Review: DIRT 2 (PSP)

Posted on September 26, 2009 by geelw

Platform: PSP

Developer: Sumo Digital

Publisher: Codemasters

# of Players: 1 (Wi-Fi: 2 – 4)

Rating: E 10+

You’d think the portable versions of the stellar console and PC rally racer DIRT 2 would cater more to novice players and in regards to a good chunk of the Nintendo DS version, you’d be right on the money. PSP owners, however, get quite a challenging bit of off-road action in their version of the game thanks to Codemasters and developer Sumo Digital. If you go into this one expecting a total cakewalk, you’ll be wanting to turn your PSP into a Frisbee-SP after about ten or so minutes of smashing into walls and cars at breakneck speed. However, take time to master the controls and the game becomes quite a bit of fun. The overall presentation could have used an extra coat of polish, but we’ll get to that later.

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Gallery: Adventures to Go

Posted on September 21, 2009 by geelw

OK, I’ll admit it: Natsume’s upcoming Adventures to Go really intrigues me (and a bunch of other folks out there). Sure, random dungeon generators are nothing new to an “old” guy like me. Hell, I remember playing games such as Dungeon Hack on the PC, A D & D Slayer on the 3DO and Dungeon Creator on the import PlayStation ’til the cows came home. Then… there’s that brutal Nethack intervention I went through some years back, but we won’t discuss that in public (“the horror… the horror…”)…

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Gallery: Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s Tagforce 4

Posted on September 20, 2009 by geelw

Had some quick hands-on time with this at Konami’s NYC press event a while back. Nice anime visuals, deep gameplay, plenty of battlin’ cards and creatures and a more “mature” feel than your Pokemon games, for sure. Fans will be completely enraptured, newbies will be baffled, very helpful tutorials aside. Interesting side note: Konami spells it Tagforce, but it seems to list at most retailers as Tag Force. “Potato, Poh-tah-toe, Tomato, Toh-mah-toe….” and all that…

November 17, 2009 is the release date, so mark your calendars accordingly.

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Natsume News: Afrika Goes Gold

Posted on September 17, 2009 by geelw

Until now, Natsume hasn’t published a PlayStation 3 title, but that’s about to change as its upcoming PS3 exclusive, Afrika has gone gold and should be available soon. I remember this photo safari simulation as being one of the earliest PS3 games announced (through some amazing screenshots in Japanese game magazines a while back) and as you can see throughout this post, it still looks pretty darn good.

Anyway, here’s the press release, a bunch of screens and CG renders. Given the success of Natsume’s family-friendly Harvest Moon games as well as the company’s status among gamers of all stripes and a publisher of well-crafted niche games, this one might be a bit of a sleeper hit when it’s released.

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Gallery: New Demon’s Souls Screenshots

Posted on August 29, 2009 by geelw

Can you feel it? That deathly chill that raises gooseflesh on the back of your neck? It’s alllllmost here and it’s coming for YOU. Yup, Demon’s Souls, From Software’s upcoming PlayStation 3 exclusive Action/RPG is headed your way from Atlus.

Eight tantalizing new screenshots are calling out to you from below the jump like a siren warbling on the rocks… enjoy. You did remember to preorder the game, right?

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Sony Announces New Slim PS3, Price Cut, Hell Doesn’t Freeze Over…

Posted on August 19, 2009 by geelw

I should’a gone to Cologne, part deux:

SCEA seems ridiculously awful at keeping secrets, what with PSP GO! images being leaked out before E3 and such, but I say it’s all good for their bottom line in the end. No matter which side of the console fence you’re on, you’ve got to admit that the final announcement of the new 120GB PS3 Slim (and yup, that’s the official logo for the model above) at $299 as well as the price cut on older (and fatter) 80 and 160GB models starting September 1, 2009 is only great news for those consumers waiting for that price drop to finally hit.

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ZEN Studios Announces SFII Turbo Pinball Table Update

Posted on August 6, 2009 by geelw

Well, it wasn’t actually the toughest puzzle to figure out, huh? Anyway, here’s a link to ZEN’s entry on the Official PlayStation Blog – check it out.

E3 2009 Impressions (One): Controlling Interests

Posted on June 13, 2009 by geelw

It’s a good thing I waited until the big press conferences (and the entire show) were over and done as there were plenty of surprises dropped that are clearly going to change the way the interactive experience in the near future and beyond. Of course the ton of new games on the way that still use traditional control methods will do nicely at assuring “hardcore” gamers that analog pads are not yet going the way of the dinosaur. The one important fact about what was shown at E3 2009: there’s absolutely no need at all for a new console generation for at least the next five or so years. Continue reading →

Review: Neverland Card Battles

Posted on March 31, 2009 by geelw

Platform: PSP

Developer: Idea Factory

Publisher: Yuke’s Company of America

Players: 1 (Ad Hoc: 1 – 2)

www.NeverlandCardBattles.com

Score: B

While Idea Factory may not yet be a household name among RPG fans in the US, the Japanese developer has been cranking out assorted games since1995’s Dark Chaser, a Photo CD adventure game for the 3DO, CD-I and other PCD player types. Chances are you probably missed out on Generation Chaos (PSP), Chaos Wars (PS2) or Spectral Force (Xbox 360), a few of IF’s Strategy/RPGs that came and went almost without notice at retail. Neverland Card Battles (based on the 2003 Japanese PS2 game Cardinal Arc: Konton no Fuusatsu), actually fares a bit better on the PSP thanks to the game’s unique mix of board game and card battle play. Mostly generic plot and characters aside, there’s a very challenging game here whether you tackle the campaign or take on a friend. Continue reading →