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Reviews

REVIEW
Tekken 6

By Jorge Figueiredo - December 2nd, 2009

Tekken 6

Tekken 6 has been around in specialty arcades for just over two years but has been available to home gamers for just over a month. My first serious foray into the world of Tekken was playing Tekken 3 in the arcades. Eventually, I would get a bit more serious about it, playing it at home on the PlayStation. I had played some Tekken Tag Tournament in the arcade while killing time in theatres waiting for movies, but not enough to really claim to know the game well. When I went to the Sony Holiday Event, I got to sit down and play it, and it blew me away. But even that did not prepare me for the amount of fun I would have playing it at home.

I have raved about how incredible this game looks (there is no exception on my plain ol’ tube television at home), as well as the more realistic pacing in my impressions from the Sony Event, so I will instead focus on gameplay.

The standard offline section of the game is full of typical fighting game goodness, with Arcade, Team Battles, and Survival modes. Each of these options is fun and challenging, especially given the deformable terrain and multi-stage levels. The Rage system is refreshing; when you’re getting low on life, your hits become more powerful. You can even perform moves that allow you to extend your juggles by bouncing your opponents off the floor thanks to the Bound system.

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Posted in PlayStation 3, Reviews | No Comments »

FASHIONABLY LATE REVIEW
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2

By Shaun Hatton - November 24th, 2009

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2

The all-star comic cast in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 features some impressive talent and a gamut of super powers. My two favourite characters to play as, however, are Wolverine and Deadpool. It’s not that I don’t think the rest of Marvel’s superstars are cool – It’s just that once you have Wolverine and Deadpool on your team, you don’t quite need anyone else. So the other two dudes you choose to round out your team of four? Who cares who they might be?

Beat-’em-ups are meant to be just that – good, old-fashioned beat downs at the touch of a button (or in most cases, at the repeated mashing of a button – but that’s just semantics). So my preference for these short-range characters has some sort of sense to it. Apart from allowing for some up close and personal fisticuffs, Wolverine and Deadpool have some of the best banter found in the game. Because the banter can get repetitive during extended play sessions, it’s a good idea to pick characters you can stand.

Comic fans and those that respect the medium know that it’s capable of some excellent storytelling. Games derived from comics, however, don’t always come through in this regard. It’s not something to hold against comics-related games so much as it’s something to hold against games in general. While in recent years games with narrative have become a big movement for the industry, not all of them have great stories. It’s a forgivable offense, as games themselves are a) still a very new medium and b) much more than just a story anyway and can be appreciated on many levels.

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Posted in Comics, PlayStation 3, Reviews, Xbox 360 | No Comments »

Overview
Academy of Champions

By Jorge Figueiredo - November 16th, 2009

Academy of Champions

Recently I had the opportunity to sit down with Carsten Myhill from Ubisoft Vancouver to take a look at that studio’s very first title, a fantasy soccer game called Academy of Champions. I was intrigued to see how this game would play, especially considering that while the game is good for all ages, it seems to be targeted at the ‘tween’ demographic. In an industry that often strives for realism (read: FIFA series), how would a cartoon-y soccer (Carsten: “Football!”) game turn out? Surprisingly well, actually.

In the game you portray a young soccer player (your choice of male or female) attending soccer legend Pélé’s Brightfield Academy, a soccer university of sorts (many comparisons were made to Hogwarts from the Harry Potter series). Here you will take your character on a journey that will lead him or her to become a great soccer player. Through a series of training, conversations, and actual soccer matches, you will provide your character with loads of experience and special tokens that allow you to unlock goodies in the store. The 16-hour single-player campaign (20 or so hours if you want to unlock everything) seems to be a good mix of hands-on and observation.

This game does not claim to be an accurate sports simulator. But I believe that it’s good because of this fact. While not as intense as other sports games, Academy of Champions has a decent physics engine. It’s caricatured and feels like an arcade title, for certain, but the engine replicates the feeling of a great soccer match. The training exercises are mini-games and are cleverly disguised soccer drills that allow you to hone your skills while ultimately bringing a smile to your face (some of the mini-games actually allow you to use the balance board, too). The actual matches are also real enough, but concentrate on the essence of the game, and remove the trappings of penalties, throw-ins, and corner kicks which, while authentic, ultimately slow down play.

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Posted in Overviews, Wii | No Comments »

REVIEW
Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack In Time

By Mike Jackson - November 16th, 2009

Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack In Time

After my stellar podcast performance, and with Jorge busy working on his DJ skills in DJ Hero, I was lucky to have been offered the opportunity to review Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack In Time.

Admittedly, this is my first experience with the Ratchet & Clank series. I never bothered with them on the PS2, even though they had always been reviewed favourably. Since I just picked up my PS3 a few months back it wasn’t on the top of my list of games to play. But I am fan of platformers, and I particularly love them when they don’t take themselves too seriously, so after spending time working my way though A Crack in Time, I’m looking back wondering why I didn’t play any Ratchet & Clank in the past.

A Crack In Time starts off with a recap of the previous two games in the Ratchet & Clank Future trilogy with gorgeous cinematics and humour that both adults and kids can appreciate. A lot of background story happened in a really short period of time, so I won’t even attempt to provide a comprehensive overview of the last two games. In a nutshell, however, Dr. Nefarious captured Clank. The Zoni saved Clank and he’s whisked away to The Great Clock, which is located precisely in the centre of the universe (give or take 50 feet). You start off the game as Ratchet, who is attempting to locate his lost sidekick. The story is deeper than what you’d expect, and it also wraps up the series nicely. No spoilers here: the story brings a tremendous amount of depth to the game and I wouldn’t want to rob potential players of that experience.

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Posted in PlayStation 3, Reviews | 1 Comment »

REVIEW
Cities XL

By Jorge Figueiredo - November 11th, 2009

Cities XL

Dubbed as the next generation of city building, Monte Cristo’s Cities XL picks up the ball that the SimCity franchise dropped a few years ago. It’s a powerful and fun city-building simulator. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to take the game online, so I will only be addressing the solo portion. Don’t be fooled by that moniker, though. This simulator still has a hefty amount of variety and challenges galore.

Those who have played SimCity before will slide into the game fairly easily. The familiar Zones (Residential, Commercial, Industrial) are available, but with a twist. Each zone has several layers to it: Unqualified Workers, Qualified Workers, Executives, and Elites. Each of these sub-categories attracts a different level of income and business to the cities. For instance, once the executives want to move into the city, you can start to create high-tech industry (that utilizes executives, qualified, and unqualified workers).

Those who have not played SimCity before will not find it too difficult to pick up the game. The tutorial that is available is both entertaining and insightful. However, those who have city-building experience may want to pass it by, as it can get somewhat tedious if you know what you’re doing.

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Posted in PC, Reviews | 3 Comments »

BYTE-SIZE REVIEW
Motorstorm: Arctic Edge

By Filipe Salgado - November 9th, 2009

Motorstorm: Arctic Edge

Motorstorm: Arctic Edge starts like a Coors Light commercial: The camera follows helicopters as they weave between snow-capped mountains over a pristine white landscape. The helicopters unload their cargo and, instead of six-packs or inappropriately dressed women, its cars and ATVs. Like Coors Light, Arctic Edge is a pale imitation.

The Motorstorm series is known for its vibrant graphics and Arctic Edge, being released on the PS2, can’t compete with its next gen cousins. Even adjusting the curve, the style of Arctic Edge is muted and gray. I would rather drive through the pure snow of the intro than the depressing steelworks and mud look the game goes for. The scant bit of colour that finds its way into the game is neon loud and garish. Crashes are shown in slow motion, a feature seen in the Burnout series, but in those games the slow destruction is a thing of beauty and gives you the chance to crash into competitors. Arctic Edge’s version is neither beautiful nor practical, but a waste of time.

Speaking of crashing: I got a clear lead during a race, but then I crashed. Five times. In any other game I would’ve had to restart. Here I didn’t lose my position. That’s right, five crashes and nobody had managed to pass me. This happened several times. On one stage there was a “challenge” to remain in first place for ten seconds straight. Aren’t challenges supposed to be difficult?

The accelerate button isn’t the standard X button, but rather R1. X is reserved for boosters, which give you a burst of speed, but can explode if overheated. Driving through snow could help with the overheating, but differentiating between which shade of white means ice and which means snow is not a task to be attempted at 100 miles per hour. It didn’t matter though. I’d hold down the X button out of instinct and explode into a fiery (slow motion) wreck. It was okay, though. I’d still be in first.

Posted in Byte-Size Reviews, PlayStation 2 | 3 Comments »

OVERVIEW + GIVEAWAY
Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising

By Shaun Hatton - October 28th, 2009

Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising

I’ve been playing Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising for the past few days and, despite spending hours of my life in its world, I’m still only on the second mission. To say the game is difficult would be an understatement. The game is simply kicking my ass, repeatedly. Truth be told, I kind of like it.

Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising takes place on the island of Skira, which has been a disputed territory since the end of the second World War. The game opens with a stylized, fictionalized montage of the region (the island’s topography is based on the real-life island of Kiska). The montage certainly comes across as credible, and even goes so far as to mention the recent world-wide economic problems before revealing some interesting future history from the next three years.

As tensions between Russia and China flare, a small team of US Marine Corps is put in charge of recapturing the island from the aggressive Chinese military. Doing this is obviously a lot easier said than done, given the fact that I’m somewhat stuck.

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Posted in Awesome, Contests, Overviews, PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 | 1 Comment »

VROOM! BEHIND THE WHEEL WITH
Forza Motorsport 3

By Shaun Hatton - October 27th, 2009

Forza Motorsport 3

As I continue to age, it gets harder to distinguish the passing of time. Seasons blend into one another and the years go by far too quickly. With the exception of the spirit of Halloween, I tend to not get too involved with the holiday season.

Then there are the games. Around this time every year, it gets difficult for me to find my coffee table under the pile of games thrown on top of it. Today was an exceptionally huge day, retail-wise. DJ Hero, Tekken 6, and Forza Motorsport 3 all hit store shelves along with a bunch of other games I probably won’t get to play until at least 2010. With each holiday flood, there are also games that hog my attention. Right now, Forza Motorsport 3 is that game. I’ve been playing it for the past week, on and off, and have been thoroughly enjoying trying out the various cars and racing around at my own pace.

Turn 10, developers of Forza Motorsport 3, approached the game production immediately after finishing up Forza Motorsport 2. A dominant mindset throughout development was to make a game that could make car guys into gamers, and one that could make gamers into car guys.

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Posted in Awesome, Reviews, Xbox 360 | 4 Comments »

REVIEW
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

By Jorge Figueiredo - October 19th, 2009

Uncharted 2

There are murmurs about how games are not what they used to be. I’ve seen reasons like “not enough depth,” or “too much repetition,” or even “boring” bandied about. Obviously none of the people who speak these phrases has laid hands on Uncharted 2: Among Thieves.

When I bought my PS3, it was pretty much so that I could play another game (take a wild guess which one), and Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, a pack-in with the bundle I got, was tossed aside. I was late to the PS3 party, so I didn’t know that Uncharted was a top quality launch title. I erroneously thought it was just some mediocre platform-ish adventure that I would breeze through, so I didn’t bother.

Fast forward to a few months ago when all of the Uncharted 2: Among Thieves hullabaloo really started to hit top gear. Having played through a good section of my PS3 titles, I put Uncharted into the drive and lost myself for several weeks. Given how amazing Uncharted was, I wondered how the hell Naughty Dog was going to top it. Graphics tweaks? Larger story? Improved play mechanics?

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Posted in Awesome, PSN, PlayStation 3, Reviews | 7 Comments »

REVIEW
Batman: Arkham Asylum

By Jorge Figueiredo - October 13th, 2009

Batman: Arkham Asylum

Batman: The Animated Series starring Kevin Conroy as Batman has always been the definitive Batman series for me. Its simple, clean designs looked brilliant in motion while its excellent stories and character development gave the episodes a depth rarely seen in North American television. Danny Elfman’s main theme and the work of the show’s many composers (such as Shirley Walker) also helped set the mood for this new vision of The Caped Crusader. But on top of all this, the voice cast was stellar. Who knew Mark Hamill could pull off such a convincing portrayal of The Joker?

Considering all this, it’s not surprising I prefer The Animated Series to the comic books. When I found out that game developer Rocksteady had Kevin Conroy, Mark Hamill, and Arlene Sorkin signed on as part of the voice cast for Batman: Arkham Asylum, I started to follow the game’s development a lot closer and with more excitement. But little did I know how amazing this game was actually going to be.

Batman: Arkham Asylum places you in the tights of the Dark Knight, who has just collared The Joker and has brought him back to Arkham Asylum. In his initial conversation with Jim Gordon, Batman indicates that something is off, referencing the ease of the capture of his nemesis. He also shows signs of unease as the security door closes behind The Joker as the villain is taken into the asylum’s holding area. In true form, The Joker manages to escape, which was his plan all along. Batman’s mission is to travel deep into Arkham to stop him. Unfortunately, the place is like a giant gothic fortress and contains his (and by extension your) worst enemies.

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Posted in Awesome, PC, PlayStation 3, Reviews, Xbox 360 | 3 Comments »