Review: Hurry Up Hedgehog!

Posted on August 27, 2009 by geelw

Platform: Nintendo DS/DSi

Developer: Ivolgamus

Publisher: O-Games

# of Players: 1 – 6 (Wi-Fi/Hot Seat)

Score: B-

Having grown up playing plenty of board games as a kid before moving onto electronic entertainment, my interest in them has never really left as I’ve gotten older. It’s been pretty interesting over the years to see how different game developers translate classic table games into virtual form. Some conversions succeed better than others, but it’s certainly an odd balancing act at times. Go too far from the spirit of the original version and it’s sacrilege to the hardcore fans of the old game. On the other hand, too dry a digital translation, and modern gamers will ignore the product for something shinier with more moving parts. O-Games’ Hurry Up Hedgehog! definitely leans more into the latter category, but there’s a fair amount of depth under the simplistic presentation. If you’re a fan of classic board games with up to five like-minded friends, the game offers up quite a decent (if rather plain-looking) gameplay experience.

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EA & BioWare Reveal Mass Effect: Pinnacle Station Content Pack

Posted on August 27, 2009 by geelw

EA and BioWare continue to generate Mass Interest in the upcoming Mass Effect 2 by adding more download content to the original game (which in turn, gives folks like me yet another fine reason to hop back into the boots of Commander Shepard for a few more hours). Mass Effect: Pinnacle Station, the latest add-on for the original game is now available as a downloadable pack for the Xbox 360 for 400 Microsoft points via the Xbox LIVE Marketplace. The PC version of the content pack will set you back $5 and can be purchased through EA’s online store. By the way, the 1.02 patch for Mass Effect is required for the installation of Pinnacle Station and is available over at BioWare’s web site. First things first and all that…

So what’s in the pack? Glad you asked – let’s go to the press release…

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Interview/Gallery: Robo-Shambo

Posted on August 26, 2009 by geelw

“What the heck’s a Robo-Shambo?!” you ask? Nooooo, it’s not some sort of newfangled “European-style” late-night infomercial room cleaning device (“This is Vince for Robo Shambo!”), nor is it a wacky YouTube mash up of RoboCop and Rambo (although, that would be pretty darn hilarious seeing a metal-clad Stallone clanking around blowing holes in evil, evil men with .20 caliber rounds… “Adriaaaaaaaaaan!!!”).

Robo-Shambo is in fact, a game project by GearSphere, a small team of 17 young programmers and artists up at the Art Institute of Vancouver. The game is a a third person six-player LAN shooter (set for release on September 14, 2009) coded using Microsoft’s XNA Framework, which could mean a potential Xbox LIVE release down the road. And all this time you probably thought all they did in up in Vancouver was watch hockey, be Canadian and get free health care…

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Gallery: The Saboteur

Posted on August 25, 2009 by geelw

Did you ever find yourself walking home from a meeting, take a wrong turn down a dark alleyway (well, there WAS that ‘Detour’ sign with an arrow pointing right, so I detoured) and next thing you know, you wake up a short time later in a rumpled heap with a folder of screenshots in your hand and a hastily scrawled note that says: “éditez ces images, svp – des mercis, Devlin.” taped to your forehead?

No? Well, that happened to moi last night. I find out later that had I merely taken a left turn then three blocks to the subway and gone straight home, I could have picked up the same screens from one of EA’s helpfully handy PR folks and NOT get bonked on the head. Damn.

Need to find out who this “Devlin” guy is soon and give him the what-for, grrrrr…

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Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles Ship Date, Awesome Pre-Order T-Shirt Revealed

Posted on August 25, 2009 by geelw

Leave it to Capcom to go and cook up one of the coolest, craziest pre-order T-shirts I’ve ever seen (beating even that insanely groovy tie-dyed Raz T-shirt from Psychonauts) and they know it. Gamers who pre-order Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles for the Wii from GameStop will receive a ridiculously versatile T that, when pulled over the head, turns into an instant zombie disguise.

The T’s were first introduced at this year’s San Diego Comic-con and of course, the killer reaction from the crowds meant more gamers will get the chance to nab one of these goodies. It’s goofy… but really effective at first glance, as you’ll see below: Continue reading →

Gallery: Dementium II

Posted on August 24, 2009 by geelw

The fine folks down at Austin, Texas-based Renegade Kid are at it again. The award-winning developer of two of the best technical achievements (and fantastic game experiences, by the way) for the Nintendo DS, Dementium: The Ward and MOON are set to scare your pants (and possibly whatever else you’re wearing) off yet again with Dementium II, set for a 2010 release through publisher Southpeak Games. This small team of talented guys really knows how to get the DS hardware to do just what they want and based on these early screens, DII could be their best work yet…

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Gallery: Onechanbara 360/Wii Character Renders

Posted on August 23, 2009 by geelw

While the games aren’t the greatest out there, both Onechanbara: Bikini Samurai Squad and Onechanbara: Bikini Samurai Slayers have some pretty sexy lead characters (well, provided you have a fetish for schoolgirl outfits, bloody lingerie, cowboy gear, leather and bikinis among other things). Along with the polygonal eye candy, you also get some pretty damned ugly monsters to balance things out. Here’s a few cool character renders from both games courtesy of the game’s press kit CD.

Review: Cursed Mountain

Posted on August 23, 2009 by geelw

Platform: Nintendo Wii

Developer: Deep Silver Vienna/Sproing

Publisher: Deep Silver

# of Players: 1

Official Site

Score: A (95%)

sub·jec·tive (suhb-jěk’tĭv) adj.
1. a. Proceeding from or taking place in a person’s mind rather than the external world: a subjective decision.
b. Particular to a given person; personal: subjective experience.
2. Moodily introspective.
3. Existing only in the mind; illusory.
4. Psychology: Existing only within an individual’s mind.

Most horror-themed video games are extremely subjective in that each person who plays them will generally have a different overall experience. Those that frighten easily will baby-step through their play sessions, saving frequently, checking maps and trying their very best not to to die horribly. The more fearless, bolder gamers accustomed to faster-paced play will blaze forward, taking on all comers in a quest for kill counts while often blissfully unaware of the developer’s intentions in attempting to set a particular mood. This type of player generally never flinches unless the game adds in “jump” scares like those found in hundreds of horror movies or live haunted house experiences in some amusement parks. A third type of gamer takes the middle road, going into every game “cold” in order to fully appreciate every nuance as they let themselves become completely immersed in the game world.

Welcome, dear reader to Deep Silver’s incredible Wii exclusive, Cursed Mountain…

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Dragon Age: Origins Update #2: The City of Haven

Posted on August 21, 2009 by geelw

In this week’s Dragon Age: Origins reveal, we’ll take a trip to what looks like a fairly normal village similar to what you’d find in any typically grand role-playing game. However, as you’ll read (and as life in a BioWare RPG often teaches us), sometimes what looks perfectly normal is often far more sinister once one lets one’s guard down. With that, welcome, dear readers to… Continue reading →

Gallery: Wet

Posted on August 21, 2009 by geelw

PARTIAL TELEPHONE TRANSCRIPT: ONE WAY, TRACED
DATE: FRIDAY, 8/21/2009
TIME: 5:42:38 AM EST
DIALED FROM: REDACTED
DIALED TO: REDACTED
————————————————-

(phone rings)
(phone rings)
(phone rings)

Hello?

No Rubi, I didn’t forget about you… it’s just been a bit busy here – one man operation and all that. Yes, dear… no, put down the gun. No, please don’t shoot up the phone like last time – I couldn’t hear right for a week. Thank you, Rubi…

What was that… there’s some static going on, what? … Yes, I’ll run those WET screenshots now.

Right, right… I know Bethesda is publishing the game and the team at A2M (also known as Artificial Mind & Movement) are developing it.

Yes, uh-huh… September 15, 2009 is the release date.

Yesssssss,I also remembered your birthday, Rubi. No, i’m not telling you what I got you… it’s a surprise. No it’s not a new knife… you “left” the last one I gave you in someone’s head, remember?

Anyway, you want me to run that press release on the blog as well? “Just the good parts?” OK. Uh-huh, right. I gotta go now – don’t want to keep a lady waiting, right?

No no! I was talking about you! Rubi, wait, don’t shoo…(*click*)

DISCONNECTED
END CONVERSATION
DATE: FRIDAY, 8/21/2009
TIME: 5:44:01 AM EST
LOGGED BY: REDACTED
————————————————————————————————-
Women – can’t live with ’em, can’t live without ’em, right?. Well, at least she didn’t shoot the phone this time. Now let’s see if I can do this right: Continue reading →