Month: January 2010

Aliens Vs. Predator Retrospective Is Chest-Bursting Good Time

To celebrate the upcoming release of Aliens vs. Predator, on the Sega America Blog,  there is a snazzy little look back at the history of both the Aliens franchise and how it intersects with the Predator franchise. It details, in a summarized manner, the movies, games and comic books, some of which you may have forgotten.

For me, seeing the Alien vs. Predator beat-em-up by Capcom was a blast from the past. I played the hell out of that on the SNES. Ever since I was a kid, I have had a deep fascination with the Alien and it’s sequels. Something about it is just so visceral and scary. The Predator movies are good, too, but nowhere near as awesome to me, personally.

Have you guys played any of these games? Do you prefer Aliens or Predator? What’s your favorite movie of the bunch? GO!

Source: Sega Blog

The Internet is an Evil Place: Battlefront Sequel Rumors Persist

evilobi
The Star Wars: Battlefront franchise has had a strange and tortured history for a product that should be a no-brainer. You take the famous space and ground battles of the Star Wars universe, mash them together with Battlefield style game-play and let the players muck around as Jedi once in a while. Well, after forcing the famous conflicts of Star Wars onto the tiny screen of the PSP not once but twice, the hotly anticipated third iteration of the sci-fi combat series has hit wall after wall, going through multiple studios like a hot knife through butter.

Originally being tinkered with by Free Radical before they closed down, Star Wars Battlefront: III has shifted gears completely, now rumored to be titled Star Wars Battlefront: Online. The current developers are none other than SOCOM Confrontation makers Slant Six Games. As it stands right now, the title is in pre-production, so it may be canceled before we hear anything more about it. The current plan is to have it in presentable form by 2011, but given the unfortunate history of Battlefront III, I’m not getting my hopes up.

What do you guys think? The Battlefront series has always been a favorite of mine, and the space combat in the second game was a heck of a lot of fun. It’s sad to think that Battlefront: Online may become the next “Duke Nukem”, forced to spend eternity in pre-production while we get strung along with concept art and teaser videos. Who else is hoping for some more Star Wars action?

Source: Kotaku

GTTV’s Most Anticipated Games of 2010

I’m a fan of Gametrailers TV, though I don’t always get to watch it. It’s video game programming that’s not trying so hard, and just does a good job of covering games without trying to jazz anything up. I think we need more shows like that.

Anyway, last night they kicked off a brand new season with a bang, showcasing the most anticipated games of 2010. It really is nuts that the combo of last year and this year could make of for one of the best one-two punches we’ve had in recent memory. So many games, and so much excitement. So what games are you guys most excited about?

The 2009 Sushis: A Year In Review

There are plenty of “best of the year” lists floating around for video games these days. But none of them are the Sushis. The Sushis represent a higher pedigree, one that rises above all of the other bush league video game blogs out there. These awards really mean something, people.

OK, maybe not. But they’re fun as hell, and that’s the point of playing games, right?

The Sushi awards represent our goofy and snarky take on the year in gaming, for better or worse, chosen by the GS dudes. A proper “best of” list is coming this weekend, but for now, enjoy these custom awards and feel free to comment on them.

Enjoy!
Continue reading The 2009 Sushis: A Year In Review

Impressions: Mass Effect 2

We don’t always write impressions of games that we’re currently playing, but I figured since 15 people on my friends list last night were playing Mass Effect 2, I’d start a little thread about it.

As you all know, I’m a pretty big Bioware fan. I don’t know what it is, but something about their games just grab me in a way other games don’t. With most games, I have to take a break every couple of hours or so. With Mass Effect 2, I played it for 7 hours straight without a break once I got home from work…

So I guess that means I like the game. A lot. I still feel like I’ve barely scratched the surface, story wise. Perhaps that’s because I spent over an hour scanning planets for raw materials and looking for sidequests, maybe. I hesitate to gush over the game too much, because admittedly, for the first hour or two I was terribly confused. Gone were many of the RPG elements I loved from the first game. But with them, the awful item management system, confusing menus and cumbersome weapon/armor load-outs. The game is an extremely simplified version of the first, and my worry when I loaded it up and got into the action was that it was much too simple.
Continue reading Impressions: Mass Effect 2

What The? Gears of War in Lost Planet 2?

As far as video game cross-overs go, we’ve seen some great ones (Marvel vs Capcom 2) and some not so great ones (Spawn in Soul Caliber). This new promo for the X-Box 360 version of Lost Planet 2, I just can’t place. On one hand, Marcus and Dom have had a lot of experience slaughtering strange abominations of nature; on the other, putting two characters from an exclusive Microsoft game in a Capcom multi-platform title seems odd. One wonders who the PS3 purchasers will get as bonus characters.

Consider me officially intrigued, though. I tried the original Lost Planet but couldn’t really get into it, though I’ve always felt that the title may have some merit. What do you guys think? Worth a purchase, or more of a rental? Who do you think the PS3 owners will get, if anyone?

GamerSushi Asks: What Are You Playing?

Left 4 Dead 2This Spring is going to be an usual one for us gamers. Heck, even this January is going to be odd. With some well-reviewed games like Bayonetta and Darksiders already hitting the shelves, as well as Mass Effect 2 dropping this week, it seems that we’re going to have our hands full with more than our Christmas gaming purchases. And that’s not even considering that Heavy Rain, Bioshock 2, Splinter Cell, Final Fantasy XIII and Crackdown are all on the way before the summer.

So, before (yet another) flood of good gaming options, what are you guys sinking your time into? Are you still working on the games you just got, have you purchased new ones, or have you returned to the old favorites?

Right now, I’ve been playing Left 4 Dead 2 on the XBox 360 and really enjoying the enhancements to the game. As much as people griped about its release, I’m impressed with just now how much content there is, and how well some of the new mechanics have been implemented. Really, kudos to Valve on proving some people wrong. In addition, I plan on starting some Brutal Legend tonight or tomorrow while I wait for Mass Effect 2 to be in my sweaty and anxious hands.

So, what are you guys playing? Go!

Today’s WTF: Tony Hawk is a Glutton for Punishment

thride
Poor Tony Hawk. Back in its heyday, the Pro Skater series of games were the best way to get on a skateboard and have fun without breaking your neck, but recent iterations of the franchise have been, well…less than stellar, to put it kindly.

After the massive failure that was the first Tony Hawk Ride, it appears that Mr. Hawk and the crew at Robomodo (the developers of the original) are more than willing to get back on the board and give it another shot; probably as a courtesy to those who paid upwards of $119.99 USD for the game and its peripheral. The skateboarding luminary, famous for his 900 degree revolution trick, recently Tweeted that he was in Chicago meeting with the studio about their next project.

The Tony Hawk games reached their zenith with the first Underground game and have been in a swift decline ever since, and I don’t think that Ride 2 (or whatever it will end up being called) has a snowball’s chance in hell of winning back those who were jaded by the first game.

I’m interested in one thing, though: has anyone here played THR, and was it as bad as it was made out to be? What do you think of the games themselves? Should they fade off quietly into the nether, or will Activision continue to pump them for all they’re worth? For fun, what was your favorite version? Answer away!

Source: ShackNews

Microsoft Fanboy Rant

DISCLAIMER: THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED IN THIS POST ARE SOLELY THOSE OF THE MICROSOFT FANBOY AND DO NOT REFLECT THE VIEWS OF THE GAMERSUSHI STAFF. ALSO, THIS IS A PARODY POST, SO DON’T LEAVE COMMENTS THINKING THIS IS REAL OR THE MORON POLICE WILL COME TO YOUR HOUSE AND KNOCK THE STUPID RIGHT OUT OF YOU.

First off, **** you.

Whew, had to get that off my chest. Listen up noobs, I am 13 and I have a 360 and it’s the only console I will ever need and I will tell you why: because anyone who doesn’t have one is a ******. I got mine on launch day, bitches. I even bought a second one three days later because mine turned red from all the awesome it was spewing. In fact, the 360 has so much awesome in it, I am on my 24th. Name one console so epic it takes two dozen of them to channel its powerful essence. I’m waiting… What’s the matter? Lag?

I thought I should mention how Sony seems to be gaining some ground with its price cuts (copy cats) and exclusives (all lame). Who wants to play Uncharted 2? If I want a third-person cover based shooter, I got Gears, thank you. I prefer my protagonists to have no necks and even less personality. And as for God of War 3, bah. Kratos looks likes Vin Diesel fell into a vat of baby powder. Give me Ninja Gaiden anyday! (What? They have an improved version of Ninja Gaiden on the PS3? Your mom has an improved version on the PS3!)

Despite all that, some morons keep buying PS3s, which is so lame. What do they have this year? Heavy Rain? If I want to watch a game, I will put in my HD-DVD copy of Advent Children. Besides, we have Alan Wake and everyone knows that games that take that long to make are always the best, just like Too Human. And don’t even get me started on the 360 version of Final Fantasy XIII, which is going to blow the PS3 version away! I know, you think they are identical, but I heard that there is so much more content on the 360 version that they are putting it out on multiple discs, while the puny PS3 only gets 1 disc! FOR THE WIN, CAMPERS!

And I know, the Wii and Nintendo are still winning. Who cares? They have their crappy motion control, running around looking like Adam Lambert with their tiny, white remotes, playing that casual crap. I don’t need that, I am going to get Natal and I will be looking like a Jedi pimp! No controllers here, douch nozzles! Just the power of the 360, Natal and the Force, all combining to make the most epic games ever. I never cared for handball before, but now that I don’t have to leave the house to play it, I am going to be all about that. And there will be no casual games, because no casual gamer would buy a $200 console and then for over another $100 plus bucks to play casual games. That means all hardcore games all the time! I’m Rick James, bitch!

So keep your lame ass Mario games, your fruity Zelda games with those puzzles that no one can figure out. I don’t want to play anything that doesn’t involve a gun, a headset and a plot that makes Hideo Kojima roll his eyes. Speaking of Kojima, Metal Gear Solid has always been a piece of crap, but now we get our own version and it’s going to be the bomb! The only problem with it is it’s not a shooter.

See, I love shooters. Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, Gears of War, Call of Duty and Rainbow Six are all great, but I want more. I just don’t think the FPS is really represented on the 360. Final Fantasy XIII is cool and all, but I want to fire that gun of Lightning’s myself, not press a button and watch the game do it for me! I think Viva Pinata would be better in first person, with plasma grenades and rechargeable health. My appetite for destruction is still strong!

And shooters work better online and we all know that the 360 has the best online community of any place EVAR. I get to meet people like me, who hate camping, except when we do it and like to tell other people how much they fail at life because we are better than them at a video game. Telling someone they are gay simply because they shot me once is the whole reason to go online and play. Everyone does it and if you don’t like, it’s cause you are gay, too. It just feels like home on Xbox Live. I even like it when I can hear some poor loser’s mom telling him to quit playing and go do his homework or else she will throw that thing in the trash. Those kids suck at life and I would never put up with that crap from my moth—(Coming, Mom!) Gotta go, noobs. (I know you said 10 minutes, Mom, I was pwning noobs!)

NUKE INCOMING, LADIES! COMMENCE TEABAGGING!

Halo Legends Clip is a Thing You Can Watch

Most of you have probably figured this little factoid out already, but I am GamerSushi’s resident Halo fan-boy. I seriously loves me some Halo, so naturally you would figure that a series of animated shorts would be right up my alley.

Well, as anyone who becomes engrossed with a franchises’ fictional history can tell you, if you outsource a project to a collection of companies and they do not get it exactly right you will have a large amount of butt-hurt nerds on your hands. That sounds weird, but I digress. If you haven’t caught any of the Halo animes on Waypoint, now’s your chance to see what you haven’t been missing.

The full DVD/Blu-Ray (irony lol) release is in early Feburary, but I think I’ll pass. What about you guys?

Mass Effect 2 Launch Trailer is Epic

I’m looking forward to January 26 with more than a little bit of trepidation because I’m seriously worried about what Mass Effect 2 will do to my life. The more excited I get about a game the more sponge-like I become, absorbing as much information as I can until I burst at the seams with hype and PR speak. Since the game comes out next week, I think this is the last in the deluge of videos that have been put out for this title. Sit back and enjoy Mass Effect 2’s launch trailer.

So, who else is getting this game, and for what system? I’m also curious to know if you’re going to pick up the Collector’s Edition. I certainly will.

Rumor: No Half-Life 2 Episode 3 in 2010?

Half-Life 2 Episode 3Oh man, this one hurts for all of you Half-Life 2 fans, I’m sure.

It seems that Game Informer is reporting that there will be no Half-Life 2 Episode 3 out this year. Apparently, this was reported in the rumor column of the magazine, hinting that the next project that Valve is working on might not even be called Episode 3, but Half-Life 3.

As video game fans, we are used to delays, but I’m sure this one comes as a blow to the many devoted Valve followers out there. Especially considering the fact that two Left4Dead games have seen release in the last two years, with no news or updates on HL2Ep3 besides some vague concept art back in 2008.

While I’m not ready to cry foul on this (it’s no Gran Turismo 5, that’s for sure), I do understand the many people who will be bummed out by this news. So what about you guys? Are you upset? Were you really hoping for the next installment in 2010?

Source- Kotaku

Fake Dragon Age DLC Trailer is Hilarious

One thing that makes PC gaming great: the ability to infuse new life into a gaming via the modding community. In what I hope to be the first of many Dragon Age: Origins releases, a new DLC trailer is available that showcases some hilarious tweaks made to the game and how it’s played.

Not only is this a look into what is available to modders, it also showcases some of the machinima tools available to users. I really can’t wait to see more of what people come up with. I’d have to say my favorite portion is the Morrigan slapping, as well as mastering “the taint”. Do watch this. Now.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDeawqKzEVM[/youtube]

GamerSushi Asks: Would You Rather?

Yikes. We haven’t done one of our fabled “Would You Rather” features since before the Fall, back around when Halo ODST came out. Now it is 2010, and we are wiser, stronger, faster and more future. What new insights have we gleamed?

In Would You Rather, I simply ask a series of questions, and you follow up with your answers. Give as much or as little explanation as you want for your choices, but we all know that we like to see the reasoning behind the madness.

Don’t let your answers suck, though. Your soul will be ousted and revealed for the excrement that lives inside of it. Poo!

Continue reading GamerSushi Asks: Would You Rather?

GamerSushi Game Night Part Two: Halo for Haiti

haloforhaiti
There’s been a huge outpouring of support for Haiti from all over the world, but the Caribbean nation is still a disaster zone and more help is needed. For those of us who can’t contribute directly, Bungie Studios, makers of the hugely successful Halo series, is holding a charity where they will donate $100 per every thousand players on Wednesday January 20 and Thursday January 21.

Bungie is hoping to raise over $77,000 dollars, and we here at GamerSushi think that playing some Halo is a great way to assist in this noble cause. On Thursday January 21, we’re having another Halo 3 game night to benefit the humanitarian efforts in Haiti. It’s simple: all you have to do is log onto X-Box LIVE bearing a specific emblem (directions contained within this link) and your contribution will be counted.

Same deal as last time, Eddy (Pwnocchio) and myself (Lubeius) will be sending out invites at 7:30 pm CST (check your time zone here) so leave your Gamertag in the comments below. News about PC and PS3 Game Nights forthcoming, so don’t think we’ve forgotten about you!

Resident Evil 5 Gold Edition: Jill Valentine Trailer

You all know of my great devotion to Resident Evil 5 as one of the best games of 2009. It’s seriously one of the only titles this generation that has made me want to play it over and over, even after beating it multiple times.

That’s why I’m pumped about the release of RE5 gold edition, with extra chapters that will also be available via DLC. Both the gold edition and DLC chapters come out on March 9th. There’s a new trailer out that kind of rules. Will anybody else pick up either of these?

Review: Army of Two: The 40th Day

armyoftwo
There was something fun at a very base level about the original Army of Two, and I’m not just talking about the whole “frat boys killing for cash” milieu it presented. While the game’s setting and characters managed to offend a whole bunch of people, it was still enjoyable to sit down with a friend and fist-bump your way through the game’s summer popcorn flick story line. Add in a fairly in-depth if somewhat excessive (gold plated guns?) armament-upgrade system and you had a decent co-op shooter that got lost in 2008 thanks to poor critical reception and negative word of mouth.

Now, nearly two years later, EA Montreal once again attempts to thrust us into the brahsome world of international guns for hire Elliot Salem and Tyson Rios as they fight their way out of a man-made disaster in Shanghai, China. Why you’re in Shanghai isn’t exactly clear, but there are plenty of greenbacks to be made and our men are all over it. Continue reading Review: Army of Two: The 40th Day

What Happens in the New Just Cause 2 Trailer? It’s Up to You

One of the most alluring aspects of Eidos and Square Enix’s London Studio’s upcoming Just Cause 2 is that it allows you to carry out your missions in any manner you see fit. Do you execute an air strike or sneak in all ninja-like? The choice is totally yours as emphasized by this new branching video. Take a look and get ready for the most interactive trailer you’ve seen so far.

How do you guys feel about this game? It is launching at the tail end of a very packed Q1, but there’s definitely going to be room on my shelf for this game. How about you?

NPD Numbers for December 2009 Offer Strange Stories

Mario NPDEvery month, it’s a big deal when the NPD group numbers are released. It allows industry bigwigs and fanboys alike to flex a little, flashing their bling-peens off to anybody who is willing to listen or give a damn. Obviously, the most interesting month of them all happens to be December, which usually shows what the deal was for the holiday season, gaming’s biggest cash haul. So what did this year’s December numbers tell us?

A few interesting things:

  • People love Mario. The Italian plumber’s new adventure easily outsold Modern Warfare 2 when stacked against individual PS3 and XBox 360 console sales, and nearly outdid the two combined. 2.8 million copies of Mario were sold last month. In fact, 7 of the top 10 software sales were Nintendo titles. Yikes.
  • Modern Warfare 2 is still top dog. The game didn’t do as well as Mario in December, but for the year has made about $1 billion big ones. That is insane.
  • PS3 exclusives haven’t yet found that killer sales title. The PS3’s biggest sellers this holiday season and on its platform as a whole are 3rd party titles such as Modern Warfare 2 and Assassin’s Creed 2 over games like Uncharted 2 and Demon’s Soul. Uncharted 2 has just barely broken 1 million copies sold (whereas the other 2 have done over 2 million each on the PS3), which I find interesting. Metal Gear Solid 4 has already been outsold by Halo 3: ODST. This isn’t an indictment on the system or its games at all, but on its install base: why in the world aren’t more of them buying these exclusives?
  • PS3 is climbing the ranks. Despite weaker first party sales, the PS3 had a great holiday season, seeing MS move into 3rd place for the time period. It’s about time, Sony. Let’s keep it going strong.

So, that’s the story of the December NPD numbers. What do you guys think about those? Anything particularly surprising that stands out?

Source- VG247

Help Haiti

There are times when our little pasttime doesn’t seem as important and this is one of these. The earthquake in Haiti may have killed as many as 50,000 people. Such a figure boggles the mind. Imagine going to an NFL game and everyone in the stadium were suddenly gone forever.

Though we are all facing financial hardships right now, if you can spare anything, here is a link that lists dozens of charities that are currently devoted to helping the injured in Haiti. These are the legit ones, not the Hollywood telethons that always end up with unused funds. Even $5.00 is a huge help in a time like this, but please do not feel any pressure at all.

If you are so inclined go to this webpage and pick one that sites and let’s hope we can make a difference for someone out there.

Charitable Foundations Helping Haiti