Preview/Gallery: Lucha Libre: Heroes Del Ring

Posted on August 31, 2010 by geelw

Konami has a super high-flying, action-packed wrestling game coming your way and nope, it's not another Rumble Roses installment. Lucha Libre: Heroes Del Ring (PS3/Xbox 360/Wii) is shaping up to be a ridiculously fun mix of arcade-style gameplay and plenty colorful characters from the hugely popular Mexican wrestling circuit. At Konami's Gamer's Night NYC event last week, I got to see and play a bit of the PS3 version of game and found it not only immediately accessible, but both fun, challenging and surprisingly informative about the south of the border version of the sport.

Konami Gamers Night 2010 (With Hudson, Too!)

Posted on August 28, 2010 by geelw

Konami Gamers' Night NYC – 2010 Edition

Konami rolled into NYC with a varied lineup of excellent games, this time with the remainder of their 2010 lineup and special guests Hudson Soft for a great gathering of games guaranteed to get you moving in one manner or another. While there wasn't a Snake to be found anywhere in sight, there were more than enough great games to keep everyone who dropped by glued to a monitor, hip-hopping as loudly as possible or flailing away working up a good sweat as a singer, dancer, mini-gamer extraordinaire or sports star.

About 20 titles were on display from both new Castlevanias, two console classics remade for today's consoles, a surprisingly fun wrestling game and plenty of guaranteed musical and mini-game hits headed for the Wii as well as the upcoming Move and Kinect peripherals. I'll be covering a few of these titles in depth over the next week or so with galleries and/or hands-on impressions (denoted by *), but for now, here's a quick rundown of what was on the floor:

Wave of the Future (Part I)* : A Look At Sony’s PlayStation Move

Posted on August 28, 2010 by geelw

Alright, I'll confess: I'll admit to initially not liking the Move's final design when I saw it as Sony's E3 press conference. Fortunately, that petty bit of nonsense on my part lasted less than two whole minutes. System bias is indeed a bad thing, but controller bias can really make one a bit too irrational. In the end, it was all about the games and how well the peripheral works with them. At Sony's Holiday 2010 event, I had the chance to play a number of Move games and ended up more than happy with the new controller.

As soon as you see and the pick up the Move, there are subtle to very noticeable differences that make it more intuitive to use and much more responsive than the Wii Remote. Additionally, unlike Microsoft's Kinect, the fact that you have a controller in your hand really makes a difference in certain games.

TRON Evolution Hands-On Preview

Posted on August 25, 2010 by geelw

Propaganda Games is toiling away like mad on two licensed games I'm really looking forward to: Pirates of the Caribbean: Armada of the Damned and TRON: Evolution. While both titles are being published by Disney Interactive Studios, core gamers in the loop are anticipating each game for a number of reasons. I got to try a bit of the PS3 version of Evolution at Sony's excellent Holiday showcase and came away impressed by what's looking to be the rare licensed movie game that goes above and beyond the call.

Preview: Goldeneye Hands-On

Posted on August 6, 2010 by geelw

One of the biggest surprises revealed for the Wii at this year’s E3 was Activision’s new version of Goldeneye 007, a complete reworking of the classic multimillion selling Nintendo 64 shooter that set new standards for console split-screen multiplayer action. Seasoned European developer Eurocom (Dead Space Extraction, one of 2009’s best Wii games) had actually been coding the game in secret for close to two years and all their hard work has really paid off. After having the opportunity to see and play the game at Activision’s press event this past Tuesday, I can more than safely say that Wii owners are going to have a high quality game their other console-owning friends just may be extremely jealous of.

http://www.youtube.com/get_player

While the Wii has been kicked around by too many folks who know not a whit about game programming, quite a few developers have been doing their jobs by diving into the hardware and showing that the system is truly capable of. Sure, Activision is also bringingPC, PS3 and 360 owners are their own all-new Bond game (Bizarre Creations’ Blood Stone) at some point down the road. However, for those that played it back in the day, Goldeneye was (and is) one of those core titles that brings back many great memories of couch-based deathmatches with plenty of trash talking, adrenaline pumping pure fun. From my perspective, the completely revamped Goldeneye single player actually surpasses the original in terms of visuals, cinematic pacing and pure, intense action sequences. As for the four-player split screen play, it’s super tight, fun and manages to be blazing fast and instantly as memorable as the original.

Message board denizens knocking the game based on low-resolution movies or single screen shots can pretty much get a new hobby complaining about some other game they haven’t yet played. Once you actually see the game live (and hell, play it), you’ll be sold thrice over. What’s here shows a developer and publisher dedicated to pulling out all the stops to show that the Wii can indeed do a serious shooter. Rare’s game was indeed great, but times and tech have changed for the better since the cartridge days. From the moment you get your first mission briefing (voiced by Dame Judi Dench, naturally) and the camera zooms into the first-person perspective of Daniel Craig’s harder-edged Bond, the level of immersion is completely believable and yes, makes you feel as if you’re really playing as 007.

For those of you whining about the lack of a pure port of the Pierce Brosnan version of the game, get over it. He’s not playing Bond anymore and has no interest in having his likeness used in the game, period. I could go into a long lecture on how most actors like to move on to other roles and not just be recognized for a character that’s more or less a replaceable template every few years, but I won’t. What I would suggest is some of the more negative folk out there track down and read some of Sir Ian Fleming’s original Bond novels and discover that that Bond wasn’t exactly a Saint (pun intended), nor always the suave lady-killer with a wisecrack for every occasion. For the record, my generation’s Bond was Sean Connery, but as much as love watching Goldfinger or Thunderball endless times even I wouldn’t want to see him pop up as Bond in a new game again any time soon.

If you were expecting the new Goldeneye to be on rails like so many other Wii shooters or a simplistic game with nothing but straightforward pathways through cardboard AI, you’re in for a very huge shock. Right from the start, a few hidden and not so hidden multiple paths tempt you to not quite play follow-the-leader. I happened to look right as Bond jumped down next to the bridge Agent 006 crossed and saw a small tunnel before he hopped up and moved around the back of a sentry tower. I asked and was told that yes, players will be able to freely choose how they tackle parts of certain missions. This should add to the replay value for those that want to go back and see what’s off the beaten path.

For the demo purposes, we had Bond sneak up and around the back stairway of that sentry post. A great context-sensitive physical takedown led into the first big gunfight as a small group of Russian soldiers rushed the bridge from the right side of the tower. A few well-placed sniper rounds (and an assist from 006) later, both agents headed to a nearby truck which was commandeered and steered up to an enemy checkpoint. The game flows so seamlessly from play to first-person cut scenes that even the “quiet” parts are cool. Inside the truck, a brief dialog sequence blended right into the next action sequence. A pair of guards came over to check out the truck and after they not so kindly asked the 00’s to step out of the truck, things got hot. 006 shoots the guard on his side then Bond’s, puts the truck into gear and floors it through the checkpoint as 007 picks up what looked like an AK-47…

This part was pure chaos out of a Call of Duty car chase with Bond shooting, Russian trucks exploding, rolling over, or in one case, flying wildly off a bridge and into a ravine. The ride came to a nasty ending as 006 rolled the truck and hopped out. Poor 007 seemed to take a few extra lumps as the truck flipped over to a stop, landing in a crunched heap. This made me grin, as Craig’s Bond has gotten his share of realistic bumps and bruises during his brief tenure. Once 006 yanked Bond from the truck, the pair hoofed it to a nearby broken elevator. A bit of button jamming helped open the doors and shimmying down the elevator cable led to an encounter with a few unlucky troops caught off guard once the door was breached. The breach effect led to a great “bullet-time” moment where Bond had a few seconds to target the enemy guards to add a little lead to their diets before an alarm could be reached.

Our single player session abruptly ended here, but it was clear that Eurocom has done some mighty fine work in crafting one of the best-looking Wii games to date. The detailed visuals, destructible environments and solid lighting effects along with plenty of smoke and debris (all running in HD, I might add) were mind-blowing and prove that you don’t need fancy bump-mapping on every surface to make a game work. That the gameplay packs a similarly varied punch to a Call of Duty game isn’t something to knock it for at all. In fact, two of the sheer thrills of this new Goldeneye are the wider variety of interactivity plus those “Did you SEE that?!” moments as you survive some tense encounters. Once you actually see the game up close and personal and get that controller in your hand, you’ll be a believer, that’s for sure.

Speaking of controls, the game not only supports the Wii Remote and Nunchuck, but you can play with the Wii Zapper, Classic Controller Pro and (I believe) Game Cube controller, so finding a favorite method should not be an issue at all for console FPS fans. We had Classic Controller Pros all around, so it was a dual analog paradise party for four player multiplayer action. Our sessions took us to two different maps (one indoor and one outdoor), both featuring four of the over 40 unlockable playable characters. The first map was a straightforward deathmatch set in a two-story structure that had tight turns, stairways and a few choice kill zones. I chose Oddjob, a very fun character to use thanks to his sub-weapon, a deadly razor-ringed bowler that was good for one-hit kills when thrown.

Our second map was an outdoor construction site of sorts with ramps, a giant pipe, scaffolding and concrete ditches plus a train in one part that became quite a setting for close-in shootouts. Here, we played Golden Gun Mode for a few rounds, and fans of the original will be pleased to know that the rules are indeed the same. Whomever grabs the gun gets the ability for one shot kills, but they’re also easily targeted by the other opponents. In multiplayer, Eurocom has dropped some of Rare’s more comical bonuses but has emulated some of the elements from the N64 original such as the red blood effect when you die. Even with the game engine running four action-packed screens, the speed was excellent with no slowdown or glitches. The level of detail in the characters and backgrounds was solid (very slightly lower than the main game), but to tell you the truth, I was too busy having a blast to find stuff to nitpick over.

Of course, you, dear reader are the final part of the puzzle. It’s clear that both Eurocom and Activision are supremely excited about the project – all they need are gamers to stuff away those preconceived notions of the Wii as a “casual” game system that can’t pull off a top drawer title. Although we only had about a half-hour with Goldeneye, it’s definitely one game fans of the original should put on their must-have lists (yes, even if you still don’t own a Wii). We were also told that as good as the game looks, it’ll get even better as Eurocom is tweaking the code even more to add extra visual effects.

Finally, while the complete set of split-screen and online modes haven’t been revealed yet, Activision plans to announce them as the game approaches its Q4 launch. One we get a final release date, mark your calendars and hit your favorite game emporium to pre-order as this one’s definitely going to be a hell of a ride for Bond fans of any console generation.

Preview: Mafia II Hands-On

Posted on July 28, 2010 by geelw

With 2K Games set to strong-arm Mafia II into stores on August 24, I had the opportunity to play a demo of the PS3 version at Sony’s Holiday showcase in NYC. The build had a brief taste of game’s driving and shooting mechanics and featured spectacular visuals, deadly enemy AI, partially destructible environments and some excellently acted and voiced cinematic sequences. So far, 2K’s Czech studios has crafted a dynamic, violent crime saga with what’s looking to be a richly developed plot. Granted, a great deal of what’s here is clearly inspired by Rockstar’s epic GTA juggernaut. However, the time period and overall visual quality of Mafia II’s Empire Bay looks as it will be a bit more realistic in some aspects.

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Preview: Dead Space 2 Hands-On

Posted on July 25, 2010 by geelw

“Disturbingly spectacular” were the first two things I thought of upon seeing Dead Space 2 in action and after playing through the demo build, let’s just say that Visceral Games is going to be responsible for a lot of wet couches and floors when the game finally ships early next year. The demo was both fantastic to look at and great, challenging fun that had the small area always packed with editor-types crowded around watching other play as they waited their turn. As great as the original was, Visceral is going all out to insure that the sequel is even more cinematic without pulling players out of the action.

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Namco Bandai Lands IN NYC With Hits Galore

Posted on July 16, 2010 by geelw

The great thing about not going to E3 is that the best parts of of it (getting to see and play upcoming games with not a lot of waiting) will come to you (provided you’re invited to a press event or two post-show). A few of the fine folks from Namco Bandai (or Bandai Namco) rolled into NYC with an incredibly solid lineup that should keep gamers of all stripes glued to their controllers and sporting ear to ear grins. While some of the games shown were still works in progress E3 builds, it was impossible not to walk away completely floored with anticipation about most if not all of the titles shown.

In the order which I saw and/or played them, here’s a quick rundown on what was on display:

Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom (PS3/Xbox 360) – Game Republic truly seems to enjoy making some great-looking, purely fun to play titles and this gorgeous single player experience looks to be yet another winner. You play as a young agile type who discovers and teams up with Majin, a huge stone elemental giant of sorts and soon find yourself attempting to rescue a missing princess. Graphically, there’s a fanciful stylized (yet realistic) look to the game that should please fans of ICO and Shadow of the Colossus while the gameplay excellently mixes fast-paced combat, stealth sections and environmental puzzle elements that require teamwork between the player and Majin. From the demo I got to see, this could be quite a sleeper when it lands in stores later this year.

Clash of the Titans (PS3/Xbox 360) – Yet another fun Game Republic-developed title and after a bit of hands-on time I can safely say that this one was a nice surprise in terms of its impressive level of old-school challenge and the rather large weapons selection players can accumulate. The game’s difficulty should appeal to all skill levels (just set it to Hard if you’re finding some areas too simple and you’ll be rewarded with a rather fierce challenge). However, if you have an extra controller and a buddy handy, there’s a two-player co-op mode that should help whittle the AI down to size. Thanks to QTE events during combat, you’re able to grab sub-weapons from any armed enemy to add to your armory and most of these assorted death-dealers are upgradable once you’re the new owner.

The art style and color palette are straightforward yet quite nice, recalling elements of the film while adding in new levels and enemies created specifically for the game. The mix of fast-paced hack and slash action plus stages graded by how quickly you can complete them should have those who crave perfection jumping back in to improve their scores (and bonus items awarded). Interestingly enough, the DVD drops into stores around the same time the film does, so those who liked the flick can be assured of a few more hours of fun in a lot more interactive format. “Release the Kraken!”, indeed.

Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja STORM 2 (PS3/Xbox 360) – Fan-favorite developerCyber Connect 2 (the .hack series and plenty of Naruto titles on the PS2, PS3 and PSP) keeps getting better and better and this impressive sequel to the formerly PS3-only release is headed to the Xbox 360 as well. The game looks incredible and controls in the short timed demo build were insanely responsive, making for a pretty slick (albeit brief) peek at what’s to come. Fans of the anime will be definitely be pleased and I think I can drop a hint to Tekken fans here that there’s a really cool surprise in store for you should this game pop up on your radar…

Pac-Man Party (Wii) – Pac-Man is 30 years old and still going strong thanks to this upcoming family friendly mix of tsuguroku and mini-games galore. While only a few of these howlers were playable at the event, what was shown was hilarious stuff indeed from both a visual and gameplay perspective. Sure, the action was simple Wii Remote shaking, tilting and swinging, but all who stepped up to give the game a shot ended up cracking up after one or two quick events. From tossing pizzas into a huge blazing oven, soda bottle jet-pack blast-offs and obstacle packed conveyor belt races, these super quick blasts of fun should keep you and the kids busy for some time.

Enslaved: Odyssey to the West (PS3/Xbox 360) – Ninja Theory’s absolutely gorgeous follow-up to Heavenly Sword is once again, a single-player focused experience that looks to combine cinematic storytelling with high-action gameplay sequences and so far, it’s a formula that’s working for me. The rich visuals and fine level design are looking impressive and after going though the demo build, I’m extremely looking forward to the final version. And yes, Andy Serkis is doing a stellar job, the facial animations are fantastic and once you see how effortlessly fluid the controls are, the game is a dream to play.

As a totally unique take on the Monkey King legend, it’s mind-blowing how well the dev team has transformed the main character, Monkey into a burly yet agile hero and placed him into a blasted out wasteland that’s actually quite colorful. Even more incredible is the dev team is making a Teen rated game that’s got as much visceral punch as some top M-rated titles. By the way, look for Trip, the game’s AI partner to set new standards in CPU-controlled AI. Although you can’t really control her directly, she reacts and moves almost like a living person would (and has some pretty funny dialog with Monkey). This is one title I want to cover in a bit more depth, so expect a gallery to pop up at some point.

Splatterhouse (PS3/Xbox 360) – Rising from the dead with a major graphics overhaul and tons of pure, unadulterated gore galore, Rick and his evil mask are back in action after far too long away from consoles. The game is looking superbly twisted with a dark yet crazily funny vibe running throughout the demo build. Fans of the originals will be more than pleased to see their favorite monsters rendered in beefy 3D as well as cool side-scrolling sequences mixed in with the more modern action. There are also plenty of cinematic angles that add a modern horror kick to the game and both lighting and color usage were brilliant in the demo build.

This one’s clearly shooting for a Mature rating, as the blood and chunks flow, splash and fly freely. That and Rick’s gal, Jennifer appears in some rather er, saucy collectible photos as the game progresses. Speaking of collectibles, players can expect to see all the console Splatterhouse games (and I believe the original Arcade version) on the game disc as a pretty awesome bonus. No concrete release date on this baby just yet, but I expect Halloween or sometime thereabouts would be fitting. Of course, we Splatterhouse fanatics want this one to bee cooked perfectly, so even if the date slips, it’ll be because the game is being polished to an even finer shine.

Time Crisis: Razing Storm (PS3) – This latest in the long running arcade gun shooting franchise looks to be the best yet thanks to a ton of content and PlayStation Move support. With the super intuitive design of the Move controller, the game is so much fun to play (yes, it’s a total blast) that it was hard to put down after a few stages. The again, the few stages I got to play with a fellow editor in co-op blew by so fast and had so much destruction going on that we were both sweating bullets in that air-conditioned hotel suite. By the way, if you don’t want to get a Move on, the game will also support the Guncon 3.

There’s a very heavy emphasis on destructibility here, as nearly every bit of scenery seems as if can be shot up by yours or the enemies’ bullets. You’ll also see levels wrecked by mid-level and end mission bosses that are huge, surprisingly fast and extremely deadly. Not only will you get a few different single and multiplayer modes in the main game, Namco is actually adding both arcade hits Time Crisis 4 and the swashbuckling Deadstorm Pirates to the disc as very sweet bonuses (arr!). As a longtime light gun fan ready to embrace a “new” way of playing a favorite genre, I can safely say the this one’s going to be played to death and beyond around these parts. No matter how awful a day you’ve had, you can always rely on a Time Crisis game to get the adrenaline pumping.

I’m kicking myself because I didn’t stick around to check out Ace Combat Joint Assault (there was only one PSP demo unit on hand which was running Dragon Ball Z: Tenkaichi Tag Team, a multiplayer focused fighter that looked cool but was a bit chaotic as a single player experience). I think I spied a demo build of Dragon Ball Raging Blast 2 as well, but I was headed for the door after a good chunk of time spent being wowed by everything else. Ah well… guess I’ll have to send up a flare for review copies. Anyway, galleries and movies to follow on the games listed – stay tuned…

Diner Dash: Flo On The Go & Wedding Dash Hands-On

Posted on October 16, 2009 by geelw

If you’re a fan of “casual” PC games these days, there’s pretty much little to know doubt you’ve downloaded and played one of PlayFirst’s hugely popular titles. Thanks to a loyal (and expanding) user base that’s downloaded its games hundreds of millions of times, the PlayFirst web site is one of those games havens that’s doing quite well in this otherwise bumpy economy. With a huge library of all-ages games that range from fast-paced arcade action, “hidden object”, strategy, puzzle, role playing and adventure games, there’s pretty much something for everyone. Family-friendly games publisher Zoo Games, which has released titles for the Wii, Nintendo DS/DSi, PlayStation 2, PSP, iPhone, and PC has licensed two of PlayFirst’s key titles for the Nintendo DS just in time for the holiday season – here’s a rundown on what to expect.

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Fairytale Fights Updated Hands-On

Posted on October 6, 2009 by geelw

Preview versions of the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of Playlogic’s Fairytale Fights showed up last Friday and after digging myself out from under a pile of other work, I finally got a chance to spend some quality time with the game. After diving in and coming up covered in blood and chunks a few days (and many replays) later, I’m even more impressed with how the game has progressed. The Unreal 3 powered hack ‘n slash/platformer hybrid is really coming together in this latest build and is shaping up to be an outrageous, surefire hit for hardcore gamers when it’s released on October 27. If you like your games bloody, challenging, controversial and off the charts hilarious, what’s here will keep you giddy and bouncing up and down like kids in the back seat on a Sunday drive sugar high.