Duke Nukem Forever Hands-On

Posted on October 22, 2010 by geelw

I knew it was going to be good, but the Duke Nukem Forever demo (short as it was) had me nearly falling out of my chair laughing at the in-jokes and wild Duke humor while feeling immediately comforted that the King is soon to be back on top where he belongs (Er, take that any way you wish). 2K rolled into NYC with the infamous PAX demo in tow and since I didn't get me ass to Boston this year, you'd better believe I made time for The Man Himself as soon as the invite landed in my inbox. I wasn't at all disappointed, by the way. In fact, if the demo is any indication of the final build, the King is Back… Long Live The King, Baby!

Spare Parts Hands-On

Posted on October 11, 2010 by geelw

http://www.youtube.com/get_player

One of the cooler surprises at EA's Naughty or Nice event was Spare Parts, the upcoming Xbox Live Arcade and PSN release developed by the company's Guildford-based bright light Studios (Create, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) and set for launch later this year. The download-only single or two-player co-op action/platformer stars a pair of super likable robots (Chip and Mar-T) that crash land on a faraway planet and need to locate 100 ship parts scattered around the planet in order to escape. They both can find and use a number of nifty gadgets throughout the adventure to defeat alien enemies, locate hidden items and a pull off number of other special abilities. I spent a nice long time with a build of the game and came away really impressed at how much fun the game is and how well the co-op feature is coming together.

Lost In Shadow Hands-On

Posted on October 10, 2010 by geelw

After looking at many Lost In Shadow screens and a few haunting gameplay movies since the game was announced, I finally had the great opportunity to get some hands-on time with the game at Hudson's New york Comic Con booth this past weekend. The game is not only visually striking, it's also highly innovative and absolutely recommended for gamers of all stripes thanks to the blend of platforming, adventure and later, combat against an assortment of shadow creatures. There's a good deal of depth here from the great use of the 2D plane in 3D environments to how well the visuals convey a certain emotional impact through light, color and yes, shadow usage.

Bonk: Brink of Extinction Hands-On

Posted on October 10, 2010 by geelw

Hudson Soft's booth was pretty packed at this year's New York Comic Con thanks to a solid lineup of titles such as Lost In Shadow, Deca Sports Freedom and Bomberman Live Battlefest. But it was the return of Bonk that really sent me back to the future. Bonk: Brink of Extinction was on the floor and playable from start to finish and between the massive levels, awesomely funny classic game mechanics and nifty co-op gameplay, Hudson has a real winner here. Unlike many “retro” remakes, don't expect to see movement in the 3D plane or flashy CG movies between stages. What's here is pure side-scrolling bliss that's going to put an ear-to-ear grin on your face that won't leave for weeks.

Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare Hands-On

Posted on October 9, 2010 by geelw

Adding zombies to any game seems to be the one way to assure interest and indeed, reasonable sales once gamers get wind of the undead aspect creeping into their favorite games. Rockstar Games has something wicked this way coming for Red Dead Redemption fans this winter with the release of the Undead Nightmare expansion for the PS3 and Xbox 360. At this year's New York Comic Con, thousands of gamers got the chance to go hands-on with the upcoming DLC and walk away with a cool poster and a chance to score a pack of extremely limited edition playing cards. UN will feature a solid single player campaign plus yet to be announced multiplayer features, some amazingly creepy zombies of different speeds and a number of missions to tackle set in and around familiar locations from the main game.

Sonic Colors Hands-On

Posted on October 8, 2010 by geelw

While Sonic Team has had its ups and downs with Sega's world-famous hedgehog, Sonic Colors shows that they're back in rare form with an amazing game experience no Sonic fan should miss. The fantastic use of color and detail (truly amazing for the Wii), blistering speed and wide range of amusement park (in space!) level designs make the game not only immediately accessible, but one of those titles you'll want to play over and over once you get your hands on it. My brief hands-on time was definitely exciting, as the game was easy to pick up and play, but far from the simple kid's game you're probably expecting.

Dead Space Extraction (PS3) Hands-On

Posted on October 8, 2010 by geelw

At EA's well-packed Naughty or Nice event, I finally got to play a small chunk of the PS3 version of Dead Space Extraction, last year's Wii rail shooter (and one of the best looking games for Nintendo's console to date) headed to PS3 owners as part of Dead Space 2: Limited Edition. Visceral Games along with super-talented developer Eurocom (Goldeneye 007) have done an excellent job porting over their game to Sony's console, adding Playstation Move support and effective Dolby Surround sound to go along with the higher resolution visuals. In case you haven't played Extraction previously, all you need to know is that it's the prequel to the original Dead Space and features a compelling story, some intriguing characters and fast-paced gameplay that's packed full of Necromorphs coming at you from every conceivable direction.

God of War: Ghost of Sparta Hands-On

Posted on October 7, 2010 by geelw

If any developer has truly mastered crafting games for the PSP, it's Santa Ana-based Ready at Dawn. Their upcoming game for the handheld, God of War: Ghost of Sparta is not only one of the (if not the) best-looking game on the system, it's one with gameplay that more than equals the stunning visuals. I got the great opportunity to play through the introduction and part of a later level from the soon to be released game and can safely report that this could possibly be the best PSP action game of 2010, hands-down.

Playstation Move Heroes Hands-On

Posted on October 7, 2010 by geelw

One of the PlayStation Move titles I've been most excited about is Playstation Move Heroes (formerly known as Heroes on the Move), developer Nihilistic Software's mini-game fest that features a number of Sony's most popular “mascot” characters from the multimillion-selling Jak & Daxter, Sly Cooper and Ratchet & Clank franchises. At Sony's very cool Move event this evening, I got a bit of hands-on time with a few of the mini-games in the collection and came away very impressed at how things are shaping up. First things first to those on the fence: once you get your hands on one, you'll find that the Move simply rocks. As more developers get into programming different types of games for the peripheral, we'll be seeing a lot of unique, fun game experiences down the road.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow Hands-On

Posted on September 3, 2010 by geelw

At Konami's Gamer's Nite NYC event, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow was clearly the star of the show. My impressions were that Konami, developer Mercury Steam and Kojima Productions are sending notice that in the right hands, the Belmont lineage is going to be just fine as a big-budget, highly cinematic action game experience. Everything I saw, heard and played on both the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions was extremely high quality and extremely worthy of the Castlevania name. Yes, the game riffs on Shadow of the Colossus, the God of War games and a few other titles, but there are also visual and stylistic influences from Guillermo del Toro and some familiar Kojima storytelling elements that make the game highly engrossing right from the opening scene.