posted on December 18, 2010 by geelw

Namco Bandai's rather surreal fantasy/horror/action game hybrid has been on my radar pretty since its initial announcement and now, the Game Republic-developed title finally has a release date. February 22, 2011 is when you'll want to be lurking around your favorite game retailer (or creeping in to pick up your pre-ordered copy). The single-player PS3 and Xbox 360 game features Heinrich, an immortal executioner and Gretchen, a resurrected witch who acts as Heinrich's AI partner. Namco Bandai hopes that the mix of fantasy elements, high action sequences and M-rated gore coupled with the game's bizarre menagerie of monsters might lift a few of those lingering holiday blahs right out of your system.

Speaking of bizarre-looking monsters, more nice concept art images and renders of two bosses, Straeggle and Trude are below the jump along with some new screens featuring the pair of beastly beauties in action.

Hunted: The Demon’s Forge "The World of Hunted" Trailer

Posted on December 18, 2010 by geelw

http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/b7hlI0ma0iE?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0

InXile’s upcoming co-op focused action/RPG is looking to be one of the more memorable releases of 2011 whether you’re a fan of the genre or not. Here’s a look at a few of the different environments you’ll be adventuring in and around – text below courtesy of Bethesda. Keep this one on your radars, folks…

Welcome to the World of Hunted.

Tempted by riches, the warrior Caddoc and huntress E’lara will travel through a sprawling empire beset by evil. As their path twists through the once thriving town of Dyfed and towards the mighty capital city of Llyr, they will face a corruption that is spreading across the land. The kingdom’s ancient ruins have become overrun with foul creatures, and innocent villagers are being driven underground into dungeons. As they draw closer to the ruins of Kala Moor a dark army gathers, threatening everything in its path.

New Dynasty Warriors 7 Screens (You KNOW You Want To Look…)

Posted on December 17, 2010 by geelw

It's OK… admit it, you're a secret (or not so secret) Dynasty Warriors fan who's learned to ignore the harshly jaded critics out there and keeps buying and playing every game in the franchise (and its spin-offs) from start to finish because it's become the digital equivalent of mom's mac & cheese for you. Those long 60-plus hour campaigns with all those unlockable characters plowing through packs of enemies as kill counts are racked up in the thousands? Yeah, that's you, all bleary-eyed and smiling into your coffee on a Monday morning not bragging about hunkering down indoors for three days straight while your work buddies are babbling all about that Friday night hottie that gave them a kick to the groin after yet another bad pickup line. They fail and revel in it like the foolish lemmings they are, while you continue to win, win and win (and how!).

thatgamecompany’s Journey – An Online Experience Like No Other

Posted on December 17, 2010 by geelw

Some games are so good, they just make me want to sing, so pardon me while I warble a bit before the actual preview…

Gonna take a Sentimental Journey,
Gonna set my heart at ease.
Gonna make a Sentimental Journey,
to renew old memories…

OK, I’m done, the judges have spoken and I got unanimously booted off the island (without a boat or a paddle, mind you). You may remove that cotton from your ears and read on.

One of the biggest and best embargoed surprises at Sony’s holiday event last week was thatgamecompany’s Journey, a downloadable PS3 exclusive that just may be one of the most innovative online experiences ever created. Taking a cue from the beauty, simplicity and ease of play found in flOw, Flower and Cloud, the game combines open world exploration, platforming and puzzle elements in an elegantly simple, yet extremely lovely package. While the build on display was only playable by the two tgc staffers present, it was immediately clear what was on display just might rewrite the book on Internet play. In a way, tgc has created the safest online multiplayer game in the world… and a gorgeously rendered one at that.

Continue reading →

Portal 2 Co-Op Trailer (Yes… and Yes)

Posted on December 16, 2010 by geelw

http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/A88YiZdXugA?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0

Yes, it’s the PAX 2010 trailer (I wasn’t at PAX, so I’m seeing this for the first time) and Yes, Valve wants you to buy the game because they’re working on it harder than you think. Hell, they’ve got my money as long as i can walk into a game shop and buy it on a disc.